One Month Birthday and Baptism

On Friday, July 23 Reese turned one month old! It is hard to believe how this past month has flown by. It was a big day for the whole family not just because she was a month old, but because we took our first out of state trip, and a road trip at that. We packed up and drove to New Orleans to visit our "Cajun" family and to baptize Reese Elizabeth. My parents, Mo and Mimi, made the drive as well and actually took Ashton with them to help entertain him. Both kiddos were rockstars and traveled so well for the six hour drive...it probably helped that we left at 3:30 in the morning both coming and going to ensure they would sleep some and it worked! Casey's parents, Mark and Jacqueline (Reese's Godparents) and Diane also flew to New Orleans for the celebration.
It was a wonderful weekend spent in good company and with some really good food. Friday we hung out with my Aunts, Uncle and cousin, then on Saturday we took Ashton to the Aquarium which was awesome. That afternoon we had a private baptism which was so nice. On Sunday we had a "small" celebration...I say small because it was only family. But anyone who knows our family will know when it comes to first, second and third cousins we had close to 50 people at my Aunts house. It was such a nice family reunion and even better that we were able to gather to celebrate something so wonderful since the last time we were all together it was under tough circumstances, the passing of my grandma.
One of the most touching moments was when my aunt, Nannie Marge (my Godmother) presented me with a quilt she had sewn. It has always been a tradition that Maw-Maw gave each grandchild, and even some great nieces and nephews, quilts that she would sew. As a child I received a quilt with the alphabet on it and when Ashton was born she did a similiar one for him. At Christmas I had picked out the one I wanted for Reese and gave it to her. Maw-Maw was able to separate the threads befor she passed but never got to stitch any of it. Nannie Marge stepped in and made it a labor of love. She spent countless hours working on the quilt so that it would be done in time for Reese's baptism and she of course lived up to the challenge. She wrote Reese a beautiful letter explaining the story behind the quilt and letting her know how Maw-Maw touched each and every thread that is now on that blanket. I don't have a picture right now but will be sure to get on soon because it is so beautiful. All I can say is THANK YOU NANNIE MARGE!!!
To conclude this rather long post there are a few things about Reese's first month I want to remember:

*At 19 days old you were back to your birth weight of 6 lbs 13.7 oz and had grown 1 inch to 20 inches total.
*You love to SLEEP, especially at night :)...normally you sleep for 3-4 hrs then wake up, eat, sleep for 2-3, eat, and sleep for 2-3 more...you are awesome!
*July 22, one day shy of your one month birthday you smiled for the first time
*You are so alert and looking around
*Rarely do you cry, only when you are hungry or just want to be held
*Love outside---the heat is a cure all, if you do get fussy you stop when we go outside
*Nursing around 10 times a day
*Your brother LOVES you....constantly wants to kiss you, has asked occassionally to hold you and loves to come over and say "Hey Reese!" or "Hey Peesee" (its really cute)

Alright that is it for now. Enjoy the pics!