Seven Months

Seven Months! It never gets old, time just doesn't stand still no matter how much you want it to. Oh Reese, you are a joy and the sweetest little girl! Your Mommy, Daddy and Brother love you oh so much. Here are a few things to remember:



Sleeping: Still the queen of the catnaps and prefers to sleep for 15-30 min intervals, even though you surprised me twice this week and took a two hour nap...what gives???? Still go to be around 7:30 but like to get up around 1 am (I could do without this) but I have to admit I do love snuggling with you



Eating: Girl, you like your food! You are eating sweet potatoes, bananas, squash, peas, peaches, pears, apples, zucchini and a few Gerber puffs. You still are nursing really well and I don't see a reason to stop anytime soon....my plan is to keep going until you are a year. You take about 4 bottles a day and have stuck with 4 oz at each feedin, occassionally you will take a little more but now that you are eating solids 3 times a day, you really don't seem to need anymore.



On the move: You roll everwhere and are working on your yoga moves. Your "plank" is perfect and you look like you could do push ups so easily (I remember Ashton doing this at the exact same age but he didn't crawl until around 8.5 months) so we shall see when you take off. You do manage to get to another place if you want to by rolling a turning yourself around.



Play: You still love your exersaucers and we can now add your Jumper to the list. I put you in it each morning in my bedroom/bathroom while I get ready for work and you just jump until your heart is content (you did it this morning and then fell asleep in it...it was too cute) You are sitting up so well on your own now and can be surrounded by toys on the ground and you just play and play. You love it when Ashton "chases" you in your walkable exersaucer...he will sneak up on you and you just giggle and smile more and more.



Reese, as I said before you are loved so much. The love between you and your brother is amazing. He is so protective of you and adores you. He loves to sing songs to you and hold your hand and will ask to see you when you are sleeping. People ask me all the time if there is jealousy there, but we have never experienced it thus far, if anything, I think their bond just gets stronger and stronger each day. The only thing we have to watch is how much he does love you...sometimes his hugs are a bit strong, oh and there was the one day when he accidentally bit your toe, but meant no harm. Reese, Happy Seven Month Birthday! We love you!

Midland 2011...Generations of Love!

This past weekend we took our first trip of 2011 to Midland. This was our first trip there since Reese has been born and was a special one since she got to meet her two great grandmothers, Mema (who lives in Midland) and G.G., who drove up from San Angelo for the day. Both kids did great on the airplane...thank you Dora & Diego and the IPad for Ashton! We had such a great time and just hung out at the house all day Saturday and Sunday and enjoyed the great weather. Saturday we got to spend the day with both great grandma's and then Sunday, Mema came back over and Casey's brother, Chris and his girlfriend Amber, joined us as well. Ashton absolutely LOVES Midland and getting to run free all over the place. For him it is like his own personal petting zoo...he got to feed the fish, see the goats, talk to Iggy (an iguana), have four dogs to give him kisses and give Fred, a rather large cat, a few hugs...oh and he loved waking up and walking over to the bird cage and saying "Hey Bird!" Ashton also got to "climb" his first tree, thankfully my back was turned away for most of it and I let dad and Grandpa handle that...made me way too nervous, but he loved it. We all are looking forward to many more trips there. I am pretty sure everytime Casey and I get through with spending a weekend with his parents we both say at least once how we just wish they lived closer...I just love watching our kids with all of the grandparents, because I really don't know who has a better time...the kids, or the grandparents????

Pictures from Christmas

Holiday Catch Up

I have been behind on my blogging as this time of the year seems to fly by in a mad dash. It amazes me how much preparation goes into the holidays and then how quickly they pass by. This year was no exception. We had a wonderful Christmas celebrating with many family members. We were blessed to spend Christmas Eve and day with my family and then to have our extended New Orleans family come to Houston for a few days and then to end 2010 and ring in 2011 with my wonderful in-laws. Ashton was in heaven as everyday he seemed to have a new present to open. He really enjoyed Christmas this year and couldn't wait to see what Santa had brought. Reese of course just took it all in and would let out her squeals which she loves to do these days. Unfortunately we had to end the Christmas celebration with bringing her to the doctor to get her six month check up that came with 3 shots. Poor thing took them like a champ but wasn't the happiest of campers for the next few days. As promised I said I would post her stats so here they are:

Height: 26 inches (grew 2.5 in in 2 months!)
Weight: 15 lbs 7.5 oz (38%)
Head: 17 cm (70 % --must be smart!)

To go back to the holidays it was so nice to keep the kids home and give them a lot of quality time with family and to give the baby sitter a break. My mom, dad, sister, aunts, and cousins all helped watch them for two days and then Casey's parents had them for another two days. Ashton LOVED hanging out with everyone, especially my cousin Kayla and her precious baby Brayden who is six weeks younger than Reese. He is just adorable and such a great baby.

Like I said before this time of year just flies by so quickly and then the New Year comes and we say it again, where did the year go. It is always interesting to me to think back to where I was a year ago. I was watching a very active 2 1/2 year old keeping me on my toes and wondering if he was ever going to start talking more (no worries there now!), I was just passing my first trimester and finally starting to feel better (now I look at this precious baby girl and just smile) and last I was mourning the passing of my grandma who has been gone a year today. 2010 had many down moments I must say for my family, but the good moments by far outweigh the tough times. Reese Elizabeth's birth and watching Ashton grow seem to put everything in perspective and I look forward to everything 2011 has to bring.

PS: I am trying to post pictures but apparently blogger isn't liking me right now. I will do a picture post soon!

Happy 1/2 Birthday!

And another month has gone by! Six months old...oh my sweet Reese, you are such a joy to have around. Here is a recap of a few things I want to remember:

-Love to eat...started eating sweet potatoes, peas, squash, and bananas so far and has yet to meet a food you didn't like
-Still taking only 4 oz at a time, 6-8 times a day
-Sleep: getting better, we finally moved you to your crib (long overdue I know) and you are adjusting...you will make it about 6-7 hrs before waking up VERY happy, which is good, but normally that is somewhere between 1-3 am...hoping you decide to go a little longer soon
-Has found your voice! You find it very fun to see how loud you can scream, not out of anger or being upset, just for fun, you like to hear yourself
-Smiles 24/7...still the only time you are fussy is when you are tired/hungry; however, we have discovered you are not a big fan of crowds...we attended two different parties this past month and you stuck your lip out as far as you could
-Starting to have some separation anxiety and is picking up on strangers....you are still great with grandparents, aunt/uncle, and babysitter, but other than that you don't like unfamiliar people to hold you
-Brother/Sister Bond: if you could have a BFF at this age then that would be Ashton, you still respond better to him than to anyone and if you hear his voice you will strain your neck to see where he is
-On the move! You are rolling all over, back to stomach, stomach to back and you love the exersaucer where you can walk around the activity table (reminds me of when Ashton used to drag the whole table across the house when he was in it)
-Sitting up, sorta....you can sit up for about 10 seconds before you fall over but I can tell you are getting stronger and stronger
-Laugh: You have such a hearty laugh that is contagious!

Reese, you are just a happy girl! Those big blue eyes pull everyone in immediately. I am thinking you are turning into a daddy's girl because lately you cry when he leaves the room and light up as soon as he enters it. We love you so much and you make each and everyday brighter!

(We go to the doctor on Monday for our six month check up, and shots :( so I will post stats later)

Girls Weekend

While the boys are away, the girls will play! Casey went hunting this weekend and took Ashton along so while he was out hunting Ashton could spend a long weekend in Midland with his grandparents. He has had a blast, too bad I have been missing him like crazy. This sweet face has been the saving grace for me.

Quick update

I have been a little behind on posting. With the holidays time always seems to be lacking with everything to get done. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and are looking forward to the Christmas season. I haven't been very good at taking pictures lately so I will leave you with Ashton preparing for "Movember 2011!"