It's A Wonderful Life

Don't worry, it's not a fresh one. :) One year ago today, we found out that I was pregnant. I remember taking the test that morning & then looking back & forth between the test & the mirror for a good half an hour. I kept thinking that I didn't look any different, & it just didn't seem real. It was so hard to comprehend. We had thought that it could take awhile to get pregnant, so when we succeeded on the first try, I was ecstatic, but very surprised. I remember not being able to concentrate at work all day long. I could hardly wait to go home to tell Matt the news (note to self: do not ever take a pregnancy test in the morning again--10 hours is waaaaay too long to have to wait to tell your husband that you are pregnant). We went out to dinner that night to celebrate, & it was so fun to sit & giggle about our little secret. I still can't really grasp that Reese was at dinner with us that night. I can't wrap my mind around the fact that she started out as a tiny bundle of cells in my belly. I grew her. It really is amazing.

But enough of that, that's old news! We have had a crazy busy week. Last Thursday, we flew down to Florida to visit my sister & her family. My nephew, Austin, was turning 1, & we couldn't miss his first birthday party. I'm so glad we were able to be there to celebrate with him. We had a great weekend, & Reese got to visit her 1st new state! She also had her first flight, which went very well. Her second flight (on the way home) was not as easy, but we all survived.

Traveling with an infant was definitely an interesting experience. I had perfectly planned everything out (1st mistake), & I figured that we would wake up & get ready at 4 a.m. Once we were ready, we would very quietly change Reese's diaper, feed her, & we would be on our way. Well, unfortunately, we slept through the alarm clock (only for 1/2 hour, thankfully). Once we woke up, we started scrambling, trying to get ready as quickly as possible. Reese decided she didn't want to miss out on any of the fun, & she woke up tool. She was wide awake & ready to party. I guess she was just super excited about our trip. So, we were trying to rush around & get ready while also entertaining her. It was a bit challenging. Eventually, we put her in her exersaucer to finish up the last few things we needed to do before leaving the house. When we were finally ready, I picked her up out of her exersaucer to put her in her carseat & realized that she had had a complete poop explosion. It was like nothing she has ever done before. It was all over her pants, her shirt, and now, my jacket. Matt worked on taking off her clothes & washing her down, while I went to clean myself up. After a full outfit change, we were finally on the road. It was not the smooth start to our getaway that we were hoping for. Eventually, I will learn, that nothing goes as planned with a baby.

I was wondering how Reese would adjust with all of the time changes while we were gone. When we flew down, we jumped ahead an hour to EST. On day 3 of our trip, the clocks turned back an hour for DST. When we got home, we went back another hour to CST. Somehow, miraculously, Reese was not affected by the time change. She is still waking up 3x a night & refusing to nap just like she was before. Thank goodness! (That's heavy on the sarcasm.) She's lucky she's cute. ;)

Speaking of cute, Reese has started giggling. It is so freaking adorable. She giggles, which cracks me up, which makes her laugh harder, which makes me laugh until I cry. It is seriously hilarious. I keep trying to get it on video, but, just like every other cute thing she does, she refuses to do it for the camera. But, as soon as she cooperates, I will post a video. It will be worth the wait. :)

Here's the little monkey on her 1st flight: