It's been a busy few weeks--there's a lot to report! The biggest news is that Reese has started walking. She has been taking steps here & there for awhile, but she started consistently taking several steps at the beginning of June, & within a week, she was fully walking. Crazy.

She turned 11 months on June 17th. We will be celebrating her birthday in no time! It's hard to believe. We are amazed by how much she comprehends the things we say to her, and she has started trying to repeat the sounds that we say. She has also started to throw tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants, or when she gets frustrated. Despite that, we are having a BLAST with her right now. I think this is the best stage so far. She is so interactive, she is mild mannered most of the time, she is a great sleeper, & she loves being silly and making us laugh. I have no complaints. I wish she could stay this age longer, but all of my friends keep telling me that it gets even better. As usual, she was much too busy for pictures on her month day (I'm not sure if I will ever get another picture of her looking at the camera), so I did what I could.







That Sunday, we took her to her first Sox game. She's a bit young to really have any interest in the game, but we feel it's important to start brainwashing her now, before Matt's parents try to turn her into a Cubs fan. Haha. We figured we would only be able to stay for a couple innings, but she was such a trooper, we were able to stay for almost the whole game. She wasn't even too bothered by the home run fireworks.







We celebrated Matt's first Father's Day. I surprised him with these pictures of Reese, which he loved.


We took him to lunch at Weber Grill, and then came back home & took Reese swimming at the pool in our subdivision. We have lived here for the last 4.5 years, & we had never been to the pool. Oh well, it was worth the wait, & I'm sure we'll make up for lost time now. Reese LOVED the pool, as you can see from these pictures & video. She couldn't quite figure out what to do with all of the water though. She kept trying to pick it up by the fistful and put it in her mouth (just like she does with everything).










It was hard to contain her in the kiddie pool, because she wanted to be independent and walk by herself, but she couldn't quite get the hang of walking through the water. She also kept bending over to try to touch the grate at the bottom, which would result in a face full of water.







We spent some time playing with bubbles yesterday.









By the time I took this video, she was getting a little bored with it, but you can see her walking (and discovering the kitty in the door & deciding to climb the stairs to get to her, which promptly ended the video):



We gave her her first "popsicle" yesterday as well. It was really a homemade yogurt bar made with plain yogurt & pureed banana & strawberry. Matt tasted it & said that it was gross, since it didn't have any sugar, but she didn't seem to mind.

I haven't updated in awhile, so this post will be Reese overload. I have tons of pictures & videos to share. Some of the pictures are blurry, and I have no idea why. They are clear on the computer, but when I upload them to Snapfish, they become blurry. I have no idea how to fix it, or what is causing it. But don't worry, Reese is cute even when she's a little fuzzy. :)

It seems that nice weather is FINALLY here to stay, so we have been spending lots of time outdoors. Reese gets to visit the park in our neighborhood several times a week, & she loves it. There is a little tot park that has baby swings, a smaller slide, and lots of stuff for her to climb on. We have been taking her in her wagon, & she loves riding in it.












Here is a video of her swinging:



We got her a baby pool over Memorial Day weekend. We put it in the living room to see if the size seemed right, and she climbed right in & played in there for a long time.



She loved it even more when we moved it outside.






Reese LOVES to eat. She has loved everything we have given her, & it's very rare that she gets purees anymore. She prefers finger foods that she can feed herself, which is very messy, but adorable. She loves to chow down on carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, green beans, peas, avocado, bananas, pears, watermelon, canteloupe, pineapple, garbanzo beans, hard boiled egg yolk, chicken, and fish. We are going to give her ground beef for the first time this week. We are trying to expose her to as many tastes and textures as possible at a young age so that she hopefully won't be a picky eater. :) Here she is chowing down on some egg yolk, which is definitely the messiest food she eats.



Reese is really developing a personality, and she loves to be silly and make us laugh. She loves hiding behind the curtains and playing peek-a-boo. She also loves finding the kitty hiding behind the curtains.





Physical therapy is going well, & we're just about done. We have to call & schedule her next appointment once she starts walking, & I think we will be released after that. She is REALLY close to walking. She is taking several steps at a time. Yesterday, she took 7 steps to walk between Matt and I. That's her record so far. She is definitely gaining confidence, and she's so proud of herself when she does it.





She has started making some animal sounds. She roars when she sees a lion, and she quacks for ducks. My mom says that she meows as well, but I haven't seen it, so it doesn't count. ;) Last week, my heart almost burst out of my chest when I went in to get her from her nap. I walked in her room, she looked up at me with a huge smiled, and yelled, "Mama!". I couldn't believe that she finally said it, so I asked her to say it again, & she did. I asked her to say it a third time, and she smiled and called me Dada. Oh well. She has been saying it off and on since then.

She is really into books right now, which makes this mama so happy.




Yes, Reese, I'm still following you around with the camera.







She is making her snarl face CONSTANTLY right now. She will do it on command as well, so we request it frequently because it's so funny.



Here are a couple more videos for your viewing enjoyment.

Moxie was taunting Reese under the bathroom door the other day while I was getting ready, & it was pretty funny.




Reese has been brushing her teeth with the Sonicare every morning. :)