Big News!!!

For those of you that we didn't have the pleasure of seeing over the Thanksgiving weekend, Reese has some big news to announce:



Reese is going to be a big sister!!! I am 12 weeks pregnant, and Baby G #2 is due to arrive June 12th. I've already had a handful of OB appointments, and baby looks great. Reese is getting well acquainted with the staff at the OB office, and she has finally stopped screaming bloody murder anytime someone tries to touch me. We are extremely excited about the new addition to our family. Well, most of us are, anyways.



We had a strange/cool occurrence a few weeks ago when I had my 6 week ultrasound. I had the ultrasound sitting on the kitchen counter, and I held it up for Reese & asked her what it was. She smiled really big, pointed, and said, "Baby!" Now, keep in mind that at 6 weeks, the baby looks more like a gummy bear than an actual recognizable baby, and Reese has never seen a picture of an ultrasound. All of my ultrasounds from my pregnancy with her are packed away in a pregnancy book. I have no idea how the heck she knew what it was, but I held it up for her several times throughout the day, and it got the same reaction each time. I'm going to chalk it up to her being an absolute genius! ;)

Our Thanksgiving weekend was a quick blur, with 4 family celebrations in 3 days. It was fun to dress Reese in her Big Sister shirt and watching everyone's reactions to reading it. It was great to see everyone, and Reese had a blast soaking up all of the attention she could get. We also went to the Ringling Brothers Circus on Friday, which was really fun, despite Reese's lack of a nap which resulted in her wanting to lay on the floor through almost the whole thing.

On Sunday, we finally had a day at home to relax as a family. We started getting our Christmas decorations set up, and it was so much fun to have Reese's help. She liked the lights, and she really enjoyed putting the ornaments on the tree. She also enjoyed putting anything else she could find in the tree (the bubble wrap the ornaments were wrapped in, the boxes they were stored in, etc.).







She liked laying under the tree, and you can see her decorating masterpiece of miscellaneous items above her.







Well, I think that's it. Hugs and kisses for everyone!

I only have a few pictures to share, but I figured I would update the blog really quickly while Reese is doing laundry. Actually, she is emptying the laundry basket, refilling the laundry basket, emptying the laundry basket...you get the point. :)



Reese has had a couple of fun weeks. My parents have been down in Florida visiting Austin (oh, and Jacqi and Brian, too), so Mary (Matt's mom) has been watching her during the day. She has had a blast with Grandma Mary. I love seeing how excited she gets to see each of her grandmas. Each morning when she hears the garage door open, or the knock at the door, she yells, "Grandma!" and goes running to see them. Mary arrived one morning while Reese was still in her crib, and I thought Reese was going to jump right out. She was bouncing like crazy, impatiently waiting for me to hoist her up and take her downstairs. Reese became obsessed with the watch that Mary was wearing this week (it was like a slap bracelet with a watch face). Mary let her wear it while she was here, and each night after Mary was gone, Reese was still grabbing her wrist, and asking for the "clock".

The poor dog can't get a break from Reese's affection. Reese is constantly loving on her, which is sweet, but we're still working on teaching her how to be gentle. Bailey is 9 years old now, and she doesn't always appreciate Reese piling herself on top of her. She loves sharing her toys with Bailey, and she will often take a whole pile of toys, one by one, and lay them next to her. Bailey loves it, as you can see. As you can also see in the background, I had to quickly jump up after taking this picture when I realized that Reese was getting ready to share her stroller with the poor dog.



The other day, Reese took all of my towels out of the kitchen cabinet to cover Bailey with "blankets".



Along with taking all of her toys to the dog, Reese is also going through a phase where she loves to make piles of her toys in random places. She will take all of them and make a big pile on the sofa, on her chair, by the stairs, or sometimes on Matt and I. The other day, she sat in her chair, and she kept saying, "Please, please." I had no idea what she wanted, but through lots of questions, I finally figured out that she wanted me to pile all of her "babies" on top of her.



Reese is still saying new words each day, and we are constantly amazed at the things she comes up with. We have noticed her using more two word phrases. She has also been singing a lot, which melts my heart. It's so sweet to hear her soft little voice gently singing out some jumbled words. She still loves to dance, and her latest move is her "ballerina twirl". She puts her arms out and spins in a circle. It's pretty awesome.

Reese is also getting really good about knowing what she is supposed to have and touch, and what she isn't. Unfortunately, her self control still needs some work. :) She will frequently go up to something (my cell phone, the dog bowl, etc.), and say, "babies, no," meaning that it's not for babies, which is what I always tell her. Sometimes she will walk away, but other times, she just can't control herself, and she will continue to take my phone or splash in the dog bowl while saying, "no." Oh well, she's learning. :)

Reese and Matt had fun playing with each other through the sliding glass door yesterday. She thought it was hilarious, and she wanted to give him kisses through the door as well.





She is getting sillier by the day, and she is learning how to tease. She loves coming up to us and offering something, and then laughing and running away. The other night while we were eating dinner, she kept holding out her fork and asking for help when she was having trouble getting a bite. She would hold out the fork to me, I would reach for it to help her, and she would pull it back, smile, and say, "noooo," which really sounded like a long meow. She would then point her fork to Matt, and say, "Dada!" Matt would try to help her, and she would do the same thing to him. It's pretty funny to see her try to make us laugh.

She has also been acting silly while she uses the potty. Often, her clothes from the day before will still be laying on the bathroom floor (don't judge me!). She always asks for the socks, and she wants me to put them on her hands. She also wants me to put her pants on her head. She thinks it's hilarious (she's right).



She likes to clap her hands together with her socks on them, and she likes to put her hands on her face and say, "Oh no!"



I constantly wonder what is going through her head. The other morning, she woke up crying, which is unusual for her. I walked into her room and asked her what was wrong. She pointed to her head, and said, "Hat." Puzzled, I asked her if she wanted to wear a hat. She nodded, and said, "Yes. Please!" I opened up her closet door, found a hat, and put it on her head. She was happy as could be. I have no idea why she woke up so upset and wanting a hat, but it made me laugh!

A rare picture of Reese looking at the camera AND smiling:



I gave you a picture of me smiling, Mama, what more do you want?!

Happy Halloween!!!

Reese had a great Halloween. She dressed up as a bumble bee, and she thought she was pretty cute when she saw herself in the mirror. We have been working on teaching her to "buzz" for the last couple weeks, and she finally started doing it today, just in time!!! She enjoyed watching all of the trick or treaters come to the door. My mom, dad, and Grandma Betty came over tonight to see Reese in costume, and she had a blast spending time with them. They brought her over some Halloween balloons, and Reese went CRAZY over them. They kept her busy most of the night! We carved pumpkins yesterday, and Reese had so much fun. She loved touching all of the slimy pumpkin guts, and she really liked stepping on it & making a mess. She was very excited when we lit the candle & turned out the lights so she could see the final result. Today was actually the second time Reese got to wear her costume. Matt's parents had a Halloween party a couple weeks ago, and she got to wear it over to their house, too.
I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!!

As always, I have been such a bad blogger. It seems like it take me forever to get a post finished. I'm trying to think of everything new that Reese is doing since the last update, but I'm sure that I'm forgetting a ton. She seems like she is learning so many new skills all at once right now. I can't believe how much she is talking. Her vocabulary is very impressive, and she tries to repeat everything we say. She has added the owl, sheep, and frog to her repertoire of animal sounds. She also tries to whistle, which is pretty cute. She started blowing kisses about a month ago, and she blows them at everyone. She has gotten so silly, and she loves to put on a show, especially if it involves showing off her dance moves. Her fine motor skills are really developing, and she has gotten really good at using a fork and spoon. She still has trouble getting the bite of food on the utensil herself, but she does a great job getting it to her mouth. She is really into sorting things right now. The other day, she kept herself busy for 45 minutes moving potatoes from one bowl to another. She is really good at stacking her blocks, but she gets really frustrated when they fall. I've been trying to make a game of knocking them down, so that she knows that it's all part of the fun. She also loves feeding her babies and carrying them around all day. She is so incredibly strong willed, and she is definitely throwing tantrums when she doesn't get her way. She is becoming more focused on things, and it's not as easy to distract her attention to something else when she gets upset. She has started banging her head on things when she is mad, and I really hope she stops that soon because it's very upsetting! I think that this stage is challenging because I can't explain to her why she can't have or do something. So, she gets frustrated when I deny her request, and in her mind, I'm just being really unfair (like when I won't let her eat dog food or eat her 4th banana of the day). Speaking of dog food, Reese has also become pretty mischievous. I definitely understand now why people always say to worry when they aren't making noise. Kids are quiet when they are doing something they know they shouldn't. The other day, I was unloading the dishwasher, and Reese was enjoying one of her favorite games, which is going into the laundry room & shutting the door & then opening it to play peek-a-boo (she doesn't shut it all the way, she can't reach the doorknobs yet, thank goodness!). I was watching her open & close the door, & then she closed it & stayed in there. I didn't hear her making any noise (which I now know is the definite sign of trouble), and I figured she was playing with our shoes, because she likes putting them on. Well, after about 30 seconds, I decided I should go check on her. I walked into the laundry room, and Reese looked up at me with her hand inside the dog food bin with the biggest chipmunk cheeks I have ever seen. Seeing me walk in didn't stop her, and she tried to cram a few more pieces in while I was standing there, and she got very upset when I stopped her. By the time it was all over, I had pulled SEVEN pieces of dog food out of her mouth. She was NOT pleased that I took them from her either. My parents went to visit Jacqi, Brian, and Austin in Florida last month, and since Matt's mom was substitute teaching for a maternity leave, Reese went to daycare for the first time. There is a daycare right across the street from my office that will accept kids part-time if they have availability. The facility is new, it's run by former patients of mine, and it's super clean. I felt very comfortable taking her there. Unfortunately, Reese HATED it. She went through a really awful two weeks being left there, and she never really adjusted. I was so surprised, because Reese is usually SO social, I thought she would really like being around other kids, and playing with all of the new toys. However, they said that Reese wanted nothing to do with the other kids or the teachers there. She pretty much cried all day long asking to get into her crib, and they said that was when she was the happiest--when they left her alone in her crib at nap time. It absolutely broke our hearts to watch her go through that for those two weeks (which was really only 7 days that she had to go). She would come home so hungry every day because they could hardly even get her to eat there, which is a pretty big deal for our little piglet! I'm so glad that her daycare experience is over, and as much as I want her to be well socialized, I'm very glad that we don't have to do that on a permanent basis. We'll just continue to work on socialization through our own activities! After a couple days at daycare, Reese inevitably got sick. Her cold eventually turned into a double ear infection & sinus infection, so she is on an antibiotic. The only good thing about that is that it has helped us to continue working on her manners. She now know to cover her mouth if she sneezes or coughs, and she says "cuse me" as well, which is SO FREAKING CUTE. She says it if she burps or toots, too. :) I need to get it on video, because it melts my heart every time she says it. She gets the best bed head EVER: Reese has been showing some interest in the toilet, and she is aware of her diaper and when she is going to the bathroom. So, while I have no false illusions of potty training at this age, I went ahead & ordered her a potty seat. I have been putting her on there a few times a day, and she usually goes at least one of those times. The first time she pooped on the toilet, I got so excited that I took a picture to send to Matt. He thought that was pretty gross, so I won't post it here on the blog. :) I'm super impressed with how comfortable she seems using the potty though! It's 1:00 in the afternoon right now, and I still haven't had to change her diaper today, because she has gone on the toilet all morning. I hope she stays interested! Last week, we took Reese to a pumpkin farm. She loved walking around the pumpkin patch, and she REALLY loved playing in the dirt most of all. Last weekend, we went up to Galena with Matt's family for the 3rd year in a row. We stayed in a house at Eagle Ridge with Matt's parents, his brother Brian, his Aunt Debbie & Uncle Tim, and his cousins, Jill and Deana. The weather was absolutely perfect, and the colors were beautiful. Reese slept great in the room with us, and she had a blast being the center of attention all weekend. We had so much fun hanging out with everyone and playing games each night after Reese went to bed. We love going up there! Well, with a blog post this long, it should take you the whole month until I get a new one up to get through it. I'll try to update sooner next time so it's not so long!