Family Time

Auntie Babs was in town for a conference at the beginning of last week and spent Thursday-Saturday with us! Nanny and Grampa came Thursday night and spent all day Saturday here too! They missed Reese sooooo much. They have been so busy with the school year starting back up! Abby, Reese, and I had a fun few days! We played, went out to lunch, shopped, and got pedicures! We celebrated our Family Day on Thursday even though it is really today. Abby came from Korea 24 yrs ago today! My parents brought over a bunch of food from Corner Bakery for Thursday night. I had to work on Saturday so they spent the day with Andrew and Reese. They even came up to my work to surprise me! Saturday night I came home from work to a dinner of barbeque chicken, macaroni salad, and corn on the cob! My dishwasher had also been emptied! My family is soooo good to me!

I have been feeling overwhelmed the last few weeks and I know why! When my mom was here on the days I worked she helped out sooo much! From cooking dinner to washing Reese's clothes she had it all covered! It was so nice while it lasted but I guess reality had to hit sooner or later! :)

4 North Playdate!

I had to drive to Rockwall last Thursday to pick up some photos from our photographer and Amber suggested we have a little playdate since her and Devi live just a few minutes away from where I was going to be! All the kids had fun playing with Kenni and Keaton's toys! It was so cute lining them all up for a pic! Keaton was a gentlemen and let Reese use his changing table when she had a MASSIVE blowout. Thanks KT! Nash came too! I know before long Reese will be crawling around with Keaton and Nash! We went to Wendy's after and had a fun lunch!

It was so nice to get out of the house and play! Especially since it's been so cool here lately! ha! By cool I mean only in the 90's!

The Great Crib Transition

Like most big decisions around here I decided out of the blue last Tuesday night that that would be the night Reese would start sleeping in her crib. I wasn't working the next 3 days so I knew if it didn't go well at least I wouldn't have to work the next morning. It was time. Unless we were going to be cutting holes in the bassinette for her arms and legs to fit, Reese needed a bigger sleeping space!!!! I have so loved having her in our room though for the past almost 5 months!!!! I loved waking up at night and seeing my sweet little baby sound asleep right next to me!

She hasn't been sleeping so well and I knew it had to do with....

1. not having enough room
2. hearing the cats yowl nonstop at night
3. hearing us get ready in the morning

wittle bitty 8 week old

big girl almost 5 months old!

So we got her room all ready for her. It's funny I stressed out soooo much about the nursery being perfect for her and she hadn't spent one night in it until now! I will be so much more relaxed about the nursery for the next baby! We put a clean sheet in the crib since the cats seem to think that is their bed, moved her sound machine to her room, set up the camera, and set up her fun new crib toy! We did our normal bedtime routine of bottle, bath, books, and rocking and laid her in her crib with her rainforest toy on. She watched it for awhile and then fell asleep! Simple as that! Slept most of the night too! I think I went in there like twice to help her locate her paci. I think she appreciated being able to stretch out more. It's been 5 nights in the crib now. We've only had 1 night where we played the paci game like 50 times. The past 2 nights she hasn't even woken up AT ALL!!! Of course I panic and stare at her on the camera and there she is sleeping very peacefully. I'm so thankful she's getting good rest at night! It really makes the days so much more happier for her!

Night one in the crib...all ready for bed!

Getting very sleepy

Watching her toy before nap time.

We have to be very careful and always remember to shut her door. We have some sweet cats who just want to LOVE ON HER ALL THE TIME!!! The picture above was at the end of nap time one day. I left the door ajar b/c I knew she'd be getting up soon and wanted to make sure I heard her. Well I went back in a few minutes later and there was Jack standing guard on the side of the crib! They like to creep in at night when I go peek at her. I have to do a cat count when I leave the room and make sure everybody is outta there!

So like most transitions Reese took to this one very smoothly! I'm so proud of my big girl sleeping in her big girl crib! I miss her in our room, but I have to admit it's nice to not have to creep around when we get ready in the morning!

Since becoming a mom I have...

put deoderant under only 1 arm.

switched my contacts and when I couldn't see thought that my eyesight had changed after pregnancy instead of during,

got ready for work and drove to work on a day that I wasn't scheduled.

apparently agreed to let Andrew do some fantasy football thingie every Wednesday night until 9:30 pm (I have no recollection of the conversation).

brought my lunch bag to work with no lunch in it.

mastered the art of pumping while driving.

worn the same pumping bra too many days in a row to count.

planned our outings around whether my child has pooped that day yet.

cried over diaper rash.

rejoiced over toots and burps.

laughed and cried more than ever before.

and LOVED SOMEONE MORE THAN I EVER KNEW POSSIBLE!!!!

My Heart

Fun Weekend!

After all the stress of Reese starting daycare we were ready for a fun weekend together! Reese did great at her first day! I was so much more at ease after getting that first day over with. I ended up getting cancelled Friday and got to spend the whole day with my girl!

This was the first weekend that we didn't have anything planned in awhile. On Saturday we had fun playing with Reese and her toys all morning. She played so much she didn't want to nap! After a VERY short nap we went up to Firewheel to meet Aaron, Worth Anne, and Mack at San Francisco Oven for lunch. We shopped around at Carters afterwards. We all parted ways after that so the babies could go home and take naps. Reese made up for her morning nap by sleeping 2+ hours! Hubby and I got a chance to lay around and watch some TV together! So fun! I even got to read a little bit of a book I started over a month ago! We tossed around the idea of going to the drive in theater in Ennis and decided to go for it!!! Reese got up and we played for a bit. We went to go eat at chick-fil-a for dinner. Reese is really starting to be content to sit in her carrier and play with her toys. She used to HATE sitting in that thing while we were out and about. We had a nice relaxed DELICIOUS dinner. Then we hit the road for Ennis TX where the Galaxy Drive In theater is! Reese had her bottle in the car and passed out. Once we got there we picked a spot on the side and set up our chairs. She stayed asleep so we kept her in the carrier and just put the carrier in the stroller between us. She slept through the whole first movie! She woke up right at 10 for her bottle and was really excited to be outside! She actually watched about 1 1/2 hours of the 2nd movie and then started to get restless. It was close to midnight and I knew we were pushing it so we packed it up and headed home. She was instantly asleep in the car and didn't wake up until 6:30 the next morning. We were so glad we went for it!

With these blazin' temperatures here lately we knew we needed to something cool on Sunday. We went to this really neat pool in Plano for the afternoon. We went and got Subway and got a great spot at the pool. Reese LOVES to swim! She was kicking her little legs all over the pool! It was so cute!





She was exhaused after and took a little snooze outside. Don't worry, we had a fan on her and we were well in the shade! After she woke up we swam a bit more and then headed home.

We stopped for some Jamba Juice on the way home! We also went to Babies R Us to get Reese a fun crib toy since we knew we'd need to be making that transition soon. When we got home Reese and Daddy had fun playing on the floor with her new toy!

Look at those 2 peas in a pod!

It was a very fun family weekend!!!! I'm so thankful for my loved ones!

4 month check up!

Reese had her 4 month check up today! It was an interesting morning as Reese decided she was ready for the day at 4 am!!! We had lots of ssshhhing and cuddling and rocking this morning. And then when it was really time to get up she was sound asleep! So there was much scrambling this morning in order to be able to be out the door by 8.

She is officially 15 lbs 4 oz (90%)

She is 25 1/2 inches long (90%)

Head circumference is 16 1/2 inches

She got 1 oral vaccine and 2 IM vaccines. She screamed a tiny bit and then was happy in my arms immediatly. Slept the whole way home.

We are going to wait until 6 months to start solids per Dr Burns recommendation since she is still only getting breastmilk.

Dr Burns was very impressed at her eating and my pumping! She said I may be able to back down a little bit and still have as much milk! We'll see!

We are going to continue the prevacid for now.

Our homework: more tummy time!!! Reese showed Dr Burns how much she hates it!

We go back in 2 months and will then get the green light for solids!

I'm sad today. My little baby is going to be going to daycare tomorrow!!! :( After literally almost a year of researching, discussing, praying, calling, searching, changing our minds, researching some more, looking at finances etc we have decided on a home daycare for Reese. We were all set to start Kids R Kids part time program but the school is not done being built and they quoted us the wrong price for a part time program. We could barely afford the initial price and definitely could not afford the higher price. So after many anxiety ridden days I felt a strong urge to check Craigslist one more time. I called what looked like a promising ad that day and the rest is history!!! The Lord always provides for us in what seems like the last minute. I'm sure it doesn't seem like the last minute to Him though! Reminds me of when I went to day shift at 36 weeks pregnant!!! I have spent a few days (and a few hours each day) there with Reese and am 100% confident that this is the right choice for us! We will be paying only the days we need instead of paying for a 3 day a week plan and not using all the days. She will get much more undivided attention as there will only be 3 kiddos total there to 2 adults! We LOVE Mrs. T so much already! I just know that Reese is going to do well there. But my heart still hurts and I have so much anxiety. I knew this day would come, but I will never be ready for it. It is very hard for me to not be with her all day. At least before she was with my mom when I couldn't be there. Thanks goodness I only work 3 days a week!!! I am praying that I calm down a little in the days to come once Reese starts going. I know she is going to do just fine. But what if she has a really fussy day? What if Mrs. T doesn't soothe her the way I do? What if Reese is confused about where Mommy is??? Oh I could play the what if game all day! I just need to have faith and pray that my baby has fun in this new environment. I would say I'm the most worried about nap time. It has taken us awhile to really get taking good naps down and now she's going to be thrown into a completely different nap environment. Like the neurotic person I am I went and bought a notebook and literally recorded every single little fact about Reese that I could think of. I'm know they would be fine without it, but it makes me feel better that they will have it to relate to! Oh pray that we both get through these next few day!!!!!

I went a little overboard preparing her for tomorrow. It's almost as if she's starting Kindergarten the way I'm acting! I got duplicates of all her favorite toys to keep over there. I filled a tote with diapers, wipes, fun toys, paci's, desitin etc. to keep over there. We also have her daycare bag which will go back and forth. In that we will keep her changes of clothes, bibs, sleep sack, any meds. I also got this awesome bottle bag that holds 4 bottles! Tonight I'll pack up her lunch (ha!) and probably cry a little! I feel like I need to dress her up and take her picture by the front door like my mom did when we were little on our first day of school! Andrew will be taking her/picking her up since I have to leave the house by 6 to get to work and don't get home until after 8! I don't know if I'm happy or sad about this. I need to get a grip! And breathe....

BUT SHE IS MY BABY AND THIS IS THE HARDEST DECISION I'VE HAD TO MAKE SINCE HAVING HER!!!!!!!!!

Ok I'm better now. Maybe. Just needed to get all that out! When she wakes up from her nap she is going to get a million bajillion kisses from me the rest of the day!

Day in the Life of Reese!

I thought it would be really fun to document a typical day with Reese! I did this at 6 weeks in her baby book and went back and read it and so much has changed in her daily routine! So here is a random Tuesday with Reese and me...complete with pictures! And for the 2 people that probably read this blog, I apologize if this is boring!

6:30- Andrew gets up for work and I reach over and pop Reese's morning prevacid into her mouth. She usually stays asleep for this if I pop her paci in right after. She slept really good last night and I only had to give her her paci like twice! We both doze for 30 more minutes.

7:00- Rise and shine! Reese talks and plays with her feet in her crib for a few minutes while I warm her bottle. She gets a diaper change and then inhales her bottle. We sit and "talk" for a few minutes.

7:15- Reese plays in her bouncy while I sit on the ground next to her and pump while eating my breakfast of coffee, cereal, and yogurt.

7:40- Reese plays in her exersaucer while I wash bottles, pump parts etc.

8:00- I get her dressed for the day and we head out on a walk around our neighborhood. This is the best time to go b/c it's so stinkin hot in Texas right now!

8:15- Reese doesn't even make it one lap around our circle before falling asleep. So we head back and I tuck her in for her morning nap. During her nap I get a quick shower and get ready for the day.

9:00- Looks like we have a fussy baby! She does NOT want to sleep any more. We play the paci game for a bit and she begins to really get mad. Normally she sleeps until 10ish for this nap.

9:10- I try everything I can think of and then quickly warm a bottle which she GULPS down! Hello 4 month growth spurt!

9:20- Reese gets a diaper change and I bring the bouncy into the bathroom and she sits and plays while I finish getting ready. I know she is still probably tired but it will be pretty hard to get her to finish her nap. Oh well. If there is one thing I've learned it's that you have got to be flexible!

9:30- We head out to run a few errands before it gets too hot! It's already in the 90's! We hit up Hobby Lobby and CVS. Reese is a rockstar on outings! She starts rubbing her eyes after we leave CVS so I decide to skip the remaining 2 errands and head home for another nap.

10:45- We arrive back home and Reese goes down immediately for a nap. I take this opportunity to pump and have a snack.
11:10- She's still asleep! So I run to the car to bring in our stuff from our errands, wash bottles, make and eat lunch and watch a little tv.

11:45- Somebody's awake! We sit and watch the squirrels with the boys while the bottle warms.

12:00- Reese has her bottle.

12:15- We practice supported sitting and look at some books.

12:30- We run up to Walgreens to pick up some photos and go gas up the Sequoia.

12:45- Back at home. Reese jumps in her jumparoo for a bit.

12:55- Time for an outfit change. She is such a drooly girl lately and I forgot to put a bib on her earlier. I let her roll around in her diaper for a bit. We practice a little tummy time too.

This is what she does when she is DONE with tummy time. She gets so defeated and just puts plants her face straight down on the floor.

1:25- I put her in her sleep sack in preparation for her afternoon nap. She sits in her bouncy and watches her baby einstein. I pump again and watch in amazement as she takes her paci out of her mouth and PUTS IT BACK IN HER MOUTH!!!!! I'm so proud! She is a GENIOUS!!!

1:50- Reese's eyes are glazed over when baby einstein ends so I scoop her up and place her in her bassinette for her afternoon nap. She doesn't even make a peep! I get to work on a fun project I have been meaning to work on and am so proud when it turns out better than I imagined! It's a sweet sillhouette of our sweet girl!

2:30- After I finish my project Reese is still sound asleep! So I settle in on the chaise lounge and eat a snack while watching an episode of Boston Med online. I am crying 5 minutes into the episode! This is such a good show!

3:10- Still asleep! So I dare to start a 2nd episode of Boston Med!

3:30- 1/2 through the episode I hear her cry! She is ready for her bottle! I quick heat it up and run and grab her just in time before a massive melt down!

Happy after her bottle...

3:40- Reese sits in her bouncy and plays with her empty bottle for a good 20 minutes!

4:00- The much anticipated blowout of the day has finally arrived. We go for a diaper change.

4:05- Reese sits in her exersaucer and plays while watching her baby einstein. This give me a chance to pump.
4:30- We usually both get kind of crazy by this point in the day. So I strap her in her baby bjorn (her happy place) and we go wash bottles together. She loves to watch me do this. We also decide to make all the bottles for the next day since I will be at work and Nanny will be here.
4:50- We go outside to get the mail and water the plants. We aren't out very long b/c it is sooo H-O-T! I'm telling you, any type of diversional activities during this time of the day are much needed! Her attention span starts getting very short!

4:55- I take a chance and put her in her swing for a bit to change things up. She LOVES it! And ends up swinging while inspecting her paci for a good 25 minutes!

5:20- She falls asleep while swinging so I scoop my little puddin' pop up and give her a good cuddle. She sleeps on me for 30 minutes!!! I treasure every single second of our cuddle time.

5:50- She's awake and SOOOO happy!!! We play on the couch together for a bit.

6:00- Time to change things up again. Down to the playmat we go.

6:15- We go sit out back in the shade for a bit and talk about all the things we see outside. I can't wait for it to cool off b/c this girl LOVES to be outside.

6:30- Time for another bottle.

6:40- It's cooled off a little bit so we head outside for a walk around our circle. We talk to one of our neighbors for a bit. She can't believe how big Reese has gotten! On our way back to the house Daddy drives up!!! We speed home to go see him!

7:00- Andrew plays with Reese while she's in the jumparoo. I pump and watch them.

7:30- It's bath day! She takes a nice loooong bath. She is really loving her bath's these days. She is starting to splash the water and suck on the washcloths.

Nothin' better than a squeeky clean baby!

7:55- We lotion her up, brush her hair, and get her ready for bed. She has fun pulling Daddy's hair!!!

8:00- We read a few books and she quickly decides she is done with the day but not quite ready to fall asleep yet. This is when we all go into survival mode.

8:10- We put on the ever faithful baby einstein dvd and she immediately calms down and watches it without hardly blinking while sucking on her paci.

8:20- She's asleep! We scoop her up and put her in her bassinette. We turn her sound machine on and point the camera towards her and close our door. I get busy preparing dinner. We are having chicken caesar pitas, pasta salad, and fruit.

8:30- We watch our dvr'd shows and eat dinner on the couch and talk about our days.

9:15- We clean up the kitchen together. I wash more bottles and pump parts. I make a few more bottles for tomorrow and freeze the rest of the milk from the day. Then we go get ready for bed.

9:50- We watch a little more tv while I pump one last time

10:00- We go get the little dear out of her bed for her sleep feed. This ensures that she sleeps through the night. There is no WAY she can go 12 hrs without eating. She doesn't even wake up and downs 6 oz easily.

10:20- Reese is back in her bed without a peep. Our eyes are closed before our heads even hit the pillow! We say a prayer and are whisked away to dreamland! Goodnight!