420 months old & 29 months old

This weekend was spent celebrating my hubby's birthday with food, friends & fun at our house.

Yesterday was Mike's thirty-fifth birthday, happy birthday, Mike!!  It's hard to believe I've known the guy since we were sixteen years old!!!

Unfortunately, as the celebrations were winding down, this little chicky fell suddenly ill.  When she woke up from her nap with a nearly 103 degree fever, I made the decision to call off work & nurse my girl back to good health today.  She woke up very sad, miserable & feverish this morning, but after the ibuprofen kicked in, she was a new girl, thank goodness!

She loves her pockets!

It's amazing what a teaspoon of medicine can do!  My girl is 29 months old today!!  I haven't done an update on Reese lately, so what has she been up to these days? 

Reese is still a very feisty, strong-willed little girl & she doesn't take anything from anybody!  But she is also incredibly sweet & loving.  When she found out I was feeling sick last week, she came up to me, kissed my arm & said, "I'm so sorry that you're sick, Mommy!"  Her vocabulary is amazing & she speaks in full sentences with no issues.  We have full blown conversations; sometimes I can't understand what she's saying, but eventually I get it.   She wears size 2-4T clothes but the 2T is a bit snug, so at this point, I only buy 4T so we can get more bang for our buck.  She's in size five diapers, has no desire to use the potty whatsoever & I'm just hoping to have her potty trained by 3!  Reese wears size 6-7 shoes & weighs around 32#.  Her favorite foods are waffles with peanut butter & honey, cheese & especially grapes.

Her favorite things in the world are Disney princesses & Minnie Mouse.  As I type this, we're watching her favorite movie, Tangled.  She loves, loves, loves Frozen too & belts out the songs from the movie.  Reese is such a little Mommy & adores taking care of her baby dolls, pushing them around the house in their strollers.  When I vacuum, she pushes her Minnie vacuum around with me.  When I dust, she grabs a baby wipe & cleans along side me too.  She has gotten so much more laid back & I can get the house cleaned & work on other projects when she's home with me... very different from a year ago!  Reese is still an awesome sleeper, takes a 2 hour nap in the afternoon & sleeps 12 hours at night, thank goodness!  She's my little girlfriend & I positively love spending time with her.  I am so lucky to be her mommy!

20 months

I can hardly believe that in four short months, my little Reese will be celebrating her second birthday!  Man oh man has this time flown by!

So, Reese, what does the 20 month old version of you look like?  Well, you're more feisty than ever & have absolutely no problem expressing your opinion in a very big way.  You have mastered the stink eye & shoot many dirty looks that could kill!  When you decide to throw a fit, you tend to bang your head on the floor which makes Mommy say, "You're fit for a straight jacket!"  You learned quickly to only do that on carpet instead of tile after one painful incident.

But as saucy & spicy as you are, you are also so incredibly sweet, funny & loving & you melt my heart every single day.  You seriously bring so much laughter & joy (as well as screams & cries) into our lives.  I love how spicy you can be & hope you continue to have a mind of your own as you grow & go to school... you really know how to hold your own!

You speak so well & your vocabulary is unreal.  We call you our little parrot since you can repeat most anything we ask you to say.  You can nearly recite the alphabet, can chime in when we count & are such a problem solver.  You also love to help me clean & wipe down counters & tables, as well as your face with wet wipes. So different from your brother in that way!  You eat well & I'd say your favorite foods are bananas, pancakes, grapes, cheese & pizza.  You love fruit, but aren't so keen on vegetables.  You're still an amazing sleeper, nap for 2-3 hours each day & sleep for 12-13 hours at night.  You still go down without a fuss at all which we greatly appreciate!  My favorite part of the day is snuggling with you before I lay you down, kissing your head & rubbing your back.

You wear size 4 diapers, size 5 shoes (but will be transitioning to a size 6 soon) & clothes anywhere from 18 months-3T.  We happen to have a lot of 3T summer clothes & since Mommy is thrifty (or cheap!), we have you wearing them.

You still use your paci, but only when you nap or sleep at night & not at all during the day at school.  When you're sick, you do want your paci more, but we're not concerned about it.. you'll give it up when you're ready & when we are too!

You're wearing your brother's sleeper which I love!  Speaking of your brother, you & Cameron are such good friends!  And like any good friends, occasionally you still have your spats, but at the end of the day, you have each others backs.  You follow everything Cameron does which sometimes annoys him, but he's such a great big brother & you are one lucky girl.  Reese, we love you so very much!!!!

17 months

Reese, today you're seventeen months old!

You have not been much of a happy camper these days since your teeth are causing you so much discomfort, but you still crack me up everyday!

You're an absolute goofball & your dad & I often talk about what you're going to be like when you're older.  You are quite the character & a very funny girl.  I look so forward to getting to know you more & more.

So, what are you up to these days other than being fussy from teething?  You're wearing 18-24 month clothes, size five shoes & size four diapers.  You have a wicked diaper rash right now which literally happened over night as I pulled you out of bed with a load in your pants.  You have sensitive skin, just like your mama did as a baby.

You love pointing to body parts, especially noses, eyes & mouth.  You know SO MANY words, talk up a storm & are pretty much a little parrot.  Sometimes I'm blown away by the words you spout out.

You're a walking fool & very steady on your feet.  You are extremely "spirited" or "passionate" which I sometimes refer to as evil or wicked!!!  ;o)  When you get mad, boy are you angry!  Daddy likes to say, "Hmmm, I wonder where she gets that from?" as he shoots me a knowing look.  You're getting bit a lot at school & the teachers say you're basically the only one whose bitten & I think it's because you can be a tad rough at times.  I'm being very nice when I say a tad rough.  We continue to work on explaining that hitting is "not nice" (another thing you love saying as you wave your finger..)

You are still an AMAZING sleeper, go down at 7 without a fuss (thank GOODNESS for that because your brother did not) & sleep till 7am or later if it's a dark, gloomy morning.  Most days you take only one nap per day for a couple of hours, but with your teething, you've been taking two naps on the weekends.  You love to eat fruit, not so much veggies & with your second molars coming in, you don't have much of an appetite.  You drink two bottles of 2% milk a day, but we'll probably take you off bottles soon & I don't really think you'll care too much.  Even though you are a feisty little stinker, I would not change a thing about you!  I love that you have such a strong, passionate personality!

12 months!

Reese, today is your FIRST birthday!

You were born at 9:39 in the morning on Monday, November 14th.  Your birthday was very calm & happy!  Shortly before you arrived, I watched the Today show as Daddy ate a very large breakfast tray next to me.  That wasn't very nice though since I wasn't able to eat!

 

It's only been one year but it really feels like you've been part of our family forever.  I always say it, but I just can't imagine what life was like before you & I'm thankful for that!

  So what is my precious little twelve month up to?

Well, you're definitely getting "sooo big!"

You are a very, very spirited, opinionated little firecracker!

Holy moly do you have a lot to say without saying anything at all!

 

You are an absolute Mama's girl & love, love, love to be held by me.  You would seriously be happy being held 10 out of 12 waking hours.



And you are surely not happy when I have the audacity to put you down.  You throw your head back & cry & cry.  God forbid I have to use the restroom!  You've developed some aggression lately & swipe at people who are trying to take you away from me.  Cameron was sitting on my lap the other day when you crawled over & smacked him in the face telling him, "get away from MY Mommy!"  We're still working on the nice, gentle thing.  But when you're sweet, you are sweet!  Ugh, you melt my heart!

You are such a character & have so many expressions & noises that you make.. you're always keeping us laughing, little girl.

You don't really say any words other than "Mama" or "Dada."  You still point at everything & when you do you say, "Dat" as if you're saying, "what's that?"  You meow when I ask you what a cat says & say, "ah, ah!" when I ask you what a monkey says.

They're transitioning you from the Infant Room to the Beginner Room at daycare, so you're now eating finger foods for lunch over there.  You barely ever eat baby food anymore.

You're in 18 month clothes, size 4 diapers & size 3 shoes.

You're still an awesome eater & sleeper!  You still drink 3, 8oz bottles of breast milk each day but you'll be switching to cow's milk any day now.  Mama is giving up her sidekick, aka the ole' milking pump!

You have three and a half teeth with two on the bottom & nearly two on top.  You're still not walking, but you cruise all around & push things around while walking with them.  You're a very cautious little girl, so I think that's what's holding you back.

Happy first birthday, baby girl!  We love you so much & look forward to discovering all the new tricks that are hiding up your sleeves. 

11 months!

Reese, in exactly one month, we'll be celebrating your first birthday!  I know I say it every month, but I really cannot get over how quickly you're growing.  A year ago today we didn't even know you & now you are such an important member of our family.  We seriously could not possibly imagine our lives without you.

So, what is my 11 month old girl up to?  Lots!!  You're cruising all around the furniture & looking like you want to walk so badly!

This is your first month in your very own room with your very own space since we've just moved into our new house.

Your personality is really coming out & we're realizing just what a goofball you are.  Not only that, but you're extremely sensitive & dramatic.  If I say no to you, you throw your head back and cry hysterically.  Oh my goodness, we are going to have our hands full with you!

 You definitely realize just how funny you are & do all of your tricks to make us crack up!  You have lots of tricks up your sleeves..

This is what you do when we ask you, "How big are you?!"

This is what you do when we ask you where something is.  You love, love, love to point at everything and everyone!

 

 

And this is what you do when we tell you to blow a kiss.  So stinkin cute!

This is your latest trick.. you started crawling around like this just 2 days ago.  You're such a character!

I guess you just don't want to damage your precious, delicate knees!

You are such a Mama's girl & cannot stand it when I have the audacity to put you down!

You link your arm around mine & hold on for dear life.

 Needless to say, I'm not often able to get a whole lot done when you're awake!  It can be a challenge sometimes but I'm trying to soak up this sweet, pudgy, cuddly age you're at, knowing it's passing me by too quickly already.

You still have only two teeth on the bottom, but are able to eat most anything if it's cut into small pieces.  You have a wonderful appetite & haven't turned your nose up to anything just yet.  You still drink 3, 8oz bottles of breast milk a day & eat baby food 2-3 times a day, depending on  how many finger foods you eat.  When we're home, you don't eat much baby food since you're eating whatever we eat.

You're still an awesome sleeper, thank goodness!  You go to sleep around 7:30pm & sleep until about 8am on the weekend.  You take 2 naps per day for a total of about three hours when you're home, but barely sleep at daycare.  Sometimes you come home after sleeping only a half hour.  Ugh.

You wear size three diapers, but we'll be moving you to fours next time we buy.  You're moving up to size three shoes, but still rarely ever wear them.  You're in twelve month clothes, but I'll be cleaning out your drawers & moving you to 18 month sizes within a day or so.  Growing like a weed!

You say, "Dada" & "Mama" but I wonder if you even know what you're saying.  Sometimes when Daddy asks you where Mama is, you point at the light or some other random place.  Silly girl.

Happy 11 months, sweet girl!  I love you with all my heart!