Random Picture Post

Sitting in her Box of Blocks


What is that hanging from her neck, you ask?


A computer mouse that she used as a necklace...

Saturday we celebrated Tuck-Tuck's 1st birthday.


It was a St. Patty's Day theme so Reese got in on the action.

What? I didn't make that mess.

What is she saying?

Reese is talking so much but sometimes we just don't know what she is saying...

We obviously know what she is saying at the end of this first video but have no idea what she is saying at the beginning of it.


Can you figure out what she is saying here...

Naked Fun...

Haha! Check out our friend's blog to see the kids playing today. They had so much fun!! They were all playing at the sand and water table and got soaked...so we let them play naked...and they all loved it!! We had such a great time today!

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

Playing in the garage


What? Everybody doesn't push pots around in their stroller?


...And washed the spider out...

"Not Me!" Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I love reading this blog so I figured I would give her "Not Me!" Monday a try!

Two days in a row I have NOT left my daughter in her crib for an hour and a half to play instead of napping because I needed some alone time and I am not ready for her to give up her nap yet. Nope, not me. She has happily cooperated and slept the entire time.

This morning I did not tell my husband I was going to clean the house today but instead run out to meet a friend to go shopping as soon as she called and asked if I wanted to meet...nope, not me!!

This weekend we did not spend $35 on SIX new Elmo videos just because we were tired of watching the same ones over and over. And we did not turn the Christmas Elmo on for the same reason.

We did not say we were going to start eating healthier and then eat out Friday night, eat pizza Saturday, and then eat out Sunday. Nope, not us!! We would ALWAYS stick to our diets!!

I think that is enough telling on myself for one day. Maybe I will try this again next week...

Lesson Learned

I love having epiphanies as a parent. Learning as I go is definitely what I am doing as a parent.

Today I had a conversation with a friend who had been complemented on the behavior of her child. She thanked the other lady and said it isn't always that way but said that she knows her daughter is a "cool chick". And she is. Her daughter is so well behaved. I am amazed at what she can do with her daughter. As we were talking about it I said that as a parent we are definitely more apt to focus on the negative. And I think that is the case because we are trying to correct that negative behavior...especially in public. We are always on the look out.

The other day I was at the park with Reese during nap time and she was just being a stinker. She was whiny and ready to go to sleep. I wrapped up my walk soon after that and vowed to be more conscious of nap times. The next day some friends were going to the park around the same time and I said I better not since Reese didn't do well during that time the day before. My friend mentioned that she didn't notice any negative behavior by Reese the day before but I sure remembered it.

My goal and lesson learned from these two scenarios is to view my child the way other people do...as the sweet, loving, passionate, caring, playful child that she is. We will continue to correct the negative behaviors in public but will try to remember that it is not as bad as we think it is!! I know I am so blessed with a wonderful child and I hope that I will focus more on the wonderful qualities that she has.

Four days...

Four days in a row we have been able to go to the park and walk. It has been so great this week. We didn't think today would be nice but it turned out to be so we took advantage of it!! After I walked at the park today I let Reese play. She is getting so adventurous on the playground. She walks away from me and does her own thing. This afternoon I was watching her navigate through the play set and then get to the slide. She is always so good about sitting down and going down feet first. Well today her feet got a little tied up and she went face first down the slide. She ended up with tons of cedar chips on her clothes and in her mouth. She cried for just a second and then got down and ran off again. I think she was more scared than hurt. Once we got home I think she was so tired from playing that she took almost a 3 and 1/2 hour nap.

Tonight when Daddy got home we went to our neighborhood playground after dinner. She loves having Daddy push her in the swing...he goes MUCH higher than Mommy. She just laughs and smiles the whole time. Daddy is much more fun on the playground than Mommy. She had a blast!!

I guess we are going to be stuck in this weekend because it looks like it is supposed to rain every day. Boo!!

So Bad

We have been so bad about taking pictures lately!! I guess since we were all sick for two weeks there was no need in documenting that!! So here are a couple of new pictures...

Today it is so warm outside and inside that I have let Reese run around in her diaper. And tu-tu of course. She added a "watch" to the collection today...notice the teething ring on her right arm. She ate her whole lunch with her hand like that to keep her "watch" on. When I asked her if she wanted me to take it off she said no.


The other day she came down the stairs like this. You can tell she slid down on her belly because her tu-tu is so high up and it pushed her shirt up too. I tried to pull the tu-tu down and she got mad at me so it stayed like this for a while.


This is what she looks like right now sleeping in her bed. Her toy collection keeps growing in her crib. The only thing I put in her bed originally was the kitty. She used to sleep with two pacifiers so I took one away and replaced it with the kitty. Then Elmo was added and he has been in there a while. Then Abby joined the gang...Abby side bar...she woke me up last night. She sings and I guess Reese rolled over on her because at 3:45 AM I heard, "I'm Abby Caddaby, I liked to play with you. I just so happy to be friends with you. Hahaha". Reese didn't even stir but I was awake for a while after that. After Abby the Cabbage Patch doll was added. So hopefully we will stick to just these four for now. Right now they are all lined up pretty nicely but usually they are all over the bed...they look like they are watching her sleep.

My Little Hollywood

Check out our little Miss Hollywood. Those are actually toddler sunglasses. She loved having the hat and the glasses on! So cute!!!

Sorry for the grainy pictures...they are from Lance's cell phone.

Welcome Warm Weather!!!

Now if only we can get you to stay.

We have really enjoyed these last two days of being outside, walking, and playing at the park! I hope we can enjoy it this whole weekend and finally kick these nasty colds to the curb.

Just to reminisce...Lance and I were talking tonight about how everything that Reese does is new and exciting to her. No matter how many times we read the same book or sing the same song or play the same game, she is always excited about it. What if you lived your life with that kind of excitement? Here is a picture of Reese this time last year! So sweet and cute!!

The Inevitable

It was inevitable that Lance and I would get sick...and we did. We have been cooped up in the house for what seems like weeks. After taking care of a sick baby for a week, wiping her snotty nose, getting sneezed on in the face, and cuddling her all day we have both finally caught it. Lance has a sinus infection. He came home from work on Monday and went straight to bed. He stayed in bed all day yesterday and has ventured out some today so that I could have a break. My throat started hurting yesterday and I was just getting tired. Then last night Reese woke up around midnight so I went in to rock her. I tried so hard to get her back to sleep but she wasn't having it. She kept saying "Mommies" and pointing out the door. I knew she wanted to go get in my bed with me...after several attempts at no I gave in. I have been sleeping in the guest bed the last few nights so Lance can have his own space to relax and get well. Lord knows I wouldn't sleep with all that snoring anyways. So, I took Reese in to the guest room with me and she fell right to sleep. However, she is a horrible bed mate!! She flips and flops all over the bed. I had a foot to the back, head, ribs, and stomach. Finally around 4 am I had had enough so I took her back to bed with no problems. She has been such a sweet girl all day. She wants to play and for us to play with her but she is being good on her own. Lance and I have taken turns going to take a nap and getting some rest. We were bummed because we didn't get to go to our small group tonight! But hopefully we will both feel better tomorrow. I have been very blessed in that I think I have been the least sick!! With the weather getting nicer as the days go by this week, I can not wait to go outside to enjoy it. Lance is going back to work tomorrow...at least that is the plan right now.

Not again

What a weekend it has been. Friday afternoon Reese woke up from her nap with a rash. I thought maybe it could just be a heat rash so I was going to give her time to cool off. The rash never went away and was worse the next morning. So for the third time this week I took her to the doctors office Saturday morning because they wanted to make sure it was not an allergic reaction to her antibiotics. Our appointment was at 11:30...we didn't get to see the doctor until 12:30. It was busy there. So many kids are sick right now. When we finally got to see her she said it was just a reaction to the medicine and not an allergic reaction. She said about 50% of kids have this same reaction. She sent us off and said we could finish the medicine.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I didn't have time for this doctors appointment!! I had a baby shower to go to at 2 that afternoon and them some friends were coming over for dinner that evening. I had plans of cleaning the house, wrapping my present, getting dinner made ahead of time, etc. Luckily I was able to make dinner before I left for the doctor and my wonderful honey cleaned the house for me while we sat (and sat and sat) at the doctors office. While we were at the doctors Reese was getting so bored. I pulled out the crayons for her to color with but she only wanted to color on the table so I took them away. I tried to entertain her as best I could but she wanted to stand on the chairs or tables. She eventually melted down in the middle of the waiting room floor. It was lovely. When I finally got home I had about 45 minutes to get ready to leave. I went to wrap my present and realized I didn't have enough wrapping paper...wonderful! So I had to run to the store, buy the paper, and head back home. I got the present wrapped and was to the party right on time...whew!

Today Reese woke up with a really yucky nose so we decided to keep her home from church with Lance. He entertained her with Elmo, Caillou (sp?), and Baby Einstein (that she has started to like again). This afternoon she took over a three hour nap and woke up with a clean nose!! Woohoo! I think her body was working hard to heal. Hopefully we can start the new week healthy!!

This week Reese has been having fun in her tu-tu. Every time she wakes up she wants to put it on.


She also let me put her hair in full pigtails this week. It was so cute. I can't believe her hair is long enough to do that now!!