Friends

Today we kept Reese's friend, Mitchell, for a little while. I took this super cute picture of him...


Not to be out done, Reese asked for her picture afterwards...she actually smiled for the camera. I think because I told Mitchell how cute his picture was. She is a mess.

Christmas Cards

I LOVE getting Christmas cards in the mail. This year I have been hanging them on our back door so that we can see them all at once. Reese enjoys going over to check them out occasionally.

This year I did a Christmas card/Birth announcement. Since I can't send it to all of you, I will share it with you here...

Moose

Reese thinks all reindeer are moose.

Today at gymnastics her teacher had on reindeer antlers. When Reese saw her she said, "Ms. Peggy is a Moose!"

Tonight for our pizza and a movie night we watched a Mickey Mouse Christmas movie. Pluto was flying with the reindeer and Reese said he was being a moose!

She cracks me up!!

Seriously??

What a day...in a different way than yesterday!! My goal today was to try to keep the TV off more than it was on. So this morning we got up, came downstairs, and colored. Reese was acting out a little bit and being disobedient. I decided we might need to get out of the house for a little bit so I took a quick shower, got Sam fed and happy, and then we headed to Target to do some Christmas shopping. Reese had her moments while at Target but for the most part was behaving. We came home to have lunch and Reese was acting out again...which meant nap time couldn't come quick enough. When I put Reese down for a nap I realized she might have a bladder infection so I called the doctor's office and talked to them about it. They scheduled an appointment for 4:00 for her to come in. Of course it would be right during feeding time for Sam. I woke Reese up from her nap so that she didn't go potty in her pull-up because they wanted to do a urine test. I gave her a fun cup to drink a bunch of water from before we left. About 20 minutes or so before we were going to leave I wanted to change Sam and give him a quick snack to tide him over. I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing and for the first time in five weeks I got soaked. He peed ALL over me and him. I had to go upstairs to change us both and he didn't get a snack before we left. I grabbed a bottle for him and headed out the door. When it was time for Reese to go to the bathroom she refused to. So they gave her a popsicle hoping to bribe her. No such luck! Then we gave her a cup of water to get her to go...nope. Sam got his first bottle of formula during this time...he did pretty well with the bottle. Then Reese flat out refused to go again! The nurse promised her a toy out of the treasure chest, another popsicle, and a sticker if she would go...I promised a Dora movie at home. Still nothing. Finally I told her we would just have to go home and she freaked out! Screaming! She knew there was a lot on the line to just not use the bathroom. So we tried one more time. This time nurse Hannah took her because sometimes Reese just does better with someone besides Mommy. She never went and the nurse needed to do other things so I went in with her. I think she sat on the potty for ten minutes and then finally started going. And I wasn't prepared!! I barely got the cup in there fast enough to catch it and only got a small amount. Luckily it was enough to run the test. So after an hour and a half of fighting at the doctors office, it looks like she has a UTI but they sent it off to the lab and we should know for sure tomorrow. After we got home she needed to go again and cried that it hurt so I think something is definitely going on. I don't think Reese has ever been as sick in her whole life as she has been the last five weeks. I think the stress of adding a new baby to the house is getting to her! Hopefully we can get it all cleared up and get our sweet, healthy girl back soon. PLEASE!!!

Oh, What a Day!!

We have had a busy day today! And it was so much fun!! The morning started out great because Sam slept for almost 8 hours last night! It was one of those mornings where you roll over, look at the clock, and then shoot out of bed because you have been asleep for so long. I got up and checked on Sam and he was still asleep. He slept for about 30 minutes after I checked on him and then the two of us got our day started. He was so happy when I got him out of bed! He got the biggest grin on his face. I love those sweet baby smiles!

Lance took the day off of work to go to Reese's Christmas Musical at school. It was so, so, so cute!! The two year old classes sang three songs and then left the stage so the bigger kids could finish the show. We didn't tell Reese that we would be at her school because we weren't quite sure she would understand when we dropped her off and didn't go in with her. It was fun to see her participate with out knowing we were watching. We got to see her in her own element. About half way through the second song you could see her look at Lance and register that it was Daddy in her mind. Here is her reaction...

In the video we recorded you can see the moment she recognizes him. It is so cute!! She gets the biggest grin on her face and starts waving. Then she looks for me and yells, "Hey Mommy!" She talked to me throughout the songs. She would say, "Yook at me, Mommy." "I doing it, Mommy!" It was so sweet.

After the musical was over, her class had a little party. Nothing fancy but it was neat to go in to her classroom and see all of her fun toys, crafts they have made, and all of her friends that she talks about. Her friend, Micah, that she talks about also has curly hair...I wonder if that is the draw??



Here is a quick little video I made before she saw us in the audience.



After school we made a last minute decision to visit Santa at the mall so neither kid was really dressed in Christmas attire. There were NO tears this year but Reese definitely was acting shy. Her new shy thing is to cover her eyes as if you can't see her anymore. So that is what she did to Santa. We couldn't get her to look at the camera and then she asked me to sit with her.

So we made a family affair out of visiting Santa. He is such a beautiful and sweet Santa. I love him! I was very disappointed in the photographer this year though. Notice the picture is not centered at all. When we were looking at the pictures the girl even apologized and said she was took short to really see in the camera.



After visiting Santa, Daddy and Reese went to the play area while I fed Sam. This picture is from Lance's iPhone...I wonder if he taught her to do this?

Once Sam was fed and happy, we had a special treat for Reese. We took her to Build-A-Bear for the first time. I think she was a little overwhelmed with all of the choices. She picked out a pony at first but then Daddy asked her if she would rather have the bunny and she decided to go with the bunny. Not sure why since she is loving horses right now but she did.



She had fun getting to participate in bringing the bunny to life. She pushed the lever to stuff the bunny, kissed the heart that goes in the bunny, and gave the bunny a bath (I think that was her favorite part).

After bathing her, we got to sit at a computer, enter all of our info, and pick out a name for the bunny. Lance and I thought of some names for her and let Reese pick out the name. She chose "Fluffy". We also bought Fluffy an outfit...it is a Tinkerbell outfit with a wand. I didn't get a picture of her dressed but I am pretty sure Reese likes the wand over anything else...including the bunny.

You wouldn't know it to see her bed but Reese is very particular about the animals that sleep in her bed. At night if there is a stray animal or baby in her bed she will throw it out. All of them are at the foot of her bed except for her monkey. So we weren't sure if Fluffy would make the cut or not. But we are happy to say that Fluffy not only made the cut but was sleeping up next to Reese and Monkey.

Sam has been an angel today. He slept most of the day but I think that is because he really didn't sleep a whole lot yesterday. He just went with the flow today without a peep.

We think Reese's stomach is still trying to get settled. She hasn't thrown up again since Sunday but she still isn't eating much. She will occasionally say she doesn't feel good. Today we wanted her to eat something and really didn't care what. We offered to go to Chick-fil-a and she said NO. Now, if you know Reese at all, you know that is crazy!! She did ask for McDonald's later so we got her some but she never at it. I have offered her so many things to eat that she would normally gobble up but she just isn't interested. Hopefully she will get back to her normal self soon and eat! I know it is hard to shake an upset stomach...I feel so bad for her.

The Bug

Whoa! I can't believe it has been so long since I updated this thing! So I will do a recap since Wednesday...

Thursday was business as usual. Reese had school and Sam and I went Christmas shopping at Target while my Christmas cards printed. One thing I have learned about school days is that it is inevitable that Sam will need/want to eat during drop off and pick up times.

Friday Reese had gymnastics and then we headed over to a friends house to decorate Christmas cookies and have lunch. The kids had so much fun and made a huge mess!!

Reese was so proud of her cookies that she made and couldn't wait to share them with Daddy.

Saturday we visited with family and friends most of the day. It was a nice day! That night we put Reese to bed and did our normal evening routine. Around 11 I was feeding Sam in his room and heard Reese start crying. It wasn't a normal middle of the night cry so I was worried. Lance was downstairs but luckily heard her crying. He went in to check on her and she had thrown up all over herself and her bed. There is a stomach bug going around and she caught it. He took her out of bed, stuck her in the tub and undressed her. I put Sam in his bed while I helped tend to Reese. I cleaned her off, gave her a bath, and got some new clothes on her while Lance cleaned up her room. It was so gross. And every sickness is worse because we have a newborn. Once again we had to keep Reese away from Sam and we washed our hands a million times. She ended up throwing up two more times but nothing like the first time. Lance once again had to make a midnight run to Kroger. (Hopefully that was the last time for a while.) We talked to the nurse on call and she said to slowly give Reese some Gatorade to see if she would keep it down. For an hour we gave her medicine droppers full of it and increased the amount as the hour went by. By 1:00 she was literally jumping around our room. I don't know how she has that kind of energy! Both of Reese's sets of bedsheets were dirty because I had just changed them so we set up sheets on the floor in our room and let her sleep in there. We also put Sam back in our room for the night in the pack and play so we would know immediately if he got sick. We knew that would be so bad if he did. Luckily he has not!!

Sunday we tried to keep Reese contained and resting. But she is a machine. You would have never know she had been sick and she didn't throw up the whole day. After nap time she was a little cranky but said she was feeling ok. We were supposed to go to some friends house that night. We talked to them and told them what had been going on and they said to still come on over. So we headed over. We parked the car and then Reese said she didn't feel good. She had said that a couple of times during the day but never got sick. We figured she was just testing out that phrase to see the reaction. But as Lance took Reese out of the car she threw up again. So we had to head back home. She has been fine since and has had no problems today...other than trying to touch Sam when she knows she isn't supposed to. She is a little spitfire!!

Today we have been lazy. Hopefully Reese's tummy is settled and we are done with the stomach bug. Lance and I have not been affected and hopefully it will stay that way. However, we are prepared with Gatorade, Ginger Ale, Saltines, and Pepto.

Sam has enjoyed the activity gym. When he is fussy and I don't know why I lay him in here and let him stretch out. He usually lasts about five minutes and then is ready to move on. I can't believe how big he is getting. He is starting to stay awake more. On one hand it is fun to see him start to learn and check things out...on the other hand it is hard because he needs more attention.

So there you have it. Hopefully it won't take me so long to update again.

One Month Old

Happy one month little buddy!!


You have grown so much in this first month of your life! You are so sweet and snuggly! Always wanting to be held...especially when Mommy has things she HAS to get done. You are sleeping well and still through most of the day. Your awake time is during the morning which is fun to see. And then you like to be awake to play with Daddy after your big sister has gone to bed. Your big sister adores you and is always asking where you are! She used to ask where Daddy was first thing in the morning but he has been replaced by you...Daddy is her second question now. We are so happy and blessed by your presence! We love you so much and can't imagine what life would be like with out you!

One Month Doctors Visit

Sam had his one month well visit today with our pediatrician. And my how he has grown! He weighed 9.12 lbs (48%), is 22" long (60%), and his head circumference is 14 1/2" (17%). That means he has gained two pounds since birth! I was shocked. Apparently Reese did the same thing though! He also got his second Hep B shot today. Poor guy was NOT happy about that. It took him a little while to calm down...but it was also creeping up on feeding time too. I hate having my kids get shots. The doctor noticed how "peely" he was and mentioned something about it. Not in a bad way...he just noticed all of the skin. He said a lot of babies peel like that and it will be gone soon. I am so proud of our little man...he is growing and doing exactly what he is supposed to be doing. Keep it up!!

And just because I thought this pictures was so sweet...

Yay!

I fit in my jeans today!! No more maternity pants!! Woohoo!!

Firsts with Sam

*Last night Sam slept in his bed in his room for the first time. We decided to move him because he is still a little congested and the humidifier we have doesn't do too well in our room because of the size. He slept great and I slept great!

*Today was my first day back taking Reese to gymnastics...and my first time taking Sam with us. Last week they didn't have it because of Thanksgiving and Lance had taken her the two weeks before. I was so worried we wouldn't be on time but we made it! Reese had a blast! I love watching her there. I think she really enjoys "Reese time" right now.

*I have taken both kids to the grocery store a couple of times now but today we had to go to BJ's. I have been putting it off all week but couldn't any longer. I don't know why I was so worried about going there but we lived! ;-) Sam just slept in the Baby Bjorn the whole time and Reese hung out in the buggy. It was hard to get some things I needed with Sam hanging on in front but it was great at checkout because the kid just let me leave everything in the buggy and he rung it up that way.

*Sam is a peeling machine. He looks like a snake right now. I had to go back and look at pictures of Reese from this age because I couldn't remember her skin peeling this much...and it didn't. Only her hands and feet looked really dry but Sam's whole body is dry and peeling. It looks so uncomfortable but everything I have read says it is normal. I just put lotion on him at night and when I think about it during the day. I hope it clears up soon!!

Secret Santa

Today Reese's school had a Secret Santa Workshop so that the kids could buy presents for their parents and siblings. I really couldn't decide if I wanted to do this with Reese. I was worried she was too young. But I am so glad I sent the money in. I sent $3 for each person she was going to buy for. She bought a gift for me, Lance and Sam. This afternoon when I picked her up from school the first thing she said was, "I bought you a present, Mommy!" She was so excited. As I was buckling her in she said, "Uh-oh, I need to go back to school and buy me a present." I knew that would be a challenge but it was the only time she said anything like that. She wanted to open them up as soon as she got home. I got her to wait until Daddy got home and he was barely in the door before she was telling him all about it.



So we opened our presents tonight...well, Reese opened our presents! Daddy got a screwdriver set.

Mommy got a candle.

And Sam got a cow that moo's...however, I think Reese took it back and now is claiming it is hers! Haha!

I am so glad that we decided to let her do this. It was so much fun.

Pictures

I woke up in the middle of this today...

We tried to get a picture of the two of them...it didn't work out too well.