Oh Sweet Reese...

How I wish I had all the hours in the day in hold you like you want me too, but I don't. I'm sorry. I still love you more than anything, but life won't stop long enough for me to sit with you as much as we both want to. I know I need to take the time now and say, 'to heck with the house and work', but then I'd have a nervous breakdown and end up in the looney bin. 

I do love to hold and cuddle you.

Plus, this sweet boy needs me to. All of the time. He's very demanding and persistent. 

Thanks Ms. Courtney for this picture. It's becoming one of my favorites.
Jax fell asleep at school this week, just like this.
Turns out the kid was sick :(

8 months

Our sweet girl is 8 months today! Yay!  (Well on the 19th. It's taken me a bit to finish this post)

She's becoming quite the big girl. She cut her first tooth last week! I didn't think she would get 'a for real tooth' for a couple months. Jaxon got his first tooth at 9 months and she seems to be on pace with him, so I figured teeth would be the same. Plus, as dramatic as she is and seeing that nothing she does is easy, I figured teething would be the worst experience of our lives. I mean makes sense right, colic, reflux, constipation, hernia.... But no. It was very uneventful. She woke up one morning and had a tooth! I would have missed it had she not put my finger in her mouth. 

The drama came when Jaxon was told. Immediately he sticks his finger in his mouth and immediately she bites him. Wouldn't you if someone stuck their finger in your mouth and your gums were itchy? Oh dear. "Mama! Reesey BIT me! Look right here! She bit me hard. Reesey is naughty! She should go to time out and get a spanking!" Well, I tried to 'make a point'. So I 'sternly' said, "Reese. Biting is naughty. You do not bite your brother." Well, she thought this was hilarious and smiled a big one-tooth smile. But, Jaxon seemed pleased.

He was excited though. He had to  call Brian (who was out of town) right away to tell him, "Reesey grewn a tooth!"

And now she has 2 teeth! She 'grew' her second tooth yesterday!

Lucy checking out her tooth

Weight: 17 lbs!

Sleep: She's staying awake longer during the day! She takes 2 1/2 naps a day. The '1/2' being a short one hour nap.
At night she sleeps from 5:30pm - 5:30am to 6:15am.
Oh and she's still being swaddled. Any tips on how to train her to sleep without it? I swear she will be wrapped up for eternity!

Eat: We are working on solids 3 times a day. She has been introduced to many fruits and vegetables. She now, finally, likes my homemade baby food. Yes, people, I'm making baby food! It is super easy and I'm a bit obsessed with her having 'fresh' food.

Temperment: Still happy :)

Likes: Sitting up, grabbing everything, TV, Jaxon & Brian.



Clothes size: 3-6 months. I think this month we'll make the move to 6 months.

Language: She has the vowel sounds down. Now to get her to include consonants!

Physical: Sitting up, bearing weight on legs, passing toys from one hand to the other, reaching for everything. She still will not roll from her back to front and won't push herself up while on tummy time. Ugh! I swear, the girl is not going to crawl if she won't stay on her stomach long enough to push herself up.

Another big step... riding in the basket of a shopping cart! I'm super excited about this! No more lugging that darn car seat in and out of the car.



She was also promoted to a high chair this weekend.





She actually was awake for our dinner Saturday so we moved the high chair outside, gave her some tater tots and green beans and watched her half a ball!














And now for her monthly calendar photo shoot.

That smile? All for her daddy. Such a Daddy's Girl!

1st Day of Preschool

Today was Jaxon's first day of his last year of Preschool. 

To him it was just another day at school though. He was so excited to see his friends and teachers after a long 6 weeks off! He was most excited because his best friends, Jake & Hunter, are now going 3 days a week instead of 2. 

He had such a fun day. So fun that his shoes were too muddy & wet to wear home. Nice. 

7 Month Pictures

Reese is 7 months now and that means it was time to update her pictures. I know, I know.  I have her pictures taken a lot, but I took Jaxon to JC Penney every 2 months his first year, so I must do the same with Reese.

Thankfully, I met a great photographer at school. Meridy's daughter was in Ami's class last year and she takes awesome pictures! So we found ourselves at her house this week to take Reese's 7 month pictures! (Meridy also took each kid's pictures in May)

What I love most about these pictures is the dress she's wearing. My grandmother had it specially made for Reese. She wanted Reese to wear home from the hospital, but Reese was so tiny. It finally fits her and she looked beautiful in it!

This smile melts Brian's heart everytime!

I know she's mine, but isn't she a beauty?

I love when babies play with their feet

Yeah. She's done.

Oh that face. 

I can't wait for her 9 month pictures! We have something super cute planned. If you follow me on Pinterest, you probably have  a good idea.

Hi Ho Hi Ho...

It's back to work I go.

Yup. It's back to school time around here. I know, summer just got started, but in these parts we go to school year round and I love it! Having a few weeks off in October and March just can't be beat. Those are the best months in the Old Pueblo. 

As excited as I am about starting a new school year I am so sad to leave my sweet girl. It's funny, because I really wasn't that sad when I went back to work after maternity leave or Spring break, but tonight? My heart feels heavy. We have had such a good time this summer. I really enjoyed our quiet mornings together, even though they were before the sun came up. 

Maybe I'm feeling a little more attached because this year she is going to a home daycare twice a week. I love the lady that will take care of Reese. She lives right next to the school and I actually had her daughter in kindergarten many moons ago. I know Reese will be in good hands.

At the optometrist's office waiting for eyes to dialate

There's BIG news around here! Reese is sitting up! She's a big girl now! 

I'm so proud of her.

Jaxon is so proud of his baby sister. 

My big kids!

Reese is becoming quite the thief! Here she tries to swipe Papi. 

Lucy better watch out. Reese is always after her ears.

"In My Whole Life!"

This post will be a bunch of random stories & pictures.

One morning Jaxon, Reese & I were sitting in the airondack chairs enjoying the sunshine, view and a book. All of a sudden Jaxon starts SCREAMING! "Ow ow! I got stung by a bee! A bee stung me!" Um. Yeah. Right. I see no bees. But whatever I'll play along. He was pretty adament. So I got him some ice for his finger. As he's icing it and crying, he says, "In my WHOLE life I've never been stung by a bee!"  OMG. I about fell over. I don't know why, but this cracked me up. Maybe because his whole life spans all of four years. Or maybe it was his dramatic delivery. Or maybe it was because I didn't really believe he got stung by a bee. I mean, my son does have a flair for the dramatic. But I laughed my butt off. A few second later he reproduces a stinger. Yup. Dude got stung by a bee and had the stinger to prove it. Oops. I felt kinda bad for not believing him and for laughing. Well, not really for laughing, it was pretty funny.

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On another morning, we open the door and find this little visitor on our porch.

 Jaxon immediately squeals, "Blackie from Rio Rancho walked to California to visit me!"
"Blackie" was a neighborhood cat that Jaxon thought was his since he spent a lot of time in our garage and front yard. Jaxon and 'Blackie' took a liking to each other. For the record, his real name wasn't 'Blackie' Jaxon named him that.

The California 'Blackie' had a friend, but this friend was bolder than 'Blackie'. He let himself right into our little cottage.

Running out

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Reese enjoying some prunes. She made quite the mess.

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Brian enjoying the sunset

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Carlsbad has an outlet mall that Brian & I love to visit. It just so happens that our cottage was less than 10 minutes away!

She loves herself some shopping...
As long as she kept moving. 

I know it's odd that Jax is in the big stroller,
 but it wasn't like this the entire time.

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Reese hangin' in the hammock with me.

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Some more beach pictures

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The best part of being on vacation is that ice cream calories don't count!

Jaxon & I visited Cold Stone Creamery a few times after dinner.

Chocolate with M&Ms for him.

Vanilla with Oreos for me.

The first night we went I got him a kid's size. Little did I know that they don't mix in the M&Ms in a kid's, they just sprinkle them on top.

The second time we went Jaxon told me, "Make sure to tell the lady to mix in my M&Ms. I don't like them just sprinkled." Kid knows what he likes.

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We found this sign very odd. 

Methadone Clinic?

I mean are people on their way to Target, see this sign and say, "Oh yeah. I've been wanting to go to a methadone clinic. Let me stop me." ?

Weird.

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Brian & I have a special place. 11(?) years ago he took me to this meditation garden. It is absolutely beautiful and obviously very peaceful. It's the place we knew the other was 'the one' and where he proposed. We go every single time we are in San Diego and take a picture in the spot Brian proposed.

I sat in that spot when Brian got down on one knee.

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Our last day at the beach...

This may turn into a new family tradition.

This was absolutely the best family vacation we have ever had. It was just what the doctor ordered for our little family. The past year has been an absolute crazy, stressful whirlwind and we haven't had much family time. We especially haven't had any uninterrupted family time since Reese was born. We are always in a 'divide and conquer' mode and Brian has been traveling so much the kids have not had much Daddy time. Brian made it a point to turn off his phone and email so there truly was no work. It was perfect.
I don't even know how many times Brian & I said, "This is perfect. I'm having such a good time." Even Jaxon declared he never wanted to leave California.

We will always cherish this week together.