A day in the park

Sunday after church we met up with Uncle G, D.D., and Big Daddy for lunch, but because we have an earlier service than they do (and because Big Daddy reportedly stood around and talked after their services) we had some time to spare. Since Reese ALWAYS wants to be "out-side" we took her for her first trip to the park. (Technically this wasn't her first trip. When she was about 2 weeks old I was convinced I would never lose the baby weight so I loaded her up and we went for a walk at the park. Seriously? Two weeks old. Also known as the point in time when I was wasn't emotional, horomonal, or irrational. AT. ALL.)


She had the best time, and so did her mother. I climbed on the monkey bars, went down the slide, rode on the little chicken swing right next to her on the rabbit swing. All in my Sunday clothes.



Do y'all know what the A-master had the nerve to say to me yesterday? He said, "she is so precious I want 3 more just like her." GASP. Just typing it makes my palms break out into a cold sweat. Don't get me wrong. She is great and all, but it was a lot of work to carry her for 9 long, hot, hot, hot, hot months. Plus she is expensive, and I feel sure that part isn't going to get any better. And did I mention how hot it was when I was preggo? June, July, August, September. IN. THE. SOUTH. Peeps, it was so hot. And I was so miserable. That part I remember clearly. Somebody say a prayer for him because as  long as I'm his wife we will not be having 3 more just like her.

17 Months (3 days late)

At 17 months Weight: 21 lbs
Height:

Wears mostly 12 month clothes, size 3 diapers, and has just gotten into a size 3 shoe. She has tiny little feet!

She has 2 teeth on the bottom and 2 on the top. Since I am late about posting this I guess it should wait until next months post, but last night I found 2 shiney new molar teeth on the top. Off and on lately she has been whiney and I think this explains why. She is also working on 2 more teeth near the front.

She loves milk. I feel quiet sure that she would live on milk alone if we didn't make her eat. She also likes Puffs in all flavors. She sometimes likes raisins, carrots, potatoes, mac and cheese, peas, and sweet potatoes from time to time. However, a couple of times recently she has gone to the cabinet her food is in and brought me baby food that is in there that she wants to eat. Maybe her appetite is getting better.

She is SO busy! All. the. time. While I am cleaning up one mess she is making another one.

She usually goes to sleep between 7:00 and 8:00 and gets up around 7 on the weekends. The last couple of weekends she has taken 2 hour naps on Sunday.
She still loves to carry around a bath rag. Sometimes she will cover her babies up with it like it's a blanket. Sometimes she puts it over her face and walks around until she runs into something.

She has a TEMPER! I can see a lot of problems in our future concerning her attitude. She loves to stand on my chair in the living room and the couch. When we tell her to sit down she just laughs. If we go toward her she sits really quick, but then stands up as soon as we turn around.

Yesterday afternoon she stood at the door for a solid 5 minutes crying while intermittently saying "mama" and "out-side" (which is 2 words according to her vocabulary). It got to be more than I could stand so outside we went. Mostly she wants to just run around. (And away from me.) We stayed outside until it was so dark I was having a hard time seeing her when she went in her playhouse. I am now strategizing a plan for setting up a tent in the yard with some type of fencing to pen her in this summer. Oh, and a lounge chair for her momma because I ain't what I used to be. "Out-side" wears me out. (P.S. If you happen to be the neighbor that drove by and saw me in my pajama pants please accept my sincere apology. I tried to hide behind that tree so you wouldn't judge me, but you were driving so fast I didn't make it.)

She drives this little walker like she stole it;)

She is a big help with the garbage.

She found this in her closet and wanted it on. And then 2.5 seconds later she wanted it off.

Uncle G gave her this "boon" for Valentines day and she is still playing with it.

I have always read to her, but only recently has she gotten interested enough to go get a book and bring it to us to read. I really want her to love the books!

This weekend she helped her Daddy build a place for her swing.

She LOVES makeup. Did I mention she LOVES it? She has to put on her makeup everytime she sees me putting on mine.

She is constantly going to our closet and digging around or standing on the step ladder that's in there. Sunday she found this tank top and wanted Adam to put it on her.

She always wants to look outside at Dixie and Autie. Anytime we ask her where Dixie is she will push this box in front of the door and stand on it to see them. She really loves those dogs, but they don't see to be all that crazy about her. Actually she loves all animals. When we go over to MeeMaw and PeePaws she starts saying "moo" because she knows she will see the cows going up the driveway.  

Helping her Daddy outside gets a girls hands dirty! She never turns down an opportunity to wash her hands.

Blessing her food. She whispers and looks around during every prayer.


















This past Sunday was the first sermon that I have gotten to hear at church in at least 2 months. The Sunday's that I have Children's Church or nursery duty she goes with me and plays. The other Sunday's when I take her to the nursery she will cry hysterically when I try to leave. The last time that I left her the nursery workers came and got me during the service because "you have a VERY unhappy baby." We also tried to let Adam take her and leave her. He never came back from the nursery that Sunday so I knew she wouldn't let him leave. But this past Sunday we did what all good Southern Baptist do and hurried from Sunday School to get the back pew. This was all in an effort so she could stay in the service with us and not interrupt people behind us. It worked beautifully. She looked at pictures on our phones, played with the pencil and paper I had brought for her, and ate her puffs. So what I want to know is how some of you keep your kids quiet in church? Or are yours more cooperative and go to the nursery? I know some of you are thinking that I need to just leave her back there and let her cry but I can't do it. I already leave her everyday to go to work. Is there some awesome phone app that would keep her quiet? I know our current tactics won't work forever.

Daddy is her Valentine

Adam decided Friday night that he was taking me on a hot date Saturday. We already had dinner plans with some of our friends so he asked if I wanted to go to the movies before dinner. (Thinking back on it that could be the first time he has EVER asked me to go on a date. I really should have made him work harder to sweep me off my feet when we first met.) We had not been to the movies since 2010 in which I was preggo and we watched The Backup Plan and it made me quesiton the whole having a baby thing. A lot has changed at the movie theatre. Did you know that an employee comes into the theatre and gives you a dirty little speech about your cell phone? If you so much as look at the time you will be asked to leave without a refund. My stomach got nervous at the thought of not being able to sporadically check my phone to be sure Reese didn't need me. (Not that she knows how to call my number, but a mother can never be too precautious.) We, along with the rest of the free world, went to see The Vow at 1:35 on Saturday afternoon. Nothing says your married with a baby like going to an afternoon matinee. Personally, I was a little disappointed by the movie, but then again will there ever be a chick flick that beats The Notebook? I think not.

We went into a few stores at the mall and I was surprised to see all the white wash jeans and neon shirts. So we're going back to the 80's this season? Because if so I am going to need to call my sister and get her to come teach me how to tight roll my jeans and tease my bangs.

After dinner we rode home while listening to the.....drum roll please.....radio. That never happens when Reese is in the car because we are either talking to her or over her at all times. Adam made me get the ipod out and find some music from back in our college days. We lived on the edge and even listened to some rap music. From looking at him you might not know this, but Adam knows all the words to Apple Bottom Jeans (is that the name of the song?). And if he happen to forget a word or two I assure you he made some up. Very disturbing.

Here's our little Valentine this morning before daycare. The camera flash causes her to make crazy faces:)

She helped make these last night to give to her friends today. And by helped I mean she put 2 of the gummies in her mouth at one time.

Wouldn't it have been cute if I had made baggies like those???!!?? But I didn't.

My 2 Valentines gave me a gift card for a massage and a facial and I am making big plans for myself to cash in in the near future;)

Hair's the deal

Oh, y'all. She is growing up. And it's all happening too fast which makes my head spin everytime I look at her and she says some new word like "outside" or "shoe." Or like last week when she pulled an entire cup of Adam's red cranberry apple Crystal Light off of the table causing it splattered everywhere (including all over my tennis shoes) and she backed up against the wall and stood really still and gave me the sad eyes because somehow she knew she had done something wrong. How did she know that? (Which, really, it should have been her daddy that stood really still against the wall waiting for my wrath to unleash because he knows better than to leave anything within her reach.) Then after we wiped the floors and walls down she went to the bathroom and got her bath cloth and started cleaning the walls. I do feel that I am raising her right in the cleaning department. The girl will get a wet wipe and clean everything. One day her husband will thank me.

So anyway on the point of this post.

Reese loves hair. Almost as much as her paci. Almost. I know without a doubt that this is part of her genetic makeup. Adam loves hair. Not in the cosmetologist kind of way, but in the twirling it through his fingers kind of way. It doesn't matter who you are if you stand close enough to him he will twirl your hair. D.D. says he has been this way since birth. And so has his daughter. I don't remember a time that she didn't put her hands in my hair to go to sleep. If she is sleepy and we put her in her carseat she immediately goes for her hair. And the hair along with her paci will put her right to sleep.

Elizabeth made this picture at our reception and it is the only real proof I have of Adam's hair twirling addiction.

Well in case you didn't know MeeMaw used to cut hair. And when I say "used to" I mean back in the shag days. (I actually thought it was in the bee hive days but she quickly corrected me and said that my Nanny wore a bee hive and bee hives were well before her day.) Currently her only customers are PeePaw and the grandbabies when they need their first hair cut. So last weekend we headed over to their house because words cannot describe Reese's hair in the back. It has a level of volume to it that I can only wish for.


I knew without a doubt she would have a meltdown when we made her sit still. I was wrong. She got an ice cream and enjoyed every minute of it. She even smiled for the camera.

We made sure to thoroughly document the moment, can you tell?

This weekend we went to Ollie's to see all the girls. 5 girls. No boys.

Reese was so tired and Krystal was sitting in the floor which made her the perfect candidate to have her hair played with.

Have y'all seen these bath tub crayons? They are Reese's favorite right now. Yesterday afternoon we came home and she went right to the tub wanting to get in and play with them. Thankfully they easily wipe off the tub, skin, and clothing. Oh, how I wish I had invented these.

Clearly, she isn't going to be a lefty like her momma. Maybe Adam will be able to teach her right handed things;)

When the husband is away

Well, well, well. Guess who has been out of town for the past 2 weeks? Adam. It was Adam. Because I am highly paranoid and a lot crazy only my closest peeps knew this fun little fact. I don't expect to get any sympathy from you military wives out there (Krystal), but do you know how long 2 weeks is? A long time. I am not the kind of woman that is cut out to have her husband away for extended periods. In the past, I have been known to get a little suspicious of, well, everything when Adam is away. The past 2 weeks were no exception.

So this is how it all went down.

On Sunday Adam had to be at the Birmingham airport for his 3:00 flight to St. Louis for training. Since Birmingham didn't have the tools to pull off a flight straight to St. Louis he had a lay over in Atlanta. But you don't care and I don't know why I just told you all of that. Anyway, Reese wore her squeaky shoes and we almost got the security pat down because of them.

After a lot of pictures, blowing kisses, hugs, and a TCBY icecream we saw him off and headed back to the car. Which was parked in the dark and scary parking deck and we all know nothing good comes of a woman and her baby walking alone in a parking deck. So I was power walking while looking over my shoulder with my finger on the panic button because I SO would have hit it if I even thought there might be danger lurking around the next car. The only danger we ran into was a pole that I didn't see when we pulled out of our parking space. And if you think I got out to inspect the damage well then we need to reevaluate our friendship.

All went well until Thursday night when Dixie and Autie (better known as Aubie) got all up in arms over something in the yard. Something dangerous like pine needles falling from a branch, no doubt. Anyway, it got me on edge so I promptly called MeeMaw and PeePaw's for back up. (They were on standby, unlike the time I couldn't get them to answer the phone and somebody was on our back porch.) From that night forward MeeMaw moved in with us. (And it was a good thing because the next day a school I learned that 2 men tried to break in 2 different houses that night. Now, it wasn't our neighbors or anything, but you can never be too precautious.)

(Side note about the dogs. In the past when they will bark like crazies all night long keeping us up Adam has been known to go out on the porch the next morning (in his under wears) and wake them up by barking back at them) (I married a very mature, sophistocated man).

Reese talked to him on Skype several times, but as you can see from his face our internet wasn't fast enough to have good quality video. We went to Big Daddy and D.D.'s on Saturday so she could see him more clearly. By the second week when she would see him on the screen she would hold out her arms for him to take her. She would also kiss the screen when he was on there.

Throughout the 2 weeks I text pictures of our babe to Adam because he was certain that she was going to be grown and moved to college before his return.

This picture assured me that we have a lot to work on in the manners department before we send her off to college.

And I would show ya'll the pictures that Adam sent me of his room (because I wanted to know if it was a nice place or not and considering he has been know to call the Motel 6 nice I can't take his word on it.) but in the distant background you can see him in his boxers. And I wouldn't want to make ya'll jealous.

Every morning I took the verse pray without ceasing to another level as I begged Jesus to let her stay asleep while I got ready. Once the little monster wakes up she can be very demanding. There were 2 mornings that she melted to the floor crying because I couldn't hold her every single second while I got ready. On those days I was exhausted before I even walked in the door of the school. And if you saw me then you knew that.

But at noon yesterday our little world started turing again when Daddy landed in Birmingham. And I was so relieved when that plane touched the ground because I like all my people to have their feet safely on the ground at all times. Preferably the same ground I'm on. I took a day off so we could go pick him up. I'll tell you what else I'm not cut out for. Driving in cities with major interstate systems. My heart started beating faster when I got to a fork in the road and I didn't know which way to go. Which lead to getting off the interstate in a sketchy part of town to ask somebody.

Reese did a little cleaning while we waited.

And as he came down the stairs she was holding her little hands out saying "dadada!"

I think it was safe to say that she was a little tired of me;)

16 Months

Why is it every month when I do Reese's monthly update I can feel my heart ache. I don't know why I do this because babies getting older is generally a good thing. She feeds herself, she helps dress herself, she can wipe her own mouth, most importantly she sleeps all night, AND it appears the older she gets the more time I have to do other things. Like walk to the kitchen and fix myself a drink. Alone. But I miss her being a babe in arms.

Moving on.

At 16 months:

Weight: 21lbs

Height: 30 inches

At least that was her height and weight at the doctor a few weeks ago. We sent this picture to Daddy while we waited on Dr. C.

Has 2 teeth on bottom and 2 on top.

Wears 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers.

LOVES milk. PeePaw drilled a well for Wright's Dairy Farm this week and he brought Reese a gallon of milk home. If they were closer all of her milk would come from there. On the label they have a sticker that says "NO GROWTH HOROMONES USED." On a scientific level I don't exactly know what that means for milk, but I feel sure it is healthier than the milk we buy at WalMart. He also brought her some chocolate milk from the dairy farm. When I was little the Barbers truck delivered chocolate milk by the gallon to our door. True story. I can't believe they made home deliveries, but they did. And I can't believe my teeth didn't rot out considering I went to sleep every night drinking it.

Enough about me.

Reese's favorite foods are Puffs, raisins, and peas.

Loves chapstick.

She can say a lot of words and learns a new one almost everyday it seems. This month she has added: pie, bowl, work and shoe to the list. Reese has renamed Autie to Aubie. I am not sure if Autie appreciates a name change at this point in her life, but Reese didn't ask for her approval.

When she sits down somewhere, like her princess couch for instance, she will pat her little hand in the seat beside her when she wants us to sit with her. So sweet.

There is one really big thing that I don't like about her getting older. The spankings. She has started hitting us. Mainly in the face. Usually she does this if someone is in her face trying to kiss her, but sometimes it is because she doesn't get her way. And oh the drama when we spank her hand. Other times when she gets mad she sits in the floor and kicks her legs while screaming/crying. We try to ignore her when she does the kicking thing. But the one that disturbs me the most is when she gets mad and hits herself in the head. I do not like that at all (as though hitting us in the face is any better). At first I got on to her for hitting herself, but it only caused it to be worse. So now we try to ignore it and she seems to do it less often.

She loves to get in her bed in the afternoons and play. I put a few toys in there and she is happy for about 10 minutes or so. She was pretending to be asleep in this picture.

She and her Daddy caught a quick nap after taking down Christmas lights a few weeks ago.

She is a good little shopper for a few miuntes then she starts demanding to be held. Or she wants to run around the store. Which is why we stay home a lot more now than we used to.

So I don't remember if I have mentioned this, but Reese is a momma's girl. To put it mildly. It takes her several minutes to warm up to people, but then she will play and talk etc. Today we went to our friend Blakely's 1st birthday party. This is how it went.

She went a little nuts when I handed her off to Samantha. So dramatic. I hope she outgrows this phase soon. Blakely looks so confused as to why a baby would cry like that. I'm confused too, Blakely.

Anna Kate and Reese had some bonding time at the party.

I've been a blog slacker

I feel as though the blog has suffered some since the holidays are over so I dug around in my iPhonosaur to see what I could find.

In my defense I have been laying on the couch trying to decide if I am going to commit to some type of Spring workout program. From the looks of things it is highly unlikely, but (since I'm off tomorrow and can stay up late) (until 9 p.m.)(aka-the middle of the night) I am going to try to get myself motivated by looking at some potential swim wear. Or not because that could interfer with me eating sugar cookies and drinking milk.


(Really y'all, back to my phone. Or Adam's old phone that he as been kind enough to let me borrow. It is the original iPhone. No video camera. I am not even sure you can classify the camera on it as a camera. The quality is horrific. Adam, if I promise to never misplace it again can I get a new one? I promise to treat it better.)

Anyway, we've been pretty boring lately so I've had nothing to talk about. So if this isn't the most entertaining post I've ever written then please forgive me.

If I'm lucky I MIGHT get to put my makeup on in the mornings before she starts calling for me. At that point I am bribbing her to let me hold the makeup brush, hair brush, eye shadow etc just long enough to use it. Girlfriend knows exactly where on her face that each utensil is used. One day this week I had done all I could do with her on one hip so I had to quickly devise a plan to occupy her for a few minutes. I put a towl in one sink, sat her in it, and gave her a few hair clips. She loved it. She laughed at herself in the mirror. She tried to brush her teeth with a tooth brush she plays with. Then she turned on the faucet. And before I could stop her she had gotten her PJs soaked. I took her out of the sink because of all the water and you should have seen the fit she pitched. Oh my word. So this morning back in the sink she went while I got ready for church.

(MeeMaw, before you send me a text about how dangerous it is that she is on the counter/in the sink let me go ahead and defend myself. I never left her. I never even looked away. I was 100% in control of this situation. Except when I turned my head and she flipped on the water;))

I am not sure what order the following 2 videos are in because videos look fuzzy until I post them, but 1 is of Izzy (Big Daddy and D.D.'s lab) and the other is of Reese wearing her Mary Jane squeaky shoes. What is it about hearing yourself on a video? Sends chills down my spine. I am convinced that the video adds a layer of Southern accent that isn't real there. Back to Izzy. Reese loves dogs. She gets so excited when she sees them. She got really excited when she got to feed Izzy. And Izzy was pretty excited too since she got to come in for a few treats.

P.S. All baby hands were deep cleaned after the making of this video.