Thursday, January 29, 2009

Reese revealed

Most of my posts are about Reese, it's true. But, I usually write about the milestones she hits and not about the cute little things she does everyday. I tell my sisters that she gets more and more fun everyday, but they don't always hear about the little things she does that make me melt. For journal purposes, I think it's time I made note of a few of these things. So, get comfy, this is going to be a long one.

Reese loves music! A few months ago, Michael started playing songs for her on YouTube while they sat at the table together--her favorite is Baby Beluga--and now the second she hears music, even coming from commercials on TV, she gets a big smile on her face and starts bouncing her knees. It's like she can't help herself...as soon as she hears music, her body just has to move! She usually starts dancing and then looks to make sure I am enjoying the music as much as she is. My favorite is when she does it during church. After a couple of speakers, when it seems that Reese's mind couldn't be farther away from the meeting, as soon as the music starts, she starts waving her arms (as though she is leading the music) and clapping her hands. I try to be reverent, but the first time she did that, Michael and I were both cracking up!

Reese is a girly girl, through and through. She loves baby dolls! She loves to hold them and carry them as she walks around the house. The best is when she cuddles her baby dolls because instead of hugging them to her chest, she holds them up to her ear (or maybe she is going for her cheek). And she smiles so big! Grandma Gee Gee has a doll at her house that is Reese's favorite, hands down. The other night when we were over there, Reese would NOT let this baby out of her sight. She wouldn't even put her down to eat her dinner. (And, like a girly girl, she hated it when the baby's headband fell off--she kept running right over to me to replace the headband on baby's head.) Sometimes Reese wants to be cuddled when she is cuddling her babies, and I am more than happy to oblige. It is so sweet, I could cry!

The week after Reese learned to walk, she got more and more confident in her skills. First, she ventured from the living room down the hallway; then she tried turning 180 degrees from the hallway and coming right back to the living room. Next she decided to try longer distances without stopping. Since our place isn't that big, she did this by walking laps around the living room, through the dining room, to the kitchen, and back to the living room. What a crack up.

Reese also loves to read. Sometimes she will sit in my lap and let me read a book to her, but most of the time she likes to just flip through the pages in her books--either that or she is a speed reader!!! Reese loves the touch and feel books and she LOVES to see herself in her mirror book. Whenever there is a mirror on the page, she will put her face up to it so that her nose touches the mirror (and usually some drool falls out). It kills me!

Reese has become quite the playful little tike. Her newest game takes place during nap time. I put her down in her crib with her binky and lovey and she usually lays right down and cuddles her lovey. Lately, though, shortly after I leave the room, I hear the distinct sound that a binky makes when it is thrown overboard onto a wood floor. Then a few minutes later, after some talking from Reese, I hear the sound of her slapping her palm against the top of her crib (as if to say, "hello--come and get me!"). A few days ago we had a particularly tricky nap time and when I went in to calm Reese down and try for the 5th time to get her to go to sleep, not only had she thrown her binky overboard, but she had also thrown out her lovey, her two blankets, and both socks! I tried so hard to keep a straight face, so that she would know I meant business, but she had the sweetest little grin, that I had to cover my face. What a toad!

Just in case you didn't gather from a previous post about Reese, let me just tell you: she puts EVERYTHING in her mouth! She will find any little speck on the carpet or floor--fuzz from a sock, a crumb, an old Cheerio, ABC gum--and stop to pick it up and put it in her mouth. Sometimes when I try to stop her from putting, let's say, my cell phone into her mouth, she gets this look in her eye and comes at my like she is going to bite me. Such a doll, isn't she? The other day when we were at a friends house, she was having such a fun time walking around and finding new things to play with. But a couple times, she came out of the bedroom and as soon as she saw me, the look on her face gave her away. It was a look that said, "Ooh, Mom, if you knew what I have in my mouth, you would be mad!" The first time it was the tip of a pink crayon. The second time it was some kind of gold coin. I promise I was watching her, but after that she received my undivided attention.

I think that's probably enough for now...if anyone is still reading. These are just some of the little things that Reese does to make life so sweet!

Our star athlete

Barely walking and already a stellar soccer player! To be honest, I'm not sure who enjoys this game more. It's usually minutes before bedtime when Michael asks me if it's alright if he riles her up with a quick game of soccer. Sure, make me the bad guy. But, who could resist when they have this much fun playing together?

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

One small step for man...


It didn't take Reese long to figure this out. She walked about three steps to me from the ottoman a couple times and thought she was pretty hot stuff. After that, she was off!

Oh, boy. This means trouble.

Saturday, January 03, 2009

A New Year

For such an uneventful New Year's Eve (we watched TV and both fell asleep on the couch at 11:45--ugh!), we had quite an exciting New Year's Day. Well, exciting may not be the best word to describe it. That would imply happy things, I think.
Does this picture look like happy things to you? To me it looks like an x-ray of Reese with my earring inside. That's right, Reese swallowed my earring. If you look closely, you can even see the loop of the back that is still on.

I don't mean to make light of this, although as time goes on, it does get slightly more funny. (Ok, I honestly can't look at this x-ray without smiling.) But, this was hands down the most scary thing I have experienced as a parent. Seeing the look on Reese's face as the earring was on its way down and the way that she cried as the reality of what happened hit me made my body shake. I immediately paged the on-call pediatrician and then called my dad, doing my best to keep my voice calm as I explained what had happened. My dad assured me that Reese would be fine, that people can swallow broken glass and be fine. (Incidentally, when the pediatrician called, she also said that people can swallow broken glass without it doing any damage--I'm guessing it's in a med school textbook somewhere.) After my dad put my mind at ease, we got off the phone and by this time Reese had calmed down--so much so that I started to wonder if she really did swallow the earring. We decided to go to the emergency room to get an x-ray to make sure the earring hadn't lodged anywhere and, more importantly, to make sure that it didn't go into her lungs. Reese was her normal, happy self and the nurses kept asking, "are you sure she swallowed it??" Sure enough, the x-ray doesn't lie.

I am happy to report that everything turned out well. Reese got her first x-ray, the earring has been recovered (luckily, Reese loves raisins) and we have gone into round two of serious baby-proofing. Our new year got off to a rocky start, but hopefully one day we will be able to look back on this and laugh...without feeling like horrible parents.

Friday, January 02, 2009

Check out my new trick!



Reese loves her new toy! She could walk back and forth all day long...which is pretty much what we do. She is not great at turning, so she just walks until she bumps into something, then waits for someone to turn her around, then goes again. She thinks she is big time when she walks and the look on her face is priceless! She is going to be walking on her own in no time.