Daddy is Home!!

You might have noticed (or not), but I was missing from the blog postings over the past two weeks. That was because I have been in Moscow (not Moscow Texas) for the past two weeks for a work related project. It was difficult to be away from Reese and Adrienne for such a long time, but we survived and Reese had two pearl white teeth when I arrived back in town.

July 21st was our 7th wedding anniversary. Since I was out of town, I sent Babby Girl's Momma a dozen red roses.





Once I get the pictures from Moscow downloaded on to my computer, I will post some pictures of the city and famous tourist sites (Red Square, Kremlin, Subway System). In the meantime, here are some pictures of Reese from the past couple of days:


Reese playing in her bouncer:

Reese playing in her bouncer:

Reese following in the footsteps of Grandma Ruth and watching Wheel of Fortnue (It is hard to believe that show is still on TV):

7 years and 6 months

Today is a very special day! It is our 7 year wedding anniversary and Reese's 6 month birthday. It was also Reese's 6 month doctor appointment this morning. Reese and I went to visit her doctor at 9:30 a.m. but before leaving I had to wake Reese up at 8:30. She was conked out on her tummy and slept in her bed all night last night. Yeah! Let's see if we can get back into a routine. (I say that as she lays awake on the couch beside me refusing to close those big brown eyes.)

So back to the appointment...she weighs 17 lbs and 14 ounces (80th percentile) and is 27.5 inches long ( 98th percentile). She got 3 vaccinations and a normal check up. Doctor said her other bottom tooth is on it's way and Reese is on schedule with her teething, although it still seems early to me.

Reese is now ready for stage 2 foods, veggie puffs, crackers and cheerios. I can't see her eating, even gnawing, on puffs, crackers or cheerios yet. I think we'll take it slow and wait until she is sitting up before we put those in front of her. Doc also suggested oatmeal or barley cereal instead of rice to avoid the constipation. And bananas are out too.

So on the way home Reese and I swung by Kroger to get some oatmeal cereal (I couldn't find barley, but I know Target has it), food and puffs (just in case I decide to give her some sooner than later). I was hesitant to let Reese try oatmeal because I didn't know how she'd react and I wanted to be able to tell the difference between a reaction to her shots and the cereal. Well, I didn't go with my gut and let Grandma give her oatmeal and fruit for lunch.

Not long after I returned to work, Grandma called saying Reese had blisters on her lips. I immediately blamed the oatmeal because she had taken the oral vaccination (rotavirus) before. I called the Doc a little panicked wondering if I needed to rush home with benadryl...do they even make that for 6 month olds?

Luckily, the swelling lips went down pretty quickly and the nurse said to put Vaseline on it. They never confirmed whether is was due to oatmeal or the vaccination, not that they would know for sure, but I think it's the oatmeal. Target her I come for some barley!

Matt sent a dozen beautiful red roses to my office. It made my day! I am blessed to have such a wonderful husband and daughter. Life is good!

When I got home, Grandma said Reese sucked her thumb during her afternoon nap...another first!

Cupcakes!

We found a new cupcake place in Uptown Park called Crave! It is super delicious and better than Sugarbaby's (in my opinion). The only bad thing is that they don't have any seating, so Sugarbaby's has them beat on atmosphere. Crave is super chic and modern, kind of like Starbucks. I dig it!

After enjoying a deliciously moist cupcake, Mom, Reese and I went to PBK to get a shower gift. I love any reason to go there. Reese got fussy, so we took her out of her stroller and I carried her around. Everyone looked her way and commented on how cute she was. I agree! It was almost weired to have people stare at us...I'm not used to that (usually she is in her stroller and people peek in, but this was different because I was carrying her and people could really see her). I loved that they loved to look at her as much as I do! :)

Pictures now...Text later

Here are some pictures of Reese over the past 2 weeks. I'll update with all the details of our adventures in teething, sleepless nights, birthday parties, etc. later this weekend I promise!

It's Sunday (July 20th) evening and Reese is down for a late nap before bedtime...let's see how much I can blog until she wakes up...oops I hear her now...I'll be back.

Ok, I'm back. So to sum it up our Internet is super slow, and I have to unplug and let it rest before I use it. Additionally, Reese has been off of her schedule as she is teething. One of her bottom teeth is already peeking through, and I can feel it more and more each day when she bites me. I don't get much time to do anything but take care of baby girl in the evenings and weekends. She hasn't been sleeping through the night or napping longer than 40 minutes at a time. Poor baby, I know she is not feeling well. I wake up multiple times a night and usually end up putting her in bed with me, so I can get some rest. I know...I'm starting a bad habit again, but sometimes you just gotta break the rules so everyone can get some sleep. (Matt has been out of town, which has also made it harder, since I can't share the responsibilities with him)

Despite not feeling 100%, she almost always has a smile on her face (except when she wakes up and cries at night)!

Here she is yesterday showing off a new outfit that Grandma and I found for her while running errands on Friday. We also took Reese to lunch at Buffalo Grille. She did well! I carried her in her carrier and she didn't tear up for pout at all. We kept waiting for her to crack up, but she did great. When we were almost done, she acted like she was ready to burst, so we looked at each other and said, "I'm done!" and we bolted! Grandma was finishing off her cornbread as we walked out the door.

We also got Reese some new toys: blocks and balls. She can sit up with assistance, by sitting in between my legs, and we can play with her blocks. I am ready for her to be able to sit up so we can play more. It'll be more fun that just being on her back and tummy.

Here she is, swinging at 10:30 at night...Yep she would not go to sleep that night. I finally turned her over to Grandma Ruth at 11:45 (she was up watching baseball), so I could get to bed. Reese was up until 12:30 that night.

Last weekend, we celebrated Mom's birthday.

Here is Reese playing with Grandma Ruth.

They both have a dazed sort of look...LOL!

We went to dinner at Palazzo's and booked the wine room, hoping Reese would do better. We went at 5:00 as that was the only time the room was available and we thought we'd beat the crowd. Mom suggested I carry Reese in rather than leave her in her carrier. That seemed to work well and Reese didn't start tearing up until I tried to put her back in when she got tired. Needless to say, Grandma and I took turns holding her during dinner.

Mom and Sam. Sam wears the bald look well!

Brief update on Sam and Joe...Sam's had a scan week before last to check the progress of the cancer and the good news is the cancer is on his lung is smaller and the cancer on his back is gone. The bad news is they discovered a different type of cancer on his kidney. It was probably missed before because the iodine used for the scan was blocking the view. The chemo he is taking will work on his kidney and once he finishes chemo the doctor will talk about next steps. His pick line also got infected and had to be removed, but he'll get a new one in a week or so. This weekend he went to visit his daughters in D.C.

Joe's scan also had good news; the lung cancer is still small and contained. However, his side affects get worse with each treatment, so this round, he is going to take his meds every other day and stop a few days early to see if that will help reduce the severity.

Reese slept through most of the dinner.

Afterwards, we went back to Mom's for cake and presents. I got her a cake from Acadian Bakers and some how managed to miss the fact that they mis-spelled her name. I told them FREDDA, but when they showed it to me I didn't notice it was wrong. I blame it on "being a new mom", you know, my brain is not all there anymore! I wonder how long I can use that excuse?

More pics with Grandma...such a sweet, cute baby!

Grandma Pat came by last weekend and this weekend to visit.

My friend Crystalyn bought this onesie for Reese. I just love it! I can't believe Reese is big enough to wear it already.

She sleeps on her side most of the time and occasionally we'll find her on her tummy, but if she wakes up she is not happy to be belly down.

Talking away as she plays on her floor blanket.

Bunny pictures!!! Isn't she getting big? I call her my chunkaroo. This was taken at 5 1/2 months.

Hi friend!
Awe, wearing Daddy's cap. How cute!

I love love love this little outfit. She's almost too big for it. Check out those thunder thighs!

She fits in her new umbrella stroller which we've had for a while, but just recently took her outside in it. Pat wheeled her around the house in it at 4 1/2 months, but she was too small to take her outside.
Such a sweet smile...sitting with Grandma Fredda.

And we have another video. This is what she does after her bath!

I also want to list some new things that I would normally elaborate on, but since this post is a recap of two weeks, I'll be brief.

Reese has...

1. Found her thumb; she doesn't suck on it, she gnaws on it.
2. She is ticklish; not only when we kiss her neck, but also when we tickle her tummy and under her arms.
3. She wakes up screaming bloody murder like she had a bad dream. It scares me to death and I bolt out of bed and run in to check on her.

4. Last Sunday she slept on my chest for two hours. It was sweet.
5. We've retired the bouncer; she's basically too big for it and she arches her back and tries to get out. That figures since we just bought a huge pack of D batteries.
6. Again, she arches her back and pushes with legs when she doesn't like the position she is in.
7. Do I really need to emphasize this one? She keeps me up at night and doesn't put herself down anymore. I'm hoping this is just a phase and we'll get back to normal soon. I am hesitant to let her cry it out too long because I don't know if she is in pain from teething or if her tummy is hurting (she is out of whack with her poop too).
8. She turns her mobile off with her feet and then looks at it like, "why aren't you moving".
9. She likes her swing finally! Bouncer is out, swing is in.
10. The Bumbo is not working for her; I don't know if it ever will. She leans forward or sideways.
11. She has eaten the following organic baby food: apples, pears, prunes, bananas, peas, carrots, and sweet potatoes. I've been cutting back on the rice as I think it's making her complicated (I mean constipated).
12 She likes to watch TV or the computer. We don't let her watch too much TV, but she does like the movement and sounds.

13. We've cut back on our evening walks as there are too many mosquitoes outside!

Technical Difficulties

Our Internet is moving at a snail's pace, so I have not been able to update the blog. Be patient and stay tuned, I will try try again.

Reese's first night away from Mommy & Daddy ~ 1st Fourth of July!

Reese spent her first 4th of July holiday at Grandma Fredda's! Yes, Matt finally gave in and let her stay the night away from us. I know it's hard to believe that it was Matt and not me who didn't want Reese to go. We knew she would be in good hands, but still it was her first time to spend the night away from her home, her bed and most of all both of us!

I dropped Reese and Grandma Ruth off at Mom's on Friday afternoon around 3:00 p.m. and after visiting for a bit I headed out. I was a little sad on the way over to Mom's, even though I was looking forward to getting some rest and sleeping on on Saturday morning. Reese was playing in her exersaucer when I kissed her bye and headed out the door. I knew just what to do when I got home...I grabbed a blanket and snuggled up on the couch for a nice nap. Matt joined me shortly afterwards and I think we got at least an hour and a half in before we decided to get up and head out for dinner and a movie.

We went to Grotto and enjoyed a nice glass of wine with snapper. After dinner we went to see the new Indiana Jones movie, but I called to check in on Reese before we got to the theater. She was doing great and was actually taking a late nap when I called. I also learned that she ate peas for the first time and loved them! Grandma Ruth was surprised Reese ate the green mush, much less actually liked it. I wasn't surprised she enjoyed the peas because she does not like bananas as they must be too tart. She probably liked the peas because they are the opposite. (I tasted them today...not bad.)

Mom bragged on Reese saying how good she was all evening and on Saturday. I am so glad to hear that because this means we can start letting her stay with her Grandparents more often! Like once a month!

We arrived to pick her up around 3:30 p.m. today (Saturday). We got to hear all about the fun they had and see the pictures and videos Mom took. Reese has really found her voice as you'll see in the video below (our first attempt at posting video on the WWW)!

Reese is looking up at Grandma Ruth while enjoying her bath in the kitchen sink.

Sprawled out getting ready to put on her pj's.



Reese is talking away in this video...it's funny to hear what Mom and Grandma say trying to get her to talk to them.

Testing out her new pink bed (this is the one our friend, Barry, let us have . . . . Barry if you ever want the bed back, just let us know).

Playing before bedtime.

Bouncing around on Saturday before we picked her up.

On our way home we made a last minute decision to eat a Pappasito's. We planned to feed Reese at the restaurant, but Reese clearly had other plans (as we feared she would). As soon as we walked in and headed towards our table her lip started to quiver and her eyes began to water. Uh oh! Here she goes! Screaming and crying like we've done something horrible to her (Matt says this was an example of her going Ape Sh---t).

I pick her up out of her carrier and hugged/shushed her all to no avail. The tears keep coming, so Matt grabs her bottle and hands it over. (Nope, not working.) I take her outside and she calms down, but as soon as we walk back in she starts up again. I'm thinking, "Ok, this clearly is not going to work!" I look around and see a few folks looking our way. I frantically start tossing her stuff in her bag and put Reese in her carrier. "Get the food to go and meet me in the car!" I say (or something like that). On my way out, some lady says something like "it'll get better soon". Of course, Reese calms down as soon as we get outside and to the car. I start her on the bottle again, and we chill until Matt arrives with our take out.

I was not surprised she acted this way. It's her new thing to not enjoy restaurants. She does perfectly fine at Target and Kroger (at least the last time we went). So who knows...it's another phase I guess. We are hoping this soon will pass! We really want to her to enjoy getting out of the house and seeing new things. I know one thing is for sure, she doesn't like strong smells so that could be part of the problem (Matt is getting scared that she won't like Mexican Food). Oh well, we'll keep trying, but next time we won't order until we are sure she wants to stay. :)