A Mini Vacation . . .

Reese spent the weekend with Grandma Fredda and Grandma Ruth as Matt and I took a mini vacation to Sarasota, Florida for Melissa's (Matt's cousin) wedding. Lauren and Scott joined us and we had a blast! We left early Friday morning and returned on Sunday afternoon. I must say it was a relaxing weekend. We had a great time hanging out in Sarasota and catching up with Matt's family. We got to sleep in Saturday and Sunday morning! And on Saturday, Lauren and I shopped while the boys watched college football at a local brewery. I'll upload some pictures from the wedding as soon as I get them from Scott (my camera died as usual).

Here is how Reese spent her weekend . . . . .

Nice walks to the park to swing!





Practicing her pulling up / standing up skills with a little help from Grandma Fredda.




Getting into things she shouldn't be . . .



Playing!

Matt and I could not wait to get home and scoop Reese up! We missed her sooo much! I even took today off of work, so I could spend time with Reese after being gone all weekend. It was nice!

We were trying to get a picture of her outfit here . . . Reese would rather play.

Even though we were only gone for two nights, Reese seemed so big when we got back. Maybe it takes a few days away to realize just how much she is growing!

I just love this shot!

Reese either has a cold or allergies and this started after we left town. Mom didn't get much sleep as Reese was up both Friday and Saturday night. I know Mom enjoyed every minute of it even though she must have been exhausted by Sunday afternoon. Thanks Mom!!!

One other update, the bumper pad is back on Reese's crib. I put it on and take I it off and had decided she was big enough for me to leave it off (it's such a pain to change the sheets; actually I'm getting faster each time) until today after her nap. Her head must have been against the rail because she had two dents in her head when she woke up. I was shocked to see such a sight and a little worried. It's back to normal now, but I've put the bumper pad back on her crib. Reese, the little stinker, was already untying it as soon as I finished. ;) See, I know I can't leave it on much longer or else it'll be a toy or a ladder to climb out of the crib. What's a Mom to do?

Off the Charts at 9 Months!

Reese turned 9 months old on Tuesday, October 21, 2008. She had her 9 month appointment on Thursday and is off the charts in height and head circumference. She weighs 20.2 lbs and is 30 inches long. What a tall baby girl we have! She is right on track with her development as per the sheet the doctor gave me which stated that babies her age may do the following:

- Continues to resist doing what does not want to do ... Oh yes! Reese has the arched back act down pat.
- May resist diapering ... Of course! Let's just say she can throw a fit or simply crawl away bare bottom and all.
- Loves showing off for family members ... the other day she looked at Grandma and started clapping like she was trying to get her attention to show Grandma how she could clap.
- Scrutinizes toys and other objects ... She has a toy elephant on wheels. When you pull the tail it rolls across the floor. The first time she saw this toy it actually startled her. Later I pulled the tail and it rolled by her and she jumped (startled again) and proceeded to cry. Since then she has sort of warmed up to the toy, but even today she wasn't quite sure if she wanted it to be near her. So we just let her decide if she wants to play with it or not.
- Goes from sitting to lying position unassisted ... Yes!
- Cries when Mommy or Daddy leaves the room ... Sometimes Reese will cry when we tell her bye and leave for work. (When Matt left this morning she started balling!)
- May pull self into standing position ... Has done this at least once; maybe more, but she trys to pull up on anything she can such as the end table, her jumper, her crib rails, etc.
- May begin to say "mama" or "dada" appropriately ... Really? Already? I'd better start working with her more on this one. She says "Dada..dada..dada.." but doesn't correlate it to Matt. Oh, I'll love it when she calls for us!

So during the appointment she pretty much freaked out anytime I laid her down on the examination table. She made it very difficult for the nurse and doctor to examine her! My job was to try and hold her down, but even that was hard as she flailed her arms and tossed and turned. I think she correlates the table with getting shots! Poor baby, she did get two shots this time! Her doctor suggested we "play doctor" with her because she thinks she is afraid of the tools. I guess I need to find a toy stethoscope.

Here is Reese the morning of her appointment wearing an outfit from Stacy and Ryan.





Matt was out of town last weekend and came back on Sunday evening. Here he is with his little girl!



On Saturday I went shopping with Mom, Grandma, and Reese.

Here are some picture of Reese on Saturday at Mom's house. The water bottle is a great toy!



Look at these jeans...isn't her little butt so cute?




I have cool jeans like my Mommy!

I found Reese playing with all of these toys and had to capture it. I love how she is sitting...it's a new thing.

Here's what I can do now!

Reese discovered how much fun it is to crawl under her jumper and then sit up with her head poking through the seat.



She can hang on with one hand and reach for Mommy with the other.



Reese loves to do random patty cakes too. It's cute to see her clapping!



Back under there again. . .such a smiley girl!



More patty cake. . .



This morning she held her bottle with her shirt. How funny is that?



Here is a snap shot of our favorite way to greet each other each morning and after naps. Reese crawls to the end of her bed, places her chin on the bumper pad and waits for me to come and pick her up. I absolutely love being there to greet her when she wakes up. It's so sweet to lean down and say hello to my baby girl.



Reese finds new things to get into each day. She crawls all over the living and dining room floor. Today she started grabbing at pictures on shelves and the wine bottles in the rack. I've got to baby proof my house ASAP! Where will I put everything?

I have been able to come home for lunch twice this week. It really makes my day to be able to come home and play with Reese and it helps to break up the workday.

I Don't Do Pumpkin Patches

This weekend was low-key (the way we like it). On Saturday morning we met Grandpa and Grandma Sicinski and Uncle Chris at Empire Cafe for breakfast. Reese was very well behaved. Grandpa Sicinski's Brooks Brothers bag kept her occupied for most of the breakfast. She has a new thing for chewing on paper products (her books, magazines, the grocery list, you name it). Luckily, the bag was very sturdy and didn't break down into little pieces.



Reese holding her security blanket. . .the watch.



After breakfast, Matt, Reese, and I went to the Pumpkin Patch at St. Luke's Church. I had been anxiously awaiting this trip all week. Mom and I even bought her a cute t-shirt for the occasion. However, Reese had a different idea and quite frankly did not like the pumpkins!



Every time we sat her near a pumpkin she started crying. . .Even the watch couldn't make her happy.



She was more interested in Daddy's watch than the pint sized pumpkin.



Here is a picture of Mommy and Reese before we aborted Operation Pumpkin Patch. Oh well, maybe next year. I guess we shouldn't make her first Halloween costume a pumpkin. :)



On Sunday morning, we loaded Reese up in the jogger and went for a walk. There is a Shipley's Donuts about half a mile from our house . . . . so we decided to make the walk to the donut store . . . pick up the donuts . . . . . and then walk back home. Matt wouldn't let me eat any donut holes on the way home. I guess he thought it defeated the purpose of walking (he said if we are going to eat donuts while we walk home we might as well light up a cigarette and drink a 40 oz of Malt Liquor too).



Pictures of the trek for donuts (notice the absence of a 40 oz and cigarettes).



We walked past a stump of a tree that fallen over during Hurricane Ike. We thought this was a bizarre picture.



Very surreal (makes you wonder where the rest of the tree is . . . . . ????????).



After doing some chores around the house, we decided to take another walk, this time to the park. The city just remodeled it, so we decided to check out the swings. Here is a picture of Reese looking at the nearby houses.




How do you like the cape (her bib turns sideways and reminds me of a cape)?



Reese telling Mommy to hurry up.



Finally . . . in the new swing.



. . . with Daddy's watch.



Swinging and giggling back and forth.



Here is a video of Reese having a good time.



Checking out the new equipment.



After getting home from the park, I decided I wanted Amy's Ice Cream. Reese fell asleep on the way home, and Matt was so proud that she stayed asleep while he took her out of the car seat and carried her inside. Here is a picture of our baby girl passed out on her Daddy's shoulder. Sweet.



Matt worked with Reese on her standing skills while I took a nap on Sunday. Later that night, she showed me how well she can stand all by herself.



This evening, Reese was playing on the floor while I folded clothes and she pulled herself up on the laundry basket into a standing position. I had to hold the basket down to keep it sturdy for her, so I was unable to snap a picture.

Reese's top teeth are coming in (I felt the tooth today). Poor baby girl has not felt well and was fussy this weekend and today. Hopefully they will come in soon, so she will feel better.

Omnibus Blog Posting

This past weekend was relaxing as usual. I worked most of the day on Friday because we are under the gun at work to get a project done (I usually get off at Noon), but I was able to take Reese to lunch with Jennifer (and her baby boy Brady) and Katrina at Ruggles Cafe. We met to discuss the planning of the baby shower for Baby Bazin. Baby Brady is such a big boy at 15 months old. It's hard to believe Reese will be there soon!

On Saturday, Mom, Grandma, Reese and I went to Gymboree to spend my Gymbucks! Wendy will be proud! Matt actually let me spend a little money since I was guaranteed to save half on what I bought. This is a picture we took last week that I wanted to share.



On Sunday, we went to the Matt's employer's company picnic at HH Ranch. It was a beautiful day (a little windy) and the weather was perfect. We were only able to stay for one hour because we had to scoot off to a birthday bash for Jennifer (she celebrated her 2nd 29th birthday). Here are some pictures of Reese from the company picnic.






Later on Sunday evening, Reese and I got dressed in our matching "comfy" clothes and played (green pants and pink top). Her new favorite toy is Matt's running watch (we wash the watch before we let her play with it).



I finally gave Reese her first bitter biscuit. The box says something like, "Your baby is ready to eat this tasteless, hard cookie when she can crawl on both hands and knees with her tummy off of the floor." Well, Reese isn't crawling with her tummy off of the floor, but I went ahead and gave her the biscuit as an appetizer while I made her cereal and veggies. She must have been enjoying it because she fussed at me when I took it away to feed her real food.

Tonight, I tried to feed her stage 3 food which is a little chunky. She obviously is not ready because she gagged when I gave it to her. We'll wait a few more weeks and try again.



Reese is so big in her baby tub. She loves to splish splash away. Matt bathed her last night and she had so much fun splashing water everywhere.



And look at that...she does have hair. I told you!



This is Reese's new morning routine. She takes her bottle on our bed while we change her diaper and start getting dressed.



Grandma is keeping my friend Christina's baby girl, Adeline, this week. The girls are definitely keeping her busy. When one cries, the other starts crying. I came home for lunch today to check on everyone and Reese was playing the floor while Adeline took a nap in her bouncer. Isn't she pretty?



And...Reese can patty cake now! I've been singing patty cake to her for a while now and last weekend she started clapping her hands together. She doesn't do it with me when I sing, but we find her clapping when she is playing.

Finally...we can be googled! I knew this, but it's real now that someone has found us by googling a topic. See the latest comment on our previous post. It is from a lady who was googling my OBGYN doctor, and since I have Dr. Richter's name listed in our blog she was able to find us. She left me a comment asking for feedback on my doctor. I guess it's a sign of the times.