January 2011 House Update

We are progressing on the house. The trim carpenter has about 2 more weeks left and the tile artisan starts in another two weeks.

Here is a picture of the house from the front. The columns for the stoop will be set next week.

The brick wall is almost 1/2 completed. The wall will be approximately 8 feet tall.

Here is a picture of the side yard. The scaffolds are gone and the brick wall is in progress.

Another picture of the side yard from the side porch.

This is a picture of the dining room. The paint isn't up yet, but the painters are priming the entire house.

At the very back of the dining room is a place for wine and drinks (two pictures below).

Here is a picture of the downstairs powder room.

Here is a picture of the downstairs study.

Here is a picture of the Family Room with entertainment center.

Here is a picture of the fireplace in the Family Room.

Here is a picture of the Family Room (looking at the side yard).

Here is a view that looks into the kitchen from the Family Room.

Here is a picture from the kitchen (that looks into the Family Room).

Here is a picture in the kitchen (looking at the breakfast nook).

Here is a picture looking at the breakfast nook.

Here is a picture looking at the brick surround (which surrounds the range) and the kitchen island.

Here is a picture in the kitchen (looking at the kitchen island and the back of the kitchen).

Here is another picture of the brick surround.

Here is a picture of the kitchen desk area (mud room to left and cupboard to right).

Here is a picture of the mud room that leads into the garage.

Here is a picture looking into the laundry room (we built a stand for the washer and dryer).

Here is a picture looking into the upstairs game room.

Here is a picture from the back end of the game room.

Here is a picture looking into the master bath.

Here is a picture of Adrienne's sink for the master bathroom.

I am a Ladybug!

Reese says the funniest and smartest things, so I am going to try and document them more often so I do not forget. Maybe I'll make it a daily thing - to document what the kids did that day, but don't hold your breath. ;)

She has always loved ladybugs and recently MaMa Pat bought her a ladybug night light toy - see nap picture from last post. This was Pat's attempt to help us keep Reese in her bed and it does help. The ladybug lights up and shines stars and a half moon on the ceiling in either red, blue or green. Reese just loves it - and I must say it is a neat toy.

So on to my point ... Now when we tell Reese she is cute or pretty, she says, "I am not pretty! I am a ladybug!" So if you want to compliment her just tell her that she is a ladybug!

A few more Reese updates; she still insists on "buckling first" in her car seat. This means she buckles the top straps and then we snap in the bottom. Don't try and get around it or you'll have to start the entire process again. She also continues her stand to be independent (which means I get to practice my patience) - you just never know when you will do something for her that she wants to do herself. Don't worry she will let you know soon enough with a big cry and usually a few tears, "No, I want to do it!" This morning she wanted to take the banana off of the bunch. Unfortunately for me, I did it first, but she let me know soon enough. Now I know!

And for Lane's daily update - last night (at 12 weeks) he held his head up very straight while Matt held him. Lane has always been strong and continues to get stronger each day. It was cute to see him hold his head up high. Matt was so proud of him.

Did I mention how much I love his cheeks? OMG! They are the absolute cutest cheeks ever! Besides Reese's of course! I can't get enough kisses on them. Now Lane, you can't get any bigger ok! I always told Reese this, but she just kept growing. Speaking of growing, Lane is now too long for his 3-6 month sleepers, but the 6-12 are still a bit long.

The Polo still fits!

Chris gave me a Polo onesie for my birthday (it was for Lane of course). Over Christmas, he asked me if Lane had worn it yet. Lane had not and I was worried he had outgrown it! I knew I had washed it and placed it in the drawer knowing he could wear it soon as it was size 3 months. Anyway, I found it and put it on him and was so glad it still fit!

Remember Reese wore a similar Polo at this age. I'll come back and add the picture, but for now see the bow head picture on the side panel of the blog.

I framed them both and have them on my desk at work! Lane is 11 weeks old in his picture. I'll have to figure out how old Reese was, but she was very close to that age. However, she looks so much smaller than Lane.

I just love watching Lane interact with his mobile. He talks, wiggles and moves his arms and legs like crazy.

This is cute, how they both have their hand near their ear/cheek.

Big boy! So very sweet! A "tweet boy" as I say.

Sacked out!

On Tuesday, the 4th, Lane and I took one of our last strolls before I headed back to work. I thought he was just too cute here. Look at the rolls on his arms. He had a good nap while I walked 2 miles around the track at the park.

This is the onesie we received from Mesha and Allen. It is like a Texas license plate and has October 2010 on it. I still need to note the website of the vendor - they must have the neatest stuff.

This weekend was Matt's drill, so he was in San Antonio. The kids and I stayed with Mom and Grandma! Do you ever watch the Housewives of Beverly Hills? You know how Camille has 4 nannies? Well, I can sort of see why (even though 4 does seem a bit much), but I admit it takes a village to raise kiddos. For example, today it is cold and rainy so, I left the kids at Mom's while I ran home to start some laundry and then go to the grocery store. I have not taken them both to the store by myself yet. The first time I took them both my friend Rachel joined me and was a great help. I am thankful I have as much help as I do from my Mom, Grandma Ruth and Pat. I am blessed and don't know how single mom's do it. Guess I'll figure that out when Matt gets deployed - yes it will happen at some point. But then again, I'll have my support system which makes me a lucky Mommy! Thank you so much Mom, Grandma and Pat!!!

Aunt Lauren gave Reese this cute shirt and jeggings for Christmas. I kept trying to get Reese to wear it, but she refused. Finally she agreed to wear it when I compared it to Sally (the Porsche from Cars). You know because the outfit is blue and black like Sally. Hey, whatever works, right?

Yesterday I got her to wear a new pair of fleece pants because I told her they were excercise pants like mine. We were getting ready to go for a walk with Lane and GiGi. The 3 mile walk was great by the way and Reese loved going up and down the hills in the jogger.

Reese loves to sit at GiGi's desk and play with the computer or draw and write notes on the post its. The post it notes end up all over the house.

Today, Lane turns 12 weeks - here are some cute pictures of the kiddos.

Lane is like, "Are we done yet?"

I love this one! Look how they are smiling at each other. Lane give us so many smiles and just loves to talk to us. He says, "Na Guh" and lots of fun cooing sounds. Last night, I fed him at 1:00 a.m., 4:30 a.m. and 7:45 a.m. After each feeding, he wanted to talk to his Mommy. It was so sweet, so we rocked and talked for a while before going back to bed each time. What a sweet love!

Our preppy boy - in the Polo again and some cute pants that Wendy gave us.

When Reese woke up from her nap she said, "Mommy, I had a good nap!" And boy did she need it! She was so tired that she agreed to lay down and take one.

A few funny updates on the kids:

Lane is receiving all breast milk as I am pumping exclusively and have a good supply going. Anyway, he sometimes goes 5 days without pooping. Now, this is really not so funny because he has a lot of gas which is painful for him. I do give him the gas drops which seem to help. And of course I worry about what I am eating to give him such gas. The 5 days without pooping is just weird, Reese never did this, but she always got breast milk and formula. His doctor says it is completely normal for breast fed babies, but I feel so bad for him!

Reese had a 20 minute conversation with her teacher last week while going potty at school. She told her teacher all about the new house and how her room will be green and Lane's room will be blue. The kid can sit on the potty forever while chit chatting and entertaining herself! She usually does this at night when we are trying to get her to go to bed - could it be a stall tactic - hmm. Reese is doing better about sleeping in her bed at night. We are all getting more rest because of it. Yippee!

Oh, and I did well my first day back at work. I only worked Thursday, but it was great getting back in the swing of things. I was a little groggy in the morning, but after some coffee and lunch I was ok. It felt good to be back at work and interacting with my colleagues. When I got home I really appreciated seeing Reese and Lane and ate up my time with them. I'll keep you posted, next week is a full week!

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas with Reese, Lane and our family!

After Christmas Eve mass, we headed to GiGi's to eat dinner and spend the night waiting for Santa Claus. I must admit we didn't last for the entire mass. We arrived 30 minutes early, which was 30 minutes too late to get a seat. By the time mass started Reese was hungry so we headed out shortly after. It's so hard with young ones because if you go early to get a seat, they'll be tired when mass starts, but if you go right when it begins you are standing in the lobby and have to watch on the tele-prompter. Oh well, God knew we had good intentions.

After a delicious meal of Grandma Ruth's beef enchiladas we let the kids open one gift a piece. Well, Reese opened them both as Lane isn't quite big enough yet. ;)

What did they get? Christmas pj's! I think we started a new tradition! I found cute gingerbread woman/man pj's for both of them at Gymboree and The Children's Place. They were so cute!

I just love this picture of Reese by the tree.

And this one of Lane sprawled out on the couch. The baby boy has a belly!

We have not mastered the whole 'Reese holding Lane' picture thing yet, but we'll get it eventually.

Before bed time, we baked chocolate chip cookies for Santa. Reese insisted we take our cookie dough from home so we could bake them at GiGi's. When we woke up Christmas morning look what we found under the tree! Toys, toys and more toys!

Reese got the Dora Doll House she had asked for. It entertained her the rest of the morning and all day long. She really was not interested in opening anymore gifts after that.

Our stockings were full of goodies too! Reese absolutely loves her new Dora "termos" as she calls it. So much that she wanted to take mac 'n cheese w/broccoli every day in her lunch. One morning I tried to give her pb&j because the mac 'n cheese was on it's fourth day. She insisted on taking the mac, so I had to cook a fresh batch that morning before taking her to school. Luckily, I was still on leave and didn't start back to work until the next day. ;)

The Thomas train set and Cars cars and play mat were a big hit too. She received every car from the movie - they are so neat!

When Lane was not sleeping, he enjoyed the morning in his bouncer. Yes, he likes it now!

About to enjoy bubble bread!

Reese wanted to help everyone open their gifts.

After opening tons of gifts, we headed home to get ready and then went to MaMa Pat's. Lane and Reese were so cute in their Christmas outfits. Reese finally agreed to wear her dress!!!

Santa brought Reese a Moon Dough barn set which she absolutely loved, but it was a huge mess! MaMa Pat didn't mind, but I was thinking 'way to go' Santa! Who knew it would be so messy??? When you see the commercial you think it is like play dough, but it's very powdery.

Reese had a blast! The floor got the brunt of it along with the table cloth.

The crank was broken and with all the mess, I made the toy disappear after Christmas. Reese kept asking where her orange crank, red barn, yellow hay and blue moon dough were. The child has the memory of an elephant. I told her that it was broken and I put it in the trash, but she kept asking about it so I gave in and replaced it. I will wrap it up for her birthday and deal with the mess. It's worth seeing her enjoy it so much. :) Pat said it vacuumed up easily! Let's hope so.

Reese and her Great Aunt/Godmother Sharon played with the Dora Doll House.

A few family pictures at the end of a great day. Can you tell which one is Matt?

Scott, Lauren and Copa. Now you know which one is Scott. ;)