I'm twooo!

Reese woke up to hear Mommy singing,

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Reese, Happy Birthday to you...

And then we all enjoyed waffles and bananas together before getting ready for work and school. She had a brief crying spell because her milk was not in a Dora cup. I poured the milk from her flower cup to her Dora cup and all was well.



Then we took lots of cute pictures of Reese in her special 2 year old shirt. She told Mommy her shirt had a heart and a two on it. What a smart two year old!




She also said "Cheese" when Mommy took her picture.



She gladly put on her cute polka dot hoodie.

And Mommy and Daddy took her to school with cupcakes in hand. I asked Ms. Yolanda to take pictures of cupcake time.

Looks like Reese had a lot of fun sharing with her friends.

I was told she kept saying "I'm twooo!"

Ms. Barbara asked Reese if she was inviting her and Ms. Yolanda to the Dora party on Saturday. Reese replied, "Yep!"

Reese with her teachers Ms. Barbara and Ms. Yolanda. We love them and they love her!

When I picked Reese up from school, I asked Ms. Barbara if the kids liked the cupcakes.

Ms. Barbara: No...I didn't want to tell you. Hehe. Maybe they aren't used to the sugar, Reese ate her icing and Chloe ate her cake, but Jordan just picked at it. They loved the goldfish though!

Me: Well they were gluten free/organic cupcakes, made them myself!

Ms Barbara: Yea, we had some extras, so we offered them to the other room teachers. They were so excited! Then they took a bite and said "What did she do to these?" Ms. Yolanda told them "They are healthy, and I like them!"

Me: Yea, I tasted them last night, not too bad. :)

Ms. Brenda and Ms. Barbara tried to make me feel better saying, "Oh yea, Aidan's parents feed him like that too."

Well, it may not taste as good, but there are no partially hydrogenated anything, and I can pronounce the less than 10 ingredients in the gluten free mix. I'm going to keep trying and surely I can create a recipe we can all live with. (Have I mentioned I've been on this healthy, whole grain, organic, natural, low processed, sometimes gluten free kick since June? It started with MyFitFoods; check out their website. It's stuck and we are all eating better, and I lost at least 10 pounds, dropped two sizes and have kept it off. If you don't eat crap, you can actually lose weight! It only took me 31 years to figure it out.)

So after that lovely spill, I have to admit Reese and I enjoyed dinner at Chick-fil-a? We don't do it often, only on special occasions like this. You gotta cheat once and a while; it's good for your metabolism.

I asked Reese to say "Cheese" right when she had a mouthful.

Afterwards, we played for an hour in the toddler playground. It was our first time to experience the jungle gym. Although it smelled a little like dirty feet, Reese loved it and went through it by herself a few times. I got my work out going through it over and over while we waited on Daddy to arrive. We both scrubbed down good before bed. ;)

To kill a little more time before Daddy arrived, we treated ourselves to a small strawberry shake and agua. We had to take a photo of our fun night and we both said "Cheese".



Reese said "Milkshake" for this one.



We are having so much fun with our sweet Reesie. She truly amazes me each and every day. The other day I sneezed and she said "bless you."

I guess all the words she had heard us say at home and from her teachers/friends at school are just rolling off her tongue.

Reese you are such a joy! We love you baby bears!

Weekend with Stacy

Stacy and her friends Carrie and Melissa came to visit! We had a great day starting with lunch at Pei Wei and then an afternoon at Theatre Under the Stars enjoying the musical Chorus Line.



We went to dinner at Raven Grille on Saturday evening.



And met Mark, Valerie and Isabella at Breakfast Klub on Sunday morning. The food is fabulous and well worth the wait; why haven't we tried this place before? Thanks for the suggestion Mark!

Both Stacy and Valerie are expecting. Valerie is due early March and Stacy is due late May!

Birthday countdown!

Reese will be 2 years old on the 21st of this month! She is growing up and doing so much now! Sometimes I think she has actually grown a little during her nap. She'll wake up and look different. Every time Mom sees her (at least once a week) she is certain Reese has grown and is doing more.

Here are some things Reese has been doing:

- Saying please and thank you when she wants and receives something
- Says agua pronounced awah for water. I think she has been saying this for a while and I thought she was saying wawa. She learned this Spanish word at school as some of her friends are bi-lingual
- When prompted says, I'm mart (smart), I'm pretty, I rock, I'm big. This all started when Grandma Ruth taught her to say I'm cute. She also says I'm two. When she likes something she says cute cute which she learned from me telling her she or something was cute cute
- Has told Mommy and Gigi to "go away" when we try to do something she does not like
- Follows instructions and remembers where things are located like getting her step stool out of the cabinet and getting her Vaseline off the night stand and putting it on her lips
- Putting multiple words together to make sentences
- Repeating almost every word we say to her
- Counting to 3 in English and Spanish, with assistance
- Identifying the color "white"
- Paying more attention to shows/movies on T.V.
- Using the sign for eat
- Helping Mommy put things away when asked
- Climbing onto the chair at the kitchen table by herself
- Walking places instead of having Mommy carry her. I really had to make myself do this one as I was spoiling her and carrying her out of school each day. Now she walks to the car all by herself. She has been doing this for Daddy for months
- Says, "No coat Mommy" when I try to put her coat on. Luckily when I say, "We are not leaving the house until you put it on," she will
- Has much more confidence and is comfortable with us leaving her at Gigi's. She gives kisses and waves Goodbye
- Blows kisses to say "I love you"
- Wipes her hands and washes her face after eating
- Asks for a tissue and wipes her nose when its runny and says, "Thank you" when I had her the tissue. She can't blow her nose, but will place the tissue on her nose and blow from her mouth
- Loves for me to blow dry her hair. And asks for more! Maybe that will make her first hair cut easier!
- At school, they sing a chant and prayer before snack and lunch. Reese does the hand gestures for "roll them and roll them and give them a clap; roll them and roll them and place them in your lap" and says "Amen" at the end of the prayer
- She can repeat all of the names of the kids in her class and say her teachers names
- Will name all of us when we sit at the table, Mommy, Daddy, Gigi, MaMoo (she used to call Grandma MawMaw; now it's MaMoo) and finally Reese. I thought she would never say her own name, but she does now!
- Calls Grandpa Joe, Papa. Now we need a name for Grandma Pat
- Sees a picture of Matt, Scott and Chris and calls them all Daddy. Then we tell her Scott and Chris are Uncle and she says Uncle
- Likes to pretend to go night night or to put her baby down for night night. In the morning when we are laying in bed, she will place her baby down, cover her up and say night night.
- She loves to be tucked in at night; this makes the bed time routine more fun for us all! Matt started it by having her hold her baby, wrapping a blanket around her and then placing another blanket on top and tucking it around her. She give us the biggest smile
- For the most part, she sleeps in her bed, but usually ends up in ours around 5:30 a.m.

It is so much easier to communicate with Reese now. We understand what she needs and she understands what we say. This has taught me that I must also follow through and instill discipline. For example, when she spreads toys all over the floor, I ask her to pick them up before moving on to something else. It takes some reinforcement, but she does it.

Merry Christmas 2009 ~ Hello New Decade 2010!

We had a wonderful Christmas with Reese and all of our family.

Christmas Eve we attended a very crowded Mass before heading to Mom's for our traditional Mexican feast. Grandma Ruth made her famous beef enchilada's served with pinto beans, rice, chips and Julio's salsa. Mom and I prepared Sam's bubble bread to bake on Christmas morning. We missed not having Sam and agreed that it was hard to listen to some Christmas music like "Oh Holy Night" and "Little Drummer Boy" because we played those songs at his memorial service. Tears came to my eyes every time I heard "Oh Holy Night" this year.

On Christmas morning, Matt and I woke up before Reese and took a sneak peak at what Santa had brought. While waiting for Reese to wake up and for Mom and Grandma to arrive, we made coffee and put the bubble bread in the oven. When Reese got up we took her to see the gifts Santa left her under the tree. She was so excited to see her kitchen that she hardly noticed the books, puzzles and coloring supplies. She immediately began cooking breakfast.



She just had to open one gift before Mom and Grandma arrived.



It was kitchen accessories.



When Mom and Grandma arrived, we unloaded their gifts and sat down for breakfast. The bubble bread was yummy, but wasn't quite as good as Sam's. We're bound to get it right eventually. He always over did the ingredients which made it so ooey and gooey and delicious. More was always more!

Before digging into our stockings, we played the Santa Claus toy which sang, "Here Comes Santa Claus". Reese loved it as you can see.









I got a Reese Witherspoon dvd trio set which included both Legally Blondes and The Man Over the Moon. Love it!






Mom got the Michael Jackson cd.





Reese got 5 pairs of bright colored Gap socks. Love 'em!







Reese got a new kitty cat hooded towel which she had to wear the rest of the morning.



Matt got a new piece of luggage which he badly needed due to all of his traveling.

Reese got her first pair of Nike tennis shoes. They are so cute and she loves them as much as I do!

Like my kicks?

After opening lots of gifts, we decided we'd better get ready to head to Matt's parents house for Christmas Day lunch.

Reese refused to wear her pretty plaid Christmas dress, so we settled on her pretty white sweater, jeans and Nike's. Actually, we didn't even attempt the dress because she had refused it a week earlier. I am beginning to wonder if she will ever like frilly things?!? Probably not!

She discovered the piano for the first time and had a ball reading the music and playing the keys.

She also discovered the bar. I always like playing the bar when I was a kid. Not anything to do with the alcohol they are just neat spaces that are fun to explore. Reese kept bringing us Coca Colas.

She also munched on all the snacks.

Lauren got a funny gift from Joe. She wants a kitten, but Scott is making her wait until June, so Joe bought her a toy tiger. It purrs when you pet it.

Reese scored some cute clothes, toys and books.

The next day we got up early and hit the road for Abilene. We rolled in (as Aunt Jamie would say) around 2:30 p.m., took Mom and Grandma to Aunt Jamie's house and headed to my brother's.

Dad, Dana, Pat and Dwayne were there. We hadn't seen my Aunt Pat and Uncle Dwayne in a long time. It reminded me of the good old days when we'd have Christmas at their house.

Dwayne and Dad

Dad and Dana

It took Reese a while to warm up. Daddy tried to get her to smile by tickling her chin.

Spinning around in the chair did the trick.

Abilene had a White Christmas and we got to enjoy its beauty.

Dana tossed a snow ball at Reese, but she wasn't amused. Gotta get her a sense of humor! ;)

Pat and Dwayne

Reese and Riley watched Papa Larry open his gifts.

Reese got a really cute fairy tree house which she played with all weekend.

Riley got a gift card!

Kyler got a cool shirt!

Tyler got a gift card too!

Joe, Angela and Riley.

Reese and the boys!

On Sunday, Reese's cousin Conner came over to visit at Aunt Jamie's. They didn't want to share their toys, and I didn't manage to get a picture of them smiling!

After a visit to see Grandpa Jack and Norma, we went back to Jamie's to celebrate with more of Reese's cousins.

Lexi looked like a hippie with a bow on her head. Lexi also announced that she is going to be a big sister! Yes, Ashley is pregnant and due around August. Congratulations little sis. Oh and this reminds me, Maylee is engaged! She and Lance are getting married in September! We have a lot to look forward to this year.

Slaton is getting so big!

Reese did the funniest thing. She held Gigi's hand and walked her around the kitchen, through the living room and back through the kitchen. Alyssa, Ashley, Jamie and I were talking in the kitchen and Reese has to "squeeze" through. She would say "excuse me" and turn her booty to pass through. It was super cute!

The next time around, she wold sashay to the side. She did this over and over again.

Slaton, Weston and Evelyn

Lexi joined in!

Here goes Reese again! She and Gigi just giggled and giggled along the way.

The next day we headed back to Houston...quick trip as usual! Maybe next time I can visit some of my friends. Hello, sorry I missed you this trip!

We spent the rest of the week hanging out with Reese, playing with her new toys, taking down the tree and decorations, organizing the house and doing some new house stuff. Matt and I selected lighting one afternoon while Reese hung out with MaMoo (her new name for Grandma Ruth). Reese is doing very well with separation; when we left her with Grandma she didn't even cry.

Reese enjoyed playing with her new magnets Aunt Jamie found for her.

Matt and I spent our evenings on the couch glued to the fourth season of 24. Jack Bauer is addicting! We both watched the first season and got hooked. Matt watched the second season without me and we skipped the third. We plan to catch up and are also looking forward to the new season starting this month.

We had a very low key New Year's Eve. Reese spent the night with Gigi and MaMoo. When we dropped her off she waved goodbye without a tear in her eye. We had dinner with Scott, Lauren and Chris at Chuy's and then went to The Mink for a drink and champagne toast at midnight. Our friend Mark manages the place. We had a nice visit and some yummy cupcakes.

On New Year's Day we ate ham, black eyed peas and mashed potatoes for lunch.

Then we helped Mom take down her Christmas decorations and watched more 24 while Reese napped.

Later in the weekend, Reese preteded to go night night. She asked for her quilt and her pillow.

Got enough purses? Dig the headband and necklace! She asked me for the necklace saying, "I want necklace." Who can refuse that? She is talking up a storm, and we are so proud. It's so much fun to hear her new words, phrases and sentences every day.

We were all well rested (Reese learned to sleep in) and ready to start the week back at school and work. We had such a great week with Reesie!