Little Laughter

Reese laughed for the first time tonight. It was precious! Bailey was doing something goofy and I laughed at her. Well, of course, being the performer that she is, she had to do it for Reese. I laughed again and suddenly Reese laughed. It caught me so off guard that I made Bailey do it again. Sure enough, she laughed again. Both of us were so excited. Oh, how cute it was!!! If only you could capture that with pictures. I'll have to be sure to get it on video.

Daddy just happened to have left for London today so he won't get to hear it for 9 days!!! Darn!!! So, so cute!!!

Cereal Time

Yesterday was cereal time! I had gotten Reese some oatmeal cereal rather than rice cereal. I'm not sure why - oatmeal just seemed less yucky than rice. From the time I took the can out of the pantry until we actually started feeding, she seemed to know that was food for her. She got so excited! Once we started feeding, she kept opening her mouth for us to put the spoon back in. She still has to learn how to "eat". She is so used to sucking on a bottle that the reflex is there to use her tongue way more than is needed. She kept pushing food out of her mouth. However, she did ok. She ate 3/4 of the bowl I had made. I think she stopped eating not because she was no longer hungry but because eating is a lot of work. She is not used to having to work much at her food - and our honey loves her food!!! I even had a hard time getting her to take the first bottle after her cereal meal. I really think she wanted more cereal. For now, we are limited to one cereal meal a day. In two weeks, we'll increase that to two times a day. Overall, I'd say that cereal is a success with Reese (unlike her big sister who hated cereal). I'm betting our little chunky monkey won't be quite as picky about food as her big sister. Chow for now!

Busy Week

We've had a very busy week in the Sharp household and it is only Thursday!

Last Sunday was Toby's 10th birthday. To celebrate, Toby and Belle had a birthday Frosty Paws (new Peanut Butter flavored) and a nice bone. Toby got a big bone and Belle had a smaller version. Today, Belle has taken Toby's birthday bone and given him hers. Nothing like a controlling female in the house. Hee, hee!

Last night (Wednesday) Bailey started dance at Abbott's Performing Arts Center (APAC). She loves it! She has decided that tap is her favorite - just like her mom. Although I'm sure that has less to do with genes and more to do with the fact that those shoes make a lot of noise. I had hoped that we'd be able to go into the studio and watch but we were not allowed. The teacher said it distracts the students to have the parents in there. Once a month, she will open the blinds so we can see how our little ballerinas are doing but otherwise, we sit in the lobby watching them on a teeny, tiny TV. She is currently in an eight-week summer session but if she continues to enjoy it, I will put her in for the fall. She really is cute. It brings back so many memories of my 22 year dancing career. I'm totally looking forward to seeing her on stage in a costume next May.

Finally, today is Reese's 4 month birthday. We went to the doctor this morning and all is well. Reese wasn't as happy about being out at the doctor's office after her two shots but they are necessary. The doctor is very happy with her progress. She weighs - hold your breath - 18 pounds, 12.8 ounces (off the chart) and is 25 1/2 inches long (90th percentile). She is doing really well and we will get to start cereal this weekend. We'll do cereal in the morning for 2 weeks, then go to twice a day for 2 weeks, and at 5 months we'll start one serving of veggies a day and one serving of cereal a day. I know she will enjoy having some real food as she was trying to grab my spoonful of jello yesterday. She also has rolled over from her back to her tummy once every day since Monday. She isn't doing it consistently but I'm sure it takes all her effort just to get one roll. She is a little...chubby!

That's all the happenings for now. I'll update for our cereal adventure soon!

Little Hands

Reese has officially discovered her hands. She is realizing that she can actually use them to put toys in her mouth, play with toys on her activity mat, or grab her feet. It is so cute!

Last Sunday (5/31) we were eating lunch at Casa Ole when I handed her a fruit keys toy. I never expected her to hold it long much less do anything with it. All of a sudden we all stopped eating as we realized she had put them in her mouth. Bailey jumped up and down saying she had taught her that. Big sister was so proud of her little sister. Reese put it in her mouth over and over at lunch but not again once we got home. I thought it was just luck and assumed she wouldn't do it again. Then Monday she did it again once or twice. Tuesday it was a little more often. Wednesday morning I went upstairs to get her out of her crib and she was holding her feet and looking at me like "Did you know I had these?"

From then on, she has been putting anything she can get her hands on in her mouth. She is so proud of herself. Of course, I make a really big deal out of it every time she does it. She just smiles like she moved a mountain. It is precious!

I can't believe our baby is going to be 4 months old on Thursday. It goes so quickly. I miss her being a newborn already. (Ok - I don't miss our middle of the night newborn visits but I do miss our little, bity baby (and I use the term little loosely).) I'll post an update after our doctor visit on Thursday. Shots - yuck!!!