Three Months???

Seriously...has it been three months since I've posted to our blog? How sad is that? So much for trying to do a weekly update. I'll start that resolution again next year. So...in three months, what has happened?

1. Jason turned 42, and I turned 37. Yuck!
2. I finished my first year of teaching and am now permanently certified to teach in the state of Texas - at least until 2016. Yeah!
3. Bailey had her first dance recital - which was precious by the way. Her tap number was Itsy, Bitsy, Teeny, Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, and she was amazing! She loved every minute of it.
4. Bailey moved up to the Pre-K class at school the first week of June. She thinks she is so big now, but seriously loves the field trips. We've been told she knows all her sight words for Kindergarten - which is awesome. She's also reading and doing basic addition. Go, Bailey!
5. Reese now talks all the time. She's also the sign language queen. She usually says the word and signs at the same time. It's amazing! She knows all her animals and the sounds they make. She's still our passive sweety, but she's definitely learning how to assert herself.
6. We are still battling problems with Reese's ears. It stinks, but hopefully we have it sorted out now. That's a work in progress that I will have to keep you updated on.
7. We took a 4 night, 5 day family vacation to Corpus Christi in June - which I realize now that I did not blog about. We went to the beach, spent time with Kathy (and Kyle and baby Travis - who is precious by the way), went to the Battleship, and the Texas State Aquarium.
8. Christopher came in late June for 2 1/2 weeks. This made his 10th summer visit with us. I cannot believe he is 15 and has a driving permit. Where did that time go?

Well, that is the last three months in a nutshell. I will try harder to make posts, but I'm not sure anyone is reading it anymore anyway. I imagine everyone has given up on me. Ha! Maybe 2011 will be my year of the blog. :)

Words, words, more words

At fourteen and a half months, Reese is talking more than Bailey did. Everyday she says a new word and surprises us. It is so cute that I wanted to keep track of everything she is saying. Below are the words she has "mastered" so far.

Mama
Dada
Sissy
gentle
ball
bye-bye
no, no, no
purple
shoes
socks
apple
banana
cracker
donut
ball
car
diaper
hippo

With Grandma coming on Friday, we are working on saying Grandma. Currently, it sounds a lot like Mama. :)

She also makes animal sounds. Her favorite is lion because she gets to use her hands as claws. This morning she told us the sounds of a monkey, lion, duck, puppy, cat, cow, and chicken.

She also knows where her head, nose, and mouth is. It's so cute!

If the above is any indication, she'll be talking more than Bailey soon. Boy...will we be in trouble then.

Moving on Up

Today Reese is healthy and back at school - which is a big deal. It's transition day! This week Reese will begin visiting the young toddlers classroom. It's such an exciting time for her. For me, it's a little sad. I cannot believe how quickly it has gone.

When I picked her up today, I asked the front desk how the first day of visiting went. They said she cried for just a minutes, but that she really had a good time. She was sitting during circle time and having fun during Stretch and Grow. (Can you see her doing Stretch and Grow???) But her favorite part of the day - recess outside. They said she was in awe of the play area and all the kids playing on it. She apparently didn't have the nerve to get on the playground, but she enjoyed being a spectator and looking all around.

Next week.....It'll be official. As far as Primrose is concerned, she will no longer be an infant. She'll be a young toddler.

Spring Break Spots

All I wanted this spring break was to relax. That's it. Nothing else. I wanted to get my hair done, have breakfast with my pal Corey, and get a massage. Is that too much to ask? Apparently so.

Monday was to be my "clean the house" day. After that, I was going to do some taxes, catch up on Bible study homework, watch Private Practice, and relax. All that changed about 4:45 on Monday when day care called and said that Reese had 102.5 fever. She had no other symptoms - just fever. I knew it had to be viral as she was already on antibiotics for a sinus infection. Because of that, I didn't bother taking her to the doctor.

Tuesday morning the fever was still there. I kept her home, and all she did was lay on me. There is nothing like watching 5 hours of Private Practice since you can't move from the couch. At this point, I realized my hair appointment for Wednesday had to be cancelled. Boo-hoo #1!

The fever finally broke at 3:30 in the morning Wednesday. We had a great day at home, but I must admit, I was looking forward to Thursday and Friday to myself. Finally, my relaxation was in site. I couldn't wait for breakfast Thursday morning with Corey and then my massage.

Thursday morning Jason got Reese out of bed and brought her down to me. His first comment, "Why is her face so red?" Before I even looked at her, I knew something had to be wrong since that was the way my week was going. Sure enough, she had spots all over her face, arms, and legs. Luckily, no fever. I had to cancel my breakfast with Corey (boo-hoo #2) and rush to the doctor. Turns out, the rash was viral and not contagious since there was no fever. The remedy: Benedryl. I got a note for day care, brought her to school, and looked forward to my massage - which you had to know at this point was not going to happen.

I get to my massage place, and the lady tells me there is a "scheduling conflict" and the therapist was unable to come in. Of course....that's my week in a nutshell. Boo-hoo #3! I go home, have a cry fit, and sulk the rest of the day. My dear hubby surprised me with a massage for Friday at noon. The day was now looking better until....

Friday morning and the realization that not only did Reese have fever, her body was covered with a rash from head to toe. I called the doctor who assured us it was normal and told us what to be on the lookout for. Her fever was only 101, and they do not consider that "fever" until it hits 103. (Could someone please tell day care that?) I knew there was no way she could go to school, and I figured I'd be cancelling my massage for today as well. Luckily, Jason's schedule was such that he could take a half day vacation so I could still get my massage. I wonder now if there was an ulterior motive called March Madness. But....beggars cannot be choosers. Whatever his reason, I had my massage and it was wonderful. To make things even better.....

I am now seeing some improvement in the rash. Note her face this evening versus Thursday. We'll keep you posted on the Spring Break Spots saga.

Reese's One Year Pictures

Reese's First Birthday

I cannot believe it. Reese is one! How did that year go by so quickly? In one year, she has completely captured our hearts. We cannot imagine life without that little one - who is now walking and saying three words (hi, ball, and bye bye). It's amazing!

For her actual birthday (Thursday 2/11), we invited the Murphys and Uncle Christian over for EJ's pizza and ice cream cake. Also in town to help us celebrate were Jason's parents. It was a rainy, yucky night, but we had fun celebrating at the house. Reese wasn't really sure about the ice cream cake since it was so cold, but she loved her pizza!

Late Thursday night, Grandma (from Vermont) and cousin Marleigh flew in for the big party on Saturday. We rented a princess castle bounce house and had hamburgers and hot dogs. Our guests included the Moores (Jeff, Anita, Amber, Jacob & Joseph), the Griffins (Jason, Khrissy, Hunter & Hayden), the Murphys (Mike, Kelly, Ashley, Megan, & Adrienne), Kathy & Kyle Ritchie, Uncle Christian, Stacy and her niece, Grandma Frances & Grandpa Phil, Grandma, Marleigh, & big sister Bailey. It was so fun! She got so many gifts and everyone had a fun time visiting and playing. Thanks to all who came out to celebrate.

On Sunday, Grandma & I took Reese for her one year photo shoot at JCPenney. She wasn't thrilled with it, but the photographer was great and got some really good shots. It's not quite as easy to do now that she is walking. If she didn't like the pose, she just got up and moved from the spot. Sometimes we had to chase her down. (I'll post a few of those pictures in a separate entry.)

Today, we went to the doctor for our one year check up. Needless to say, that was not nearly as fun as the other events. She got 4 shots, a urine analysis, and some blood work. The poor baby was understandably in a wretched mood tonight. She now weighs 27 pounds and is 29 1/2 inches long. Everything looks great! It's now time to say goodbye to formula and bottles. That should be interesting.

For pictures of her first birthday, check out...

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2366688015/a=7429220_7429220/

For pictures of her birthday party, check out....

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2366660015/a=7429220_7429220/

Disneyland

Ok...I had planned to blog this wonderful blog all about our Disneyland trip. However, it has been over a month since we got back, and I am just now loading the pictures. (In my defense, I spent all my free time in January studying for my final test needed for my teacher certification - which I passed. Yeah!) So instead of the super fabulous blog, I'm going to give you the run down very quickly with a few highlights for each day. You can check out the pictures with the link at the end of the blog. I even included a link to Emily's pictures.

Sunday, December 27th
We met up with Emily at LAX, caught the shuttle, and headed to our hotel. We were off to check in and then meet up at California Adventure. As night fell, Mom and Jason took the girls back to the hotel, but Mark, Em, & I stayed to watch Disney's Electrical Parade and eat a really GOOD corn dog.
Highlights of the day: Meeting up with Emily, Reese's first ride - Monster's Inc., Emily riding The Tower of Terror

Monday, December 28th
Emily met us at the hotel, we made a pit stop in Downtown Disney for Krispy Kreme, and then headed to the Magic Kingdom. Around 2 pm, Mark left us to go decorate the Donate Life float that was going to be in the Rose Parade. We watched the Christmas parade and enjoyed the Magic Kingdom for a few more hours. In the evening, Mom agreed to watch the girls so Jason and I could spend some time with Emily since she was leaving in the morning. We were sad to say goodbye but had a lot of fun enjoying Disney with her.
Highlights of the day: Seeing The Haunted Mansion decorated for Christmas; Hanging out at night in the Magic Kingdom with Emily; Riding Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom

Tuesday, December 29th
Today we decided to break outside the excitement of Disney and head to Knott's Berry Farm. Knott's Berry Farm brings back memories for me when I was young. We went there with my Granddad many times when we would go to California to visit. While it didn't seem quite as grand as I remember, it was a lot of fun, and I'm so glad that we went. Bailey loved it. She rode lots of rides - many by herself. It's hard to believe she is that grown up.
Highlight of the day: Seeing Bailey ride the kiddie rides all by herself

Wednesday, December 30th
Mark left bright and early to go work on floats. Mom, Jason, and I took the girls over the Magic Kingdom. It was a very rainy day. Jason HATES the rainy days. Add to the rainy day the crowds, and he needed a break by early afternoon. He took Reese back to the hotel while Mom and I braved the rain with Bailey. Around 4 pm, Bailey fell asleep in the stroller and Mom and I decided to surprise her by waiting in the 90 minute line to meet the princesses. When she woke up, she was so excited. There is no guarantee who you will see but she hoped it would be her three favorites - Jasmine, Belle, and Ariel. Much to our surprise, it happened to be just those three. After that, we went over to Toontown to see Mickey Mouse. Jason and Reese met us over there. Unfortunately, the rain continued, so we decided to call it a night. Mom and I took the girls to eat dinner at the hotel restaurant while Jason stayed back and enjoyed some quiet time.
Highlights of the day: Watching Bailey interact with the princesses; Spending some girl time with just Bailey and Grandma

Thursday, December 31st
Jason and I got up early (for once) and took the girls to the Magic Kingdom while Mom and Mark slept in. We stayed there until around 11 am until the park crowds started to become unbearable. At that time, we headed over to California Adventure. There were hardly any crowds so we got to enjoy that park until early afternoon. We had plans that evening to go see my Granddad (Mom's dad) and his wife, Lila. I honestly cannot remember the last time I'd seen them. We had dinner there and visited. It was really nice seeing them again.
Highlight of the day: Visiting with Granddad and Lila

Friday, January 1st
The day that Mark had been waiting for - the Rose Parade. We were up bright and early and on the road by 6 am. The traffic was not nearly as bad as I anticipated. We got there, went to find a bathroom (aka port-a-potties - YUCK!), and then found our seats. The floats were gorgeous! While I am so glad we went, I do not think I will go again. TV makes it look so much grander and you don't have to get up quite as early. Mark loved it though and that made me very happy. Happy Birthday, Mark! After the parade, we went back to the hotel to get ready to leave. Unfortunately, we had a red eye flight (or so we thought). About 3 pm, Jason got an e-mail from Continental saying the flight was delayed until 4 am but they needed us to be at the airport at our originally scheduled check in time of 10:30. We all agreed we could not sit in the airport from 10:30 pm - 4 am with two small girls. Jason, with his Elite status, called Continental and got us rescheduled on the 9:30 am flight Saturday. Yeah! Mom and Mark decided to rest in the room (and agreed to keep Reese - thank you!). Jason and I took Bailey back to the Magic Kingdom. Bailey's goal: To meet her new favorite princess, Princess Tiana. She was a little unsure of Prince Naveen but he soon won her over. Around 8 pm, we told her one more ride. She picked Peter Pan's flight. While we waited in line, she fell asleep on Daddy's shoulder and never woke up. The three of us had such a great time!
Highlights of the day: Seeing Mark at the Rose Parade (one of his dreams); Watching Bailey's excitement at meeting Princess Tiana; Spending some alone time with Bailey at the Magic Kingdom

Saturday, January 2nd
Time to say goodbye. We were up waiting for the bus at 6 am. Another wonderful Disney adventure. Until next time........

To see my pictures, go to
http://www1.snapfish.com/photolibrary/owned_view=owned_2009/

To see Emily's pictures, go to
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2077957016/a=7429220_6012902/

To check out Emily's blog, go to
http://www.travelwithemily.blogspot.com/

Lazy

So...one of my resolutions was to update the blog once a week. We are now at January 10th and I am just now updating the blog. It's safe to say that I have not been adhering to my resolutions. Maybe it's because I really have nothing to report.

Can I tell you what is on my to do list? It's easy to list what I've done - NOTHING! Oh, wait...I did do thank you notes this morning. Other than that, the Christmas decorations are still up, the Christmas pictures have not been loaded, the Disneyland pictures have not been loaded. To be quite frank, I just don't feel like doing it. I have no explanation for it except that I am in the laziest mood ever. I've been this way since we got back from vacation. If I had to guess, I would bet that the decorations and pictures stay right where they are until I'm off on MLK day. Nice.....

Here's to being lazy and 2010!!! :)

Reese's Big Day

Today Reese had a very big day. At 5:15 this morning, we were on our way to the Doctor's Surgical Center for her to have tubes put in her ears. She obviously didn't know this so all went well for most of the morning. She wasn't allowed to eat anything prior to surgery so by the time they came to get her at 7 am, she was throwing a major fit. They took her from us (which caused me to start crying) and escorted Jason and I to the waiting area. In less than 10 minutes, the doctor came out to tell us everything went fine. A few minutes later, we were taken to recovery where she was impatiently waiting for us. She wasn't really awake yet when we got there. However, even in her grogginess, she was very mad and letting the world know it. She had to drink some liquids before we could leave and for once, she refused the bottle. The nurse (having done this once or twice) thought a cheery icee popsicle might do the trick. Jason forced the spoon in her mouth when she was screaming and like magic, she opened her eyes and stopped crying. She ate the entire popsicle! After that, she drank three ounces of water and we were ready to go.

Her hearing had been muffled due to fluid that she could not drain herself. This afternoon, she sat clapping and laughing at herself for 5 minutes non-stop. Her little hands make such a soft noise when they clap. We aren't sure she had really heard it before.

It was a very trying day for all of us but we are hopeful that this helps her in the long run. We go back for a follow up on January 20th. We'll keep you posted on the progress.

Cookies with Santa

Since my last post, I'm feeling much more in the Christmas spirit. I only have one gift left to purchase, school is out for winter break, and we have begun the countdown to Disneyland and the Rose Parade.

Today, we went to have cookies with Santa in our neighborhood. Neither of the girls was interested in sitting on Santa's lap. Reese was screaming, and I had to drag Bailey over just to talk to Santa. It was a very different reaction than last time. I just had to post a picture of Reese screaming on Santa's lap. It is awful cute!

Six more days! :)