Holy tutu Batman!

My Mommy has become quite obsessed with ETSY these past few months. Now for those of you that don't know what ETSY is... it's a website where people sell items for just about anything. What makes ETSY so special you ask??? Everything that is sold on ETSY is homemade/handmade. Now there are multiple things on ETSY that Mommy would like to buy me, but Daddy says NO. Mommy soon became under the impression that she could indeed make the things she saw on ETSY that she so desired. Daddy then said that he would in fact permit this habit because as he says "it keeps Mommy off the streets and out of the mall." So here is Mommy's first completed ETSY project!

HOT right??? Wouldn't you know that I didn't have this tutu on for 2 minutes before I barfed on it? I had to break it in... seriously people. I've been working on my ballerina poses... what do you think?

Now not only can this be adorned as a tutu... but also a festive hat. Does this hat make my legs look chubby?

Cereal...

... is so boring MA! I'd rather entertain myself through sucking my ever moist and wrinkly thumb.

Leftie??

Daddy trying to teach her early...

Bowls

So after Mommy's recent observation of my interest in bowls, she let me play with some of my cereal bowls!

Daddy had the bright idea of putting some of Winston's food in the bowl to see if he would play with me. He was quite apprehensive but joined in on the fun nonetheless.

Mommy and Daddy will also be signing me up for halftime shows at a college near you... CHECK IT OUT!
Don't feel bad... not everyone can have these skills.

Milestone?

Rachel here. So today Reesie was eating some cereal and as usual SCARFFED it down in no time. We're trying to start some sign language with her, so I was trying to show her that it was all gone by doing the sign and then giving her her bowl to show her it was empty. She immediately put it in her mouth, as we do everything these days. It appeared she was having a grand ole time playing with her bowl and spoon. I started to clean up and took the bowl and spoon from her. SHE SCREAMED AT ME! We've taken TONS of things away from her, and today she actually got really upset that I took it away from her. Little does she know that was only the first of many: "NOs, BECAUSE I SAID SOs, NOT UNDER MY ROOFs, OVER MY DEAD BODYs, YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY WITH ANYTHING... WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE I DID THAT AND WAY WORSEs," and the list goes on and on... I love being a parent! :)

Thank you

So this weekend we had some visitors. My Grandma and Grandaddy came to visit me! Well really they helped Mommy and Daddy with the garden and whatnot, but I'd like to think they came strictly to see me. :) They also brought me a few little treats. Now while they were all quite lovely, my favorite thing byfar was my new storyteller. It is so hot people! It tells me all these different nursery rhymes, and there are things in it that I can play with that make all sorts of noises. It's a grand time for one and all!

J-lee's Bday

So tonight I got to go to my best bud J-lee's birthday dinner. We went to Macado's... one of my all time FAVS. I was quite the entertainer. I sat in my seat looking all cute, tried to drink Daddy's beer, was passed around to all my new friends, threw a temper tantrum, and then went home. GOOD TIMES were had by all. :)

I'm not sure what Jonas is up to... but it can't be good Mommy says.

Look at this amazing bowl of nourishment... who wants to share? I wouldn't want to be a gluton.

Isn't Angie the CUTEST???

With the bday boy and his lady friend Briana. :)

Our sweet little family.

Unrequited Love

I love Winston. Winston does NOT love me. This poses a small problem. Mommy even bought me a "mini winnie". I want to pet him and play with him, but Mommy will only let me admire him from afar. I gaze at him... ... only to be ignored. I'm left to ponder... will we ever be friends?

Model?

Show me pouty face....

... oh so FIERCE!

The beautiful outdoors

So it's been GORGEOUS to say the least here in the Burg. Mommy has been taking me outside with her while she pretends to pull weeds in the gardens. Honestly, all I see are some dandelions she pulled and then left on the sidewalk... they've been there now for 2 whole days. Pathetic I tell ya.

Hello Daddyyyyyyyyy...

Dear Daddy,

I hope Abingdon is not too boring for you. Mommy and I miss you very much. We wish you were home with us and hope you can come tonight. If not we'll see you tomorrow.

Yesterday was super fun. It was "Let's stay in pjs all day" Day. Mommy seems to really like celebrating this new holiday... we do it quite often. I got to roll around on the floor. I tried to call you on my cell phone yesterday, but Mommy said you must have been busy.

Mommy got tired of ripping the pages out of her magazine for me to crumple. She ended up just giving me the WHOLE magazine. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! I love her.

I was so tuckered out that she put me to bed at 7:00 last night, but I played until about 7:30. Then I didn't wake up 'til 7am this morning! So far she's given me my breakfast and mid morning snack. Here I am with my cereal. You would think by my holding the spoon, the food all over there chair, and the ginormous glob on my forehead that she let me feed myself, but no... that was all her doing.

Anyway, I love you and I hope I see you soon!

XOXO,

Reesie

Green and Clean

So Mommy is on this "Green/Organic" kick. She may be like every other wannabe granola in this world... but I love her anyway. Check out my super cool onsie! Oh the genius that she is... Mommy also just realized that there is another section to my bath... so alas... I no longer float away. :)

I've done it!

Guess what guys???? I rolled over from my tummy to my back! YAY for me!!!! It took me a while to figure out where to put my arm, but I got it! I still can't do it everytime, but Mommy and Daddy say all I have to do is keep practicing. :)

32

Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Aaron, and I went to campus yesterday to pay our respects to the 32 victims and 25 injured during last years events at VT. We are lucky enough to still live in Blacksburg, so it's been a very loving and inspirational time for us. It was a day of mourning and celebration. We actually had a really lovely time. Here are some of our favorite shots during the day.

There was a flame that was lit at midnight on the 15th. The goal was for it to burn for 24 hours in memory of the lost. During that 24 hour period, there were two Cadets that stood guard. Here they are changing guards.

In the morning was a lovely commemoration where President Steger and Tim Kaine spoke. Two individuals also read the names and some inspirational words on each of the 32. We had really amazing seats and had a great view of everything. We were actually lucky enough to be sitting behind some of the injured. It was beautiful.

After the commemoration, thousands of people went to get their lunches, and many returned to the drillfield. It was like a big picnic!

This was the point in the day where it was time for me to go visit with Cousin Reenie, Aunt Wanda, and Nana. Daddy took me home to play with them while Mommy and Uncle Aaron stayed on campus and did some activities.

Rachel here. One of our favorite was things from the day was painting the path rocks. There were hundreds of beautiful rocks in a spiral path in Squires. We were supposed to follow the path, choose a rock that spoke to us, then take it to a table and paint it. You could also paint kites! The rocks were BEAUTIFUL! These were some of my favorites:

There were also different exhibits/slideshows they had around campus. Here are some of the pieces they had in Holtzman Alumni Center and an art exhibit in Squires:

The line at the memorial was extremely long most of the day, but we were lucky enough to catch a break. Each hokie stone had a beautiful arrangement of flowers along with flowers individuals had placed there.

We stayed on campus all day until nightfall when there was the candlelight vigil. There were thousands of people there. It was absolutely gorgeous. Names were read. For each name read a student lit a candle from the large candle that had been burning since midnight the night before.

Probably the most touching thing we participated in all day was after the vigil when people took their candles up to Norris hall and made a memorial. Here are pictures from Norris during the daylight and after the vigil.
All in all it was an amazing day to help celebrate 32 amazing people.

6 months

Well Mommy still hasn't gotten her camera back, but Grandma and Grandaddy were nice enough to lend their camera to her and Daddy.

I'm growing up!!! At my 6 month visit I weighed a whopping 18 lbs 8 oz and I was 27 1/4 inches long. Can you believe it?!

Mommy would also like to report that after she posted that heinous post on my awful sleeping habits, I promptly went back to being the good sweet baby/sleeper that I am. We're not sure what was wrong with me, but I'm just as pleasant as a peach once again. :)

6 months going on 21

Rachel here. Well, still no camera, which means... still no 6 month picture. AS SOON AS we get back that thing, don't you worry, I'm going to take enough photos to make up for all the days I've missed. :)

For those of you who voted for the cute baby contest... thank you... and I hope your email address is now not at the mercy of the SPAM gods. ARGH. If I had known what you would have to sit through, believe me, I wouldn't have even signed up. For those of you who may still want to vote... DON'T... it's a feat.

Now on for the Reesie update. Holy cow this kid has changed so much in just a few short weeks. Since starting solids, Reesie is now in love with: peas, sweet potato, avocado, and now mango. I'm having such a blast making it all for her. I've made some broccoli, pears, green beans and carrots, that are just waiting for her to devour them. That's what she does... devours. She loves them so much she now snubs her bottles (getting her to take it is more of a chore than it should be). She was beginning to disregard her cereal, but I try to mix in some of the purees as much as I can, resulting in her devouring her cereal. The kid won't stop eating. I think if I gave her fruits and veggies all day she would be as happy as a clam.

Since Reesie learned to roll over, sort of, we've been living an never ending adventure. When I say sort of, I mean she can still only roll from back to tummy. This is a great milestone and a great headache for us. We put her to bed and she rolls onto her tummy and then screams. We go up and roll her back over, and she is content. 5 minutes later, she rolls back onto her tummy. Bryan and I have been working extra hard with her to show her how to keep on rolling, so cross your fingers world.

Now that she is somewhat mobile, Winston is getting nervous. She constantly stares him down, and if you know Winston... that is an invitation for disaster. He goes up to her every once in a while, but she now wants to reach out and touch him. Occasionally he lets her, when he has no idea she is behind him, but the majority of the time he growls and runs away. Hopefully they will become lifelong pals, but we're not placing our bets quite yet.

Nap times and bedtime have become a how do we say... LIVING HELL. :) She used to be so lovely when it was time for a nap/bed. We would feed her, play a little bit, and after about and hour and a half... two hours maybe... she would rub her beautiful little blue angel eyes and yawn... sleep time! We would take her upstairs, put her little pacifier in her mouth, crank that mobile, and she was out. Lord how things change when you turn 6 months old! Overnight we've decided first of all to not drink our bottle, we only want to play certain things and frankly get bored and vocal quite quickly, and we've decided sleeping is a nonessential part of life. Now we go 3, 3.5, maybe 4 hours before we show we're sleepy, Bryan and I take her upstairs, put her paci in her mouth, and lay her down... she screams. Our little 21 year old doesn't want to lay down anymore... she wants to sit up (which she does quite well... sometimes a titch wobbly, but otherwise she can sit up for a few minutes without our help). FINE... so we put her paci in her mouth and sit her up. We have a couple of soft little toys in there for her to play with. She's content... for a while... until she falls onto her back. Then she wants to roll over... and we're up there rescuing her once again. We don't go into her room until she is wailing. Bryan or I will pick her up and she's just as happy and cute as can be. We've tied to feed her extra, given her warm baths, we've rocked her, we've rubbed her belly... it's a chore. Now what used to be a 5 minute bedtime ritual has turned in to a 30-45 min extravaganza of ugliness. We both realize she just wants to play with us and be around us, but bless her heart she's a mess. :)

Cute Baby Contest

Okay people, so Mommy has entered a picture of me in a silly "cute baby contest" or something. We could win $2500!!! Now I know what you're thinking... what are the odds... seriously!? Well, we don't really care about the odds because even if I get only 10 votes, we'll get a $10 visa giftcard!!!! Then Mommy can feed me. :)

All you have to do is go to this website and vote for me!!! https://www.greatamericanphotocontest.com/voter1/index.aspx?referid=EmailFriends&p=465266&x=.JPG

Don't worry...

Don't worry world... I haven't started riding a bike or anything exciting yet. Mommy knows it'll happen though since she doesn't have the camera.

I did, however, go to the baseball game last evening with Mommy and Daddy. That was super fun. All these little boys kept coming over to stare at me... I mean I know I'm too hawt to trot, but they looked just so desperate. :) Mommy and Daddy were sure to let the boys know that I was not available for dating until my 20's. Here I am hanging at the game.

(Rachel here. Now I know what you're thinking. "What on earth is this crazy woman thinking? Why is she wasting away her time drawing these silly pictures?" In my defense... it didn't take me THAT long, Reesie is napping, and frankly if I didn't draw the stupid picture for my own entertainment... I would have to clean my kitchen. Clean the kitchen or draw this amazing masterpiece you see before you... LET'S BE SERIOUS KIDS! Of course I'm going to draw the picture because let's face it I'm in camera mourning.)

Puree extraordinaire

So Mommy would like to thank all the lovely people who helped her gain her confidence to be able to throw some veggies/fruits into the blender and make some baby food! I'm not sure why she was being such a wuss about it, but apparently she decided to grow a pair. :) She would have loaded some pictures of her making her amazing ice cube creations, but alas the camera is BROKEN! BROKEN PEOPLE! Now Mommy is of course devastated beyond belief because she now wonders what she will do during her long days at home... (gee I don't know ma... maybe you should clean up around here... we don't live in a barn for heaven's sake!) I, however, am looking forward to a week or so without having to pretend to be the gerber baby. But seriously folks, Daddy is supposed to be getting it sent off today sometime, so hopefully we'll have some great pictures to share. Until then, you may just have to read Mommy's crazy banter. :)

Givin' peas a chance...

Alas we begin veggies. Mommy is going to be making all my food for me but she's a titch on the nervous side, so we started with my organic peas from the jar. I'm not sure how I felt about them really. It was a long way from my nice comforting cereal, but I don't think I necessarily hated it.I appear to be quite happy...
but perhaps we should just try again tomorrow.

Cherry Blossoms

The cherry blossoms in DC were beautiful. Mommy and Daddy took some really sweet pictures of me. TAKE A LOOK SEE!

What... like it's supposed to be big or something?

Mommy, Daddy, and I went to Washington DC for a few days. Daddy had to be there for some business, but he took off a couple extra days. It was lovely. The first couple days were a little cold and wet, so I spent most of my time in my stroller. I did get to come out for a little while to play with this gigantic pencil. SOOO COOL!

Here I am trying to touch the tippy top. That thing is super sharp!

I'm gonna take that thing down!