In the land of Reese...

Mommy decided she needed a break from me... can you believe that?! It was kind of nice though because I got to spend time with Daddy... just him and me. We started our day by "baking" bread. Yeah we did it on the floor... why... because that's how we roll.

After my pretend nap (see Mommy/Infant fun day post), Daddy got me dressed, and we went to The Horticulture Gardens on campus to feed the fish and smell the pretty flowers.

We then made a stop at The Duck Pond where I pretended to feed the ducks.

Finally, Daddy and I stopped at the grocery store for some much needed groceries. There was a SUPER SALE on cake mix, so upon arriving home, we decided to make Mommy a cake... she had a rough day.

Meanwhile in the land of Emma...

These are the only pictures Mommy and I have to show for our day:That's right... Mommy and I were in an accident this afternoon... literally 5 minutes into our Mommy/Infant fun day. Neither of us were hurt. We even had the lovely people from the Blacksburg Rescue Squad come check me out.

Here's Mommy talking to the nice VT student that turned right into her while trying to get around a stopped car. The girl was literally the sweetest thing, so Mommy wasn't upset... sadly... she (the VT student... not Mommy) didn't have any insurance... bum bum bum.

Houston Rocker

Yesterday we went to Speedwell to help celebrate Houston's first birthday. It was a lot of fun spending time with such great friends and getting to lounge around!

Houston got some really great gifts... I even got to help him open them... babies... don't they know the faster they unwrap the quicker they get to play with all their goods?

I liked what we got Houston so much that I tried to steal it back. Luckily everyone thought it was funny... sadly... I did indeed have to give it back.

This is what Emma did... well in between crying fits...

Aly must be working on some teeth or something because she sure did think my hands were yummy. :)

Isn't this picture P.R.E.C.I.O.U.S?! Our Auntie Lu is the best auntie ever!!! We love her oodles.

Thank you Houston for such a great time! Can't wait to see you in October... that's when I turn the big 2!

Emma Grace

How I love her so.

Bumbo

Mommy realizes I'm probably a little too wobbly still to sit in my Bumbo, but I love it so much!

Toddlers and Tiaras

Hi my name is Rachel (pause... "Hi Rachel"), and I'm addicted to "Toddlers and Tiaras." So much so that my daughter can now do this:

and this:

and her talent is looking like this (which she does so well):

The perfect day

Rachel here. This past Thursday was one of the BEST days we've had in A LONG TIME! Reese woke up in such a pleasant mood (which frankly doesn't happen a whole lot these days... god love the TERRIBLE TWOS). I decided that as a reward we'd go out... in public... just me and the girls... alone... and we actually had a GREAT DAY! We started by heading to the library to play with the train table (we are now the proud owners of one... not nearly as cool as the Thomas table, but it works) and pick out some books. We actually got in and out of there WITHOUT a single tear. Let the rewards continue! Since Reese was so super good, we headed to McDonalds for a "healthy" meal... we're a fan of the apples instead of the fries... if we're gonna do nasty food, I at least need there to be a fruit. :) I didn't want to push it too much, so we enjoyed our food at home.


Where we also enjoyed playing in the Bumbo and taking naps.

Because Reese woke up from her nap in an equally wonderful mood as the morning, we were able to go outside and play in the pool! Reese even enjoyed pushing her little sister in her swing. Such a great day! It definitely outweighed the 3 awful and 1 mediocre day we had the remaining part of the week. :)

SML

Last Friday Daddy had his company golf outing. While we didn't get to go play with him, we did get to venture on out to Smith Mountain Lake afterwards for some yummy food and fun in the pool. Mommy brought her camera but was far too tired to even attempt to take it out, but luckily Daddy's coworker Elaine had hers out and got some cute shots. Here I am playing with Addison in her baby pool. Addison is EXACTLY one year younger than me... it's neat for Mommy and Daddy to look back and remember how I WAS a year ago, as I'm sure it's fun for Addison's Mommy and Daddy to see how she WILL BE. Hopefully Addison won't be as naughty as me. ;)

While I played, Emma Grace slept... or cried. She's so cute and content here isn't she. Laura (Daddy's other coworker) was nice enough to hold her while Mommy and Daddy grabbed some dinner.

This weekend's festivities... Houston Rocker's first birthday bash! We CAN NOT wait!

Fun with Emma

Look what Mommy and I did to my baby sister last night before bath time! Hopefully this isn't CPS worthy. :)

The pits

Why oh why must we do this everyday?

As you may be able to tell... I STILL hate tummy time. It makes me so sad, but Mommy insists we do it. Argh.

Let's focus on some positives in my life shall we? First off, we NO LONGER have to use the shield while Mommy feeds me! She got the inspiration she needed from her good friend Heather to give it a try, and it worked! Also, last night I slept WITHOUT being swaddled! So exciting. Mommy wants me to try to learn to soothe myself when I can't get to sleep. She fed me around 715 last night and I was asleep by 730. Into my crib I went. I shuffled around a couple of times making Mommy nervous but decided not to wake up until 200. Not my best time, but without the comforts of my saddle blanket, we considered that a huge success! Daddy fed me, Mommy tried to put me to sleep, but wouldn't you know as soon as I hit my mattress I woke right up. I kicked around for a while and made little cooing noises, but I NEVER cried. I managed to get myself to sleep about 30 minutes later and slept in until 630... AGAIN WITHOUT being swaddled. Weaning topics... shield... check... swaddle... check... paci... never did like that one, so that's an automatic check... I'm doing marvelously!

Comparison

First round of shots. Definitely a resemblance in this one!
Emma Grace~Left
Reese~Right

Well baby

Rachel here. So we had Emma Grace's 2 month well baby check this morning. All went well. She was 11 lbs 4 oz (up 2 lbs from last month)... I believe he said that was the 56th percentile... I'll take it! Her length was 23 inches... she's a shorty! She's completely healthy, so I can't complain. Her shots went well... she screamed and cried, but then promptly fell asleep once in the car. We have another check up in October... that's also Reese's big 2 year... say huh?

~

Early on EG had an awful 'bout of gas. You could tell she was in so much discomfort after eating... it made me sad. I slowly started eliminating different things from my diet, and low and behold... SADLY it was milk. This was devastating news to me because I LOVE milk and had just become COMPLETELY addicted to milkshakes. Alas... there is no more milk in my diet... this in turn means I now have to pick up a calcium supplement... good times. The things we do...

~

Good news on the sleeping front. Last week (on her 2 month birthday actually) she slept from 830-430! The following evening she gave us until 530, and then another 430 the following night. That 4th night I thought I would get gutsy and have a glass of wine after she went to sleep thinking I had HOURS and HOURS before she would need to eat again. LUCKILY I didn't have that glass of wine because she "relapsed" and woke up at 100 and then again at 300. Last night though she surprised us again with a 300 wake up and then a 700, so her little body is definitely working on going longer. :)

PT take 2

Rachel here. Reese refused to put her diaper back on today. I don't mind letting her run around without it on as long as she sits on the potty every once in a while. I was working on some things in the garage when I saw her start to squat... nuh uh sister... I grabbed her and put her right on the potty where she just looked at me like I was a moron. This potty training thing is going to be rather interesting. :)

Planes, trains, and automobiles...

...well really just cars and trains. I love to play with my cars and trains with Emma Grace. Sadly she doesn't do much to entertain me back.