(4 months 2 weeks)

Yes, you read that right! Please notice the new section in the left nav....

(4 months 2 weeks)

And..... I knew this day would come.... but Reese has her first cold. 

I think I jinxed myself because I was just talking with someone about how Reese has yet to get sick....She got this really weird mucusey cough last night... thought it would pass... but it's gotten worse today... I called my MIL to see how Reese was doing and she said "Oh she's definitely got a cold, when she coughs the stuff is coming out of her nose." My poor baby!!   

I called the peds to see what he wanted to do, he scheduled me for tomorrow at 10:40AM. The good thing is that Reese is still "herself" with the exception of this cough..... I hope it's nothing serious and nothing that a little decongestant won't fix.

(4 months 1 week 6 days)

No more than 30 minutes after I posted the previous update about Reese’s poop did she explode! Diaper, plastic panties, onesie and pants were NO MATCH. I ended up having to strip her on the bathroom counter and move her right into the tub where I hosed her off with the shower head. She didn’t know WHAT to think of the situation, but really liked holding the shower handle… and of course… eating it. Poor kiddo, but she felt better… I could tell. MIL and I were talking about how little Reese has been pooping since when she was a newborn but we both came to the conclusion that she’s learned how to pass gas with no poop and must like that feeling! hahahah It’s probably more like she’s just absorbing everything she’s eating. But it was a good laugh none the less!

After hosing Reese down we headed out to BRU to return some lotion that I mistakenly picked up instead of the diaper rash cream… don’t worry, didn’t use it, I found my mistake only after I parked the car at home. While checking out I also picked up a Baby Gund Monkey…. Had to get it, Reese looked at it and died laughing! The lady in front of me was due in March, she was hoping for an Easter Baby and was most impressed with Reese’s ability to stand! “She’s an early one isn’t she?” It was funny because I was just talking about this very subject the other day with someone…. And Reese really is… she’s been trying to stand since about 8 weeks old.

We bundled back up and then headed over to the mall to do some mall walking and window shopping. We had a great time! Reese got a wee bit hungry so I crashed into the JCPenny’s changing room so that I could eat my sub while Reese ate her boob. On the way out… I found the CUTEST Easter / Church Dress… I can’t wait to take pictures with her in it. Stay tuned!

Just when you thought the day was over… we then headed to North Royalton to get our backs adjusted. Reese got freaked out by the cracking in my neck along with a little bit of a wet diaper…but after a diaper change, a few funny faces and sounds she was back to her old self.

Reese has started doing something HYSTERICAL this week…. It’s almost like a nervous laugh. When she’s standing, which she tries to do all the time along with trying to sit up… strained face and all… it sounds like she’s trying to laugh really hard along with a Tommy Gun. It’s hysterical…. I need to get it on tape.

After getting adjusted, we headed over to my MIL’s house to chill there for about an hour before heading over to Barbara’s to get my blood drawn to be tested to make sure I’m safe to be a donor by the Mother’s Milk Bank. It was SOOOO good to see Barbara again! The best news is that Dr. Cohen is 10 weeks pregnant! YAY!!! She was so funny by saying “I love your stomach, I want that stomach after I give birth… NO BABY BELLY!” I must say I really do feel great about losing all my weight (60+ pounds) after giving birth to Reese…. Though I’m not going to keep my hopes up for baby #2.

And it’s official… Reese sleeps 10 – 12 hours a night and PUTS HERSELF TO SLEEP. WOO HOO! I would have called it a milestone a week ago, but if you have kids you know that everything is predictably unpredictable.

(4 months 1 week 4 days)

Hope that everyone had a great Valentine’s Day! It was sorta quiet around here, I just wanted to stay home and spend time with Scott and Reese. Scott was the best, he bought me “Love Like No Other” Precious Moments figurine, dozen roses, box of chocolates and beef jerky. True love right?

The figurine I had wanted to add to the little collection I’ve started.

Would you expect anything else? LOL

I hope that everyone has enjoyed the photos of Reese that were sent via email, snail mail and posted here. Mrs. Cline sent me the cutest email:

You guys get the cutest pictures! Ethan, who's 8, says he thinks she might find some of these pictures embarrassing when she's older (e.g., the blanket pic), but "you have to admit, she is pretty daggone cute."

How sweet is Ethan?! Made me chuckle to myself… and of course… I have to agree 100% with him. :

Scott and I were pleasantly surprised when we had the second set of Valentine’s Day photos taken at Kiddie Kandids…. Reese was featured in Kiddie Kandids National Newsletter!!!!!! Her Christmas photo where she was blowing bubbles was featured along with my compliment on her photographer. REESE IS FAMOUS AGAIN! I love that place, and the free coupons don’t hurt either. To see all the pro photos, check them out in the Professional Photos under the “Photos” section.

It was just a nice quiet night at home last night … Reese fell asleep at 8 and woke this morning at 7!!! WOO HOO!

The Reesinator has also slowed down…. LITERALLY. She’s only pooped twice in the last 72 hours. I had been PMing with Dawn telling her about the lack of poops from Reese and not more than 15 minutes later did she unleash something massive! All up her front, floor and ME! PEEYEEWW! She seemed to feel better. hehe

And for an update on my milk donation. I have been emailing back the head supervisor of the Delaware Mother’s Milk Bank (There is a new facility in Columbus, Ohio, however it will be another year before they have their database for paying for blood tests, shipping, etc. and milk is only good to donate for up to a year due to the fat content). I’m just now waiting for the vials for my blood to arrive in the mail so that I can get my blood drawn, tested and then the shipping of milk. WOO HOO!!! I’m pretty excited.

Mandy is also coming to visit me next week!!! YAY! It will be killing two birds with one stone… I get to see her (can’t wait!) and a dress fitting for Reese’s baptism dress.

Think that about sums up everything that’s been going on…. Hope everyone had a great weekend and a great V-Day!

From our little family to yours..

AND (with clothes... hehe)

Reese had cereal for the first time tonight!
(4 months 1 week 2 days)... LOVED IT... 2 bowls full!


Getting all set up


Look at that cute CLEAN face hehe


First taste of Rice Cereal with Bananas! Notice the tongue, she'll have to learn to know the difference between how to nurse and how to eat from a spoon.


Mmmm.... I kinda like this stuff.... again, the tongue! LOL

Whoa! I WANT MORE!


Hurm..... I like it, but not sure how to eat it...

Obviously preparing for a landing....


I really think she likes looking at the spoon more than eating the cereal!


Just as much in tummy as on face/neck/chair/tray/hands/chest/...


Mom won't feed me fast enough... FINE, I'll get it from the tray!


"GIMME!!!" Reese kept grabbing the spoon out of my hand!


Again, just as good off of tray as out of spoon!


Forget the spoon... GIVE ME THE BOWL! She ripped the bowl out of my hand... she knew the deal.


Just like her mommy... a messy eater. All it all went VERY well! she went through 2 bowls of the stuff! Impressive little appetite.. and then proceeded to nurse for the next 15 or so minutes.... HUNGRY HUNGRY Monkey!

AND... I've added comments to each week of Reese's photos... working on adding comments to the What's New section.. but that's something to do with my hosting company which they are working on :)

(4 months 1 week 2 days)

I’ve been on the go since about 5:30 this morning (Scott had to take Brian back to the airport after a brief stay and I wanted him to see and hold Reese for the first time), with a brief catnap until around 7:30 when I got Reese up for church. She did SO well! Though, I asked Scott if it wasn’t blasphemous for me to be nursing in the back pew in God’s eyes. But my mind kept flashing back to scenes out of Little House on the Prairie during their Sunday services and I swear that there would be women holding their babies close and they could be nursing right? I figured, if the settlers could do it on TV… I suppose I could to. Scott backed me up when I called him by saying “if you offended some old biddy, so be it….. it’s their problem not yours.” GO SCOTT.

After church since Reese was full and I was famished, we headed over to Bob Evans for breakfast. It was my first time eating at the bar area and alone in a resturaunt with Reese. I loved it! So did Reese… especially the paper placemats… .she’s already into the early “paper stage.” If there was ANY doubt about needing to start Reese with solids before, it went out the door… every time I lifted my fork and brought it to my mouth she’d open her mouth and stick out her tongue…. The same thing happened when I would drink my OJ. I’ve got the tripod and camera already set up so we can document Reese eating her first bowl of Rice Cereal with Bananas as soon as she wakes up for her massive nap.

It was so great at breakfast… Reese was so active… hindsight “frenzied tired freak out”… and everyone kept coming up to us and talking to her, me and telling me how beautiful and cute she was…. The gentleman beside me struck up a conversation and said that he’d been coming there every Sunday for the past 10 years or more! WOW! He congratulated me on doing such a good job eating breakfast one handed. He inquired why I had chosen to eat that the bar. I had to explain that the high chairs that they have there are only meant for toddlers or older kids that have a control over their bodies and that Reese was just massive for her age…. Which she is! He cracked a joke that even though Scott is a good dad that he probably wouldn’t or couldn’t have done as good of a job as I was doing! I had to agree of course!

While we were talking as I was paying though, Reese leaned forward hard and banged her chin She started SCREAMING her head off, though I knew she wasn’t hurt, it was more of a “surprised” reaction. The gentleman said the same thing, but I still felt bad, though he laughed and said “It was more like hurm, that was a surprise, didn’t feel too good, but wasn’t that bad… am I supposed to cry or not cry?” We chuckled and in no time Reese was back to her old self.

As soon as I paid and strapped her into the car, between the 2 miles to get home she zonked out… and HARD. Today was the FIRST day that I got to experience the “sack of potatoes” sleep that you sometimes see parents walking around in malls, amusement parks and birthday parties after a long day…. Reese didn’t budge when I unsnapped her out of her car seat, opened the house door and then put her into the swing… coat and all! This moment gave me warm fuzzies all over and I had another one of those surreal feelings of “this is really happening… I’m really really a mom.”

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and Scott told me to see what he got Reese. I was BLOWN away…. He purchased the ENTIRE set of Baby Einstein!!! It’s got 12 different DVDs! I can’t wait for her to watch them!! Besides me singing “Somewhere over the rainbow” she loves listening to NPR’s classical music segments… I must say, I too feel smarter after listening!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I’m beat… think I need to go take a nap myself… Scott is crashed on the couch while Reese is crashing in her swing, both too cute for words.