Reese is in a for a HUGE surprise this week as Scott will be taking care of her 24/7 while he's on Thanksgiving vacation. Those two crack me up to no end! They have very similar personalities and the whole head shaking instead of waving or saying hi.... Keeps me in stitches!
It's really interesting to see Reese's interactions with me vs. Scott vs. Oreo. It's like she "knows" she can play rough with Scott, needs to be gentle and go after just the particular toy to get Oreo all riled up and with me, snuggle snuggle and jump up and down time. I love it when she brings whatever blanket, jacket or stuffed animal over to me and will ball it up into a nice little pillow and just rest on me for 20 second intervals, only to pop her head up to see if I'm still watching her.
One little habit she's picked up in the last 1 1/2 weeks is whining, but we are nippin' that one in the bud. When she starts, we tell her to stop, and she does. She has this look of "How did you know that was fake?" I love it. We are still in the stage that Scott and I are the most intellectual people on Earth.... Oh for it to stay this way......
Scott, Reese, Oreo and I had a great weekend! We took a long walk in one of the parks on Saturday, all bundled up and had a great time! We even let Oreo run loose for a little while because no one was in the parking lot. Reese chased her as fast as her little chubby legs would take her, screaming the WHOLE way. Oreo just thought it was a game.... But we knew Scott and I were a great team when I scooped up Reese and he got Oreo at the SAME time! We didn't have to chase one or the other down.... little triumphs, little triumphs... wait, when is K2 due?
We are heading over to the IL's for Turkey Day, which almost didn't happen, but Scott came through with being able to find ONE last Butterball turkey that is left in the entire Akron area! *queue Superman music* Good job Scotty!
Think that's about it from the Reese home front, hope everyone had a great weekend and if we don't get to posting before then........... HAPPY GOBBLE DAY!
Well, we have more Reese milestones I suppose.... the last week when I drop down to bath her after taking my shower she holds her wash cloth under the water to "get it wet" and the proceeds to wash the tub, not herself just yet! And within the last 3 days she's found out that she can take her cup over to the spout and catch the water to drink it!
I love how she intently holds it until it fills and then tips it up.... not sure how well warm water is in the AM, but she likes the motions! I tried to show her to dump it on her head while holding it, but it was much funnier to have mom do it to herself.
AND.. another thing Reese does....
Shakes her head in the "no" fashion, but she's not saying no. She enjoys the dizzy sensation. It started when we went down to visit Maleah... Reese was sorta fussy so she shook her head and Scott mimicked her.... she DIED laughing. This little thing has continued since then and now, instead of Reese running over to hug Scott or wave bye/hi to him... she shakes her head! And he shakes hers back and they both leave eachother in stitches.
The one thing that really gets us both laughing is that if you pretend to be sleeping, or not facing her direction she will get NOSE to NOSE with you and squeal with the full on 8 tooth grin. If you scare her by growling and grab a kiss she'll go back about 3 inches and belly laugh. This is how Scott gets Reese to get me out of bed on Saturdays. Ahhh, my fam. Love em.
Slept like POOP last night due to my cold now moving slowly into my chest (as Barb predicted), whatever side I was laying on the mucus moved to and started to burn.
When Reese got up this morning and Scott handed her to me in the shower I heard her chest rattling, but it seems to have dissipated.... Scott refuses to kiss either of us on the mouth until after Day..... "just my luck I'll be sick and won't be able to taste the turkey!"
I have a raging headache and so glad it's Friday, now how to tell my boss that i can't answer phones because my voice box hurts from all the coughing, oh and I threw up for the 2nd time in 17 weeks due to the damn mucus getting stuck in the back of my throat.
LOVELY topic to start the morning eh?
Oh well, at least I did feel K2 every now and then through out the night and woke to the wonderful sound of laughter coming from Reese's room.... she's SUCH a morning gal!
What a blur of a weekend. And it's not like we accomplished a lot, more like we had a lot of places to go!
Saturday Scott dropped me off at a friend's baby shower. It was so great to see Natalie! She's so stinking tiny and still has 8 weeks to go!!! It was nice to see her family again and I actually scored 2 prizes, but didn't want to be a prize hog, so I had Natalie give a gift to one of her family members or friends that didn't get something. They had the BEST food, loved the fruit and baked potato salad... and don't get me started on the desserts....
We partied for 3 hours before Scott came to pick me up to see Natalie and the rest of the gang before we headed over to his Aunt and Uncles house for dinner and the football game. Don't ask me who was playing, I don't follow football
Scott and Reese had been there since 1 and I got all the stories and laughs about how Reese was chasing around the dogs and shrieking at the top of her lungs. 3 dogs and 1 running toddler make for one worn out kid! It was pretty funny when Reese had a Ritz cracker and 2 of the 3 dogs were trying to get it from here. There was lots of "No!" and "Leave it!" and not just to the dogs.
I was so stinking tired by 6:00PM. I obviously hadn't had time to take a nap during the day, and any other weekend "pre-Reese" Scott and I would have slept in until 10! But Reese has no clue what Saturday and Sunday's mean. She just knows that she's to get up at around 7 to start her day. And what a way to start our days off right too!
Which brings me to my next little Reeseisms that I LOVE LOVE LOVE! In the morning there used to be these little grunts or whimpers that she was up. In the last week or so there have been these loud "Weee!" or just a playful shriek followed by a little giggle. Sometimes if she's had some water sometime in the night she'll do her "inmate bottle rattle" where she racks the bottle back and forth across the spindles of her crib.... Again, followed by laughter. How can you not start your day off in a good mood when hearing this?
Some other little feats of Reese's ever expanding comprehension of the English language is when I ask her "Reese, do you want to take a nap?" She instantly will put down her toys (drop them too) and take off running towards the stairs yelling the whole way up, walks into her room, stands in front of her crib and does 1 of 2 things. 1. Lifts her hands above her head to be picked up, still facing the crib or 2. Points to her blanket that she loves to cuddle up to. GOD I LOVE THIS KID.
Last night I was going around picking up some odds and ends while Scott and Reese spent more daddy/daughter time together. I wasn't feeling so hot so I told him that I was going upstairs to take a bath. I looked over at Reese and saw her put down her toys and start to head to the stairs!! SHE UNDERSTOOD ME! I felt bad when I said "I'm sorry sweetie, this is bath for mommy, not Reese." She looked at me very puzzled as if she was thinking "What? You can't take baths without me!" But soon Scott made a funny face and she went squealing over to him. The entire time I was taking a bath and I was in my "think mode" I was happily interrupted with very LOUD bouts of laughter or squeals, unmistakably, Reese. She has the BEST laugh.
this morning Reese and I both for the first time in our lives got our flu shots. I went first so she could see what it was all about. She was sitting on my lap, I took my arm out of my shirt and the nurse poked me with the needle and Reese tried to slap it out of the nurses hand! Guess she didn't like that something was on me! THEN, the nurse went to put a bandaid on me and Reese tried slapping the bandaid off my arm too!! That's momma's girl.... DON'T MESS. :nono:
THEN, I had to hold down Reese so she could get hers in her leg I held both her arms and that stinker is STRONG, it used about 3/4's MY own strength to hold her down because she was trying so hard to push up!!! As SOON as the needle was inserted Reese threw her hips up and both her legs to the side!!! The nurse had the HARDEST time keeping the needle in! And when ti was all done, Reese cried and cried, but as SOON as the nurse left the room and that door closed, she was all sniffles.
And Reese gets to go through all of this again on Dec 8th for her "flu booster"
Carl Commons, III was born on November 1st! BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL baby boy! 4 weeks early, but I can tell how happy Melissa is just talking to her over the phone! We couldn't be happier for the Commons' family new addition!
Congratulations Carl, Melissa and Blake!!!!
(To see Carl, Melissa and Blake, check out our wedding website.... she was my Maid of Honor and Blake was our ring bearer!)
I litterally almost cracked my knee cap trying to fly over a chair to get to the bottom of the stairs thinking that Reese was trying to come down the stairs herself. It hurt so bad I almost puked and it's SO sore to walk on today... I broke the skin pretty deep and the contusion was HUGE and still is....
I was hobbling over to get to her and that turkey starts BELLY laughing... I mean bending over grabbing her legs LAUGHING at me! I looked at her half smiling now and said "Give me a break! I almost killed myself trying to save you!" She is STILL gut busting laughing... i have a bit of the end of it on video I'll upload later this evening.
Scott and I are SO thrilled to announce that our cousins (my cousin-in-laws) are expecting!!!!!!!! I spoke with her last night for a long time!
CONGRATULATIONS KIM AND RYAN!!!
People that know the tough road they have been on the past 2 years know how much of a true miracle this little bundle of joy is!!!! Of any 2 people that deserve and will be fantastic parents, these two are the IT!!!! And the best part, we get to be PG together and only 2 months apart!!!!! How crazy would it be if the baby was born on their 2nd wedding anniversary, July 4th!!!!
It's so amazing to ask Reese a question and she point, find or go to whatever we've just asked. The latest is: "Do you need to be changed?" If she needs to be changed she heads over to the stairs and starts to decend! Screeching like a monkey the entire way up.... it's hysterical!
She can identify animals like butterflies, cows, monkeys, etc when asked as well... it's just amazing to see her learning everyday.
One really funny thing that she's started since she found the belt (see her spinning around photos)... she puts the belt around her neck then puts both arms behind her back and grabs her hands then proceeds to strut around.... keeps us in stitches!
I had already put the ToT photos we took over the past week in with Reese's 54 week photos, but I've also seperated them out into their own page here. These are the photos that we took on Saturday, or "Official Halloween"
What?
Witch way to the candy?
WEE!! The only way she'll laugh when she's REALLY upset. We all blame Scott. hehe She BEGS to be thrown up in the air like this too....
There's a diferent view up here.
Dussel Farm, here we go!
We have to get out?
Forget the pumpkins, I want to push the wagon.
The closest Reese got to touching the pumpkins, it was right back to wanting to push the wagons or run all over the place.
2 tired chicks.
CHEESE.....
Reese spied the farm's dog.
Reese LOVED the dog. LOVED LOVED LOVED him.
And really loved the texture of his hair, she would thoroughly inspect it.
CHEESE...........or is that Pumpkin?
Hey, what's over there? hehe
Happy Halloween from the Kloetzer Klan 2005.
Dad, Reese and Uncle Matt.
Let's hit the road already. Everyone was impressed with Reese's "ride." Thank you again Gram C!
Trick or TREAT! Reese got to the point that she knew EXACTLY what to do. Unwrap from the blanket, plucked out of the wagon and she'd RUN up to the front porches. LOL
Running back down the hill..... I had to try and slow her down so she wouldn't fall! Everyone that she was so cute, especially when she SQUEALED at the dog! Everyone was watching me trying to slow her down running down the hill to "Get Dad"
One of the last houses.... obviously Reese was impressed with her selection.
One pooped out Bat.... poor thing, crashed out hard on the way home
Halloween is like having a ready supply of drugs to a drug addict. WHY OH WHY can't I have a sweet aversion?
We took Reese trick or treating last night and Scott and I did the diplomatic thing after putting Reese to bed........... dumped out her entire pumpkin and took turns splitting up the candy that each of us wanted! I had 5 almond joys on purpose because a few houses the people would say "She [Reese] is so cute get whatever she would want [of course nothing] and grab one for mom and dad too!" and of course I was the one doing the majority of the wrangling to the front steps that I picked out Almond Joys! Scott HATES coconut... I love it. I was nice and got a few kit kats along the way too.
Now to pace myself, but lord help us................... Scott is in charge of buying candy for all 6 of his stores for Christmas and I said "Hey, you should start stocking up on Halloween candy when it goes on sale the day after!" Addict? .........................
I've been INCREDIBLY busy today... though lazy morning I did a ton of dishes, laundry, cleaning the house, moving around my closet, spent some snuggle time with Reese which was hysterical for about 20 minutes because I put on her black gloves to wear during Trick-or-Treating (Snow flurries already showing up in our weather reports... so you KNOW it's gonna be colder than a 's *insert anatomy here* in a brass bra)...... anyway..... I put one glove on her, and she looked at it and promply pulled it off.... so I hurriedly put BOTH on and did a clapping game.... she is a TOTAL texture girl so she kept touching her hands together and clamping back and forth. We were sitting on the ground with me Indian style with her sitting in my lap facing forward. Reese then began to stand up and went into a total stealing home plate dive! It was HYSTERICAL! Then she's stand up walk backwards looking over he shoulder every now and then to see where I was and PLOPPED down in my lap and the whole process started over again. I love moments like this.... it's so random and so simple that only a parent could appreciate the activity. THEN... I went to swim class and blammo.... now I'm home and only reason I'm home now and on the computer is because the instructor for the 2nd aerobics class for the night didn't show for some reason.
You got it, I'm doing 2 hours of work out a night.... while I can... and yes, I am pacing myself.
I was trimming Reese finger nails and saw that they were a little bit yellowy/orange, but remembered "oh yeah, Scott gave her cooked carrots last night" no big deal.
While we were taking our morning shower/bath Reese got me with her talons because I forgot to cut her toenails.
We get all dried off and I start to cut her toenails and they are YELLOW to an ORANGE color! I yell to Scott to come see and he was like "make this quick, what is it?" and I said "Look at her toe nails, they are orange/yellow!!!" He said "Sue, it's probably because of all the veggies she eats" I was like "No way, not possible!"
I called Dr. Keith's on the way to work and asked if they could tell me why her toe nails would be this color and Tammy without asking Dr. Keith said "Does she eat allot of veggies?" I said "Yes, she's a TOTAL veg head. Don't tell me, the beta-carotene....." she said "YUP! My daughter Lisa gets that sometimes too." I was relieved and Tammy laughed.
I called Scott back and made his day that he was right....... again. Man, he's batting 1,000 this morning!
Reese has taught Oreo 2 tricks........ she raises her hands above her head and Oreo stands up on her back legs........... Reese pushes both her hands down over and over and Oreo sits!!! SAW IT WITH MY OWN PEEPERS!
Reese starts her 2nd session of swim classes next Tuesday. It's two times a week for 8 weeks! Can't wait to get her around all the kiddos and then of course, there will be tons of times we'll be taking her swimming because we now are memebers of the NAT.
Reese also has yet another black eye. "How'd she get that!?" You may ask.... my answer to everyone is "she's been walking since she turned 9 months...." they all have the same response "Oh, I see!"
The stairs are now a constant struggle to keep Reese away from them or trying to tear down the baby gates. She's such a little smart stinker, can't help but love her!
Thanks to Scott and Reese's insatiable need to perfect anything from being able to step over a divider of carpet to tile, climbing down from the chair, etc. Reese has now conquered her fear of going up more than 2 steps at our house and COMING DOWN THEM. I was reading an article and I heard Reese on the other side of the sofa grunting at what I thought was she trying to force a ball down into one of her toys. I look up, she's not there. The grunting was echoing from the top of the stairs! That stinker wanted to get into her nursery to grab her bunny!!!! We hadn't bothered putting up a baby gate prior because Reese was terrified of the steep stairs. We live in a "century home" and so the staircase is narrow and steep....... needless to say, the gate is up, and Reese is NONE too happy. I watched her try and stick her head under, then her butt.... then one leg and her arm. The kid tries.... she REALLY tries. The funny thing is that she tested it out first with her toys. She'd slide them under and in her mind, if they fit, she'd fit. It was quite funny to watch, but a little sad to see her get so upset because let's face it..... one of the drawbacks of having a head circ in the 97 percentile!
Not only did Scott, Reese and I raise $120 towards the Susan G. Komen Fund, we also completed 5 miles in the POURING rain and FREEZING, but we did it in 1 hour 28 minutes with about 15 stops along the way to carry Reese, change her, plop some grapes her mouth or slow up with the masses. There were THOUSANDS of people there and Reese did REALLY well for being up at 5AM and of course didn't conk out until we crossed the finish line!
It was such an amazing experience and can't wait to do it again next year!
Getting ready to get on the RTA to head down to the waterfront.
What?
Just a section of the people!
Almost 1/2 way through!
Passed out completely!
We did it! No, my sweat-shirt is not normally that dark, it's RAIN! Reese was still asleep.
And within the last 3 days she's found out that she can take her cup over to the spout and catch the water to drink it! 
Day..... "just my luck I'll be sick and won't be able to taste the turkey!"
Reese got to the point that she knew EXACTLY what to do. Unwrap from the blanket, plucked out of the wagon and she'd RUN up to the front porches. LOL
's *insert anatomy here* in a brass bra)...... anyway..... I put one glove on her, and she looked at it and promply pulled it off.... so I hurriedly put BOTH on and did a clapping game.... she is a TOTAL texture girl so she kept touching her hands together and clamping back and forth. We were sitting on the ground with me Indian style with her sitting in my lap facing forward. Reese then began to stand up and went into a total stealing home plate dive! It was HYSTERICAL! Then she's stand up walk backwards looking over he shoulder every now and then to see where I was and PLOPPED down in my lap and the whole process started over again. I love moments like this.... it's so random and so simple that only a parent could appreciate the activity. 
