Finally Some New Pics of Reece!

A few of my friends came over last night and one is a photographer. He took a few pics of Reece while she was playing then cooked us dinner! Yummy! Reece loves to have company!

More New Mexico Pics!

Did I also mention Reece and her younger cousin Jake had their 1st mountain biking experience? Taking after their Dads!

New Mexico!

Every year we plan a family vacation with my sister and her family. It's always falls in August when everyone is over the extreme heat in Texas. The high was 85 and that is hotter than normal but the evenings would cool down pretty nice. We got to do some hiking. Notice how Reece was sporting her sunglasses and purse on the hike. What a city girl! She also got to go on her 1st hot air balloon ride. We loved our time with the Hodges clan and Reece misses her cousins! She had so much fun having the other kids around. Never a dull moment!

Yummy! More cake!

Reece's Mimi and Papa couldn't make it on her birthday but they were able to come the next week and look at the clown cake they brought with them!

Reece's 2nd Birthday Party!

Reece celebrated her 2nd birthday on July 16th. We didn't have a big party because we had a contract on our house and were supposed to move that same week. The buyer couldn't get financing so we didn't move after all. Thankfully my sweet friend Elizabeth helped by making cupcakes for Reece's party. She is also the one who did them for Reece's 1st birthday. I swear she could go into business! We only had a few people over and my family was nice enough to drive in from Austin. Reece had a blast with her cousins! Thanks to everyone for helping us celebrate last minute!!!

Reece's 1st Birthday!

I realized I never posted pics of Reece's 1st birthday and since we just celebrated her 2nd on July 16th I thought it would be nice to see how she has changed! She was not feeling well on her 1st birthday as you can tell by the pics. We realized why when the next day 4 of her upper teeth decided to make an appearance. Poor little girl!

Reece Being Reece!

Vacation Time!

We've been planning a family vacation and it finally came! Some of our friends invited us back to Sonoma to enjoy a relaxing time! We decided to make a pit stop in ABQ and drive to Sante Fe! Then off to CA we went! I'm really bad about taking pictures so this is about all you get! Sorry!

Reece's Swim Lessons!

We decided to enroll Reece in swim lessons. It's not your typical parent/child swim lessons. It was an infant/child swim survival course. Since we have a pool, we thought this was the best way to go. Unfortunately I don't know how to upload videos from my phone to the computer, so you aren't really able to see the full effect of these classes. It was 30 minutes a day for 5 days. Reece only went 4 days because she had an ear infection. The 1st day she was dunked under water but by day 4 she was able to jump in and flip to her back and float. By the end of the lesson, the instructor was able to toss her in and Reece would manage to float to the top, turn over, and kick her way to the side of the pool. She still had a hard time reaching for the side of the pool but she did and worked real hard to hold on. It's pretty impressive!

Isn't She Cute!

Where Did My Sweet Daughter Go?

Today had to be one of the most trying days so far with Reece! It started off pretty good considering I had to hold her down and pry open her eyes to put her pink eye drops in. (which I had to do 2 more times during the day) We made it to the dry cleaners and then to the grocery store without a bump in the road! Then the day spiraled down hill pretty abruptly. While I was unloading the groceries, I thought Reece was quietly coloring at her kiddie table. Well to my surprise she had colored white all over our hardwood floors and red on the wall. It didn't stop there either. Later in the day while I was trying to prepare dinner she stamped little duckies on the same wall. WOW! Then after her 20 minute nap all Hell broke loose. It was a late nap to begin with and then she couldn't stop coughing. So out of her room she came. Let me tell you..girl needs her sleep and her Mommy needs the hour to decompress and get a few things done! So anyway I took her to the backyard and did bubbles. After that she played in the pool for a bit longer. Then it was time for dinner. That didn't go too bad until she started throwing her fruit on the floor and getting upset that it was on the floor. BTW did I mention that she has boycotted milk all together since being weaned. So I was on a mission to get her to drink some much needed vitamin D. I bought chocolate milk and strawberry milk to see if it would help. Well after sampling all the flavors she was still asking for milk. Well we know where that led! That's right! To my boo boos. After she took a look, she wanted a band aid on her boo boo which was on her knee and healed about 2 weeks ago. She then started saying boo boo and pointing to her knee in the most pitiful way but what really had me doubling over was how she started to walk with a limp. It was like all of a sudden she was really hurt! That girl is quite a character! No acting lessons needed! So if this all sounds like a bunch of gibberish it's because I'm exhausted and had a battle getting Reece to bed! There's got to be another way to wind her down at night because let me tell you a bath, music, and books doesn't work on her! Any other recommendations? Something other than crying it out? If so let me know!

Update Part II

I can say she has officially been weaned. It's been 10 whole days but there hasn't been a day she hasn't asked for it. Every time we go through the same process of looking at my "boo boos" to make sure I still have band aids on them. What a sweet girl! She still has hope. Last night she came into the room at 3a and while pulling at my shirt said "milk, milk." You gotta love her for trying. On another note she went "pee pee in the potty" twice yesterday. I know it was probably just coincidence that we set her down on the toilet at the exact time she had to go but still! Her vocabulary is just growing everyday. Although I know what she's saying, it's hard for other people to understand. The sweetest things she says are "Peese (Please) Mommy, and Help Mommy." Well the girl is awake gotta go!

Update Part 1

Reece said her 1st cuss word. Chris was doing something and s&*t came out of his mouth. Well the next thing we know Reece said it. Then said it again. We really are going to have to watch our vocabulary around her. Anyway I haven't blogged in awhile because I've been super busy. I joined a book club but I have to admit I didn't finish our last book. Oops! Also I was busy preparing for a 3 day training so I can start teaching a weight lifting class. Yes itty bitty me teaching a weight lifting class. To top it off I need to learn some new music for when I teach kickboxing. So anyway Chris took Reece out of town for the 1st time by himself. It was my 1st time away from Reece overnight and even though I was at the gym over 8 hours a day for 3 days, she was on my mind constantly. I know my in-laws were taking great care of her but you can't help but miss a girl like Reece. She is my little angel. So during this time we thought it would be a great time to wean. When she got home the first thing she asked for was milk and not from a cup. The first night she cried about it and cried about it til she fell asleep in her Daddy's lap exhausted. The next day she woke up still wanting it. So whats a Mommy supposed to do?? No I didn't give it to her but I did put band-aids on them! Now she asks and I show her that mommy has "boo boos" on them. She looks at them curiously then goes about her business. Then in a couple of hours we go through the whole process again. I'm hoping she will soon forget all together but after last night I'm not so sure! She woke up from a nightmare and all she wanted was Mommy's milk. What a night trying to put her back down! Anyway I will keep you posted on the final outcome!

Oh Look!

A petting zoo came out to Reece's school and we were lucky to be able to enjoy seeing the animals even if it wasn't her scheduled day for school. Reece was timid at first but by the end she was having fun petting the animals!

Reece's Newest Stunt at the Park!

Look! There's Daddy in the Sky!