16 months

My dear sweet Reese,

You are now 16 months old. (Well since this post has taken me a while to complete, as of today, you are only 11 days away from 17 months!) I can't believe how quickly you are growing up. It's so exciting and so heartbreaking at the same time. I love watching you learn new things, but a part of me is so sad that time is passing by so fast.

Lately you have been a little sponge. You remember and pick up on things so quickly and you have an amazing memory. For example, several months ago we were in Lowe's and there were some birds flying around in the store. I pointed them out to you and said "Look at the birdies, tweet tweet!" and now whenever we go to Home Depot or Lowes, you always look up and point and say "tweet tweet!" You can tell when we are driving to one of your grandma's because as we get closer, you say "gaga, gaga."

Speaking of grandma, you absolutely love both of your grandmas! And grandpas too. You almost always cry and reach for your grandma when it is time to leave one of their houses. I'm so glad you love your grandparents. I hope you are always close with them. Almost everyday you will point to your coat and say "coat" and then you'll say "gaga" while reaching for the door. You know that a lot of the time when we put your coat on and leave the house, we are heading to grandmas.

It seems like everyday you are saying new words and phrases. I have a feeling you are going to be a little chatterbox, just like your mama was/is. Some of your new words and phrases since your 15 month post are:

• here you go
• step (you love to go up and down steps and lately you want to hold our hands and go up and down the steps like a big girl)
• key
• blanket (it comes out like game-pet. so cute!)
•  mar mar mar (which means "march march march" (when we were teaching you to walk, we would hold your hands and say "march march march." You say "mar mar mar" whenever you want to get down or go outside.
• cup
• nana (banana)
• wa wa (watermelon)
• all better (when you get hurt or bonk, I always kiss it and then you say "all better"
• yeah (yes)
• hot dog (every morning you point to the tv and say "hot dog" because you want to watch the hot dog dance on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
• open
• down
• up
• diaper

 Some other fun and cute things you are doing right now...

• Whenever you see my mug of water, you point and say "ahhhhh" because you want a drink. You always want my mug of water over your sippy cup of water. You must have learned that from your dad because he is always drinking my water instead of his own. :) You almost always say "ahhhhh" after you take a drink of something. It's so cute!
• You absolutely LOVE animals. Especially dogs and cats. You love looking at the window and saying "woof woof woof woof" whenever you see a dog. You almost always make a kissing sound when you see a dog or cat. Sometimes I think it's because you are trying to get them to come and other times I think it's because you want to give them a kiss. When we go to the zoo, you make a kiss sound when you see the animals there as well.
• Speaking of kisses, you give kisses all day long and I love it! You will just randomly lean over and make a kiss sound and want a kiss. I love how sweet and affectionate you are.
• You have an obsession with babies! At church you are always trying to get to all the babies and give them loves and kisses and rock their car seats back and forth while saying "bye bye bye bye" which is how you say "rockabye." I can't wait to make you a big sister because I know you will be so sweet to your siblings.
• Whenever I ask you a question, like "Should we go for a walk?" or "Should we go see grandma?" you almost always answer by saying "YEAH!" to any question I ask. If you are sad and I ask those same questions, you will usually say "no!"
• You are a total mama's girl and love to be held, especially in the mornings. I love that you always want me the most because I know someday you may not want me by your side all the time.
• Even though you are a mama's girl, you absolutely love your dad! In the mornings you usually walk around the house looking for him while yelling "dada." You also point to the door or window everyday and say "dada" because you hope he is coming home from work soon. No one can make you laugh as hard as your dad does. You have got him completely wrapped around your finger.
• You know the actions to "Five Little Monkeys," "Patt-A-Cake" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider."
• You love music! You are always pointing to our phones and ipods because you want music on. You love songs from Frozen - especially the "Frozen Heart" song that the men sing at the beginning. So funny! You love the Sofia The First theme song,The Hot Dog song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Supercalifragelisticexpialidocious.
• You are obsessed with being outside. I'm glad the weather is warming up so that we can be out there as much as possible.
• You are a little daredevil and try to climb up anything and everything. However, right now you are afraid of going in the swing. I hope you overcome that fear soon because we just put a swing in our tree out front. 
• You love bath time and cry whenever the bath is over. I can't wait to take you swimming this summer. You love water.
• You have nine teeth with more coming in. You have handled teething like a champ and we have only had a few rough days and nights because of it.
• You have been going through some picky eating phases lately, but for the most part you always love any type of fruit, milk, yogurt, pancakes, cooked peas, olives, pickles, oatmeal, macaroni and cheese and spaghetti.
• You are very social and love to be around other people and especially other kids. You are sometimes shy at first, but you warm up fast.
• You are such a happy girl. You rarely cry, and even when you do, you calm down very quick. I love that about you.
• You are very tough. If you bonk your head or stumble, you cry for only a short time and I kiss you and then you say, "all better" and go back to doing whatever you were doing. You even fell down the stairs recently and you recovered so quickly.
• You are very curious and busy. You want to get into everything that you possibly can and you love to explore new places. Lately I have been trying to teach you to stay by me and listen and a lot of the time you obey.
• Whenever I put on chapstick or lipgloss, you always want some on your lips so I put a little on your lips as well. 
• When you know you are doing something naughty, you shake your finger and say "no no no no no" but you usually still end up doing the naughty thing anyway. 
• When you eat something you like, you always say "mmmmmm" after.
• You go to bed around 8-8:30 each night and sleep until 7:30 or 8 the next morning. I'm so grateful you are such a good sleeper. I know you are happier and healthier because of it.
• Lately you love your blankets. You like to take all of them out of your drawer and drag them around the house.
• This past week you rediscovered your binkys that you haven't used since you were seven or eight months old. I think it must feel good on your gums with your new teeth coming in. 

 

 

Reese, I could go on and on about how much we love you and all the things you do. You are the greatest joy of our lives and we are SO lucky to be your parents. You are our whole world!!

On Monday night...

On Monday night, Josh and I experienced something that was very unusual and hopefully a once in a lifetime experience.

On Monday night around 7:30, we were on our way home from the Holladay Library. I was sitting in the back seat with Reese because she was kind of fussy (daylight savings just happened to fall the same week as her first molars coming in). I looked up and noticed a car had somehow crashed and was up on the curb in front of Normandie Cafe. Immediately after I noticed the car, Josh yelled, "I think there's a body in the road!!" (not something you hear everyday, or want to ever hear for that matter.) I look out the window, and sure enough, a man was lying motionless in the middle of the road. Josh pulled our car in front of him to block traffic, and I got out to try to direct cars around us. Some cars came close to not stopping, and I was worried someone would hit our car - especially with our baby girl in the back seat.

Josh immediately ran over to the man, and started talking to him, but he was completely unconscious. He placed his hand on his back and could tell he was struggling to breathe. The girl that had been driving the car that was on the curb, got out and came over to Josh and he told her to call 911. By this time, the manager of Normandie and a few other people realized what was going on and stopped to help. Josh instructed them to find a blanket or something to help keep this man warm. It was getting dark and starting to rain. I pulled our car forward a bit more to block both lanes of eastbound traffic and took Reese inside Normandie. She could sense the panic and was crying the saddest cry.

A few minutes later, the paramedics and several police cars showed up. Josh said they had to cut the man's shirt and jacket off before placing him in a stretcher. He said he thought the man was around 30 years old and that he smelled very strongly of alcohol, and had a bag attached to him that was full of various types of alcohol. The man remained unconscious, and had a lot of blood coming out of his head. They loaded him up and took off to the hospital.

As you can imagine, the driver of the car that caused the accident was in hysterics. I would guess she was anywhere from 17-20 years old, but it's hard to be sure. She said the man just stepped in front of her and there was nothing she could do. Considering the fact that he had clearly been drinking, that very well could have been the case. Her car was a decent distance from where he was in the road and had a lot of damage to the front, so hopefully her story is true and she wasn't driving while distracted or anything. As far as we know, there were no witnesses to the accident. We drove by within seconds of it happening, and were the first ones on the scene. If we hadn't been driving down the road at that time, I think it very likely that he would have been hit by an eastbound car. He was in dark clothing, and it was hard to tell at first glace that it was a person in the road. Had it not been daylight savings just the day before, it would have been completely dark outside and I'm sure this man would have had a much worse outcome.

We were at the scene for 30-40 minutes. Josh was out in the rain the whole time and the nice manager at Normandie offered us some hot chocolate as we were leaving. The police officers were really nice and appreciative of the help Josh and the others who had stopped to help.

Monday night was definitely one of the craziest and most unusual things I've ever experienced. I hope that was the first and the last time we see a person lying in the road like that. We haven't been able to find any news articles related to this accident, so we have no idea if the man survived or if the driver was charged or cited for anything.

I am so grateful Josh noticed that man in the road and didn't hesitate to stop and help. He was able to remain calm and help instruct others on how to help as we waited for police and paramedics. I was (and still am!) very proud of him. Josh says he doesn't know how he thought to say some of the things he said, but I'm sure he was inspired. Hopefully this man gets another chance at life and will decide to make wiser choices from now on. I hope the driver can feel some comfort at this time, as I'm sure she is really struggling.

Ever since Monday night, I've been trying to count my blessings as often as possible and making an extra effort to drive very carefully. Be safe, everyone!

Our imperfectly perfect Valentine's Day

We had had an interesting but really fun Valentine's Day this year.

Valentine's Day is such a unique holiday. I've always liked the holiday, even when single because I see it as a way to celebrate any type of love, not just romantic love.

Ever since our first Valentine's Day together when I "didn't give Josh a gift" I have wanted to make it up to him and make his Valentine's Day memorable.

I saw this idea on Pinterest and decided that would be an easy and fun way to spoil him a little each day leading up to the 14th. He loved getting a little surprise each day.

I thought I had really gone all out, but then Josh had to outdo me and surprised me with this...

I am still in shock. Such a fun an unexpected surprise. 9 out of 10 times, Josh has me pick out my own gifts, so it was fun to receive something that he picked out for once. He did well.

For dinner we decided to try a new restaurant that we had never been to and also had a gift card for. Our babysitting arrangements for Reese fell through, but we were fine to take her with us. We had a reservation for 5:20, which was perfect because we would miss the large crowds and still have time to do something fun afterward before Reese needed to go to bed.

We were excited to try this new restaurant because we had heard good things, but I can honestly say that we have no intention of ever going back. Here is why:

When we checked in with the hostess, she said in a snooty voice, "Your reservation is for two and you have three people. I guess I can find a highchair." WOW. We never changed our reservation because a.) Reese is only ONE and b.) she is still in a highchair, which should be easy to add to any table. We did not think it would be a big deal. Also, not even 1/4 of the restaurant was full at the time, so it really shouldn't have been that big of a deal that we had our cute daughter with us. The hostess got a highchair and placed it at our table and acted completely annoyed and put out the entire time.

Since we had never eaten at this restaurant before, we had looked online at their rather large menu and had a few things in mind that sounded good. Well much to our dismay, they had  a "special" Valentine's menu, which basically meant they were only offering a very limited amount of what their normal menu had on it. None of the items I had considered ordering were on there. Nothing sounded too enticing to either one of us and their prices had gone up slightly for this "special" menu. I understand that they were trying to make it easier on the cooks and provide faster service on a busy night, but it was still disappointing. Another stupid thing was that they didn't have a kids menu. That seemed weird to me because every restaurant I've ever been to at least has something in kids portions available.

Our waiter came and took our order and it was obvious he wasn't too thrilled with the fact that we had Reese with us. He came back a few minutes later and asked us to move the highchair so that it wouldn't be in the way....no one was sat at the table behind her highchair and the hostess was the one that put the highchair there. We were really bothered that everyone seemed to be put out that we had a child with us. Anyone that thinks my child is an inconvenience is no friend of mine.

Our food came and Josh had about 5 small raviolis in his dish and my chicken tasted like it was a Western Family frozen dinner. Josh's raviolis were actually really good, but not enough to fill up a starving man. We got our check as soon as we could and were out of there by 6:00. We were still hungry, and since it was early, we decided to go down to City Creek to eat in the food court and walk around and go in a few stores. Chick Fila had never tasted so good! haha

duck face!

The cutest little Valentine I could ever wish for (no offense, Josh!)

The three of us enjoyed our chicken nuggets and then had a fun time walking around and shopping. It was perfect. Even though our original dinner was a complete disappointment, the rest of the night was absolutely perfect. I love nothing more than spending time with my two loves.

First official haircut

On Sunday, February 9th, I finally gave in and let Josh's mom give Reese her first official haircut. She had been needing one for a long time, but I knew as soon as it was all trimmed up, she would look more grown up than she already does, so I kept putting it off.

Reese has always had an older look to her and people often think she is older than she is. When she was 9 months old, someone asked me if she was 18 months old! What!?! I think babies with lots of hair usually look older than bald babies and Reese has always been tall for her age, so those two things put together make her look a little older than she actually is. I knew that a haircut would only add to my baby growing up too fast.

I didn't ever think I would have a bald baby because both Josh and I had a decent amount of hair when we were born, but I never expected the amount of hair that Reese had/has. When I was in labor, my dr. came to check my progress and told me he thought she had lots of hair...(sorry if that is too much information! haha) but when she was finally born and handed to me, I couldn't believe how much hair she had and how much curl it had to it. My dr. was right!

She was known in the nursery as the baby with all the hair. We couldn't get over it and couldn't believe how curly it got when wet. She definitely got that from the Meadows side and not from me!

Besides having crazy, curly hair, the color has also changed a few different times. As a newborn, it was a lighter shade of brown with golden highlights. It was such a unique and pretty color.

After a few months, it started to get a strawberry tint to it and we thought we were maybe going to have a strawberry blonde/redhead.

As her hair continued to grow, her roots got lighter and lighter-(a reverse melt as I like to call it) and she also got a bald spot in the back from rubbing in her car seat and bed.

This is what we woke up to almost every morning for several months 

The bald spot was totally hidden by her top layer of hair, but as it has come in, it is blonde and doesn't have any of the strawberry in it. Her top layer still does in the ends, so she has quite the variety of hair colors right now! I'll be so curious to see what her hair is like by the summertime.

Anyway, back to the haircut. (sorry, just trying to document as much as possible!)

The bald spot in the back I mentioned earlier had finally come in and the underneath layer of hair was shorter than the top layer, putting her hair in an awkward stage for the past few months. Plus, the remaining curls from when she was a newborn are only in her ends, making her hair get frizzy very easily. It's crazy that she had such curly hair at birth, and now it is getting straighter all the time. I loved those cute curls. Josh's mom had been offering to cut her hair for months but I wasn't ready. I finally gave in and I am so glad I did! It looks so dang cute and I know it will help her hair grow in better and more evenly. Now if I could just get her to stop pulling out her hair bows all the time!

 Before on the left, after on the right.

I can't wait for it to get longer so we can do some fun pony's, piggies and braids, but I am loving her little bob right now! I LOVE roundbrushing her hair after her baths. It looks so cute! This girl was blessed with some good hair.

15 months

Somehow my baby girl is already 15 months old. She is becoming more and more of a toddler and less of a baby everyday. It's oh so very bittersweet. I absolutely love watching her grow up and learn new things and reach new milestones, but at the same time, it all goes by so quickly and I just want to savor and freeze every moment.

I have honestly loved every single stage so far! I don't know if I could choose a favorite, because I love them all, but I must say that this stage is extremely fun right now. I don't know how I got so lucky to have such a happy, good-natured, beautiful baby girl, but I am forever grateful.

I want to be better at documenting her milestones, so here are some things that she has been doing lately. (beware: long post ahead!)

For the past month or so, Reese has been learning more words and animal sounds. It's amazing how quickly she is picking up on things. It's a good reminder for me to watch what I say and what kind of music and tv she is exposed to.

Here are some of the things she says right now:

• mama
• dada
• more
• ball
• bow
• sock
• uh oh
• no no (of course)
• hi
• bye bye
• baby (she always whispers it. so cute.)
•  beep beep (this means belly button. in order to distract her while I change her diaper, I say, "Where's your belly button" and then I push her belly button and say "beep beep" and now she is always trying to push her "beep beep" and look for mine and Josh's belly buttons)
• all gone
• all done
• night night
• gaga (grandma)
• cacka (cracker)
• baba (bottle/sippy cup)
• good girl

 The animal sounds she knows are:

• quack quack (ducky) side note: "quack" was her first official word
• meow (kitty)
• woof woof (doggy)
• tweet tweet (birdie)
• whoooo (owl)
• hssssssssss (snake)
• oh ha ha ha (monkey)
• roar (lion...she always whispers the roar. so cute)
• if you ask her what a fishy says, she makes a fishy face
• if you ask her what a bunny says, she scrunches her nose and sniffs. It is so cute.

Other fun things about this age....

She loves music. She gets so happy and excited when she hears a fun song and will raise her hands in the air, or clap or shake her bum. It's so cute. She doesn't quite have the attention span to sit down and watch a movie or any shows yet, but she LOVES the theme song for Sofia the First and the Hot Dog dance song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She gets so excited when she hears them. We listen to the Frozen soundtrack a lot and she loves it! She especially loves "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman" and clicks her tongue right on queue when it gets to the part where Anna sings "It gets a little lonely, all these empty rooms, watching the hours tick by." She is a smart little girl.

She has always been a good sleeper, but was also a major night owl and we were lucky if we could get her down before 10:00 p.m. She is finally going down each night between 8-8:30 and sleeping until 7:30-8ish the next morning. It's awesome! I always miss her when she goes to sleep, but it gives me the chance to get in some work hours or get other stuff done when she goes down for the night

One of the most exciting things she has done recently is take her first steps. For the past few weeks, she has been taking steps here and there and in the last few days, she is doing it more and more and I know one of these days she will just go for it and not sit down after 7-8 steps. I'm not gonna lie, I am so ready for her to walk and say goodbye to crawling. I know walking will bring new challenges, but I am so done with dirty hands, socks and knees and holes in her cute pants. And I may or may not have several pairs of cute shoes that I am dying for her to wear.

I am so grateful she is finally taking steps. For months I was a little worried that something was wrong because she would not put weight on her legs. She finally started doing it a little bit around 9-10 months old, and even then it was hard to come by. Usually once babies can support their own heads, they will stand up when you hold them on your lap. Reese would never do that. She would always lift up her tiny little legs and act so put out that we were trying to make her stand. Our pediatrician, who I love by the way, did some observations and exercises with her to make sure her muscle tone was what it needed to be and to be sure that she didn't have cerebral palsy or anything like that. He assured me that she was fine and would put weight on her legs when she was ready. He was right and around 10-11 months, she started to pull herself up to anything and everything. She is quite the monkey and can climb up on the couches and climbed out of her crib at 11 months, which just about gave me a heart attack when I heard the thud from her fall. I am convinced part of her slowness to put weight on her legs and walk is because she has the longest, skinniest baby legs ever and the skinniest little feet. She is in the 5% for weight and 82%  for height, but her head is in the 89%, so it must take a lot of work for those skinny legs to support that noggin. haha. She is my little string bean.

A sad but cute story from her 15 month checkup: When it came time to get her shots, I had to hold her on my lap a certain way so the nurse could give her the shots without her wiggling too much and as soon as the first shot went in, Reese started crying and kept saying "all done! all done!" over and over again. It was so sad but so cute at the same time. I always dread watching her get shots, but I know it is for the best.

She is wearing 6-12 month sized socks in this picture and clearly they are too big. She usually wears 0-6 month socks because of her skinny little feet and legs.

 

She climbed from the floor up on to the couch and up on to the top of the couch like this all by herself. (don't mind the paper blinds. Our basement still needs some final touches)

 Lately Reese has been a total mama's girl. I love it so much, even though it can make it hard to get things done sometimes. I know she may not always be a mama's girl, so I am enjoying every minute of it. She had her first ear infection along with a bad cold last week and only wanted me. I hated that she was sick and not feeling well, but I loved all of the cuddles I got. Even though she prefers me most of the time, she absolutely loves her dad. He can make her laugh harder than anyone else and almost everyday she will look out the window and say "dada" in hopes that he is coming home. She gets so excited when he comes home from work. She also LOVES both of her grandmas. Whenever we leave either of our parent's, she is always crying and reaching for grandma. I'm glad she loves them both so much and I know they feel the same towards her. She loves all the attention she gets from Josh's brothers and their wives and she always reaches for my brother Tyson whenever she sees him. I'm glad she is loved by so many and that she loves them back.

Reese also loves animals right now. She loves my family's dog (Elle Woods) and is always wanting to give her treats and follow her everywhere. If we are ever with friends that have dogs or cats, Reese will do everything in her power to know where that animal is the whole time.

Right now she completely obsessed with babies and kids, but especially babies. She is such a social little thing. All during Relief Society each Sunday, she is trying to get to all the babies in the room. (3 more months until nursery! haha) This past weekend we were with some friends that have a nine month old baby girl and Reese wanted to be near her the whole night and kept trying to hug her and give her kisses. She also has a baby doll that she got for Christmas and she loves to hold her and rock her. It's amazing how young motherly instinct can kick in. I think she might be ready to be a big sister! 

This baby doll was the best $7 Santa ever spent!

Right now Reese has 4 teeth on the top and 3 on the bottom, with a 4th on the bottom getting close to coming in. I keep trying to check for molars, but that is not an easy task with a wiggly one-year-old. Teething is definitely not a fun process for anyone involved. So far she has handled it pretty well as long as I give her a little Motrin or Tylenol so hopefully the same will ring true when her molars come in. I tell you what though, nursing sure changes once they get teeth. Ouch. And yes, we are still nursing a few times a day and I love it! (minus the biting of course) I don't know when we'll stop, but I know our days are limited, so I am just enjoying that extra special time I get to spend snuggling her.

I love this little girl more than words can say. She is my sunshine!

Where do I even begin?

I'm bringing blogging back...(sung like JT's Sexy Back. haha)

What in the world happened to the excitement that was once blogging? I think Instagram is the culprit. It's faster, easier and more convenient. I do love me some Instagram, and I recently found out that you can have your Instagram printed into a book, so it can be like a mini journal/album. That will definitely make me Instagram more. Just another easy way to keep a record of my life and more importantly, my little family. So be prepared for more Instagramming from yours truly.

Anyway, back to blogging.

I really kind of hate that it's not as much of a "thing" as it used to be. Like I said, I think Instagram is to blame. I mean who doesn't want the fastest, easiest way to share pictures and updates of your life? But what I do love about blogging is that it can be an even bigger, more detailed documentation of my life. I think the last time I wrote in my actual journal was the night before I got married. 4.5 years ago. Oops.

I started this blog when Josh and I got engaged and it's so fun looking back on the posts and the memories. I am kicking myself for not doing it more. I am definitely going to start doing it on a regular basis (and I mean it this time!). I would feel so sad if I left this earth without a good record of my little family. I don't know if anyone still checks blogs anymore, and that's fine if you don't. This is mainly for me and my family and anyone else that wants to read it.

So here's too a new year and more blogging! (and Instagramming!)

There are a few new posts below that I have been working on for several months in my little bits of spare time. Since I haven't blogged in so long, I am definitely a little rusty, so please be patient with me. There are probably typos, weird spacing, etc. I try to catch that the best I can. And I think I'm due for a new layout....but I don't remember how to do that. Also, if anyone could show me the easiest way to do the pictures side by side or in a collage so my posts don't get so long, I would greatly appreciate it!

xoxo

Oh, and if the rest of  you could jump back on the blogging bandwagon so I could get back to some fun blogstalking, that would be great! ;)

January - June 2013

Wow. Where do I even begin with catching up on my blog.

Let's see if my mom brain can give a half decent recap of 2013...

January:

In January I was in my second month of maternity leave. Maternity leave is the best thing ever. I've never felt so relaxed, content and happy in my whole life. I loved that I got 8 weeks to just enjoy my new baby and not have to worry about 40 hours of work each week as well. I had all these plans to do projects around the house and get stuff done while I was on my leave, but none of that happened. I was too busy enjoying brand new baby Reese. I am so glad I spent that time holding her, napping with her and just savoring every second. I know that the next time I am on maternity leave, it will be a whole new ball game because I will have a new baby and a toddler to take care of. (No, this is not an announcement!) Also the fact that it was winter made it easy to just stay home all nice and cozy with my baby girl.

 One dumb thing I did in January was schedule Reese's 2 month appointment the same day I went back to work. Not a good combo. I think I cried more over her shots than she did. Seeing giant needles go into tiny baby legs is so sad. BUT-I know it's for the better. Luckily Josh took that day off so he could be with Reese while I was working in my office.

February:

February seems like a blur...I was just back to work and while I was gone, they had switched some of the deadlines, policies and the programs we use to keep track of our students. I felt like I was starting a whole new job! It was very overwhelming to say the least. I am so grateful for a wonderful mom and mother in law who have so willingly helped with Reese while I work. It made it a little easier knowing she was in good hands and with people who love her almost as much as I do.

On Sunday, February 3, 2013, sweet little Reese was blessed. Josh gave her an amazing blessing and she was on her best behavior during the blessing. I loved her blessing dress! I bought it at Swiss Days while I was pregnant and it was long and white with beautiful smocking across the front, with just a touch of pink. Perfect for my daughter!

We celebrated Valentine's Day with our cutest little Valentine. Reese also started laughing a lot on a regular basis in February. It doesn't get any better than baby laughs!

Our little Valentine...With spit-up down her shirt. 

In February we also said goodbye to my cute Grandma Bringhurst. She was such a sweet woman and I miss her. My dad lost his mom when he was 23 and my grandpa remarried shortly thereafter. She always treated me like one of her own grandchildren, even though I was technically her step-granddaughter. She was amazing at sewing and quilting and made me several dresses when I was young and would make a matching dress for my doll. I remember talking to her on the phone on Mother's Day last year and she told me several times how much she loved me and how proud she was of me. It made my day. She was a wonderful lady.

Reese also hit her 3 month mark at the end of February. Her pictures from her 3 month photo shoot turned out so dang cute!

I love them all, but these next two are probably my favorite!

March: 

I always love when March hits. Mostly because it means the cold, yucky months of winter are behind us and we are getting closer to spring and summer. (even though it can still be cold and snowy in May and June sometimes!) There's just something about making it to March that makes me feel relieved. I am not a winter person. March is also my birthday month, so that is probably part of the reason why I enjoy it. 

In early March I applied and interviewed for a new position at my work. I was fine in my current position, but knew there were other opportunities within the university that would give me more flexibility with my schedule. More flexibility would mean more time with Reese! I applied to be a transcript specialist, which is basically a transcript evaluator. At my interview, the manager said he would let me know by the end of the next week...well the end of the next week rolls around and I never heard back from the manager. I figured I didn't get the job. 

Also in March, I turned 29. My birthday fell on a Saturday, which was nice. I went and got a pedicure and then Josh and I went to my favorite restaurant, Baja Cantina, up in Park City. His mom offered to watch Reese, so we had fun just the two of us, even though we spent most of the dinner talking about her and stopped at the outlets to shop for her! It was a perfect day and so fun to have my baby girl to celebrate with. She was exactly what I had wished for my past two birthdays, and really what I have wished for my whole life. 

I promise she loves me 

April:

At the beginning of April, I finally heard back on the job that I had applied and interviewed for at the beginning of March. I got an IM from the manager letting me know he was just working on my paperwork with HR to get me moved over to the transcripts department. I was so excited!! I really feel so blessed with the timing of this job. In my previous position, I was an enrollment counselor for some of the teaching programs and I was going to be transcript evaluation for the teachers college. It definitely made my transition to the new position easier. 

In April we also said goodbye to my sweet grandpa. He passed away just three days shy of his 93rd birthday. We were able to have his funeral on his birthday and it was a good day to remember and honor him. I miss him so dang much, but I am glad he is happy, healthy and with my cute grandma again.  

The last week of April I finally started my new position at work. I had to train in the office for three months, but luckily those three months flew by. I am forever grateful for my mom, mother in law and Josh's sweet cousin Ashley for helping out with Reese during that time. It was hard being away from her so much, but I was so relieved knowing that she was in good hands everyday. Moving to this new department and new position has totally been worth those three months of working and pumping in the office everyday!

What I took out the door with me everyday for 3 months...

laptop, diaper bag, breast pump, purse, lunch and the cutest baby ever. 

We also started Reese on baby cereal in April. It definitely took a few weeks for her to adjust, but watching her eat it was very entertaining. And messy!

May:

May was pretty uneventful. My training was in full swing and it was going very well. I also got to celebrate my first official Mother's Day! I guess you could say the year before was my first since I was around 12 weeks pregnant, but this was my first Mother's Day with my baby girl. Josh got me a jogging stroller and that whole day I felt so grateful for my precious baby. I always knew I would love being a mother, but it has exceeded my expectations. It is the most wonderful thing I have ever experienced.

She wasn't sure what to think of our first run!

At the end of May, Reese hit her 6 month mark. Everyone always says how fast time goes when you have a baby, but I never realized just how true that statement was until I experienced it for myself. Every stage is so fun and every stage has it's challenges. I love it all!

 A few of my favorites from her 6 month photo shoot

June: 

June was pretty low key for us. I was in my second month of training, and Josh was busy working full time during the week and mowing lawns all day every Saturday. I have such a love/hate relationship with his little yardcare business. The extra money sure is nice, but I hate that he is gone on Saturdays since it is our only day off of the week together to play, do projects in the yard/house and spend time together.

Anyway, in June we celebrated Josh's birthday and also his first official Father's Day. It really is the best thing in the world seeing him melt over our baby girl. He is such an alpha male, and doesn't show much emotion or his sensitive side very often, but Reese sure can bring that out in him. Having a baby girl first is the best thing that could happen for our family.

For Father's Day, I surprised Josh with a Peyton Manning shirt (his man crush) and informed him that in the fall, he would be attending a Broncos game in Denver with my uncle and cousin. He was so excited! Unfortunately, he had to go out of town for work the same week as the game he was going to go to, so our trip was canceled. We've got to make it happen this year before Peyton retires. He's getting up there!

Stay tuned for the rest of the year!