Magic Cabin

Last weekend, Reese and I made a 'girl's trip' to Alabama to visit the Magic Cabin. The Magic Cabin is my friend, Emily's (pictured left), and her family's lakehouse. It's a wonderful cabin on Smith Lake and is a quiet, refreshing reatreat. We drove down on a Friday afternoon and came back Sunday afternoon. It was such a fun trip. We were with my friends Emily, Jena, and Tiffany...all from PT school. What a great time! I was initially worried about how Reese would do on the ride down, sleeping in a new place, and staying on her schedule, but she was perfect! Fell asleep for a little while in her car seat (unbelievable!), took great naps there, and slept great! She loved the water too. She would start talking as soon as she saw it. She even had her 1st boat ride!

We were so spoiled while we were there too! Emily and her family are so welcoming and generous. We ate so well. That's actually why we call it the Magic Cabin. Legend has it that you can eat all you want and none of the calories stick! We played hard too. We got to ski and wakeboard. Emily is phenomenal at all water sports. She just gets better and better every summer. Her brother can do flips too. The rest of us were happy that we even got up.

All the girls
I forgot how much fun this is

Mommy and Reese in the lake


Reese in her very own life jacket

Not Off the Map

Daddy and Cooper made a bridge for me to crawl under

We went to Logan's and Reese ate 1/2 the huge dish of mac-n-cheese
Daddy's little Yankee fan

The view from our seats

So it's been quite some time since my last post and I'll have to admit...my fault. It's been so nice having my family together with Dowell being on vacation for the last 4 weeks. I can't believe that he starts back to work Monday. Another season begins! We have had a lot of company in the last month. My parents, Nana and Popsie, as well as my grandparents, Reese's great grandparents, came to visit one weekend. Dowell's family, Mimi, Big Daddy, Aunt Darcey, and Keleigh came and spent about a week with us. It's nice to have family around and have everyone willing to help us out. It gave Dowell and me some time away and a few date nights! Speaking of date nights, Dowell and I got to go on a 'Mommy and Daddy' vacation...just the two of us. We spent 4 days in New York City. We went to a show, a Yankees game, and just walked around a fun city...a lot! We had a good time. Reese stayed with Nana and Popsie while we were gone and had a blast! I don't know if she even knew we were gone. As much as we love her, it was nice to get a little break.

Reese will be 11 months old tomorrow! Wow. I've been planning her 1st birthday party, looking at party supplies, cakes, pinatas, etc. It's so much fun! Dowell told me the other day, "I can't wait to see what you do for her future birthdays with all the time you've spent on this one." It's so true! I'm so proud of her. She's just becoming a little toddler. Right now she's all over the place. She prefers to be standing up. She will crawl, but once she gets to her destination, she's going to stand up on it. Doesn't matter if it's the TV stand or Cooper. She's trying to talk more and is imitating a lot now. We're teaching her how to call the hogs too. She raises her arms up over her head and grins really big! We have to say the "Wooo Pig Sooie," but she raises her arms every time. It's adorable. She imitates sounds and syllables too. Every time I say Cooper, she says "Da-ta" and says "tah-ugh" for thank you. She makes me laugh more everyday.

Change of plans

My daddy is blowing in my face...I like it

Standing up in my crib

My plan was to go to Arkansas this week to see my best friend's baby. However, I woke up Sunday with a head full of gunk and a tickle in my throat. It wasn't too bad and I thought it might just be a 24 hour thing. Well, I should have known that working 4 days last week with kids who had green snot running, yes running, from their noses would rub off on me. Monday I saw 6 more snotty noses and by Tuesday morning, I felt like I had been hit by a dump truck. Needless to say, I have no business around a new baby. I'm praying that Reese doesn't get it. My head is less stuffy today, but now it's mainly in my chest. Hard coughing and sleep don't go well together. I'm just trying to rest as much as I can.

As for Reese, we are trying to get her back on her schedule. With me working more than usual last week, she didn't get as much sleep as she normally does and was only taking one nap a day rather than two. It's a bit of a struggle, but I'm hoping it gets back to normal soon. She is moving around like a champ. She's got crawling mastered and pulling up is a breeze. I all the time catch her standing up in her crib when she's supposed to be napping. She can pull up on just about anything (e.g. ottoman, TV stand, bookshelf, bouncy chair, sofa, my legs, her crib, etc.). She's even doing handstands on the ottoman (with me holding her legs up, of course)!

Monumental Week

Sick, but still smiling

Mom's pretend photo shoot

Sitting in the rocking chair

Ham cheese face

Lookin' out the window

Face attack on Daddy

Playing with Cooper

It's been an action-packed couple of weeks, to say the least. Dowell is quoted as sayting, "It's monumental" and I have to agree. He and I have always felt that Reese has been growing and changing so quickly, but last week, she took off...and we didn't know what to think. We had her 9 month check up last Tuesday. She's still small for her age, but I don't think her parents give her much of a chance :) To us, she's perfect. We were glad to see her temp go down and by Tuesday afternoon, she was fever free and feeling great. Dr. Ladd was impressed when I told him that she was feeding herself fruit chunks and whole veggies. Yay Reese!

And remember when I said that she wasn't crawling forward yet, or pulling up, or feeding herself pancakes, or drinking out of a straw, or smiling big cheesy grins, or clapping all the time, or sleeping in her own room? Well nix all that. She does it all now!!! I can't take my eye off of her for one second anymore or she's pulling up on the TV stand, or crawling to grab Cooper's paw, or cruising around in her crib! All this happened within one week! We are so proud of her. She's getting around and knows what she wants. Her favorite game right now is "sit down, stand up". She holds onto my fingers and stands up, then squats down when I say "sit down" then stands up again when I say "stand up"...it's so cute and she gets so proud of herself. Every time she stands up, she smiles SO big. Her daddy calls it her 'ham cheese' face.

She also had her 1st school picture yesterday!!! I can't wait to see her class picture. From what I heard, every baby in her class was screaming and crying except for Reese and Collin. Reese was grabbing Emmy's face and one of the teacher's had to jump in the picture to try to calm them down. It should be a really good one. The photographer got a really cute picture of Reese doing her 'ham cheese' face. Oh, I can't wait.

We've had quite a busy week. I've been treating kids at the clinic 4 days this week. Luckily, Dowell was able to stay home with Reese on Wednesday so she didn't have to go to school everyday. They had such a good time together. She has been saying "dada" all the time now. I know that makes him feel good. It's nice to be home today and catch up on some rest...Reese and I both. Here are some of the latest pics.

Oh, and I almost forgot...we took Reese swimming for the 1st time! She loved it. Splashed and kicked around, smiled, squealed...we'll be going back a lot this summer :)

Good News

Reese is feeling MUCH better, I dare say she is 100% again. Praise the Lord! What a stressful time. I don't think I've ever asked the Lord to let me take away pain like I did last weekend. I wanted to fight the illness for her. I wanted her to be able to sleep and feel well, but I think it's times like those that force me to trust that God is in control...to have faith that He will heal her. Gosh, those 3 days felt like forever. But I am so thankful that He takes care of His children.

I feel like so much has happened since Tuesday, so here goes:

1. She is sleeping in her own room in her BIG crib.

2. She is clapping...any time she hears the work "clap", she claps.

3. She is feeding herself pancakes, sliced pears, whole peas, and chopped carrots and apples.

4. She has adopted a new smile, pictured above. It's a cheesy grin (her daddy calls it her "ham cheese" face. It is so stinkin' funny. She smiles so big that her eyes close, her nose wrinkles, her cheeks sag, and all you can see are her lower gums and 2 bottom teeth.

5. She is laughing more (I finally made her laugh!). When she laughs, I swear that the world stands still. It's absolutely the most precious sound I've ever heard.

We actually had a family moment the other day where Reese was sitting in Dowell's lap and they were watching Cooper and I play. Reese got tickled and started laughing...so we all started laughing. For at least 5 minutes we all played, smiled, clapped, squealed, and laughed. It was exactly what we all needed...a time of fun and togetherness that we haven't had in a while. I can't imagine loving anything more.

Bad News

It's been a while since I last wrote, but a lot has been going on. I'll just jump right into the update. Vacation time off has finally begun for Dowell, so he has had a lot more time at the house (let me mention that "vacation time" for him means that he still goes to work, just doesn't stay as long). Thank goodness that he has been here. On Friday afternoon, we noticed that Reese's head and body felt a little warm. She was a bit fussy going to bed that night and we thought that her teeth were bothering her. The next morning, she still felt warm, so I took her temperature and it was 100.7 degrees. I gave her some Tylenol and we tried to have her take it easy. Well, as the day went on, she became increasingly feverish and I just kept giving her Tylenol, putting cold packs on her head, keeping her covered, and cuddling her as much as I could. She felt so bad. She couldn't nap and was SO tired. That night, her temperature was 101.5 and she was having a lot of trouble going to sleep. I was so worried. She finally went to sleep around 9 which is very late for her. She woke up at 2 and didn't go back to sleep until after 4 am. Sunday morning, her temperature was 102.7 (axillary temp) and I could tell that she felt lousy. She was up at 6 am...not much sleep for us. I was absolutely exhausted and running on less than 4 hours of sleep. Dowell got up and took care of her for a few hours so that I could get a little more rest. Around 10 a.m., we tried to put her down for a nap, but Reese wasn't having any of it. She felt crummy. I was so worried about her fever. Luckily, our pediatrician's office is open for 2 hours on Sundays for acute illnessses. When I read that the axillary temperature is actually 1-2 degrees lower than actual temperature, I looked at Dowell and said, "we are taking her to the doctor right now." I'm so glad that we did because it gave us both peace of mind. Dr. Ladd assured us that she would be fine and checked all of her systems. He told us that it was probably a virus and just had to run it's course. We got her some popsicles and Motrin. Monday morning, her fever was down and she seemed to be feeling a little better. She likes popsicles.

Family Time

What a great weekend we had! Friday night, a friend of mine offered to babysit while Dowell and I went on a date, so we gladly accepted...thank you Andy!!! It was so nice to get out of the house and be together, just the two of us. The biggest change for us, having a child, is the inability to just get up and go somewhere whenever we feel like it. We used to go to movies and out to eat whenever we felt the desire, but now we have to think about nap time, bed time, feedings, etc. I wouldn't trade it for anything, but we do miss that time of being spontaneous. I'm sure our sweet baby girl, as she gets older, will love doing those things with us! Anyway, we got a much needed date night. We went out to eat at Cantina Laredo. It's a new mexican food restaurant downtown in an area called The Gulch. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was great too. We had so much fun and were going to go to a movie afterwards, but decided to go on a walk instead. It was so nice out, warm with a nice breeze (and we ate early enough that it wasn't quite dark yet). When we got home, Reese was already sound asleep in bed and Andy told us she was 'so easy'. Reese had a good time and was happy to see us when she woke up.

Saturday, Dowell and I took Reese to her 1st Razorback baseball game. The Hogs were playing Vanderbilt in Nashville, so we decided to take her. We at at Ted's Montana Grill for lunch before the game and Reese was SO good. She played with her toys, drank out of my straw, played with the straw, smiled, looked around, and tried to get the attention of a big group of people sitting at a table next to us. It was a gorgeous day for baseball. The game started at 2pm and we sat in the bleachers under the sun. It was hot, but it only made the cool breeze feel that much cooler! We were pushing it close to nap time and we only lasted a few innings, but we all had a great time. The Razorbacks won 7-5 and took the series too!!! Go Hogs Go!

Saturday night, we made plans with some new friends for dinner. One of Dowell's former coach's daughter lives in Nashville with her family. She and her husband have 2 little girls, Noelle 3 years old, and Julia 10 1/2 months old. They are beautiful little girls and Noelle is a character! She was waiting for us at the front door when we pulled up! As soon as we walked in, Noelle was looking at Reese and talking to us. All of a sudden, Reese just starts laughing...a lot! I mean LAUGHING! Noelle was just standing there smiling and Reese was staring at her and giggling so hard that she started squealing! Noelle began jumping around and playing peek-a-boo with her, which only kept the laughter flowing. It was at least 3-4 minutes, non-stop laughing! My stomach hurt from laughing at Reese's laughter. The whole night was a blast! As soon as we got home, Reese was ready to take a bath and go straight to bed. She was asleep before I even finished praying with her. Too much fun for one day!

worn out

Eating some chicken noodle

Cooper just lets her pet, pull, and chew on him

"Look what I found, Mommy"

We are still here. Last weekend was very busy. One of my very good friends from college, Barrett, got married on top of Petit Jean mountain Saturday and I have been looking forward to going ever since she got engaged. Dowell, Reese, Cooper and I were supposed to leave Friday evening, but more severe storms came through Nashville. It has been the wettest month! Anyway, we decided to get up early Saturday morning and drive straight there. Since it was a 2 hour drive to the wedding from my parents house, Dowell and I decided to stay in a hotel in Conway. We love staying in hotels! Reese and Cooper got to have a sleepover at Nana and Popsie's house, while Dowell and I stayed in Conway. It was nice to get a little break. The wedding was gorgeous and the reception was something out of a movie! I even got to spend a little time with Kristen and Trey.

The next morning, we got up and headed straight back to Nashville. It was a super quick trip! Reese did well in the car though. I sat in the back to entertain her (a.k.a. sing and hand her toys) and sweet Dowell drove us the entire way. Cooper maintained shotgun and we were one travelin' family!

Monday was busy at work. Reese still isn't taking naps at school, so she has to play 'catch up' at home the rest of the week. She's still getting good notes from her teachers! She is trying harder and harder to crawl and is starting to pull up on our ottoman. It seems like she does something new every day. We always say how we could'nt love her any more, but each day it seems like, somehow, we do.

Mother's Day

My 1st Mother's day was the best! I got to spend some quality time with kids, got lots of hugs from my baby girl and snuggles from Coop. They each got me a sweet card (Reese's was a Happy Mother's Day and Cooper's said Happy Birthday) that made me cry and laugh. I even got a new camera! Expect some fabulous new pictures as soon as I learn how to work it!

Dowell kept the kids and let me have some pamper time too! I got a pedicure and a haircut!!! It was wonderful! I've been waiting, what seems like forever, for a pedicure. And Linda Nguyen did a great job. Excellent scrubbing and massage! Ahh, just thinking about it relaxes me. It's always wonderful to get away and have some time for yourself. Then come home to a happy Daddy and children. I love knowing that everything is ok while I'm gone. And I love seeing what 'buddies' become of my absence. It's so cute to see Reese smile and play with her Daddy.

I feel so blessed. The only thing that would've made it better would have been able to see my wonderful mother on that special day. I hope I can become 1/2 the mom she is to me!

Poor Reese

Last week, Reese wasn't acting like herself. She was having a hard time sleeping at night (which is very uncommon) and becoming a little more fussy when she would lie down. She had also been congested with a runny nose and cough. Friday morning, she didn't even want to lie down to eat, so I got worried and took her to the doctor that day. She had a small ear infection in her left ear :( Dr. Ladd prescribed us an antibiotic and we started that night. It already seems to be working. The next day, she was 10x happier. She has been sleeping all night again and her congestion is even clearing up a little. Thank goodness I took her that day. I can't imagine if it would have gotten any worse. Yesterday at work, I discovered that 3 other babies in her class have had the same thing! Poor kids! I'm sure they've just been passing all of this around to each other.

New things that she is doing:

1. Rolling over in her crib

2. Eating out of bottles...even from me

3. Scooting backwards and sideways (hasn't quite gotten the hang of pulling forward)

4. Getting on her hands and knees (most of the time, it's the push up position you see above)

5. Eating finger food cereal all by herself.

6. Babbling a lot!!! (baba, mama, dada, bama, & lots of squeals)

7. Crooked little smile with 2 bottom teeth...my favorite

8. Sleeping without being wrapped up

The Invasion

A lot has happened since the flood (most not entirely flood related), but this is the headline story at our house...

Invader Takes Beth Hostage in Her Own Home
Thursday, May 6 11:33 p.m.

Reese was not feeling well and had been fussing in her crib for close to 30 minutes. After numerous attempts to soothe her, I headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed. I told Dowell to use his best judgement and listen for Reese. After I brushed my teeth, flossed, and washed my face, I sat down on the floor to do a few more things. I was very tired and could hear Reese still having a hard time in the next room. I took a deep breath and tried to relax. All of a sudden, something ran out from under the ledge of the sink, hit my leg, then ran into the corner of the bathroom. I did the only thing I could think to do...scream like I had just found a dead body!!! I jumped on top of the sink and yelled for Dowell to come in there. It was a mouse...a mouse with a gun! (at least that's how I remember it). It threated to take everything I had, then kill me. So that's why I screamed (yeah, that's why I screamed). Anyway, SuperDaddy Dowell ran in there, took one look at the giant masked rodent, grabbed a tea pitcher and CAUGHT it. (He made him drop the weapon 1st of course). I was on the bed with Reese in one arm and Cooper in the other! It took us until 1 a.m. to completely settle into sleep. What a night!

Wet Weekend

Wow, what a weekend it has been! I'm sure that most of you have heard that Nashville experienced the worst flooding in decades. Friday night, the storms began and the city began to fill up early Saturday afternoon. The news showed part of I-24 where there were close to 50 cars completely under water. The water was so high on the interstate, that it was up to the hoods of semi-trucks. And it kept raining. The rains did not stop until Sunday night. Unfortunately, the damage was done. Many people were having to be rescued from the roofs of their home by boat. Over 4,000 people are without power. The Cumberland River's boundaries are indistinguishable. Many of the buisnesses downtown had over 2' of water. It's just crazy! I just heard on the news that President Obama has declared it a 'disaster area'. Luckily, our apartment is up on a hill, so all the water was just rushing by us. A 14'+ dam behind us was almost running over and we still have water steadily rushing down the hill.

Our apartment complex backs up to rock cliffs around the back perimeter. The rain caused 6 or 7 different mudslides that brought down bushes and some entire trees. These are some pictures from around our apartment. We haven't seen all the damage first hand. Schools have been closed for the past two days and a lot of businesses don't have power. High Hopes was closed on Monday, so Reese and I were here with Cooper and Daddy. The Titans facility is closed and powerless, LP field is damaged and had close to 3'+ water filling it yesterday. I was going to post sooner, but our internet and cell reception has been pretty spotty. Thank you Lord for keeping us safe and please pray for our town's recovery.

Full Day of Work

Yesterday was my first full day of work. It was exhausting, but fun. I treated 4 kiddos...cute kiddos! For me, it's a little bit difficult to come in and do my own thing with kids that have been treated by another therapist for quite sometime. In a way, I feel a little bit restricted to do what they have been doing, but I'm going to have to change my thinking and remember that I'm not a student anymore. Once I get in the mindset that I am a Physical Therapist, I think I will become a little more comfortable. There's also a period of adjustment, with children, that they must develop a trust in you and you must discover their likes and dislikes, how to motivate them, their capabilities, etc. I look forward to that day. But make no mistake, this is what I was meant to do. I LOVE IT!

Reese had a crazy day at school too. When I dropped her off, she sat beside another little baby and they started picking at each other. The other baby was picking at Reese's lip and Reese was picking at that baby's ear. Reese was smiling and talking (squealing/grunting) to the baby...it was SO cute! She seemed to have fun, but I'm discovering that she might be getting picked on a little bit. The little boy in her class stole the toy that she was playing with, she got pinched in the head, and she fell and hit her head on a toy :( Poor thing. She's not only the "new kid in class", she's the smallest one too. She's a tough little cookie. Her daddy was not happy when he heard about her getting pinched. I think he tried to crawl through the phone and come up there. He said, "Who was it? Did that baby get put in time out? What did the teacher do about it?" he was so mad...the baby that pinched her is only 8 months old too.

Speaking of 8 months old, Reese just turned 8 months old on Saturday!!! Still doesn't seem like that long ago.

Sunday

I have to admit that Sunday was rough for me. I had a lot to get done for work and for Reese's 1st day of preschool. Not just that, but I was more nervous and anxious than I had let on. I guess I was trying to convince myself that it would be easy to hand her over and let someone else take care of her for the day. Trying to convince myself, someone who doesn't trust just anyone with her daughter. This nervous, anxious, overwhelmed feeling is the one I woke up with.

THEN, I got the call from my best friend, Kristen, that she was in labor and heading to the hospital. I was able to talk to her up until she was admitted, then I only got text updates from her mother and husband telling me how she was doing. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for those updates and don't know what I would've done without them. For me though, knowing that Kristen was in the hospital, about to go through something so life changing...I just wanted to be there. I know that she had TONS of family with her and was well taken care of, but the feeling of being so far away with no time or feasable means to get there (not to mention my first day of work the next day) just added to the anxiety. I worried about her all day. I kept thinking about how they must have been feeling and it took me back to the day Reese was born. Like it was yesterday, I remember the emotions and feelings I had the first time I saw her. The way she looked, the facial expressions she made, how tiny she was...it all came back to me. Dowell and I talked about how amazing it is that you see this tiny baby for the 1st time and you can't imagine loving anything more. All of this, I knew Kristen and Trey were about to experience.

Their baby boy, Ty, was born at 6:54 p.m. on Sunday! Just as I thought, Kristen did fantastic. I'm so proud for her and her husband. He's absolutely adorable and looks just like his Daddy. He has sandy blonde hair and blonde eyebrows! I know one thing...he will never lack in love. I'm not in any hurry for them to grow up, but I look forward to watching Reese and Ty play and become friends.

I felt much better after I talked to Kristen Sunday night and heard, with my own two ears, that she was ok...Congratulations Holloway family!

Extras

She's starting to get herself on all 4s

Playing with Cooper

Her shirt got stuck when we were getting her undressed.
Dowell and I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Playing on the Computer

New Job

Today, I started my 1st day of work! I took a PRN (as needed) position with a pediatric therapy clinic, High Hopes. I did a clinical there while I was in school and loved it. In fact, I remember coming home from my clinical one day telling Dowell, "this is where I want to work!" The Lord definitely has a grander plan! I am working on Mondays and Reese is able to go to the preschool/daycare next door...it works out perfectly! Anyway, today was our 1st day. I was a little nervous about leaving her, but the fact that I can walk down and check on her whenever I need to, makes it a lot easier for me (and her teachers are fantastic).

I loved being at work! This is definitely what I was meant to do. It was mostly orientation and observation today, but I did get to lead one treatment. Kids are so fun! I also got to meet some of the other children that I will be treating and they are super cute.

Reese had a great day at school and did better than I thought she would. I knew she would have a good time with the other babies, but I was worried about her eating and sleeping. She ended up eating great, but didn't sleep much. She's definitely not used to napping with other children, noises, and in an unfamiliar bed. The teachers said that she had a good time talking to herself in the mirror of the crib though :) She was exhausted when I picked her up. I put her down for a nap around 5 p.m. and she didn't even wake up to get ready for bed...just kept on sleeping thru the night. Bless her heart! I know she had a good time. She got her first good note sent home too! It said that she was cheerful and had a great day. They read books, went on a wagon ride, sang songs...sounded like lots of fun!

1st Tooth

I tried to capture a picture of the little beginnings of her 1st tooth. She usually covers it with her tongue as soon as I whip out the camera, but you can kind of see it in this one (I'm not really sure why I took it upsidedown, but I think it's kinda cute).

The Dentist

Reese went with me to the dentist this morning and sat with the administrative assistant, Ms. Jessica, who loves her and always wants to keep her up front while I'm getting worked on. Usually, Ms. Jessica walks around with her and all the girls at the office just "ooh and aww" over her, which is so precious. Today, I didn't hear a peep. When I was finished, I walked up to the front desk and saw Ms. Jessica on the phone trying to schedule a patient. Reese was sitting in her lap, pulling on the telephone cord, shaking a piece of paper (that I'm pretty sure was part of a patient's chart), and putting the paper and an envelope in her mouth. I started laughing so hard. It was like she was working at the front desk too! So busy. There was also a man waiting to be checked in and Reese looked up at him like, "may I help you?"...I laughed until I realized that I had better stop laughing and start helping Jessica!

Also, here are a few pictures from the playground last week!

Happy Easter!

What a beautiful day! The weather was gorgeous and we enjoyed being together as a family. Here are a few pictures from today that I just couldn't resist!

Big news: Reese is getting her 1st tooth! We felt it coming in yesterday and could see it today. She's also drinking out of a sippy cup now. Super fun!

Ok, so I haven't posted anything in, what feels like, a REALLY long time. So let me start by saying "I'm sorry!" However, it's beautiful outside today and I am in desperate need of a shower before baby girl wakes up, so I need to update quickly :)

First of all, I PASSED my board exam!!!! I took it March 18 and got my 'unofficial' letter/license to practice...HOORAY! I will be taking a PRN position at a wonderful pediatric clinic where I did a clinical rotation in school. It's called High Hopes and it is such a great place. I always loved being there and I even told Dowell during my clinical "I want to work there." Praise the Lord! I get to! I'll be working one day a week and Reese will attend the daycare that is connected to the clinic, so it works out perfectly! All the paperwork must be filled out, but I'm hoping to start within the next few weeks.

Reese is eating all kinds of foods now. So far, she's had carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, apples, bananas, prunes...and she seems to like them all. We had to go back to the pediatrician yesterday for a weight check (she didn't gain any from 4-6 months) but she is growing beautifully now! The doctor said that she is just great. She is a talker and squeals all the time. It's absolutely hysterical. Dowell and I went to lunch today and she sat in a high chair, played with her toys, and squealed. Everyone just looked, smiled, and laughed.

Last week, Reese and I traveled to Arkansas for my best friend, Kristen's baby shower. It was her 1st time on an airplane and she did great! Loved being able to play the whole way...she still hates the car seat with a passion. I have to admit that it was much easier not having to drive and stress the whole way. Kristen's shower was fantastic! We had such a great visit and Louis Vuitton, her Bichon Frise, LOVED Reese. He had to know where she was at all times and even slept with me so he could check on her throughout the night. It was adorable. Reese even made a few new baby friends while we were there. She loves other babies and just smiles and squeals/talks to them. I think she's going to like being with other babies at daycare.

Reese is just now catching up on her sleep. We have been so busy lately (hence I haven't posted), but we should be slowing down. Staying here for Easter will give us a chance to relax and start a family tradition of our own. Happy Easter everyone!

New Foods

My baby girl started solid foods last week! Rice cereal first, then carrots last night. I have mixed feelings about it. I'm happy that she's a healthy baby, but a little sad that she's growing up so fast right before our eyes. It just doesn't seem possible that she's old enough to start eating vegetables. Anyway, good news! She really really likes carrots! I think the picture speaks for itself, but I will say that by the 7th or 8th bite, she was reaching for the spoon and practically feeding herself. We will try sweet potatoes on Wednesday...update coming.

10 more days until my board exam...please pray for effective studying, confidence, and a passing score!

Lots to Report

Well, Reese is officially 1/2 a year old! We celebrated her 6 month birthday on Wednesday...I still can't believe 6 months has passed so quickly! She is growing and doing such amazing things. She is sitting up, rolling over, and reaching up to pull her animals on her exersaucer! She smiles all the time and really enjoys babbling and squealing.

***Best news: Reese said her 1st word..."mama"!!!! I know it probably wasn't intentional, but I'm going to believe it was :) Most of the time she says it when she's getting sleepy. It started out as "umma", but a few days ago, it became a definite "mama". She also says "bababa" sometimes. It is so cute when she starts talking. I'm just so excited and proud!!!***

Dowell is at the NFL combine this week and my parents are coming up this weekend. They are having 'Reesey withdrawls', as they call it, and are going to watch her while I take some time to study. I graduated from physical therapy school with my doctorate of physical therapy 10 days before Reese was born and have just been focusing on her. I feel like I have forgotten so much since then, so I am trying to refresh my memory and then study extra hard for my board exam. I have 3 more weeks before I take it and I need every minute I can spare. Speaking of, I gotta go...need to hit the books a little more while baby girl is in bed.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope you all had a great weekend! On Sunday, we went to Cracker Barrel (my favorite since the pregnancy...thanks Reesie) and ate a wonderful breakfast. It started snowing and we spent some time lounging around the house before going on a date that afternoon. Our neighbors, who have a 7 month old, offered to keep Reese while Dowell and I went to the movies. It was our 1st 'movie date' since she was born. We went to see Valentine's Day in Green Hills. It was packed! Should've known. We found 2 seats on the 2nd row at the extreme side of the theatre...not exactly the best view, but the movie was cute and had some unexpected twists that made it surprisingly heartwarming. Reese seemed to have a good time with the other baby, but missed her nap and was exhausted! It was a good day.