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.

Pretending To Be A Photographer

I decided to play photographer and take some of my own pictures the other day. I had SO much fun with her! I was getting frustrated with my camera though, because it was taking forever to focus. I could've had a lot more great shots, but I'm super happy with the ones I got. Here are just a few...

Super Bowl XLIV

Because we were all recovering from a cold, we ended up staying home and having our own mini Super Bowl party. What a great game! Even though we respect Peyton, we were cheering for the Saints...I, myself, like cheering for the underdogs. Way to go Saints!

Cold...But Safe

Last night, Dowell and I babysat for a couple that lives in our same apartment building. Their baby girl is 2 months older than Reese and her mother and I were pregnant at the same time. We had a good time watching her and Reese look each other over. It's also amazing to see how much different they are developmentally with just a 2 month difference. It just goes to show how much Reese has grown and changed and also, how much she will grow and change in just a few short months. Dowell and I both wish we had a 'pause' button to push so that we could keep Reese at this age for a little while longer! There's so much to enjoy and soak up everyday.

After babysitting, dinner, and bath time, Reese was sound asleep around 9 (a little later than usual). We were all pretty tired and ready for bed. Dowell, Cooper, and I were watching TV before hitting the sack, when, all of a sudden, our smoke detectors started going off and we immediately smelled smoke that seemed to fill our apartment! Cooper ran to the back room and started howling. Dowell grabbed him, I grabbed Reese and we ran out the door. We didn't hear anyone else's smoke detectors going off, so we knew it was just in our apartment. My mind was spinning trying to think of what could have caused the smoke, but there was nothing...no candles, no oven, no heated devices of any kind.

Dowell, our fearless leader, went back in and turned our heat off, checked each room, then walked around outside to see if it could have been coming from the apartment downstairs (did I mention that it was 34 degrees and raining?). He didn't see, feel, or hear anything. After about 5 minutes outside, the smoke seemed to dissipate and the smell lessened, so we decided that we were safe...the culprit?...our heating unit! Thank goodness my husband turned off the heat before our entire apartment was filled with smoke! Praise the Maker that we were all safe! Needless to say, we all had to add an extra layer to sleep last night. And yes, the rain turned to snow this morning (our thermostat said it was below 50 in our house when we woke up), but maintenance came by and fixed us up temporarily, until they can fix our heating unit next week.

Little Piece of Heaven

I was laying in bed last night thinking about the day, saying a prayer, and thanking the Lord for so many blessings that I sometimes take for granted. Saying "thank you" for moments that make me feel so complete, make me feel so much love that I just don't know what to do with. I strongly believe that is the kind of love that God has for all of us. One moment, in particular, I just have to share.

Everyday, Reese takes several naps throughout the day and, as long as she gets enough sleep, she wakes up talking and cooing with sounds that are so precious, they will just melt your heart. Well, yesterday, while she was asleep, I was in the living room trying to take care of a few things and I hear her sweet voice in the bedroom. I walked back and peeked over her crib to see her beautiful eyes wide open and the blanket was pulled all the way up to her nose. I uncovered her little face and she lit up. She smiled a big gummy grin with squinted eyes and all. I melted. It was like an angel was smiling back at me...a little piece of heaven.