Leters to Reese- 17 months!

Christmas Eve at Daily Harvest getting breakfast

Reese,

You turned 18 months on January 18th, 2013, so this post is a recap of your 17th month!  You celebrated your second Christmas and New Years this month, and you also had some firsts- sledding, visiting the Children's Museum and more importantly, starting school.

Enjoying a cake pop on the ride home from gymnastics.

Reese's 18 Month Stats: 

Weight: You had your 18 month check up on January 30th- you weigh: 25lbs 4oz. so you've only gained half of a lb since your 15 month check up. This puts you in the 65%tile.

Height: Dun dun dun...... the drama! At your appointment the nurse measured you at 35", then the doctor came in and questioned how tall you were, but then looked back at your last record and said "Well, she's always been tall, but this measurement puts her in the 100%tile".  I didn't think much of it until I looked at your record from your last appointment and saw you were 33".  There is just no way you've grown 2 inches in 3 months-- none of your clothes are fitting you different, your pants aren't short, etc.  So, I decided I'd measure you.  I had you stand barefoot in the kitchen on the tile floor against the wall and I got 32.5". Twice.  So strange.  I get that when they measure you in the doctor's office that you're laying down and that it's not scientific, but that is a big disprecpency.  I'm thinking that you are around 33" still, and that you didn't grown much in height since your last app, just as you didn't gain much weight.  I'm definitely going to tell them at your 2 year appointment that something was up!

Clothing: Mostly 18-24, although there are still quite a few 12-18 month things that do fit you, and some of your new shirts that I've bought you are 2T.  I'm personally skipping over the 18-24 month size in certain things so you can get longer use out of them.  I just had your foot measured and you are a size 6/6.5 (your left foot is bigger than your right--- apparently lots of kids have two different size feet- who knew?!)

Diapers: Size 4.

Favorite Toys: You got tons of new, fun, toys at Christmas.  You love your kitchen set from Santa, and have started to independently play with the pots and pans and play food.  You love to push your grocery cart around.  You love the VTech Alphabet train that Nana got you, and the tunnel that Nonna and Papa got you.  You also love your easel! Whenever we're in your playroom you walk right over and start coloring with the dry erase crayons.  I've yet to try painting with you, but someday soon will tackle that project.  You are obsessed with stickers and will sit for 10-15 minutes putting stickers on paper.  I love letting you do stickers because it's great for your fine motor skills, and eye/hand coordination. You still are very maternal with your dolls and will spend lots of time pushing them around in the stroller or carrying them in the car seat.

Favorite Past Time: You love to have fun and are such a little social butterfly.  You love play dates with your friends and going to school.  We recently hosted our first official play date at our house and you were a riot-- we joke that you thought you were so cool! The rest of the day you were wild- running around squealing with delight! So funny.  You will spend lots of time playing with your dolls, dressing them and undressing them.  You also have a strong love for putting things in and taking them out of bags (your swim bag, purse, grocery bag, it doesn't matter).  You've found your stash of diapers in your closet and will take all of the diapers and wipes out of the box, put them in the bag, then carry said bag around upstairs, then put them back.  We get such a kick out of you-- you have such determination!

Communication: You're still only saying about 10 words, but you understand EVERYTHING we say. You say mama, dada, nana, papa, Emma, light, yes, up, wow, and know all of your body parts.  You also know most animal sounds (all of the ones that we've taught you).  I have a funny feeling that when you do start talking it will be in sentences and you won't stop! ;-)

Cries: When you're tired, unhappy, or are having a tantrum.

Bedtime/Nap time: You are napping around 12:30/1pm and sleep mostly for 1.5 hrs, sometimes we'll luck out and you'll do closer to 2 hours.  You are going to bed on the earlier side since you started school, so on school nights you are out by 6:30pm.  Other nights it just depends, but you are always asleep by no later than 7:15pm and you typically sleep until 6:45-7am the next day.

Foods: You are a pretty good eater still and will try most things.  Your best meal is breakfast and worst is dinner.  You love Chipolte's kids meal which surprised me! It's a chicken and cheese quesidilla, black beans and brown rice.  You literally inhale the entire thing-- it's so cute.  You love black beans.  You are also OBSESSED with the green smoothie shake that I make for Daddy and I.  Now I find I make it with you (for you) more so without Daddy being home because you'll beg for it.  You go over to the cabinet where I keep the blender and point and whine for it.  The Green Monster is a frozen banana, 1 cup of almond or coconut milk, a 1/2 cup of greek plain yogurt, 1 tablespoon of almond butter, a scoop of chocolate protein powder, and the rest of the blender filled with spinach (I'd guess about 3-4 cups of baby spinach).  You and I will split it (so you drink about 8oz.).  I have to take a video of how cute you are helping me make it.  

You still will drink milk from a sippy twice a day- in the morning when you wake up and at night during dinner/before bed.  I'd say you drink at most 10oz of milk per day, that's why I'm so happy you love cheese, yogurt, and the shakes.  

Painting with Emma, Stella, and Nathan at Imajine That!

"Grocery Store"!

Your first pigtails

Brushing your new baby, Dolly's teeth.

Cormier Christmas 2012! Great Nonna with all of her great-grandchildren (minus Lil)

A favorite past time of yours, vacuuming, which is a huge change from when you used to be afraid of the vacuume, blowdryer, and blender! Thanks for my Dyson, Nana!

You very rarely will fall alsleep on me, (like you've done it twice since you started napping in your crib), but when you do I CHERISH it! This was a few days after Christmas.  You were wiped!

New Years Day at Jordan's Furniture-- picking out Sissy's dresser!

Helping Mama get ready!

29 Weeks- Baby #2

Excuse my crazy hair that is out of place.  My hubs didn't tell me I looked like a nut!

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

1. How Far Along? 29 weeks as of today, Tuesday, January 29th (compared to 29 weeks with Reese)

2. Total Weight Gain/Loss? Not sure, I have my appointment on Thursday.  I'm thinking the baby is growing a lot right now due to how big she feels all of a sudden.  At my dr. app 3 weeks ago I was up 16 or 17 I think? So if I'm "supposed" to gain a lb per week, that would put me at 20.  We'll see. I'll update this post after my app.

Update 1/31/13: Back from the doctor--- I'm up 20lbs total. Right on track to gain about 30 for the pregnancy which is a good number and I'm happy with that.

3. Maternity Clothes? Yes. I wear some non-maternity cardigans over maternity long sleeve tshirts, but that's about it.  

4. Gender? GIRL! :-)

5. Movement? Yes, and this baby is starting to hurt me! :-/ Now, Baby Girl moves her whole body and I can feel her limbs on either sides of my belly at the same time.  A few nights ago Todd and I were laying on the couch and I had the laptop on my belly and she kicked so hard that the whole laptop moved!

6. Sleep? I sleep through the night not getting up to pee which is bizarre because with Reese I was up 2-3 times/night at this point.  I'm not complaining about that! I will say that I am SO SO SO SORE from laying down in bed, that sometimes I don't think I can move my legs and I know I huff and puff and wince from the pain, but there's nothing I can do to help it.  Sleeping with extra pillows just makes it worse.

7. What I miss? I miss not being pregnant.  I know it sounds awful, but I'm just so uncomfortable and can't wait to have my energy back and feel good.  Being pregnant with a toddler is no joke. I seriously think that if I worked at my old corporate job and was able to sit behind a desk for 40 hours vs. chase Reese around all day long that I'd be less tired.  I feel like I'm constantly bending over to pick things up, picking Reese up and putting her in and out of the car--- it's exhausting. As much as I feel thankful and blessed about being pregnant, I'm so very happy to be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  I'm 99% sure that this is it for us, two and through.

8. Cravings? I definitely have a sweet tooth right now, but am trying to be good! Loving fruit and anything sweet!

9. Symptoms? Very sore and achy down below, and I know it's just going to get worse. This baby is also way higher than I remember Reese ever being.  I have a really hard time getting a good deep breath.  I feel her right underneath my ribs.
  
10. Best moment this week?  Making tons of progress on the nursery! We now have the crib and dresser set up, rug in, curtains hung, and clothes put away.  The custom closet company is coming tomorrow to do the installation of the new closet system.  To tell you that I am excited is an understatement! It's not only going to look awesome, but it's going to allow us so much more space! We are also having the closet in the play room done too! 

Reese Goes to School!

Reese started school on Tuesday, January 8th!

Todd and I had decided that we thought it would be great for Reese to have the socialization with other kids (away from me), and to get into a routine before the baby arrives.  We also thought that it would be nice for me to have a couple of mornings to bond with the new baby one on one.  After touring a few places we found the center that Reese is now attending.  We love it! Best of all, one of Reese's teachers is my good friend Courtney's older sister that I've known for 15+ years.

To say I was anxious leading up to Reese's first day would be a huge understatement.  We had to schedule two visits (30 mins each) for Reese to attend the center before her official first day. Both visits Reese cried uncontrollably.  I left defeated both times questioning our decision to send her at all.

The morning of her first day T and I did drop off together since T was on vacation.  I made sure that we had a full agenda planned for the 4 hours we'd be without Reese to keep us busy and our minds off of her.  Turns out she did way better than we anticipated! She's in her 3rd week at school and she's thriving! Sure, she's had her weepy moments, but her teachers assure us that she loves it! It's so fun to pick her up and see her light up! I love getting the daily report sheets and all of her arts and crafts that come home.

Without further ado, here are some pictures from her very first day!

Little Miss had no idea what was about to happen! LOL

Her cubby

Todd snapped this picture super quick at drop off on his iphone, hence why it's not in focus!

A mom of one of Reese's classmates (whom I know) knew I was a nervous wreck leaving Reese that first day.  She snapped this picture when she dropped her son off.  Here's Reese and her son playing Play Doh with Miss Kim. Seeing this picture at 9am really made me feel better as I pictured her crying the entire 4 hours.

When we went to pick her up she was all smiles and so proud of herself! Here are a few pictures from when we got home.  She's showing off her new backpack that Nana got her for Christmas.

Hooray for a successful transition!

27 Weeks-- 3rd Trimester- Baby #2!

This was at my 27 week app!

This was taken at 26w 1d

1. How Far Along? As of Tuesday, 1/14/13 I'm 27 weeks pregnant with baby #2! (vs. 27 weeks with Reese)

2. How big is baby? 

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

3. Total Weight Gain/Loss? 16lbs. vs. the 22lbs at this point with Reese. I did gain 7lbs in a month! Whoops! I'm blaming it on all of the holiday goodness. :-) Still hoping to only gain 30lbs this time around.

4. Maternity Clothes? LOVING my new Old Navy skinny maternity jeans with the full panel.  I seriously may wear them every day that I don't have my leggings on. My jackets still zipper, so I'm hoping to avoid the whole maternity coat situation.

5. Gender?  Sweet baby girl! Still nameless (although getting closer to a decision)!

6. Movement? Yes, and it's definitely noticeable from the outside.  Kicks and gabs have turned into rolls and waves of movement.  She is sitting really high though causing me to be short of breath often. I can literally feel her right underneath my boobs.

7. Sleep? Still sleeping pretty good.  I'm really surprised that I'm not getting up in the middle of the night to pee, by this time last time I was always up at least once a night.  I've probably just jinxed myself, but anyway... 

8. What I miss? My energy and alcohol.  Not going to lie, but not being able to have a glass of wine a few nights a week stinks.  I miss date nights with my hubby where I can get dressed up and enjoy myself!

9. Cravings? I feel like my sweet tooth has been taking over lately-- I want lots of chocolate or something sweet after I eat lunch or dinner.  Chocolate chip cookies with ice cold milk have been satisfying that craving! Yum.

10. Symptoms? Dry skin, pressure down below, and stuffy nose/hard to take a deep breath.

11. Worst moment this week? T going back to work after a full week off! We miss him around here! :-)

12. Best moment this week? Getting the nursery painted, getting the dresser, and buying lots of stuff for the nursery.  Sweet baby girl is going to have a beautiful nursery.

Christmas 2012

For the second year in a row we hosted brunch on Christmas.  We figure it's easiest with little ones to be at home base.  Last year it was just T's parents and sister/brother-in-law, but this year we had my mom, and our new nephew to join in the fun.  Later in the day my cousin, the twins, and Matthew were able to come for an early dinner.

Next year I think we're just going to do later lunch at 2/3pm and call it a day.  It will be more relaxing for us as a family to enjoy gifts, shower, and have the kiddos nap without rushing to prep food, set the table, get ready for company all before 10am.  I'll probably do a lot of prep for food the night before or just order a few trays of food from an Italian restaurant in town.

Santa came!

Reese's new kitchen!

The other tree.

 Christmas morning!

Brunch!

Sweet Ellie!

The ladies!