More Sitting Adventures

I mentioned that sitting would open up a whole new exciting line of adventures for us, and already we're making good use of this pseudo-developed skill. After a morning run to our neighborhood park, we put Reese in the baby swing. She seemed to enjoy the ability to look around and look at us while swinging. On previous trips she had sat in our lap while we swung back and forth (making a racket on the rusty swings by overburdening their weight limits). Only a few more years until she can swing by herself!

Tonight we also gave our "Hippo Chair" a try at a local restaurant. The hippo chair is a great portable high chair that can be fixed to any table. We got the idea (and the chair itself, ironically) from Eric and Chesley. It revolutionized our dining experience since Reese was not confined to her car seat! (She usually can tolerate sitting in her car seat for about half of dinner and then ends up in our laps.) The hippo chair allowed her to sit at the table with us and play with her toys while we ate. Since she's not quite big or strong enough for the restaurant variety high chairs it's a perfect solution.

You couldn't have asked for nicer weather today, so Reese also did some tummy time outside after we returned from the park. Tummy time seems to always go better when we're outside.

Yum, Toes!

When Reese began putting her fingers (as well as anything else she could find) in her mouth I was quickly told, "Wait until it's her toes." Well, the toe feast has begun. Strangely, she does not put them in her mouth when lying on her back (which I expected), but when propped up on a cushion, chair, or couch. Yum--at least there's no toe jam yet!

Sitting Pretty

Today was a rough day, but also momentous. I will strive to leave out the yucky details of our day and skip to the more light-hearted and exciting moments... Today during a visit to HEB, mommy got a strange idea: Why not see if Reese can sit in the cart by her self? This idea was born out of curiosity, boredom, and a slight selfish desire to NOT carry Reese around the grocery store. I placed her in a cart but had the Baby Bjorn close at hand should the attempt go awry. Amazingly, Reese sat in the cart! She was a little wobbly, but with the help of the strap (which the instructions COMMAND that you use) she stayed in one place for the entirety of our short trip. (Better to experiment on an express lane trip than a weekly grocery haul.) She put her hands on the cart rail and looked around the whole time. It's definitely an experiment worth repeating on future trips.

This success inspired some more experimentation with sitting at home. Reese has been using her Bumbo for assisted sitting for sometime now. She does get squirmy in it, though, and as of yet has been unsuccessful at sitting on her own. (She immediately falls forward or to the side and begins crying hysterically even if caught mid-fall.) Today I sat with her on her blanket and we tried sitting again. She was wobbly and didn't stay upright for long, but managed a "tripod" sit for a few minutes. Everything was fine as long as mommy was right by her and helped her keep balanced and distracted. Sitting will open up a whole new world of possibilities for us, so we'll keep up the practice and see what happens.

Cutest Baby?

Each year the San Antonio Herald has a "Cutest Baby" contest. Several years ago, friends of ours WON the contest with a picture of their (now 2 year old) daughter. This year, Grandma Bailey entered Reese in the contest. The publication ran today. Check out Reese's first (but by no means last) appearance in print! (She's in the upper right hand corner.)

Babysitting

Grandma Righter made a trip up to Austin to babysit today. For Christmas Grandma Righter gave Elaine and Aunt Kim gift cards for a spa day, but it's hard to take a baby to the spa, so ta da--babysitting! While Elaine and Aunt Kim were being pampered, Reese and Grandma played around the house and had a great time.

Birthday Visit

Grandma and Grandpa Bailey as well as Aunt Kate and Uncle Richard made a visit to Austin this weekend. They stopped by to help celebrate Elaine's birthday and spend some time with Reese. Reese was in good spirits for their visit and showed off many of her new skills--using her jumpy chair, rolling over, and eating semi-solids.

Reese and Annie

This week Reese has taken an interest in our pets. While she and Annie have been buds for awhile, this week Reese took great interest in our cat, Madeline. She watches Madeline very closely--always keeping tabs on where she is and what she's doing. (It makes feeding Reese difficult if the cat is in the room.) In addition to observing the animals, this week Reese decided she wanted to touch them. (She would probably put them in her mouth if they allowed it, or if it was physically possible.) Whenever the animals are near her, she lunges toward them, sometimes while shrieking, and tries to "pet" them. So far, her petting has consisted of grabbing handfuls of their hair. Both of the animals are handling this treatment remarkably well. The cat will sit in my lap and let Reese tug at her ears, collar, and fur. I'm not sure Annie is even aware that she is being petted until she sees Reese--then she bathes her in "kisses." Enjoy the video of Reese and Annie--notice that Reese not only extends her hands to pet Annie, but always does so with an open mouth. Yum,....dog!

Smile For The Camera?

In previous posts I've mentioned Reese's distraction by the presence of cameras. Her intense curiosity about the camera has increased (if possible). When she was eight weeks old I took a series of photos of her sitting on the couch. The photos showed her recently developing smiles. Since her smiles have increased in frequency and personality, this week I attempted to take more "smiling baby photos." I had little to no success. Smiley Reese sat on the couch cooing at me until the second the camera was revealed. Her looks instantly became "serious" and inquisitive--no more smiles. Even with tickling and funny noises and faces, she would not take her eyes off of her inspection of the camera. Guess I'll have to wait until the camera is less novel so I can capture some smiling close ups. For now, enjoy the pictures of "serious" Reese as she studies her photographer.

Obama Baby

After the recent election, I ordered an Obama sticker online. The sticker was made by the same artist that created his now famous HOPE sticker. The new Obama sticker has been gracing our fridge for a few weeks now (it will most likely end up in Reese's baby book as an artifact of the historic events of her first few months). Since its arrival, Reese has been absolutely fascinated by the sticker. Whenever we go near the refrigerator she is transfixed by the image and reaches for it. Her interest most likely stems from the high-contrast colors used in the image; regardless, it's an interesting item to fixate on. One day when she was particularly fussy, I jokingly thought the sticker might cheer her up (when you've tried everything else, why not?). With fussy baby in hand, I walked to the fridge and said, "Look, Reese, it's Obama!" Whether it was my tone or the sticker, she quieted and began examining it--it's been a running joke ever since that Reese loves Obama. Through friends, I recently discovered a website that allows you to create your own iconic Obama-esque image. Enjoy the results of "Obama-Reese" above.
You can visit the site and create your own images here.

Flying Baby

Another one of Reese's favorite pastimes is "flying." Daddy takes her on flights through the house almost nightly. While flying she flexes her arms and legs out like a superhero and looks around at all the sights. When flying with Mommy, Reese mainly experiences the elevator approach--simple lifts up and down. Mommy has learned that this can be a fun but dangerous activity, sometimes resulting in a chest covered in spit up or drool.

Ticklish

Reese has developed a ticklish spot. While Aunt Kim has been trying tummy tickling "raspberries" to no avail, I have recently discovered that Reese will giggle wildly if tickled on her thighs. The video below shows me giving Reese raspberries on her thigh. This usually produces fits of shrieking and uncontrollable laughter, but the camera distracted her, limiting her "full" enjoyment of the tickle session.

Buddies

Since Reese came home, Annie has been "adjusting" to her new role in the house. While she will always be our #1 canine (and we couldn't ask for a better dog!), the baby does steal some time away from her. I still take her and Reese on daily walks, but Annie is definitely not getting the attention she used to. We have discussed our guilt in excess and are striving to give her as much quality puppy time as we can squeeze in. While they compete for our attentions, Annie LOVES Reese. Annie "checks" on her when she cries by going into the bedroom and sitting by her crib, she also joins us for storytime and bathtime. Tummy time is the best time to deliver special Annie "kisses" since they're on the same level. Reese tolerates the puppy love but hasn't mustered the courage (or interest?) to pet Annie or reciprocate the affections. I have grand visions of Halloween costumes involving the two of them...we'll see where that goes.

Rolly Polly Girl

You never have a camera when it's most needed and this morning was no exception. I was tying my tennis shoes in the closet and Reese was with me. Since she hasn't mastered sitting yet, I had her lying on the floor near me so we could "talk" while I finished getting dressed. Reese was on her back and saw daddy's slippers just out of her reach off to her left. She rolled up onto her side so she could better reach for them (a common "skill" lately), but instead of grabbing the slippers, she continued to roll from her back to her belly and then around again back to her back. It was like watching a kid rolling down a hill. It's the first time she's made it all the way from her back to her belly and back again.

An update on eating: This week Reese has shown a HUGE improvement in her solid-food eating skills! We're still trying rice cereal once a day, but it's nowhere near as messy as the last few weeks. Now, she opens her mouth before the spoon gets there and she swallows the whole spoon full of cereal. She seems to enjoy eating time, and is always cooing and "talking" in between bites. (And, yes, she still tries to feed herself as well as grab the bowl.) Yesterday, I made a small bowl and she not only finished it all, but wanted more. Now that I am sure the solids are making it into her belly, we might try out something more "exotic" next week. Be sure to participate in our poll and let me know what you think Reese should try.

Bananas!

For Christmas, Reese received a super neat gift from her Aunt Kate: a food teether! I must admit that upon opening the gift I had NO idea what I was looking at. The concept, though, is simple and ingenious. The teether has a mesh bag that can hold fruits and vegetables. Once the food is inserted (and child locked), the baby can suck or chew to their heart's content without fear of choking. Reese began experimentation with her teether yesterday. The results were great! I placed a piece of banana in the bag and (after attaching a bib) let her go for it. Each day she managed to "eat" about half of the banana. What fun! Thanks Aunt Kate!

Wake Up Time!

Reese is beginning to nap better during the day. She is pretty consistent about taking a 9AM nap (even protesting to go down at 9 if she woke only an hour earlier), and she sleeps until 10 or 10:30. Her afternoon nap starts around 12:30 or 1 and can be a marathon nap--sometimes lasting until 2:30 or 3PM. Establishing these naps without extended sessions in the rocking chair beforehand was a challenge, but after only a week of breaking her rock-to-sleep habit, she now prefers to be left alone when she's tired. (I've recently tried rocking her to help soothe her in preparation for nap time and I've ended up with a writhing,screaming baby who miraculously falls asleep within minutes of hitting her bed--go figure.) When Reese wakes up she no longer screams "bloody murder." Instead, when she's well rested, she wakes up and begins "talking" to herself. Greeting Reese after her naps is a joy--she's all smiles for whoever comes to wake her up. I tried capturing the smiley moment on video, but I think the camera was slightly distracting for her.

Bath Time

When Reese first began receiving baths at home they were screaming sessions. Sometime around Thanksgiving, however, she began enjoying her bath time. The enjoyment began with periods of silence and escalated to bouts of kicking and splashing. She began to make such a mess when her "toddler tub" was used in the kitchen sink that we had to move the operation to the guest bathroom. While she only receives hygienic baths a few times a week, we occasionally jump in the tub for some play time. Can't imagine how much fun bath time will be when she can sit up in the "grown up" tub and play with bath time toys!

Bouncy Chair

Reese is enjoying the use of her bouncy chair lately. It's a chair that hangs from a door frame and has a large spring at the top. She is able to spin around as well as bounce up and down. She hasn't mastered the bouncing yet, but she is always looking for a way to watch the world go by from a standing position.

Feeding Frenzy

Reese is experimenting with solid foods this month. While solids don't currently serve any nutritional purpose for her, the practice adds an exciting new challenge to our everyday activities. We're currently working toward mastering rice cereal--with our hopes set high to try some fruits or veggies at the end of the month. For now, most of the food ends up on Reese's face, hands, and clothing, but an occasional bite makes it to her mouth (and maybe into her belly?). Reese loves grabbing the spoon and putting her hands in the food bowl. She seems determined to feed herself (or at least play with the utensils). The best part of eating solids is chewing on the spoon afterward. Enjoy the video of our messy girl.

First Christmas

Reese enjoyed her first Christmas with a whirlwind trip to San Antonio. She celebrated Christmas Eve with her Grandma and Grandpa Righter and spent the two days following Christmas with many members of the Bailey family. Highlights of the trip included many adventures with bows, wrapping paper, and tissue paper, as well as contracting a yucky cold. Notable presents included a new umbrella stroller, many new “chew” toys, and some great pjs and outfits for spring.

The start of a blog with love from Aunt Kim

As we approach Reese’s first Christmas, new parents, Grandparents, aunts and uncles can attest to this season’s miraculous themes. This is my first blog, and first contribution, to what I hope will be a great chronicle of Reese’s early life. There may be days that go by without me being able to share in her triumphs and developmental quirks, and I am hoping this forum will allow us all to share in the growth of our most treasured miracle.

2008 has brought so many changes and uncertainty to a world already in turmoil, and yet here you are this miracle of nature. This young person, who captures our hearts and genes, stands wobbly on new legs exploring every moment and day with simple delight. It is a brilliant, however transitory delight, that fades when she you are being fed, placed on you stomach, fed milk that is too cold, too fast, too slow, or is suffering the worst fate of all — being put to nap when interesting things are happening. Yes my niece, my favorite person, a brilliant combination of my favorite people of 2007.. You are impossible. Impossible not to love.

Reese it is just one of my hopes that this computer format is still compatible on future operating systems for you to read one day. Never doubt that you are, and have been loved, every second of every minute since you were known to all of us. This is your website, so we can all share in your life– because the very act of you being here and being yourself makes all of our lives better. Right now you are not an easy baby to take care of , but you are an easy baby to love. So with all of our love we open your website.

Love your Aunt Kim

Disclaimer Below:

It is important to look back on these early bloggings and remember Aunt Kim doesn’t have to write in complete sentences professionally, and is much out of practice. Worry not Reese, you have your Mom, Grandma Righter, and Uncle Richard to help you through all of your grammatical worries- so you don’t become a grammatical dead beat like me.