Paper Pusher and Dog Kisses

Below are two videos from our week.

The first video is from Monday after our weekly grocery trip. While unloading the groceries, Reese got a hold of the paper towels and began pushing them all over the kitchen and hallway. There again, why do we buy her toys? Isn't this the purpose of the car we bought her? She seems to be much more interested in the paper towels. Again, I didn't catch all the action on video. And, yes, I do gasp at the end of the video as she's about to ram the paper towels into the bowls of water for the pets. Not to worry, catastrophe was averted when I caught her early and helped her find a new starting place for her "paper pushing."





This second video captures just one of MANY doggy kisses Reese bestowed on Annie this week (the kisses usually go the other way). Reese still enjoys giving kisses to friends and family on their cheeks. The "kisses" she gives are still open mouthed, but they usually follow a "real" kiss from someone else. If she gives kisses to Mommy and Daddy, why should Annie be left out? I caught Annie's 10th or 12th kiss on video, and I guess she had reached her limit, because this was the last one she tolerated.

Reading Reese

Last week Reese and I had to run an errand to pick up a birthday gift for a friend. Just before leaving, Reese was looking at a board book she had pulled from her shelf. When I scooped her up to get into the car she had it with her. To my surprise, she sat in the back seat on our drive and "read" the book the whole time we were commuting (it was not a short drive thanks to stop lights and early evening traffic). Usually, during drives Reese plays with a toy or looks at one of her cloth books. When I looked back during the drive I saw her turning the pages, pointing at pictures, and babbling the whole time. When we parked at our destination and I opened the door, she had the book open in her lap and was grinning. I now make sure to have a board book on hand for all car trips.

Her interest in "reading" isn't just in the car, though. On Tuesday afternoon, Reese brought a book into the living room and sat "reading" it for almost five minutes! I couldn't believe how long it kept her interest when surrounded by so many other toys (and with the ability to move around--unlike the car seat). Unfortunately, I didn't grab the camera until her interest started to wane so she's starting to look around and she's not pointing to the pictures quite as much, but you can get the gist.

Bow Head

This afternoon Reese found where I keep her hair bows. This, of course, led to an exploration. She stood up, fished out a hair bow, and then handed it to me. She repeated this action multiple times until she had removed all of the bows in the box. I couldn't resist the urge to have some fun with this situation: each time she handed me a bow, I put it in her hair. Yes, I admit I was having fun at her expense, but today I needed the humor.

Pacifier Free

This week has marked our first week of pacifier-freeness. While Reese did not use her pacifier often during the day, unfortunately she came to rely on it as a crutch to help her get to sleep. After our trips to the pedi for ear infections (our doctor explained why pacifier use has been linked to increased ear infections), and reading countless sources on breaking the habit, we decided to give it a go. From other parent-friends we had heard that if it wasn't gone by now than it was only going to get tougher to break the habit as she got older. Reese wasn't (and still isn't) very happy about the transition. Instead of drifting quietly off to sleep and sleeping on a fairly predictable schedule, she now screams and throws tantrums each time she's put in her crib for a nap or at night. What we thought would only take a few days (like maybe 2 or 3?) of crying has continued to stretch out into this week. Let's just say she's stubborn and she comes by it honestly.

Adding to this sleep drama are some issues with her sleep positioning. When we lay her down for sleeping we lay her on her back with her elephant. Before we can even leave the room, she rolls herself over, pulls up to standing and starts screaming at us. She then proceeds to crawl all over her crib (still screaming) until she ultimately falls asleep in whatever position she exhausts herself in. Lately this has meant that she's been doing a lot of sleeping in a semi-sitting position. (Imagine sitting up straight, then bend at the waist until your head and chest touch the ground--that's our girl.) I couldn't figure out why she kept waking up after 5 or 10 minutes of sleep on Tuesday, so I peeked in her room and found her trying to sleep sitting up. When I moved her back onto her back she slept for about another 15 minutes before calling it quits. Last night when Kevin and I went to check on her, she was sitting up, slumped over her elephant asleep. We gently rolled her over. It's put us in a tough spot: she won't go to sleep right away and starts crying, but she can't stay comfortable in her sitting position, and if we go back in and help her into a more comfortable position before she's asleep she'll get upset that we're leaving her again and her tantrum will persist even longer. (She's a master at the manipulation already, and I'm sure she'd put together that "crying = parents visit" real quick.) Ahh...did I mention this is also leading to shorter naps and earlier mornings? She's been an all around grump, really, and I'm trying not to let it rub off on me.

Backyard Pool

We finally did it: We broke down and bought an above ground pool. It was a total impulse buy late on Sunday afternoon. We were spurred on by the sale price ($80!), taunts from friends and family, as well as the convenience and leisurely entertainment it will hopefully provide. By Sunday at 9PM we had a fully filled 12ft x 3ft pool on one side of our backyard. Kevin spent most of Monday (he had the day off) getting the chemicals right, and by Monday night it got its inaugural dip.

Yesterday, Reese got to break in the pool for the first time with our friend Catherine. Since Reese can't crawl around this pool like she does in the shallow end of the pool at the gym, she used her floaty and hung on Mommy. We were able to stay outside for about an hour after her afternoon snack enjoying the cool water. We can wait to try it out again this afternoon!

Dancing Queen

I mentioned a few posts ago that I was going to try to catch Reese "dancing." It took a while, but I finally did it!

Yesterday afternoon, she started playing with the octopus keyboard Grandma Bailey gave her on her visit to Austin. The keyboard plays tones and makes animal noises when you press the keys. Unlike Reese's piano, though, the keys work best when hit one at a time. It's taken her a while to figure them out, but now when she plays she extends one finger and pokes the keys and buttons individually. If she touches the musical notes near the top, the keyboard plays a song for her. Yesterday she continually hit the music note keys and performed her little dance. I was lucky enough to catch some dancing on video before she got tired of it (she had been dancing for a few minutes before I ran to get the camera). It makes me wonder: is this what I look like when I'm dancing along with her? Who did she get these "moves" from?

Happy 4th of July!

This weekend Reese celebrated her first forth of July! She was dressed in red, white, and blue for the occasion and got to see some sparklers before her bedtime. She thought the sparklers were pretty interesting-especially at first. She watched them burn and sparkle (I held them away from her with the wind blowing away from us) and pointed at them a lot. Daddy caught some of her reactions on video, but it was getting close to her bedtime and her attention was waning. We contemplated waking her up later that night to view some "real" fireworks in our neighborhood, but we decided against it since we thought she'd get scared and/or not be able to go back to bed. Next year, I'm sure she'll be more into the celebration! After Reese went to bed, Mommy and Daddy cooked some hot dogs in the front yard and set of some fireworks in the street. (Yes, they are legal in our neighborhood. We actually get quite a show since most people are out doing them!)

Push Car

This weekend we got Reese a new toy. After recommendations from friends, we got Reese a Tiny Tikes car that she can push around and ride on. Daddy put it together this weekend and Reese has been enjoying it ever since. She can stand behind it and push it around the house if we walk behind her. (It doesn't have great traction on our floors and we're worried that she may push too hard and end up face first on the floor.) In addition to pushing it while walking, Reese loves to crawl around and push it with one of her hands. The car also has a seat so she can sit on it and use her feet to peddle around the house. Currently, she's more interested in using the seat as a means to climb. Just yesterday I caught her climbing on top of the car's seat and then standing on it in an attempt to scale the side of her playpen. She's really gotten adventurous in her explorations lately--our little monkey. She seems to be climbing on and over everything. Here's some video of her first attempt at walking with Daddy. She's already gotten better and faster in the last few days. This stage of her gross motor development is really hard on our backs, though!

Roller Girl

Here's some footage of Reese enjoying her new rolling toy from Grandma Bailey. She rolls it all over the house! If you listen closely you can hear some of Reese's new (and favorite) sound effects. We joke that she sounds like Daffy Duck.

Kim and Ehren's

This week Reese made a visit to Kim's new place. Reese had a great time exploring the house. In the living room she made herself at home by scattering the pages of three days' worth of The New York Times around the carpet, and she enjoyed racing across the bed in the master bedroom and hiding under the blanket on the end of the bed. (Kim, Ehren, and I got to position ourselves on each side of the bed as buffers to her wild attempts to crawl off the bed onto the floor.) Ehren was nice enough to take some shots of her during this part of our visit. He quickly found out first hand that it's near impossible to shoot Reese without a flash and get a non-blurry picture--she's too much of a mover and shaker. In the photos you can also see Reese's newest scratch. When she woke up on Monday morning, a bright red scratch graced her left cheek. While I trim her nails as often as possible, I guess one grew too fast for me to catch. She must have been having some wild dreams Sunday night. (The scratch has now almost completely healed.)

Visit to San Antonio

Last weekend, Kevin, Reese, Annie, and I took a trip to San Antonio. Packing everything (including Kevin's golf clubs) in one car was a challenge, but somehow we managed to get it done.

Our trip down I-35 was not without incident since the highway was shut down in New Braunfels due to an accident. We actually saw LifeFlight land on I-35 and then take off again with it's injured passenger(s). Thankfully, the delay only lasted about 35 minutes--it could have been MUCH worse.

On Saturday, Kevin played golf with Grandpa Bailey and Reese got to visit with her Grandma Bailey, Aunt Kate, and Grandma and Grandpa Righter. During her short stop-over at the Righter house, Reese got to see how things were shaping up after their foundation repair had finished. What a shock to see the living room and dining room completely empty and floorless! Not to mention all of the boxes in the rooms upstairs.

During her free time in San Antonio Reese enjoyed playing with the basket of toys Grandma Bailey had been collecting for her. She especially enjoyed a musical roller she could push around the floor and a talking book. Both toys came home with us and have been a hit ever since! Enjoy some photos of her visit (pictures from time with the Righter Grandparents are pending--but there's no rush since they've got a lot going on at their place right now!)

Pool Fun

Yesterday Reese had a great time at the pool. She's still absolutely fearless in the water and at times yesterday she was hard to manage because of it. I may have mentioned in previous entries that Reese likes to crawl in the shallow end of the pool. Well, she's getting more adventurous. She now wants to crawl into the deeper areas. She will crawl toward the deeper water until it reaches her chin (during this process I am hunched over her following closely ready to scoop her up at a moment's notice) and then sit down. No problem, right? Well, sure, but then after a short "rest" on her bottom, she flings herself into the water and starts trying to crawl/swim. Whenever I pick her up she throws a fit until I put her back into the water; at which time she begins the process again. Tired of the tantrums in the shallow end yesterday, I took her into the deeper water and held her under her belly. Earlier this week when I did this she started kicking her back legs (breaststroke style). Yesterday, she not only kicked her back feet, but also started splashing with her arms! At first I thought she was flailing in protest, but her smiles and screeches soon told me differently. We paddled around the pool for awhile until Reese spotted a lifeguard on the stand. Reese usually notices strangers and enjoys watching them, but doesn't necessarily like to interact with them. This lifeguard was an exception! She kept pointing at him, "talking" to him, and smiling. When we'd get near him, she'd squeal and wave. The young boy (probably 17 or 18) thought the attention was fun and played along--which made Reese all the happier. Even when it was "adult swim" Reese watched him get out of the pool and walk all the way back to the lifeguard office inside. I teased Kevin that it was her first summer-time crush.

Food Disguises and the Pedi

Another week, another trip to the pediatrician. While we were in San Antonio, everyone noticed Reese pulling on her right ear. At first I didn't think too much of the behavior since it can be related to teething as well, but on Tuesday morning her eye started to have yellowish drainage, so off to the pedi we went. Turns out, her ear infection is either a)back again or b)never cleared up with the first round of antibiotics. Now we're onto a different antibiotic for ten more days and we have a check up scheduled to make sure we get it cleared up this time. While I was slightly worried the eye drainage could have been from pink eye, it was related to the ear infection.

On a different note--I've been experimenting with disguising food for Reese during meals. Since she has decided she no longer likes vegetables (the same ones she loved only two weeks ago), I've taken to covering the veggies in "sauces" to disguise them. One night I melted a slice of American cheese on top of the veggies and they were a hit. On Tuesday night I tried covering them in hummus (which she generally likes) with mixed results. She picked the veggies up, licked and sucked the humus off, and then spit the veggies back out. This morning I also tried disguising her scrambled eggs with some ketchup. She ate about half the eggs (which is a HUGE improvement) and then I gave her some buttered toast as well. Her food preferences are still an ever-changing mystery. For example, she greedily ate sun dried tomato basil risotto (i let her try it thinking she'd reject it) as well as lamb and falafel, but mashed potatoes are a no go.

I have plans to do some massive updates to the blog, complete with photos and video, soon so keep your eyes peeled.