3 1/2 Month Photographs

Here are some photos from our photography session with Mary Sebastian. These were supposed to be 3 month photos, but we happened to have a tornado the week before these were taken. So, they are actually closer to 3 1/2 month photos. However, we absolutely LOVE them just the same! 

 

Which one is your favorite?

 

Month 5

Our 5 month old girl!

Dear Reese,

You are just getting to be more and more fun everyday! We are in awe of how you're learning new things each day. The most amazing thing for mom and dad is that you've been sleeping so much better at night! You usually only wake up once to eat in the early morning. Much improved! You're also learning how to move your body more. If we lay you on your back, you immediately grab your toes with both hands and roll to your side. We've even caught you with your toes in your mouth a couple times! Yuck! You can touch comfortably in the bouncer, so we've been putting you in that a lot more. And you are SO close to sitting up by yourself. You can balance for a while and then you eventually topple over, so we have to make sure we are right there to help you. You have never been one to love laying down, therefore we are constantly propping you up in various toys. So when you have an amazing career one day, you can tell people that you've never been one to sit back and watch and that always been a go-getter! Another thing you've been doing a lot of is touching faces. Whenever anyone holds you, you instantly grab their face (usually their nose). This means that glasses, earrings, and long hair have become dangerous to the wearer (we warned you!). Our house is pretty loud these days. There is still lots of babbling and giggling. You just love to hear yourself talk! You also have started patting the table with your hands, gurgling, and splashing your hands in the tub. About halfway through this month (4 1/2 months old), you got your first tooth (left central incisor). We knew you had been drooling a lot, but you weren't irritable and your gums weren't particularly red. All of a sudden one day you had a tooth! Less than a week later, you had two (right central incisor). Other developments include crying for toys you can't reach and being pretty attached to mommy. These have both been challenging developments and I'm not sure having mommy home all summer is going to make that one better. As flattering as it is that you love your mommy, we really want you to be comfortable with everyone you meet. One good thing about having you go to daycare is that you do play well with other kids and you have gotten comfortable with some other adults, too. We'll see how you are after the summer! 

Playing in the bouncer!

Two teeth!

Someone's a little spoiled...

One of my favorite pictures of you!

We love teether toys these days!

We have been trying lots of new foods this month. We've been using the brand Beechnut. I really like it because it hardly has any added ingredients, even less than some of the organic brands! I thought I'd start by trying lots of different foods using the pre-made baby food and then start making the kinds you really like. Sweet potatoes are the first on the list to make! This month you LOVED squash, macaroni & beef, pears, raspberries, green beans, cinnamon & raisin granola, and carrots. You were not as fond of chicken, bananas, or peaches. In fact, you made the funniest pucker face when you tried peaches! I bet they'll grow on you. 

Wild about shoes, not so crazy about bananas...

We took our first family trip this month. We went to Dallas for a wedding celebration. We decided to go down there for a few more days and make a mini-vacation out of the trip. You did pretty well in the car, although it was a pretty long drive and you started getting restless when it was bedtime. We got there Friday night and went straight to bed. On Saturday we shopped and had the wedding celebration that evening. You let us stay until 9pm before you got a little cranky. On Sunday we visited the Dallas Aquarium. It was super crowded! You loved watching the fish swimming and we had an overall good time there. We went swimming later that day. The water was a little chilly, but you enjoyed splashing in it. That was your first time swimming! I think you're going to be a little fish like I was as a child! On Monday we decided to leave early to avoid driving during your bedtime. You slept most of the way home and it wasn't a bad drive at all. We stopped in Oklahoma City and ate at Joe's Crab Shack. Overall, we were pretty happy with our first family trip. We conquered that task and we feel a little more confident to take you traveling again soon. 

Taking a break from driving on the way down to Dallas.

After the wedding celebration, Reese was wide awake!

I love playing with daddy!

Her new stingray from the aquarium.

Penguins!

Promise we did not coordinate our outfits on purpose!

Daddy & Reese

Indoor waterfall inside the aquarium

Look at all those fish!

Miss Reese LOVES animals!

Aquariums wear me out!

Enjoying a high chair for the first time.

Being at the table is way more fun than a car seat!

Swimming for the first time!

A little chilly, but I still loved it.

 Splashing!

Had to wear the crab shirt to Joe's Crab Shack!

Of course we had to buy a t-shirt too.

At the very end of this month we took you to the doctor. Your arms were getting pretty red and dry and were starting to develop little sores. The doctor diagnosed you with eczema. The doctor started you with some hydro-cortisone cream and we'll follow up with it in a month. We did get to measure you when you were there. You weighed 20lbs and were 26 1/2 inches long. Still a big girl!


Watching you grow and learn has just made us anxious to see more milestones! We are looking forward to hearing you say words, sit up unassisted, roll from your back to your tummy (you're being stubborn with this one) and crawl. I'm sure these things will all happen before we know it! 


Love,


Mommy

Mother's Day & Reese's Baptism

Back when Reese was first born, we knew we were going to wait a few months to baptize her, so that she would be a little older and more alert. As we were looking at the calendar, we thought Mother's Day would be the perfect day to do so! What better way to spend Mother's Day (and my first Mother's Day) than with our family?

Reese was baptized at College Hill United Methodist Church. This is the same church I grew up in and got married in. Rev. Kent Little gave a beautiful sermon on mothers and how everyone has different experiences from their childhood that shaped their adult lives. During the sermon, I thought about how wonderful my childhood was and how amazing of a mother my mom was to us when we were growing up. I also thought about what big shoes I have to fill to be half the mother to Reese that my mom was/is to me. What an awesome and overwhelming responsibility! I can think back to specific things that made my mom so wonderful, such as the amazing birthday cakes she made for us every year, the patience she had for us, the way she taught me to love reading by reading to us, and the morals she instilled in us by being someone of great moral character and faith. However, the main feeling I get when I think of my mom is love. She loves us at our best and at our worst. Her love was and is constant and unending. That is what makes her such an amazing mom. I'm still learning how to be a mom, but I already have the love thing figured out. I'm sure I'm going to make mistakes along this path, but at the end of each day, Reese will know that I love her more than anything else in this world. And that to me is what being a mom is all about. 


Back to the baptism (*wipe away the tears*)... Reese did wonderfully throughout the whole service. She fell asleep about halfway through and we had to wake her up for the baptism. Rev. Little was great with her. She smiled at the congregation and loved being the center of attention as he paraded her up and down the aisle. Several people commented on the way out of the service that she was such a happy baby! We get that a lot. She definitely knows how to turn it on for a crowd and she saves the crazy baby moments for home. I guess I would prefer that if I had to have one or the other. Maybe she'll be a politician someday (I hope not!!). 

*The pictures are a little out of order...dang blog! 

Baptism certificate and cross from the church

Our whole family after the baptism!

Rev. Kent Little and our little family.

I think Reese is over taking pictures!

My mom decorated the alter for us. The skirt around the alter is a tutu table skirt that my sister made for my baby shower. It was so special to see it up there. See, my mom really is amazing! We planted the hydrangea (our wedding flower...by the way...) in our yard. We'll see if we can keep it alive!

I love this picture! I know my dad will hate it, but that's true love written on his face.

Elliott's mom with her granddaughter.

Reese loves her aunt Alice!

Cousins!

Mother and daughter!

Our family

The baptism

Wake up, sleepy head! We're talking about you!

Oh, I have an audience!

This is fun!

Brrr...

Checking out her fans

I like this guy!

We invited our family over for lunch after the baptism. We decided to make it easy on ourselves and get Hog Wild Barbeque (Elliott's choice) and a Strawberry Chantilly cake from Bagatelle Bakery (my choice). It was all delicious and I am so glad we decided not to cook! We did make a champagne punch (courtesy of Pinterest). It was delicious, but we should have made more. I think there was enough for everyone to have one glass. After lunch we just spent some time talking and catching up with everyone. It's nice to have everyone you love most in one room (except my brother, who wasn't able to be there).  My sister pushed Reese in the tree swing and that just made her day. I could hear her giggling from inside. Our family was so sweet and got Reese gifts, too! That was totally unexpected, but they will be such great reminders of this special day for years to come. I can't wait to tell Reese all the stories behind all her special things. I am so glad everyone was able to come and support us and especially Reese. I know she will look back on this day and know just how loved she is.

Delicious cake!

R is for Reese!

I used the "famous" chalkboard to decorate for the party.

Reese loves her swing...

and her aunt!

Opening presents!

Baptism frame from Grandma Tilda

Baptism frame from Grandma Tilda, cross and lamb from Uncle Patrick, and Reese Cross from Grandma and Grandpa Lewis (not pictured: Babies R Us gift card from The Stuarts).

Swimsuit from Aunt Alice.