What Santa Brought

Santa brought Reese The Little Einstein Pat Pat Rocket which she loved and the 3 in 1 baby stroller for her dolls. She played with her rocket all day as well as with Riley's pirate ship when he was not paying attention.

Santa came to Auntie Rosanna's house also. He brought Reese sand toys, Monster Bowling, and an Elmo song player. She has enjoyed all of these toys while in Hawaii.

No Fear Girl!

Last night we went to our neighbor's birthday party at the local indoor pool. Reese was letting me just hold her hands as she floated around the water. She had on a backpack type floating device also and really liked the water. At one point she got really brave and started jumping into the pool from the side of the pool. At first she would make sure that I was watching and she had waiting arms to jump into. By the tenth time in a row she was not even seeing if I was ready before she would throw herself back into the pool. My arms are so tired today from lifting her in and out of the pool. She was having so much fun that I was afraid that she was not going to get out of the pool, but she did and went on to eat a whole piece of pizza her way, the cheese and then the sauce and crust.

Last night was also our first snow of the season. Reese was facinated by the snow this morning, and we were late to church because she was walking along trying to find fresh snow in which to put her footprints in. At first she was just standing on the sidewalk putting one foot in at a time. Then, she started walking through the snow shuffling her feet making tracks. This is the first year that she really understands snow, and the fun that it can be. It was so cute to watch her experiment with something new.

New Moves

I finally did it! I have been trying for a long time to do a somersault. I put my head down on the ground, but didn't quite get my legs over until today. I did a somersault on the floor at the flower shop. I hurt my head and at I first did not want to try it again until I did it in my room with the foam floor!

Good Job Reese!

Putting Words Together

Reese is starting to put words together. She says, "I stuck", "Look", and "Right there". She calls her brother Bubby and Riley.

When I come to pick her up in the evening, she sees me and gets her coat and is ready to go. She insists on having her coat zipped up and wearing her hood. When it was raining out this summer, I tried to get her to wear her hood and she kep taking it off. Now that is cold outside, she wears the hood without any problems.

Some of the other things that she has added to her vocabulary are: "Hurt" and "I go too!" when I am leaving the van, and she is still strapped into her car seat.

Reese's Second Birthday

We celebrated Reese's second birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. She had a good time and did not want to get off of the school bus. It was her first time there and I think that she was a little afraid because there were so many people there and she is so little.

She loved the book that we got her, Reese's Adventure on Sesame Street. I made it through Shutterfly and she loves seeing herself with Elmo.

PaPa and YaiYai got Reese the couch that she really liked from Walmart. The two times we went there and she saw it, she had me get it down for her to sit on while she read a coloring book and did not want me to put it away when it was time for us to go.

Reese also got a Barbie motorcycle like her brother's, but we had to get her one since he is not ready to give his up yet. It is on its last leg though with a crack in the front wheel.

It seems like since she turned two, she has grown up so much. She is gabbering all the time now and sometimes she is understandable and sometimes not. She is still a pointer, a nodder, and a shaker, but she is using more words such as here, when she wants me to take something from her, no, when asked a question, and Mommy, when she wants me. The other night, instead of crying in the middle of the night for me, she called Mommy, Mommy until I went to get her.

Where has time gone?

Bye, Bye Binky!

It has been about three weeks now since Reese decided to give up her pacifier. I think that she was not allowed to use it during school and then decided that she did not need it at home either. It started out as she would hold her binky in her hand if given to her instead of putting it in her mouth. Sometimes she would put it in her mouth and just hold it with her teeth. If she was really mad and you gave her her binky to calm her down, she would just throw it at you. Then, the finale was when she would not take her binky to go to bed at night. I would ask her if she wanted her binky to go night, night, and she would shake her head no. Now, I just don't ask her anymore, and when she finds a binky laying around, she sometimes puts it in her mouth and holds it with her teeth, but not for very long!

Going to the Amusement Park

We went to an amusement park/water park about an hour away from our house. Reese had a blast. She was able to go on the littlest water slide all by herself. She took me by the hand and pulled me up the steps to the slide. When she got to the top, I thought that she might not go down becuase she hesitated, but when I called to her dad to catch her, and she saw him at the bottom, she went right down the slide.

She wanted to go on the land rides also. And, she was not afraid to go by herself. At first I was hesitant, because she was only 22 months old and I would have never let Riley do it. In the kiddie area we went on all the rides that I could go on with her and she still wanted to go on other rides that her brother was going on by himself. I kept reading the sign and it said no hand held children could ride the ride, and I finally figured out that Reese was not a hand held baby anymore, she could actually go by herself because she was old enough to sit by herself. The first ride that she went on by herself was the Go Diego Go! ride. I tried to convince Riley to go with her, but he had already ridden the ride and did not want to go on it again.

Reese then went on the Swiper, No Swiping Ride which she did not like as much because it would whip her around the corners. She was so happy and proud of herself to be able to go on the rides that she wanted to ride all by herself!

What a fun day we all had!

Fishing

We have gone fishing a few times this summer. Reese seems to enjoy walking into the water and letting the minnow or other bait go.

Reese Said Mom!

When I went to pick up Reese from school yesterday, she was in the highchair eating a graham cracker. The teacher said, "Look who is here!" and Reese said, "Mom". I have not heard her say it since then and she does not typically say mom. She says Da. Riley, PaPa, and Yai, but not Mom except for the first time yesterday. I am so excited!

Band Aid Bracelets

My brother loves band aids. He puts them on every little boo boo he gets. I only like the ones that I can see. When I ask for a band aid, I tell you to put it on the top of my arm. I want to see it and there is no boo boo underneath.

I Eat Caesar Salad

Last week my mom and I took Reese and Riley to Red Lobster for dinner. I ordered a caesar salad and since Reese was sitting in my lap, she ate it right along with me. When I was done, I put her in a highchair and moved the salad over to that space. She continued to eat the salad until our meals came and she saw pasta!

Nodder, Shaker, Pointer, Screamer

Nodder: I nod my head to tell you yes, that is what I want when I am asked a question.

Shaker: I shake my head no to tell you what I do not want.

Pointer: I point at things that I want or places that I want to go if you are carrying me.

Screamer: I scream at you when the above three do not get me what I desire.

What happens when talking comes?

Go Stroller Go!

Reese has come to love stroller rides. She comes home from school with PaPa and after she has eaten, she takes someone over to her stroller to get it out and then she goes to get PaPa to put her in it to go for a ride. Usually, she does not want to come back, and she will ride until she falls asleep.

Last week it was so hot that she asked for a stroller ride but when they got back to the starting point, she pointed to the door to go inside. She has not asked for one since. Hopefully, the weather will get cooler again so Reese can enjoy her stroller once again.

Transition to Toddler Room

Today was the first day that I left Reese in the toddler room with her new teacher. She has had experience with this teacher already, but she was not happy to be left with her today. This teacher has taken her outside to play with her other toddlers on many occasions, and Reese has spent parts of the past three days with her.

The children were sitting and eating breakfast when we got there this morning. Pancakes and syrup were for breakfast. The teacher cut up a pancake for Reese and gave it to her with more syrup than I would ever use. Reese would not sit down at the table, and she did not want to go to the teacher. I put her on the ground and she climbed back up me. I finally had to give Reese to her teacher and let her cry and leave.

New things are always hard....

Pointer Sister

When Reese gets into the car, I put her in her car seat, and she immediately points to the DVD player in the car. I ask her if she wants to watch a video, and she gives me one nod. When I get into the driver's seat and turn around and look at Reese, she points again to the DVD player and when I ask her if she wants to watch something, I get one nod. Once I put my hands on the DVD player to turn it on and she sees something on the screen, she claps her hands for me!

Nodding

In addition to shaking her head, Reese now nods for yes.  If she is pointing at something, for example, the DVD player in the van, and I ask her if she wants me to play a video, she will nod for yes.  If you ask her something like where is her binky (pacifier) and she cannot find it, she will put both hands up for I don't know. 

We are developing means of communication without talking.  I have heard some more babbling and the sound of what we think she is trying to say. but I think that she will be more of a talker than a baby talker.

We Have A Linus!

Reese has taken to dragging around a blanket. It is usually one that is soft and preferrably fleece. She does not like it on her, but likes it around her. I don't think that she likes her feet covered. When she gets up from bed, she will take the blanket with her. Then, when she gets to where she wants to go, she either sits on the blanket or holds the blanket close to her face.

Off and Running

Reese can now walk up and down steps one at a time. She still needs someone to hold her hand as she does it, but she is getting pretty good.

At 18 months Reese is 19 lbs 9 oz and 30 inches long. She has most of her teeth and I think may be only missing two teeth.

This spring we are getting her tricycle out. I think that she will master this pretty quickly if she can reach the pedals.

She loves her uncles, but now will go to her aunts also. It is a nice change!

No Easter Present for Reese

Reese's teacher tried to give her a small stuffed animal for Easter. Reese shook her head; she did not want it. PaPa, who went to pick her up from school, said that he would take it for her and took the stuffed animal from the teacher for Reese. Reese again shook her head no, took the stuffed animal out of PaPa's hand and threw it at the teacher. She was pretty adamant about not wanting that stuffed animal. She ended up with it anyway, and it is actually kind of cute!

I Can Go By Myself

Last week I had to start having Reese wear regular shoes to school. She has always wore slippers with leather bottoms, but now she is not letting me carry her to the car in the morning any more. She wants to walk out the door, down the steps, and over to the car by herself. Then, she waits by the car door for me to lift her into her car seat. When we get school, she lets me get her out of her car seat, and put her on the ground. She then walks into school by herself now with a little help from mom getting up on the curb.

Striving for independence...

We Survived!

Reese has been pretty sick from the first of the month. She started out with a respiratory virus that we had to go and get a chest x-ray for to confirm that it was not pneumonia. Then, we had a snowstorm and could not go to the doctor on Saturday. On Monday when I got Reese to the doctor, she had a double ear infection. After giving her antibiotics, she went back to school on Tuesday only to be sent home with a suspected case of chicken pox. Back to the doctor we went on Wednesday to confirm that she did not have chicken pox, and she could go back to school. This is the happiest that I have seen her in awhile.

Eating Applesauce

We had to quit feeding Reese applesauce for awhile because although she liked it, she would not let us feed it to her. She wanted to feed it to herself and was trying to do it with her hands. It did not work that well and she would get frustrated because she couldn't get it into her mouth, and we would get frustrated cleaning her up.

Now, she has learned to use a spoon and can get the applesauce out of the bowl and into her mouth by herself. She still makes a mess, but it is minimal compared with the mess she made eating applesauce with her hands.

Another Point of View

My aunt is here from Thailand and she enjoys taking care of Reese. She was never married and never had kids of her own. She notices things that I don't pick up on about Reese.

Reese likes bananas, and if you give her a banana, she will turn it to the slim side (the ends) to hold it and eat it.

If Reese is upset or does not like what my aunt has done, she will go and sit in her Little Tykes car.

If my aunt has food in her hand, Reese will race her to her feeding chair to climb in and eat.

There are a bunch of things that I am forgetting right now, so I will try to remember and post again!

Uh Oh!

These are Reese's new words. It is very cute to hear her say them. They also go with her new climbing habits. She stands up on a step stool or gets up on a kitchen chair and claps her hands.

Uh Oh! also describes going shopping with Reese. She does not like to sit in the stroller or cart, and if you let her down, it is uh oh! she has disappeared!

Reese has gained some teeth. She has her ninth front tooth and her first molar, but I don't try to check that often because I tend to get bit! She loves to eat and will eat almost anything, but especially likes chicken wings, noodles, apples, strawberries, and bananas. She is not too fond of fish!

At 16 months old on Sunday Reese is still a tiny little thing wearing 12 month clothes that are sometimes still big. She is finally growing into the 12-18 month slippers that I bought for her around Christmas, and she has been wearing even though they were big because they did not cause her to trip.

Today is the first day that she has waved bye bye to me from her perch in the high chair as I was leaving her at school. The teachers say she needs that time in the high chair at the beginning of the day to observe what is going on and will get down about 10 minutes later.