Spring Break 2011

I have just gotten around to finishing our Spring Break album.  Check it out...

Walt Disney World Spring Break 2011

Photo Book

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From the mouth of a 4 1/2 year old

Mommy: "We are only going to bake 12 cookies today."

Reese: "I can count to 12, after 2 1's comes 12."

As I write this, she is putting cookie dough on the cookie sheet and has just finished putting the 12 pieces of dough on the cookie sheet!  She actually only got 11 on the sheet, but I think the stickiness distracted her.

Thank You 2011!

Name Collage Noir Thank You 5x7 folded card

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Recap on 2010

Reese started out 2010 by moving to the three year old room with Miss Jaybee.  She did well in the adjustment and stayed there until June when she left for the summer.  She made some friends, Taylor and Will.  Will is now her best friend, and she talks about Will all the time.  Miss Jeanie (Will's mom) has also moved to the three year old room, and Reese loves her also.  Because Reese has trouble adjusting to change, we decided to keep Reese at her school for another year rather than transition her this year and then again next year for kindergarten.  She is excited about going to Riley's school next year for kindergarten.

Reese continues to love and look after her brother.  One day, she was at the flower shop and YaiYai asked her if she wanted some chicken wings.  Her response was where is Riley?  When YaiYai told her she bought two orders, Reese said, okay.  This school year, PaPa picks Reese up from school and brings her home to meet Riley's bus, and they wait at home until I get home.  Reese has her PaPa twisted around her little finger.  She has figured out how to get him to stop at the gas station on the way home and buy her snacks.  Sometimes, she gets Icees, one for her and one for her brother, sometimes candy.  Recently, PaPa had to stop for gas, and she asked PaPa if she could go and get a treat.  PaPa told her no, because YaiYai had bought a pizza and he did not want a snack to ruin her appetite.  She told PaPa, "Next time, can YaiYai not buy pizza?".

I have found that Reese really enjoys going to PaPa and YaiYai's house and will go every chance she gets.  Her grandparents' house is a novelty to her because she has gone to school since she was one.  She did not get to spend the time with them that her brother did.  Sometimes, she stays the night and her brother will come home.

She still likes my hair.  She will ask me all the time, "Can I touch your hair?", especially if I am putting her to bed in her own bed.  She needs to be able to touch my hair to go to sleep at night at home.  We inherited a set of bunk beds this year, and Reese and Riley share a sleeping room and a toy room now.  We repainted the sleeping room, two walls blue and two walls green, their favorite colors.  Riley is suppose to sleep on the top and Reese on the bottom, but it does not always work out that way.  Sometimes, they trade and sometimes, they sleep in the same bed.

We started our summer by going on vacation to Las Vegas. We went to Hoover Dam and Red Rock Canyon as well as the pirate show at Caesars and swimming in the pool! Although our trip was delayed by a day, we all ended up having a great time. In July we went with the grandparents to Chicago. It was a short trip, but we got the chance to see the Legoland Discovery Center, and it was worth it!  On the way home from Chicago, Reese was playing with her brother and his new handcuffs and she kept saying what I though was "I'm not on the wist (list), but, three days later, it became clear that she was saying, "I'm not under arrest."  We finished up our summer attending library programs, going swimming at the Tuttle pool, completing the summer reading program at the public library, and hanging out with friends.  By the end of the summer Reese could swim with a life jacket or noodle.  Hopefully, she will be ready for swimming lessons next year!

Over the summer Reese also had her first dentist appointment.  After watching her brother go first, she climbed up into the chair, let the hygienist do her job, and then went off with her by herself to have her x-rays done.  She left with no cavities!

Reese "read" her first book this summer, Wonder Pets Save Little Red Riding Hood, after I read it to her.  She, like her brother, takes books wherever she goes, and looks at the pictures and acts like she is reading, but when asked what she is reading, she says, "I don't know how to read".  By the end of the summer Reese could tell a story in sequence with and then.  She was also able to put her own Toy Story III LEGO set together by using the picture.

On the first day of school as I was trying to rush her out the door, she told me, "You're making me grumpy".  She is not a morning person on the best of days.  Thankfully, her dad gets her ready in the morning and takes her to school!

In September Reese completed her first 5K with the family.  I pulled her along in the wagon and walked COMAPC's 5K Race for a Pro-State of Mind.  Afterward, we celebrated Reese's fourth birthday with our extended family that were in town for the race.  Even with a Diego cake, she did not like the attention and grumbled as we sang Happy Birthday to her.  She did not blow out candles or open presents in front of her guests.  On her actual birth date we tried again.  I went out and bought an ice cream cake, and she was upset that it was not a Super Why cake.  I stopped by Toys R Us on the way home for Super Why figurines to put on the cake.  She was very pleased with that solution and at home with just her dad, mom, and brother, she blew out her candles twice and happily opened presents.  Being the musical child that she is, we bought her an MP3 player for her birthday.  One of her nicknames has always been Sister, and this summer, we started calling her Soul Sister after the song by Train.  In an attempt to get my cell phone back, I downloaded the same songs onto her MP3 player.  She has since figured out that number 18 is "her" song!  She also got a Toy Story III comforter and sheet set as well as a Super Why costume.

For Halloween Reese wanted to be Super Why until she got the stuff for her birthday.  Then, she changed her mind and wanted to be Spiderman.  Since you are only young once, I let her be what she wanted to be.  It was very cold for Trick or Treat this year, so even in the wagon, we did not end up going to many houses.  We got plenty of candy though.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday we went to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.  Reese has really warmed up to her Auntie Marie and now spend time conversing with her.  It is very sweet.

Throughout December Reese has been really excited for Christmas.  She kept pointing out that everyone was decorating for Christmas, CVS, the library, etc.  She was so excited to put the tree up and put ornaments on it.  Riley had more ornaments that Reese did because he is older and he has taken as his own the Star Wars ornaments.  Reese felt left out until I found some of the character ornaments that I use to put on the tree before she was born.  The year is her fifth Christmas so we put up her last cat; it was bittersweet!  We still have the angel collection that I started the year she was born to finish.  Once the tree was up and the lights and ornaments were on the tree, she kept talking about how the tree did not have a Christmas star.  So, one morning when I was at Walmart, I bought her a star for the top of the tree.  She was thrilled with it.  She kept telling me that she wanted Santa to bring her Toy Story toys for Christmas.  Well, Santa, her auntie and uncle, and her grandparents followed her wishes, but did not get her the Toy Story Dolls that she wanted most.  Thank goodness, Grandpa came through, and we were able to go out and buy Woody and Jessie after Christmas!  By early Christmas afternoon Reese had opened every Christmas present that she got and played with it!

As the year ends, she has gone from being a baby to a big baby (going potty by herself) to being a girl.  She has slowly adapted to wearing some girl colors and actually settled on a red winter coat this year!  Her best friends are still boys, but that is okay!

Hey Soul Sister by Train

Since we call her Sister, we dedicated the song Hey Soul Sister by Train to our youngest! She loves it, and I have it downloaded to my phone. She has her own play list on my cell phone, and she asks me daily to play her song. She has gotten to a point that she even knows some of the lyrics and will not allow me to sing along because she wants to do it by herself now.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/hey-soul-sister-lyrics-train.html

More Great Conversations...

For awhile now Reese has referred to any type of disposable paper item as a paper towel. Toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, and tissues are all paper towels according to Reese.

Last night, we were talking about grandma and Reese pointed to a picture of her parential grandmother and said that was her grandma. I asked her who her other grandma was, and she said "YaiYai is my other grandma!" It is amazing what she picks up on.

Potty Training and Conversations

Reese is officially potty trained. It has been about a month now that we can say that. We have the school to thank for the potty training. She kept telling me that she was not a big girl, she is a baby and I thought that she would never be potty trained. But, the school kept sending her home in big girl underwear and before long, she was telling us when she had to go to the restroom.

Reese also prefers boys underwear. When I cleaned out Riley's underwear drawer, Reese took all of his old underwear to her room. Since her favorite character is Diego and Diego only comes in boys, we also had to buy some boys underwear for Reese.

Reese is also really good about holding her potty. We were coming home from Maine, and we were stuck in traffic. I told Reese to just go in her diaper, and I would change her. She would not do it; she waited until we got home.

The only time we do use a diaper is at night since Reese still goes to bed with a cup of milk.

Last night, after Reese went to her room crying and I went in after her, I had a conversation with Reese that went like this: "Why are you sitting in your room in the dark?".
Reese answered, "Because Daddy hurt my feelings".

Today, after Reese asked for a brownie and I told her she had to eat some ham or turkey first, Reese said, "Can I have some turkey? Turkey Sandwich, it is yummy." Then, after I asked her whether she wanted one piece of bread or two and showed her the sandwich with the turkey on top, she said, "Cover it, Mommy".

I love that Reese is potty trained and can have these wonderful conversations!

Reese's Third Birthday

Reese was overwhelmed by her third birthday party. She did not like all of the people at the house and tended to hide. We had a house party with family and neighbors in attendance. A couple of days before the party we went out and bought Reese the Elmo decorations she wanted. When I told her that we had to save the party hats for the party, she threw a fit and promptly changed her mind and told me that she wanted Diego decorations now so that she could play with the party hats. I finally told her that we would still have Elmo decorations, but I would let her play with the hats. She agreed, and I just went out and bought another package of hats.

During the cake part Reese got upset that the cars with Big Bird and Elmo were on the cake. We had to take the cars off the cake before we sang Happy Birthday! She hid the whole time we sang and then went to her room.

PaPa and YaiYai bought Reese a beautiful Elmo pinata which was really hard to break. Reese did not participate in the fun at all, but even the adults got involved to get the pinata open. We even did away with the blindfold!

Reese did come out to open her presents, but the guests had to pretend that they were not paying attention to her. She was really cute and enjoyed this part of the party.

Once all of the guests left, Reese came out and played with her presents. We also had to redo the singing of Happy Birthday, and Reese blew out her candles again just for us. I forgot that she is somewhat shy with crowds even if they are all people that she knows.

Summer Activities

I have been lax in updating Reese's blog this summer. Reese took a Mommy and Me dance class this summer. We had a great time, and I realize that she is meant to be a gymnast rather than a dancer. She didn't like the dance part of the class, but really enjoyed the tumbling part.

Reese also spent the summer with Mommy. She did not go to school and stayed home with Mommy and Riley. We had a good time together playing with the other children in the neighborhood. Reese has really made friends with all of the neighbor children especially one little boy who is a year older. She sometimes plays Barbies and dolls with the older girls or runs after her brother and his friends.

In July we went on vacation to Boston and Maine. One night Reese was sleeping on the floor of our room which was really dark. She woke up in the middle of the night and was trying to find Mommy and Daddy. She yelled out, "I can't see!". It was on this trip that I first really realized that Reese knew her colors. Reese also got to ride the city bus and the subway (T) for the first time when we went to Chinatown in Boston.

In Maine Reese ate lobster for the first time during our family lobster dinner at her aunt and uncle's house. We went to L.L. Bean and to Gooch Beach. We left Maine in a hurry in order to meet Reese's uncle who was landing at the airport in Boston. He came home from Afghanistan while we were there.

The first time I went to the New Balance store I did not take Reese with me. I bought her a pair of shoes to grow into, but then decided that I did not buy them big enough. I had to go back to the New Balance store anyway to return Daddy's sandals. This time, I took her with me, and she saw the Sesame Street shoes. She wanted them. I tried to convince her to buy a pair in a bigger size or buy ones with The Count on them. Nope, would not have anything to do with that.... We ended up with Bert and Ernie shoes, one with Bert on it and the other with Ernie on it, white tennis shoes with bright blue shoelaces. She wore them right out of the store. So, now we have two pairs of Diego shoes and one pair of Sesame Street shoes all in the same size and no pair to grow into. Oh well, at least she is happy!

We ended our trip with another day at the beach, this time in Massachusetts, the perfect ending to a great trip.

In August we spent time in Mommy's new classroom setting it up and unpacking. Reese spent some time with PaPa and YaiYai before she started back to school. Right after we got back from vacation, Reese started to ask about school. I think that she missed her friends, her teacher, and that routine. Reese started back to school when Mommy did in Miss Jeannie's room, but this year, Daddy takes Reese to school and PaPa picks her up, she visits YaiYai for an hour or so, and then PaPa and Reese come home to meet Riley's bus. It is working out pretty well this year, and Reese enjoys her time at school and with her grandparents.

I Love Diego!

Well, Reese took Kipper to school and lost him for a week. She then attached herself to her Diego doll. Now that we have Kipper back, she is not interested in the dog anymore, she now goes to bed with Diego. At bedtime she needs a pillow, a drink cup, Diego, and her Dora blanket. Reese still sleeps with the door to her room closed and I still have to wake her up in the morning early so that she can watch TV before we leave.

Two days ago, Reese left Diego at school. At bedtime she took her Diego ball to bed instead. We got Diego back from school today, and he is in bed with her tonight. I think that I need to invest in another Diego doll.

She Knows Her Name!

She now calls herself Reesh Ronka. If you call her Sissy, she tells you that her name is Weeshie.

Poop In the Potty and Go Diego Go!

Well, Reese pooped in the potty chair for the first time today. I happened to get her and sit her on the potty when she had to go. After talking to her teacher at school today, she seems to be doing better at home with the potty training than she is at school. They have only seen her pee in the toilet once, but she will tell me sometimes when she has to go and will sit on the toilet when we are out in public. She will also self initiate at home and go and sit on the potty or toilet by herself.

We went grocery shopping on Monday night, and I picked up some pull-ups. When I got to the checkout, I realized that I grabbed the Diego ones and not the Dora ones. I turned to ask Reese if she was going to wear these, and she said yes. (She happens to like Diego better than Dora to my relief, sometimes!) Reese was really proud of her Diego pull-ups and even carried one to school the next day. If Reese is watching Diego on TV, she will sit for the whole show, but if Dora is on, she always gets up about half way through.

Tonight, we went shopping for shoes. At first, Reese picked out Dora shoes, then Minnie shoes, and finally she found Diego shoes on the clearance rack. She brought them to me all by herself and when I tried them on her, she would not take them off. They are brown, and somewhat male and wintry looking, but, they are what she picked out, and I know that she will wear them, so I bought them for her.

You only live once, why not wear what you like!

Double Ear Infection

This started Thursday with a runny nose. She would not go to sleep in her bed and actually fell asleep sitting up on the couch. When I tried to put her in her bed, she screamed, and I had to take her back to the couch. The Motrin, I gave her helped her sleep, but, by morning, she was pointing to her right ear and telling me ouchy. When her dad took her to the doctor, her doctor said that both her ears were infected, but we caught it early this time. Her nose is still running and she has a cough, but Reese seems to be on the mend.

She actually went back to sleep in her own bed last night. Tonight she went to bed right after dinner at 8pm. I was not expecting her to go to bed, but then she called for me from her bed and asked me to bring her dog. She found a dog, Kipper, at school, and had taken a liking to it. The school let her have it since it did not belong to anyone, and now, she sleeps with it. I brought her the dog, and she asked for juice, please. I went and got her milk and her medicine and brought it back to her in her already darkened room. She took her medicine and hugged her milk. I pulled up her blanket and said good night. She said bye, bye, luv you, tosh (close) the door. We didn't hear from her again.

Potty Training

About the same time as we did the crying it out, Reese also started to pee in the potty or toilet. She had started the process at school, but did not do it at home until Saturday, March 21st. I was in my bedroom cleaning up, and I asked Riley what Reese was doing. He said that she was sitting on the potty. I come out into the living room, and Reese is sitting on the potty chair with her pants around her ankles, and there is pee in the potty. I was so proud of her, and she was so proud of herself. We called YaiYai, PaPa, and Daddy to tell him about it.

Reese continues to pee in the potty/toilet and will even tell me when we are out, and we will go to the public restroom. If sat on the toilet, she will pee in it. She has not gotten the hang of pooping in the potty yet, but will immediately take off her pull-up when she poops and then sit on the potty. This morning she took off her poopy diaper and was carrying it around until I caught her and took it from her.

Crying It Out

I was getting tired of Reese staying up until 11pm because she needed to go to bed with me and I was not ready to go to bed. I needed the time to myself, she needed to go to bed earlier, and her dad wanted to sleep in his own bed again. We decided to try the crying it out and just put her in her bedroom, shut the door, and let Reese cry herself to sleep. I was totally against this theory, but it seemed to be the quickest method to get to our goal. After all, she is two and a half years old now, it does not seem as cruel as when she was younger.

The first night Reese cried and pounded on the door for about an hour until she gave up and went to sleep. I put her to bed on her Dora couch on the floor of her room. I made the mistake of going and getting her at 3:30am that first night. The second night, Reese cried for about 20 minutes before she gave up, but then cried, yelled, and pounded from 3-4:30am because that was the time that I went to get her the night before. I was okay with the crying and the pounding, but what pulled at my heartstrings was her calling to me, "Mommy, come Weesh, pleash!" (Mommy, come Reese, please!)

By the third night we seem to have the new routine down. Reese started to go to bed in her own bed instead of going to the Dora couch. She would cry and wave me bye bye and let me close the door to her room. She normally does not cry for more than 10 minutes and has gotten use to her new bedtime of 9pm. She gets about 11 hours of sleep, but does have a tendency to get up earlier now that she goes to bed earlier.

Tonight is the first night that she has not said anything about me turning out the lights. My, my, she is growing up!

Observant!

Reese is very observant. She notices everything! She knows that when I pick her up at PaPa and Yai Yai's, she needs to get her shoes and coat to go home. She knows which remote control to give to me to turn on the TV so she can watch her favorite shows. At night when she wants her diaper changed or needs something to drink, she finds my glasses for me and gives them to me to put on. Now, we need to use these abilities to become potty trained!

First Brother/Sister Conversation

We were sitting in the car the other day, and I was telling Reese that she should go to school because she would get to see Miss J, her teacher, when Riley asks, "Do you like Miss J?".
I answer, "Yes, she likes Miss J," and Riley says, "No, Mom, I was not talking to you. I was talking to Sissy."
Riley then turns to his sister and asks, "Do you like Miss J?". Reese nods her head.
Riley then asks, "Do you like me?"
Reese answers, "Es (yes)!" and laughs at her brother like he is the greatest, which she thinks he is!

Lots of Firsts

Within the past few months Reese has had many firsts. She went to see her first play, Our Town, a high school production that her cousin was in. She did really well being quiet, but did move around quite a bit.

Reese flew on her first airplane trip to Hawaii. She was sick so she did really well by sleeping the whole first flight and most of the second!

Reese woke up one morning and said, "I want milk", one of her first whole sentences.

A few weekends ago Reese saw her first movie in a movie theater, Paul Blart's Mall Cop, her brother's choice, of course. She was willing to sit by herself on a booster seat until I moved the seat and caught her leg between the booster and the arm rest. Bad Mommy for moving her!

This isn't a first to brag about, but Reese just got over pneumonia for the first and hopefully last time. It was an acute case in that it was only in the upper lobe of her right lung.

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.