Happy Easter from these two sweet girls!! We certainly missed Aidan, but he was busy being a farmer off in Giddings. :)
Day 111
April 21st is better know as Muster for us Aggies. Reese attended her very first Muster in Dallas and we met Dr. Loftin! He did amazing things for A&M while he was president. Husbandy literally stopped mid-story when he saw Loftin walking up to our table.
Day 112
I left Reese in the den while I went to change into work clothes one morning and came back to wipes everywhere! She was clearly very proud of herself.
Day 113
We welcomed the newest member of the Vrla family at 9:43pm on April 23, John Nicholas! Becca and I made it a late night cause we just couldn't wait 24 hours to meet him. He is so sweet and much to his daddy's liking was born on a day that the Rangers, Stars, and Mavericks won. :P
Day 114
Well, this picture just has to be taken every time a baby is born now (the same one was taken when Reese was born). I love seeing all these daddies with their kiddos.
Day 115
We took dinner to our friends on Friday night and got to meet Cecilia Marie. I already forgot what holding a newborn feels like. She looked just like this the entire time we were there.
Day 116
Had to post two pics for day 116. In the morning we got up and took our annual bluebonnet pictures! It was Reese and Aidan's first trip. Even though we didn't make the drive to Ennis, I'd say the pictures we got are some of my favorites!
I wish you could see it better, but we went to a birthday lunch at the park in the afternoon and Reese had baked beans for the first time. She loved them and they were alllll over her face.
Typically I would put an official 10 month picture here....but somehow they were deleted from my camera. You have no idea how much I do not like the inconsistency!!!
Weight/Height: Not quite sure how much she ended up weighing at the very end of the month, but we went to the dr once about 3/4ths of the way through for a weird cough and she weighed 16 lbs 11oz. I’m glad she gained a little weight. We didn't remeasure her height.
Baby Clothes: She’s still in 6-9 and 9 month clothing. I did get all 9 month clothing from Nancy this month in preparation of saying a final farewell to 6 month clothing.
Milestones: We have seen Reese move forward! She is most motivated by food, so she’s definitely our daughter. Here’s a little video of her “crawling” to get her puffs. While playing, she’s definitely moving around more to find and get the toys she wants. She will also hand you a ball that’s she’s playing with. I consider that sharing at this point. :)
Reese still doesn't like food that has to be chewed. As soon as she touches something in her hand and can tell it’s new, she cries. This also happens with avocado sometimes. At this point, I think I've given her pureed foods for too long and I’m not quite sure what to do. :( I guess we’ll keep trying until she realizes even food that requires a little more work is worth it.
At different times during the day she can be quite a chatterbox. Especially while driving in the car (if she’s not sleeping). Husbandy and I also especially like it when she “sings” along in Mass, it’s really cute.
She is able to expect certain things when playing with her toys. One in particular is an alligator that bounces balls and there’s a little hole they will drop into. Reese now knows to looks for them to come out of the alligators mouth when this happens.
Special Outings: Mommy and daddy spent our first night away this month. For daddy’s birthday we spent a Saturday/Sunday morning in Ft Worth. We left during Reese’s afternoon nap on Saturday. When we arrived, we decided the first thing we needed to do was take a nap. Haha. After our nap we got ready for dinner at Del Friscos and then went to an Improv Comedy show. We really enjoyed ourselves, but of course missed Reesearoo too. Sunday morning we woke up and walked to St Patrick’s Cathedral for Mass. After Mass we headed home. Mimi came to our house to watch Reese. Reese had a great time and even went to Papa Joe’s to surprise him on Saturday. :)
We went and had lunch with Aidan and Becca at my grandparents assisted living apartments. They loved seeing their great-grandbabies and getting to play with them in their room after lunch. Both Aidan and Reese did really well, but were very tired by the time we left.
Reese got to stay up very late one night as we were celebrating my mom’s 60th birthday! Her kids took her to dinner at Blue Mesa one Saturday night. What she didn't know was that on the other side of the wall from where we were sitting were her friends and family! At the beginning of the meal/pretty much right after we sat down, our waiter sang happy birthday. We then sang it 4 more times as family and friends surprised mom. It was a really fun night and I’m glad that we got to celebrate my mom!
Reese attended another wedding shower (a girl I was in the PPA at A&M with). She was very good the whole time. Just sat on my lap, watched, and played. It does get a little hectic when I take her to things like this, especially during lunch time. We got there, said hello, I fixed her solids, we ate, then it was time for a bottle. I feel like I spend more time doing all this stuff than actually paying attention, but so is life as a mom!
Reese also went to Texas de Brazil for the first time for daddy's birthday dinner. I'm not sure she was impressed with the place:
Highlights of the Month: I got to spend a lot of time with Reese, taking her different places. Daddy had three big tests this month, so that meant Reese went everywhere with me. Tuesday nights at the Larson’s, GND, wedding showers… Even though it’s hard sometimes (as described above) I love getting to spend time with her. And I don’t mind showing her off a little either. :P
We went to the park with the Fry’s this month since the weather was so pretty. This was Reese’s first time to go to the park! Daddy stayed at home, so we didn't do anything big (I didn't want him to miss it), but Reese did like watching Aidan slide and swing. Aidan also really enjoyed both of these things.
Baby’s Routine: Everything pretty much stayed the same, except we took out her late afternoon nap (see below)
Wake up: 6:30-7:00am
Nap: 9:00 am-10:30/11:00 am
Eat (solids and milk)/Play: 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Nap: 1:00pm – 2:30/3:00 pm
Eat Play: 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm (typically wants a bottle around 4:00)
Eat solids: 7:00
Bath time/play: 7:30pm – 8:30 pm
Feed and put to sleep: 8:30-9:00pm
Baby’s Favorite Food: She still really like puffs. I basically consider them dessert and don’t let her eat them until she eats something real first. She has days she loves avocado then she hates it again. She seems to really like the purees when they include (maybe not all at once) broccoli, peas, and pears. She definitely does not like green beans though. I tried to make them before at the house and she didn't like them, but I thought it was because I didn't get them pureed enough. This month she tried some already pureed and would not eat any of it….she just cried.
Baby’s Favorite Activity: She still loves being outside, sometimes Daddy lets her play there after work. She also still really loves bath time and anytime someone will get on the floor and play with her (I do that a lot).
Baby’s Favorite Toy: This month I’m going to say the alligator that bounces the balls. She puts pretty much anything in there to see if it will bounce. When I’m getting ready in the morning, I always make sure she has this to play with before walking out of the room because I know it will keep her happy.
Big Changes: The fact that she is now moving forward is definitely a big change.
As mentioned above, another big change is that we took away her midafternoon nap. When she got home from daycare, Daddy usually put her down and she would sleep for about 30 minutes. This was always a good time to cook/eat dinner or get some evening chores done. But, in the morning Reese would always wake up at 6-6:30. This was a little earlier than we wanted, so we deiced to see what would happen if we took away the nap. It seems to have worked cause she pretty consistently sleeps until 7:00 now. She’s also adjusted pretty well to having one less nap.
Mommy Journal:
I hate to write about this AGAIN, but I just want to get my thoughts on paper. I completely stopped pumping at work this month. For about a week I brought my pump, “just in case” but never once did I need it. I will say this did come at a good time for work purposes. I was promoted recently and so my responsibilities have picked up. I know I would have made it work if I needed to, but not having to pump during the day opens up some time to get things done, so I don't have to stay too late or work from home.
Up until her 10 month I was still nursing in the morning and at night. I’m slowly trying to transition this as well. My goal is to have both of us done with nursing before mid-May. I realize that’s a while a way and I’m pretty sure I won’t be producing that long, so I should be able to meet that goal.
Reese, you are such a little snuggler and it gets me every time! I know all babies are not like this, so I count it as such a blessing. Every time you lay your little head on my shoulder, I melt. I honestly don’t know what your daddy and I did before you were here. You have such a gentle heart and I cannot wait to see how the Lord uses you in the years to come.
Brooklyn brought Reese her old bows and included in the pack were these bunny ears. They were really hard to get on because Reese didn't want them there, as you can tell by her unimpressed face. :)
Day 104
Reese came home from daycare pretty much right after she got there with a stomach bug. :( I came home after lunch so Husbandy could go back to work.
Day 105
On Tuesday I was home again for half the day with Reese. Look how pathetic she looks! About .5 seconds after this picture she was sleeping in my arms. I just felt so bad for her.
Day 106
Wednesday brought a happier girl with it. Here we are about to test out solids for the first time in a couple days. Good news, she kept it all down and went to back to daycare for the afternoon!
Day 107
Thursday, mommy caught was Reese had. This is me not playing with her that night. :(
Day 108
Mommy and Daddy had popcorn for a light dinner on Good Friday and Reese INSISTED she have some too. So, I got her her own little bowl and bit off pieces that were just popped corn and didn't have the little things that get stuck in your teeth. She probably recognized the taste cause she had a lot of it while in utero. :)
Day 109
Saturday afternoon we went up to Anna to visit Papa Joe. She loved being outside, but wasn't too sure about Papa Joe's beard. Haha.
Reese got some good play time in with one of her boyfriend's, Liam.
Day 98
After work daddy took Reese outside to play. She loves it outside, that is a face of pure joy!
Day 99
Bonus video! Wednesday was Mimi's real birthday so we took her to dinner. This is how daddy likes to play with her. :P
Day 100
Technically, I did not take this picture. But it is the picture I was greeted with on my way to work! Our friends had twins!! We cannot wait to meet Hannah and Hudson!
Day 101
This is how Reese poses for us. I cannot get enough of this girl. :)
Day 102
After hearing my phone taking pictures, she gave me this little pose. She's loving being able to stand and play.
Daddy was helping Reese "walk" at TND. Reese had too much fun watching her cousin Brooklyn run around in circles. They are too cute.
Day 90
Just hanging outside in the gorgeous weather. I love how exponentially better my pictures of Reese from daycare are now that Donna can take the kids outside. Reese loooooves it out there!
Day 91
Haha. This is a really boring pic, but it's the only one I took this day. A friend was looking for a chair to take bluebonnet pictures in and I said I might have one that would work. Turns out it's a little big for a 4 month old.
Day 92
Still trying to convince Reese to crawl. We learned she definitely is our baby as she's motivated by food. Here she is reaching for her puff.
Day 93
Just a short walk to the Fry's for dinner!
Day 94
Hehe another sweet picture of Reese at daycare.
Day 95
We threw a surprise 60th birthday party for our mom on Saturday night. Everyone had a chance to write a note on a chalk board and take a picture throughout the night. Here's all the ones her children made it in. :) We love you mom!!
