A Year in Photos: Week 34

Day 235

Congrats to these two on their engagement! What I thought was a GND back to school potluck was actually an engagement party! Too bad I didn't know that, or else I would have made sure to go to Mass in the morning and not have been late.

Day 236

Reese was singing this before going to bed one night. It's hard to tell, but she's singing If You're Happy and You Know It then stomps her feet, claps her hands, and yells AMEN! She finishes up with Wheels on the Bus, and oldie but goodie.

Day 237

Driving with daddy. Don't worry, we were just going to the neighbors down the street.

Day 238

Happy 5 years at Merit to me! I'm so happy I made the move from public accounting to industry. I'm working for a great company and with some really awesome people. I am so thankful for this, it's definitely made being a working mom bearable.

Day 239

Bath time with this cutie. :-)

Day 240

I love coming home and seeing Reese and daddy in the pool. She has soo much fun swimming! I know having a pool is sometimes a lot of work, but so far it's definitely been worth it!

Day 241

Saturday mornings are different around here now that we have swim during the week. Instead of swim, Reese and I went on a walk and daddy went to the store. Thankfully I wasn't actually carrying her the entire time. She was riding in the stroller, but then got out to watch a bunny hopping across a yard. I'm so thankful for this little one and the joy she brings to me everyday!

A Year in Photos: Week 33

Day 228

Reese wanted to help daddy fold the laundry on Sunday. She did such a good job helping fold our sheets! She'll now grab anything an want to fold (roll) it up.

Day 229

Who knew the small island in our kitchen would provide so much entertainment! Please excuse the mess all over the counters.

Day 230

Tuesday evening I went to GND which included a full 9 course Italian meal. It was absolutely delicious (as you can imagine).

During dinner we also had an adult coloring competition (apparently adult coloring books are a thing now). My coloring was in the top two, but alas Katey won. That's what I get for going up against a person in advertising.

Day 231

Wednesday night we went and ate dinner with Granny and Grandpa. Reese quickly fed the ducks afterward as it was getting late, but loved doing it!

Day 232

Thursday afternoon my company brought in Steel City Pops for a little pick me up. I chose the coffee flavor and it was delicious. :-)

Day 233

Garage sale prep is fuuuun!

Day 234

These two had so much fun getting to play with each other all weekend while their parents worked on their salesmen skills at the garage sale. 

A Year in Photos: Week 32

Day 221

Aunt Becca doing her Aunt Becca thing. She was obviously reading a very funny magazine!

There's nothing like drumming on a trash can and a dog food can with your bestie!

Day 222 

Just reading the Bible before starting her day (naked + socks and shoes).

Day 223

I bought a Disney match game for older kids to play with during Reese's birthday party. I found it in the $1 bin at Target and it has turned out to be such a good purchase! Reese plays "match"all the time. Right now she'll find a few matches and then want to clean up (put everything back in the box) and dump them right back out again. But, it's fun getting to play with her and when she finds things that match she gets really excited! I also love when I ask her to find the card that matches the one I'm holding, I watch her look for it and I can tell when her eyes catch it, she'll kinda give me the side eye and grin. It's so cute.

Day 224

When it's bright outside, you wear Dada's hat! :-)

Day 225

Going through her backpack and finding lots of goodies.

Day 226

On Friday, we had dinner at Chick Fil A with the Poulsens and Frys. I tried to get a group picture, but failed. The kiddos had lots of fun paying in the play area. Reese is just a little too short to really get anywhere, but she's so close! Hopefully we do this more often. I also learned fun Chick Fil A hacks. For instance, did you know you can order in the drive through and tell them you're coming inside to eat and they'll have your food ready?! So awesome for moms (and dads)! Also, did you know you can turn in an unopened toy from a kids meal for a free ice cream?! This is such good news because Reese and I typically get kids meals and 2 books. Now I can get an ice cream! I'm not sure if this discovery is good or bad....

Day 227

"Reese, sit on my lap!" I love these cuties.

Here are a couple videos I took of them playing together that night. They would take turns going down the slide while the other one "pushed" them. The person sliding would then get up and say, "Don't push me!"...while giggling. 

You never know what game they will come up with!

A Year in Photos: Week 31

Day 214

Getting to eat dinner with your cousins is so much fun! I love these sweet girls so so much!!

This is what it looks like when kids want to swim and parents say no. To our defense, they had already had plenty of swim time!

Day 215

This is what I saw when I came home from work on Monday. Reese eating animal crackers out of the bag and no Dada in sight. He had just gone to change clothes, but the scene made me laugh!

Day 216

Reese has officially taken over Dada's pillow.

Day 217

Reese woke up with a strange sounding cough, so she got to stay home. I took off work in the morning and Husbandy came home in the afternoon. She didn't act sick, but the cough we heard sounded like croup. She spent the day playing with her toys and crawling around with Minne. :-)

Reading one of the books we got from the library. I was so impressed because she was actually saying the words for each page (at least some of them).

Day 218

Reese loves to pretend that her bubble gun is a hair dryer. She will go around the house blow drying everything in sight! On this particular day she was doing Mommy and Daddy's hair. Hopefully she learns how to actually do hair from teachers at school, because I have never been good at it!

Day 219

Eating her "sear-da-bull" before going to school!

Day 220

My dad and Cindy took the family to the circus on Saturday! I tried to get a good picture of Reese watching everything going on, but I never got one I loved. She acted interested pretty much the entire time, so I think she really liked it! I liked watching the acrobatics and seeing the animals was fun too. After the show, we went to Mesomaya and had a delicious dinner!

A Year in Photos: Week 30

Day 207

After nap time we went on a bike ride and stopped at the creek to feed the turtles and go fishing. I love that picture of Reese and her Dada. Husbandy posted it on facebook and one of my cousins referenced this song...I teared up.

That night we had family over for some swimming. Reese loves jumping into the pool! We definitely have a little fish on our hands. 

Have I mentioned how much I love watching these two play together?

Day 208

We were celebrating another GND baby that's on the way and decided what better shower game is there than simulating labor using a TENS unit. Love these girls!

Day 209

Walking down to the neighbors for some hangout time and dinner!

Oh, we also watched these two show off their tumbling skills.

Day 210

Reese brushing her teeth with Daddy before heading off to school.

Day 211

So thankful that I got to go see Matt Maher! Husbandy stayed home with Reese and I met Mom for dinner before going to the concert. We met Bec and JFry there. The concert was just what my soul needed!

Day 212

Reese loves watching videos on her phone, this particular one was of herself calling Mama on Daddy's work phone.

Day 213

I love watching these dads play with their daughters! 

The best part of this video is at the very end when Husbandy asks Annabelle if she's having fun...

Annabelle, Reese, and Clara always have so much fun together. I love seeing them play and getting to spend time with their parents!

A Year in Photos: Week 29

Day 200

Reese decided waking up at 6:15 sounded like fun on a Sunday morning. Actually, she must have been going through a phase because she did this for about two weeks. This was me trying to enjoy the early morning snuggles.

Later that day, I was in the back room and heard a noise and could not figure out what it was (it was the swiffer cleaner spraying). As I walked into the kitchen, Reese looked at me and said, "I sweeping, Mama!"

Day 201

So glad I caught Reese singing Wheels on the Bus before she fell asleep one night. 

Day 202

We went out to dinner since we needed groceries and didn't have much to cook at home. Reese loves drinking Daddy's drink because it's always something way more fun than Mommy's water.

Day 203

Sometimes picking up your food and putting in on your spoon is way easier than actually using the spoon like you're supposed to.

Day 204

Bath time with my sweet girl!

Day 205

Friday evening we took dinner to some friends that had a baby earlier in the week. I always forget how tiny newborns are! We are so so happy for them and can't wait for the next time we get to see Patrick. 

After dropping off dinner we stopped at one of our favorites since we were in the neighborhood. Here's Reese enjoying her "huge" bread.

Day 206

After swim class Grandpa took Reese to the library. This was the first time she had ever been and I think she really liked it! She picked out one book and I picked out a few more. The one she picked definitely ended up being her favorite. We read it over and over.

Mowing the lawn...

That evening we went to a really awesome park in Carrollton with some favorites. Reese and Zilla were laying on this swing and would just look at either other and laugh. It's so much fun seeing them grow up together. The are best buds. :-)