Double Duty

Granny Nanny did double duty today taking care of both her grandkids. She picked Jack up from daycare for an afternoon of fun. Jack was very interested in Reese and wanted to hold and play with her. He did a pretty good job -- Grandma just had to keep reminding him to be gentle!

Blocks

Reese loves her blocks. She examines each one, then gets really excited when we bring out the green block with the frog that wiggles. We also enjoy stacking them up and knocking them down. What great fun!

Stories & Smiles

Reese and Daddy telling stories and enjoying some smile time. They are really cute together.

Valley Daze

We spent the day in Eden Valley (Grandma & Grandpa Haag's hometown) at "Valley Daze". Reese enjoyed many new experiences: attending a pet show, learning how to play with a musical toy, and watching a parade. Grandpa, Peyton & Brayden were even part of the parade! It was quite a day, and Reese is exhausted!

Rice Cereal

Reese ate rice cereal for the first time today and did very well! She opened up her mouth for the spoon, chewed, swallowed, and wanted more. She ate for about 10 minutes. It was a very successful first feeding, and Reese was proud of herself when she was done!

Henry

We had some Luther College friends over for dinner tonight. There were kids of all ages... Liam (1 year), Henry (6 months), Reese (4 months), and Baby Moore (22 weeks in his mommy's tummy). Reese was facinated with Liam who can crawl and Henry who can creep. She seemed to really study their movements which will help her quest to become more mobile.

Here are a few adorable pictures of Reese and her boyfriend Henry getting acquainted.

Pack 'n Play

Reese spends a little time in her pack 'n play every day. She used to love watching the mobile, but now seems to get bored with it after a few minutes. Her new favorite activities in the pack 'n play include reading the warning label (she stares at the orange and black letters for a long time!), rolling (of course, because rolling is her absolute favorite thing to do!), and smiling at herself in the mirror. I put her in the pack 'n play so I can get things done, but I usually end up just standing back and watching her play. :)

Getting Ready

Todd read in our baby book that you should allow babies to play in their highchairs before offering solid food. This is supposed to help them get used to the highchair and make eating a fun, positive experience. So, although I think Reese is ready for rice cereal now, we like to follow the "rules" and are just playing in the highchair for now. Watch for a post soon when we offer Reese her first taste of real food!

All Night Long

It's great that Reese has learned how to roll, but she likes to practice rolling every hour throughout the night! She rolls over when she’s partially asleep, wakes herself up completely, and starts crying because she is startled and hasn’t figured out how to roll back onto her back. Ugh! I hope she will resume her peaceful sleep soon because we are all exhausted!

I'm glad we purchased this breathable bumper since Reese is now so active her in crib. Her arms and legs would definitely get stuck in the crib spindles without it!

Learning to Read

As you can see, Grandma Cipra is teaching Reese how to read at just 4 months old. This is just one of the advantages of having a grandma with 35 years Kindergarten teaching experience.

Tooshie

Picture of Reese's little tooshie in her cute ruffle outfit. This also shows that her mullet is going away and her hair is slowly coming in!

Happy Father's Day

Todd celebrated his first Father's Day! He spent the day playing with his little girl -- trying to teach her how to walk and how to look at the camera for a picture. Unfortunately he didn't succeed on either task. I think the pictures where he was teaching how to look at the camera were funny! Reese refused to look at the frog when it was being held up toward the camera, but would not take her eyes off it when it was put down. :)

102.4

Poor Reese had a temperature of 102.4 degrees last night. We took her to the pediatrician this morning where she was tested for the flu. That test came back negative, thank goodness! We now just have to keep her hydrated, give Tylenol occasionally, and get lots of rest. We have been taking it easy today with lots of naps, Baby Einstein videos, and plenty of snuggling. Her temp is now down, so we hope she is already on the road to recovery.

I was stressed out all day about Reese's temperature, so had to relax this evening with a glass of wine.

Big Girls

We hosted a playdate for some neighborhood girls this morning. We played inside for awhile, then headed outside to the new playset. I hope the fun the big girls had on the playset is an indication of many fun days ahead for Reese... but probably not until next year. I had so much fun watching the girls play that I didn't realize Reese's hat fell down. Oh well, she didn't seem to mind!

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

Reese's new favorite thing to do is roll! The second you lay her on her back she kicks her leg over, arches her back, and rolls. She makes it over most of the time, but some times gets stuck on her left arm and grunts with frustration. I think we have a very determined little girl on our hands. Here are a few pictures of a successful roll from back to front!

Giggle Fest

Reese, Grandma Cipra, and I had a giggle fest late on Monday night. It was adorable! Here are just a few seconds for you to enjoy. I hope it makes you smile too!

Snacks Party

Reese attended her first General Mills party tonight. She helped the Snacks Division (where Daddy works) celebrate a good fiscal year. She is a little too young to participate in the 3 legged race and water balloon toss -- maybe next year!

Talking to Animals

When Daddy went to get Reese out of her crib this morning, she decided she wanted to just hang out, spin around, and talk to her animals on the wall. This kept her entertained for an hour!

40th Birthday

Happy 40th birthday to our friend Troy Reiter. Reese enjoyed the party tonight... and is continuing her partying 2 hours after she normally goes to bed. Oh no! We might be in for a rough night.

Wild Kingdom

It was wild kingdom around the Haag house today. First, a hummingbird got into our garage and could not figure out how to get out. Luckily Grandpa Haag was here to save the day. He crawled up on a ladder, caught the hummingbird in his hand, then let it go outside. Second, our cat Belle was jumped by a squirrel - literally! Grandma Haag and Reese were looking out the window and saw Belle laying on the sidewalk when a squirrel came running at her and jumped over her! It took Belle a second to figure out what happened, then took off after the squirrel through the sprinklers. Belle is 13 years old and has arthritis so she didn't catch the squirrel, but Grandma and Reese had never seen her run so fast!

Feeding Myself

Reese has started to hold her bottle (with a little help from Mom and Dad). It's so cute! The only bad thing is she pulls it in and out of her mouth all the time just because it's a fun new trick!

4 Month Check Up

Reese had her 4 month check up today. She weighs 12lbs 14 oz (50th percentile) and is 24.5 inches long (60th percentile). She is doing very well -- right on track in her development! Unfortunatley she had to have another round of immunizations today. She seems to be handling the shots better than she did at 2 months. She cried a lot at 2 months and had to be held all night long. So far so good today -- she's sleepy, but happy when she is awake.

Vacuum

Enjoying our first day back together, the day consisted of a lot of snuggling and a little cleaning.

Ever wonder why you buy your baby toys? Reese sat and stared at the vacuum cleaner for 15 minutes - thoroughly entertained! She kept looking it up and down and seemed to be wondering, "What is that big machine?"

Day at Heather's

Reese goes to our friend and neighbor Heather's house on Wednesdays when I am at work. Here are a few pictures from her first day... wide awake when we dropped her off, then completely tuckered out when we got home. She slept 4 hours this evening. I think Heather's daughter Ellie wore Reese out! I hope she sleeps well tonight too - let's shoot for 6 consecutive hours! We could all use a good night sleep after an exhausting first week at work.

Day Two

It was day two of work and Granny (and Grandpa) Nanny. As you can see, Reese and my parents had a great time again!

I think the second day was actually a little harder for me than the first because I didn't have as many meetings and found myself looking at Reese's picture while sitting at my desk. The key will be keeping myself extremely busy at work. I don't think this will be a problem since I used to work about 60 hours each week when I was full-time. There is plenty of work to do!

Back to Work

I went back to work today after 4 months of maternity leave. It was a tough morning leaving the house and I shed a few tears knowing that I would not see Reese for 9 hours (the longest I have ever been away from her!). But, I knew she was in great hands with Granny Nanny (my mom) and my dad even came along this week. They were ready to start "day care" at 8:00 with caffeine consumed and Baby Biorn on ready for action.

Once I got to work I kept myself very busy with meetings and updates. I only called home twice to see how Reese was doing. :) Luckily I really enjoy my job so I think I'll be okay... especially knowing it is only 3 days then I'm back to my honey for a very long weekend!

Bumbo Seat

Reese is getting to be so big! She enjoyed sitting in her Bumbo seat playing with toys this evening. It's amazing how much she has grown up just in the past week.

We enjoyed an evening at home as I prepare to go back to work tomorrow. It's going to be a tough day for me. I know she's in great hands (there is no better daycare than Granny Nanny!), but I'm going to miss her terribly. Wish me luck!