12 Month Appointment

Reese had her 12 month doctor appointment today.

She's doing very well developmentally and hit all her milestones. She now weighs 19 pounds 11 ounces (25th percentile), is 29 3/4 inches tall (75th percentile), and her head is 17 inches (25th percentile). Basically, she is long and lean (lucky girl!) with a little pea head!

Although this was a "well visit", we actually found out Reese has an ear infection. So we're back on antibiotics. I hope we can kick this ear infection quickly!

She also had immunizations and blood drawn to test her hemoglobin and for lead. So, it was kind-of a rough visit for Reese and she was completely exhausted when we left the office.

Friends Over

We had fun playing with the Nordstroms tonight. Reese enjoyed watching Taylor (3) do big girl things like sit in her own chair for dinner and put on her own coat when it was time to leave. Reese seems to have a little bond with Casey (14 months) as they would always smile at each other. Cuties!

Horse Whisperer

Reese received a horse from Brian and Jack for her birthday. She's so funny around the horse - extremely gentle, gets very upset when he tips over, and sometimes she won't even touch him. It's almost like she's a horse whisperer using psychology and gentle techniques to train the horse.

Too Busy

Reese was too busy to take a nap this afternoon. Although I tried to lay her down 4 times, she refused to relax and wanted to keep playing. She finally hit her limit during a late afternoon snack. One minute she was happy and eating, the next she was sleeping and snoring.

Quick note about Reese's outfit... Aunt Tammy bought it (and some others) during her trip to India. Not only is it adorable, but it is unlikely we'll run into another baby with the same outfit here in Minnesota!

Ho Ho Ho

Remember the old tagline, "Ho, ho, ho. Green Giant"? We'll have to teach Reese how to say that because I think she could star in a commercial for that General Mills brand. She loves vegetables. You may recall that a few days ago she ate peas for an entire hour. As you can see, today she could not get enough beans!

Jackster

Reese spent the day with Grandma & Grandpa Cipra and Jack. She wasn't quite sure of cousin Jack when he first arrived -- running all over, grabbing her cheeks, and throwing balls up in the chandelier. But they eventually took a long look at each other, and decided they could be great friends. They even relaxed in her chair and drank an entire bottle. So sweet.

Feeding Frenzy

Reese is trying to make up for lost time when she was sick - she's on a feeding frenzy. She has been eating and drinking quite a bit during the day, then drinking 7 ounces of milk before bed, and waking up twice during the night to drink more milk. As you can imagine, her diaper is soaking wet when she wakes up. Tonight she went on the biggest feeding frenzy we have seen. She ate constantly for an hour! Daddy and I ate with her, cleaned up the kitchen, folded a load of laundry, watched multiple Olympic speed skating races, and took turns getting Reese more and more food. She ate pizza, crackers, blueberries, applesauce, veggie puffs, and her favorite of the night - peas. I thought only teenage boys ate you out of house and home! We'll be making a trip to the grocery store tomorrow.

Monkey Love

Reese dressed in her Valentine outfit (a few days early) complete with her red shoes. She seems to have chosen monkey as her Valentine this year. She just loves that guy!

Spiderman

Even Spiderman came to Reese's first birthday party -- courtesy of her cousin Brayden!

Birthday Party

We had Reese's first birthday party today with family. She enjoyed all the attention giving out lots of smiles - and not napping all day! Our little princess did not like getting her hands dirty in the cake, but enjoyed eating it off a fork with Mommy instead. She got lots of great gifts and got most excited when she opened up clothes! That's my girl!

Suit

Mommy and Daddy got all dressed up to go to Amy & Alex's wedding today. Reese crawled over to Daddy and gave him a big kiss when he came downstairs in his suit. Guess he should dress like that more often!

Top Five

We thought it would be fun to capture some of Reese's favorites/ top 5 at one year old...

Favorite Animals (as seen in books)
- Dogs
- Owls
- Peacocks
- Cats
- Squirrels

Favorite Songs
- Reesie Pie (to the tune of Smelly Cat from "Friends" sung by Daddy)
- Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands
- Clifford's Pack Street Dogs
- Sesame Street Song
- La, La, La, La Elmo's Song

Favorite Places in our House
- Pantry
- Basement
- Her closet
- Office on the computer
- Anywhere Belle (the cat) is at

Favorite Books
- Kiss Kiss
- Counting Kisses (yes, there is a kissing theme here)
- First Words
- My Little Animal Book
- Hello, Baby

Favorite Foods
- Nilla Wafers
- Veggie Puffs
- Cheerios
- Meat (all kinds)
- Yogurt

Favorite Toys
- Books
- Balls and Basement Games
- Kitchen Set
- Monkey and Dolls
- Pink Bear whom she loves to dive on when Daddy chases her

Future Careers
- Vet because she loves animals and her little vet kit
- Mommy because she loves to rock and kiss her dolls
- Cook because she loves her play kitchen and to watch Mommy cook
- Musician because she dances whenever she hears a tune
- General Mills because Mommy and Daddy both work there

Memories of the First Year

Happy birthday to our baby girl! We can't believe Reese is already one year old!

Unfortunately Reese is still sick on her birthday, so we just relaxed at home and reflected on the past year. It has been quite a ride. We have made so many great memories this year, but here are some of our most prominent memories...

* Very FAST delivery. Reese made her entry into the world just 34 minutes after arriving at the hospital. I thank her for a very easy labor & delivery!

* Peanut! Reese was just 5 pounds 13 ounces when she was born. She remains petite and is just 18 pounds (dripping wet) at one year.

* Feeding troubles - this was not a good memory. We struggled breastfeeding for 10 weeks until the lactation consultants told me to give it up (you know things are bad when the lactation consultants tell you to stop!). So, I decided to pump exclusively. We made it for the entire year and I'm so happy to be done with that pump! Reese also went on acid reflux medicine around 10 weeks and it made a world of difference. She is now a pretty good eater. She doesn't eat a lot of food at a time, but is good about trying different foods.

* No sleep. Unfortunately Reese is not a good sleeper, which is so surprising because Daddy and I love to sleep. I think (hope!) we finally turned a corner at 11 1/2 months because she has now slept through the night multiple times. Keep it going! We have lots of catching up to do!

* So affectionate! Reese has always loved to snuggle, and now gives lots of kisses complete with fish lips and a smacking noise. It's the best sound in the world!

* BFFs! Reese has made so many great friends in her first year. We had great fun at many play dates and looking at our friends blogs & You Tube videos daily. Some of her best friends are Carly, Ellie, Laura, Katie, Kaija, Lexi, Henry, Malin, Evie, Harper, Tatum (well, we look forward to meeting baby Tatum soon), Liam, Lily, Luca, Logan, Audra, and Edie... just to name a few.

Passing the Bug

Ugh. Everyone in the Haag house has been sick this week. It started with poor Reese throwing up on Saturday, then spread to Daddy on Sunday, Mommy on Monday, and even Grandma & Grandpa Cipra who were so kind to come take care of us. We were a mess!

Of course we feel the worst for Reese who remained sick all week. She had/has the stomach flu (although I think that's finally gone), nasty cough, runny nose, and to top it off, she's teething. I'd gladly be sick for a month if I could just take all this away from her. This really puts things into perspective - parenting is so much easier when everyone is healthy!

Feel better, sweetie!