Waiting Room

Reese and I went to have the oil changed in my car today. To my surprise, she loved the waiting room! First she enjoyed reading her books while sitting like a big girl. Then she enjoyed walking around (of course holding onto my hands). And finally found the kids table with lots of toys and blocks. We actually ended up staying for awhile after the oil change was complete. Guess we'll have to go back to Buerkle Acura to "play" again.

Celebration

It's my (Mommy's) birthday tomorrow, so we went out to eat to celebrate. Reese absolutely LOVES going out ot eat. She is a little magnet and draws tons of attention while we eat. She smiles and waves at people from a distance, but gets really shy when they come up and talk to her. It's cute! She also eats a ton when we're at a restaurant. Tonight she ate half a cheeseburger and all of her applesauce. The waitress also brought her a special sippy cup to the table. Reese was amazed and gave her a huge grin as if to say, "Thank you!"

Curls

Look at Reese's cute curly hair! Anyone know of any baby hair products to help hold those curls in place? :)

Weekend Fun

Reese spent the weekend with Daddy, Grandma & Grandpa Cipra, and Jack while I was away at Amy Have's bachelorette party in Brainerd.

Reese watched Jack closely because he does "big kid stuff" and is a little more entergetic than she is used to. She also got some fresh air sledding with Daddy.

The bachelorette party gave me some fun girl time. We entered into the Gull Lake Ice Fishing contest, but did not catch the big one. In fact, we didn't even get a nibble -- which was not completely surprising since none of us knew what we were doing. But we sure got a lot of attention with 30 ladies in matching hats and a sign walking onto the ice!

ECFE

Reese had another first today. We have been going to ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) classes every Friday for months. Moms & kids spend half the time together playing and singing songs. Then the moms & kids separate -- kids play with the teachers and moms go into another room to talk. Well, Reese has always cried bloody murder when we try to separate, so she has always joined us in the mom discussion room. However, Reese was a big girl today and stayed in the kids' room the whole time. I guess the teacher had to hold her the entire time and she cried just a little bit, but she did it! Of course it was super rewarding to come back into the room after our discussion and see her face light up when she saw me. Again, such a big girl!

Two in a Row

Reese has set a personal record... she slept through the night two nights in a row! She has now slept through the night a total of 7 times in her 11 1/2 months of life -- yes, we are definitely counting. We have tried lots of things to help her sleep in the past, so I'm not sure what has made her turn the corner this week. It could be multiple things... (1) she is finally getting over her ear infection, so her ears no longer hurt (2) we have started supplementing with formula, so maybe that sticks to her ribs better than breastmilk (3) her crib is now softer as we put up her bumper and added a pillow, and she likes to sleep with her whole body on the pillow and head pressed against the bumper (4) we have stuck to a bedtime routine, and (5) we are really trying to wear her out during the day with lots of activities out of the house and playing (chasing!) at home. We have tried all these things in the past and they didn't work, but maybe it's a combination of all these things at once... or more likely Reese is just growing up!

Speaking of her bedtime routine, it's really cute. First we take a bath. Then we play in her closet where she likes to take her clothes off the hangers. Next we tuck Daddy in. He literally has to climb into bed (no matter if he's ready for bed or not), shut off the lights, and say night night (Reese says "na na" too which is adorable!). We also look around the entire house to show that it is completely dark and no one is awake having fun. Finally we go back into her room, turn on the noise machine, drink a bottle and rock to sleep. The entire process takes about an hour, but it is time well spent when she sleeps for 12 hours!

Now I'm not getting ahead of myself, it has only been two nights. But I'll take it!

I took this picture this morning when Reese just woke up. She waved to me as I walked in the door - her way of saying "good morning!"

Girls Day Out

Reese and I had a wonderful day out. First we went to our Music Together class. This is our second of ten classes and Reese really got into it today bee-bopping to the music. Next we went out to lunch where Reese was such a good girl! She ate her full meal, played peek-a-boo with the waitress, and gave everyone smiles as they walked by. We ended our afternoon with a trip to the mall for a little shopping and time at the kids' play area. What a fun day!

Winter Swing

After sledding, Reese enjoyed one of her favorite activities -- swinging -- winter style!

Sledding

Since it got up to 40 degrees today, Reese got to enjoy her first experience sledding. She was pretty serious during her ride, but cried when I took her out of the sled, so I guess she enjoyed it!

Baby Ryland

We watched the Vikings game today with our friends Matt, Tenielle, and baby Ryland (8 weeks). It took a little while, but Reese eventually forgave me for holding another baby. We had a great time watching the Vikings trounce the Cowboys. Can't wait for next week.

Waking Up

Reese slept through the night last night!!! This is just the 5th time she has EVER slept through the night, so it is reason to celebrate. Here we took a video through the monitor of her waking up happy and well rested

New Job

Todd rotates to a new job in Global Capital at General Mills on Monday. Since Reese was still wound up after the Sesame Street Live show, we stopped into the office to help him organize his desk.

Sesame Street Live

We went to Sesame Street Live today at the Target Center. Reese liked everything about it -- walking through the parking ramp, waving to people in the audience, and clapping and bouncing as the the characters sang on stage. We realize she is a little young for a show like this, so figured we would have to leave after a half hour. But she did great for the entire hour and 45 minutes. I see many more performances like this in our future.

Protest

Reese spent a couple hours at Heather's house today because we took Kitty Belle to the vet for a check up. When it was time to leave, Reese lay down on the floor to protest. I think she was protesting putting her coat on and leaving her friends. Carly and Ellie joined her on the floor, and Reese forgot what she was so upset about. Thanks girls!

Serious Girl

I found this picture that Correne took recently at a playdate. It shows Reese's serious side -- which she shows every time we are in a new place or around new people. She's a pretty serious girl in public, but pretty silly at home.

Mr. Owl

Reese has a new eating buddy - Mr. Owl. When Reese doesn't want to eat, we simply put this wooden owl on her high chair and pretend to feed him. She finds this hilarious, and opens up her mouth to eat too. Hey, whatever works!

Mug Shots

We went grocery shopping tonight, and turned some heads. We all looked pretty rough - Reese with her runny nose; Daddy with his sweat pants and dress shoes on (I don't know why he chose to wear that); and me without any make-up on. During our 2-hour grocery shopping trip, Daddy stole a pen to cross things off the list, Reese opened up the crackers before we paid because she got hungry, and I stuffed baby food jars into my coat pockets because I could not find Todd with the grocery cart. We were quite a sight and feel lucky the store manager did not ask us to leave. We might not head back to Cub in Buffalo for awhile. We decided to take unflattering mug shots of ourselves when we got home to capture the experience.

Applebees

We went out to dinner at Applebees tonight. Reese enjoyed her grilled cheese sandwich and apple sauce. She seems like such a big girl sitting all by herself in the highchair eating off the kids menu! She then enjoyed reading a book on the way home. Stop growing up so fast!!!

Party in the Pantry

Reese discovered the pantry, and spent about an hour playing in there today. She first had me hold her in order to push all the cereal boxes around on the top shelf. Then she wanted to stand on her own to move everything on the bottom shelf. Her independence grew as she soon went inside and shut the door on me!

Piggy Tails

I bought Reese a snow suit, mittens, and hat on sale today at the Columbia outlet. I decided not to "torture" her by trying on the entire outfit, but did slip the hat on for a few seconds. I love the fringes that look like piggy tails!

Grilling Queen

As mentioned, Reese got a kitchen set for Christmas. We are happy to report that she absolutely loves it! She especially likes the grill which has a fan and flames. She grills hamburgers, hotdogs, and chicken all day long.

Last Fall

Cute picture I came across today. This was taken last fall by my good friend Erika, but don't think I ever posted on the blog. Consider hiring Erika for your photos! ErikaBitzanPhotography.com