Townies

Reese had a busy Memorial Day. We were true "townies" as we went to all the local activites. We started in Delano (a neighboring town) for the parade and to play at the park. We then went back to Rockford for the Lions' Club pork chop lunch and Ames-Florida-Stork Historic Home pie and ice cream social.

Devour

I bought Reese one of her favorite snacks today - Veggie Puffs. I hadn't bought the puffs for awhile, and absence made the heart grow fonder. She picked them up by the handful, shoved them in her mouth, and said "more"before she even had a chance to chew. Reese did not just eat the Veggie Puffs, she devoured half the can!

Accessories

Reese was playing with her hair bows today, and we decided that a girl can never have too many accessories!

Relaxing Day

We went to our cabin today to check out the new floor we had installed and to clean. Reese, Grandma Haag, and Daddy stayed on the swing for an hour because Reese found it so relaxing with her hair blowing in the breeze. She became so relaxed that she fell asleep! We eventually moved her into a bed and she slept for almost 3 hours. Glad she had such a fun and relaxing day, but I'm exhausted from all the cleaning! Oh well, the cabin is almost ready for us to enjoy this summer.

Water and Sand

Reese loves her new water and sand table. Her favorite things to do are spin the wheel in the water, run the sand through her fingers, and make a big mess!

Happy Clap

Video of Reese doing a little dance and clapping (although slightly delayed) during the song If You're Happy and You Know It.

Please ignore the bib and pacifier. We experiencing some serious teething action, so she is drooling like crazy and we are allowing the comfort of her paci whenever she needs it. Teething must be so painful, so it's surprising she is still happy and knows it. :)

Diaper Rash

I can finally bring myself to write about Reese's nasty diaper rash because it is finally almost gone and my anger has subsided. Here's the story...

Reese got the rash 2 weeks ago, and at first I thought it was a normal rash caused from teething. Within one day the rash became terrible to the point where Reese avoided sitting down and would shake and cry when I would change her. We immediately when to the pediatrician who prescribed Poop Goop (yes, that is really the medical name that is found on the prescription bottle). We got this wonder cream for the bargain price of $54 - crazy!

The next day Reese developed painful open sores throughout her entire diaper area. She still avoided sitting and trying to change her diaper left us both crying. That night my parents heard a story on the news about Pampers Cruisers with Dry Max, and sure enough, we use that type of diaper and had developed the exact same rash/sores that they were reporting. I called Pampers customer service to report the issue and did some research online. This is where I became very angry because Pampers was denying any wrong doing and dismissing hundreds of moms' concerns as an urban legend created on Facebook. I still cannot believe their lack of responsibility and accountability. My perception of P&G has definitely changed and I will avoid using Pampers products from this point forward. Big loss for them because I was extermely brand loyal and am now telling every mom I know about the issue. So, all you moms out there, DO NOT USE PAMPERS CRUISERS OR SWADDLERS WITH DRY MAX. Even if you are currently using and your child has not developed a rash yet, DO NOT RISK IT.

Of course we immediately stopped using Cruisers diapers - we literally woke Reese from her sleep after hearing about the issue and changed her into Huggies. The next few days we changed Reese at least every 2 hours, gave her multiple baths per day in water with baking soda, applied her Poop Goop, gave her lots of air time (meaning no diaper - including during her naps), and of course gave her lots of love.

Changing her diapers the past 2 weeks has been a nightmare. The only positive is Reese learned new words from the experience including "Poop", "Cream"(said to describe her Poop Goop), and "Gentle" (we said this over and over again as I would change her diaper to reassure that I was trying not to hurt her).

As mentioned at the beginning of this ranting blog post, her diaper area is much better. The rash cleared up within just a few days and the open sores are now almost gone. Our poor baby is almost back to normal.

Busy Mommy

Reese was very busy today pretending to be Elmo's mommy. She pushed Elmo around in the stroller for about 20 minutes.

Words of the Week - 2nd Edition

Reese's vocabulary is exploding. She now says more than 60 words and repeats a lot of the words we say. So, I think I'm going to have to change my strategy for "Words of the Week" from ALL the words she says to just those that are super cute or have a little story behind them. Here we go...

* Lots of words for food like "Cookie", "Cheerios", "Bean", and "Peas".

* "Back" said when she puts things back/away. Reese really likes to organize things and says "Mess" when the living room is filled with toys. The other day she was cleaning up her toys (done completely on her own without any prompting from me) and discovered some different types of blocks were mixed up in their containers. Reese said "Ohhhh" (with great expression) and immediately picked out the wrong blocks and put them each back in their own separate containers. Oh my - she is already a perfectionist like her parents!
* "Bean" and "Peas" said when she picks up the vegetables to feed Mr. Owl.
* Reese now says many names of her friends & relatives including uncle "Brian", cousin "Jack", cousin "Peyton", neighbors "Mike" and "Katie", and my friend "Correne".

* "Again" said whenever she wants to do something again, like flip upside down or read the same book.

* "Tunnel" said when driving through the tunnel on I-94 on the way to South Minneapolis and when she rolls her ball through her ladybug tunnel.

* "Drink" said when she wants a drink of water from her sippy cup. Reese will ONLY drink water from her sippy cup - she hates cow and soy milk. If we try to trick her by putting in milk, she will take one drink, get a disgusted look on her face, and look at you as if she's saying "what are you thinking giving me milk?" The no-milk issue is something I definitely have to bring up at her 15 month doctor appointment next week.

* "Ming Ming" as in the duck from Wonderpets.

* "Shoes" said when she wants to put on her shoes to go outside and play. She loves to play outside and has finally figured out that we have to put on our shoes first. So, she says "shoes" and runs and sits on the little step by our front door so I can put her shoes on.

* "Thank you" said when you give Reese something like a toy she asked for or her sippy cup with water. This is definitely my favorite of Reese's words/phrases.

Run, Run

Reese loves her pop up ball toy and plays with it two ways: (1) she puts her face over the place where the air blows and balls pop up (so far we have avoided a ball in the eye, but it's only a matter of time) or (2) she hits the button and runs away to watch the action from her chair (as seen in this video).

Vertical

Reese has been working on jumping lately. She tries so hard, and it is absolutely adorable. We are very proud of her 1 inch vertical!

Mr. Abbott

We had some new friends over tonight - including their adorable 12-month-old son Abbott. Although shy at times, Reese and Abbott had a pretty good time together. Reese said "hi", waved, and blew kisses at Abbott during dinner and shared her toys pretty well after dinner. These two pals will be in the same grade at Rockford in a few years.

Mother's Day Jewelry

In honor of Mother's Day, a few gifts were exchanged today. I gave myself a beautiful necklace from Silpada (ha, ha) and my brother and I gave my mom a "mother's ring" with birthstones of Brian, Jack, Reese and me. With all this jewelry, I wish Mother's Day came more than once a year!

Erika Bitzan Photography

My friend Erika took some pictures of Reese last weekend. I'm a little behind, but I'm going to count these photos as her 1 year session. The photos turned out great despite the fact that Reese wouldn't smile much that day. Erika caught some great, sweet expressions. Thanks again, Erika!

Target Field

We went to the Twins game this afternoon - our first time at new Target Field. The stadium is beautiful, although I'll admit I'm excited to go to a game without a one-year-old so we can really enjoy the scenery.

Reese did pretty well consider the game STARTED during her nap time and it was cold outside. We spent some time in our seats, but most of our time was spent walking around near the heaters. In the 7th inning, on our way out because of a much needed nap, Reese paused for a quick photo at the golden gove.

AHS Friends

Finally catching up here... we got together with some Austin High School friends last weekend at Erika's house. It was great to hang out with Erika, Angie, Melony and all their kids. The older kids were constantly on the move and often outside, so I could not catch them for a picture. However, I did catch the little ones - Reese and Lexi Safe for a quick pic.

Playing with Hair

We went to our friend Abbey's house tonight to get together with some Luther friends. The party was a lot of fun and Reese enjoyed playing with Liam and meeting baby Max. Reese was so sweet on the drive home. I put my head on her lap and she gently played with my hair for about a half hour. It almost put me to sleep!

Dollar Section

We discovered today that Reese loves the dollar section at Target. She picked up lots of things - socks,sand toys, stickers, and much more. We came home with just some of it.

Words of the Week

I haven't been good about capturing all of Reese's new words, so I'm going to try to write a post each week that details her new words. This week's post will be extra long because I have to catch up over the past month or so...

* "Car"

* "Cow" and then makes the Moo noise

* "Cracker"

* "Mailman"

* "Airplane"

* "Up high", and then points to the sky - ususally when she hears an airplane

* "Pie"
* "Monkey"

* "Down" said both when she wants to get down off something or when she tries to stand on her head as in "upside down"

* "Carly" our 5-year-old neighbor where Reese spends every Wednesday while I'm at work

* "Diaper"

* "Garbage" said when she goes to throw her diaper away after changing

* "Boom" said whenever something falls or whenever she throws something onto the ground

* "Bubble" said when we are blowing bubbles, taking a bubble bath, or watching the water fountain

* "Grandma"

* "Grandpa"

* "Puppy"

* "Kitty"

* "Baby"

* "Touch it" said when she wants to touch something

* "Book"

* "Up"

* "Toy"

* "It's in the Bag" said once when we were looking for her ball, and she told us it was in her diaper bag - it really was!

* "Out"

* "Pretty"

* "Ohhhh" said with great expression when she is surprised or gets very excited about something

* "Pop" said when she tries to jump which is pretty cute!

Outfit Tradition

I decided to start a new tradition... Reese gets a new outfit every time I have to travel for work. Check out this purchase from Orlando for the General Mills Foodservice National Sales Meeting. This outfit, with the country/cowgirl features, actually fits the theme of my sales meeting because Danny Gokey (formerly of American Idol and up-and-coming country music star) performed at our dinner. Can you say adorable? - both the outfit and Danny!

Day with Grandma & Grandpa

Mommy is on a business trip in Orlando, Florida. So, Grandma & Grandpa came over to play w/Reese while Daddy was @ work. As you can see Reese loved Grandma's spaghetti hotdish. They also brought a new friend "Ms Monkey" who hit it off immediately with Reese & her favorite "Mr Monkey."