busy busy busy

Reese has really started spending a lot of time sitting on his knees. He really wants to be vertical. His hair has grown too long to naturally mohawk, but Daddy missed it so much he added gel to Reese's do, hence the snazzy rocker look below. He is really getting into playing with his toys as opposed to just chewing them.

Helping Daddy measure.

hmmm...turn signal.

gear changer...very very interesting. He is spending serious time investigating things now.

OUCH! Those teeth really hurt, but this beef jerky provides some tasty (slobbery) relief.

Can you see the two bottom teeth? Here he's pulled up on the futon in pursuit of Tara, who is now safely in the window.

Mommy has a test tonight at school...yuck!

Bremerton Food Co-op

Woo Hoo! Check this out! We may get a food coop in Bremerton. I'm so happy! I would love to have local produce and eggs right down the road. Last summer we drove out to Purdy to Local Boys produce stand and sometimes we go to Central Market in Poulsbo. So everyone check it out and participate so it can get up and running.

WOW Changing Fast

It seems like something new is achieved everyday, more than one thing actually.

Reese discovered he likes apples. He can't really bite it but he rubs his sore gums on it and licks and slobbers on it quite effectively. Well enough that it officially becomes his and no one else can eat on it.

He mastered my pillow barricades the same day I erected them. I was hoping to keep him out of the kitchen where the kitty litter is unless we are in there, but he just barrels right over them.

He is giving Tara a run for her money in the speed department now. She has to jump on the couch to get away but this week he successfully pulled himself up on the couch, so that may not work much longer. He also waved to several people--Mimi, Grandad, the costco checker. And Candy Gram thinks he said "Hi" more than once. He hasn't done that at home yet, so we'll see what happens.

He was supposed to be born in the year of the pig and so he got a stuffed animal before he was born of a pig. Then he came about 5 days before pig started (so he's year of the dog), but he thinks his piggy stuffed animal is super funny.

In the event that Reese's happenings are not the biggest news in your life here are some current tidbits:

• Castro resigned and supposedly his brother is going to implement some reform.
• Most of the recalled beef has already been consumed. Isn't that yummy?
• Blue Ray vs. HD DVD ends. Blue Ray it is.

That's enough "real news" for now. The big news is Reese's skills OF COURSE!

okay so this is not really a skill, but I think the crazy tongue is funny. That's saltine cracker bits stuck to his chin. He seems to really like the saltiness.
He got a spinning top toy for his birthday and he can actually depress the plunger himself, so he's pretty happy with himself about that. So far he hasn't noticed the kitchen cabinets, but he thinks it's pretty fun to sit under the table and play kitchen tent.

Grandpa's visit

Grandpa came to visit from Virginia for Reese's birthday weekend. Here's a photo before we left for the airporter. He's wearing his new BIG BOY clothes. Jeans with no snappy crotch!

Down on the floor playing with all the new birthday toys. He actually rolled his John Deere tractor back and forth like a truck! I tell you the boy's got a ton of new skills.
Candy Gram got a new kitten, Lily. No photo yet, but Reese met her today and I think they are going to like playing chase with each other.

Happy Birthday!

Reese turned ONE YEAR old today!Granddad and Candy Gram, Grandpa, Mimi, Mommy and me, Daddy at my party. Uncle Dylan took the photo. Uncle Travis is at school in Spokane and Poppop is at work in Everett. We had cupcakes and grown up snacks. Mom forgot to serve the ice cream. oops!

Hey you up there, do you see all my presents?!

oooh pretty bow

hmm, this feels weird....

but it sure tastes good!

YUMMY!

ooh look at my bead maze. I'm sitting at my new picnic table.

And here is my cool Longaberger toy basket!

Yummy Yummy!

Reese had his first taste of fudgesicle today.

And creamsicle.
He found both to be quite tasty. He actually bit the tips off and ate the chunks without letting any spill out of his usually drooling mouth.

Then later when he was fighting sleep I went in to discover a standing boy!! So far he has only pulled himself all the way up to standing when he's pulling up on Mommy or Daddy. Well this is the first time that we actually witnessed the accomplishment anyway. He is suddenly getting to be Mr. Coordination!

the tooth struggle

After quite an ordeal and many, many wasted photos (thank goodness for digital) this is the best shot of the TWO teeth that I can get.
Yesterday after a 3 hour nap I asked Kyle to poke his head in to make sure the boy was in fact alive. He said come quick! They boy was laughing, on his knees, holding the railing working on standing up...time to lower the mattress again? I actually won't be able to reach him unless he sits up if we lower it further.
His new favorite game is to bang on the heating vents. The one in the kitchen is on the floor immediately next to the cat's food, so tipping the water bowl is another fun game. I've moved the cat stuff to the bathroom so he can go in there without us shrieking at him. We're quite sick off mopping up full bowls of cat water. Eating coupons has also become a favorite past time.
So my whole mommies' group (except me) is expecting or adopting. We have an April due date that we've known about forever it seems. Last week we found out we have a July due date and yesterday we found out we have a May due date. The only mom that already had 2 kids is in the thick of the adoption process and we're waiting with bated breath...a February "due date" perhaps. I must admit I am not just a little bit jealous. I do not actually want a 2007 baby followed by a 2008 baby, but I would like a 2009 baby. For nursing school purposes we decided to wait until I graduated which would make it Summer 2010 at the earliest. All my mommy friends will be on their third by then!! They will be tired and stressed with one year olds and infants so perhaps they'll let me hold their new babies enough to get my fill.

FYI

Sorry, no photo. Just writing to let you know we moments from death from this crappy flu. And no I did not get the flu shot, but Reese did as did the only sick person I've encountered in the previous week. SO, we have a strain not covered in the shot and let me just say it totally sucks. I went to the doctor Friday and got the new flu meds and took my first dose about 20 hours after the tightness in my chest began. Kyle went the next day and started his first dose about 8 hours after his chest tightness began. I am dying and he feels basically normal. SO the moral of this story is don't piddle around. If you feel tight, wheezy (actually I think the wheezy part came a little later), headache or fever go to the doctor asap and get the flu meds. You have a small window from onset in which they can even prescribe the meds, but clearly the quicker you get it going the better. I had a 101 fever for most of Saturday, but today I woke up fever free....yippee! But also basically no voice. Reese is sneezing gigantic amounts of snot. It is super gross. Kyle thinks it's worthy of the guiness book of records almost every time. Luckily the flu meds worked for Kyle so my poor baby had some parental supervision! Friday night I got up with him from 3 am -3:45am, but Kyle got up at 5am AND 7am. That is the first time for Kyle to get up before 9am with the baby by himself. Today I got up at 7am (back in bed by 7:30am) but when I opened my eyes about 11:30am the bedroom door was closed and Kyle was gone, so I have no idea what time he got up with the boy. Kyle even had to give Reese a syringe of antibiotics ( another first) for his ear infection. So I just thought I'd let you know we weren't out doing some great fun stuff that would result in fabulous family photos on Monday. I am so disappointed I'm missing my book club today.

So don't forget to get to the doctor asap if you feel any flu symptoms! If you wait you get no meds!

Suzy Homemaker

Here is my Home Management Binder. This will be our "master plan" for how things will be organized in our home. My friend, Anya, introduced me to the concept and I think it could work to keep us on track. So this is my groovy cover....you may of course choose a binder with a clear pouch cover so you can slip your own decorated page in, but I had this binder on hand for school.

My first section is calendars. I printed out monthly calendars starting last October so we could note appointments made far in advance and vacation and such. We have a white board single month calendar on the fridge, but I did this to have a place to keep the info for things not of THIS month. Obviously, you would make your calendars as suits your activities. I imagine someday I'll need weekly calendars for each child to note their activities. For now Reese's social engagements are essentially my social engagements, so monthly has been working quite well for us since October. I also have a single page listing everyone's birthdays.

My section 2 is Chores. Note the joyous attitude to greet us when we delve into our chores.

I created a page for each day except Friday and Saturday. Every other Friday is Payday and we'll do the basement for sure plus anything else we add on payday. The non-payday Friday is a piddle around day as will be EVERY single Saturday. So we decided what we wanted to do and then assigned it a day. Load and Empty dishwasher is on every day, as is clean counter tops.

My next section is meal planning. This area will have a pocket for coupons that I have not added yet. I'm also keeping a list of favorite recipes' ingredients. The name of the recipe followed by a list of non-staple ingredients. I will not be rigid about it. What we've been doing in 2008 is kind of deciding what we want to eat this pay period and then deciding on the day which thing it will be as opposed to rigidly saying "we will eat meal x on monday the 1st". I will also note any new recipes I really want to try so when we do our plan we won't forget to include it in our plan.

Our last section (for now) is home repairs and organization. This is where we'll keep our brainstorming lists for stuff we want to do with the house. We also have our priorities list, so when we get some money we remember what we wanted to do first. We'll keep names and phone numbers of recommended worker bees. We'll also keep estimates we get for big projects we'll need professionals for.

So...this is our organizational plan, obviously your needs may be different and you would plan your sections accordingly. You probably want photos of your own kids or pets or whatever to depict each section. Just be prepared to accept they won't be as cute as our Reesie photos!!

Hmm....what's this slimyness?

I talked with my friend, Anna, in Connecticut whose son was born in May (Reese's due date). She gives her son cut up bananas and sweet potato, etc. Since her baby is Reese's corrected age I guess I've been too cautious with food. But baby food and purees are so much easier---there is no retching and gagging and projectile vomiting. So anyway, today we tried banana just cut into small pieces. It was a bit slimy for him to get a grip on it so Kyle offered up a spoonful.He's not too sure about it. He spit out several bites, not sure if he ingested any at all really. He also had a few gerber star shaped puffs (Also recommended by Anna) He liked those well enough. He got to try out his new high chair tray. We had planned to just push him up to the table, but with that set up there is only a lap belt and no sides to hold him in. Candy Gram did not approve of my bathrobe belt as the only thing between her grandson and splatting on the floor so she ordered the tray which also has a between the legs brace, so he's very secure now.

Reese has had a fever since yesterday. The highest was 102. I would've taken him to the pediatrician for that, but since it was night that wasn't an option. I didn't think it warranted an ER visit. SO.........he has whined and whimpered and been generally needy. I held him today the entire time Kyle was at work except once for a potty break and the 20 minutes I tried to make him sleep in his crib while I debated the political candidates on the phone with my friend. Shannon. Apparently we have a caucus on Saturday but our ballots aren't due until the 19th, so I'm very confused....I suspect our primary votes will mean zilch and I'm pretty offended. I mean really, what's so special about New Hampshire-ians? It's sort of overwhelming with so many candidates, but I am kind of excited that we still have so many choices. I feel like last election was already narrowed to the ticket runners by this time.
So anyway, I did nothing but hold Reese all day, so my wonderful hubby is out braving the snowy roads to procure us some highly fattening sustenance.

A Tooth!

Why no, you can't see my tooth!Well, maybe if you look SUPER hard you can see it.

Reese's first tooth is coming in on the bottom. It is just barely cut, mostly you have to feel it. He is standing holding on to the chair in these photos, which he loves to do, though he's not really trying to pull himself up yet. He is crawling like lightening though!