Little Daredevil

One recent afternoon we got out the inflatable pool to cool off. Reese had a blast jumping over the edge and into the pool. One of the times that she jumped in, she slipped and fell flat on her butt. I laughed, so of course she laughed too. The poor girl has been so attention deprived lately (so she thinks) so she was all too willing to do whatever to keep me laughing and my attention on her. She figured out quickly that if she ran a short distance into the pool that I would laugh. After that it didn't take long before she was running several yards away from the pool and then running and jumping in.

Beach Babies

Though we have had a boat for the past several years and have enjoyed using it, I think that this year will be the most fun yet! Reese loves the boat so much, she asks me everyday if we can go boating. One day, as I picked her up from her grammys we went outside into a dark sky full of storm clouds and winds whipping us in the face and she asked if we could go boating! Both of the kids absolutely love to play in the sand and water. This past Sunday Randy and his parents got the boat out into the water while the kids took an early nap. When they woke up around 1, I got them sunscreened and dressed and Randy met us at the dock to pick us up. We got to the beach and the kids were so busy playing that they forgot to eat. About 2 hours later, Reese complained that she was hungry and finally sat down long enough to eat the lunch I had packed. About that time, Aidan started getting crabby. I tried for 30-45 minutes to get him to lay down and get to sleep on the boat, but to no avail. Finally, I got him some ice which helped to cool him down and soothe his sore gums and he calmed down. We played a few hours longer and finally came in around 7pm. Both kids went straight into the tub to wash out all of the sand and river water. Aidan was so tired he went straight to bed without any supper. After dinner I sat down to watch tv and almost fell asleep on the couch. I had to force Reese to go to bed at 9:30 so that I could finally get to bed! It was an exhausting day, but so worth it!

Aidan 15 months

Today we had Aidan's 15 month check-up. He has gained almost 3 pounds and grown just about 2 inches! He definitely does not look or act like a baby anymore! He has had a cough since the whole chocking incident, so we got more antibiotics to treat the ongoing congestion. We also got a referral for an orthopedist as Aidan's right leg turns out and his foot rolls in so that he is almost walking on his ankle. Though he walks, he almost drags his foot along behind him, never using it as his lead foot. Though the doctor thinks that he will likely outgrow it, he thinks that it might be a good idea to just have it checked out. Finally, his fontinel has almost closed, which helps me to breathe a sigh of relief. After our last visit I researched it and came up with all kinds of scary reasons for the fontinel to remain open or close so slowly. Thankfully, all looks good now!

Beep! Beep!

While shopping tonight, I was walking on one side of the main aisle while Reese kind of wandered around the remaining space. I asked her to move closer to me and hold onto the cart. I was still asking her to get over when she came upon an older woman on her side of the aisle. Reese walked right up to her and said, "Beep, beep!" I say this all the time at home because one of the kids is always underfoot and in danger of being stepped on or tripped over. I was absolutely mortified and sure that the older woman wasvery angry at me and my rude daughter, though she said nothing. I held back my laugh, and reprimanded Reese for being so rude and we continued on our way. It is so hard not to laugh when she uses these phrases in the right context!

Dancing Queen

This past weekend we attended a wedding. Reese loves to dance and was so excited for the music to start and the dancing to begin. During the whole dinner and wedding stuff (cake cutting, bride and groom dance etc) we played with the kids on a deck at the venue. Here she is taking a break from playing.
Finally, when the music started for the dance, Reese sprinted to and was the first one on the floor. At first she just ran around in cirlces, pretty much preventing anyone else from even entering the dance floor.

After a few minutes she was absolutely drenched in sweat and began to do some actual dancing. Awhile later I noticed that she kept leaving the dance floor and leaning against the wall. Upon closer inspection, I realized that she was leaning over an air vent to cool off and watch her dress blow up around her! Here she is standing over the vent with her uncle Derek.

She got her Grammy and Grampy to dance with her.


Towards the end of the night she actually went out to the tables surrounding the dance floor and dragging people onto the dance floor to dance with her! I lost her at one point during the night and started walking around looking for her. I found her talking to some girls, who said that she had asked them to come dance with her! Such a little social butterfly!
We had a long drive home and an early morning ahead of us, so we had to leave around 9. Randy and I packed up the car while the kids danced some more with their grandparents. Finally we said goodbye and loaded into the car. Randy carried Reese kicking and screaming that she was not done dancing yet! I told her that we had planty of weddings and dances coming up this summer. Now everyday as I get ready for work, Reese is asking me if we get to go to a wedding! She also began singing the hokey pokey this morning!

Hairdresser

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have had basically the same hairstyle most of my life. I keep my hair between chin and shoulder length, blow dry it straight and wear it with a part down the middle. Anytime I have looked remotely different, I have had somebody else do my hair. It is not that I love this look so much that I continue to wear my hair the same way, as much as it is that I am completely useless with any type of hairstyling equipment. Once in 8th grade I attempted to trim my own bangs. My hair was still wet, I held my bangs straight out and cut straight across. I was left with about 1 inch of bangs which looked completely ridiculous. I bawled and begged my mom to let me stay home from school, but there was no getting out of it! When I found out I was having a girl, I was excited about all of the pretty dresses and clothes that I would be able to dress her up in, but was absolutely dreading having to do anything with her hair. Thankfully, Randy's sister is awesome at doing hair and loves to do it, so we have had her do Reese's hair for the weddings or special events we have attended so far. This past weekend we had a wedding to go to and she was unavailable to help out. Not wanting Reese to go to the wedding all dressed up pretty in her dress with her wild, out of control hair, I decided to attempt an updo. After washing her hair, I brushed her hair with her part slightly off center. I then took a few strands and braided them. Finally, I pulled the rest of her hair back into a ponytail, leaving the ends secured in the rubberband like a bun. To cover up the rubberband, I used one of her old silk bows. Though it was fairly simple, it turned out very cute! I have a feeling that this could become Reese's go to look for wedding and special events in the future.

Look out world!

As little as a week ago, I was worrying about whether Aidan was still only walking along furniture because he was too scared to let go or because there was something wrong with his development. All of a sudden last weekend he started letting go and walking into the middle of the room! We went from worrying whether or not he would walk to wondering if he will ever sit still again! He usually stands kind of sideways and often he has one hand moving around wildly in front of him. I call it his "Zoro walk" because he almost looks like he is sword fighting someone! So cute! Sometimes he will walk straight ahead and then he looks like Frankenstein. Both of his hands reach out in front to keep him balanced and his little legs quickly kick out in front of him. He is so proud and wears a grin from ear to ear!