A Visit to TX

In early March I headed to TX with the kids (and Meme and Papa) so that we could be there for Anthony's birthday! (One day maybe we will make Lucas' party :)

We had such a great time. Mel decided that for Anthony's party, we would all go to the recycling center and watch the trucks! She even made these precious t-shirts for the kids to wear. They had a blast.

The cousins got along great!

I had to get a picture of Anthony's bear hug :)

At the recycling center.

James' new thing is pushing Reese around in the stroller.

Whoah! Look at all that "trash"!

The boys were fascinated watching the truck through the window.

They even got to see the conveyer belt in motion.

The truck kept pushing all this stuff in one big pile.

I think it was this little girl's nap time, but she did great just watching the boys.

Watching a film on recycling and trucks

The men on their gadgets ;)

Back at home, Papa helped Anthony with his drum skills.

One of the highlights of visiting the Mamminas is the play set in the back yard.

James just LOVES it!

The next morning was Anthony's "actual" birthday.

Donuts for breakfast!

Thanks for inviting us! We loved celebrating with you all!

Reese is 9 Months!

On February 27th, Reese turned 9 months old :)

Isn't she just the sweetest thing?

(I think I say that on every month's blog post :)

Some things to remember at this point:

*She is waking up for 1 late night feeding then sleeping around 8 hours.

*Only taking a morning and an afternoon nap.

*She loves solids and we have to "sneak in" the baby food...

she eats a whole cut up banana some days.

she eats just about anything small and soft- chicken, yogurt, squash, french fries!

*Can get from tummy to sitting position

*Rocking on hands and knees, but still not crawling!

*She wrinkles her nose and squints her eyes and breaths in and out through her nose really fast.....it's soooo funny! She knows it will make us laugh :)

James always wants Reese to watch TV with him :)

I love these moments

(they are rare these days!)

Reese's Baptism

Reese was baptized on January 29th, 2012. It was such a special time and we were so thankful to have family there to be a part of it. Justin and I stood in front of family and members of the church and promised to teach Reese the love of Christ, be Christ-like models to her, and pray for her to one day receive Christ as her Savior. What a special moment that is also a lasting one!

James did a great job waiting in the pew.

Listening to Pastor Sandy

James got a little restless on the stage and I think even lied down on the floor one time! Yikes!

Mike Stokke baptized Reese. He also was the one who baptized James two years ago. He has been an incredible mentor to Justin and me over the years.

Family Picture

Grandad attended the service too!

Nonie and Pops stayed at our house for a bit.

James and Reese loved playing with them.

Sweet Reese in her beautiful gown that Aunt Cassie made. Thanks Cassie!

Love these kiddos

They love each other too!

We pray that Reese and James will grow up loving, serving, and trusting the Lord.

And we pray that we as parents will guide them wholeheartedly to walk in the ways of Christ.

Reese is 8 Months!

On January 27th, Reese turned 8 months old.

Weight- 16 lbs 5 oz

Length- 26 1/4 in

Head- 17 in

Still trying to "lean"!

Definitely getting harder to capture her monthly pose.

Reese is:

*Sitting great now

*Trying to rock from sitting position to hands and knees

(she somehow gets on her hands and knees with her feet still under her knees)

*She still smiles at everyone, but mainly while mommy is holding her...experiencing stranger anxiety

*Longest stretch of sleep this month is 6 hours! Argg! Waking every 3-4 hours at night. (I blame it on her distractions during the day causing her to not want to nurse)

*Eating great - puffs, cheerios, cut up banana. Loves squash baby food.

*Attempting to drop 3rd nap

Well, good ole' James just can't help himself when he sees Reese sitting there.

Can you tell by Reese's expression that he pushed her over again?

I love James' expression as well - GUILTY!

She forgives and forgets easily though :)

Occasionally we see this pose with her tongue out ;)

Random, but one rainy day, James and I built his first fort! He even got to eat lunch under it on a blanket!

Reese is 7 Months!

This past December, Reese turned 7 months old. I guess with the holidays, I missed writing down a whole lot, but I managed to take a few cute pictures.

Here she is!

Cutie Pie

I had to watch her a little more closely because she kept wanting to lean forward on her hands and rock back and forth.

She LOVES her jumper!

James loves giving her plenty of toys to play with.

Reese can sit really well at this point, but we put the boppy behind her a lot, because big brother thinks it's funny to push her over :(....poor thing.

Sweet Daddy and Reese picture.

We love how when she is happy, she shakes her head up and down and back and forth. It's sooo funny!

Whenever James sits on the couch, he wants Reese to sit right beside him. He thinks she can do a lot more than she can ;)