Friday, July 30, 2010

The Connors Come to Town

One of my best friends from my Furman days came to visit us a couple of weekends ago along with her precious family (and Caleb...kidding!!). I have known Faris for over 10 years now (gah...I'm getting old) and we always pick up where we left off. We get to see each other about once a year and hopefully as our kids get older we can make it more regular. Her oldest daughter, Eliza Faris, is 2 and some change, and her youngest, Ryals, is 6 days older than Reese. So, obviously Reese and Ryals are gonna get married!! This was the first time The Garvins had met Ryals and the first time the Connors had met Reese, so it was lots of fun. They were headed down to Florida for vacation and made a pit-stop for the night at our house. We had such a great time visiting with them...much different than last summer. They did the same thing last summer but Faris and I were both pregnant so we were very tired and couldn't partake in the adult beverages. This year we were still very tired, but wine usually makes everything better! It was really fun to see Reese interact with the girls. He's been around a few other little kids, but not for long periods of time or very often. They got along pretty well, actually. Ryals did try to give Reese sugar a couple of times and he wasn't too sure about it. But that's okay with me...at least for the next 35 years or so. Hopefully Faris and her crew will make this visit a yearly tradition. As our families continue to expand (Lord willing) it will get a little crazier, but that's okay...crazy lives here permanently!


First meeting


Reese couldn't decide between EF and Ryals

Already taking on each other's mannerisms...so meant to be!



The Pops feeding the Tots


Ryals is all little girl and Reese is all little boy...too cute!


Mommies and Babies...obviously it's really hard to get three small children to all look at the camera.
The Connor Family: Caleb, Eliza Faris, Faris, and Ryals

Thanks for visiting! Hope to see y'all again soon! By the way...check out the shenanigans for the Connor Family at http://connorfamily.wordpress.com/

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

I Say a Little Prayer...

Please be in prayer for my friends Meaghan and Patrick and their sweet new baby daughter, Bella. Bella was born last week 9 weeks early and will be in the NICU for several weeks. She is doing remarkably well and is going to be fine. But all prayers are needed and appreciated. I know most of my readers out there know Meaghan and Patrick, so are already familiar with what is going on. But I wanted to send it out in the blogosphere so those who didn't know this sweet family (they have another daughter, Ava, who is almost three) would keep them in your prayers. Meaghan does have a blog, so please visit www.babykcountdown.blogspot.com for updates and pictures. Thanks!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

New Play Pen

Mommy forgot to shut the door to Ella's crate, so Reese decided to crawl in and stay awhile! At least he didn't go for the water bottle!

Whoa, Big Baby!

Reese had his 9 month well-baby check up Monday and he is progressing through his first year at a very rapid pace! He weighs 20.4 lbs and is 29 inches long! His head was 17 3/4 inches. He is right in the middle as far as weight. In the height department, this child hit a major growth spurt in the last three months. He jumped from the 15% to the 70% growing 3.75 inches in three months!! No wonder he has been a little fussy for the past few weeks...he was having growing pains! Basically, Dr. Cawley said whatever we're doing, keep doing it because he's pretty near perfect. He also said that he would bet that when he sees Reese at his 12 month check-up that Reese will be walking. I'm quite sure he's right! He's already stood up by himself with no help a couple of times. And he lets go of what he's holding onto and stands about 15-20 seconds before sitting down. Strong baby!! He's pretty solid. Lots of people have made the comment that he looks like he's gonna be a football player. That just makes me laugh...he's only 9 months old! Anyway...we are very blessed to have such a healthy baby and are enjoying every moment with him!

Friday, July 2, 2010

9 Months!?!

Dear Reese,
You are 3/4 of a year old! It has been a busy month for you, Sweet Baby! Right after your 8 month birthday you started crawling everywhere! You've been scooting for a while now, but you went from crawling a little bit last month to full out crawling. In the span of two days you started crawling on your hands and knees, sitting up by yourself, pulling to standing on whatever you can, and sitting back down from standing. Your balance is getting so much better! Mommy doesn't think it'll be too long before you're running down the hall. You're already cruising on the furniture like a big boy. Mommy and Daddy don't get to sit still very long if you're on the floor. The dining room and foyer are your favorite rooms to crawl to, I think because of the windows...you like to look out them. Another thing you are doing is saying da-da and ma-ma and actually meaning it. As much as it hurts Mommy to say it, you started with da-da first and still do it more often. Really the only time you say ma-ma is when you're upset and want your Mommy to comfort you.

Reese, you are still an eatin' machine and looooove mealtime. There are two times you crawl faster than I've ever seen you crawl...when you see Mommy or Daddy come home from work, or when you see your bottle. You also are loving your babyfood more and more. You are eating a little more babyfood than you were last month and don't really seem to tire of it. The only table food you've tried is a little watermelon (not a fan) and some peas (which you actually seemed to like). You still, however, do not have any teeth. Here's an example of what your day is like at 9 months:

Wake up anywhere from 6:15-7:00. If you get up early you just play in your bed until Mommy or Daddy gets you up between 6:45 and 7. Since it's summertime the early morning light tends to wake you up a little earlier. Bottle (6 oz) between 7-7:15. Play until breakfast time at 8:30 which is oatmeal and two kinds of fruits (you usually eat a couple of tablespoons of oatmeal and one total container of Stage 2 food). You go down for a nap between 9:15-9:45 and sleep anywhere from then until 11-11:15. Some days you have a long morning nap, other days you sleep 30 minutes. You get your next bottle (7 oz) around 11:15-11:30. Some days you don't eat all of this one. Then it's playtime till lunch at 12:30, which is the same amount of rice cereal as oatmeal and then you get veggies or fruit. Your next nap is around 1:30. That one goes anywhere from then till 3-3:30...again varying in length. Most days you get at least one good 1.5 hr nap. Then its another bottle (7 oz) and playtime till supper at 5:30 (same as lunch). On days you get a bath we usually do that around 6. Then it's light play with Mommy and Daddy until your bedtime bottle around 7. Sometimes you fall asleep during your bottle, other times you roll and crawl and cruise around your crib for upwards of an hour before you settle down and go to sleep. And we start over the next day! We usually get out and do something at some point during the day. If it's during your nap time you might fall asleep, but you rarely get cranky. If you're gonna be cranky, it's usually at night!!

You had your first visit to the lake this month for Ma-Ma's birthday. You wore your big boy life jacket and rode in the boat. At first you weren't too sure about the boat, but then you really liked it.

Reese, you are such a smart little baby and learn something new all the time. You continue to be such a blessing to us and we are amazed at how our love for you grows more and more everyday! We love you!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy



Busy, Busy Baby!

Mmmm...where can I go today and what can I pull up on? I know! I'll crawl down the hall and pull up on the mirror!
Nah...I'll crawl into the den and pull up on my swing!


Okay! Onto the kitchen to try out some cabinets.

Next, I'll try the sidelight by the front door. I like looking out the window!

Finally...something fun for me to actually get into! I knew my room was the best!
Got lots more to do today and it's only 9 am!