Hello.....anyone out there? I feel like this is the first line of so many posts in the last 2 years. To be honest, I've blogged in my head over the past 2 years and INTENDED to capture it on the keyboard, but when (and if) I have found the time to sit down, my beautiful words that I captured in my head are now no where to be found. Sadly, I wrote a blog probably last September about our first airline flight and left it as a draft until I could add the right pictures. I still haven't. Maybe sometime I'll publish it with or without pics. I thought about closing the blog down but on the off chance I have looked back on it it still brings me joy and the occasional tear to my eye. I recently re-read my post about when I finally could tell my blog-ily (that's blog and family put together) that I was pregnant (now more than 2 years ago) and I was overwhelmed with emotion and tears. I could actually feel the happiness through my own words. It was at that point that I decided I couldn't shut the blog down, but I still didn't know how to keep it up with a busy toddler on the loose in my house. And I still refer people to it to show them they aren't alone in their struggle. Can't take that away!
Early in January, I decided that keeping a page of notes
within my phone in an app (who needs paper any more?!) about things Reese does on a monthly basis was getting harder
and harder to track. When something good (or bad for that matter)
happened, I wouldn't write it down while the memory was fresh in my brain so
those lists were getting shorter and shorter even when I knew she was (and
continues) to grow and mature rapidly. So the second week in January, I
decided that each night I wanted to write down something that happened that
day. I have a reminder in my phone to do this too so it doesn't get
forgotten. It's also a great ending to my day, especially if it was a
hard day for whatever reason.
Maybe a few weeks after I started doing that I got the
notion that this would be how I kept up the blog. I could post monthly
(or more if time permitted) some of the fun stories that have happened in the
past month. There's a reminder in my phone for that too. Are you
beginning to see a trend blogites?!
So here's the first installment of that process.
Since I didn't post in January and February is nearly over, this one will have
some catch-up in it since it covers January and February events. Apologies
in advance if the post becomes long. (Smile) I will try not to talk about
every post I have in my phone, but she does an awful lot of
cute/sweet/funny/entertaining things. And away we go....
January 7 - my first post. I called J while I was
home with Reese and he was at work. She wanted the phone from me and
walked around the playroom with it held to her ear, babbling incoherently to J
or I. She was mimicking me it seemed. She doesn't talk a lot (even
at 20 months) but she surely understands what we are saying.
January 8 (I know I promised not daily posts, but this
day and two very sweet happenings that I must share) - When I dropped Reese off
at daycare, her normal teacher wasn't in her room at the moment, but happened
to be in a room that Reese could see thru the window. I took Reese to the
glass and she proceeded to knock on the glass as if to tell Ms. Teacher
"Hey, come over here. I need you!" Ms. Teacher saw her
and waved acknowledging her need. That evening, Reese and J were laying
on the floor in her room facing each other. Reese would babble and J
would imitate her back. At one point, she got up, walked over to him,
smacked him on the forehead (!) and then laid back down. It was the kind of
smack that said, "Dad, what the heck were you thinking saying that?"
Almost like he had said a bad word or something. I was laughing so hard.
January 16 - Reese's new favorite bedtime activity is to
sit on Daddy's back while he does push-ups and she balances.
January 19 - While putting Reese to bed, she was very
cuddly. I said, "are you ready for bed?" And she put her arms
around me, squeezed and then tickled the back of my arms. So simple, yet
so sweet all in the same moment.
January 24 - Another bedtime sweet story. While
rocking her tonight, she leaned back away from me and made the sign for love
(crossing her arms on her chest and turning from side to side) unprovoked, then
leaned in again and hugged me tight. Man, I love that little girl.
January 30 - Part of our morning routine at daycare now
includes giving another little girl hugs. I ask, "do you want to hug
*****?" And both girls practically run at each other, huge smiles on their
faces and hug/pat each other. This process is usually repeated many times
before I leave daycare in the morning.
February 1 - Reese has been going to a Mommy and Me
gymnastics class for about a month now. She has improved by leaps and
bounds, not only knowing what to do but letting the coach help her do things.
This morning, she let Coach K help her walk across the parallel bars on her
hands and feet. Then Reese actually held herself up for a few seconds on
the rings and bar (which she's never done before) and jumped on the trampoline
well with Coach K.
February 2 (I know another successive day) - I painted
Reese's toenails (a big deal to me) for the first time ever. She held
really still and then kept showing them to us and saying
"pretty." I think she loved them!
February 7 - Fairy Godmother (FG) came to visit today and brought Reese a bunny that allows FG to record her voice so Reese can hear it whenever she squeezes the bunny. She loved it! And she warmed up to FG almost right away even though she hasn't seen her since her 1st birthday almost a year ago. Warms my heart to see her love Fairy Godmother like I do.
February 8 (sorry, another in a row - was a great weekend) - Reese did wonderful at gymnastics especially because her normal coach wasn't there, but went to Coach K2 easily. And Fairy Godmother was there to watch it all and Reese kept waving to her and seemed excited to have more of an audience than just Momma. After Reese's nap, FG went in to get Reese, change her diaper and rock. FG was in there forever and as I watched on the monitor, they both looked so content just sitting, cuddling and rocking. I kinda though they both fell asleep. But they didn't. Just enjoyed each other's company! Then we Reese, FG and I went to the playground and Reese went down the big slides by herself probably 30 times, letting FG go with her and help too. Here's a sweet pic.
February 18 - I had a pretty easy day so I took Reese to open gym at the gymnastics studio. She had a blast! It's different from her gymnastics class because the kids can do whatever they want. She walked on the beam with Coach K2's help, jumped on the trampoline with Coach S, did "cartwheels" on her own and ran in circles having a ball. I was a proud mommy as we walked out because she let people help her without being scared. And I had quite a few other Mommies comment on how cute and sweet she was. Made my day!
February 21 - As I was getting ready for the day, Reese was playing in our bedroom. As I got ready to sit down and put on make-up, she came into the bathroom and pulled the stool out, then patted it for me to sit down. Then, when I was doing laundry she was helping and had to make sure the clothes were all the way in the washer. See below.
So now you have a look into our lives! I love my little girl and all the joy she brings. Toon in next time for more Reese-isms!
Thanks for sticking around!
