9 Months, VT and Teeth!

Reece turned 9 months old last Wednesday! Thursday we left for a 5 day trip to VT, and Monday Reece's first tooth finally appeared!

Things have been pretty busy lately. We've upgraded Reece to new car seats, he's now in a rear-facing convertible seat. We also made it through the first cold Reece brought home from daycare. Reece actually made it through pretty well, he was done in less than a week. Mommy and Daddy on the other hand, suffered for two entire weeks! He was a champ, he was only fussy during diaper changes, otherwise he was in a great mood fever and all. He's been standing on his own more frequently although he usually giggles and slowly lowers himself to sitting. He's also been walking along furniture. He can get anywhere he wants now, but he's not walking just yet.

We took a trip to VT to visit Tyler's family. Reece traveled wonderfully! He was great on the plane, he was great on car ride and he was great during the entire visit, especially since we later found out he was teething. Reece got to meet his third great-grandma Moriarty! He also got to meet more cousins and see Grandma Patty and Grandpa Chris again. We also had the opportunity to meet two other babies, one born on the same day as Reece! Two of Tyler's college friends still live in VT and all of the families were able to get together to introduce our beautiful babies.

We think the next big step will be a baby step! We think Reece is almost there. He is standing momentarily, walking along the furniture and pushing toys around while standing. Stay tuned, we may soon have an upright, mobile baby.

Trying to get a pic of the tooth!

The family in VT

Reece and Izzy (9 months, 4 days)

Reece and Great-Grandma Moriarty

8 Months Old

Reece turned 8 months old on Sunday! At 8 months old, Reece is about 17 lbs and about 28.5" long (based on our measurements). He is crawling like a pro and occasionally stands for a moment. He's pulling himself up on everything. He'll work his way around the bottom of our kitchen table and chairs without sitting but he isn't walking along furniture or walls yet. He's starting to climb on different things and he's made his way up one of his chairs. So far, we haven't found any foods that Reece is allergic to and he solid food pretty well. I've been making his food a little less pureed lately and he seems to be adjusting well. He's eating Cheerios and he's had grated cheese a few times. We've recently introduced broccoli and cauliflower to mixed reviews so we'll keep trying it. Reece is also now using the big tub! He absolutely loves bath time, he tries to pull himself up under the faucet when it's running and it's hilarious! He loves crawling around in the water, splashing and playing with all of his toys. It's also much easier for us because he isn't constantly trying to climb out of this tub!
Daycare has definitely improved and we are getting great reports when Tyler picks him up. He's having a good time and playing with the other kids as much as he can. This makes me feel so much better when I have to drop him off.

So curious!

Cheerio-face

In the big tub now!

Climbing...

What do you see Native?

Cheerios

We decided to add finger foods to the menu so we introduced Reece to Cheerios. Here's his first Cheerios snack!

Over and Under

Oh, and I checked on Reece yesterday when it was just way to quiet for anything good and he was on his third stair!

Roadblocks

Reece is having no problems getting to where he wants to go. Here's a video of Reece getting over Mommy pretty easily.

Building the shed...

So Tyler decided that he wanted to build a shed. So, we decided that he would! So far, two weekends into the project we have a nice, level floor structure. I even helped with that part. We both got to get a little stress out with plenty of hammering. I even got a little blister from my manual labor. So, here are a few pictures of our progress.

The posts were done the first weekend and Tyler and I did the frame last weekend.

The man and his work...

Everything is level and secure

I think Tyler enjoyed lopping off the top of the posts with the Sawzall the most so far.

Camping and Daycare

The view from our campsite

The family!

This was about an hour before sunset

Just being silly

The Morse family took a little trip this weekend. We met friends for a little overnight camping trip up in the mountains. It was Reece's first camping trip! Everything went well for most of trip. Unfortunately we under-dressed him when we initially put him to bed for the night so he woke up screaming! Once we were finally able to calm him down, we added one more layer and put him to sleep buckled in his infant seat which also allowed us keep him covered with his blanket. He went back to sleep and slept until 5:30. He seemed to enjoy being able to crawl around in the dirt despite my best efforts to keep him on the blanket. Except the one stressful hour, we enjoyed ourselves and had a great time.

Reece also had another first this week. Daycare! We found a wonderful lady just a few blocks from our house who has an in-home daycare. She's been doing home daycare for around 30 years and was currently watching a 3-year old whose father she had in her daycare when he was young.
His first day was really rough, I think he cried most of the day. His second day was a little better and I think his third day was much better. He seems to be adapting quickly and I hope it continues. Currently he's the youngest child right now, so I think he'll enjoy trying to keep up with the older kids.

Mobility!

Reece creating his very first masterpiece!
(Thank you Valerie!)

I think this was a carrot disaster.

Reece's other new skill!

Yes, he can stand, and this makes Mommy and Daddy very nervous.

Enjoying some delicious watermelon!

Reece is definitely a crawler! This is definitely his latest and greatest skill. He is all over the place! He chases me around the stairs, he chases the dog and he finds anything that he can use to pull up to standing. He's got a few new toys that he can stand to play at and he uses some of his old toys (as well as the couch, walls, our legs, the dishwasher, etc.) to stand and play also.
So far, we haven't found any food that Reece is allergic to or doesn't like. His diet now includes plenty of veggies as well as watermelon, peaches, apples and cantaloupe. We've also successfully added chicken, which took a few tries. He has a mesh thing that he can "eat" fresh fruit from that he loves. Since I make Reece's food, I've been making it a little more chunky and he seems to be adjusting to it. He does make some pretty funny faces at first. He seems to be eating pretty well as we are unfortunately phasing out mommy's milk and transitioning to formula. And he seems to continue to grow Reece-style, tall and skinny.
We are enjoying our last week of having our in-house daycare. Valerie will be starting school next week and Reece will be starting daycare. Tyler and I found a wonderful woman in our neighborhood who has a daycare in her home. She's had her daycare for around 30 years now and she seems wonderful. I'm sure Reece will be fine, but it's sure going to be hard to leave my baby with a stranger for the first time!

7 Months

Reece and Great-Grandma Lupe

Reece and Daddy in the pool

Reece and Maw Maw

Makayla, Russ and Reece

It's been quite a while. Reece turned 7 months old on July 29th. At7 months Reece was just beginning to crawl. Of course, as soon as he figured out how to crawl he immediately made his way to ANYTHING he could possibly pull himself up to standing.
We took our first long long trip to Louisiana to visit my family and Reece was wonderful. He behaved very well during the entire trip, and of course my family loved meeting him. He got to meet 2 of his three great-grandmas! Reece also got to meet 4 great-aunts and several cousins. We spent most of our time relaxing in Maw Maw's pool. Reece really seemed to enjoy the water. He did get dunked a few times and by the end of the trip, he wasn't too bothered by having his face in water. We also introduced Reece to watermelon and he loves it!
It was a great visit and it really made Tyler and I more confident for our next trip! We'll be going to VT at the end of September! We're looking forward to introducing Reece to Daddy's family and his third great-grandma!

Sitting, Splashing, Creeping

Here's a few videos of Reece showing off a few of his new skills.

6 Months Already...

Wow, time is flying by! Reece turned 6 months old last Tuesday. At his pediatrician appointment, his doctor said he was growing beautifully! He's following right along the growth chart Reece-style, long and skinny. He measured 27 1/2" in height and 15 lbs 14 oz in weight, 86th and 25th percentiles. He's eating more solid foods, his diet now includes rice, oatmeal and barley cereal, carrots, green beans, peas and sweet potatoes which are his favorite (carrots seem to be his least favorite). We just started bananas and so far, he's not quite sure about them yet.
He's not quite crawling yet, but he still gets around pretty well by rolling and by and "army crawl" style creep. He gets up onto his hands and knees but he usually either falls over to the side or faceplants. He's also gotten into a push up position a few times. He sits up pretty well, still with the Boppy because mommy's a little afraid that he'll bonk his head. He doesn't like to sit for very long though, he seems to prefer to be mobile. He's also started splashing in the tub and banging his toys on his highchair tray.
So far, everything is going well for our family. We're looking forward to heading south and east to show Reece off to the rest of our family!

Giggly Baby!

I was making faces and fart noises with my mouth making Reece giggle. I thought it was a cute video. Enjoy!

Carrots!

Today we decided to try feeding Reece carrots. The first time he ate them, he wasn't too sure but the second time he really seemed to like them. It wasn't too messy, he did get a little on his hands but thanks to big bibs, we kept the clothes pretty clean. We'll continue with the carrots for the next few days and next on the menu, green beans!
Reece has also been a little more steady sitting lately. If he's playing with something directly in front of him, he stays pretty steady but if he gets distracted by something to the side, he faceplants. We were sitting outside today and for the first time while he was sitting he actually brought his toy up to his mouth instead of leaning forward to bring his mouth to his toy.
Also, today we bought some new pj's for Reece and they were size 6-9 months! Our little string bean is getting too long for his 3-6 month clothes.
I can't believe how quickly he's learning and growing.

Naked talking baby and grass!

Reece was in his pack and play today, naked due to a wonderful blowout, and he was talking up a storm. He's been using his hands pretty well lately, and everything goes into his mouth of course.
It was a beautiful warm day today so we decided to eat outside and let Reece play with grass for the first time. I hope he's not allergic, but I guess we'll find out. He really enjoyed grabbing and pulling the grass.
As for other things, we've stopped swaddling him to sleep lately and he seems to be doing pretty well. He's getting better at putting himself to sleep for naps and he slept through the night for the past two nights. We really hope this continues! He's still enjoying eating solid food, we'll try oatmeal next.

Naked talking

Grass

Rice Cereal and Sleeping!

So, we tried solid food on the day of Reece's 4 month check-up. Ten days later, he figured out how to actually eat it. He really seems to enjoy it now and we're hoping it helps him stay full longer and help him sleep longer (and hopefully through the night again!)

First Try

I think it's going into the belly!

Rolling Over!

Reece is rolling over pretty often now, but here is a video from when he first started doing it consistently. I think you can hear me nagging Tyler about something in the background, oops! Sorry honey!

My First Mother's Day!

Mommy and Reece

Sunday was my first Mother's Day! It was wonderful! Reece was in a good mood all day long, I took advantage of the beautiful weather and got outside for the first bike ride of the summer. Tyler made a wonderful meal on the grill, steaks, veggie kabobs and baked potatoes, delicious! He even brought me flowers, I'm also looking forward to a massage that's yet to be scheduled.
I absolutely love being a mom. I've learned that being a mother is something you definitely have to experience for yourself, no matter how much you hear or read. I love being with my son and watching him grow and learn. Being a mother is an amazing thing. It's something that's wonderful to share with my own mother. I love you mom!
I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful family!

4 Month Check-up

Reece had his 4 month appointment last week and he's growing just fine! He weighs 14 lbs 4 oz and is 26.5 inches tall. He's meeting all of his developmental milestones as well. We had no major concerns at this appointment other than Reece not sleeping through the night a little more often. We asked about starting solids and our pediatrician said we could but it may take a while for Reece to actually eat. She gave us some information on how we should try. She was right, he has no idea what to do with a spoon in his mouth and pushes most of the food out with his tongue. It's pretty cute and quite messy but I'm sure he'll figure it out eventually.
Our next appointment is at 6 months and I'm sure there will be tons of growth and development then too!

4 Months Old!!!

Reece is 4 months old today and I completely forgot to take a picture of him! Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait until he's 4 months and one day.
Here's what Reece is doing at 4 months...

He's figured out that his hands can grab things and bring them towards his mouth and he gets quite a few things in there.
He's figured out that he can grab his bottle and bring it towards his mouth, although typically it ends up on his face or flipping out of his hands.
He loves his horsey jumperoo and we think that when he squeals in his jumperoo, he's trying to imitate the horsey noises it makes.
He can roll over, he's gone from his tummy to his back quite a few times and from his back to his tummy once. He hasn't figured out that this can get him anywhere... yet.
He still tries to go straight from a sitting position to standing.
He laughs at raspberries blown on his belly, on his legs and on his cheeks.
He laughs when you try to "eat" the same body parts as well as his arms.
He's ticklish on his legs, his ribs, under his arms and occasionally under his chin.
He also loves kissy noises on any body part.
He "talks" quite a bit, for some reason particularly when he's being changed. He's probably thanking us for getting him out of a dirty diaper!
He only has a small tuft of hair left on the nape of his neck.
We think he's learning the "more" sign when he eats. (We are going to try teaching him a few signs to help communicate.)
He typically sleeps from around 8:30 until 6:00, although his bedtime has recently been moving up a little bit. He also still sleeps better swaddled. (We love the Swaddle Me blanket!)
He loves seeing the "other" baby boy in the mirror.
And he loves bath time.

Our 4 month well baby visit is scheduled for next Friday along with his next set of immunizations. So, I'll be posting our new information next week.

A Few Thoughts...

I recently found out that a co-worker of a friend of mine has a 6 month old daughter who was diagnosed with cancer. I've met the co-worker a few times and have compared pregnancy notes via our mutual friend. It's the first child for both of us. Izzie's cancer is called retinoblastoma. From what I've read and heard, Izzie should be ok after treatments are finished. She will possibly be able to keep both of her eyes. I'm sure she and her family welcome any prayers and positive thoughts.

I decided to post this because it has helped me remember to keep things in perspective. I am so thankful for Reece's health as well as the health of all of my loved ones. It reminds me to enjoy the good things and not to take the time I get with my friends and family for granted. These people and these memories are what will get us through the hard times and they are also what we will look back on in the future and smile.
I figure if I can fill my "memory bank" with wonderful times, I won't have any room left for the bad ones. I hope that everyday I'll have at least one thing to look back on and smile, and hopefully most days will be filled with smiles!

A Morning with Reece

I took this video this morning before leaving for work. Reece was in a great mood and playing with his toys.

New Skills!

Check me out! I can hold my own bottle!

Reece is growing so quickly and learning so fast! Yesterday he rolled over from his back to his stomach! He's been grabbing his toys and pulling them towards his mouth. He's also trying to hold his own bottle, he'll actually try to grab it from us when we feed him.
He's doing really well overall. Lately, though he's had a little bit of cradle cap and it's spread to his forehead. We noticed that he was rubbing above one eye pretty often and after a closer look we saw a little rash. I called our pediatrician's office and the nurse assured me that it was just cradle cap and to wash his hair with a dandruff shampoo and to put cortizone cream on his face where the rash appeared. We've done that for about a week and all of the dryness and rash is clearing up nicely.
We've been waiting for this to happen and it finally did... Reece pooped in his tub during bathtime. We were having a great time, he had dandruff shampoo on his head and I just finished washing his arms and belly. I hear a little baby toot and then I see stuff float up to the top of the water. It took a second for me to realize what just happened and then more came! Luckily Tyler was around to help. I lifted Reece out of the tub while Tyler rinsed out the tub and refilled it.

Learning to sit...

So, this is what Reece does when we put him in a sitting position. Is it possible that he might completely skip sitting up and go straight to standing and walking?

Giddy Up Horsey!

Ok, I know I just posted a video of this, but I just had to show how much he's progressed! He's figured out how to make he sound come from the toy, and you can see how much more active he's gotten in it. He's going to town on his blue horsey!

Jumpin around!

Reece is loving his jumperoo! And it' definitely easier on the arms! When we first put Reece in his jumperoo, his feet didn't reach the floor, now a week later he can bounce from the floor. Here's a video from 3 days ago.

And here are a few cute pics.

At 3 months in his horsey jumperoo

Sucking on his fingers and picking his nose...

3 Months Already!

Reece is three months old today! He's growing so fast, he's right around 14 lbs and is just about out of his 0-3 months clothes and into his 3-6 months clothes. He's babbling, grinning, giggling and just being cute overall. He's already rolled over from his tummy to his back a few times and he's grabbing at his toys on his activity mat. We just got a jumperoo for him and he loves it. He's still a little small for it, but with my yoga mat folded in half below and a receiving blanket folded behind him, he goes to town. Most of the time he sleeps from about 9 or so until 5 or 5:30, sometimes he wakes up around 4:30 we swaddle him again and put his paci back in his mouth and he's all set.
Reece is becoming much more active. Tyler started sticking his tongue out at him and Reece tries to imitate him. It's very cute! We probably get the most smiles when he is on the changing table, he loves peek-a-boo and he smiles, giggles and babbles the whole time.
Work is going well, I love the long weekends and the extra time I get to spend watching Reece grow. It's nice to get back into a project and it's nice to have a schedule again.

Baby Bath Time!

We bought a new tub for Reece and bath time is a blast now! He really seems to be enjoying his bath time lately, he's actually been laughing and grinning through the last few. He loves to have water poured over him with the little "shower" cup that came with the tub.

Love my tub!

We also took advantage of the great weather yesterday and took a little trip to the dog park. Native definitely loved every minute and Reece actually was awake during part of it and took in the scenery, what he could see of it anyway.

All ready for the park!

Ticklish Spots and a few other things

Tyler and I found Reece's first ticklish spot, his little legs! He's really been grinning and laughing quite a bit lately. It's a blast to watch him grow, it's absolutely amazing!

He's beginning to realize that he's the one moving his toys on his activity gym, he reaches for one in particular that makes a noise when he touches it. He also rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first time! And he did it twice!

I've also decided to go back to work part-time. I'll be working Tuesday through Thursday with Mondays and Fridays off. I'm pretty excited about having the extra time to watch my son grow.

Aunt Jenny , thumb sucking and work...

Aunt Jenny finally got to meet Reece! We had a nice visit with Aunt Jenny this week. Reece loves Aunt Jenny and Aunt Jenny definitely loves Reece! We went for a walk, took in the Body Worlds exhibit at the museum and, of course, we did some shopping! Aunt Jenny brought some nice gifts for Reece as well.

Aunt Jenny eating Reece's cheek!

Reece has finally gotten his thumb into his mouth and he fell right asleep on Daddy with his thumb in his mouth. He's still can't get his thumb consistently, but he tries really hard and enjoys sucking on his fingers.

Daddy and Reece (thumb in mouth)

He's growing so quickly, he's smiling a bunch now and loves Peek-A-Boo. He enjoys his activity gym. He moves his arms and legs and gets excited and babbles when he hits his toys, but he still can't quite figure out what's making them move.
He's been eating well and gaining weight. We've been bottle feeding him mostly since I have to go back to work next week. I'm not looking forward to that, but we have someone watching Reece at our house so that will make it a little easier. So, as much as I'm not ready it's back to work I go...

Finger sucking

Reece is learning to put his fingers in his mouth and is beginning to suck on them. He's able to get his pacifier out of his mouth pretty easily now, so I'm guessing now that he can get his fingers in his mouth they will be replacing the lost paci. Here's a video of the finger sucking!

Two Month Checkup

We went to the pediatrician for Reece's 2 month checkup yesterday. The pediatrician said he looks great, he has a little cradle cap, but that's no big deal. He had to get his first set of immunization shots and that was no fun. It is very hard to watch your baby in pain though, and these weren't the little sticks like the ones when he was born, these were big sticks! He cried of course, but not for very long, it does feel good to know that we can console him when he's upset.
He's 11 lbs 7 oz which is 56%, 23 in. which is 69% and his head is 15 1/8 in. which is 23% so everything is in the normal range.
So far, everything is great and our little man is growing like a champ!

Bath Time!

Well, maybe this isn't so bad...

Reece is beginning to enjoy bath time a little more these days. He doesn't cry until we get to the shampoo part. And of course, we keep the fire hose covered.

Ok, another one!

So, I caught this one while Tyler was making silly faces at Reece. Thank you Daddy!

Smiles!!!

So, Reece and I had some errands to run yesterday which gave me the opportunity to dress him in something other than PJ's. I decided to take the opportunity for a quick photo and I actually got lucky enough for a smile! We're beginning to get more of these so hopefully I can catch a more soon.

Photo Shoot

Here is just a sampling of the photos we took when Reece was 1 week old!

My family!

More Photo Shoot

Grandmas!

Maw Maw Deb

Grandma Patty

Everyone!