Reese is ONE!

Last Sunday we celebrated Reese's first birthday with a birthday bash at our house. We had around 30 people in our house and we all had such a great time. Reese opened up WAY to many presents! We are so thankful to have such great family and friends that spent the day with us. Reese was not too fond when we were singing her Happy Birthday. She broke into tears and then wanted nothing to do with her cupcake. She was in awe of having 30 people stare and sing to her. We then had a little water party outside for all the kids, complete with a swimming pool, slip and side, and tents to play in. They were all worn out by the end of the day. Here is her birthday song meltdown :)

Happy Birthday Reese Isabelle!

Reflections

With Reese's first birthday approaching, I am sitting here reflecting on her first year of life and my first year as a mom. There have been many up and downs, and I have learned many lessons along the way. Reese is such a beautiful little girl in her mommy and daddy's eyes and we cannot wait to see what her 2nd year of life holds. As I sit back and reflect on my "new life" as now a wife, AND a mom, here are a few things I have learned along the way:

1. My love knows no boundaries when it comes to my family.
2. The first 3-4 months (actually the first year!) of Reese's life were all trial and error. I learned it's ok to make mistakes, as all new mom's do. But, I learned from them and it just makes me a better mom.
3. You can read all the baby books, take all the classes, and listen to everyone's advice, but EVERY baby is so different. I learned to be flexible and work to meet my daughter's needs, not what everyone thinks her needs should be.
4. Watching her grow and learn new things is such an awesome feeling. Knowing that I was a part in creating her is amazing.
5. I can have the worst day ever, but her smile and giggles ALWAYS make it so much better.
6. Nothing can come between a daddy and his little girl. She lights up when Kyle is around!

I know I have MANY more, but I'll save those for another time.

Here are a few things that Reese is doing at (almost!) 12 months old:
-Saying Dada, Mama, Jack (our cat), Papa (grandpa's), TaTa (water), and baba (bottle/bye bye)
-She will wave hi and goodbye (actually she will wave all day long)
-She can now take a few steps in a row on her own
-She gives high fives
-She can do the sign for "all done"
-Her favorite foods are peas, meat, and cheese (in that order!)
-Her least favorite are fruit (besides a banana), yogurt, squash, and sweet potatoes
-Open and close doors and cupboards
-Recognize people she has seen before (grandmas/grandpas, people at daycare)
-She still LOVES baths and water
-She is a very strong willed, assertive girl. She can "speak" her mind :)
-She has 6 teeth- top 4 and bottom 2

Pre B-day Bash

This past weekend my college girlfriends (3 from Chicago area, 1 from Springfield, IL) made the trip up to Madison to have a pre-birthday bash for Reese! Reese LOVED all the attention the girls gave her, and I had a great time seeing my friends interacting with her. We had a yummy lunch and then had cupcakes to celebrate. We sang Happy Birthday and opened presents too. She got such cute things! Some outfits, shoes, sunglasses, and a Taggy stuffed ladybug.
Kyle was on daddy duty Saturday afternoon so I could take the girls down to the Union Terrace on the lake to sit outside, drink beer, and catch up on each others lives. We joked about how we can tell we are getting older because our conversations 5 years ago on a Saturday would have included things like this:
"Have you guys seen my credit card from last night?" "Uh, I'm so hungover." "Did we seriously eat McDonald's at 4 am?" "Why does my body smell like tequila?"
It just so happens that now our conversations regard children, marriage, & work. Not quite in the same realm as 5 years ago! We had such a great time though and came back to the house to a wonderful dinner prepares by Kyle. We enjoyed sitting on our patio with a campfire that night. I am now in preparation mode for Reese's party this next Sunday. Lists are made and now it is time to start crossing things off!

We Have a Walker!

I am a little sad to see this day come for various reasons:
1. I lost the bet with Kyle
2. I now have to "chase" my daughter around
3. She is no longer my little baby

But I am so happy to see the look on her face when she takes a few steps. She gets so proud of herself! This video was yesterday, her first steps caught on video, and today she has done many more. She did about 12 steps today, towards Kyle's phone :)

Kitchen Project

The tile is finished! Now to get our new microwave in place above the stove!

Tile before grout

Mid way through

Before work

Weekend Re-Cap

This past week flew by since it was a 4 day work week, and before I knew it Friday was here. I'm not complaining about that one bit! Friday night we put Reese to bed and had what Kyle called an "adult dinner". Usually we eat when she does to make our lives a little easier, but we waited to put her to bed around 7 and then Kyle grilled marinated steaks. They were deeeelicious. We had time to catch up, have adult conversation, and actually talk about how our day was.
Yesterday we took Reese to a pool by our neighborhood and let her swim. She is infatuated with the water, and cries every time we take her out of it. It was a great day for it too, nice and warm. We then headed down to a friends house about 20 min away to grill out last night and Reese got to play with her friend Kai, who is 6 weeks younger than her.
We are in the last stages of "re decorating" our main level. We have it all painted now (thanks to my dad), we are in the process of getting a new kitchen table, as well as new furniture for the living room. The final piece is coming together today as we are putting up the back splash tile in the kitchen. Before and after pictures will follow soon!
I am getting excited/sad that Reese's first birthday is approaching (July 24). It has been SO much fun watching her grow this first year of her life, but I am sad that my little baby is now going to be a toddler! Time sure has flown!!!

The "Bells" and the 4th

Whew...what a weekend. So much packed into a three day weekend, but we had so much fun. On Saturday, Tim, Jody (a childhood friend), and Mason (3 mo. old) came up to Madison to spend the day. They arrived nice and early so the boys could get a round of golf in before we began our day. While they golfed, Jody and I headed down to the Farmers Market on the square and enjoyed the nice breeze, warm weather, and Starbucks coffee :) After lunch, we all headed down to the Union Terrace on Lake Mendota. What a nice day! We got a table in the shade, and enjoyed some beverages while Reese napped in her stroller and Mason got lots of cuddle time. We grilled out Saturday night, and had a blast sitting out on the patio and catching up. We had a great time.

Sunday we woke up and packed our bags to head to the Dells a.k.a the "Bells" (according to my 4 year old niece.) We went up with Kyle's brother, his wife, and their two girls (7&4). We had a great time at Noah's ark both days. Reese LOVES the water, so she had a blast. It was a great way to spend our 4th. We didn't see fireworks this year, but hopefully we can next year when Reese can stay up a little bit later.

Even though our weekend was packed, it was packed with fun. Now I need another 3 day weekend to recover :)