Happy B-day Aunt Stacey!

Today is my sister-in-law's 28th b-day and we since we couldn't be with them to celebrate, we sent her some b-day wishes!

I saw this in a magazine and thought it was cute...I think I'll have to keep doing it for other family members birthday's...I should get a little white board...hmmm...the wheels are turning.

Hope you had a good one, Stace!

A night out...

Jared and I were very fortunate to get a night to ourselves...okay, so we didn't just spend time with ourselves, we hung out with friends too, but it was sans baby!

Grammy and Grampy volunteered to watch Reef as they have an upcoming trip to Arizona to visit friends and they wouldn't see their grandson for a week. They came over and we chatted and played a game of Spinners before we left for our night out. Spinners is a very fun game that is used with special dominoes. It kind of reminds me of chicken foot or mexican train dominoes, but with a "wild card" the spinner dominoes. The spinner dominoes look like a curvy * and you can play them anywhere. Pretty fun.

I was a little nervous about Reef's bedtime because he usually nurses to sleep, but when Cyndi called me around 8:45 I was sure it was a struggle. It went PERFECTLY! She said he took a little milk from a bottle *which he hardly does anymore* and fell asleep within a few minutes! She had to hold him for awhile...who doesn't love to hold a peaceful sleeping baby...and when she laid him in his crib, he stayed sleeping! HOORAY! When we got home around 12:30 he had just woken up around midnight and was struggling to fall back asleep (I think he liked rocking with Grammy!) and I nursed him and he slept until 8:15! Yea, Reef!

We had a great night with food, friends and FUN! Can't wait to do it again. Thanks Grammy & Grampy!

Reef goes BONK!

Reef and I went out to lunch with Lindsey today (Carlos O'Kelley's!) and had a great time chatting and eating yummy mexican food! I let Reef try my rice, but he DID NOT like it! After lunch we went grocery shopping and then headed home. It was a pleasant afternoon.

This evening we had a "girls night" with kids at Breanna's. Jared got to stay home and relax, watch movies and play video games while Reef and I played at Breanna's. It's so convenient for her to host since she has the most kids! We enjoyed DaVinci's 5 cheese pizza and some wine and just time to let loose! Reef was cruising around the coffee table chasing after Ella having a good time when she stopped and wanted me to help her with a blanket. I was helping her fold it when Reef took a couple steps toward the blanket and all of a sudden Ella let go of her side and Reef went BONK onto a wooden rocker. OUCH! He surprised me by not screaming that much and was comforted by good ol' "boob milk." I thought it was just the little scratch under his eye when Dez told me to check out above his eye and sure enough there was a small goose egg. I put an ice pack on it right away and it really helped.

He did NOT sleep well tonight and I can understand why! In the morning he just had a small bruise and no bump! These pictures are from Saturday afternoon and you can barely see the bruise! I'm sure this will be the first of many!

Watching the twins

Reef and I watched the twins again today while Breanna was subbing at McPhee. It was a pretty good day with Reef being the only stinker...Oscar was only a stinker when he was drinking a bottle and decided to throw up the entire 3 oz he had drank all over the couch and himself!

Reef has definitely been in the momma's boy stage and if I even take a few steps across the room (when we are not at our house) he starts whining/crying and crawls after me. He does this for Breanna and Jen when they watch him too. But when there are many people around, he doesn't care where anyone goes. I cannot wait for him to get out of this stage!

While we were at Breanna's Reef found one of Ella's princess wands and was playing with it, so of course, I had to get a picture of him with it! I just never know what he is going to find interesting enough to play with next!

After Bre got home we took a shorter walk just to pick Ella up from school. I forgot to mention that we had lost Reef's hat on our walk yesterday (boo!) and was hoping to find it on our walk today....and we did! (yea!) I had an idea of where it was on our walk that we lost it, so we started looking around the area and it was lying in someone's yard on the way to the Montessori! I was sure we wouldn't find it, and someone had found it and taken it (there are lots of families in the neighborhood where her school is) but we were lucky to find it!

Fat Tuesday

Happy Mardi Gras! I didn't work today and it was a beautiful day so Breanna and I loaded up the boys and took another long walk. First she and I walked to the mall in the morning and had lunch and then around 2 we headed outside with our friend Dez and walked the Mopak trail from her house (Cotner & Vine) to 94th & A street. We turned around and when we got to 84th headed north so we could pick Ella up from preschool (around 80th & O) and then back to her house. It was about a 2 1/2 hour walk that felt good and was fun!

NEW TOY!

Reef has been enjoying his new toy....the car seat box! I knew instantly that it would be a hit when we loaded it in the cart! I was pretty darn excited too as I thought he would get a kick out of it.

I showed him how to get in and close the flaps (yes, I can fit in it too!) and he laughed so hard when I popped out! He has been mimicking me by getting in and closing the flaps, too. It's pretty funny to see and I'm sure it will be a fun toy for awhile!

LONG NIGHT

Randomly we decided to have people over and we actually had quite a few show up. Steph, Verne and Crew were the first to show up around 8. We had a good time watching the boys play for a little bit before they both fell asleep. Ivy & her sister Gina showed up around 10ish with Joe following closer to 11. Lindsey finally came at 1 am (yes, I know, REALLY LATE) after she had a night of bowling with some of her other friends.

We played Apples to Apples and had a good time chatting until around 2 when we all decided it was time to go to bed.

Reef decided that it got too quiet and woke up at 2:30 and didn't go back to bed until 3:30, which meant that I didn't get to sleep until around 3:45! He woke back up around 7:30 and was ready to stay up for the day...hrrumph! I was NOT a happy camper. 4 hours of sleep is not enough for me. I don't think I will stay up that late for awhile...at least not until Reef is sleeping through the night again! :)

Lazy Crete weekend

Mom and Dad watched Reef again today so we headed down after school/work. We had a relaxing night eating a yummy casserole and singing Irish songs with Deb and Kurt (mom and dad's best friends.) Reef slept pretty good, as compared to last time we were in Crete. We were a little loud with the singing and he woke up at 10:30ish. I finally let him cry himself to sleep around midnight and we followed at around 12:45! Reef then woke around 5am and the only way he would go to sleep was for me to let him nurse in bed-lying down- and then just sleep with me. I try not to do this too often, but in order to get some more sleep, you gotta do, what you gotta do!

We were finally up for the day around 7:30am and that was fine for me! We hung out in Crete until about 4pm and then headed home.

Here are a couple photos from the last time we were in Crete!

8 months old

We had a very exciting day today for Reef's big 8 month birthday! To start off our day Grammy picked us up and took us to Wal Mart. I had to get our taxes done and she needed to do some shopping, so it worked out that she could entertain Reef while the taxes got done. Of course she had to get him a "birthday" gift that turned into 2 gifts!

Next we headed to the Cracker Barrel for some lunch. I love that place, but since it's on the north side of town, we hardly ever get there. I made sure I got some things that Reef could munch on too...green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole( a little too sweet, but Reef got a treat.)

After lunch we went to Sam's club to get a few items and ended up with a cart full. They had a Graco convertible car seat for only $64 and since Reef is ALMOST out of his infant carrier (it holds 30 lbs/30 in. and Reef is nearly 30 in. and 20 lbs) we had to get it...THANKS GRAMMY AND GRAMPY!

After this great day we headed home and had a nap and then enjoyed our evening with my friend Susan coming over for dinner and daddy working late on a project for Jamie & Kim Mackovica (sp.)

Doesn't Reef's hair look really red in the top picture? Whenever he is near orange or red things, it really brings out the auburn in his hair!

First Step...

So tonight Reef took his first step without holding on to anything and he got a face full of foot...my foot that is. For some odd reason, Reef loves chewing on toes...his toes, my toes, Jared's toes...YUCK! He was standing up with the footstool when he launched himself forward with one step and ate my foot! I was so shocked because I was talking on the phone and could just see out of the corner of my eye the action!

He has been getting pretty brave lately so I knew it would be happening soon. He'll stand up and then take his hands off the object and raise them in the air, I'm guessing mostly for balance, but sometimes it looks like he's doing it to say, "Look mom, no hands!" Hehehe. He's growing up too fast, but I love every minute I have with him.

I had to have a picture, but this one is old...Jared stuck one of the dog's toys (although Reef likes it better than Enzo) in Reef's pants to make it look like a tail or stinger... :)

Reef's first trip to the dentist

Reef came with mommy to the dentist today as she had her 6 month check up. He was a pretty good boy until about half way through and he did NOT want to sit politely in his car seat any more. The hygienist just had to polish and Dr. Lacey had not yet been in yet, so we gambled and had Reef sit in the chair with me. It worked perfectly. He got a travel size box of toothpaste to gnaw on and he intensely watched as she finished me up.

Once Dr. Lacey came Reef was intrigued by what he was doing to me (do I see dentist in the future?) and watched him very closely. Dr. Lacey even checked out Reef's teeth, as small as they are, and gave us a baby/kid toothbrush to start using. This is now Reef's favorite teether and I figure, it can't be bad to let him chew on a toothbrush a couple times a day...it just will get him in the habit, right? :)

The pictures are from today and Tuesday!

Chicken!!!

Today Reef dined on some chicken and really enjoyed it. He had some chicken from my chicken strips (sans breading) for lunch and then some baby food chicken for dinner mixed with his squash.

He didn't seem to mind either, but I know he loves feeding himself! I gave in and bought Gerber's meats to make it a little easier and to introduce them to Reef. I think I'll only buy one jar of each of the chicken, turkey, ham and beef (NO VEAL) to get his taste buds perked, and then we'll do little bits our our meat for him to gum and mash with his 2 teeth!

It's been so fun to introduce new things for Reef to try. I will definitely be a pro by the time baby #2 is ready to eat (which will be approx. 2-3 years from now, if anyone is wondering!)

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a busy V-day. Daddy had to work this morning finishing up a job, so mommy and Reef played all morning. Grammy and Grampy took us out to lunch at Texas Roadhouse and we stuffed ourselves with great food and enjoyed some great valentine gifts!

We had a lazy afternoon, but Reef got a bath and mommy painted her fingernails a festive valentine's design! Then we were off again to Pat and Breanna's to chow down on pizza and play games with their family and Rog & Alisha's fam. Our friend Dez also made an appearance and we had a good time! We played Catch Phrase, which I hate to admit, but the boys beat the girls more! I think their devious tactics worked. Then we had a round of Apples to Apples before the kids were ready to head home! Our lives definitely have changed since Reef has made his appearance, but it is a good change! It's not like we would've gone out to eat and battled with hour long waits anyway, but family night with the kids is great...and we will have many, many more years of them!

Playing hard

We had a fun day even though we were stuck inside. Grammy and Grampy brought us lunch...ok, so they didn't bring Reef anything...and hung out for a little bit, watching Reef do what he does best: plays hard!

As always Reef has to explore everywhere in the house and his latest place he enjoys is the kitchen table! There are many places to grab, climb over, etc. to make this a "fun" place to be. I let him figure out what to do for the most part and as long as he is staying safe, it's ok. He did get into quite the predicament as you will see, and mommy had to lend a hand to get "untangled" from the table!

I was hoping you could see both of Reef's teeth if you looked closely at the pictures and maybe you can, but it seems like it gets unfocused when I try to get closer! When they are fully in, I'm sure we'll be able to capture that toothy grin!

SNOW DAY!

I was supposed to sub today at Lakeview, but lo and behold, LPS actually had another snow day! It is bittersweet because I get to spend the day with Reef, but usually on the days I don't have to work we are out and about, exploring the city! Maybe if the snow stops later this afternoon we can still do a little exploring...I had planned on going back to the mall and getting some really cheap picture frames at this little shop that is going out of business. Today is the last day and they have some excellent framed art *which I would take the art out of to put our pictures in* for $5. You cannot get these 8 x 10 frames for that cheap, especially the quality!

Happy Friday the 13th! And enjoy the "wonderful" weather we have today!

2nd tooth

Today I felt Reef's 2nd tooth! It is true that teeth come in twos! He will soon have 2 bottom middle teeth...and of course he has already bit me while nursing-last night. NOT COOL! I made quite the sound and Reef looked surprised but then he was nice the rest of the nursing session. I hope we won't have any more biting, but I'm sure that is not going to happen!

Here is Reef with his new shades we got for our walks and our upcoming trip to Florida! He doesn't mind them being on and he also doesn't mind hats! BONUS.

Hanging with Steph and Crew

We FINALLY got to hang out with Steph and Crew again after nearly a month of waiting for all of us to get healthy or me to not have a job on Wednesday! Steph only works in the morning on Wednesdays so it's our only afternoon to hang out. The boys had fun chasing each other and stealing toys from each other. We also got to go on about an hour walk while the weather was decent! How fun it will be when they are able to really play together! It's fun that they are only 3 months apart (although they are about the same size!) Crew will be a year old March 13...how time flies!

Watching the boys/ Long walk

Today I watched Oscar and Max along with Reef while Breanna took her mom and grandma to the airport. We had a great 4 hours, except for the fact that Reef was a little crabby and didn't take a nap.

After Breanna got home we went on a walk that ended up being 3+ hours long. We walked on the bike trail from her house (N. Cotner & Vine) down to 33rd and then back up to pick Ella up at Preschool which is located 1 block north of 80th & 'O' Street! Boy did we get our exercise and the boys had a great afternoon of strolling! I can't wait for more nice weather so we can go again.

Dinner with Grammy and Grampy

We enjoyed Lazlo's take out at Rick and Cyndi's tonight as Cyndi has a quick trip turnaround. They both got back from Minnesota this afternoon and Cyndi leaves for Vegas tomorrow afternoon! Reef was showing off for them as they hadn't seen him for quite sometime. We were supposed to hang out before they left for MN, but we were all sick/recovering from the fun gastro-intestinal/stomach virus and we didn't want to spread it to them.

Reef ate some real peas and carrots tonight along with some real peaches! He LOVES finger food, although he mostly just smashes it between his fingers! Grammy and Grampy got to see Reef's tooth (and hopefully let great-grandma Glennie know that he finally has them!) and see how fast he has become as a crawler! Rick adjusted all 3 of us as much as he could and we were greatful to get the treatments!

Always a good time with grammy and grampy!

Jody's baby shower/ Exploring nature

Reef and I went to my friend Jody's baby shower this morning (after our great night last night!) and he did pretty well! It was fun seeing her family and friends and oooing and ahhhing over the cutsie baby items. It seems like FOR-EV-ER since Reef's baby showers!

After the shower we went back to Crete expecting just to pick up the dog and head back to Lincoln, but Mom's gig was canceled so we got to hang out some more in the lovely weather. My mom sings in a trio called the Kramer Sisters and they sing all over the state! I will soon be posting pictures of our afternoon outside where Reef got to explore the grass-kinda pokey and leaves-very tasty! Dad golfed with his neighbor and Jared was in Seward shooting guns with his work buddies. A very fun afternoon

Visit to Crete

Today Mom and Dad watched Reef while I went to work at Lakeview. We met at the Crete exit off Hwy 77 because it's about 1/2 way for each of us. I headed down to Crete after school and Jared followed when he got off work.

It was a pleasant day when I got to Crete, so mom, dad, Reef and I went for a short walk. We visited until Jared got there and then we went over to the Country Club for an FAC. It was good seeing all my old golfers (I worked there my college summers) and showing off my baby!

Reef decided to be a pain in the sleeping department and was awake from 2-3am nursing on and off but refusing to be put back into the pack and play to sleep. I think we will just have to put a blanket on the floor from now on, because he seems to get better sleep that way. He woke up 2 SHORT hours later at 5 and we got about a half hour of sleep in the chair but again he refused to be laid back down. I finally threw in the towel around 6:45 and we were up playing as quietly as a 7 month old can! Mom came downstairs around 7 and I took a snooze on the couch from 7:15-8:15.

Gotta love those crazy nights! NOTHING ever prepares you for them...NOTHING!

A TOOTH!

This evening I felt for the first time a tooth peeking out of Reef's lower gums! I had noticed yesterday what I thought was the tooth getting ready to poke through but I couldn't feel anything. Tonight I felt the jagged little edge of Reef's first tooth! It is the lower right front tooth and I felt around making sure there weren't any other teeth getting ready to make their entrance.

Such exciting times! I just hope this tooth isn't going to play peek-a-boo like I've heard so many stories about.

If you look at the bathtime photos closely you will see what looks like a little indentation in the lower gum...that is where the tooth is. If you see the white dot on his lower gums it is called an Epstein Pearl or Bohn nodule and is completely harmless. He has had that since he was around 4 months and it will eventually go away.

Bathtime FUN!

It was bath night and we had some great fun playing in the tub as always. I decided it was time for another fun mohawk and "alfalfa" hairdo! Reef's hair is getting soooo long that the mohawk didn't really stand up except right at the beginning and I didn't have the camera close so I had to call for Jared to get it!

I didn't plan on the duck being meticulously placed where it is...it just happened to be there. I really didn't even think of covering him during the photo shoot! WE LOVE BATHTIME!

2 out of 3 AIN'T bad

I hope I'm not offending anyone with the word ain't...I never use the word and thought it might stand out as a post title. Anywho...Jared ended up getting sick around 4 am but it luckily doesn't seem to be as bad as I had it. He says it's been up and down, and most of the day he's been watching movies and napping whereas I was sleeping the day away...or trying to, it's hard when you are the breast feeding mother of a child to get a whole day of recovery! Also, after being sick my milk supply is slowly increasing from being WAY down the past couple days.

Hopefully a good night of sleep for everyone will whisk the germs from our house and Reef won't get this lovely stomach bug. I think I'd better go to the store and get some Lysol to do some HEAVY cleaning tomorrow! FUN, FUN...just what I wanted to do. Oh the life of having a family! I wouldn't change it for anything.

Sorry their haven't been pictures lately...I"m sure you understand with the illness and all. I'll try to post some soon!

Not a great start to a month

We didn't get to enjoy friends and family for the Superbowl today because we are still at home trying to stay healthy. I am feeling WAY better today and just needed a few naps to make it through. Hopefully Jared and Reef don't get what I had because it was NOT cool...plus, you'd think after emptying your stomach and bowels for nearly a day and not eating or drinking much you'd lose some weight...NOT ME...I stayed pretty much the same! I just can't win.

Hopefully the rest of February will be better, after all, we can only go up from here!