Are you ready...

... to die of cuteness overload? I just got the preview of Reese's pictures and here it is!

I am freaking out with excitement. Here is the story- when we found out we were pregnant we were living in Logan, UT. The first thing I did was call the doctor I wanted and the second thing I did was e-mail Skye Johansen. She had done some absolutely beautiful maternity and newborn shots for our friends the Wimmers. Anyway- when we moved away before Reese was born I was so bummed I couldn't get her newborn shots done by Skye (check out her website- she is seriously amazing.) We had my Mom's friend take some and they turned out beautiful- but we were all amateurs and it just wasn't quite the same. So when we decided to go to St. George for Thanksgiving, Spencer said we could stop in Lehi to get some pictures done. Then we had a huge snow storm and there was no way we could squeeze it in before Thanksgiving. Skye was awesome and let us reschedule for after- but Spence wouldn't be there so we couldn't do family shots. I was bummed about that but look how cute Reese's came out!!! She is mailing me the whole CD tomorrow so be prepared for a picture overload when I get them. I love  this little girl and I'm so glad to have beautiful pictures that show her personality so I can remember her just this way.

The Christmas Tie

My Dad has a million ties. He has worn a tie to work everyday probably since before I was born. Some people in his office take a 'casual Friday.' Not my Dad- he still wears a tie. My Mom has offered to get him a nice rotating tie rack. He said no- he keeps them all on a wooden rack and he says he has a system. Some ties have been given to him as gifts. Some ties are from other countries. Some ties are really, really nice. Some ties are not. When my little brother was asked to describe our Dad for a Father's Day project, one of the first things he said was "my Dad wears a tie."

My Dad is a wonderful man. He has worked hard his whole life to support his family, to teach us the things we need to know about the gospel and the world. But he plays hard too. When I was little, he would come home from work and take his tie off- that meant he was ready to play. I know my Dad was busy with work and callings and personal interests but he took the time to play with us every night. He is my friend and he cares about me. When he gives me a hug it is never cursory- he means it every time.

 

I told my Dad once, probably a long time ago, that this is my favorite of his ties. I don't know where he bought it or who gave it to him. I don't even remember when I told him that. But every year at Christmas he saves this tie just for me. When I would come home from college for the holidays he would wear it to church for me. This tie is one of the many ways that he tells me how much he loves me. I live closer to him now and I get to see him more often, so you might think small gestures like this wouldn't need to happen any more. But last week when we went to have lunch with him at his office he wore this tie again- just for me.

Little Reese is 9 months old

Even though her 8 month post was only 2 weeks ago, we definitely have some new developments to report. Tooth number 7 is here but just barely peeking through on the bottom. Everything goes in Reese's mouth, it doesn't matter what it is. Our good friend Meaghan Latimer sent us an adorable owl for Reese for Christmas. She looked at it for a second, then grabbed it and stuffed it in her mouth. That means, she loved it.

Reese with 'baby Grinch' hair after she woke up from a nap

She is getting so much more interactive in her play. She loves for us to stack her blocks so she can knock them over. She has figured out how to roll things, so she will roll them away from her and then crawl after them.

Her new favorite game is to stand on the diaper caddy and pull all the diapers out and toss them around the room. Speaking of which- she is pulling herself up to stand now. She has gotten really good at it and is able to sit down carefully when she is done (most of the time.) She likes to climb the little stairs at my parent's house, but always wants to turn right back around and go down them head first.

She is making lots more sounds and is actually combining some. The other day she said "dat" for like 5 minutes. She also whistled yesterday- it was pretty funny. I can't wait to see if she does it again. She is SO NOISY! At least she is happy, but I'm telling you she is so loud and especially at church. The other day we were driving in the car and Spence called me. I had to have him call me back later because she was babbling so loud I could not hear a word he was saying.

She has definitely learned the meaning on the word 'no.' She is actually pretty obedient (for a 9 month old.) She will go for the Christmas tree chords and I'll say "Reesie, No No." She will look at me and smile and then crawl away to play with something else. I'll enjoy it while it lasts.  (I love this picture because not only is she heading for the tree, but she is a total blur. The majority of my pictures turn out this way- she just never sits still.)

She still loves her tubby time but it is starting to give me severe anxiety. She won't stay sitting down but wants to crawl all over the tub and try to stand and it's slippery and I'm just waiting for her to bang her little face on something. If anyone has any advice please share it!

 

She is still just as friendly as can be. Anywhere we go she is making eyes at someone. It's actually been pretty cool because she has no prejudice,  she will smile at anyone. On the plane home from Utah there was a young twenties kind of punk looking kid sitting in the row behind us. He had a long pony tail and some earrings and stuff. He and I probably would not have made eye contact or spoken to each other, but Reese just grinned at him and he smiled back. Then I smiled at him and he smiled at me and we were all a little bit happier then we were before.  

 

She is just such a happy kid- most of the time anyway. We are so fortunate and truly blessed to have her with us. She is my little buddy and she teaches me a lot about being Christlike, looking at people with no preconceived notions and she definitely teaches me a little about patience. She has helped me discover some of my weaknesses but also some of my strengths. We love her more every second.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

 Even though Reese is crawling all over the place, we still wanted to get a Christmas tree. This is the 5th Christmas that Spence and I have spent together. Every Christmas- even our first one being married 1 month and living in a hole of an apartment that was $280 a month- we have named our Christmas trees. Petree (like on the Land Before Time), Steve (the name of the hedge on "Over the Hedge"), Mr. Norwall (like the weird whale on "Elf"), and Shaq ("ahhhh... the greatest in the universe"). We would like to introduce this year's tree: Mahem. Have you seen that Allstate commercial? If you haven't, here it is. It's hilarious.



There are lots more Mayhem commercials- check them out on YouTube.

 

We had talked about going to cut down our own tree, but then realized it would be me and Reese  standing in the cold while Spence worked the axe. So we went to the Home Depot instead. It was really kind of a non event- we walked in, Spence picked up a tree and said "how about this one?" It looked pretty good so we bought it. Reese and I left so the sound of the saw wouldn't scare her. We were done- easy.

 In true Watts family tradition, we decorated our tree and then sat on a blanket in the living room to eat doughnuts and drink hot chocolate. Reese loved the doughnut, but wasn't crazy about the tepid semi-chocolate flavored water we gave her in a sippy cup. That's how Spencer's family has always done it, so we are happy to carry out the tradition.

 After four years of marriage we finally found an angel we both like. Well, I like it and Spencer tolerates it. As you know angels don't have wings but we have never found a 'doctrinally correct one.' He tried to rip her wings off, but it wasn't worth the hassel. The only other problem is that she is HUGE. She looks like a dinosaur angel on top of our  tree. Oh well, we will just have to get a 12 footer next year.

Living Vicariously

So I didn't start dancing until high school but I loved ballet. I never got really good, so I have decided that Reese is going to be an amazing dancer so I can live vicariously through her. She has already started...

I'm pretty sure I saw a changement, a pas de chat and a petit jete in there. And check out that turn out! Swan Lake, here we come.

Happy Thanksgiving

 We headed south for Thanksgiving this year as it was Spencer's family's turn. The Watts clan does Thanksgiving in St. George with Ed's family, so not only did we drive 12 hours to Logan but then we pulled an extra 5.5 to St. George. It was worth it though. We were do happy to stay in Logan with Ed and Lorie for a night. They usually don't put up their Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving, but they had it all up as a surprise for us. Reese had to get her picture with Santa in their living room.

 Reese and Mimi (Spencer's mom, Lorie)

Spencer's brother Paul and his family came all the way from Texas. Reese loved her cousins- especially Ruby, who is almost 2. She would just watch her walk around and crawled after her all the time. All of their kids were so sweet to Reese and we were thrilled they were with us. Dallin and his girlfriend Morgan came too. We are all excited for that to become more official sometime soon.

 Reese and Ruby

Thanksgiving night we got a big surprise. Ed and Lorie always give us a gift that night to start the Christmas season- usually a book. But then they gave us a box to all open together- even Spencer's sister Lisa and her husband Ken were on the phone with us. Inside the box was a little piece of paper that read "We are going on a mission." We were shocked! They have been called to preside over a Spanish speaking mission, but we won't know which one until early March. We couldn't be more excited for them, but we will of course miss them tons since they will be gone for 3 years. We are already saving our money in case we need to visit them in Argentina or something. 

 Reese's first Thanksgiving

Spencer had to drive home Monday, but Reese and I stayed in Layton so I could see my 2 grandmas and my sisters. When I lived in Logan, I spent a lot of time at Christmas with my Grandma Edna. She and I would put up her tree and decorations, go to Temple Square, watch Christmas movies and make holiday candy. She loves Reese so much, so it was fun to do some of these things just the 3 of us.

 Reese bundled up to see the lights in Layton Park

 Reese standing up and trying to climb the stairs- which she did successfully several times

My sweet Grandma Edna reading Reese a book

So Thanksgiving was awesome- full of family and food and fun. We love Spencer's side of our family so much- Paul and Glory, and Dallin and Morgan are so awesome (we of course missed Ken and Lisa too.) Family is a special blessing, and I couldn't be luckier when it comes to my in laws. I don't even think of them that way- we are sealed, so I love them just as much as my own brother and sisters and their spouses too. And we are incredibly blessed to have so many living grandparents. We both have wonderful examples to follow. I hope your Thanksgivings were just as awesome.

Reese is 8 months old (actually, 8 and a half)

 So I wrote this post 2 weeks ago and forgot to finish it- but better late then never. I know I sound like a broken record but I can't believe my baby is 8 months old! We were gone for a week on 'vacation' and when we got home she was bigger. Not only was she bigger but she is definitely mobile now. She was tentatively crawling when we left but now she is all over the place. She sits her self up, lays her self down, rolls, crawls and sits up again.

 A typical view of her crawling away

I can't even tell you how much I missed her while we were gone. I think if we had been having more fun, it wouldn't have been as bad. I actually cried when we saw her I was so happy. She has 4 teeth on top and still just the two on the bottom. She wants to eat everything- EVERYTHING! It doesn't matter if it's crunchy, spicy, cold or sweet. She especially loves her munch bag (I don't know what it's really called, but it's a mesh bag with a plastic handle. You put fruit bits in it or whatever and she can chew on them without the risk of choking.) She loves it, and actually gets a little possessive when you try to take it away. Her favorite treat in there are orange slices. Unfortunately, it makes quite a mess so we have to use our poncho bibs (thanks to Drew and Kristi Clark for those!)

She loves watching Elmo's World and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She loves music- when I turn the Ipod on she just looks at the speaker for a while and smiles. She is starting to laugh a lot more. She likes playing peek-a-boo type games. Spence likes to do it while I'm holding her and then she laughs and flails her arms, usually smacking me in the face but I don't mind. She is getting a little snugglier- she will at least lean into you a bit. She is getting close to waving. She won't raise her hand up, but she opens and closes her fingers. She is still doing great recognizing her signs. She has started making a 'vee' sound which is so cute. She just gabs all the time. She gets really silly and extra fun about an hour before bed time and that is the best time of day because all three of us just have such a hoot together. We love her so much and can't imagine life without our little babe.