Christmas activities, more about Reese

New posts on our private blog. Click here!

Several new posts

New posts about our trip to Victoria, Mt. Rainier, Spencer's birthday and me going back to school.

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Reese is 18 months

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New posts- 5k, funny Reese stuff

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Awesome giveaway

There is a great giveaway over at Whippy Cake. But if you win, you have to share with me because I'm the one who told you about it :)

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Moses Lake and Reese 17 months- videos

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New Post with video

New post on our private blog. Click here. If you need an invite, leave a comment with your e-mail address. Thanks!

Birthday etc.

New posts on our private blog about the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, Vashon Island and my birthday. Click here. Leave a comment with your e-mail if you need to be invited. Thanks- Happy Summer!

Videos

New videos of Reese on our private blog

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Mother's Day

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Easter etc.

New posts on our private blog at http://spenceandamy.blogspot.com

Utah Trip and Star Wars

More new posts on our private blog. Check it out here.

http://spenceandamy.blogspot.com

Olympic Peninsula Day 2 and 3

I thought I'd finally finish posting about our trip like a month and a half ago. See the posts here

http://spenceandamy.blogspot.com

Reese's Birthday Party

New post here www.spenceandamy.blogspot.com

Blogging question- please help

I was trying to do a blog post about Reese's birthday party and an error message came up saying that I had run out of free storage and I needed to buy more in order to post anymore pictures. Has this happened to anyone else? I tried to read up on it, but there is no way I have used all my storage- I have only been blogging for a year. Someone please explain this to me and let me know if this has happened to you. Thanks!

Happy Birthday Reese!

There is a new post on our private blog. To see it click here. If you would like to be invited to our blog, leave a comment with our e-mail address. Thanks!

Olympic Peninsula Day 1

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A little bit of me

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FYI

I forgot to tell you that I will be keeping this blog public. When I do a new post on the private blog, I'll put a note here so that your blog feeds will let you know that I have updated. So keep me on your 'friend' list, ok? Thanks!

Going private- for real this time

So since we have started uploading so many videos and since Reese is getting older we have decided to go private. Please leave your e-mail address in the comments or send me an e-mail at amy.t.watts@gmail.com  Thanks!

Reese's First Dentist Appointment

I took Reese to the dentist today and she did awesome. You are supposed to take them 6 months after their first tooth erupts. Actually when I called I figured we wouldn't get in for a few months but they said they had an opening today so I took it.

She did so awesome. She sat on my lap like a champ and smiled. She let the assistant brush her teeth with the prophy paste and look at her teeth with the mirror. When the Doctor came we laid her down on our laps and she looked at her teeth and gums. Reese even let her put a flouride varnish on her teeth. Everyone kept saying how great she was doing and how almost all kids that age cry the whole time.

She has 4 teeth on top and 3 on the bottom. #4 on the bottom should be here by the end of the week. The Doctor said she can feel a molar on the top right that will be her next tooth to come in after that (yikes!) I hope she teeths as well with molars as she had with the rest of her teeth.

Anyway- I was super proud of our little girl.

Playing with your food

Happy Tortilla Chip Day

Happy Hour

We had the most fun tonight. Reese was in a silly mood and the three of us just played and played. Check out this first video- our little girl is starting to WALK! (please ignore my hair and PJ's)

Then she was making funny faces.

And then she laughed... and laughed... and then laughed so hard she fell over!

It was the best night ever!

Ed and Lorie's Mission Call

Spencer's parents have been called to serve as the mission presidents in the Guatemala City North mission. We are thrilled for them. They told us about the call over  Thanksgiving and we have been patiently (ok, not so patiently) waiting to hear where they were headed. They report to the MTC in Provo on June 22 through the 26 and then they will arrive in Guatemala on July 1, 2011.

 Guatemala is on the isthmus that connects Mexico to South America. We are happy it is not farther south. Flights to Guatemala from Texas (where Spencer's brother lives and where we hope to go to grad school) are only around $200 a person. We may get to visit Ed and Lorie more than once!

Here are some stats about Guatemala from the church website. They are from 2001 but I couldn't find any updated information.

National population: approximately 11.5 million
Church membership: more than 179,000
Stakes: 40
Missions: 4
Wards and branches: 453
Church-owned meetinghouses: 261
Temple: Guatemala City, dedicated in 1984
Missionary Training Center: Guatemala City

Happy Gumdrop Day

Reese is 11 months old!

One more month and we will have a 1 year old! That is just CRAZY. Reese is really growing up. She has such personality- she is sweet and stubborn and smart and totally awesome.

Badger Face

This month has brought some changes in her. She is still talking constantly but it has changed. Instead of just 'da da da da' over and over she really changes up the syllables and jabbers. I think she is really wanting to say things- she will get intense and you can tell she is thinking really hard.

Just today she got the hang of walking with her little plastic car/ walker. She gets more and more brave each day trying to walk between the furniture and stuff. Here is a little video of it.

She wants to feed herself more now. She will still take pureed stuff in a spoon but she needs finger foods in between to keep herself occupied. She does really well but it sure gets messy. We are trying to let that go and just roll with it. She will feed herself a bottle too, but we still hold her most of the time because that's as close to cuddling as we get. Also- we have started her on cow's milk. We had been working on it and she just wasn't loving it. But the other day she figured out how to drink out of my Camelbak. So we gave her some milk in it and she went to town. Now she has her own little mini camelbak and has milk with every meal.

Also- she likes to put bites on top of her sippy cup and then eat it off the lid. She will do that with toys too- put them on top of something and then pick them up with her mouth.

She is back to enjoying being read to. She will take a book off the shelf and sit and look at you like 'hey- come read this to me.' She picks the same ones over and over- Hand Hand Fingers Thumb, Gossie and Gertie, Count my Kisses, and I Love You Through and Through.

She loves to be chased. All you have to say is "I'm gonna get you..." and she'll take off. She also likes being tickled but only if she is in the mood. But when she is she will just laugh and laugh and it's so cute.

We are trying to give her (and me) more social interaction. We go to play group on Tuesdays and to story time at the library on Fridays. She does well with other kids for the most part. She just doesn't like it when they pull her hair.

She is in a big-girl car seat now. She is well over the weight requirement so we went ahead and faced her forward. She loves being able to see where we are going. She can also see us, which makes her whine a little bit more but she it figuring things out.

 She is just super cute and getting so big and next month she will be 1 year old!

Happy Valentine's Day

I can't believe it but this is our 6th Valentine's Day together. Actually, 2-14-2006 was our second date. I remember being so nervous because we were still getting to know each other. I didn't want Spencer to feel obligated or weird. But he took me out to the Blue Bird and we went back to his place to watch a movie. He gave me a card with a picture of a donkey on it that said something funny. I still have it somewhere. Everything was new and exciting- the way it is at the beginning of a relationship. Since our first date we have hardly gone more than a few days without seeing each other (except that first summer when I went home.) I think about the day we met, when he called to ask me out, our first date, our first kiss and I can remember so much about how I felt and how much I just enjoying being with him. It was definitely different and better then anything else I had ever felt and I knew from the beginning that it was different. Now, 5 years later, I still consider myself so lucky to have married that first date. It was my last first date, but I have never once been sad about that. Now I have the best partner in the world to share all the rest of my 'firsts' with. Including this one:

Reese is the second love of my life- Spencer's too. She makes me smile and laugh everyday. She has brought back that sense of newness because every day with her is new. She is learning and growing and changing. Our love for each other has grown through her and she makes both Spence and I better people.

So Happy Valentine's Day to all of you and especially to my two Valentines- I love you both!

Spencer's Tribute to Honest Abe

I think he looks pretty cute, but I definitely prefer a baby-face Spencer.

Giveaway

There is a super cute giveaway over at whippycake.com/blog today. Go check it out!

Funny February Holidays

I was recently inspired by my friend Sara. She is super creative in the activities and parties she plans for her and her hubby, their one year old and their friends. This year they celebrated Groundhog's Day. This is from her blog (which is private or I'd send you all over there right now.)

"And yes we celebrated Phil this year by watching one of our all time favorite movies Groundhog day. I could watch that movie today and the next day, and the next, and the next.... We also enjoyed some delicious Punxsutawney Phil Pie. I first attempted to draw a groundhog with the chocolate syrup but that ended in disaster. So I quickly watercolored up this picture instead. The pie was topped with grasshopper cookies because groundhogs occasionally eat grasshoppers."

Spence and I pretty much do the same things every night- watch a show, play a game, workout or read (and of course play with Reese.) So in an effort to be a little more creative, we are starting to celebrate the totally random holidays in each month. For example... did you know today is White T-Shirt Day? All three of us are participating. How easy was that?

Tomorrow is Abraham Lincoln's birthday and we will be celebrating it by reading a picture book about his life and cooking his favorite meal- chicken fricassee and biscuits. We were going to make pretzel log cabins but I think we will wait until Reese is a little older.

Here are a few more days that might be fun to celebrate with your kids:

Feb. 14- Valentine's Day, obviously
Feb. 15- Gumdrop Day- We will be making sculptures with gum drops and toothpicks
Feb. 17- Random Acts of Kindness Day
Feb. 20- Love Your Pet Day- Reese and I will take Bicho to the dog park and visit Petco
Feb. 24- Tortilla Chip Day- nachos for dinner!
Feb. 26- Tell a Fairy Tale Day- a whole day of fairy tale books and games
Feb. 27- Polar Bear Day- we will visit the library to read some books about polar bears
Feb. 28- Tooth Fairy Day- maybe Reese will be nice and let me brush her teeth without screaming


Hopefully we can get some pictures of these celebrations to share. Let me know if you do anything fun for these special days!

For Grandma

So my sweet Grandma Edna loves Reese. When I call to talk to her the first thing she says is "how's my baby?" I'm so glad that they have a relationship and it's awesome that even though Grandma Edna has a ton of great grandkids and even a few great-great grandkids she still takes a personal interest in Reese. So I shot this video of Reese and wanted to post it so my sister can pull it up on her Iphone and show it to Grandma. We love you!

(we were listening to Disney music so just try to ignore the Pirates Life for Me in the background. Next time I'll pick a cuter song.)

Also, speaking of my Grandma, I have a random cleaning tip for you. Next time you finish cleaning your toilet (everyone's favorite job, I know) try this with the brush:

That way it can drip dry and you don't get gross toilet water in the bottom of your brush holder. My grandma showed me that last time I visited. Then I came home and showed my Mom and she thought it was the greatest thing ever. Maybe everyone does this already but it was a revelation to me so thanks Grandma!

Comments

So my cute friend let me know that she hadn't been able to comment on my blog. I changed the settings around (including removing the annoying word verification thing... sorry I didn't even know I had that.) So hopefully it's better now. Thanks for reading my blog and sharing your thoughts with me!

Be Happy

That was one of my goals last week. I have just been struggling lately and I shouldn't be. I have a wonderful husband, a sweet daughter and family who lives close by. I have several great friends (well, I have many but several within a 30 mile radius.) I live in an apartment that is safe and warm. I have a car to drive and food to eat. Spence has a great job that allows me to stay home and be a mom. I have a strong testimony and relationship with my Savior. But I have just been bumming out.

So last week my goals were to stay busy and be happy. I love staying at home with Reese and most days I make really good use of my time- working out, reading scriptures, keeping the house (relatively) clean and organized and working toward personal goals. But sometimes I don't. It's weird how when you have a lot of time on your hands, sometimes you just don't do anything because you don't have to. Then when you don't do anything you feel totally unaccomplished and depressed. I wish I was better at self motivating- I'm working on it.

So all last week I was happy- each and every day I found a million things to be happy about. A bird landed on my balcony and I got to watch it = happy. Reese figured out how to drink out of my Camelbak = happy. Spence cleaned up all the Superbowl dishes (and there were a lot of them) = happy. Reese did awesome at church yesterday = double happy. Al took 3rd in KingCo for wrestling = happy. I finished a really great book (Half Broke Horses) = happy. The list goes on and on and it's growing everyday.

I'm feeling much better and I'm going to keep working on it.

Mama's Girl

Reese is starting to act like she loves us a little bit- finally! She has never been a cuddly, snuggly baby. I mean, we know she likes us but she wouldn't lean into us or let us rock her before she went to sleep or hug her tight. She likes other people, which is definitely a good thing. But now she will be sitting on the floor, look up to me and raise her arms because she wants me to hold her. Spence and I always kiss after we say prayers (his parents always did it, and we just kind of naturally started doing it to.) The other night after family prayers we kissed and Reese tilted her head up to me because she wanted one too. Then she did it to Spence. We have gotten her to give kisses before but that was the first time she wanted to. She has a fever and a cold right now and last night she laid her head on my shoulder and let me rock her for awhile. She loves my Mom and Dad, but now when they are holding her if she is done she will lean toward me so I'll take her. I don't want her to become overly attached to me- separation is healthy. But it is nice that she is starting to show that she loves us because we love her so much.

January stinks

So I have decided that January is the lamest month of the year. Nothing left to look forward to now that Christmas and New Year's are over. It's cold and wet and where I live, it looks like this:

 Gray. All day. Every day.

I lived in Seattle for a while growing up and I didn't think it would bother me when we moved back but I am struggling. I need one of those UV happy lamps or something. I tell Spence every day that I wish tanning didn't give you cancer so I could go and get some vitamin D and some warmth (not to mention some color on my totally pastey legs.) I'll live through it- but this has definitely solidified my desire to go to grad school somewhere sunny and warm- Arizona, Texas, Florida, Hawaii.

Coming Home

When Spence and I were first married we met this awesome couple in our ward- Scott and Michelle Hart. They are great friends and they introduced us to rock climbing. There was a gym in Logan like 3 minutes from our house and we would go climbing 3-4 times a week. It is the best sport to do as couples because you can totally go at your own pace and skill level without slowing anyone else down (or making them feel bad because you are better at it than them.) When we were able to go that often we really saw ourselves improve. Of course, life changes and with a baby we have not exactly had the time to dedicate to this 'wholesome recreational activity.' But as part of our New Year's Resolutions we have decided to go rock climbing at least once a month. So yesterday we went with my mom and dad. Mom watched Reese while the other 3 of us climbed. I know this is going to sound way too deep for what I'm talking about but it was like coming home. I had the best time. Sure, I'm not nearly as good as I was before but it was so nice to be just me and my little muscles and the wall.

Spence aka Spider Man. He is just so tall he skips holds all the time and is up the wall before I can even blink.

My dad is 53 and totally keeps up with me. He and I were doing all the same climbs.

You can't see my face but it is beaming with joy.

Even Reese enjoyed herself. We will be getting her into a climbing harness as soon as possible.

It would have been so easy to be discouraged because it has been so long and I kind of have to start over. But kind of the opposite things happened- I want to go back as much as I can so I can work back up to it. I love it- and when you have something in your life that you enjoy that much you have to figure out a way to make it work.

Reese is 10 months old

We celebrated Reese's 10 month birthday by going to a one year old birthday of a little boy in our ward. I can't believe that will be Reese in 2 months- with frosting smeared all over her little face. There is nothing really new to report- she is still crawling around like a mad woman, standing and pulling stuff off of shelves, and still smiling at everyone she sees. She doesn't have any new teeth and still says 'da da' for everything. But there are some fun and quirky things that she has been doing that I never want to forget.

 We are so fortunate that she has not yet figured out how to open drawers and cabinets. But when I'm cooking and she wants to be with me in the kitchen I'll open the tuperware drawer for her. She loves taking them all out and carrying them around the kitchen. Too bad she doesn't love putting them back in.

 She has started growling. She has always been such a happy and noisy baby, but now she growls constantly. It's so funny to hear the grainy quality to her voice.

 She wants to climb over everything. She loves to have you lay on the ground so she can crawl over you. Anytime we hold her on the couch she tries to crawl over the edge of the arm. We have to keep a close eye on her because I know one of these days she is going to leap off.

 She likes to put something in her mouth while she is doing something else. So she often has a toy in each hand and one in her mouth. Or something in her mouth while she is crawling around.

 I wish I could buy this child a little baby jungle gym. She likes to crawl under the table and weave her way in and out of the chair legs. It's amazing to watch her problem solving abilities. Sometimes she will get stuck but she doesn't cry, she just keeps trying different things until something works.

 I started renting Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to limit the Elmo time. She is starting to talk like a muppet. She will say 'da da da' and will move her head up and down like Elmo and his friends. She is our little muppet baby.

She has way more fun taking her toys and books off of the shelves then actually playing with them. She likes to grab the DVD cases and look at the pictures and slobber all over them.

Happy 10 month birthday to little Reese!