11 months old...

Reese will be 11months old tomorrow and each month seems to go faster than the last. I have to say that she is so much fun right now. She makes me laugh everyday and I am always amazed at how quickly she learns how to do something as well as how busy she is. I don't know if this is every child or if I am just a bad mother, but Reese is always falling and hitting her head. She wants to walk to badly and is getting very close and so she climbs up on everything. She loves to climb the stairs, walk with her walker, dance, and sing. She also loves running water! When she takes a bath, she loves to put her face and hands in running water. I have been trying to get her to not drink her bath water though. Yesterday, she was playing in my room and I was going to hurry and take a quick shower. She usually just plays and doesn't pay attention to me. We have a walk-in shower and I was getting my face wet, when I hear Reese. So I wipe my face off and look down and she is soakin wet in her pajamas and loving the water on her face. I was laughing so hard!

Here are a few of my favorite memories from the past month.  

 Reese finally started eating more normal food. She used to gag on everything, but now she is a champ. She loves Cheerios, craisins, eggs,  bananas, and carrots. She was eating Cheerios and was really tired and I found cherrios stuck on her face:) The next morning, we decided to do cherrios art again, but I was the artist:)

I love this picture of her hand. Her new thing lately is to reach under the door when you go to the bathroom. She acts like she is missing out on some amazing thing! (Don't worry, this is after I went to the bathroom AND washed my hands, then took the picture)

 So this is when ron went to the bathroom. I realized what she was doing on the outside of the bathroom.  She sticks her bum in the air and looks under. So funny!

Reese also loves playing with her cousin Isla. Reese just follows her around everywhere and wants to do everything Isla is doing. They have so much energy.

 Reese always climbs up to the fridge, but Isla opened the doors when I wasn't watching and I laughed when I took this picture, because I can totally see them being mischevious and getting into trouble. Reese being the instigator and Isla grabbing everything.

Nurture your marriage.

So last week, I taught a FHE on nurturing or working on your marriage. It's funny how at so many things in our life: jobs, cleaning, school, church callings, exercise, being a parent, etc. The list could go on and on, but one thing we think will just be blissfully happy without any work is our marriage. Well, at least my marriage would not be blissfully happy without nurturing it. This is something simple, but Ron and I just wrote down 10 SPECIFIC things each day that we were grateful for that our spouse did or who they are. I have to say, I love him more already. Here are a few things from this past week that I am grateful for.....
 -taking out the garbage cause I hate to do it.
-calling me on the way home from work to see if I need anything from the grocery store
- complimenting my sewing projects
-work so I can be a stay at home mom
-fold clothes and put them away
- Come home at lunch to see Reese and I
- always makes sure to give Reese and I a kiss when he goes to work and when he comes home
-  leads our family in scripture study and family prayer
- plays with Reese
-plays with our dogs
-cleans up dog poop cause I hate that too
- checks my online store for errors
- at night when I am sewing, he will sometimes come up and work on projects by me so we can talk.
- stopping at Applebees to get me my grilled oriental chicken salad with everything on the side.

- went to Costco for me.
- changes Reese's diarrhea diapers yesterday
- helps me clean up dinner
- fixed the printer
- oh yeah, again, take out garbage. I seriously hate it.
Such small things, but I am grateful for such a wonderful husband that works so hard for our family.

Things that matter most

 I have been meaning to catch up on my personal blog lately, but I have been kinda busy sewing. I was really scared to start selling dresses, but it has been a success so far and that gives me confidence. While I was working at the pilates studio, I was saving the money I earned to go towards our next adoption, so I figured I needed to find a new means to contribute. Anyways, once I opened my ReesiePie SHOP, I started getting orders and I was really excited. I am grateful for small promptings though that remind us of what is most important. I can see myself getting so wrapped up in making and selling dresses that I forget to do the things that really make a difference. I have made it a priority to never put my sewing in front of Reese or Ron, but I felt that I was starting to slack on my missionary efforts or just visiting others. We as women, have such a capacity to do good and I am grateful for small promptings that help us to remember not only who we are, but the things of most worth.  I love it when I get a good chastening! Grateful for a Heavenly Father that keeps me on track!

Another thing I am grateful for is the temple! Last week, Ron and I went to the temple and I had felt bad lately because before we adopted Reese, I made it a goal to attend the temple once a week. After we adopted and I need to add that the Ogden temple was being reconstructed, it has been a lot more difficult and we were making it once a month. Well, I was talking to my sister in law and she was telling me about a talk she had listened to about the desires of our hearts and I finally realized why it is so important to make your home a temple. I may not be able to go to the temple once a week anymore, but I can make my home a temple where the spirit dwells and Reese can feel of Heavenly Father's presence here. After feeling of this prompting, I didn't feel so disheartened, but a motivation to keep the spirit in my home.

10 months old

I know I say this every month, but I can't believe how quickly Reese is growing and learning. She takes in everything around her and I love being home to watch her. I absolutely love this stage in her life and in my life. She is such a cuddler and is jabbering away. Reese loves to crawl really fast and climbs up on everything.  She loves to play peek-a-boo, get tickled, jump, walk with you, get thrown in the air, and give kisses. She loves to give herself kisses on the fridge. 

 I have to admit that I have a little bit of separation anxiety. I don't know if it is just because she is our first or because our past failed placements, but I cannot be away from Reese very long or I just start to miss her so much. If there are big problems in my life that I feel like I cannot control, I just have to hold Reese because I am afraid she will be taken away. I need to get over these anxieties soon or else Reese will not be going to pre-school.

 Reese's smile. She is hilarious because she loves to show off her teeth. So proud!!

 Reese loves to play with the drawer under the oven. Not the greatest place to play but she bounces so that the drawer bangs in and out. We are trying to break this habit.

 Yes, everything goes on her head!

 Showing off her teeth again! She is seriously a cheeser.

 Reese is so funny! As soon as the light comes on for the flash, she turns toward the camera and smiles. 

 I love her more and more each day. I love being home with her and I love watching and teaching her new things. Being a mom is the best!!

Dresses

I started making dresses for Reese a couple of months ago and people have been asking me to make them dresses for their daughters and granddaughters. I am really excited, but also a little scared.  I am going to be opening up an etsy shop soon once I get a good inventory. Some of these dresses I had made for Reese and others are a start to the dress-making madness. I would love any feedback!! Thanks!! I also started a new crafting blog that will link to my etsy account when I get it started. It's not very good yet, but I had to start somewhere..reesiepie.blogspot.com

So Sick of Being Sick

I won't post any pictures because I am sure you really do not want to see pictures of my family puking. Anyway, I feel like I am a storyteller when I say...." It began on a wednesday morning a few weeks ago. Reese woke up with her eyelids closed with gunk. I didn't think much of it because her eyes were not real pink, but it lasted for a couple of days  and went away. Monday morning I woke up with pink eye. Great! I don't think I have ever had pink eye, but it is not surprising that I got it because Reese loves to touch our faces. Also, on tuesday, I started getting bronchitis and was coughing  my lungs out all through the night. I have not been this sick for a long long time and I wasn't sure how I got it. I think I sanitized and disinfected every surface, sheet, knobs, and toy in our house. The bronchitis got a little better where I would only cough at night and I wasn't contagious so I was excited to finally get out of our house. Well, monday morning, Reese woke up and started throwing up over and over again. I felt so bad because she has never puked before and it really scared her. She would throw up and then sleep, throw up and then sleep. She woke up in the morning and would have puke all in her hair and I felt so bad. I was driving to the store to get her some medicine and she puked in her car seat so we turned around. We started pedialyte and the vomiting stopped after a day and a half, but then the diarrhea started and has continued throughout the week. I thought she was doing pretty good on Wed and glad we were done with this flu season, but I woke up early Thursday morning because I started puking. I felt so bad because Reese had diarrhea, but she was happy and playing and I tried to play with her while I layed on the floor with my bucket. I am so grateful for Ron taking care of us. He came home at lunch and brought me some chicken broth and played with Reese for a little while. I was feeling better on Friday and Ron came home with a movie for us to watch and dinner and I was excited to have an appetite again. Well, early Saturday morning, Ron woke up puking away. So all Saturday, he slept, puked, slept puked, and then by sunday it was all over with and he felt great. For the past week, I have had to change Reese's clothes 3-4 times a day because of the diarrhea and our washer has constantly been in use. I have to say that I love how cuddly she is though. Reese will just crawl up on your chest and fall asleep.
      So, after the past couple of weeks, I have learned how grateful I am for our health and such a happy baby amidst being sick. I am grateful for such a wonderful husband who takes care of us and will take over when I am sick. I am grateful for wonderful friends and family who help me to know what to do. They have all been so helpful and willing to come bring reese whatever she needed. So thank you so much! I am grateful for wonderful neighbors who snow plowed our "nightmare of a driveway" after the snow storm. I can't thank you enough Bro. Haws!!! I also thought a lot about my friends with 3,4, and 5 kids who are cleaning up puke and washing puky laundry for all of their kiddos, while possibly being sick at the same time. To you I say, Thanks for your example!!!

In a week...

I can't believe how much our little girl can change and learn in a week. She went from her worm crawl, to crawling on all fours, her second tooth came thru, she pulled herself up to the standing position, and tonight she started saying, "da da da". It seriously was the cutest thing! She was laying on my chest and falling asleep and all of a sudden just started saying "Da da da da" and looking for Ron. He was at a church meeting so I recorded her and sent a text to him.  He watched it when he got home and about started to cry and immediately asked where Reese was. I had just put her down for bed and he ran upstairs, but she was passed out already. I would say he was a very proud Daddy at that moment. Who knew someone could make you feel so loved without knowing:) I had to post this. 

9 months old....

 I cannot believe all that Reese has learned in the last month. She has started to crawl and she is pretty quick at it. Especially if she wants to play with the dogs. Her crawl is so cute. She is not real good at moving her hands one in front of the other so she does this worm looking crawl. It reminds me kinda of the butterfly stroke when you are swimming. I am sure she will get the hang of it soon:) My mom got Reese a walker for Christmas and as soon as I put it together, she took off in a run and almost landed on her face. She was so excited though to be on her feet. The problem with the walker though is that it plays really fun music and Reese will start to walk with it and then starts dancing away when the music comes on and she loses her balance. This girl loves to dance. Reese loves to stick her bum high in the air and laugh. She also sleeps like this, which brings the issue of a very full diaper in front in the mornings. I would like to give her baths at night, but her diaper always leaks out onto her belly and she smells like pee. ( If anyone has any advice for these little tummy sleepers......let me know:)

 Reese seriously has the strongest little legs. It is funny because Reese has these short little legs then really strong quads from all of her jumping.  We are wondering what activities she will like to do when she gets older.

 I had to show this picture again (above) because you can see Reese's first tooth pretty well. It seems that her tooth came in later than most, but I don't know much about these things. We can already see another tooth starting to come through so I guess they come in two's.

 On wednesday, Reese had her 9 month appt and I am always excited to get her new stats. She has pretty much caught up with her weight and height and doing great.

She weighs 16 lbs and is in the 10th %

Height: 25.5 inches, which is in the 5th %

 On Christmas Eve, Reese was watching her cousin clap and within the week, she is clapping away. We clap at everything these days, which is a lot of fun!

***** It's crazy how quickly she learns things. I started this post yesterday and by today, she learned to crawl normal, no longer the worm crawl, and she pulled herself up to the standing postion today. I love being home to watch every new phase, but I am especially having fun with this 9 month phase.

Isla's birthday...

 My niece Isla just had her 2nd birthday and I can't believe how fast it has gone by. It seems like yesterday that my sister and brother in law adopted their little baby. She is so much fun and has the cutest personality. I went with my sister to Costco to get her birthday present, which was this kitchenette. Well, Isla ended up playing in the little kitchen for about an hour with my sister while I finished up shopping. I love how little girls know how to use spices when they cook and always offer you a drink to go with your donut or hotdog or whatever they are serving you:)

So I had to take some pictures of my other nieces hair. My sister in law amazes me with all of her talent, one which is doing 5 girls hair. They looked like cute little "Cindy Lou Whos" These are their hair do's for Isla's birthday......

You can't tell real well,  but Kolby has her hair twisted into hearts, tied with ribbon.

 Kelsey's cool braids

 Khloe had cute messy buns all over woven with ribbon

 Kaiya just had some cool, braids, buns, and etc. Kennedy is in the back with her long beautiful hair.

 Reese liked wearing Isla's chef hat a little too much:)

Reese's first Christmas....

 I had to post a lot of pictures because there were too many to choose from. We had so much fun celebrating Christmas this year as a family! A baby definitely reminds me of the true meaning of Christmas! She didn't care about gifts, but just loved the lights and singing about Christ birth and just being together as a family. For the past couple of years, Ron and I have not really bought each other gifts for Christmas because we were saving to adopt. Well, we didn't need to really buy gifts this year either because we had been given the gift we have been saving for. Truly she is the greatest gift and we enjoyed every minute celebrating Christmas together.

 I was so excited to give Reese this dress I made for her for Christmas. ( Not the best picture) We went to church at Ron's parents ward so we could go to the 9:00 church. It was great for getting to all the families, but Reese was so tired! Usually in the morning, she gets so excited when I walk in her room to get her in the morning, but I had to wake her up on Christmas morning and she looked up at me, whimpered, then lied back down:( It was so sad! She at least was able to take a few cat naps between opening up gifts at all of the grandparents houses. Reese loved to chew on all of her gifts and tried to eat all of her wrapping paper.

Christmas Eve is always fun at Grandma & Grandpa Scoville's! Ron's mom always makes a really yummy dinner, then we usually sing Christmas hymns, the kids act out the nativity, and then we play chimes and read stories. It was getting a little late this year, so Reese had to go to bed, but it was a fun Christmas Eve.

 On Christmas Eve, we have a tradition of opening up one gift, which is always pajamas!

 below: Reese and Isla Christmas morning, with their cute Puma outfits from Auntie Leigh

 below: we seriously have the nicest neighbors. This cute older couple in our ward gave Reese these pajamas.

 below: Reese loves her cousins

 this is seriously the saddest face

 Christmas morning!!!!! Reese loved opening up and then eating her stocking!

below:

Ron took this picture of Isla and Reese holding hands. They are seriously best friends!!

 above: Reese's gifts/climbing blocks

We got this monkey for Isla. She named him Marvin!