10 months

Oh this girl...it's a good thing she's so cute because the days (and nights) have become more difficult with her. You just may be catching me at a moment where my daughter won't sleep for longer than 30 minutes and then refuses to go back down (nap time). She's also been crying hard and long when we put her to bed at night and waking up at least twice. Hopefully it's just a phase. I'm praying it's something that will pass and I'll look back and think, did that really happen? Ha! Maybe. 

The other challenge....FOOD! I shouldn't be surprised. Food has never been her friend since she was born. She is so uninterested in it...even all the yummy fruits she's trying get tossed over the side of her Bumbo. The one thing I can count on to be completely gone from her tray when I turn around is cheese. At least I know she's getting her calcium and dairy!

Other than those two things...and that seems to occupy my mind and heart constantly...she's so much fun, such a joy and more precious as the days go by.

Here's a little more of what Miss Reese has been up to:

-Crawling like a Pro! We'll turn around after putting her down and she'll already be in the next room!

-She loves animals and especially dogs! When we read her touch and feel book and get to the doggie page she starts to laugh and then doesn't want to turn the page. If we do, she'll go back through the pages until she finds it.

-She weighs 17 1/2 pounds (25th percentile) and I can't remember her height :/ (they say it so fast and I miss it...but I know she's in the 40th for height)

-For the first time a few mornings ago I found her pulled up on her crib standing. So exciting! This could be the reason behind her troubled sleep.

-She's going to have her first overnighter with Marmee and Papa this weekend. Matt and I are excited to get away but I must admit, it's hard thinking about leaving your baby for the first time. I just hope she's a good girl...and they all get their sleep!

-Reese had her first professional pictures taken at JC Penny. They turned out amazing (a big answer to prayer!) and I can't wait for them to get here so that our girl can finally be on the wall. :)

-Mom continues to pray for wisdom, strength and dependence on the Lord to raise this little one. God has blessed us richly and we give Him all the praise!

Reese loves her Hershey bear!

Our serious girl.

Standing all by myself!

She looks proud of herself for being so messy!

Crazy hair and tummy pictures

We've had a slow morning...which is why my hair is still wet at 11:30 and the breakfast dishes haven't been washed but...the bed is made, important emails and phone calls are done and Reese just woke up from a nap. Her hair is why I pulled out my camera. It's CrAzY! Matt and I have a good laugh every time we go and get her from her crib. It's got a mind of it's own and dad affectionately calls it her "Einstein hair"! These pictures don't really do it justice but enjoy!

And here is the baby bump at 15 weeks today. It doesn't look very big but I feel like

it is...at least for how early into pregnancy we are. :)

Reese Meets Grandmom

I love Palm Springs. I've been there more times than I can count on my hands and other then going in June or July when you're so hot it's hard to move let alone enjoy it, Matt and I always say we wish we had a little home there to spend 9 or 10 months out of the year. I'm not sure why Palm Springs other then the fact that we don't have to get on a plane, it's cheap to stay and the weather is PERFECT...while all the rest of the US was experiencing 20 or 30 degree weather and for Alaska probably -degrees, we were basking in early 80s. Ahhh! 

But anyways...the reason we went there this past weekend was to see my Grandmother and for Reese to meet her Great Grandmother (that sounds so crazy) for the first time. We had such a wonderful visit with her and truly soaked up all two days we were together. She spoiled us with incredible lunches and dinners out and even bought a sweet little dress for Reese when she turns one. 

Oh...I love Grandmom more then I can say. She is a precious woman that I am so thankful to be family to. Coming up on 5 years ago we lost her sweet husband to brain cancer...who all of us grandchildren lovingly called Poppy. You may recognize that name because my Dad chose to carry it on and be called Poppy by his grandchildren. So special! For Reese to have the opportunity to meet and spend time with Grandmom did my heart a world of good. It's so hard that we are across the country from each other but I'm grateful we had this time. Thank you for all the loving and spoiling you did for all 3 of us, Grandmom! We loved our visit with you.

Christmas 2010

This year we celebrated Christmas with the Mehringer side of the family. All four siblings and their spouses were here and Ray and Missy hosted Christmas Day at their house. I'm not sure how far back the tradition goes but they have been going out to dinner on Christmas Eve for many years. This year we decided to have Italian and Sisley's Italian Kitchen was the unanimous choice. We were even able to have our own private room! We felt like we had the whole restaurant to ourselves. This was also the night we decided to tell the family our big news! Especially in the evenings it had become tricky trying to hide or disguise my baby bump and with everyone together we felt it would be a good time.

To tell the family our announcement, I made a calendar with pictures from the previous year of all our family adventures. On baby's due date month I put a picture of Reese in her shirt that says, "I'm going to be a big sister." Missy was the one to open the calendar and no one was expecting such a surprise when she got to July.

After our dinner at Sisley's we went driving to see lights. It was a colder night here in California so we stayed in the car and just drove through the neighborhood at Courtland. I felt like a kid again and oohed and ahhed more than anyone else in our car.  Afterwards we headed to Tad and Monika's for dessert...an amazing molten chocolate cake. Really there aren't words to describe how good it was. I didn't get a picture so you'll have to trust me. It.was.Amazing. 

Once dessert was inhaled finished, us wives revealed a surprise to our husbands we'd been planning. We decided pajamas were the perfect Christmas Eve gift and even though all 3 of us were nervous as to what they'd think and especially whether they'd actually wear them, we went for it. And they shocked us! Not only did they wear them but all 3 liked them too. Yay! Hopefully we've started a new tradition to keep going. Games of Nertz were played and Home Alone was watched. Such a fun night all together!

And when we got home, Matt and I hurriedly stuffed stockings, took this picture and went to bed! We shouldn't have been in such a hurry. Reese woke us up 2 or 3 times that night and banished all thoughts of good sleep before another busy day. That would be why we look like this here. Somehow she looks rested and happy...I wonder why that is.

A few more pictures of Reese opening up her presents...this one is a Fisher Price barn from Nana and Poppy in Alaska!

Matt surprised me with a jewelry box from Pottery Barn. He did a great job keeping a secret and I especially love being able to see all my jewelry out so that it reminds me to wear it. :)

Yesterday

I know I'm getting a little ahead of myself with this even before a Christmas post is up but I wanted to document yesterday's event. World...meet our littlest Mehringer to debut him or herself sometime around July 14th! This was my first doctor's appointment and they surprised me with not only doing all the yucky exams and blood work but also getting to see our baby! If I had known they were doing this I would have made sure Matt was at this appointment. It was wonderful! He or she was all over the screen kicking, moving, and even did a complete somersault for us! At one point it almost looked like baby got shy because the hands went over it's face looking as if to hide. :) There is a strong good heartbeat at 150 and the doctor said...this little one is a happy kid. Today I am 14 weeks and officially in the second trimester! Thank you Lord for getting me to this place. He has sustained me and I just might be turning the corner on all of this sickness. Praying that's the case!

I am praising the Lord for this wonderful report and little miracle growing inside me. The downer of this appointment...having to get weighed. I'm enjoying that even less this time because the weight wasn't all off from Reese when I got pregnant. That's going to be a challenge that I'll be praying to have the right heart attitude about. I know weight gain is good and important for a healthy baby but it can be such a struggle to know where I was with my first and now where I am. I'm praying that instead of focusing on whether I've gained or not, I'll be working on my response to give God glory no matter the number AND to confess and run from my pride. That's really what it's about.

It's DONE!!!!

Finally...after a year and a half of extra demands, lots of meetings and seminars, burning the midnight and maybe even the 2am and the 4am oil Matt has finally completed clearing his credential. He has his final exit interview Tuesday afternoon but all of his giant amounts of papers and projects got finished last night  err...I mean early this morning. So...to celebrate we are doing just a few things today.

Having his favorite food!

Visiting a pet store with Reese.

Finally trying a cupcake from Velvet Cupcakes at the mall!

And to finish off, we're going to try a cup of tea at Teavana.

So proud of all your work, Matt! A job very well done. :)