Grocery Store Adventures

Reese hates shopping and usually makes any trip an adventure, but today's grocery store run was worthy of sharing.

We weren't getting a lot today, but I did get a couple of different fresh meats. He was really interested in the meat and I had to push it all the way to the back of the cart thinking that was taking care of the problem. We managed to get into the check out line without too much destruction and mayhem (only 3 or 4 items were thrown out of the cart). I noticed that the cashier looked a little concerned as she was emptying the cart. This prompted me to see what exactly Reese was doing. Somehow, he managed to get the package of crock pot meat open and had a slice of meat in his hand. He was attempting to eat it! I guess he likes his steak rare! I took it away and threw it in the trash and attempted to clean his hands.

A few minutes later a family from church got in line behind us and started talking to Reese. I heard the lady ask him if his daddy was at church. He quickly answered her, but I did not hear his answer. The cashier then looked at him and repeated his answer, "Daddy is playing golf." To my surprise that was the right answer. I had not told him where Bryan was, so I am not sure how he knew. He is very observant and doesn't miss much. Be careful what you say to him... He will not forget and will probably repeat it!

Back to the Gym!

Tomorrow Reese gets to go back to the Little Gym. The fall session starts tomorrow and he is looking forward to it! You may want to pray for his teacher. She doesn't know what is about to happen to her!

Reese Meets Chocolate

Reese is allergic to dairy products. With that being said, he has not been able to eat chocolate. This weekend I found some chocolate bars at the grocery store that are made from Rice Milk. Saturday he had his first taste and he fell in love. This video captures the second round of the chocolate tasting.

Funny Happy Birthday

Sweet Prayers

Despite the fact that Reese had to go to bed early for being ugly to Mommy, we still read his Bible and prayed. Last week I started asking him what he wanted to pray for and letting him talk to Jesus himself. Mommy or Daddy will ask him what he wants to thank Jesus for and then he repeats after us as we pray. Until tonight, we have had to prompt him a little to get him going. I don't think he quite understood what we were asking of him. Tonight, however, was different.

Daddy asked him what he wanted to thank Jesus for and he quickly said, "Joy!" Joy is his babysitter. He waited a few moments and then said, "Lily" (his friend at church) pause "Lou Lou, Zoe, Jace, Lou Lou". These are all kids that he stays with at church during the week. He must have thought that Lou Lou needed a little extra prayer tonight since she was mentioned twice.

What a blessing to hear him pray for his friends!

Dr Destruct-o says, "I not!"

Laptops beware! Reese is on a mission to destroy you! A couple of weeks ago Reese threw someones MAC and killed the DVD drive. Tonight he dumped his juice cup onto Mommy's laptop. Thanks to some advice from some tech savvy friends, we were able to do some repairs ourselves and it looks like it will be ok.

Due to this fact, Mr Holder was on thin ice tonight. While in the bath tub he did not want to sit down while I rinsed his hair. When I told him to sit down his response was "I not!" That was a first. Mommy hadn't heard that answer before and didn't like it too much. He was told to sit down and not say that any more. I told him that wasn't nice and if he said it again he would have to get out and get in the bed early. Not surprisingly, on my next attempt to rinse his hair he stood up again and again he said, "I not" when I told him to sit.

Being true to my word, I pulled him out and he got in the bed. A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do!

Why didn't someone tell me the terrible two's come early!

First Hair Cut

The time has finally come. After months of knots and frizz, I was able to convince Bryan to have Reese's hair cut. It had gotten out of control. The hair was down to his back and covering his eyes and ears when wet.

After gymnastics on Tuesday, Daddy met us at the Hans J Salon where Erin Silver worked her magic. She started in the back and Reese was doing really well. When she moved around to the sides, he saw the hair falling and started to cry. I am not sure if he was sad to see the hair go or scared that it was falling off of him. None the less, he stopped quickly and was a great little customer.

The finished product and the sweet thank you to Ms Erin.

No Fun!

Mommy and Daddy spent the morning with Reese at the Allergist's office. After 20 months of guessing and assumptions about food issues we got a solid diagnosis. Our little fella has a true milk allergy and a dog allergy.

We had anticipated the milk allergy and have been careful about dairy products. Dr. Liddle told us that we have to eliminate it completely for the next year and then he can be retested. Little Reesey doesn't know it, but this is going to make some significant changes in his diet. No more corn dogs!!! This will be the worst part for him. He loves his corn dogs!

On the upside he can tolerate Rice Milk and we have been using it for a couple of weeks now. If any one has a recipe for corn dogs please pass it on. As long as I can substitute Rice milk for regular milk he'll be just fine. While your at it, let me know of any bread and treats that you know of that are milk free.

More Food Fun

This morning I decided to let Reese try to feed himself. Breakfast is usually fruit and a waffle so it is not a big deal. However this morning he had fruit and grits. I don't know how to teach him to use a spoon other than to let him practice. We weren't in any hurry this morning so I let him go at it. Here is the result:

Big Boy Bed

Our little buddy is growing up way too fast! A couple of weeks ago we had to move the crib out. Reese discovered that he could jump, yes you read that right, jump out of the crib. We decided not to take that chance again and brought in the toddler bed. Like the trooper he is, Reese adjusted to the new bed within a couple of days and is now in love. He is quite proud of his big boy bed. For several days he said "Good job Reese" every time we mentioned the bed or he saw the bed. The first week or two he greeted me with "big boy bed" every morning when I came to get him.

18 months

We just returned from Reese's 18 month checkup. Our little buddy is growing fast!

32.5 inches long and 27.5 pounds

Dr. Godwin was impressed with his jumping skills. He was quite proud to show them off. He also exercised his lungs and screamed at her and the nurse quite a bit. We had to get a Hepatitis shot and the 2nd round of the H1N1. Thankfully, we don't have to get anymore until 4 years old!

This has been a traumatic week. Tuesday we visited Dr. Uprichard (the dentist) and had a tooth cleaning. Currently Reese is cutting his bottom canine teeth. After these no more until the molars come in a few years. Thank goodness!

Hopefully, there will be time to post about Christmas later today.

Yeah Reese!

You may remember that we bought Reese a potty a month or two ago. Occasionally he will inspect the potty and sit on it (clothed). We have not pushed potty training yet. I thought that it would be best to get through the holidays first.

Last week Reese had the hand, foot, and mouth virus. Because of this he had blisters on his bottom. Our pediatrician told us to let him go without a diaper when possible so the blisters could heal. With this in mind we sat on the potty quiet a few times.

Saturday, Reese was tugging on his diaper and I asked if he wanted to sit on the potty. He ran to the bathroom and I took the diaper off and let him sit on the potty. I was blown away when I heard the potty start to play a song. Reese peed in the potty!!! We all cheered and did a happy dance. He was not interested in sitting on the potty anymore that day. Last night he started tugging at his diaper again. Yet again, he peed in the potty!

We are so proud of him! As originally planned, we are not going to officially try training until the first of the year, but we will continue giving him opportunities daily.

Potty Time

Reese got something new and exciting this weekend...

He is so excited about the potty! We have been letting him sit on it and he opens the lid, flushes, and closes the lid (I am training him right!). The potty plays a song when he goes in it. I poured a little water in so that he could hear the song and he giggled and danced around.

At this point, we are simply letting him sit on the potty. We have not made him try to use it. It is such a treat for him. He loves it! This morning he got really upset when I was changing his diaper. I told him he could sit on the potty if he would calm down. Immediately he dried it up and as soon as I put him down he ran to the potty.

I am thinking that we will wait until after Christmas to officially start training, but he sure is enjoying the preparation.

Bathing Beauty

My little buddy looks quite handsome in his bath robe!

Vote for Reese

Reese Is Entered in the Gap Casting Call

Gap is holding a nationwide contest to find the next faces of babyGap and GapKids, and Reese is entered into the contest. Check out Reese's entry here:
http://family.go.com/gapcastingcall/entries/crystalholder/392778526/

Go to the website above and vote for Reese. The baby with the most votes wins a trip to Disney World. You can vote once a day until November 17th.

Ask everyone you know to vote for Reese!

Pumpkin Time

I have never carved a pumpkin before and wasn't really sure that I wanted to tackle that type of mess with a 16 month old. Instead, we decided to paint Reese's pumpkin. A couple of weeks ago on Bryan's day off, we stripped the little guy down, rolled some paper across the floor, and squirted out some paint. I put some acrylic paint on to Reese's hands while Bryan held him still. Then, Reese put his hand prints on his little pumpkin. The prints aren't perfect (he was a little squirmy), but I think it turned out pretty cute.

Boo in the Zoo

Sunday afternoon we took Reese to Boo in the Zoo at the Greenville Zoo. He was the cutest little monkey ever! Though he did not understand what was going on, he seemed to have a good time and liked a few of his prizes. His Daddy really enjoyed the candy.

Time to eat

Oh the joy of teaching a toddler to feed himself with utensils. Mommy still has to scoop the food onto the spoon, but Reese will feed himself. If Mommy doesn't scoop fast enough, Reese takes matters into his own hands, literally!

Warning: This is gross!

Our week started out on an odd note, one that I couldn't help but laugh at when I probably should have been disgusted. The morning started out with breakfast and then a bath. When I took Reese out of the bath I left him in just a diaper. Around 10 I put him down for a nap. This is the time that I usually get dressed for the day. He was not happy about taking a nap and fussed, but he was left in the bed anyway. I brought the baby monitor into the bathroom and got in the shower. After a few minutes he quited down and went to sleep (so I thought!). As I was getting out of the shower he started fussing again, so I quickly dried off and put on my robe. I went into his room and he was standing in his crib completely naked. He had stripped off his diaper (a common occurrence lately) and thrown it to the side. His pillow had poop on top of it and under it. I picked him up to clean him and saw that some poo was still hanging off his bottom. When he was clean I put him in his pack and play so that I could clean the bed up. When I went to take him out of the pack and play, he was naked yet again! The diaper was on the floor and he was standing there with a big smile on his face. I know it is gross, but of course I took pictures. Maybe one day we will reveal them to the world!

Moving Toy Bin

We have a rolling bin that we keep Reese's small toys and balls in. He recently discovered that he can climb into the bin. He also figured out that he can wiggle and make it move. Enjoy!