Cowgirl Reese

Matt's AAU season has started with MoKan so he's traveling most weekends for awhile. I'm still pretty terrified to be alone with my two children for extended periods of time (and I STILL can't drive) so G-Mom and Papa were happy to come keep us company last weekend and Aunt Gentry will be on duty this weekend. Cade loves having visitors!

G-Mom loves dressing Reese up even more than I do. Between my parents, Aunt Kizzie, and my Grandmama, Reese has quite the assortment of Cowgirl attire.

G-Mom gave Cade a crash course in photography.

And now he's always wanting to practice his skills.

Reese doesn't mind being the object of his photos. I was actually pretty impressed when he took this one. Bravo, Cade!

This is the life right now! Now I don't say this to make you jealous, but know that I'm composing this post from my lawn chair out on the deck making an attempt to get some sun before it gets too blazing hot. I'm so white right now I'm reflecting the sun I think.

The Joys of Parenting

I would do anything to make Cade happy. What parent wouldn't? Cader's birthday is just around the corner so when the Toys R Us catalog came in the mail...I immediately circled this guy.

Your very own bounce house. Heck yeah. Now Cade's birthday isn't until May 5th...but as soon as this puppy was in our possession we could wait no longer. Matt and I are worse than little kids at times. Reese watched carefully as I set it up and can't wait for her day in the bounce house.

It was fairly easy to assemble. Take it out of the box. Unfold it.

Hook up the blower and voila.

Instant fun.

There are several reasons why this is a practical purchase. 1. It is durable and will entertain children ages 2-8 and holds up to 250 pounds. 2. We don't have any large outside toys at this time so this gives us something to do outside. 3. It is awesome and Matt and I want to bounce in it also.

So clearly this will be the gift that keeps on giving around here. It has basketball hoops in it and came with several inflatable toys. Anything involving a basketball hoop is welcome around here. We have one in every room it seems!

Note that upon further exploration it seems that the bounce house holds the weight of seated adults fine but the blower sounds like it's going to explode when an adult (aka me) is jumping in the bounce house.

Cade stinkin' loves it. And he has no concept of when his actual birthday is so we just blew it up and said this is for your birthday. It's coming up soon. It's fine. Come over and play in our bounce house anytime! (Speaking to kids and adults here).

The Many Faces of One-Month-Old Reese

Look at this pretty girl! We decided to use her beautiful bed as the setting for our monthly pics. And the monthly stickers that we got from the Harwood's are super handy! Reese is very photogenic and was anxious to display her many emotions.

Happy Reese

Excited Reese

(Notice the red birthmark on her arm. I swear it gets a little bigger every day. Freak. Me. Out. But the doctor says that they're very common and that it will probably grow and then go away.)

Tired Reese

Angry Reese

Scared Reese

I decided the shoot could be finished when she started to get that terrified look. I know it's cliche but I'm totally in shock that it's been a month already. Wow. She eats like a champ and sleeps for 3-4 hours at a time 'round the clock. She loves to snuggle and you really have to con her to get her to sleep in her bed as she hates being on her back and seems to know immediately when she doesn't have contact with another human. She measured 21 7/8 inches in length and weighed 8 pounds 5.5 ounces yesterday at the doctor's office. Dr. Baker said she is "perfect" and we clearly agree! Do you think that Miss Reese and Cade look alike at one month?

Just Chillin'

It was bound to happen. We'd been on a roll just blogging away...and now...nothing. Why? Because I never leave the house...ever. Not being able to drive is the pits! Don't get me wrong, I am very much enjoying the lazy days where we stay in our pjs past nap time...but I jump at the chance for any sort of outing also. So here we are...just chillin'.

Unlike Cade, Reese digs the swing. Yea! She prefers to swing while listening to the sound effects of running water or chirping birds. Perhaps she's our Nature Girl?

I feel like Reese is awake for about 15 minutes a day...

When she is awake, we definitely like to dress up and take pictures.

Cord fell off when she was about 2 weeks old. She enjoys baths and doesn't even cry.

She doesn't mind parking it in the bathroom while I get ready and it's nice to have someone who doesn't remove everything from the cabinets during this time.

We enjoyed a visit from Peggy! Can't believe this girl is almost a college grad!

Peggy made this very cool picture holder for Reese that I immediately put to use. Hard to believe all these pics were taken in the last 3 weeks. Life changed quickly around here!

The Williams' brought us pizza while they're here from South Carolina.

We did venture out to the MNU basketball banquet (for a very brief appearance). Cade made his drumming debut, we showed off Reese and then we were out. Our attention span is quite short!


Guess I need to plan some outings just so we have some pics! Until then...expect more of us just chillin!

Semi-Pro

My dear friend Audrey came over to work her magic with her camera for Miss Reese. Audrey humbly claims she's not a pro and that she has no idea what she's doing when taking pictures. I don't think that could possibly be true. I'd give her at least semi-pro status.

Tiny toes

Baby blues

Aud was a genius with the pearls that I just happened to be wearing that day.



We hoped to get some good shots of the 4 of us also...this proved to be challenging.

We had many obstacles to overcome...like wind and the "terrible twos" flaring up.

This one just cracks me up.

And this one is my fav!

Thanks, Aud, for coming to work your magic on us!!!

Egg Huntin'

I've enjoyed seeing all the pictures with the fancy church clothes, egg dyeing and egg hunts filling up everyones Facebook pages and blog world. Guess we better get ours out there too! Hate to deprive cyberspace of our cute kiddo doing his egg huntin'. Cade participated in several Easter egg hunts this year...each one with a little more gusto than the last. And although the candy was enticing...it's really hard for anything to keep this guy's attention for too long.
The Heine's hosted a very cute Easter party complete with an egg hunt, cookie decorating, and a yummy lunch! Unfortunately the rain moved the egg hunt inside.

Go Cade Go! Go find the eggs...he wasn't too sure what that even meant.

He was rolling for a little bit...

But the Heine's have LOTS of cool toys...and they won out over hunting for eggs.


Cade's final egg hunt was his most lucrative of all...probably because there were no other kids to compete with! The Easter Bunny must live in our neighborhood because each Easter morning our yard is scattered with TONS of candy-filled plastic eggs!

Cade enjoyed looking for them...he just takes his time with the search.

Once he figured out there was candy in them he picked up the pace a bit.




Thank you neighborhood Easter bunny!

Here's how Reese passed the time while Cade hunted for eggs. I have a feeling that next year she'll be giving him a run for his money! (Notice how she busts right out of my swaddle job with the blankets? Matt is the expert swaddler...he can keep her confined...I apparently cannot.)

Only in the City

Enjoyed a quick trip to Deanna Rose Farmstead on Friday...along with half of Johnson County it seemed. This was not an original idea. I'd never seen the parking lot so full!

Reese is hiding in the pouch...trust me, she's there.


Cade and I have been a handful of times before, but this was the first time for him to actually care about seeing the animals.

Baby pigs!

Gazing at the sheep...way at the other end of the pen.

Cade doesn't understand how this works.


The Farmstead is a really cool place. It's like a very clean and JoCo-ified County Fair with playgrounds mixed in here and there. I thought it was ironic when Matt made the comment that having a place like this to come visit was "one of the perks of living in the city."