eating habits: part 2

I can't believe I'm typing this but I have been unbelievably amazed this past week because apparently Reese LOVES to eat!!!!!! I guess I just wasn't giving her the right foods! She still hates baby food and won't eat off of a spoon but she'll eat pretty much anything if she thinks it's what you're eating! She still doesn't love to pick   things up and put them in her mouth on her own {except for puffs} but she'll eat baby chunks of food off my finger like a champ! She's eaten apples, bananas, carrots, chicken, hamburger, turkey, corn, beans, yogurt bites, graham crackers.... whoooohoooo!!!! She still doesn't eat a ton but she opens her mouth and "chews" with her toothless gums haha! I'm so proud! Also, today she drank some water from her sippy cup! :) Again, she would only do it when she watched her daddy do it first.... but that's a big step!! Love you Reesie boo! You're sure growing up fast.

crazy!!!!

 Read the caption on the first photo, then look at the second photo.

Look at the picture above and you can see where this driver

broke through the guardrail, on the right side of the culvert,

where the people are standing on the road, pointing.

The pick-up was traveling about 75 mph from right to left

when it crashed through the guardrail.

It flipped end-over-end bounced off and across the culvert outlet,

and landed right side up on the left side of the culvert,

facing the opposite direction from which the driver was traveling.

The 22-year-old driver and his 18-year-old passenger

were unhurt except for minor cuts and bruises.

Just outside Flagstaff , AZ , on U.S. Hwy 100.

Now look at the picture below...

If God isn’t done with you…God isn’t done with you.

love this...

This little girl's mother is a computer specialist from Helsinki, Finland. While her daugher is soundly asleep, she creates a completely different world... from whatever she can find around her! That's how both of them because really famous. What a fabulous imaginiation!! 

there are a million more... these were just some of my favorites :)

nine months

27.5 inches long (47%)

17.8 lbs (30%)

Reese turned nine-months-old on Wednesday!! She had her nine month appt yesterday and I was shocked to see she was only in the 30% percentile for weight- remember when she was in the 90% for the first six months!! Wow. I guess she’s just crawling everywhere and burning up all that baby fat – and the fact that she won’t eat anything probably has something to do with it. But the nurse practitioner wasn’t worried at all and said she looked great! She’s crawling all over the place, pulling up on everything, starting to get very curious, loves to play with her toys, loves to play peek a boo, loves to shake her head NO and hasn’t quite figured out yes yet so she just leans to the side, loves to pull everything out of her diaper bag (at least twice a day), loves to chase the broom around while I sweep! She thinks it’s hilarious. She “talks” all the time!! Says, dada and mama – but not at us, I don’t think. She loves Gunner and lights up every time she sees him. She also loves knobs! And somehow has figured out how to unscrew the ones on our coffee table! Uh oh. Also, the nurse said yesterday that she could eat table food now and just go ahead and try anything! (except milk, eggs, pb, etc.) So last night at Rudy’s we gave Reesie some tiny pieces of turkey, corn and bread and she gobbled them up!!!!! Yippee!! I guess she’ll just skip right over that yucky baby food stuff {which I have a TON of homemade baby food in the freezer! Good thing I made all that haha} This sure will be easier. Anybody have some good/soft/healthy finger food ideas?? Send em my way :)

The green chair pictures are getting much more difficult to take haha! here are a few :)

Reesie, you have captured my heart and I couldn’t love you more. Happy nine month birthday!!

resolutions

I realize I'm very late in posting these and that most people think new years resolutions are dumb.... but I love them. I do it every year and I think it's such a great way to reflect on the past year, on things I want to change or do better or different and then by writing them down it helps really keep me accountable. So, in no particular order.... here are my 2011 new years resolutions.

- Finish reading 'So Long Insecurity' by Beth Moore by the end of January
- Read 2 more books for fun
- Join a weekly Bible study
- Video Reese (and our family) more often
- Sew more
- For every article of new clothing I buy I have to give one away
- Cut back on buying things and groceries that we don't need
- Watch less TV (no american idol or the bachelor)
- Don't hate/dread going to school every morning
- Go on a date night with Mark at least once a month (if not more!!)
- Try more new recipes
- Take vitamins every day
- Read the Bible every day
- Read the Bible with Reese and teach her about Jesus

eating habits

My little Reeser has truly been the greatest baby in the world! She is so laid back, so sweet, smiles all the time, sleeps great (usually)…. however, there is one thing she absolutely does not like…. eating!!! {unless its breastmilk}. We have tried everything from frozen to warm, from homemade to store bought to organic, from bananas and applesauce to sweet potatoes, peas and carrots, on a spoon, off my finger, off her tray on her highchair, on a plate…. You name it, we’ve probably tried it (except for yogurt! Someone told me yesterday to try that). She just won’t have it. She’ll be nine months tomorrow. Still has no teeth. Is still breastfeeding. and our dr says it’s not a big deal and is not worried about it at all. I’m really not worried about it either… It’s just funny! All this to say, last night she ate a whole bunch of little pieces of a banana (I think because she thought I was eating it too – so she wanted what I was having)!! I was ECSTATIC!! Hahaha I mean you would have thought she had taken her first step or won SING or something! Ha. I was doing a dance and she was smiling so big like she knew she had done something great, but didn’t know what it was! :) Then today at lunch she ate about 3 puffs! Again I put them on my plate next to my pretzels and she thought she was having what I was having! Tricky little thing. Tonight she ate some pieces of bread that I was having. Hopefully, this will continue a little each day and we’ll get this girl to eat. I just pray that she’s not a picky eater her whole life! I mean that would be the complete {COMPLETE} opposite of me, the girl who eats anything. Haha!

At least she still looks precious in her high chair :)

Love you little stinker!

christmastime

We had the best Christmas with our little babe! Mark and I were both off for two weeks and it was fantastic! Unfortunately Reese got RSV the week before :( it was so sad... but she recovered really quick. We did have to do a steroid shot and breathing treatments for a few weeks, but it didn't stop that little busy body from having fun with her aunts and uncles! 

We stayed in Amarillo with Mark's family for Christmas and we were off work the whole week before Christmas.... it was the best, most relaxing, fun with our family of three, non-shopping week! We had all of the Mason's over for Christmas Eve dinner after the church service for Mexican pile on - a Mason christmas eve tradition - and cookie decorating and Elf!

 Christmas morning Reese got to see what Santa bought and we opened our presents at our house. Then we went to Mark's parents house for brunch and more present opening. I spent the afternoon (and the day before) cooking my granny's cornbread dressing for the first time and after about 300 phone calls to Baton Rouge - I did it! {and it was delicious, if I do say so myself :)} We had a fun Christmas day with the Masons! I always love having all of them together! What a fun family I'm so blessed to be a part of! Reese was definitely spoiled with tons of presents, books, clothes etc. Here are a few of her new things:

paper and ribbons:

 noah's ark from Santa

play tent from Anne Marie

Christmas morning brunch:

After lunch on the 26th we drove to Ft. Worth to be with my family for a few days at my grandmothers house. It was a wonderful time, as always. Again, Reese was spoiled! and best of all, she crawled for the first time :) She's all over the place now. It's too cute.

This is her new bear from her Uncle Eric - it WILL be her favorite (eric says)

Two of my dad's brothers and their families got to be in Ft. Worth as well. We had a fun day. Here are my cousins Rachel and Collin who are from Tyler. 

Dinner at Joe Ts (yummm!) Reese and Daddy having a melt down together ha!

family picture 

We drove down to Houston for the Baylor Bowl game after our time in Ft. Worth! I dont have many pictures and it was a pitiful game... but we still had fun with our friends Nat and Jessie and it's fun to be able to say we went to the game {and so did Reese :)}

This year we brought in the new year with our besties from Lubbock!! We had the best time! Shelbi and Preston were driving through from Colorado and Taryn and Chase drove up from Lubbock! It was the best night of food, laughs, games, laughs, fireworks and more laughing. So fun!! Thanks for coming sweet friends. 

and here we are now.... in 2011. Can't believe its here. The year Mark graduates from Medical School and becomes Dr. Mason!! The year Reese turns one! The year Reese will start walking. The year I 'retire' :) yippee! The year we move to a semi-permanent location yet to be determined. The year God does amazing things for us, in us and through us. We dedicate 2011 to our gracious Jesus and pray we will live every day of this new year for Him.