A couple new firsts

Today, Reece and I decided to break out the finger paints. She was very into it and excited about it, but you know a toddler's attention span isn't that long, so the fun only lasted about 15 minutes and then she said, "Aw dun paint" (Translation= I'm all done painting)

We got to attend our first Astro's game last weekend. Reece loved it and was such a good girl the whole time. She was so clingy with her daddy. She wouldn't leave his side the whole time. And, yes, I was there, but the only picture of Reece and I was at the very end of the game when she was pretty cranky and ready for a nap!

Excuse Reece's finger up the nose!!

Snackin' on some animal crackers and trying to figure out what all the little people are doing down there.
Ice cream kisses for Daddy

Silly ice cream face!

Just lookin' at Daddy. It's so fun to see how the two of them love each other!! Reece has started saying "No bye-bye, daddy" when he has to leave for work. I know it breaks his heart. And, when I tell her we're going somewhere, she'll say "Daddy, too??"

Reece thought the seats needed some decoration in the form of Dora stickers

Too much excitement!!

Reece has really become a toddler in the last couple weeks. She says "No do dat" and points the the blender (she doesn't like the noise). She also is in love with her friend "Bebe Ah-gail" (Abigail Nalley) and says her name over and over again throughout the day. If I ask her, "What would you like to pray about, Reece?" She'll say "Bebe Ah-gail" and when we're finished, she'll say "Pray more bebe Ah-gail" She also loves to repeat the phrase "no bap-uhme" which means "no vacuum" (She hates it when I vacuum) She knows several colors (green being her favorite) and she can count to ten, although she is just saying the words, she doesn't really know that she's counting. I've painted her toe-nails a few times recently, and if someone comments on it, she'll say, "mommy do dat" (mommy did that). It's amazing how many words, phrases and short sentences that she knows, but it's also amazing that sometimes I have no idea what she's trying to say. I love that I get to be a part of her learning how to communicate.

Anyway, that's all for now. Have a great rest of the holiday weekend!

June Update

I know it's been awhile, so I thought I needed to give an update on the Perez lives and, of course, some cute Reece pictures!

I'm getting really good at drawing Elmo!

See what can happen if you aren't looking for five minutes! Reece was very proud of what she had accomplished. Then, Mommy helped her put it all back.

I could not get this one to turn around, but I thought it was so cute!

Mommy and Reece made "cake" (brownies).

Uh, Oh... I hope that bite didn't have raw eggs in it!!

Now the fun part! Yum!!

Reece loves to help. She says, "Help me!" because I always say, "Can you help me??"

Reece LOVES shoes! She puts on anyone's shoes and can even take her own shoes on and off.

Silliness!!

We have been busy with normal work and life, and MANY trips to Grandmama's pool, the neighborhood splash-pad, and our very own yellow plastic tub in the driveway. Reece says "suit!!" when she wants to put on her swim suit and head off to the pool. Daniel has been working nights and a lot of over-time. We miss him, but have lots of good family time when he is home.

I am 20 weeks pregnant and still feeling great! This has been a thankfully un-eventful pregnancy. I felt the baby move right at 15 weeks, and Daniel has already gotten to feel him or her several times. This baby is active! I don't remember feeling Reece until I was 20 or so weeks. We had an ultrasound 2 weeks ago and everything looks great with the baby. He or she was only 10 ounces! Hard to believe something that small can move and kick already! We held strong and didn't find out the sex, so you'll all be as surprised as we are in a few months. We like the name Joseph Mitchell for a boy and I like the name Olivia Joyce for a girl, but Daniel isn't a fan of the girl name, so I'll leave picking the girl name up to him. It is fun not knowing what the sex is. There is a lot less pressure to get everything "ready" before the baby comes. What does a second baby need, anyway?? I guess I'll have to buy some blue onesies just so our boy won't have to wear Reece's pink hand-me-downs! :)

I am almost done with my Hebrews class! Praise the Lord!! I have one test to take, and by His grace, I will get to take it this week, pass it, and be DONE!! What a great feeling that will be. I have been thinking a lot about my options as far as childbirth goes. Hospital? Birthing center? Home birth? ... It's a shame that insurance dictates so much of options for heath care. The last two options may not even be options after I get the chance to check with my insurance. Any advice on these areas would be greatly appreciated!! I just saw the movie "The Business of Being Born" and I HIGHLY recommend it!

MAF Update

We have sent in our application and all our references are in, so we are officially approved to go for our technical evaluation in August. We are still mulling through lots of paperwork, so keep praying for us! Sometimes it gets discouraging because it seems like they are trying to find some reason to not accept us. I know they are just doing their job and I also want them to tell me if they don't think we're right for this. But hopefully in August we'll get to meet some friendly and encouraging faces.

Bye from all of us!! :)

Lots of Pictures

Happy Mother's Day!!!

It's a little cold, Daddy!!

Fun at the bouncing place. I forget the name, but they have a really great small childrens' room.

Going down the BIG girl slide!!
FUN with the sprinkler. We can't wait to go to the pool!!

Mom and Dad went to the Weekend to Remember. It was amazing!!! If you are married and haven't been, PLEASE go!! It's SO worth it!

Outside of the cheesecake factory!

In our hotel room with really fluffy beds! :)

My Husband is Awesome

Ya wanna know why? Here are some answers for you (not the complete listing, but just some :)

1. Right now, at 8:47pm on a Monday night after he has worked a 12 hour busy shift where he has to dress up and wear nice shoes my husband is spraying our yard for fleas. Why so late? Because we just discovered that our dog has FLEAS! and I wanted him to spray the yard before we put the flea medicine on him tonight.

2. He went to the grocery store for me yesterday (on a SUNDAY!) with Reece and got everything on my list and was $20.00 under budget!

3. He CLEANED OUT THE REFRIGERATOR last night! I mean, wiped all the shelves and everything!

4. He gives me foot massages without me asking even AND if I haven't given him one in a long time.

5. Sometimes, he'll wake up early and turn the monitor off without me knowing and he'll get Reece up so that I can sleep in even though he usually has to wake up TWO HOURS earlier than me.

6. He doesn't get too mad at me when I leave my apple cores in the car :(

7. He will buy me pantene pro-v shampoo and conditioner because he knows I won't buy it for myself because it's too expensive.

8. He does things that I HATE doing without even complaining (like taking the dog to the vet and doing the taxes!)

9. He doesn't mind that I hog the bed.

10. If I'm having a "cookie craving," (whether I'm pregnant or not!) he'll go out and get me some even if it's late at night.

I wish I could tell you all the other reasons why my husband is awesome. But, he's almost done with the yard, so now it's hubby time! :)

News, News, News

Okay, so it's only really one piece of news, but it's BIG! I mean REALLY big!
...Actually, hopefully it won't be that big. Hopefully it will only be about seven pounds or so...

That's right! I'm pregnant!!!! We are VERY excited!!

I finally get to tell all my blogging friends. I feel like I've been lying to you guys for so long. Although, most of the people who read this already knew (b/c I don't really think a whole lot of people read this) now I can come clean and tell everyone!

A fun fact: My due date is November 6. Reece's second birthday is November 12. If I can hold out for six days, they'll have the same birthday!! (My brother and I also have the same birthday!)

Yea! Another baby on the way!

Crazy Week

We have had the craziest week around here. It started with Reece being diagnosed with bronchiolitis on Monday. She had been sick all weekend, but I didn't realize how bad she really was until I took her into the doctor. They gave her a steroid shot and put her on breathing treatments every four hours around the clock. As you can imagine, she hated the breathing treatments, and the only way to get her to hold still was to put on the Wiggles. (I'm really sick of the Wiggles right now!! Watching them every four hours is WAY too much!) We had to go back to the doctor on Tuesday and Friday. Dr. Ramsey thinks she probably has RSV, so we are banned from being around any other babies for about two weeks. She said on Friday that she still hears a little bit of wheezing, so we're still on breathing treatments. But, Reece seems much better. She's eating and sleeping again, and she's back to giving kisses :)

The week continued with my best friend giving birth on Wednesday!! She had Abigail at about 1:10 pm and I got to be there for the whole thing!! It was amazing! After she delivered Abigail and everything was okay, I got in my car to go back to work and the song "There is a God" was playing. I just cried and cried because if there was ever any doubt that there is a God, it was just completely wiped away by witnessing the miracle of birth!! I'm not sure how many details Amanda want so give out, but I'll just say that she was an excellent pusher and Adam was a really great coach. I'm SO glad Abigail is finally here.

Then... after the chaos of the beginning of the week, I got to go out on the town with my parents and sister. We went to a fancy restaurant downtown and then to a play at Theater Under the Stars called The Spelling Bee (very cute and funny). While eating dinner at a seafood restaurant, my sister, who is deathly allergic to shrimp, mentioned that her tongue was starting to swell. Hmmm....not good, I thought. Thankfully, where I was sitting was a window where I could see a sign for a hotel. Since she didn't have her EpiPen with her (a big no-no!!) we rushed over to the hotel gift-shop, got some benadryl, crushed it up and she took it. Everything seemed to be getting better, and then half way through the play, she had to excuse herself because her nose closed up and she was having a coughing attack. Also, her face, neck and chest became really red with a rash. Hmmm...not good at all. But, after a few minutes in the bathroom, she insisted she was okay and stayed through the rest of the play. She's okay now. Too bad she didn't have her Epi Pen. I was ready to stab her with it!! :)

Luckily, Thursday and Friday weren't too bad, and today we are just relaxing, taking naps, and enjoying the nice weather!

Another random thought... Daniel and I really want to go to the Weekend to Remember marriage conference in May. Did you know that for both of us to go, it would cost about $250??!! And then, you are supposed to stay in a hotel for a better experience, so tack over $100 a night for a hotel for two nights! That is out of the budget for us. Does anyone know a cheaper way to do it??

I don't really have any good pics of Abigail, but I'm sure Amanda will post some just as soon as she gets some free time (ha ha :)

My poor, sick child!!

March Update

We went camping! We had a lot of fun hiking and eating and enjoying the beautiful weather. Until...the night in the tent came. It was REALLY cold!! Reece ended up IN my sleeping bag. But, I'm not sure I had it the worst because I think Culby was in Daniel's sleeping bag!!

We were really ready to go home in the morning. We just couldn't warm up. Plus, it was the morning of the time change, and no one slept well that night, so we were pooped.

We went to San Antonio! My Mom, sister and her three kids and Reece and I spent two days and one night in San Antonio. We went to a wildlife park, the Alamo and to the Spanish Market. The weather was beautiful and it was a really fun trip.

"I wonder what's in there??"

Reece was a little wacky that whole trip because nap time didn't really exist except in the car with six other people and in the stroller among the huge crowds of spring-breakers.

Reece petting a goat (I think pregnant!) at the wild-life petting zoo. She loves animals!

Reece showing off all the souvenirs she got from the Spanish market in San Antonio. She's so girly!!

HAPPY EASTER!!

Okay, so this is a pathetic family picture. Not easy to do with the ten second timer on the camera and a toddler!
Daddy and Reece. SOO cute!
Reece got a tea set in her Easter basket. We had a tea party with all our animal friends.

Okay...so Reece is going through an "I-hate-church-nursery" phase. She just cries and screams the whole time! She never used to do that!! We even went to the really early service on Easter Sunday so it wouldn't be her nap time, and she still screamed!! The nursery coordinator and several of the workers have talked to me about what we can do with Reece. They've put her in the "quiet room," (I'm not even sure what that is) they've taken her outside and even given her snack after snack, and nothing has worked. I just don't know what to do... Maybe I'll just keep her in the quiet room until the phase passes.


Cute girls in their hats. Reece, Jade and Caroline at our Sunday school Easter egg hunt.

Mommy and Reece on the wild-life tour. Reece got to sit in my lap in the front seat because we were going about 1 mile per hour!