.:Three Months:.

I'll have more to update about Christmas later, but I wanted to get Reece's three month entry in today. I can't believe that my baby is three months old! Everyone always tells you how fast the time goes, being a parent, but you just have no idea until you have a child of your own!

At three months Reece likes:
- smiling at Mom and Dad
- 'talking' to Mom and Dad
- Daddy playing his nose game with her
- laying on the couch and looking around
- laying on the floor and looking around
- watching Baby Einstein movies (or just about anything that is playing on TV)
- her pink elephant toy that lights up and plays Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
- being sung to
- grabbing onto things (that are placed in her hands)
- sucking on her hands (or your finger if you put it in her mouth!)
- kicking her legs (going to be a soccer player like her mama!)
- being held facing out, so she can look around

At three months Reece tolerates:
- the swing
- baths (I think she might be starting to like them!)
- Mom putting headbands on her
- tummy time (for short periods of time!)

At three months Reeces hates:
- getting dressed (still hates putting arms into sleeves!)
- being burped or held tummy to tummy (most of the time)
- going up and down stairs while facing out (discovered this at my parents house - it scares her!)

Reece is such a sweet little baby. We feel so blessed to have her in our lives. We are still learning how to be the best parents we can be, and Reece is hanging in there with us! She is pretty much the cutest baby I have ever seen, and we couldn't love her more!

.:I'm a real mommy now:.

I decided that I must truly be a mom now because I now see nothing wrong with talking to anyone about my child's poop! Sounds gross, but other mommies understand I'm sure. Reece went through a little stage where her poor little tummy wasn't doing very well, and we were having explosions/blowouts every couple of days. Poor babe! I think I earned my mommy wings by experiencing some of this in public places!

Let's see, where to begin. It's been awhile!

Reece has been doing really well this past month. I can't believe that she is going to be three months old in a few days! I feel like she just barely turned two months old. She has mellowed out a lot, and isn't nearly as fussy as she used to be. She smiles and 'talks' all the time, and there's just nothing better. She is getting so big, and it's been kind of fun to have a new wardrobe for her to choose from!

Right now we are in Oregon for Christmas. Reece and I flew in. My parents were so nice and bought us a plane ticket so that we didn't have to drive! She was an absolute angel on the plane! She did a great job going through security and ended up falling asleep in my arms while we were waiting in the terminal. Then she slept the whole flight! I was so proud of her! I got a lot of comments on how well behaved she was. She's been having a bit of a rough time since we got here. Her sleeping schedule is still the same - not the greatest naps but sleeping through the nite - but I still think she is a little off from being in a new place, with tons of new people around, always wanting to be in her face and handling her. Yesterday was probably THE WORST day we've ever had with her. She and I both spent a lot of it in tears! Luckily I have great family members who helped keep me sane and took some turns with her so I could cool off. Josh is always really patient with her too, and seems to know just when I'm at my breaking point. Today has been better, so hopefully she'll figure things out in the next day or two. Probably just in time for us to head back to Utah! :)

It is so fun to be home. The last batch of family is getting in today. My parents have a full house! I love being able to spend this extra time with my parents, siblings, in laws, and niece/nephews. It doesn't happen nearly enough! It's going to be so neat to have everyone here for the holidays. Everything is really falling into place for Alli's wedding as well. She is so ready and excited, and we are excited to have Nic officially in the family! We also got the news that the 6th grandchild is on the way from Dani and Jefferson. We are so happy and excited for them. I can't believe they'll have three kids!

Other than that, not much going on with us. Josh is still busy working both of his jobs, but happy to have this week off to relax and not have to worry about it! I had started watching Millie again for a couple of weeks. It was fun to have her and spend the time with her. I figure now I'll be a pro when we have two kids of our own! But I got laid off because her mom got laid off! It will be nice for Millie to have that time with Leslie, but it's also going to hurt us since we won't have that money coming in anymore. We're considering having me sub once a week - on Fridays - which are short days at school, and also my mother in law's day off. So we'll see if we end up needing to go that route. The thought of leaving Reece makes me sick, but I also feel lucky to have the option of a flexible job!

I'm sure I'll have lots more to update after our holidays are over! Merry merry!

.:7 Facts About Me:.

Some of my friends are blogging seven random facts about themselves, so I thought I would do the same for fun!

1. I color code the clothes in my closet. It makes things a lot easier to find. (Not that I have so many clothes that it's really that hard to find something!)

2. I am very anal/ocd about having things in their particular place. I'm sure Josh could back me up on that one!

3. I love the smell of Scotch tape. Weird, I know, but it's true.

4. I am fascinated with Asian and Middle Eastern culture. I love to read books about them, and wish that I could visit some of the places that I've read about.

5. True crime also interests me! I love to watch crime shows on TV, read true crime stories, and would love to go tag along for some investigation.

6. I love playing the piano. I've been playing since first or second grade. Growing up, I would compete in competitions, and made it to state a few times.

7. I can't stand grammar errors! The teacher in me is constantly correcting people for using words like 'funner' or 'funnest' and substituting misspelled words. i.e. your - you're, their - there, etc.

.:Growing:.

I forgot to put Reece's stats from her two month appointment. She weighed in at 10 pounds, 14 ounces, which was about the 55th percentile. She is now 23 and 1/4 inches long, which was the 83rd percentile. I can't remember her head circumference, but she was in the 65th percentile for that. (Yep, she's a Stewart!)

I had to clean out her drawers yesterday of all the clothes that she's grown out of. I can't believe that I am already having to do that! I was updating her scrapbook tonite as well, and it was crazy to look at her older pictures. She really has grown and changed so much just in these two months. It's just going by so quickly! I need to remember to just enjoy every moment because it will just keep going faster and faster!

.:Thanksgiving:.

Our Thanksgiving wasn't anything to be excited about. Josh had to work both of his jobs, so he was gone for the whole day. It will be nice to get that time and a half on his next paychecks! Reece and I were going to go with Josh's dad, sister, and grandma to his aunt's house. But Reece decided to catch a little bit of cousin Millie's cold on Wednesday nite, so I was worried about her being around so many people. I knew she would be cranky, and on top of that, everyone would want to be holding her and touching her, which is also overwhelming to her! To top it all off, I ended up getting sick on Thanksgiving Day as well. Since last Thursday, I've been battling some sort of stomach bug. I've been throwing up and nauseous. So, Reece and I stayed home by ourselves! It didn't even really feel like Thanksgiving. But Josh's dad, sister, and grandma came by to visit us on their way home, which was really nice.

Even though it wasn't the greatest Thanksgiving ever, I still have so much to be thankful for:

* Josh. He puts up with my moodiness, works two jobs to provide for us and also allows me to be a stay at home mom, is a great husband and wonderful father, and a worthy priesthood holder who loves the gospel. I love him so much!
* Reece. Whenever she smiles at me, I just want to freeze the moment in time because it is the most precious thing I've ever seen. She is so beautiful and sweet, and I just love her so much. I feel so blessed to be her mom.
* Our families. They all love us and support us, and we are so blessed to have them behind us.
* Our friends. We have lots of wonderful friends that are so supportive and loving of us as well. I feel so grateful to live where we do, and to have made the friends that we've made.
* Our home. Even though we are so tight on money right now, it is nice to know that we own our home. It is great for what we need right now.
* Our cars. I'm so glad we have these to help us get where we need to be, and even better is that we have no car payments!
* The gospel. Without this, it seems like our lives would be meaningless. It's so wonderful to know of our Father in Heaven and our Savior, and how much They love us and care for us. I'm so grateful to know the truth of this life, and our purpose here.
* Prophets and modern day revelation.
* The scriptures.
* Temples.
* Our freedom.
* Diet Coke. (Yeah, seems shallow, but seriously. I can't live without it!)

I could go on and on I'm sure. We have so much to be grateful for, and I know that I need to remember these things on more than just one day out of the year!

.:Birth Announcement:.

Nikki took this picture of Reece and designed her birth announcement. I think it turned out great! All we have to do is print them off at Wal-Mart and put them in the mail. Talk about money saving!

.:Two Months:.

Reece is two months old today. I can't believe it! Time is going by so quickly. Sure, there are days that feel like they drag on forever, but in general, it's just flying by.

Reece's little personality is starting to come out so much more. She is smiling tons and cooing and talking to us all the time! She has the sweetest gummy grin, and I just want to kiss her sweet little mouth all the time! We are still battling the reflux and the fussiness, but she seems to have more good days than bad now. She got her two month shots yesterday, and actually took them a lot better than I was expecting! The main thing we are going to be working on right now is her sleeping. She is definitely not getting enough sleep, and doesn't like to nap for more than a half hour at a time. Her pediatrician said that it is bad for her growth and development to not get enough sleep, and suggested that we start letting her cry it out so that she learns to fall asleep on her own. We are working on that this week! She hasn't really had to cry all that much so far, so we'll see how well I can do when that time comes! I know it will be better for her in the long run.

At two months, Reece likes:
* smiling at Mom and Dad
* cooing to Mom and Dad
* being rocked
* being held
* laying on her changing table
* looking around while laying in her crib

At two months, Reece tolerates:
* taking a bath
* being in her swing

At two months, Reece doesn't like:
* getting dressed - especially putting her arms through the sleeves!
* being put down for too long
* tummy time

She is a sweet girl, and I am loving learning more about her every day!

Other than that, we are pretty boring. Josh is still working super hard at both of his jobs. I have started watching Millie again. Luckily Millie is really good and independent, so that makes it much easier. It will just keep getting easier as Reece gets a little more independent and not so needy. I'm going to be a pro when we have two kids of our own!

Thanksgiving is in a couple of days. Josh is working both of his jobs that day, and I am heading to his aunt's house to spend the day with his family. Ben and Sharon are here to have Thanksgiving with her family, so we'll get to spend a little bit of time with them. I'm excited to see them and their boys!

Here are a few pictures of the babe that Nikki took for us last weekend.

.:Sweet Reece:.

Tonite as I was feeding Reece, I was just struck by how much I love her. I can't even begin to describe the feelings I have for her! I was thinking that that must be how our Heavenly Father feels about each of us. I just want her to have the best of everything possible! I feel so incredibly blessed, but also very humbled by the responsibility of being her mom. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father feels that Josh and I can be her parents. She is such a sweet little girl and I can't get enough of her.

Reece has started smiling so much now! She's also beginning to coo and 'talk' some, too. It has totally just erased all of the tough times..... well, almost! It certainly makes the tough times a lot more bearable. It is so cute to watch Josh with her. He just can't get enough of kissing her sweet face. It just melts my heart to see the two of them together.

I feel like we have turned a corner with her. She is doing better with her sleeping so far. Knock on wood! She is only getting up once during the nite now, which gives me some good 4-5 hour stretches of sleep. I feel like a new woman! (Isn't it sad that 4-5 hours of sleep can make someone feel that way!) I'm sure we'll still have our tough nites, but it's just going better all around. She has reflux, and the first medicine we tried - Zantact - was horrible. It was not helpful at all, and just gave her colicky symptoms. So she is on Prevacid now, and it seems to be helping a lot.

I had my six week checkup this past week. I have been feeling very overwhelmed, and at times lonely. Josh works a lot (which I am SO incredibly grateful for because it allows me to stay home with Reece) and I just don't really have much family around. Of course, I do have some very wonderful friends in the neighborhood, and I'm so grateful for them! But just those things, combined with some wacky hormones, prompted my midwife to think that I may be having a bit of post partum depression. She thinks I just need a little help to get through the next little bit so that things don't get worse, so she prescribed me an anti-depressant - Zoloft. I'm not sure if it could be working quite yet, but I've definitely been feeling a little better lately. We'll see what happens! I'm just grateful we have things to help us with situations like this.

So all around, I can't really complain too much. Life is good! Here are a few pictures of the babe. I can't stop taking pictures of her! Everytime I look at her she is just too cute! The last two pictures are from this past Sunday. We went to all of church for the first time, and this was her in her Sunday dress. She was a bit fussy at first, but pretty much slept through all of church. Good baby!

.:Blessing Day:.

Yesterday, we blessed Reece. Josh did an amazing job. I was so impressed with his beautiful blessing, and know that the Spirit touched him. We were so blessed to have so much of both of our families there with us! Reece looked beautiful, and even though she was having a rough day, was so calm during the blessing....until the end, that is, but she only cried for a second. It was a great day.

Josh blessed her with:
- strength and courage
- how thankful we were for her birth
- how thankful we were for her safe arrival
- health
- continue to be healthy and strong
- to realize the blessing of having a body
- be smart in taking care of her body
- know the things that Heavenly Father and Christ placed upon the earth for us
- a witness of the Atonement
- to gain a testimony
- to search the scriptures
- realize the importance of the prophets
- follow the prophets promptings
- fulfill church callings
- do so with a happy heart
- find a worthy companion to go to the temple to be sealed
- raise a family to the Lord

Here are a few pictures from our special day.

.:Happy Halloween:.

Happy Halloween!

.:One Month Old:.

Our sweet little Reece is one month old! I can't even believe it. Time is already going by too quickly! She and I are really doing a lot better now. I don't feel completely overwhelmed with being a mom anymore. We still have our moments where we wonder what in the world the other is doing, but it just gets a little easier every day.

At one month old, Reece still does not enjoy taking a bath. However, she is able to take them now without pooping! She didn't even cry last bath until we took her out of the water. Luckily the rest of her cord FINALLY came off, so we can get her more wet now. Maybe that will help. She is doing better with her diaper changes, and doesn't cry through those anymore. She also graduated to a size one diaper! They are a little big on her still, but they work. She sleeps full time in her crib now, and loves her soothie/binkie. Reece now weighs nine pounds, eight ounces. She was just diagnosed with reflux, and is on baby antacid for it now. This will hopefully be a relief for her!

Josh has been saying he's gotten her to smile for him a couple of times, which I was having a hard time believing since I'm the one with her all day and she doesn't smile for me! But, today I finally got one out of her! It was not a full on smile, but it was definitely meant for me! The first picture below is the first smile I caught her doing on purpose - she was happy when I hung her toys from her car seat. It will be fun to see her develop that new skill!

Here are a few recent pictures of Reece at one month old.

.:Grateful for the fleas:.

I just got done reading a book for my book club - The Hiding Place. It is the story of two women who harbor Jews in their home during the Nazi regime, and how they end up in a concentration camp as their punishment when they are caught. Throughout it all, they are constantly turning to their Bible and to the Lord to get them through their trials. At one point in the book, they decide that they need to be grateful for EVERYTHING - even the bad things. So they pray for the fleas that are all over in their room. They didn't understand the reason for this until later, when they learned that the only reason the guards never came in to supervise them (which allowed them to worship out of the Bible and pray with the other women) is because of all the fleas in there.

So I decided that I need to be better about being grateful for all of the 'fleas' in my life. Here goes...

I'm grateful for:
- my flabby tummy: It is evidence of the miracle Josh and I created, that I got to carry for nine months and give birth to - our beautiful daughter!
- Josh working for 13 hours today: It allows me to stay home with our daughter and be a stay at home mom!
- waking up all throughout the nite: I get to spend time with our daughter, and share a closeness with her.
- living away from my family: It makes us appreciate the time we do get to spend together that much more!

On top of the 'fleas', I am grateful for a lot of other things too:
- Josh and all that he does to provide for our family
- Josh and I's relationship and marriage
- Josh's priesthood
- Reece
- the gospel
- my church calling (even though I don't always say it or act like it!)
- both Josh and I's family
- our ward
- my friends

Hopefully I'll remember to take time in the future to be more grateful for not only the good things in my life, but the 'fleas' too!

.:Day vs. Nite:.

Things are going well with little Reece. I can't believe that she is almost one month old! Time has gone by so quickly already! She is a good little baby. We are on a pretty good eating schedule right now, and her napping is really improving. We have finally gotten her to start sleeping in her crib. For a long time, she would only sleep in our bouncer chair. She still likes to go to it sometimes in the middle of the nite, but for most of the nite and during the day, she sleeps in her crib. It was a breakthrough for us!

I've really been working on her naps. I want her to be able to fall asleep on her own, without me rocking her or bouncing her to sleep. I realize she is still really little to be too worried about this, but I figure it doesn't hurt to start early! I've been able to put her down while she is still sleepy but not asleep yet, and she usually goes down without a problem. We also keep a fan in her room to give her some white noise. She seems to be associating that with sleep time.

The only real problem we're having right now is the title of this entry! I think she somewhat has her days and nites mixed up! Reece doesn't get up a lot during the nite - usually only twice. The problem is that after her 1:00/2:00 a.m. feeding, she just likes to stay awake for a couple of hours. This is frustrating for me! She cries if I try to put her down in her crib, but is perfectly content just being in my arms. I'm working on cutting her nap times back during the day, and making sure things stay noisy and bright during the day, as well as keeping her nite time feedings very mellow - nite light only, no talking or stimulating her, changing her diaper as quickly as possible, etc. It hasn't really been working yet, but I'm hopeful that eventually she'll figure it out. I just need to remember to be patient. She's not even a month old yet!

Other than that, things are going well for our little family. Josh is working like crazy! He had a few days off last week to use some vacation time, and it was SO nice to have him home so much. I hadn't realize how much I've been missing him. I know this is just going to be our lives for awhile - crazy busy for Josh, and not seeing each other as much. But I am so grateful that he has the two jobs to provide for us and that I am able to stay home with Reece. I can't imagine going back to work and leaving her! It would be horrible! Even though Josh is super busy with work, he is still always so helpful with Reece and helping around the house when he is home, as well as being in a good mood and making time for me too. He is such a great husband and dad!

Here are a few recent pictures of Reece:

.:Tough job:.

Well, being a mom is a lot more tough than I was expecting it to be! I didn't know that having a newborn could be so much work! But Reece and I are starting to figure each other out. We finally have the nursing thing down, which has been such a relief. Aside from that, I am just trying to learn what her different cries mean, and how to meet her needs the best. I'm trying not to be too crazy about scheduling yet, but I am also scared of getting into bad habits early on that will be difficult to break! I am hoping to start figuring out how to get her to fall asleep on her own soon, instead of having to be rocked all the time. (Even though sometimes I love to just cuddle her to death!)

Reece had her two week check up last week. She passed her birth weight, which was a big relief to me! She weighed in at seven pounds, fifteen ounces. She is in the 35th percentile for weight, and the 75th for height. Everything checked out healthy on the little babe. She had to have her heel poked for some blood tests. She was already upset because she hates being naked, but getting poked sent her crying to a whole new level! I have to admit, I cried right along with her! But she did a great job, and we go back to the doctor in six weeks for her two month check up and more shots. Yikes!

At two and a half weeks old, Reece hates getting her diaper changes and taking baths - anything to do with being partially or fully undressed! Hopefully she passes this stage soon because we're going to be doing a lot of both of those things for a long time! She likes to be held and rocked and bounced, and makes lots of cute facial expressions even though she doesn't mean to. I'm so excited for when she can start smiling on purpose! She is becoming a lot more alert, and spends time just looking around the room and taking things in.

She is a sweet baby girl and we are so happy that she has joined our family!

.:October pictures:.

Some pictures from October so far...

Big yawn

Checking things out

Pretty in purple!

Stretch!

Mommy, Reece, cousin Andi, Aunt Dani

Cousin Andi, Aunt Dani, and Reece

Cousin Andi, Mommy, and Reece

Going on a walk

Precious babe

Bulldog

Tummy time!

With Grandpa Stewart

With Aunt Dani

Grandpa Stewart and his two granddaughters

.:More pictures:.

Some more pictures of Reece.

Looking pretty

Relaxed

With Grandma Beckloff

With Gramzee

Pretty in pink

After Reece's first bath at home - she hates baths!

.:Pictures of the babe:.

Here are some pictures of our sweet baby girl, Reece. It will just be a random assortment from the hospital for this entry.

Sweet hair!

Sweet baby girl

Mommy giving Reece loves

With cousin Millie.

Coming home from the hospital

Right after Reece was born.

After Daddy gave Reece her first bath.

Mommy, Reece, and Daddy

Look at all that blonde hair!

Daddy giving Reece loves.