Laughing baby...

Sometimes its the simplest things that make your day.

This was also baby girl's first run with some rice cereal....I think swallowing something besides formula was a little gag inducing but she did great for her first run on semi-solids.

4 Month stats...

So today was another dreaded appointment with the shot specialist....aka the Pediatrician.

This visit really couldn't have come at a better time because Reese has been showing signs of a slight skin rash on her chest and stomach so we've both been a little concerned but unsure of what it was or the level of concern that we should show. We both know that little ones can exhibit signs of Eczema but I'm super sensitive to the issue since I have skin issues of my own and I don't want her to have to live with what I've had to most of my life....its not the most horrible thing in the world but on a scale of "Hey, can I hand pick a malady to live with..." I wouldn't put it at the top of the list.

Anyway... the Dr. seemed to think it might be a small case of Eczema and maybe a little heat rash-ish. (a technical term to be sure.) We also found out that Reese now weighs 19lbs. (she has doubled her birth weight and then some) and measures 27 inches long or tall...however you choose to look at that.

We got the all clear to experiment with Rice cereal for one feeding per day for a week and then step into twice per day after that. We're both really excited about that because that will lead to less bottles to wash...............naw, that's not the only reason. It's pretty cool that she's graduating a little here but less bottles in the long run isn't a bad thing. But I mean its not the only reason we're happy.....God, I hate washing bottles.....Thank you Jesus this will be going away one day.....I mean its probably only one less bottle per day and a messier feeding time.....Glory Be and let's kill a fatted calf!!!!!!....So it's really not a big big deal but an exciting time for our family nonetheless.

I will have to say that a visit to our Ped (Dr.) is like getting lost in a maze. No one comes looking for you and you sort of sit just waiting for someone to come by and check on you. We were there for at least an hour and a half. I'm glad they don't charge rent because I felt like the closet they put us in for a room would have run a pretty steep penny. At least the nurse that administered the shots was excellent. She had four shots in Reese's legs in no time and while Reese didn't enjoy the process, she was through with it before we got her stuff together to leave. She's such a trooper like that.

We did ask about Reese's weight/height to age and the Dr. told us that she is above 95% for her age but she is proportioned well and is growing in both directions which is a good thing. There was another little girl there that was born on the same day as Reese and she looked VASTLY different than our little one. If that kid weighed 10lbs I would be surprised and her little head still seemed wobbly. Yeah...Reese is pretty well past the bobble head syndrome and probably has a good 6 to 8 pounds on that little girl.

Well...that's the latest. We're glad the shots are over for another two months and squirt is upstairs getting her sleep on right now so we're out.

Gimme that!

This is what happens when you give Reese anything now...straight to the chompers. Cutie pie...

Happy Four Months!!

Happy Four Months Reese!! You've changed so much and we're enjoying every second that we have with you. You have Mommy and Daddy wrapped around your little fingers already and we're so in love with you. MMMMMWAAA!

Will it be the same way?

So without making a big deal of it, Baxter has been outside for a while now. I know, I know...he came in, he was doing soooo good, he was family. Then Reese came and he began acting out. He completely covered every square inch of the garage concrete with his aromatic pee, he pooped on every rug that we had down there to sort of wipe our feet....why he pooped on the rugs is a mystery - I guess even Bax couldn't stand to poop on the concrete as well...that would be too much. So he's patrolling the backyard acreage again and while I do feel bad about it, I've sort of lost sight of time with him because everything is about Reese...and justifiably so.

This evening while grabbing the trash can I noticed that Bax had something in his grubby paws. Back in the day, I would have swooped over there to see what varmint he had run down or to promptly remove said object and inspect his mouth for disgusting debris from his find. Tonight....I just paused looked as best I could from across the yard to see what it was....not being able to distinguish what our hound was gnawing on I kept rolling and thought to myself, "Poor bird/squirrel/mole. Eat up Bax."

Horrible right? But he's a dog....they do that stuff. They eat things besides processed junk in a bag called Snausages. Then as I strolled into the front yard I thought about Reese. NOT THAT REESE WILL BE EATING CRITTERS....but I wondered if Kim and I will get to a point with Reese that she's into something of some question but so long as no sharp objects are involved and everything is the size of a fist or greater (so as not to get choked) will we get there with her too?

I dread those days. When curiosity gets the best of her and she sticks her hand in something that wasn't meant for little girl hands. In the meantime...the two sat at odds with one another this evening and we made sure that Bax didn't lick her.....erp.

What diet?

Good Lord....Kim and I have sinned. We have stuffed our jowls with tasty morsels from Stoney River on Friday night for Kim's birthday and then tonight....Low. Country. Boil.

I've been craving a little Frogmore stew (LCB) for a while now so I printed a couple recipes that I found online and sort of combined the general ideas and made my own version and dammit man.....was it good. We had Lance and Celeste down tonight to taste my trial version and it was a hit. I'm so full tonight and last night was equally bad in terms of being stuffed. Stoney River is a little pricey but the steak is off the charts. If I can't cook it...I would just as soon have their version.

So....I probably need to ride the bike Sunday. I don't see 33 miles like last week but I need to ride some distance so that I can rid my self of some lard-ation.

On another note...I just got back from a work trip over to South Carolina and I usually get close to Charleston but I never really go into town. So I decided that I would trek into downtown Charleston after one of my builder visits and then check out Folly Beach to see what it was like. The beach seems pretty cool...and Charleston seems like a nicer version of Savannah but its probably a one day trip at best for the downtown scene. We'll probably head over there for a long weekend sometime just to say we've done it but I'd rather stay at Folly Beach if I'm choosing.









When I got to Folly Beach I just sort of sat back and smelled the salt air for a while. I drove down to the end of the island and walked a short little walk for the lighthouse view. It was pushing chow time so I made a quick spin down there but it was just nice to be near salt water for a while since vacation is looking like tile work in the bathroom. I left Folly Beach and drove about 30 minutes back out to Summerville, SC where I normally stay. I went to grab dinner and work on call reports and realized way too late to do anything about it that I had made a reservation at a hotel in North Charleston by accident...I just looked at the hotel pic that they show you on the Holiday Inn website...so then I had to drive ALL the way back into town. It was nearly 9:30p before I got to the room which is NOT how I planned it. Just like everyone else that does what I do, you have a days worth of emails to look through and a couple call reports to proofread so it as a late one but worth the trip to the shoreline. We love the beach so I'd do that again...just skip downtown and spend a bit with my rear in the sand. ANNNNND to finish off this post, I dropped in a pic of Reese chilling today in her swing at naptime.

Happy Birthday sweetie!

Today is Kim's 34th birthday and interestingly enough...its a time to reflect that our "goal" of having a little one by the time she was 33 wasn't quite accomplished but I guess when you consider everything that has to happen, I don't think we did all that bad.

I love you sweetie. More than you know. I'm a tough one to live with but you do an awesome job putting up with me and my little quirks. All the stinky, filthy, manly things....and all the somewhat less than manly things....you love me the same. Thank you and Happy Birthday.

Technical difficulties

Internet access is out at the house so Kim will not be able to update the everyday pics until I get home and figure things out.

Stay tuned and we'll catch up on Friday-ish.

One year ago today....

Last July Kim and I decided to go on a trip that we had never done together...we were going to Vegas. Mind you, neither one of us gamble and we're pretty tame when compared to Vegas standards but I had been for some business travels and thought it would be a cool trip for the both of us.

We got to Vegas and as soon as we got off the plane at nearly 9pm Friday night....it hit us....THE HEAT. Dry heat my arse. Let me explain what a dry heat is...turn on your oven, let it preheat to some specified temperature and then stick your head in there...that's a dry heat. Not a lick of moisture in that oven but its still freaking hot! We stood outside waiting for a cab in a never ending line of folks waiting for cabs. Besides the heat, our lungs were burning with carbon monoxide and fumes. No breeze, no nothing...we were roasting.

We finally got to the MGM Grand (tried to stay at Mandalay Bay but it was full!) and practically bathed in conditioned air. Without explaining away every day (our pics are being recovered even as we speak from a crashed hard drive) around the half way mark of the vacation week our "friend" was supposed to arrive. Seems like our "friend" shows up on every vacation but after every restroom stop I would ask Kim....anything? To which she would reply, nope.

Without sharing more than I do already, this wasn't like Kim. Her clock is pretty regular and being a day or so late was odd. We had been trying to get pregnant but not REALLY trying trying for a while. We had finally gotten "serious" (I have no real idea what serious means but anyway) in recent attempts but it was becoming par for the course that we weren't making contact so to speak.

After about the longest walk of the Vegas strip that anyone could pull - we walked through just about every major casino on the strip besides the Flamingo - Kim came waddling out of New York, New York and nothing....we were both waddling because we were chaffed....I sort of jabbed that we should get a pregnancy test. "What?" Kim replied...."Well, let's just find out. You know, sort of get this debate over so we can just know.", I told her.

So in the most sleazy of things that we've ever done....we bought a pee test on the Vegas strip at a CVS that was lit up like a Christmas tree. This pharmacist probably thought to herself..."Hey ding-dongs...it doesn't happen THAT quick!" So we brought the test to the room and decided that instructions were to do things early the next morning. Kim slept like a rock...until 5 a.m.

She woke up with the morning urge to pee....at 5 a.m......I some how envisioned it being a little more glamorous than with bed head and bad breath but Kim peed on the test, we waited the specified time and we walked in the marble clad bathroom. When we opened our eyes we saw two red stripes.....we're pregnant!

We cried, we laughed, we sort of freaked out, we hugged, we kissed, and kind of danced around a little bit and then we realized that our lives had been forever changed that morning. Fast forward one year later and Reese is the love of our lives. We had no idea how blessed we would be and what that morning and that memory would mean to us.

Yeah, it seems counter to the norm to go to Vegas and find out you're pregnant versus getting pregnant there but suffice it to say, sometimes what happens in Vegas is pretty cool.....but we left the pee stick there so that stayed in Vegas. :)

Breaking out the B.O.B.

Tonight, we broke out the B.O.B. and took little bit for a ride.....she threw a bit of a fit when we put her in at first but immediately calmed down once we started moving her around. We put another pic out on the other blog just to highlight the trip but we thought it was going to be a hell ride at first.

Mommy and Daddy came back home and went crazy.....

Poor kid had to get away and chill in a big girl chair for a while....

Sunday Summary...

I'm sitting here with Kimmy stuffing my face with Mayfield's CreamiER Churn Vanilla ice cream topped with a GO-zillion M&M's because I earned it. Operation "Shed Tonnage" kicked into high gear Saturday with Big boy going for a 33 mile bike ride.

Read that again.....yeah....that's not a typo. I didn't pull a measly 3.3 miles.....no....I did 33 miles. My arse hurts now because of it and I don't feel bad eating my imitation Dairy Queen Blizzard because I earned it with nearly three hours of peddling yesterday. (I'm never doing that again) On to the weekend....

SUP?
After the surprise party for Nan, we started off Saturday with Kim heading off to get a toe fungus at the local pedicure place (not really but her toe is killing her....YOU WAN YOR NAYL ROUND OR SQWUARE?? or infected?) and I prepped for riding and played with Reese. Kimmy got back and I started the Tour de North Cherokee/South Bartow County and then we went over to Scott and Michelle's for a cookout. Their little Addison is growing so much and is such a spitfire now. She talks soooo much and her little personality is just showing in everything she does. After the cookout, we came home and acted like old folks....we went to bed at 10pm on a Saturday night. Whew....we wuz ty-red. And my rear ached. (I'm not doing that again anytime soon if you didn't already know)

This morning, I hid from Kim while lying in plain sight (I made a little cot out of pillows and laid down beside the bed on my side....Kimmy didn't look there but looked everywhere else) My wife wouldn't notice a tractor trailer in the yard...Later I mowed, Kim cleaned up, Mom and Dad came down and we played with Reese-a-kins.

Baby sitting up....and baby falling over.








Playing with Mommy


Sleeping ON Mommy.





Fun stories include Reese peeing ALL over me Saturday morning while I fed her. She burped and was soooo happy about it. So happy in fact that she pee'd all over the place. I have no idea what the diaper was doing other than acting like a funnel but it was full. Another not so fun thing is that she's been burping alot of stuff up when we actually burp her. It's not projectile but it will come out her nose and really seems to bother her....I wonder if this is a problem or if this is normal? Any thoughts?

Back to fun things, she has found her feet....and her tongue. Not in the same places though. She sticks her tongue out all the time now and she'll grab her feet while she lays back. She's changing so much and is such a joy to be around. Every weekend is such a good time with her so of course we're bummed about Monday but this is a good week with birthdays so maybe it will go by fast!!

Giraffe Pjs....cute huh?

Suprise retirement party...

So one of the cool things about my job is that I get to occasionally travel and while I hate being away from my girls...I love being out of the office. It's a sacrifice that I have to make and its a burden on Kim but we manage it pretty well since I'm not always gone every week.

Anyway...on this particular trip I drive right through the largest pecan grove that is split by a rural highway. I'm sure there are larger in terms of the number of trees but this one is absolutely amazing. Your probably saying big deal...its just pecan trees. But a true grove like this one is lined up perfectly, it is huge, and is just sort of pretty to look at. And just reminds me of what the old south was probably like many years ago. I don't know the age of the trees and I don't know what kind of yield one could expect from a grove like this, but it goes on for miles like this and I just like it. Perks of the job I suppose. (everyone thinks Adam is a nutjob now...no pun intended.)

So I fly back home, pick up Reese, and we get set to head to Calhoun for Nan's surprise retirement party. She has worked for the City of Calhoun for twenty-something years....(Kim couldn't remember and I don't know but its been a long time.) My aunt works there and my Grandmother's sister in-law works there (I don't know the appropriate title for that relation) and my dad works for the city as well so City Hall has sort of been a family affair for Kim's family and my own. There were some new faces at the party but you could obviously see that they all care for Nan and she will be missed.

Reese looks like she's on a phone. HELLO? HELLO?

Reese did phenomenal at the party....she took a little nap and just hung out with all the ladies. Judith and Melissa fought over holding Reese and she didn't seem to mind a bit. Her little smiley personality is showing more and more everyday and she's even acting halfway decent in the carseat. I don't want to jinx it so that's all I'll say about it.

Thanks go out to the Hollis' for hosting the party. We had a good time and I know that Nan enjoyed the surprise.

Finally...check it out.....this Friday was the first pic so keep a watch on the other blog.

We've got a semi-busy weekend so there will be plenty to post Sunday. (I'm going to try to ride about 30 miles this weekend so I'm sure I'll be a little saddle sore then as well...yeah!....and you wanted to know that, I'm sure.)

It's ready....sorta

A Year in the Life of Us.....dot blogspot.com (www.ayearinthelifeofus.blogspot.com) is now an existing page that can eventually hold photos for every single day between now and one year from now....or more if we choose.

I've been slow about releasing it because I would have liked to had some pics out there but time gets away from you when you have a three month old. Speaking of the munchkin...she's been a dream lately. She went to Monkey Joe's with Krissy and her kids today and by all accounts just loved watching all of the kids. I'm sure she was smiling away and standing all over Krissy.

Anyway, its late and I wanted to at least intro the new blog site but I'll be offline Thursday so the soonest I can take pics would be late Friday or Saturday. Either way, look for the site to start soon. We only have one measely follower on that site and it's us so mark us and follow the updates if you like.....or just link over from this site. It's all good.

365 Sample

The idea regarding our other blog (A Year in the Life of Us is the tentative name) was simply to throw a pic-a-day out there with minimal (if any) script. So I needed to be able to get the day of the week on the pic and post easily....I think I've figured those things out and this is a small sample.


Pretty simple....The blog is pretty close to being ready so we'll provide a link soon and you can check that as well. The IDEAL situation would be to have a link directly on our current blog that said something like Daily Photo - or something like that. We'll see if I'm smart enough to pull that off or not.

Bachelorette jerk woman....

So that Bachelorette tramp is in Maui and her and this dude named Kip or some junk ate dinner at the Sheraton Maui with the view above....yeah...we're not there and we want to be again.

Then, they stayed in some Fantasy room in building 6 which had the most kick ass views on the grounds. That's the building on the right.

So because I'm a married man and have no control over the remote control during reality TV, I have to sit idle and watch this mess. She went on a date with Matthew Perry from Friends and he was wishy washy and then she's going on another date with the Barenaked Ladies guitarist that has some serious short shorts on. Dude....what's up with that? Your junk is showing man.....have some couth!

I hate this show....that Jillian scum woman off in Hawaii. Maybe that was too strong....how about just tramp woman...that's better.

Sunday pics

So here in the northern suburbs of Atlanta....it's storming. So this is going to be a short and sweet post because I've got some other little projects to cover tonight as well.

Update...Kim's mom definitely has a kidney stone but she's at home doped up on pain meds. I think she is going to have to pass it with out the benefit of a "busty the kidney stone" thingy so say a prayer. Also, my mom is going to have her knee surgery re-done. The guy that did it this January did a hatchet job and never really offered her any relief other than saying it would just get better so the Grandmothers are a little under the weather right now.

AKR (Adam, Kim, Reese) went to the Canton Olive Garden tonight and it reaffirmed my dislike of chain Italian food other than Carrabba's. Nothing really compares to Ipillito's in my opinion but Carrabba's absolutely wears out the Olive....the place is set up like a Shoney's on the inside....anyway. The chow was ok and it satisfied the craving but we'll head to our standbys next time.

Reese did awesome during dinner and while Mommy and Daddy shopped in Target. We headed back to the homestead and now little bit is on the jungle mat grabbing everything she can. The weekend has been a good one and I'm ready for the next one.

Three pics are from this afternoon and the other one is a regular weekday morning...Reese chills while Mommy and Daddy get ready.

Why is her hair wet?

It finally happened to Kim....

Every time something goofy happens during a diaper change, it happens to me. Never Kim....until this morning. Saturday morning started slow and easy. Reese ate while she was essentially asleep for the early morning feeding....she never woke up completely during the diaper change, the feeding, and the burping. I'm telling you, the girl sleeps good.

She napped in our bed until around 8:45-9:00 and then I needed to get motivated so I could meet Mom and Dad mid-morning. While all of this preparation for me to ride my bike to the office in order to attend said meeting with the folks, Kim was feeding and burping the 9 o'clock chow fest. At the end of the feeding Reese commenced to eating her hand which is the norm here lately and quietly began to drop a deuce. (Number 2, poo poo, caca)

A quiet poop is a rarity. Not that Reese tears the curtains off the walls but she makes a notable "growl" thus the term making a "growler" has stuck as well. (we have tons of them folks....) With Reese in stealth growler mode, Kim laid Reese on the couch to change what she thought was a wet diaper and then to her surprise....BROWN. Remember, we're on the couch. So, Kim did the obligatory growler timeout.

See, Reese is alot like a dog when she poops. Its almost like if you're watching her or waiting on her....she stalls a little. But, if you tie things back up loosely and sort of wait a bit, go back to the wreckage and VOILA....she's done. So Kim did that and went back. Well....Reesie needed to pee a little and with diaper open, Reese turned into a miniature bubbling brook. Kim then moves Reese from the couch and takes her into our Dining room/baby everything room and put her on the changing station for the pack'n'play. Kim walks off for a moment and then comes back ready to try this again. Open the diapy and the spring fed waters of Reesie-pie were still flowing (2nd diaper ruined) we decide at that point we should probably rinse her off a little since she's probably got a little pee pee on her and so Kim brings her to the sink where I have the spray nozzle ready for a wash down. Kim "stands" her in the sink and then I notice it......

"Why is her hair wet?", I ask.

Kim collapsed in laughter/fear and we quickly determined that the little squirt had to pee pretty badly and if you don't catch it with an open diaper...it will run all over the place.

Needless to say she got a bath this morning and I am semi vindicated because to this point, I have been the only one to burn three diapers in the span of 10 minutes.

Reese in her little Polo outfit....hoity toity huh?

And in this pic...she's eating the rug.









In other happenings, we had a small cookout with Kim's parents today, we had cake for Nicole's 22nd birthday, and after dinner Kim's dad had to take Nan to the hospital for what appears to be Kidney stones. ugh. The latest update seems to indicate that stones are indeed the culprit for the pain and nausea that came on pretty suddenly so keep a prayer for Kim's mom.

Behind on the blogging...

We've been a little behind on the blogging this week due to a number of reasons....lazy, tired, sleepy, and just plain too busy....among others.

Tonight is just a pic-fest from a few weeks ago but the updates go like this....I've been really tied up trying to complete our vacation book from Blurb.com. It's a huge book and it has taken alot of my time over the past two weeks so finishing that should free up some bloggy time. I've been coming home later than I should and that puts the whole schedule off a shade and Reese has been staying awake longer in the evenings so she obviously requires every bit of our attention. Reese, Kim, house, yard, exercise, book, work....all of that equals less time for blogging. I can cut one out this next week so that should just make everything better right?.......yeah.....sure.

Enjoy smiling Reesie pics. I think she's trying to say "Go Dawgs?!"

Break out baby....

Finally, we're seeing signs of our little bit becoming less and less of a swaddle baby.

I don't really know why this has weighed on us (me) so much but it has been an absolute must since she came home from the hospital. It obviously puts her in her happy place because she could go from full on grump....to sleepy baby in mere minutes of having entered the solitude and bliss of a tight swaddle.

So for the last week or so we'll put Reese in the crib after the last feeding, come back downstairs and turn on the monitor to listen in. We started hearing this grunting not too long ago and we were beginning to think that she was frustrated or not sleepy and just sort of "grunty". Turns out that she was busy breaking out...of the swaddle.

It's been happening so regular that we've started easing her arms out of the swaddle one at a time and then completely out of the swaddle. Once she breaks out...she's fine and when we've left her arms out, she's kind of confused because she doesn't have anything to break out of. It seems like we MIGHT be rounding a corner on this swaddle thing and we're pretty happy about it. The main reason is that she can start to fall asleep in a variety of settings without needing this "crutch".

Outside of the swaddle bandit - we've been spitting up a little more lately. Nothing major but just random gunk rolling down her chin. Erp...Sometimes it looks like thin milk. Other times it looks like pureed cream corn......mmmmmmm! Either way I'm already done with it. The cream corn variety smells pretty rank but the runny milk is tolerable. Not than I'm licking my fingers after cleaning up the little one but I'm just saying...it's an easier spit to deal with than the corn.

The pic below is pre-runny milk spit up Reese ripping Daddy's nose off.

Project 365....

We're stealing an idea.

No biggie right?

Occasionally we check one particular blog and they did a project of pics for every single day over the course of one year. Mostly one pic....but sometimes more if the situation merited. Well, we want to do that as well. I mean we almost post daily anyway but I want to have a full photo journal of Reese while she is growing so fast.

Pretty soon we'll give you a link to a new blog site (that is soooo under construction currently) and you can check out the year long photo journal (very brief if any reading...pics only.) I need to think of a catchy name, heading, and layout but its all coming very soon. I really want to be creative with the name....Hall Year Long? Hall day, every day?

sorry....those are corny.

Anyway....stay tuned. (probably a week or so to get things rolling.)

Sunday Summary

Three day weekends go by waaaay too fast.

Last night we opted out of the local firework display because Reese was just done....she was so tired that she looked just pitiful. Her eyes were red and she kept rubbing them so we decided to put her down and hang tight to watch the race (yeah...we're partial rednecks, but what a great finish to the race!)

I ran to town to get some diet food while Kim put Reese down....Yep, we had some Cold Stone ice cream last night. Here's the deal, we would have never done this but Lance and Celeste gave me a gift card for Father's Day and we just had to use it...right? I offset that by riding another 12 miles Saturday morning but I have a feeling that a Founder's Favorite sort of puts a big fat dent in my calorie burn for the day.

I drove through town to see a few minutes of the fireworks and Woodstock.... was PACKED!! We've never been to the Target display (sounds like our Target does the fireworks but I think it has more to do with the perfect place for tons of people to see it and the area behind our Target must be a safe place to do it.) so I was floored at the people attending last night. I'm sort of a closet firework nut but I'm sure we'll see many, many more of these with Reese in the coming years. I think the Towne Lake area is full of pyromaniacs because fireworks shot around our neighborhood until midnight and they're back at it again tonight.

Today, we stayed at the house and slept in with Reese. She woke up to eat at 6:30a and we put her down with us for a little bit (we only do this in the morning...more as a treat to us to just lay and watch the little one) and she was out like a light. We all slept until around 9 am and then started the day. We tried a new waffle recipe and enjoyed breakfast much more this morning....we're officially becoming waffle snobs.

My mom/dad came down and so did Ryan/Jenni and we just sort of hung out this afternoon. The only thing we did special was take some July 5th photos of Reese in her patriotic outfit and then went for a walk after everyone left the homestead. It was a pretty good weekend to celebrate with my two girls.......our little family rocks.