The Kate Box: January 2011

Sunday, January 30, 2011

A Very Special Day

Today, Reese was baptized into our covenant family. It was a full day with lots of family, great food, and most importantly, a promise that we will all raise Reese to know, love, and fear our God. We pray that she never knows a day apart from Christ.

The weekend itself was absolutely beautiful. I had been stuck in the house for three days because my car was in the shop after hitting a deer, so when Friday night came around, I was ready to go somewhere. We headed as a family to Table Mesa for a wonderful almost date night...it seemed like one because Reese was asleep, but I guess we still had a carseat with us to make it no so "date-ish." Saturday morning was Ty's Sip and See, and it's always so much fun to be around Jayme and Jenny Beth's friends. It was such a special celebration of precious little Ty. Once my mom and dad made it up here, we took a walk to see the progress of our museum, and it's something else. I can't wait for 11-11-11. The weather was sunny, clear skies, and 70 degrees!! (I won't go into talking about the likelihood of more snow this week.) After our lovely walk, we all rested a bit before going to Table Mesa for the second night in a row. You can't go wrong with that place. We all had a good night's sleep before heading to church for the big day. Reese was so content and really listened well to what Chris was preaching about her baptism. :) It truly was a beautiful service though. My favorite hymns were sung, my personal favorite voice sang at the offering, and Wes and I got to witness the entire congregation raise their hands in agreement that they will help raise up Reese. My mom had prepared the most wonderful meal for all of us back here, and she had even brought decorations for the big celebration. It was all so lovely. Here are some of my favorite images of the day...

Sweet flowers. God Bless Reese. Handmade cross from a few sweet Conway girls. (and a handmade Reese mini-banner along with some sweet cards are cut off from the picture)

The beautiful banner MP made for Reese's special day.

I had each person write a prayer or scripture for Reese on these cards. I just finished reading them all, and they will be cherished forever. I can't wait for her to read them! Make sure to take note of the sweet accents my mom brought...the beautiful cloth napkins, the scrapbook paper cut-outs, and the "R" she made. She also made a green moss one for the front door.

Gorgeous cake from Conway on the cute cake stand mom accented with a little pendant banner, a "God Bless Reese" sign, and flowers.

Popsy and Mopsy with Reese.

O'Pa and Gran with grandchild #6.

I think this was when Chris asked if our family wanted to join us. We would have taken up the entire front of the church. Needless to say, the extended family just stayed in their pews.

Praying for our sweet daughter.

Baptism. 1.30.11.

Me and my favorite two people.

Friday, January 28, 2011

The Quest

Today's post may not make any sense to anyone but me. I'm okay with that. Becoming a stay-at-home-mom has been fabulous. I absolutely love getting to take care of Reese constantly and attempt to keep the house in tact and provide food on the table at every meal. Now that little girl is four months old, however, I'm finding myself with extra time on my hands. I've always been the kind of person to read about or hear of a new "lifestyle" that I think is just perfect, and I try to adopt it as my own. For example, I've decided I'm going to workout every morning, read my Bible before anyone else gets up, try new recipes three times a week, eat healthy at every meal, get crafty and make something new each week, have a cleaning schedule where I have a list of what to clean each day, write letters to my friends daily, and the list goes on and on...I've decided I'm going to do these things several times. And guess what? I've never been too successful. I am not so sure why I keep failing, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with false hope that those things will make me completely happy and a well-rounded person who so many people will love and adore. Ha. Anyone with me? Or am I just crazy? Regardless, I want to live a life that is pleasing to God. I am tired of trying some "thing" that I think will make everything just perfectly swell. All of those things I've tried are fabulous and are still things I want to do, but I need to stop thinking that I can adopt all of those things in one day. (That's a lot of "things" in one sentence.) I find myself wandering around online looking at Facebook, Etsy, J.Crew, the blogging world, and checking my e-mail way too often these days because I'm stuck on what to do next. I absolutely hate admitting this right now, but I feel like I've gotten a bit lazy. Which "thing" should I try next? Who should I become? The healthy eater and great cook? The crafty girl with unique ideas for around the house? The clean freak who always has it "together"? The answer is I need to be me. I would love to become all of these things, but I'm realizing that I first need to seek God and his plan for me. My identity is in Christ and not in what I can do. That means for ME to pray any time of the day about whatever is on my mind and to read his Word anytime it comes across my mind which is thankfully pretty often. It means for ME to be okay with the occasional sweet attack, the lazy day, the unmade bed, the nap with Reese, the frozen pizza, and so on and so on. Kate Walker isn't going to look the same each day. One day may be a clean day. The next may be a cooking day. The next may be an active day. The next may be a crafty day. However, I want to strive for each day to be a day pleasing to Christ, and I think the rest will fall into place. As the sampler my Granny made for our wedding says, "Count that day lost whose low descending sun views from thy hand no worthy action done." I just rambled, and like I said before it may not make sense to anyone but me, but through writing this post, I'm learning more about myself and who God wants me to be. Crazy how he works, huh? I never thought of myself as a perfectionist, but it kind of appears to me that I am a failed perfectionist. I want things to be so perfect that if it's not going to work how I want it to, I give up completely. No more. And I'm not going to change tomorrow, but I do commit to loving Christ and loving myself. The rest will fall into place, and I'll keep you updated. Okay, I have to go get Reese Peese up from her nap. Yes, I'm actually WAKING HER UP from a nap. Cue the chorus! It's a fabulous day!

Thanks for reading my rambling. :)

And as a short side note, our little eating experiment the other night wasn't as successful as I originally thought. In our little girl's mind, cereal= BAD GAS. We struggled all night long and are slowly working on another way to deliver this iron enriched food for Reese. I have received several pieces of advice, and I think they will work...now if she can just figure how to use that tongue correctly. This video is from her first bite of cereal, and that's Emmett drinking his water in the background.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

FOOD

At Reese's 4 month appointment, we found out she weighs 15 lbs. 1 oz. and is 24 3/4 inches long! A very healthy little girl. And to continue on this road of wellness, our pediatrician recommended we start giving her all kinds of cereal, fruits, and vegetables. The goal isn't to get more calories in but to expose Reese to the textures and make sure she has the iron she needs. So, I pulled out one of my favorite Christmas presents (the Beaba Babycook) and went to town. I made apples and bananas today. A few vegetables are on tap for tomorrow. Tonight was Reese's first taste of "solid" food, and it was a hit. I bought some rice cereal the other day, took a tablespoon of it and added it to about an ounce of breastmilk. It seemed pretty liquidy, but I guess that's a good way to start. Right? I don't know what I'm doing, but it's actually a fun adventure for me right now. Welcome to the world of high chairs, baby utensils, more things to pack in the diaper bag, lots of messy faces, and much more. This baby is so worth all of that.

I would happily welcome any advice, suggestions, or recommendations on this new stage.

Um, dad, I don't know about this.

Okay, this stuff isn't too bad.

Yeah, I'm going to lick this spoon clean.

I lost a little on my bib, but that's the name of the game.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Picture Time

So these are just a few of my most favorite recent photos. I'll spare you the paragraphs of what's going on around here and let you enjoy the pictures. We have plenty of big events coming in the next few weeks, so stay tuned for lots of writing accompanied with lots of pictures.

Reese and Ty...3 1/2 months apart. Molly and Ben (the oldest Walker cousins now SEVEN years old) are this far apart, and they have a picture of them like this. Crazy to think they will eventually be the same size.

Molly holding cousin Reese. She's used to holding baby brother Ty, so Reese was quite a bundle to handle.

She loves being close to me, and I love that she loves it.

R's also in love with her daddy. I mean, he takes her out to enjoy her first snow (while I take pictures in my pajamas)!

Reese Peese hanging out while waiting for cousin, and future BFF, Marion to be born. Well, actually Marion was probably here already; JB doesn't mess around when it comes to delivering babies.

And there she is!! My newest niece, Marion. I can't wait to get my hands on her again! I love the happiness on all the faces...especially W's.

Mopsy showing off Reese's little booty at her baby blessing.

My incredibly good lookin' nephew, Ty.

And maybe my favorite of all of these favorites. While giving Jayme, Bret, Molly, and Morgan some family time with the newest member Ty, Reese and I played in the waiting room.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

THE List

Okay, so one of my dear friends from high school, college, and the Kappa house, Amber, is expecting her first baby, and she wanted me to give her a list of my favorite things a new mom and new baby need. I started making a list, and it continued to grow and grow and grow. You should know by now that I'm not so great at making things short, so my list is rather long. And while I'm typing, I'm thinking of so many wonderful things I have left off the list. Oh dear. Anyways, I also figured you could help by adding to, commenting on, etc. the list. Here is what I've come up with SO FAR in alphabetical order...

Aden and Anais blankets. These are the bamboo ones, and they are SOOO soft. I keep one in R's diaper bag, and there are SEVERAL hanging around the house in different spots...the swing, car seat, and crib right now along with a few ready to go in the drawer. The regular muslin fabric is fabulous, too.

Books! We got this book from a friend in NC, and R LOVES it. It's Kitty Tails by Jellycat. So much fun, such bright colors, and lots of things for baby to touch. They make this book in lots of varieties that I may be investing in soon.

Bouncy seat. This Little Lamb seat by Fisher Price is fabulous because it is so stinkin' soft and vibrates to make little baby sleepy. :)

Blackout curtains. Now that R is old enough to figure out how she likes to sleep, we had to darken her room with these curtains from Target. She likes it dark, and apparently most babies do.

ERGO carrier (plus the newborn insert). And look, Julia Roberts uses it, too. This thing is the never-fail item for us. If I leave Reese with Wes, he makes sure that it's in the house because she's becoming a little attached to me, and she sometimes throws a fit when I leave. Wes puts her in the ERGO, and voila! She's calmed and almost asleep in minutes. We use this around town a lot, too.

Etsy. You need something handmade, and my mom and I have gone nuts looking at all (and buying lots) of the incredible things on Etsy. Bibs, burp cloths, onesies, headbands, yadda, yadda, yadda. R's bedding was custom made from Etsy, too.

Gowns. In the very beginning, R wore these all. the. time. They are so much easier to deal with at night when diapers need to be changed.

HALO Sleepsack Swaddle. This thing is a LIFESAVER. Oh my goodness, I don't think R would ever sleep without this. We used a version from Summer in the beginning, but we switched to HALO when she grew out of the other, and we LOVE it. She's catching some zzz's as we speak all swaddled up in her cozy "wearable" blanket.

Issie blanket from Aden and Anais. We just got the fairy print, and I'm trying to get R attached to it as her lovey blanket. Not sure this is a necessity yet, but I'm hoping it will be soon. :)

Jumperoo. We just purchased this, and R absolutely loves it. It's not needed until about 3-4 months, and even now we have to put blankets under her feet, but she loves being upright and getting to play with the toys.

Lansinoh lanolin. Getting a little intimate now, ladies. If you are breastfeeding, this is a MUST in the beginning. I won't go into details, but just get this stuff and have it on hand.

Lily Padz. I used the disposable kind mostly, but I bought these near the end of my need for pads, and I liked the concept. Doesn't matter what you get, just make sure to have some nursing pads.

Mylicon. When R is going to sleep, I sometimes drop her a little Mylicon, and I THINK it helps her gas. Our gas issues are drastically better than in the beginning, but I'm pretty sure these drops are becoming handy again now in helping R stay asleep longer.

Pacifiers. I know some people don't want to use pacifiers, but we did, and we still do. It took a while to figure out what kind R would take, but she finally took the Avent ones and will not go to sleep without one. I had several kinds for her to try, and I think that's a smart idea unless you have an EASY baby who will take whatever you give him/her.

Pack N Play with Newborn Napper. R slept in this until she was 6 weeks old when we transferred her to the crib. It stayed right next to our bed, and with the little bassinet, she stayed so cuddly and cozy. PLUS, the changing table was a major help during the night.

Play mat. We got the Tiny Love play mat and LOVE it. She used it early on and still loves to lay there and play with the toys above her head. Great for tummy time, too.

Slim and Secure Handheld Video Monitor by Summer Infant. A few months' worth of these were just recalled for a battery problem, but they will only sell you the good ones if you go get one now. This thing is HIGH up on my must-have list.

Sound machine. I didn't think we would use this, but my little purchase from Walmart stays on pretty much all day and night. It's "raining" in her room constantly.

Swaddlers by Pampers. R has a sensitive booty, so we used the sensitive version of these for a while, and we now use either kind. The sensitive are GREAT because they tell you if the diaper is wet or not by a line. Perfect for those early days. **We also use sensitive wipes from Pampers or the Up and Up brand from Target.

Swing. We have the Fisher Price Little Lamb swing, and it's great because it swings two ways, has sweet music, is so soft, and helped R take some needed naps in the beginning.

Target Gilligan & O'Malley nursing tank tops. I think I've spent maybe 5 days since R was born WITHOUT wearing one of these tanks. Got one of my several trusty white ones on right now.

Tweet Baby. These burp cloths by Natural Life are wonderful. Great for spit-up, cute as can be, and durable.

Water. If nursing, have water with you at every feeding. It's amazing how thirsty you get, and it's a necessity for that milk, too.

White onesies. R has one on every night under her footed pajamas, and she wears one under regular shirts and dresses all the time.

So I thought about my car seat, stroller, breast pump, bathtub, and several other items as I was typing like I knew I would. We have the Peg Perego car seat and stroller and LOVE them. We have a Maclaren umbrella stroller for later. I know lots of people with lots of different kinds, and I really haven't heard negative things about any of them. I say get the one you like and want.

Woah, that was long. What did I leave off the list??? I'm only four months in, and I know I have forgotten some necessities from those very early days. Here you go, Amber. You may not have wanted this long of a list. :)

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

FOUR Months.

Reese turns four months old today, and I'm more in love than ever. As she grows, she becomes more beautiful and more dear to me. I finally cleaned out one of the last bags from the hospital yesterday, and it was emotional. I had kept this bag on the table near our front door since the day we brought her home, and the longer it stayed there, the more difficult I knew it would be to clean it out and put it up where it belongs. I've cleaned the house numerous times, but that bag just stayed put. I should say that the main reason it would be difficult to clean is that I would have to figure out where to put its belongings not that it was going to be emotional.

Inside it was the banner that Jenny Beth and kids made for Reese after learning our hospital stay would be a bit longer than usual. On one side it said "Welcome Reese Robinson" with each kid decorating a word. Jenny Beth filled the other side with scripture to encourage and support us as we embarked on this unknown journey. I put this banner along with the "Walker" sign that Molly added it to it in Reese's baby book. It doesn't really fit, but I don't really care.

Along with the banner was the stack of notes my 9th grade Bible study girls wrote to me right after Reese was born. The sincerity, excitement, love, concern, and urgency for prayer that these girls expressed were simply beautiful. I might have mentioned this before, but I missed a cell group meeting while at the hospital, and these teenage girls called on speaker phone and prayed for Reese over the phone. Really? These girls are amazing, and God is so good to let me be in their lives.

A couple of books that were brought and sent to the hospital were in the bag as well. They are now in the stack of children's books on our coffee table to read to Reese all the time.

Probably 10 magazines that friends and family had brought to keep me busy also filled the bag. I'll just throw those out because I am known to hold on to magazines for too long. I've learned to tear out pages of ideas I like.

The little journal that Wes brought me from home after one of his trips to shower and feed Emmett was in the bag, too. And in that journal was the note Wes wrote right after we found out I was pregnant, the note he wrote me on Mother's Day, and several pages worth of prayer requests I had written over the past months.

And the last thing in the bag was my hospital bracelet. Even though I was discharged two days after Reese was born, I kept it on for almost a week because Reese still had to wear one...and I really wasn't going anywhere.

I really should have just cleaned that bag out a long time ago, but those first few weeks at home were ROUGH. As JB puts it, having your first child is liking ripping off a band-aid. I didn't do too much cleaning or organizing in the beginning, so a few things just stayed where they were. My mom didn't know where I wanted those special things, so she left them there. Regardless of it being almost four months after that bag got put down on that table, it took me back to Reese's first few weeks of life. I really enjoyed cleaning it out even though I might have shed a tear or two. Now I just need to get rid of that sitz bath that got put away in the laundry room and the samples of formula that I hope to never use. Side note: I never want to evoke pity from anyone by sharing our experiences with Reese as a newborn. In fact, God gave me a strength and confidence that I had never known before during those days, and I want more than anything to share that. Plus, our bout with the NICU was nothing compared to so many others. I'm so thankful that Reese's illness was short-lived and completely treated.

Wow, that was long. Sooo sorry for that long story about the bag. I have a feeling though that I'll enjoy reading this in a few years.

On to Reese's four month update...

*RRW has slept through the night on her own a handful of times.

*The title of one of my favorite books is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I like to say that we have a happy child even though she may not have healthy sleep habits. Her chronic 45 minute naps are still pretty consistent, and those sleep-through-the-night-nights are few and far between. Lately, she's taken up waking several times a night. I do, however, feel like we are slowly but surely getting better. As I type, Reese is down for a nap, and she actually slept for seven hours straight two nights ago. I won't mention what happened last night.

*Wes likes to call the pacifier our Achilles' heel. It soothes her, it makes her happy, it gets her to sleep. All wonderful things. However, if she wakes and that thing isn't in her mouth, she wants it and needs it in order to get back to her sweet dreams.

*Reese is still swaddled and loving it. She does seem to get her left arm out during a good number of her naps or sometime during the night, but I'm not sure how and when to start weaning her of this life-saving technique. And somehow, she finds a way to rotate 90 degrees (or more) during naps. Crazy.

*B-Dubette LOVES her new jumperoo and will just smile and squeal when she catches me looking at her playing.

*Sweet girl still loves bathtime, her play mat, and listening to me sing silly songs to her.

*RRW watches a Baby Einstein or Praise Baby almost once a day, and I love it because she squeals and makes noises while she watches...except for a few animals on Baby Einstein. They terrify her.

*Speaking of noises, she makes a pretty funny sound that I can't really describe. It happens when she tries to talk; her voice is just a raspy coo at this point. Cute, but I will be making sure it's okay when we go for her checkup next week.

*For the record, she usually is up for the day around 7:30 in the morning and eats every 3 hours or so. The last 1 1/2 to 2 hours of each of those cycles is usually naptime. I say napTIME, not necessarily napPING. A little while after the 7ish feeding, we bathe sweet girl and put her down to bed. I do a dreamfeed between 10 and 11, and then as of late, I've fed her at some point during the middle of the night.

*Baby girl is a happy baby. She's content and takes everything in around her. I love this about my daughter.

*B-Dub's smile is contagious. I can't help but smile ear to ear when she gets that gummy grin. However, please take note that she refuses to smile for the camera. She will be smiling as big as ever, and then I pull that big black machine out, and she's in a daze. I think I'll have to get Wes to assist me during the next photo shoot because you HAVE to see this smile.

*Oh my. Reese's laugh has just begun, and it's pretty amazing. It's the perfect blend of squeal, raspy-ness, and cackle. It happens best right before bath time as I strip her down and kiss her belly and neck.

*Rolling over from tummy to back is still a pretty new skill because she seems to forget it every few days.

*Sweet girl wants to be sitting or standing whenever possible. None of this laying on her back stuff any more....get her on her feet or bum.

*Reese Peese wants her hands in her mouth at all times; really, she just wants everything in her mouth at all times.

*Weight and height stats will come next week. Our four month appointment isn't until the 24th.

*Until then, enjoy these sweet pictures of my four month old (and the end of my rambling)...