Thanks and Giving

I am very thankful. Last Thanksgiving, Wes and I spent the week on the beach in Mexico. This year, we spent it with our sweet little girl traveling around the wonderful Natural State. Both beautiful times, and I'm so thankful for the love God has blessed us with this past year. I've never been more in love with my Savior and my husband. And I've fallen completely in love with someone new to this world. In the few days following September 18th, I had to rely on God and His mercy more than ever. I am so incredibly thankful for the specific prayers He answered and for a healthy baby girl. In those same days, my love for Wes grew so much. His companionship, encouragement, servant's heart, and love for our daughter overwhelmed me. And of course Reese has captured my heart, and I am so thankful for the blessing she is. It's hard to describe how much I love that gummy smile, sweet cry, and beautiful face. So of course, here are some Thanksgiving pictures.

Our sweet little girl. My goodness how much I love her.

Gran and O'Pa with their 6 grandchildren...this picture will soon add two more!! :)

Wes focused in on Reese while the four generation photo shoot was taking place...and I love that face!

Now, the four generations. My mom, me, Reese, and my Granny.

My mom's gorgeous Thanksgiving dinner table. She is such an incredible hostess.

The week in Conway and Camden was wonderful. After Reese's two and a half hour nap on our way to Conway Tuesday morning, Mopsy and Popsy didn't take their eyes off her until I took her off to Camden on Thanksgiving afternoon. Watching them love on her was SO much fun. And then getting to spend a couple of days with Reese's cousins and more extended family in Camden was just icing on the cake. She loved being the center of attention, and I told her to soak it up now because she won't be the baby for long!!

Now back home with a husband by my side, a sleeping baby, a clean dog, a warm fire glowing, and a #7 Razorback team hopefully on their way to the Sugar Bowl, I am thankful. And I pray that I continue to thank God for these blessings each and every day.

Postal Service

I think the postal service has gotten better. I sent my birth announcements on Saturday, and many of them arrived at their destinations today. I ordered a new swaddle sleep sack for Reese on Tuesday, and it showed up two days later. A good friend sent a pretty big package of goodies not long ago, and it came to my front door the next day. So, hopefully many of you received a pretty cute picture postcard of sweet Reese today. I still have more to go out due to trouble getting addresses, and lots of thank-you notes are on their way as well. We better get this show on the road though and finish up these things because we have to get going on Christmas cards soon.

Here's the really cute postcard that many mailmen got to peek at today.

An update just because...RRW and I are heading down to Conway tomorrow morning by ourselves, and Daddy will meet us there Wednesday afternoon. I am beyond excited to show Reese where I grew up, and I just love Thanksgiving. This has been a week I've looked forward to for a long time. I just get giddy thinking about all of the smiles and full bellies that will take place on Thursday. I pray you all have a great holiday.

Couldn't Wait--Now With Doctor's Report :)

Well, I couldn't wait to post Reese's "Happy Two Months" pictures. We have our appointment this afternoon, so I'll have more to update then along with a report on how Reese responds to more poking. I just pray it doesn't remind her of the first 12 days of her life....I mean, what can a few wimpy shots do to this tough girl? I must say I'm not looking forward to it though.

Anyways, I had an extra 30 minutes this morning before feeding time, so we had our photo shoot a bit early. Happy two months, sweet girl.

Compare...above is October 18th. Below is November 18th. She's grown.

And just for kicks and giggles. Don't you love this face?!

Oh, we are home now, and sweet girl did such a wonderful job with all of those shots. She actually fell asleep less than one minute after they were done, and right now she's getting treated to a nap in the swing. I told her that when she's older we will go get ice cream or some other kind of treat after shots, but for now she must settle for naps, breast milk, and lots of high pitched silly talk.

For the two month update, here is what RRW is doing these days:

**She is what the doctor calls an "irregular" baby which basically means there is no consistent behavior. :) For a few days she will be angelic, and then she will be fussy for a couple of days followed by sleepiness and wakefulness, and it goes on and on like that. He said it's really just more difficult for the parents, but we can handle it.

**We are getting her off of Zantac to see if it really was making any difference. We may get her on Prevacid if nothing improves or if things get worse in the gas area.

**RRW eats about every 3 hours during the day, and as the irregular baby stuff goes, it varies at night. Sometimes it's 6 hours, sometimes 4, and one time it was actually 8.

**Baby girl weighs 12 lbs. 4 oz. (86th percentile)

**RRW is 23 1/2 inches long (89th percentile)

**Sweet pea does NOT have a large noggin. That's saying something for the Frost and Walker clans.

**She loves to smile and try to talk. It really makes me smile bigger than you can imagine.

**She loves bathtime. I don't know if she's just laughing at my version of "Bathtime Hokey Pokey" or if she actually loves the water and splashing around in it.

**She has been sleeping in her crib since her 6 week birthday.

**We read a Bible story (from the Jesus Storybook Bible--thanks, Leslie) on most days, and of course I cried the first day. I just started to think about all of the stories I pray that I get to share with her in the coming years.

**I could probably go on and on, and I totally would because this post is one of those that's much more for my records than for the enjoyment of the readers, but I'm done thinking for today. More may come later.

A Pretty Dull Post

I probably shouldn't title this post in this way if I want people to read it, but it's what came to my mind when the "new post" page popped up on the laptop. I am going to have some exciting posts in the next few days including the big 2 month update and a picture of our birth announcement, but I don't like that it's been a week since I've updated...so here's what's been going on in our world...

*Reese and I don't have too many full days at home. During our outings, we walk/stroll with friends at the Bark Park, run to Target and the Neighborhood Market, spend time with other moms and besties, and hang out with really neat 9th graders.

*Most of my best friends from college came in town this weekend, and we had a "miniunion." Three of the four Laurens couldn't make it though, so it was a bit different...plus, we had three little girls taking most of the attention. Regardless, it was incredible to just hang out with these precious friends. We hung out in Fayetteville, took the babies to the Kappa house, ate yummy grilled cheese sandwiches at Hammontree's, had a delicious meal at Table Mesa with the boys in tow, visited over coffee and bagels two mornings in a row at Einstein and Panera, and just caught up and loved on each other at Brooke's.

*I have made my bed every day since mid-July with the exception of the worst day in my mastitis infection when I was pretty much lying in it all day. Yes, I made our bed the morning I went into labor after my water broke. It's become a crazy obsession.

*And I'll leave it at that. Get ready for some cute pictures and updates in the next several days. This girl makes my heart so happy each day.

A Special Dress for a Special Day

Today was Reese's first time to church. She slept pretty lightly out with the congregation, but when I headed back to the "Nursing Room," she was out like a light. And what a sweet time it is to sit back with other moms and talk about daily joys and trials. I started to worry that her special "first time to church" dress would end up being too small because we have waited so long to get her out, but it fit perfectly. My mom smocked this special dress, and I was so happy to pose an entire photo shoot around it. What an incredible blessing it was to take our daughter to church to worship the God who has healed her and given her life. Now we just ask Him to give her some gas relief and ease her little bodily systems. We are blessed and are so happy to celebrate her 7 weeks with us!

First attempt at the family photo with the self timer. Not too bad.

Second attempt was a bit better.

Oh man. Melt my heart.

I just love my little girl.

The Halloween Post

I guess when you are 6 weeks old, the only reason to dress up for Halloween is to document the holiday with pictures. She didn't really go Trick-or-Treating and really just slept the whole time we were out this weekend with other costumed kids. Regardless, she looked pretty dang cute dressed up as an owl. Mom and I had found the hat early this summer, and we immediately knew what this little girl would be for Halloween. We dressed it up with a custom "hoot" onesie, legwarmers, and a tutu...and that was it. Here are the pictures from the weekend...

Reese was invited to her first birthday party...cousin Morgan's 3rd birthday. Princess theme. So this is Reese's most princessy outfit.

At first, Halloween night was a bit tough even though she was representing a Kappa symbol.

But she got over it pretty quickly and thoroughly enjoyed being an adorable owl.

Yes, I'm the cutest owl in town.

Trick-or-Treating at Wes' office...one co-worker was really sweet and bought teethers for the babies.

All of the employees dressed up as one particular co-worker...she is obviously a blonde from Kentucky.