What. A. Day.

What a fun and BUSY day. I haven't had a day like this in a LONG time. I was away from Reese most of the day, and I drove from Bentonville to Lowell to Bella Vista to Rogers to Bella Vista to Bentonville to Rogers and back to Bentonville. That never happens during my stay-at-home days. We go places, but we don't put that many miles on the car each day. 

The day started with my Beth Moore Bible study at Fellowship. Reese played with friends and learned about god's love for her while I studied and listened to the life of David. I took Reese to one of my DEAREST friend's house for Reese to nap and play for the afternoon with Kari, Sarah, and Caroline. That deserves a post in itself. I got pictures while I was away of Reese playing and riding around in SJ's toy cars. Oh, and I watched a video once I picked her up of cheerios being dumped EVERYWHERE by my little sweetie. Sorry, Kari. Anyways, while Reese was there, I was off to RHS Color Day assembly to see two of my cell group girls on court. They were both STUNNING, and I am so proud of them. SO PROUD. I hustled over to my old school after that to help throw a baby shower for an old classmate and old co-worker. I loved getting to catch up with everyone and celebrating the upcoming arrival of Miss Audrey. Then it was back to pick up Reese, go by the house to let Emmett out of the crate (oops. He had been in there since 8:30), and then Reese and I headed to the basketball game. We stayed for almost an hour, and of course Reese started hamming it up when she saw her favorite girls (my cell group girls, her babysitters, and the cheerleaders who also happen to have really fun, sparkly poms), but it had been a long day, and it was time for home. And bed. 

Like I said, days like these don't happen, so I want to document them when they do. I loved the busy-ness, but it made me really appreciate and love the laid back time I have with Reese on a daily basis. 

Happy Tuesday night to everyone.

Sydney, Alex, Me, and Frankie. We love our girls. 

 Oh, Brenna. LOVE that girl.

Pretty baby shower. 

The mom-to-be brought her own board of her nursery in progress. LOVE it! 

 And back to RHS with this little one in tow.

She kept her eyes on the court. Go Mounties.

Ready to Par-Tay!

This afternoon is going to be one heck of a party. FOUR Walker birthdays have occurred in the last 21 days, and it's now time to celebrate. Cousin Ty turned ONE, Cousin Marion turned ONE, Cousin Molly turned EIGHT, and Aunt Jayme gained a year but doesn't look a day over 21. 

After Reese had her messy breakfast, I went to get her dressed for the day. O'Pa brought her this dress from one of his mission trips to Nicaragua, and I've been dying for her to have the chance to wear it. Today is the day, and of course we had a little photo shoot to document it. We are ready to Par-Tay! (After a nice, long afternoon nap)

Don't Forget

THINGS I DON'T WANT TO FORGET ABOUT MY 16 MONTH OLD:
1. Reese went 16 months without any teeth, and now she has gotten 8 within two weeks.
2. Forget the normal order of teething patterns...Reese is more interested in getting her top teeth than the bottom ones. Only the tips of the bottom two are poking through, but SIX have broken through on the top.
3. She LOVES books. All day she walks over to her book box, brings me one, asks to sit in my lap, and then we read. Repeat.
4. She has just started the leg grab. Holds on to my leg and pats it. I love it.
5. Morning nap is gone and in its place is now "rest" time. She gets all suited up like it's time for a nap, but I put a few books in her crib so she has something to do if she doesn't want to sleep. This morning, she has been horizontal for a good period of time, but then she sits up, reads, stares, talks, and then rolls around for a bit. It only lasts 30-45 minutes on a normal day, but it's great...and I hope to transition it to room time at some point.
6. Reese has decided she does not like her stroller or car seat right now, and I'm not sure why. Maybe she just wants to walk around or something, but strolls don't last long, and mega screams can be heard after about 5 minutes in the car.
7. She weighs 24 pounds 10 ounces.
8. Sweet Girl points to her ears or feet when I ask her where something on her body is. She will get it figured out soon. She knows animals and different objects and can point to them in books, but body parts are a bit more complicated.
9. Peek-A-Boo and Pat-A-Cake are her favorite games.
10. Oh, and she LOVES clapping for herself.
11. She totally likes church nursery and gym child care now. She walks right in and finds big kids to play with or toys to explore.
12. Reese has started helping pick up toys. It's definitely a long learning process, but we have begun it, and it's going well.

Needless to say, I'm more in love with my girl than ever. She's getting curls and personality to go right along with them. Oh, I just love her. I'm going to get her from "rest" time. Nope, I just looked at the monitor, and she fell asleep after being in there for 50 minutes. Hmmm...let her sleep or get her up so she will nap this afternoon? Let her sleep for just a little bit, right?

I Get It Now

So for many months I listened to friends talk about their kids and how they get when their teeth start to come on the scene. I didn't know what they were talking about, but I listened, and I was just fine that my daughter didn't have any of those crazy things. About two weeks ago, Reese's top two teeth began to show themselves, and they have made quite an entrance. Ever since then, she's been crying at night and pretty fussy during the day. Yeah, what I thought was going to happen is happening. My 16 month old is getting what seems like an entire mouthful of teeth at once. I guess she's making up for lost time. Well, really, I just see the bottom two and two more on top coming. Plus, Sweet Girl has a cold and what may be the beginning of an ear infection. I get the whole "teething" thing now, but what I just experienced made it all worth it.
Reese was totally thrown off today by going to see her pediatrician smack dab during the middle of normal naptime, so we adjusted. When we got home from getting my flu shot, I gave Reese some juice/water and read her a book. As soon as that cup came out of her mouth, I turned her towards me, and SHE FELL ASLEEP ON ME!!! I rocked and sat for a long time soaking it all in, and then I put her in bed for her to better sleep. That lasted 15 minutes...until JUST now. She's up and crying. I better go see if she wants to sleep on me again. Yeah right.

Better Moments

Remember my last post about my favorite moments of 2011? As I was reflecting on those, I thought to myself..."Kate, those really aren't your favorite moments. They are just the ones that stick out because you have pictures that documented them, and they were out of the ordinary. Oh, and Plus, those moments you listed really aren't moments...they are events." My real favorite moments are the ones that went undocumented and that were totally ordinary. Now, I loved every moment on my list, but the days that I LOVE love are the ones just like today. Here's how today went down...

8:00 Reese woke up, we all got out of bed, and we all ate breakfast while reading about Jesus' resurrection.
8:30 We all played together.
10:00 Reese took a nap. My "big news" from yesterday was that we are looking into putting our house on the market, so I did some decluttering and cleaning during naptime.
12:00 Lunch with the family
12:30 We went driving around looking at potential future homes followed by a quick stop downtown for a nutella and banana crepe.
1:45 Nap for Reese. Nap for Momma.
4:00 We talked with neighbors and went on a family walk around the neighborhood.
5:00 Family play time.
6:00 Reese ate dinner and then played a bit before taking a bath and going to sleep. Oh, and she got to face time with Popsy and Mopsy during bath time...definitely a highlight for her day.
7:00 Reese went to sleep, and Momma and Daddy ate dinner. Now we are just relaxing and enjoying a nice fire and football on TV.

These are better moments. In honor of these days, I'll post some definitely ordinary pictures...but I must admit these are my favorites.

 Reese and Mopsy loving on each other at Tusk & Trotter. Mom, Allen, and Lovemore came up to see the museum last week, and we loved hosting them. (We better get used to hosting lots of tourists now that Bentonville is one of twelve places in the world to see in 2012 by Travel & Leisure.)  Reese actually put her head in Mopsy's arms, but I didn't get that documented.

 Our morning routine. Reese drinks her milk while in my lap all cuddled up with the blanket. Best time of the day.

 Reese pacing the floor in the hours before the Cotton Bowl.

 My daughter and I celebrating Ty's 1st birthday and cheering on the Hogs.

 Playing with my "My Quiet Book" that I played with as a little one.

Post church play time. She learned to say "Doctor" after reading this book. 

Oh, and she totally is getting her top front two teeth. I even think one has broken through the gums. She doesn't like to do things in order I guess. These are her first teeth...at 15 1/2 months.

Top 11 of 2011

It's the last day of 2011, and it's 64 degrees outside here in Arkansas. We spent the day at a local park and driving around enjoying the beautiful weather. But before the clock strikes midnight, I want to try to narrow down the best moments of the year. (I started with about 16 favorite moments, so this list should be easier as the years go on.)

Here are 11 of my favorite moments of 2011. 

1. Reese's baptism at Trinity Grace Church in January. It was a wonderful celebration and service. Rachel Billingsley sang (the most incredible voice), lots of family in the congregation, and a fabulous lunch at our house after church.

2. SNOW. We had SO much snow this past winter that I couldn't leave it off the list. I think we had enough last year to last us a few years. Maybe that's why it's 64 degrees on December 31st.

3. Beach trip in the spring with the Gaines' hosted by Wes' Aunt Margie's condo in Destin. It was quite the trip with these two little ones, but it was relatively peaceful, very enjoyable, and full of laughs and funny stories.

(she wasn't the best sitter at that point.) 

4. Frost family trip to San Francisco and Napa Valley. We spent a week visiting my brother in California. Reese touched her 2nd ocean. She adored the cable car. She almost drank some wine. It was a lovely week with my family.

5. Cell group memories. these two are from fall retreat at the old K-Klassic. These girls are simply amazing and bring me so much joy. They are the greatest babysitters to Reese, and their hearts are very sweet.

6. Reese turned ONE on September 18th. I'm not sure if I ever wrote the REAL story behind her birthday party, but none of us felt so great that day. Here is the big ONE year old before her party. It was the cutest party I must say, and our home was filled with people who love our little girl very well. It was one of my favorite days even though I didn't eat one bite of food that day.

7. Trip to Dallas to visit college girlfriends. It was a mini-reunion, and we lived it up all weekend. Fun at the zoo, visiting Auntie LC at work, and lots of great conversation.

8. Mercy NICU Reunion Carnival. I was looking forward to this celebration for so long, and we got the chance to thank so many of the nurses who took such great care of Reese during her first 12 days of life.

10. Opening Day at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. 11.11.11

I'm realizing more and more that this day will go down as a big one in Bentonville, and I'm very thankful that I got to be a part of it.

11. NYC, baby! Three of my wonderful friends and I spent three full days in the Big Apple early in December, and it will be remembered forever as such a nice trip full of long, uninterrupted conversations over dinner and so many genuinely fun and memorable moments all over the city.

My hope and prayer is that 2012 brings us as much joy and love as 2011. We fell more in love with Reese every day, and we learned more about the overwhelming love that Christ has for us. Wes and I had dinner last night to talk about our goals and desires for 2012, and tomorrow we are going to write down our action steps. I think 2012 will be a good one, and I hope and pray it will be for all of you as well.