Fun and Food

This has been an exhausting but fun week. Reese and I have been very busy on the days that I am home with her. We started a Mom & Baby yoga class that meets Monday and Wednesday mornings. It gives me a chance to stretch and get some exercise and it gives Reese a relaxing environment with new things to look at and other babies to check out.

Speaking of other babies, I have been getting to know a few other new mothers which has been nice. On Wednesday we took our little ones to the San Diego Zoo. Pictured below from left to right are: Kate, Kristen, Kelly, Me and Luciana. Luciana and I work together at UCSD and she introduced me to the other girls.

It was a beautiful day and I had a lot of fun but Reese seemed more interested in people watching than checking out the animals. We bought a season pass though so we'll go back and see if she becomes more curious about our four-legged friends.

Keeping so active is exhausting especially since Reese STILL isn't sleeping through the night-- even though she is at the point (5 months today!) where most babies do. She has been waking up every 2-3 hours for several weeks now and it is driving me and Mike crazy. We aren't sure if she's waking up because she's hungry or if she just wakes up between sleep cycles and thinks she needs to nurse to get back to sleep. We are trying out a lot of techniques and I even got a book from the library on teaching baby to sleep.

Some people say that starting babies on solid foods can help them sleep better because the solid food takes longer to digest than breastmilk. So, we gave her rice cereal for the first time on Friday. I don't know that it's helpng her sleep but it did make for a good photo-op.

First the spoon by itself so that she could get used to having it in her mouth. Everything goes in her mouth these days so she enjoyed the spoon immensely.The food on the other hand, was not what she was expecting.

In the end, most of it ended up on her chin but, we did get better the next day.

And, in what may be a coincidence, but could also be attributed to her new diet, Reese slept for 4 hour stretches last night. This may not seem like much to you but in Mike's words, for us it's a luxury.

Time Flies

Hello blog fans,

Sorry for the unexpected 3 week hiatus. I can't say specifically what has kept me too busy to blog but I guess that's what happens when you try to juggle work (me), school (Mike), and a 4 1/2 month old baby. I'll do my best to recap what you've missed.

Reese has been going to my friend Noreen's house twice a week. Noreen has two girls; Kalia 4 and Makenna 7, pictured here with Reese:

Now that Makenna is in 1st grade, Noreen has Kalia enrolled in a parent participation preschool so Reese accompanies them on the mornings when Noreen is watching her. Although sometimes it seems the preschool is too stimulating for Reese and disrupts her nap schedule, it also gives her the chance to be around other children, who sing songs, play musical instruments and tell stories. I understand that Kalia has assumed the role of "big sister/protector" to Reese and won't let the other kids near her unless they wash their hands.

Despite Kalia's efforts, Reese did catch her first cold last week. She had the sniffles and a low grade fever. Fortunately she fought it off and was back to her cheerful self within two days.

Since we have been so busy, there aren't many events to report. It's been a challenge just getting dinner on the table and keeping the house in order but we did manage to capture a few pictures for your entertainment. Enjoy!

We have decided not to start Reese on solid foods until she's six months but she does enjoy sitting in her high chair. Now she can be eye-level with us at the dinner table.

Reese can't sit up yet, but from the looks of it, we can look forward to that in a few months too.

Real California girls wear shades...

...that match their outfit.

I have chubby legs and no pants...
...and I don't care!