Ice Skating!!!

This past weekend, we went ice skating as a family for Reid's birthday.  This was Caeden's first time to ice skate, but he enjoyed it more than we thought he would!  The outdoor rink is in Downtown Bentonville and is pretty neat!  Our session was for 1 hr 15 min, but we got there 30 minutes late...we weren't in any hurry since we didn't think Caeden would last more than 15 minutes.  Well, we were wrong!  He skated the full 45 minutes we had left in our session!

He started out skating with Daddy, while I watched and held Callie!  It started with Daddy mainly holding him up and pushing him around the rink.  :)  But by the end, Caeden was just holding on with one hand to skate around.  After Reid had his turn for awhile, he got some cuddle time with Callie....while I got to skate with Caeden.

Gingerbread Goodness

Caeden got to make his first gingerbread house this year, and he had so much fun!  I think he ate just as much icing and candy as is on the house.  Here are pics from our afternoon of decorating:

Happy 30th Birthday to REID!!!

This past Sunday was Reid's 30th birthday!  I knew better than to throw him a surprise party, but I couldn't just do the normal dinner and a movie thing either....We had to do SOMETHING to make this birthday different!  So we had a 3-day celebration!  Here's a recap of our fun weekend we had celebrating his 30th!

Friday night, we met some of our close friends for dinner at a local Italian restaurant called Tavola Tratorria. It was our first time to eat there, and it was wonderful!  We were there for 3.5 hours, just hanging out with our friends, telling stories, and catching up.  It was so great to have an evening out with friends (and without kids!)   PS - Thanks to my sister Ariel and her husband for coming to watch Caeden and Callie!

This was us, before heading out to dinner

I also wanted to do something with just our small family for Reid's birthday.  So on Saturday, after Caeden's nap, we went ice skating at the outdoor rink in downtown Bentonville. It was our first time to go to this rink, and Caeden's first time to ice skate ever!  Caeden did a great job and Reid had fun teaching him what to do (a.k.a.....holding him up so he didn't fall).  :)  After ice skating, we finished the evening off by having dinner together at Chick-fil-a!

Sunday was Reid's actual birthday.  So after church, I had planned to make Reid's favorite meal (Taco Soup with Cornbread).  What he didn't know is that I had also planned for some surprise visitors.  Right about the time I was almost finished making lunch, Reid and the kids were on the couch and our doorbell rang....Who was it?  Reid's brother Rhett - and his wife Jennifer!  Surprise!  A few minutes later, there was another knock at our door!  Surprise!  Reid's parents and Gram were here!  They all stayed for lunch and we just spent the afternoon hanging out and visiting.  Reid's birthday cake was an ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery (our favorite!).  We had a great time hanging out and relaxing with his family!

Reid and I have been together for 14 years....so it's pretty crazy that we've been together for almost half our lives!  I've gotten to celebrate many birthdays with Reid and I can't wait to see how we continue to celebrate many more!  I always tell people that I'm very lucky to have him as my husband!  He has always had a servant heart, putting me, our kids, and other people before himself.  Since the day Caeden was born, he has been the most involved father!  He knows how to make a bottle, burp, give the kids baths, put them to bed, change diapers, etc.  I've never had to "teach" him how to do these things because he's always done them right along with me.  It's so wonderful to have an extra load lifted off, knowing my kids are in GREAT hands with Daddy! After working 9 hour days, he comes home and immediately starts playing with Caeden, he'll help me with Callie when needed, and even wash dishes after dinner.  Then he puts Caeden to bed every night, and spends time with me afterwards!  Again, he has always been a servant, and is so selfless!  I love him so much and feel blessed to be called his wife! Happy 30th Birthday Reid!

Callie: 2 mos.

Callie just turned 2 mos old this past Wednesday...she's already growing up so much!  This post will be on her second month, and will not be as lengthy as the last one.  :)

EATING
Callie continued to eat well, and would go 3-3.5 hours during the day between feedings.  Sometimes she'll randomly want to eat sooner, but 3ish hours is the "normal" for her now.  She is primarily nursing, but in the afternoon/evening she would usually take 1-2 oz of formula after nursing.  I guess my milk supply was just down by the end of the day, and she needed more.  Around 6 weeks, her weight gain slowed way down.  Previously she was literally gaining 1 oz/day.  At 6 weeks, she slowed down to gaining an ounce over a 4-6 day period.  I wasn't too worried though because she still acted normal and she had her normal pattern of diapers.  Speaking of which, this child only poops 1-2 times a week, and it's great!  But when she does, they're big diapers, that's for sure!

NAPS
Callie was not on any kind of nap schedule at this point.  We have the same routine....She eats, is awake for awhile (1-1.5 hours total), and then goes to sleep.  But the length of her nap would vary.  Sometimes she would nap for 30 minutes, sometimes an hour, and sometimes 2-3 hours.  But she usually woke up happy, so I knew she was fine.

Towards the end of her second month (7-8 weeks), I started trying to lay her down before she was asleep.  She has done great so far!  Most of the time, if I swaddle her, turn on her sound machine, and just sit to hold her for a few minutes, she'll get real relaxed.  Once she's super relaxed, and has heavy eyes, I'll lay her down and she'll go to sleep very quickly....with no tears!  It's been wonderful!  Some naps aren't like this, but for the most part, she does great at going to sleep on her own.

She still took her naps in various places throughout the day.  I wanted her to be used to sleeping in different locations.  Sometimes it would be in the swing, sometimes in her hammock, bassinet, in my arms :), or her crib (not her favorite yet).

NIGHTTIME SLEEP
Callie has been a great night sleeper the entire time!!!  During this second month, she went from sleeping 7-9 hour stretches at night, to 10-11 hour stretches.  By the end of her second month, I would feed her around 8 or 9pm, and she would sleep until 7am the next morning!  My goodness - Caeden didn't do that until he was 8 mos old!  God has truly blessed us with a great night sleeper this time!  Around 7-8 weeks, we moved her from our room, to HER room.  She still sleeps in her little hammock/sling - it's her favorite place to sleep - but we moved it to her room.  Again, she will usually fall asleep on her own just fine.

CAEDEN & CALLIE
Caeden still loves Callie very much.  He often tells her, "Callie - I love you sooo much!"  He will also tell me at random times how much he loves her.  He loves to show her toys, hug on her, kiss on her, and hold her.  Sometimes his hugs are a little tight, and his pats a little hard....but it's not out of anger or anything - he's just still learning how to handle a baby.

Callie doesn't really know what to think of Caeden.  She handles his noise very well and it doesn't stress her out very often.  When he's close by (and not right in her face), she loves to look at him and watch him play.  She has smiled at him a few times. :)

MILESTONES
Here are the things she's doing by 2 months:

• Smiles when we smile at her
• She has begun cooing - sometimes more loudly than others
• When on her stomach, she can fully lift her head up
• She can focus on and pay attention to very small objects
• She's great at tracking objects!  When I move things from side to side, she'll follow them all the way.
• She's starting to laugh.  There are several times a day, she'll be smiling real big and she'll kind of cough - like she's trying to laugh! So fun to watch!

Her sweet smile

WAKETIME
Of course it's the most fun when she's awake!  She's becoming more alert.  The various activities we do during her waketime are:

• Tummy Time
• Activity Gym
• Sitting in her Bumbo
• Swing
• Read short books
• "Play" on a blanket
• Get held by Mommy, Daddy & Caeden (this is our favorite!)
• Sit and stare at each other  :)

I have to say here that she is very content while she's awake.  This, too, is very different from Caeden.  He was just a fussy, discontent baby.  She will lay there awake, doing nothing, and be content with that.  I'm so thankful!

OUTINGS

Callie does not do well when we run errands.  She is a very laidback, happy girl EXCEPT while in her car seat.  Every once in awhile, we'll have a cry-free ride.  But most of the time, there's screaming every time we get in the car.  Therefore, I get out as least as possible just because I hate hearing her scream so close to me when there's nothing I can do.  

However, she did lots of traveling during her second month.  We went to Missouri to see both families for Thanksgiving, we went to Springfield to get pictures with Santa at Bass Pro, and we went to Branson to go to Silver Dollar City.  She does fine eating and sleeping in various places....just doesn't like the car.  :/

TWO MONTH CHECK-UP

Here were Callie's stats for her 2 month well child check:

Weight: 10 lbs. 15 oz  (50th percentile)    *NOTE: This is only 2 ounces more than Caeden was at this visit.

Length: 23.5 inches (75th percentile)

 

She had hit all of her milestones the doctor asked about and looked healthy.  She got 3 shots and an oral vaccine, and this was the first time I've ever had to witness vaccines in my children WITHOUT Reid being present.  So I had to help hold her down and it was awful!  But I nursed her as soon as it was over and that calmed her down.  She was very fussy the rest of the day, and wanted to constantly be held.  (So she basically spent the day in my wrap).  The next day - she was fine!  So, overall she handled it like a champ and did a great job!

PICTURES

Here are some pictures that were taken of her during her second month (She's always so amused with the big black camera in my hand, that it's hard to get her to smile WHILE I'm taking pictures). 

 

We love seeing each new thing that Callie learns - but our favorite this month was her smiling at us!  We just thing she's the most beautiful girl and I cherish each smile we get.  I LOVE the times I get to cuddle her and hold her...and I definitely don't take them for granted.  Our love for her is so great, and I'm sure it will just continue to grow!

Fun Pictures to Share

These are just some fun pictures to post!  I sure love my kids!

Caeden pretending to be Santa!

Chillin' in the bath...She LOVES bathtime!

A Visit with Santa

For the last 17 years, Ashley's family has traveled to Bass Pro Shop in Springfield, MO to get our picture taken with the "real" Santa!  He has a real beard, a wonderful suit with gold buttons, and is surrounded by "real" (dead & stuffed) reindeer...and it's the same guy that does it every year!  Growing up, we did a family picture.  And we still do - Since our family is getting bigger with our husbands and kids, we had 14 people in the picture this year (plus 2 babies in the womb).  Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of this picture.  But here is the picture that our small little Pierce family took with Santa....and then one with just the kids!

Caeden was truly so excited about seeing Santa - the past few years he didn't really care.  And when Santa asked what he wanted for Christmas, he said he wanted a REAL fire truck! (Mom & Dad are thankful that this is what he's been asking for for the past month - phew!)  

We always make a day of it by hanging out at Bass Pro for awhile - the boys love it!  Then we go eat lunch, and stop by Hallmark to pick out our annual Christmas ornaments. 

They have a carousel inside Bass Pro - Here are Caeden/Daddy, along with cousin Emerson and Uncle Caleb riding:

Callie & Papa

Nana & Caeden

 Climbing on a boat

This year, we then decided to head to Silver Dollar City for the afternoon/evening.  Boy, was that a mistake!  In all the years I've been to SDC (including Christmas time), I've never seen it so packed.  We were walking shoulder-to-shoulder the whole time and couldn't get anywhere.  Literally all we did was see 5 minutes of the end of a show, Caeden & Reid got to play with the balls at Geyser Gulch, we watched the parade, and left.   And we were there for 5 hours...so that's all we got done in 5 hours because there were so many people there!  The restaurants and food stands were running out of food!  It was crazy!  One of the employees said she was told there were 23,000 people there that day.  We even got there 2.5 hours after the gates had opened and had to park in employee parking...and when that was full they parked people in a field and at a bank.  I can honestly say it wasn't even enjoyable...we just wanted to leave.  So next year, we're taking off work and going to SDC on a weekday!

BUT at least we had fun at Bass Pro, got to see Santa Clause, and made some memories!

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

Decorating our Christmas tree is a family event each year.  That's our families did it growing up, and that's how we do it with our kids also. Our Christmas tree is filled with special ornaments we had growing up, so it's a very unique tree...but I like it that way!  Caeden was totally into decorating this year. His favorite part?  Opening each ornament to "play" with it and see what it does...Also putting the star on the top!  He kept asking the whole time when we got to put the star on the top!  So here are some captured moments from the night we decorated our tree this year!

Callie hanging her first ornament

And putting the star on the top!!!