Just so you know

So as Jake mentioned we've been gone(miss you so muchos, Jakers), and so we've just been really busy with family. A lot has happened in the past few weeks. I know I need to do a 15 month post because my baby is turning into a toddler and changing so much, so here's just a quick update since we don't have pics. (PS we already miss all of our friends from Moscow...can't wait to see you in the Fall!)

Reese now officially WALKS! I know who would've believed this would happen?! She finally did it. We went to an indoor playground on April 15th and Reese saw all these older kids running around. The next thing I know Reese just gets up and starts walking to the slide. From then on out she's just been a walking fool. She stomps and walks like a bow-legged cowboy and we love it. It's so cute and she's fast! I love her walking!

She also has had a vocabulary influx! She can say dada of course and makes the sounds for dog, ducky, elephant and cow. She is starting to get kitty and sheep. She officially can say GRANDPA. It's really cute. She says two syllables of a mixed baww-paww. She also said I love you for the first time today! She said it to my brother Seth who is serving a mission. We got to talk to him on the phone today for Mother's Day and right as we were getting ready to hang up and saying I love yous, Reese said it out-loud and everyone heard it. It was her first time and so super cute. She and Seth have always been close and are so alike. As my dad put it they must be kindred spirits. They are both super fun, friends to everyone they meet and just plain cheesey goof balls. They both make everyone laugh, too.

She is also mimicking me a lot more. When I sing lalalas she mouths it back to me and then at the end, says "ya, ya, ya..." I love seeing her grow and that she's learning.

She's very obedient, too. When I say no, she listens very well now. When I ask her to do something she does it. I asked her to sit down tonight and she did it right away. She goes and grabs or gets things when we ask her too. The only thing she doesn't like to be as obedient with is when it comes to her grabbing our phones or remotes. I mean we use them all the time, so why wouldn't she want to.

She is going to be our little engineer. She loves to figure out how things work. When our vacuum broke she was right down there with Jake checking out all the parts, patting things into place, and picking up tools to fix it. She tries to fix, play and figure out everything she can get her hands on.

She also loves to pat me or my back when I pick her up. It's her way of loving us.

She gives full out kisses with her lips puckered now instead of just a wide open mouth touching your skin. She'll do it on command, too.

She pats your legs to let us know she wants to be picked up.

She goes to bed so willingly. She never puts up a fight.

Still has 8 teeth.

She gives lots of loves and hugs.

She likes to hide behind my back and then I ask where's Reese. Then I turn around as she peeks around me shoulder and she giggles away. It's fun. She also likes to fall between my legs as I'm laying on the floor and I squeeze her.

She sings to herself and loves books. She was just taken with Bob the Builder (the book) for quite awhile. It was the new fav, but who knows what it'll be now.

She LOVES to be outside. The minute someone mentions the word she wants to go immediately and goes straight to the door or window and bangs on it. She gets mad sometimes if she can't go out.

She loves balls and chases them around or plays fetch with herself. It doesn't matter what size of ball, she doesn't discriminate.

She loves my dog Cooper. She goes up and gives him pats all day long and pets him. Today we caught her giving him kisses on his butt! hahaha! She even goes around sharing her play food with him. She had a fake ice cream cone and would let Cooper lick and then she'd lick it. They kept doing it back and forth. It's so super cute to see her with him. Every time she sees him she does her doggy ruff, ruff sound. He could be way out in the backyard and if she sees him she does it or even when she hears the name Cooper she does it. We love it. She loves to follow him around, too.

Reese is a lot harder to travel with now. She cried/screamed a lot on the plane here, but she was on meds for ear infections so maybe her ears were still hurting. Oh well. I finally got smart and put overnight diapers on her when traveling so we had no blowouts on the plane! HOORAY!

Reese loves to eat and still eats third foods because I feel like she's getting a full meal when I feed those too her, but she eats real human(adult) food too. She loves cheese still, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, carrots cooked with roast, salmon, crackers, popcorn, white grape juice and smoothies. Jake also introduced her to dark chocolate. She LOVES it!

She sure is sassy sometimes and has a very strong personality. We love it because she knows what she wants and she lets you know it, too. She can be known to give "crusties" as my mom would put it (dirty glares to people). It's pretty funny and she'll usually squawk when she gives a crusty, too. Usually though she is very bubbly and happy.

She loves to wave and she does it like she's screwing in a lightbulb with both hands. Kills me, because it's so dang cute!

She takes one nap a day around 12-1pm and sleeps anywhere from 1 1/2 hours to 4 hours. Not bad for a girl who sleeps for 12 hours a night.

She loves her binky and takes it only for bed and sometimes when fussy in a store or somewhere when I have no other option.

Will point or go get anything if you ask her to get it. She knows what we're talking about all the time.

Would love to climb stairs all day long if I'd let her.

Still hates swings at parks. Maybe later this summer...

She will usually eat her food just fine, but when she's fussy about it my singing gets her to swallow it down without a problem. My voice is that scary it makes her eat just so I can stop singing.

She stuggles keeping her shoes on, but it doesn't help that her feet are square and super chubby. We love her little piggy toes though!

Still loves to do the actions to itsy, bitsy spider and does them to patty cake, too. She also still loves to point out all her body parts when asked and is really cute about it. She'll find them on someone else, too.

She'll dance whenever she feels like it. She'll shake her little bum when music comes on from commercials even. It's so fun to see!

Whelp that's about everything she's been up to, or now does since last month. Hope you enjoyed. We love watching her learn and grow and become her own little person. We are so happy to be her parents and can't wait to see what else she has in store for us.

Also I'd just like to say Happy Mother's Day! We love you Patrice and Lorrie and are so grateful for all you do! I only hope that I can be as wonderful as you are!