A lot to catch up on....

I aspire to write more often, especially since I am starting to use little words and will soon be penning this blog entirely on my own. My favorite things right now are:

1. Jumping in my Rainforest Jumper - but I like to point my toes and do it Riverdance style. Yes, I was an Irish dancer in a past life!

2. Scream - but mine are squeals of joy! Sometimes I do it more quietly.

3. Talking - I am saying hi dada, hi mama, baba, and things that approximate "more", and many other words. I am rapidly progressing with my verbal skills, and my daddy is starting to get scared that life will never be "quiet" again (between me and my mom!).

4. Waving - I wave at everyone and everything and all of the time! It's fun! And sometimes I rub my hands together with a mischievious look in my eye as I am "hatching" my newest plan for something to grab. My fans say I am already a character.

5. Scooting - backwards - I am not quite a forward crawler, though I aspire to be! Primarily, I scoot, and usually in reverse. This is problematic for getting places, and I may need to get a reverse alert horn (beep, beep, beep)... though maybe those are better left for old people on motor scooters?

6. My blowfish bath toy - I get my paws on that bad boy and don't let him go for ANYTHING. I won't even put him down when my parents wash my hands, or when I get out of the bath. He doesn't leave my sight! My second favorite is the seahorse, cause her little spiny back feels good when I rub it on my gums and chew on it with my two new chompers!

We celebrated daddy's 31st birthday in December, I had a great Christmas in Spokane, and I just helped my mommy celebrate her 33rd birthday yesterday!

I have a lot to report - I will try to get back with an update sooner next time.

Love,

Kaysen Reese

Sick day with Dad

When I awoke this morning at an early 4:30 am I was prepped and ready to spend my morning with my Mom and see my dad off to work. As my morning was coming to a close and I was expecting my awesome Grand-dad to take me for the late morning I was surprised to see my Dad home??? He wasn't feeling well so instead of toughing things out at work he decided to spend his day taking care of me, HURRRAYYY!

Babies for Obama!

I am usually very apolitical, but this election has made a convert of me. We have had an Obama sign in our yard for the last 6+ months, and I believe that Obama has the ability to make a better future for us and for our children.

Regardless of your political leanings, please get out and vote today! I saw tons of little tag-alongs at the polls this morning, proving that lots of people are realizing how important this election is to the future of our country and the world. History will be made - either we will elect our first black president, or we will elect the oldest first term president in history and the first female VP. See full story from CNN at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/election.president/index.html

In other news, just for the posterity of it - gas prices are extremely low for the first time in more than 6 years - in some places below $2/gallon. I can't remember those prices since about 2003. Experts say that this indicates a depression, but I think it is very interesting given that 60 days ago they predict $5/gallon prices by the holidays.

There is a major shift happening in our country and the world. It is strange and intriguing time.

+This entry posted by proud Mama Courtney

One Little Monkey, Jumpin' on the Bed....

Kaysen was a monkey for Halloween! The costume didn't last too long, as she got hot in it, and she had an incredibly runny nose, but it was very sweet while it lasted. She was photographed in her monkey suit by the Boise "grand-paparazzi" complete with a green backdrop and a photographer's assistant (grandma) making faces in the background.

No trick-0r-treating for this little monkey, but for sure next year. We didn't even get any real trick-or-treaters, except for our neighbor Duncan who dressed as a mummy to hide his newly broken arm.

Adam wore an afro and a flashy shirt, and Courtney was Hilary Clinton. Our friends who threw the Halloween party (also next door neighbors, extremely convenient!) got in costume as well, with Shannon dressed as Sarah Palin. All hail the political scene, live on Scyene Way! Shannon even created a faux-article documenting the interaction between Sarah and Hilary and added photos. Pretty funny, check it out here - http://reagan.weebly.com/1/post/2008/11/sarah-palin-pallin-around-with-hilary.html

Kaysen's most recent accomplishments include rolling over, sitting up, and a wide variety of noises and calls and lip pursing and buzzing which seem to be indicating the onset of some early vocalization! She may be talking by Christmas! We don't know where she gets this verbal affinity??? She is enjoying rice cereal, oatmeal, and a variety of veggies and we're getting started on some fruits as well. In particular, she loves homemade baby food concoctions and also begs for more when we feed her Happy Baby cereals and baby food -www.happybabyfood.com. For our friends with kids, I strongly recommend this line which has everything from beginning cereals to toddler meals. One of the co-founders has become a friend of mine and she is an amazing woman who deserves a lot of credit and support for creating such a fantastic line of foods with organic ingredients and probiotics.

Kaysen calls - more updates very soon!
xoxoxo to all from all of us

+This entry posted by proud Mama Courtney

Kaysen's Day on Oct 7

Ms. Kaysen Reese had a great day!

She spent her morning with her mama and her maternal grandparents, cooing, being sweet and smiling and eating rice cereal like a champ.

Around lunchtime, she went to daycare at St. Al's, where she was greeted by her daddy with big hugs and kisses and no cast! Adam's broken arm is all healed and he is cast-free!

When she was picked up mid-afternoon, Kaysen came home to hang out with both mom and dad. She laughed heartily at something she understood, but Adam and I couldn't translate what was making her giggle. Luckily, we caught the laughs on video anyway, so they are preserved for posterity. Sort of like the naked bum shots after bath time a few nights ago - sorry, baby! I'll try to keep those hidden when you first boyfriends visit! :)

She finished off her day talking to her paternal grandparents via Skype then kicking her way through a bath and crashing hard. She's been dosing for more than an hour now - fell asleep with a soft, gutteral snore.

What a beautiful, happy, perfect baby. We are so lucky.

+ This entry posted by proud Mama Courtney