Reveille is doing well

Reveille is down for a nap right now and I thought I would just give everyone a general update. The last few weeks have been significant in her development. During her weekly physical therapy, she has started to hold herself up on her hands and knees. It is daunting to think that before too very long she will be cruising around our home. It will also be an undertaking to baby proof everything. She is also seeing an occupational therapist twice a month and will start seeing a speech therapist soon. Each individual is great and it is encouraging to have so many people aiding Reveille as she recognizes the world around her more and interacts with it on a larger scale.We have also begun solid foods. To be honest, she hasn’t taken to them that quickly and is still trying to grasp the whole spoon thing. We have not seemed to find any flavors she really enjoys either, but we just raided Target and got about every fruit & vegetable combo we could. Hopefully over the next few days we’ll find a few things that dazzle her little palette. Finally, we are asked pretty consistently about how her relationship with our dogs is. They continue to sniff her and giver her licks every once and a while, but that is all the interest they have. Reveille on the other hand has taken to them a bit more. She enjoys the feeling of furry things and has taken an interest in grabbing Mesquite, our dog with the longest coat. He tolerates it like a champ. Although, after so long he will leave when he has had enough. That is it for now. Halloween is fast approaching and we still have to choose a costume for her. No matter what she ends up being I am sure some fun pictures will come out of it and I look forward to posting them for everyone to see.

Summer Come and Almost Gone

Summer Shopping

This has been a great summer for us. Despite the economy being in the toilet and our household facing some difficult times, it has been a wonderful few months. Reveille loves to go out and about. She appreciates fine dining as long as she is fed promptly upon her request. She also enjoys seeing new people and hearing about how adorable she is. More than once this summer we have received complimentary items or services because she batted her eyelashes at some unsuspecting person. She appears to be a fan of the outdoors and proved to be quite the camper. Although in all instances Reveille prefers air conditioning to any sort of heat. We have enjoyed multiple trips to the Brookfield Zoo. She has not yet disclosed what her favorite animal is. However, there is one Grandma that is hoping she shares a love for giraffes. We also got to spend an afternoon at the Shedd Aquarium. The sea horses & sea dragons there were the big winners. Reveille had a look of shear wonder as these little creatures, glowing under a black light, would go gliding by. In general she is always enthralled by fish in aquariums. Most of the time, they seem to move at just the right pace for her and their bright colors make them easy targets to spot. She also has enjoyed her time acting like a fish too. Swimming in Grandma & Grandpa’s pool was a favorite activity and it gave her an opportunity to show off her skills in the pool at the church picnic. We stimulated her scientific mind by taking a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry. There she had her 1st introduction to the magical world of Harry Potter. Her mother and I were far more excited about that than she was, yet she had a great time getting to know her Unkie Dew & Auntie Krista. There were multiple doctor’s visits peppered into her summer, but aside from the typical shots nothing too traumatic occurred. All in all it was a fabulous summer. Mom is back to school now and her Grandma Lis and I will be taking care of her during the week. I am sure Reveille is going to be happy with the temperature cooling off as summer moves to fall. Even though her mother does not share in her affinity to cooler temperatures. We are looking forward to sharing our future adventures and holiday fun with you, and hopefully being able to see many of you along the way!

Reveille’s first swimming experience

Reveille had her first swimming experience a week ago. Grandma and Grandpa Lis have a pool and a very pretty backyard with a lot of flowers. Plus the pool is usually really warm. Well this day it was a bit cool but not bad at all. Reveille worn a cute diaper cover that was lime green. We have to get the swimming diapers that fit her cause the normal ones just turn into a big mound of jelly. She was carried in by her dad and with each bit of water that touched her she wiggled a bit. Once in the pool and hugged by dad she was good. She was very interested in the reflection on the water and liked to watch dad go under the water. We would hold her so she was more on her belly and she loved it. She would kick her legs and jon and I would pass her back and forth. She lied to grab my face and mush it with her hands. We have since taken her another time swimming and she is now started to splash the water with her hands and kick a lot more. I think the next times we will have her wear one of her new bathing suits. I think she’s going to be our little bathing beauty.

Back to work for mom

I have to say it was very hard for me to go back to work after being off for those seven weeks after having Reveille. I was so used to seeing her all day that being apart was very loney. I have a tendency to get depressed getting up at 5:00am in the dark and driving an hour to work. All the while fighting to stay awake made this transition even harder. I was also returning to a new schedule for my classes which added to my worries. I am also still breastfeeding so the idea of managing pumping with my new schedule was harder still. It does help to know that my Mom is watching Reveille while I’m at work and also that jon is home if he is needed. When I returned the first week everyone was very caring and supportive. The students greeted me warmly and some even cheered. They all had questions about Reveilles current condition. Working with such great people helped ease my concerns. Now I’m just looking forward to the entire summer with her, the puppies and of course Jon.

Reveille has been baptised

Heather & I were very happy to have Reveille baptized last Sunday. Our Christian faith is an important part of our family and we want Reveille to be able to experience the joy that comes from a relationship with Jesus. Her baptism ceremony was a great 1st step on that journey. The ceremony was performed by Minister Paul Vroom during Missio Dei’s sunday morning worship and we had an open house afterwards at her Grandparent’s home to continue the celebration. Another important part of our family is looking for excuses to throw a party. It was a wonderful day spent with friends and family celebrating her little life and anticipating what Christ will do in it. A few pictures of the day can be seen here. The dress she wore during the baptism was the same dress her mother was baptised in. The dress she had on later came to her from relatives in Texas. We were very happy to hear that Reveille’s baptism was also celebrated that fine state at Magnolia United Methodist Church.

If you would like to know more about what we believe about Infant Baptism we were introduced to this book through the process at our church. I am including this as it seems like it can be a bit of a hot topic amongst church folk.

Aunt Jody!

Reveille’s aunt Jody, Dad’s sister, has finally been able to come out and spend some quality time with her. We are very happy to have her come and stay with us, celebrate her baptism, and experience our various medical adventures. Reveille has enjoyed the visit and all the attention that has gone with it, but she has requested that maybe next time she should go visit Jody in sunny southern California.

Hello!

Welcome to the amazing world of Miss Reveille Marie.