In-N-Out

I really wanted a hamburger for dinner, so we headed to In-N-Out. It is so fun having her sit at the table with us. We love that she can sit in the high chairs at restaurants. Sure beats having to carry around the carseat so we don't have to hold her while we eat. Reese got clearance from her doctor today to eat chicken, beef and turkey. Little did I know, her first taste of beef would be her dad's double double.

Reese getting covered in stickers by dad

We thought it would be funny to get a picture with Reese holding a hamburger. Well as soon as Tyler put the hamburger in her hand, she immediately shoved it in her mouth. I had the camera ready for the shot, but she was so fast that this is the picture I got as Tyler was trying to get his hamburger back.

Reese trying her first french fry. I think she liked it.

This little lady loves to be involved in everything we are doing.

 She evens helps me dry my hair. Well, she held the mirror and kept me company.

She had a doctors appointment today for her 9 month check-up. She weighed in at 19 lbs 4.5 oz and is 30 inches tall. She continues to be in the 100th percentile for height! She had to get poked 3 times today. Twice on the thighs and once on her big toe. The toe poke was used to test for her hemoglobin level, which came back great.

She didn't cry at all when her toe was poked, and only cried for a minute after the two shots. She was all smiles after we got home. She was ready for all of her bandaids to come off too.

Tonight Reese would clap, then crawl away a few feet, turn around and clap some more. She continued to do it quite a few times. I was able to record a little bit of it.

Stairs are no longer an obstacle for Reese. This is only the 2nd time she has been around stairs and she climbed up them like a champ. The first time she faced stairs was over a month ago when we were visiting Aunt Wendy. She made it up those stairs fairly well with assistance. Today she didn't even give the stairs a second thought and took off crawling once she reached the top.

Reese and I are having so much fun going to Disneyland every week. We were able to ride a few new rides that I have never been on before. We started out in California Adventure because we wanted to go on the Toy Story ride first, but there was already a long line. Apparently everyone else wanted to ride that one first too. So we went on the carousel twice. The first time I rode on the fish with Reese and the second time we sat on the bench. All of these kid rides seem to go in circles, so it makes me sick if I try to watch Reese's face instead of looking up and out. Which is sad because I love watching the excitement on Reese's face. I have to take quick glances so I don't miss her facial expressions or get sick.

The Ferris Wheel 

Reese loved looking out over my shoulder while holding onto the metal wiring. 

We also went on Winnie the Pooh and the Astro Orbitor (it's like Dumbo, only faster and the rockets you sit in are narrower.) While we were standing in line, the worker announced that all riders, no matter how old, must be wearing shoes or socks. I knew they were looking at us because Reese was barefoot. Mandy left to check her bag to see if she had socks I could borrow and the worker came over to me to make sure that I heard the announcement. Luckily Mandy did have a pair of socks with her! That is the first ride so far that I have heard that restriction. 

Next, we visited the Fantasy Faire to see if we could meet some of the princesses. Once again, the line was way too long. On our way out of the park, we saw Cinderella sitting in the shade with hardly any people around her. We hurried on over to her for some pictures. I was so excited that my little princess finally got to meet a Disney princess. 

Cinderella was so sweet and kept Reese on her lap for quite a while. I felt like I should be rushed because other people were starting to line up, but Cinderella didn't rush us at all. She played with her for a little bit and Reese was fascinated with her gloves.

Swinging at Eddie Park

I had great intentions today of going to Big O Tires to have my tires rotated and oil changed. Well, my plan was thwarted when I called to find out how long of a wait I would have. 3 Hours! Are you serious? I'll wait for another day thank you very much. I had a few other errands to run, so I thought it would be fun to stop by Eddie Park and let Reese swing for a little while. Once again, she loved it! After she swung, she crawled around in the grass. There were lots of leaves and she wanted to pick them all up. She only tried to eat one. Her hands, knees and feet got pretty dirty. I didn't have anything to clean her up with, so I planned on putting her in the bath as soon as we got home. Reese had other plans. The bath would have to wait. She fell asleep on the ride home, so she took her afternoon nap covered with dirt.

Her hair kills me. It sticks straight out everywhere. I don't even use volumizing shampoo.

USC Football Game

It has been kind of weird not having a season ticket for the USC football games this year. Tyler and I have a lot of fun memories of going to every home game together for the last 3 years. They stopped selling spouse passes and they increased the guest pass prices.

Reese and I finally got to go to a game! USC vs. Utah State. The game was at noon, but the forecast said partly cloudy and a little cooler than last week, so we thought Reese would handle it ok. 

    Reese was super excited for the game

Tyler's dad had gotten tickets for the ESPNLA VIP tailgate party just outside of the stadium. He could only take in 1 guest, but when the ladies at the desk saw how cute Reese was, they could not deny her entrance and let all 4 of us in. He also received 2 free tickets for the game. The tailgate party was catered by Bristol Farms and served breakfast food. We ate french toast sticks, bacon, fruit and a hot dog. 

There was a big fan at the tailgate party that was blowing Reese's hair

Tyler left early so that he could get his seat in the student section. So Reese got to enter the Coliseum with grandpa. It was hard getting her attention for pictures because there were so many people to look at and the sun was really bright.

Reese's hair was especially poofy today. 

After we got settled in our seats, we started baking. There were no clouds and no breeze. I slathered Reese in sunscreen and she did not want to wear her sun hat. We figured out where the other 2 free ticket seats were located and I immediately wanted to sit there. They were located in the only one small area of shade in the entire stadium. It was right below the box seats where the announcers are. It was a long walk, but well worth the shade. 

Our tickets were on row 73, which is only a few rows down from the very top. 

It was wonderful and I felt like those tickets were a tender mercy to us. Reese would not have done very well had we stayed in the sun. She was an angel and all the people around us enjoyed watching her. The girl sitting behind us gave Reese a flower. Reese had fun waving it around and pulling out the petals. 

Our little cheerleader

She enjoyed watching the band perform at half-time then took a nap

Our little trojan family

USC won 17 to 14. The game was a little closer than we would have liked, but it was still fun to go. On the way out of the stadium, Reese's hair was glowing.

In front of Tommy Trojan. Fight On!

Weekly trips to Disneyland? Yes please! Today quite a few moms and kids from our ward went to Disneyland. Reese woke up quite early, so I thought she would sleep in the car. Well, no such luck. She was too excited sitting next to Avonlea. After we rode the tram from the parking lot to the park, we had a nice long walk to California Adventure and then on to the pier so we could go on the Toy Story ride. Reese fell asleep on the walk over, which was okay because the Toy Story ride ended up being closed. I took advantage of Reese's nap, and went with Mandy on the California Screamin' roller coaster. Even better, there wasn't a line. Carlee, another friend of ours and who also happens to be pregnant, gladly watched Reese for me. It has been so long since I have ridden a roller coaster and it was awesome! I loved every minute of it! We were on the front row.

Since Reese was still asleep, everyone else went on the Ariel ride. I found a nice little bench to sit on and within minutes, the Phineas and Ferb truck showed up and started performing right in front of us. The music was so loud. I quickly pushed Reese away to find another bench, but of course she didn't stay asleep for much longer. It was time to feed her and change her diaper anyways, so we went and found the family care area while everyone else went on a few rides in Bugs land. We met up again and walked over to Disneyland. We saw Chip and Dale on the way, but Reese wasn't too sure what we were looking at.

On the tea cups with our friend Carlee

After the tea cups, we rode Dumbo. There was a long line and we ended up having to wait about 20 minutes. It seemed longer because we were in the sun a lot while in line and I was holding Reese the whole time. She definitely remembered this ride from last week. She immediately grabbed for the black knob to move the dumbo up and down. Then we ate lunch, and headed over to the Winnie the Pooh ride. Well, Reese fell asleep again on the walk, so we missed the ride and getting pictures with Tigger, Eeyore and Pooh bear. That's okay. We will have plenty of opportunities in the next year to have pictures taken and go on all the rides.

Back seat buddies

The Happiest Place on Earth!

I'm so excited that we were able to get annual passes to Disneyland again! I took Reese for the first time and she absolutely loved it. There were so many things for her to look at that it definitely kept her entertained. She was fascinated with the rides and didn't get scared once. It's amazing how my perspective at Disneyland has completely changed now that I have a child. I used to run from big ride to big ride to squeeze in as many as I could. I didn't realize Disneyland has so much more to offer. I have learned about rides and activities that I didn't even know existed and it is so much fun to experience that with Reese. They even have a special family area designed for the care of babies and toddlers. It's full of high-chairs, changing tables, comfortable chairs for nursing mothers and mini toilets for toddlers. 

The first ride we went on was Dumbo. She loved having the wind in her face and kept trying to grab the black knob that controls moving the dumbo up and down.

Then we went on the tea-cups. She sat on my lap the whole time and seemed to do fine. I couldn't watch her face too much because I would get dizzy if I wasn't looking outside of the tea-cup. 

Reese and her friend Avonlea riding in the tea-cups

Then we floated through It's a Small World. She was so intrigued as the boat moved from room to room. I loved watching her face!

We made our way over to the California Adventure park. Reese had fallen asleep on the walk over, so we thought it would be an opportune time for me to ride the California Screamin' roller-coaster while my friend Mandy watched her. Unfortunately, the roller-coaster was closed. Next we went on the Ariel ride. I was a bit nervous because it gets dark as you move between the scenes. Reese rode through it like a champ! 

Disneyland is exhausting...

but so much fun!

First Time Swinging

Why have I not let Reese swing at the park sooner? She absolutely loved it! She giggled and kicked her legs in excitement.

We were at Lacy Park