This is becoming a thing

It's becoming a thing for me to log onto my blog and think "HOW has it already been one, two, etc months since I last updated?" But seriously, how is it already December?! 2013 is almost over and then I'll have an almost 4 and 2 year old. Me! Craziness. And here comes the motherload of pictures.

Stephen's yearly head shaving. Reese loved how it felt.

She's such a little bookworm.

Skyping with Aunt MJ

This face. I can't get over how cute it is. Reese is on my lap and just hollered "BA!" (bath) She knows what she likes!

So. Many. Dresses. But organized. So I don't mind it.

My little nightowl. She's not a fan of sleeping. Ever.

She is so much fun to do preschool activities with. Looking forward to many years of teaching her. 

Little bedsharers. Love it.

A little preview of our Christmas pictures :) 

Here for a short time. Gone too soon.

My little pirate in her $0.10 Halloween clearance outfit.

Our new activity mat is the best. You match upper and lower case letters along with finding a word that starts with that letter.

Our new tree train. Not sure who loves it the most.

Now for the newsy things: Reese still isn't a big talker. She's just a quiet kid in general, but she also doesn't speak super well. At her 18 month appointment (if we decide to take them in again, her next one is at 2!!), the doctor said that 8-10 words is normal and she definitely has that between signing and some incoherent babbling. She knows all her body parts though and a couple of animal noises. She follows one step directions and has for some time now which is nice for "go put this in the trash."

We are very hit and miss with cloth diapering these days. Some weeks I will put all my effort forth and she will be in them all week. Then other weeks, it just doesn't happen. That's okay. I have been cloth diapering for over 3.5 years now and diapering alone gets old, let alone cloth diapering. It is VERY nice to have the option. 

Her sleeping...ugh. A topic best left alone. She generally takes one nap a day but she seems to be trying to ditch that one. NOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Eating: she is still breastfeeding and eats LOTS of food. As I type this at 8pm, she is having a bowl of cottage cheese with Eva. She eats very well and a wide variety. Never did I think that I would be nursing a toddler, but I have to say that I enjoy it MUCH MUCH more than I did nursing a little baby. It's just fun. I don't really know how to explain it to someone who hasn't nursed a baby, let alone a toddler. I wouldn't give it up for anything and thankfully, Stephen is very supportive as he was ExBF as well.

Her favorite toys are dolls. She's my dolly girl. She tucks them in, feeds them, wants me to feed them, carries them with her. It's quite adorable. 

Reese has 4 front teeth and 4 molars. No eye teeth (just like big sister) and the molars right behind them are missing. She has a class IV lip tie that we will be getting fixed soon (hopefully).

And here is Eva's 18 month (or so) update if you feel so inclined to compare the two.

Overall, we are doing well. I work 10 hours a week taking care of 2-3 preteen boys and I'm very thankful to be able to bring Eva along (most days) and do some preschool activities with her. She is just soaking everything in and I'm so glad to be a part of facilitating learning with her. Christmas is coming up and we are getting ready for that. Love this time of year.