chris.reese.girls1.2.3.4

My little Paige is certainly learning things quicker than I can defend them. Yesterday on a simple outing to the garage freezer for a new loaf of bread, Paige discovered how to lock doors. Yes, she locked me out of the house. It took me a minute to figure this one out...but after going out the garage and around to the back, I was able to coach her in unlocking the sliding glass door. She seemed almost too proficient in removing the safety dowel and then unlocking the latch. I was stressed because I had water on the stove, but she was a quick study...too quick. Needless to say, our first outing that morning was to Fred Meyer to have some extra keys made. And you can bet I won't be leaving the house without a key in hand. I guess this is part of the toddler learning curve, which apparently parents who have had toddlers are all too aware of this type of situation. People...you need to share your wisdom!! I guess I can join the ranks of "wisdom" and try to foresee the next ch...

Those of you who know my family understand how devoted they are to BYU....we always wear blue. I went to many games as a young girl and vividly remember the infamous BYU-Miami game of '90 and how jealous I was my brother got to go and I didn't...hello, I was nine years old! My brother has since named his son Ty...a la Ty Detmer. Detmer is a legend in our house. There was also a time my dad forced his 3 oldest children to hike up to the actual Y on the mountain...scaling the hill the entire way, not realizing there was a trail until we got to the top. He had us all tied together with a simple rope...I remember crying most of the way, I think I was only four or five years old. Later, after my family had been relocated from SLC to Washington, my dad made arrangements for us to go down to our church Stake Center and watch all BYU games via satellite (this was before DISH network, people). He carted all five of us down every weekend in the fall to cheer for the Y for years and years...

Chris has officially accepted a job with Allyis. They are a technology subcontractor and Chris will work as the Finance Accounting Manager. He will start September 17th and we are thrilled for this new opportunity. Many of you know Chris has been through the interviewing gamut for the last 6-7 months and we were in the midst of a hiatus...but the recruiters came calling with this one and it could not be ignored. Chris is ecstatic to work at a small company and "effect change" (this has been his main requirement on every job that has come through) and I'm pumped to have him home for dinner!! I'm sure it will take a little getting used to, but a regular forty-hour week sealed the deal for me! Deloitte was not exactly what we thought it would be, but it definitely springboarded him into an area of his career that he is excited about. Adios Deloitte and 80-hour weeks... I get my husband back!!

They change at the flip of a coin or spur of the moment. Maybe that's just part of being a girl. Or maybe it's my adorable baby's innate sense of who she was born to be. I just hit my one month mark of being at home full-time with Paige and it's been a crazy month. I never thought I would be more busy at home, but I'm going harder during the day and getting less sleep. Overall, I'm enjoying the daily moments I never got before: cozy with books in the "reading corner" for as long as Paige wants, her helping me cook breakfast in the morning and asking for cheese at every turn, begging all day long for "daddy" and me figuring out how to make her want "mommy", her and I getting dressed together and her trying on all my jewels and begging for makeup. The closeness of the last 30 days is so fleeting, and in a few years she'll be thinking I'm a complete idiot. I guess I will just enjoy the moments while they last.