chris.reese.girls1.2.3.4

thanks for all the notes of love and comfort about my arm. it's been a rough week, but i am gaining some independence and have a husband that has not complained once. To answer a few questions: yes, the rod is permanent; i believe i will set off metal detectors for life; and brynn is going strong on formula for now, but i'm hoping to nurse again once i am off the narcotics. since i cannot type well, this is a mostly pics post. thanks to my sister-in-laws for stealing my camera and capturing the memories while i slept in a drugged state. we are home now, but headed south tomorrow for a new years gathering with the dalleys...can't wait!! me and chris on the lift pre-crash...it was a really awesome day...i am so thankful i wear a helmet. i get a lot of flack sometimes, but i know it prevented more injury than i could have had!! paige and grant did so well playing together!! she has really been missing him! Crazy family... chris and paige...uncle lane and joci paige, j...

Before Surgery: After Surgery: A trip snowboarding in the most fabulous powder of my life at White Pass on Monday brought an unexpected Christmas surprise: a six-inch titanium rod and three screws in my fractured left humerus bone. A collision with an overzealous boarder sent me down the mountain in an ambulance.  I'm looking forward to being discharged from the hospital in the morning and spending Christmas with family in Yakima. This Christmas I'm grateful for a good surgeon, a full-time personal assistant (in the form of my faithful husband), and lots of family helping with the girls. Blogging will be abbreviated for the next few weeks as I only have use of one arm and can only beg the occasional transcription session from Chris.

I awoke this morning to Chris' hoarse voice screaming with joy at the top of his lungs - it was an interesting sound considering he has been bed-ridden all week. He learned this morning he had passed his tests to become an official Certified Public Accountant (CPA)! I shed a tear or two before getting out of bed because I knew before I saw him what the excitement was about. About a month ago he used his paternity leave to study for three of the four tests: Business Environment, which he had already passed twice, but it had lapsed; Audit, which he'd also passed previously but had lapsed; and that darn Regulation exam, which he had yet to pass. This has been a long haul...and during that week of paternity I tried to be a happy wife while he ignored us for 8 long days to study, but let's be honest, I did have my moments. Looking back it was completely worth it! I'm so proud of him. This is a great accomplishment. His resume, signature line, business cards, etc. will fore...

I sewed the bells for Christmas 2008 on our stockings tonight. Each bell represents one Christmas celebrated. My mom has my stocking with 20 bells (pre-marriage) and my married stocking now has eight bells. The years are already starting to blur together! Paige now has four, and Brynn, with a brand new stocking, has one. I still smile when I glance at the fireplace and see four stockings hung with care!

Pictures from our tree venture last Saturday. I love going and cutting down a tree and the smell is so yummy in the house. We returned again to the Red Barn and rode the train, picked a tree in record time and managed it all without any rain! Chris did say I picked the perfect tree this year. It's a bit smaller than I'd like, but it's super healthy, really straight and full, has great symmetry, and awesome strong branches. I desperately hope I can remember to water this guy so it can thrive and bless our eyes and noses throughout the whole month of December. What wonderful memories serve to decorate our tree: ornaments from mine and Chris' childhood, along with ornaments from our 7+ years of marriage, and even more as we now add our children's ornaments. I love the history a Christmas tree can carry; and it still looks good with the star we bought for $1.99 our first year of marriage!

Paige is progressing quite well in swim lessons. I love that she's made measurable progress over the last two months. Her teachers are wonderful and it's great she's getting semi-private lessons. Last Wednesday she finally put her head all the way under the water to retrieve those bright orange rings. I was so proud! Enjoy the videos!

We had a great Thanksgiving with my sister and brother's families. Thanks to my older sis for hosting our big group! We had a great time with awesome food...and tons of it. I enjoyed trying some new recipes this year for snack-type stuff, but I was also in charge of mashed potatoes (you can't really mess those up) and frog eye with pomegranates (yum!). I even came through with my husband's request for a homemade banana cream pie. I managed to drag myself out of bed, drive down to Puyallup, and join my sister and sis-in-law for Black Friday shopping. It was early, but we had a fun time and I crossed most of the things off my list! (Chris making gravy, and Rochelle and Beck getting the last of the dishes ready for the "consuming of mass quantities!") Paige with her cousin, Addy. Paige loved being with all her cousins, but she especially clings to Addy. These two are so funny! Paige keeps saying she wants Addy for Christmas...not sure if I can convince my sister to...

Paige has a favorite blanket: 'Purple B' . When I realized early on that she liked this blanket so much, I actually went out and bought another one to use as a backup. Paige came to notice the slight coloration difference and realized there were actually two different blankets. She named the original 'Purple B' and the other 'Green B'. Initially she wanted both blankets all the time. But soon 'Purple B' was attached to Paige's hip and 'Green B' was second-rate. 'Purple B' was with her everywhere - she'd even talk to it (is that weird??). I'd have to convince her each time we walked out the door that 'Purple B' would be just fine at home by himself. But as of this past Friday, the days of 'Purple B' are over. Paige wanted to make her blanket warm and decided to put it on the glass of our fireplace while the fire was on. As you can guess, 'Purple B' melted nicely onto the glass. After extinguishing our ne...

Last Friday I had a date with the dry-pack cannery. I like going and was anxious to add to our food storage, but I wasn't prepared for the 4 1/2 hour commitment it turned into. Chris was saved by a bottle I had pumped a few weeks ago that he could give to Brynn. This is what I came home to...Paige absolutely loved feeding Brynn. She even asked if she could try some of it, but then decided against that (probably a good idea). Every time Paige holds Brynn she asks me to take her picture. The other day she says, "Mom, take my picture so dad will see me on the blog!" Maybe she's feeling a little overshadowed in her blog-appearances... And here's just a cute one of little Brynn from last Sunday. The poor girl was mistaken for a boy more than once (people just seeing the plaid and not the cute lace at the bottom of her dress). She has also come down with a case of baby acne. Life is hard when you're five weeks old. Oh well, at least she doesn't mind.

Yeah. It's finished. This one took me a while to get finished and out. She's adorable. Her cheeks are getting bigger...I can't believe she's five weeks old today.

So...I have survived an entire week without parental help (cheers!). It's had its ups and downs, but mostly we are getting better about our schedule and routine, which makes everything else roll better. As of today, Chris is taking paternity leave through the rest of the month. Yes, that sounds nice and wonderful, but he's cramming for the CPA exams, which means he's here, but not really here. I didn't realize how challenging it would be to leave him alone, but we did pretty well today; always keeping him on the floor we weren't on at the time. Paige kept asking, "When can we go downstairs/upstairs to see dad?" I have pushed our nightime routine ahead an hour (very tricky) and it is working like a charm. Paige needs all the sleep she can get and without a nap, falling asleep before 8pm has been necessary and I love it!! I really feel like I have an evening to get things done. The best part is that she falls asleep so fast with little fuss. She...

On Sunday we enjoyed the wonderful occasion of blessing Miss Brynn. We had a large gathering of our family and close friends and we feel so blessed for all the love and support. It was a bit of an ordeal deciding on the dress Brynn should wear. She was too small for Paige's dress (P was two months old when she was blessed), and I didn't really like the one I bought (plus I'm really cheap). She was lucky enough to use the dress both of her Apken Aunts were blessed in. The dress was made by Chris' grandmother who passed away two months ago and the sentimental nature of the dress alone was sweet and precious. Thanks to Chris' aunt and uncle for letting everyone crash for lunch and visiting afterwards...we had such a relaxing and enjoyable afternoon. They even let us bring our laundry since our washing machine is still broken (it broke a few days after Brynn was born and has been a serious inconvenience...dang Sears!!). Both Paige and Brynn were showered with gifts and...

I have survived my final party of the month! This was an hour of fun and all the girls were really well-behaved. We enjoyed lunch with shape-sandwiches, cheese cubes, jell-o jigglers, craisins, carrots, and cupcakes. We played "I Spy A Shape" and "Candy Rainbow" games. After the party was over all the little girls played very well upstairs in Paige's room while the mom's were able to chit-chat. I feel like I have been in hiding since having Brynn, so it was nice to visit with my friends! Paige was such a great birthday girl...she loved having her friends around and was happy and cheerful (which has been a bit hard to come by recently). We were all so exhausted by the late afternoon that we had a "girl nap" for about 2 hours. It's great when me and both the girls can sleep at the SAME time! Girl Fun! Lena, Katy, Addy, Paige, Cameron, and Madelyn. I can't believe how cooperative they were in this group shot! Getting ready for all her friend...

Cramming it all in... PAIGE'S 3RD BIRTHDAY! I can't believe little Paige is already 3. Where does the time go?! I tried to make the day extra special and all about HER. We started with Minnie Mouse pancakes, fruit snacks, and a few presents for breakfast. Dad went to work late so he could enjoy with us. Later, she and I watched her new Mary Poppins movie with popcorn on the couch for lunch...healthy, right?! She loves pretending we are at the "movie ee-ater". She visited a friend's house for a little while for a different birthday party. Then we opened more presents, went out to dinner, blew out candles, and ate cake. She is a wonderful girl who we adore and makes us laugh every day!! Her Minnie Mouse party is in a few days and she is so excited for a few girlfriends to come over and play! Note: For my domestically-advanced, cake-decorating friends, please do not enlarge the above photo. It's a disaster and could very well make a debut on the cake wreck blog (...