"So long, farewell..."

Well, it's not technically "goodbye"... just "see you later" as I had to think to myself as we said bye to our wonderful Gram'a who was in town for several days, thanks to Erin & Jeremy for going to pick her up in Big Spring on Saturday.

Here is a fun picture from last night... our wonderful Gram'a (Reece & Livi's great-Gram'a) and the babies and the moms. It was quite a fun time having her in town.

Also, Livi is growing up fast so she's awake for longer periods of time now. Reece has lots of fun playing with her... well, looking at her and seeing if he can touch her!

Here he is practically grabbing Livi's arm! haha :)

Now you have to laugh, or at least smile at this one. It gets me every time... too cute. Reece is a great baby. He loves people. He really likes to laugh. He has fun wherever he is. Here he is on our bed, with his perfect-sized puppy that he takes with him everywhere. (Well, okay- it's obvious that I have to pack the puppy dog with us, but he sure enjoys having it there to hold or chew on!)

And I thought he looked like a little man... or as some would say, "a little Garrett!" Here he was sitting on the sofa, waiting on Gram'a, Aunt Erin, Uncle Jeremy, and cousin Livi to come over for dinner!

And just from this morning, Reece was sitting in his chair waiting on me while I brushed my teeth. He was content for a long time in his chair. He gave me some precious smiles and I had to catch one for the camera!

Farewell for now. I'm sure there will be more to post. There's lots I've been thinking about so I may post that later today or tomorrow.

Much love to all,

f & g & r

"All by myself"

Reece has been doing things totally on his own, recently! For instance, today at lunch- he was chewing on his pacifier and keeping it very close to his mouth (for a long time) all by himself! He has become very responsible of his hands and he enjoys using them to get things in and out of his mouth!

Here is a close-up of Liviya Leigh from Wednesday night. She was getting her diaper changed in the nursery at church. Look at that precious face! And I'm quite sure she was hungry at this point... notice those fists! Now here's the little poser. It almost looks like he took this picture himself! He was enjoying the bouncy chair in the nursery Wednesday night!
He was trying hard to reach the camera in this one:

And here are a few of his playmates... Alyssa and Ean Jernigan. They were having fun with him Wednesday night!
And look what else he can do all by himself... hold his bottle... well, almost! And I thought this was a priceless picture because he was looking directly at me while I took the picture.What a joy it is to train a son in the admonition of the Lord. What fun it is too! All of the stages just melt our hearts! We love being parents.

baby "heaven"

Oh what joy it is to post these fun pictures! The past week has been a whirlwind of excitement with the new baby and the ever-growing personality of Michael Reece! "MR. G" as I sometimes call him, since those are his initials, is drooling and talking and flipping from tummy to back so much! He does really well during the day, most usually at least. We've learned that he knows how to scream when he doesn't feel like sleeping, although that's usually when he is most tired. Towards the end of his talking, he begins high-pitched, short screams... it sounds like a girl. He has realized he has a high octave he can reach and it's funny, but then sometimes bothersome! Nonetheless, he naps really well when he's up at work with me. He has molded right into a great schedule of eating, waketime and playtime, and then naptime.
We enjoy our weekends spent at home with him. We enjoy the evening walks we take with him, if he's not too tired. And of course, he still loves his baths. Last night I was bathing him and he let out a massive yawn and maintained open eyes... it was quite adorable!
He is so precious. We love him and are enjoying the beauties of his personality found in the everyday routine.

On Monday, Reece was able to spend some time with his Grandma and Aunt Sydney, which was out of the ordinary. He enjoyed it for the most part!
Aunt Sydney was a helping hand for Erin and baby Livi. Here Garrett is holding Livi, and Sydney wanted in the pic ;) And isn't Liviya Leigh just gorgeous! She is a very calm, snuggly baby... much more calm than her cousin Reece was!

And here's the little boy focusing hard on this rattle. He enjoys grasping things and pulling them up to his mouth. His coordination is becoming smoother every day. Here he's saying, "Momma, what are you doing? Don't you see I'm having fun with my hands!"
And then he decided to give us a smile anyway!
And let me add that the "Bumbo Babysitter" is wonderful! He started using it at 2 months and has been sitting in it for longer periods of time everyday. He enjoys sliding his toys off of the tray and then of course, once the toys are gone- he resorts to playtime with his hands!
Here are Daddy and Reece in his room.

And look at those sparkling gums! He was excited!
And over the weekend, Reece's Granddaddy realized that Reece likes things on his head. I didn't get any pictures, but Dad and Sydney were using a bib on Reece's head- giving him several different hat-styles to wear. So, when Aunt Terri brought Reece this outfit with the hoodie, we knew he'd enjoy wearing the hoodie!
And once again, beautiful and ever-so-calm Liviya Leigh with her Uncle Garrett.
And just before bedtime, Garrett had Reece just a giggling. They were playing patty-cake while he was laying down in Garrett's lap!
Hope you've enjoyed hearing about our growing baby boy. We are having a superb time with him through this fun stage!

Reece welcomes Liviya Leigh

Reece's first cousin was born yesterday... 9/4/08 making Reece and Livi exactly 4 months apart!

Presenting: Liviya Leigh Pfeil

Born 09/04/08

1:21 p.m.

8 lbs 9 oz

21 inches

Reece was glad to welcome his baby cousin to the family!

He was so glad to see her finally here! Can't you see his excitement?

Our family feels incredibly blessed right now with these two precious bundles of joy... well, that's because we are incredibly blessed! Babies are continual reminders to us of God's mercy and His miraculous power!

Reece just had his 4 month appointment yesterday just hours before Livi came. He weighed in at 16 lbs 6 oz and is in the 75th percentile of both height and weight... doing very well! He laughs, smiles, talks, and puts his fist and toys in his mouth. We are having so much fun with him through each stage!

Have a wonderful weekend... and don't worry about us, we'll have a great one too... the new niece/cousin is quite the perfect gift!