Da-Gum she's grown so much

...when did my baby girl start turning into a little lady.

Walkin it Off

Reese, Daddy and Cooper have to head over to the park after the Gator game in order to burn off some frustration. Mommy is burning off her frustration by running the vacuum.

Sent from my iPhone

Proof...

...that they DO grow up fast.

So like fifteen minutes ago we snapped this shot:



It's Reese playing a little dress-up with her faithful companion, Ms. Cyan.

THEN...

Fifteen minutes later, the opportunity to replicate the above photo presented itself during another dress-up session and POOF:



It's amazing right?

The actual time lapse between photo 1 and photo 2 is almost exactly 2 years. The top photo was taken 8/30/09 and the bottom photo was taken 8/06/11

Here we go.

Reese is loving being a big sister. Reese also loves to play with her baby dolls. What happens when the two loves are combined?



[in case it's not obvious, (a) That's not a real stroller, it's a toy stroller for Reese's baby dolls. (b) That's not a baby doll in the toy stroller, it's a real baby brother.]

The Tunnel

In just another month or so, the Gators will be running through this tunnel and onto Florida Field (Reese will move out of the way).

Reese & Timmy

Reese says: "I wish Tim Tebow was my Daddy."
Daddy: "what about me?"
Reese: "you can be my uncle."

Tiny Dancer

Reese shrunk!

Reese is a Big Sister!

I'm sure most if not all 3 of you who read this blog anymore are aware that our little girl is now a Big Sister to our little boy. Cooper Reside Messal came into Reese's life on Friday, July 8th and she is absolutely in love with him!

The day before Cooper was born, it dawned on me that that would be the last day our family consisted of just a Mommy, a Daddy and a Reese...I was sadly nostalgic. That quickly gave way to the joy that came with watching Reese hold her little brother and lovingly caress his cheek while she stared in amazement.

A Little Piece of Reese, chapter #2 starts now...

Backyard fun

Fourth of July, check.
Red, white & blue bathing suit, check.
Sun with a mix of fun, check.
Little brother...still waiting.

Father's Day with Daddy

i love my daddy

***typed by Reese

Pool picnic

We're having a family picnic at the pool. Reese just finished her PB&Nutella, now she has made her "bed" and she's "napping" before we go back in the pool.

Chillin

Reese is taking a break in between swim sessions at the pool. I love this kid!

Spring Showers...kinda

Reese's Aunt Lynn & Uncle James sent her some rain gear for her birthday. With no rain forecast until Saturday, we gave the coat/boots/umbrella a dry run (pun intended).

Goggles

Grandma rolled into town with some things to get Reese ready for summer.

4-year old Nugget

Reese turned four years old today. She had a celebration with all of her classmates (complete with cupcakes). We went and registered her for VPK (starts in the fall). We went to the library and got some new books. We played at the park, we went out to eat, and now we're settling down for bed.

"Being four is fun", Reese says.

ORANGE...

...BLUE

Reese-1 Fear-0

I thought giving this post the title, "working the Pole" would've been in poor taste.

Reese has been on the verge of conquering the fireman pole at the local park for months. This weekend something clicked and she's sliding down like she's been doing it all her life.

Daddy/Daughter Date

Reese was being so good and looking so cute that I decided to forego cooking dinner and take her on an impromptu date to BJ's.

When I snapped this photo she told me that she should give me her "sassy-face". I convinced her to use her "sweet face".

Fishing w/ Reese & the Niece

During a weekend trip down to Longwood for a visit with some family and friends, Daddy, Reese and cousin Hayley had some extra time on their hands. They decided to spend it trying to catch the "big one" down at the park. They didn't catch the big one, but a couple of small ones were pretty fun.

The fish looks a lot bigger than it really is...that's because the girls wouldn't stand closer than 3 feet away


Daddy was able to talk them in to holding the fishing pole for the second fish


Just as a size reference, here is Daddy holding the last fish

River Run Weekend

Daddy brought Reese with him to Jacksonville for a race he was running. Memaw and Poppy came up and hung out with Reese and Daddy for the weekend.

Reese LOVES hangin' out in hotels


Memaw, Poppy and Reese waiting on the course for Daddy to run by.

Sonny's Superstar

Reese did her own hair at dinner tonight.

Reese and the Local Celebrity

Enjoying a little Sunday afternoon Gator baseball with Albert.

Teeth Cleaning

Reese is being the perfect patient at the dentist this morning. This is one of those proud parent moments. All the kids in adjoining rooms are pitching fits.

Tis the Season

Hittin up the park on thus beautiful spring day. Is it really February?

Nap time

Like an almost extinct Amazonian species of bird, nap time is also very rare and elusive.

We were able to catch a few of the rare z's this beautiful Saturday afternoon. This will undoubtably result in a much more pleasant evening when Reese's cousins drop in for a visit.