Thursday, August 30, 2007

Gettin' ready for gameday



Reese will be attending her first Gator Game on Saturday when the University of Florida takes on Western Kentucky right here in Gaines-vegas! Reese is very excited and can't wait to experience the pageantry of being at the Swamp with her closest 90,000 friends as the defending National Champions take the field!

This outfit is for 12 month olds, but Reese isn't too far from filling it out completely. With all of the tailgate food and beer this season, she'll probably be ready for an XL #15 jersey by the time we play FSU.

Picture of the Day

Nugget* containment



* for those of you that don't know, Reese is affectionately referred to as 'Nugget' by her Mom and her Dad

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Giggles

For some reason, Reese gets the biggest kick out of feeling my face when I haven't shaven...enjoy.



The audio only version can be heard here. Copy the link, and listen to it whenever you'd like.

Picture of the Day


Reese laying in her Pack-n-Play while visiting MeMaw and Poppy

Monday, August 27, 2007

Picture of the Day


Reese sitting up, enjoying her cousins at her uncle Brett's 40th birthday party this past weekend.

"Larger-Baby"

This past weekend Jen and I had to finally adjust the harness position of Reese's carseat to accommodate our growing baby girl. We moved the straps up to the top slot, re-fastened everything and thought that we'd be good to go. The shoulder-straps were now in a good position, however, the waist straps were too short to comfortably contain Reese's belly.

Trying to figure out some of these "baby apparatuses" seems to require a mechanical engineering degree...or at least breaking down and looking at the directions. So we dug into our over-stuffed file folder containing warrantees, product information and directions to all the "baby apparatuses" we own.

After quickly thumbing through the carseat manual, we realized that we'd need to "Lengthen waist straps for a LARGER baby". Apparently our pediatrician wasn't exaggerating when she told us that Reese's weight and length put her in the 97th percentile of babies her age.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Don't let this be a one-sided conversation...

Now that we've finally made this site public (and by public we mean private to just you select friends and family) we're going to be a bit more dedicated to keeping up with posts. Check back often and then check back again...and when you do, be sure to leave your comments.

As much as you all like reading and viewing what is (and what will be) on this blog, we like reading your responses. I know, I know...some of you are shy when it comes to expressing your thoughts and feelings in a public forum (and by public we mean private to just you select friends and family), but rest assured that there are only a few privileged members of this highly sought-after membership.

We're greatly looking forward to everything you have to say!

Music Video


Clips of Reese that were shot between the ages of 2-4 months.
Song titled Bubbly, by Colbie Caillat.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Just filling in the Pieces

Welcome to A Little Piece of Reese. This is a private site for friends and family to see how our daughter is growing. Pictures, stories and random tid-bits from the life and times of Reese Addison Messal.

Check in as often as you'd like to experiance Reese's growth through our words, videos and pictures. We hope to make this site as interseting to you as our lives with Reese are. Enjoy...

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Proof it wasn't the milk man

originally posted on 5count 5-23-07

As those of you with children already know, people like to assign parental characteristics to newborn babies; i.e., "Oh she's got Jane's eyes, or, "Little Billy sure has his dad's nose, or, "He must be Tom's kid, they both have the same huge ears"...you know what I'm talking about.

This is a topic that has come up numerous times since the birth of my daughter. BUT, I've always maintained that babies look like babies. Sure they all have their differences, but I'm talking about the proportions of a baby. All I'm saying is that any judgements as to if the newborn looks more like the mom or the dad should be withheld until the child reaches between 4-6 months of age.

To this point, most friends and family have said that my daughter looks more like her mom (which is fine with me, my wife is super cute), BUT there is one little characteristic that everyone has agreed is all me. That's right, there is an undeniable feature which we both share that proves the Milk Man had nothing to do with her conception...no, I'm not referring to our farting habits, I'm talking about our "Lip Dimples".

I was mildly unaware of my Lip Dimples prior to my daughter's arrival. I always thought that everyone had them, mine were just slightly more pronounced. The similarities might be slight, but I'll take it. I've gone ahead and put together a magnified comparison of my lower lip/chin and the lower lip/chin of my daughter (I'm the one with the 5 o'clock shadow...if I didn't mention it, one of you yahoos would've). See for your self:



There you have it...undeniable proof. We'll check back after a few more months to see what other similarities surface.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Being a Dad...by the numbers

***Originally posted on 5count 4-27-07

I have recently entered into the realm of fatherhood. My daughter, Reese, was born on the thirteenth of April, two thousand and seven. How's it been going?...I'll give you the numbers:

8 - number of pounds Reese weighed
13 - number of ounces Reese weighed in addition to the 8 lbs.
21.5 - number of inches long Reese was at birth
2 - number of hours I slept on the day Reese was born
3 - number of hours I slept the day after Reese was born
4 - number of times I've been spit up on in the past 2 weeks
8 - numbers of hours spent on the bike in the past 2 weeks
252 - number of hours spent staring at Reese in the past 2 weeks
3 - number of episodes of 'Live with Regis & Kelly' I've watched while on vacation in the past 2 weeks
3 - number of times we've filled our Diaper Genie II
0 - number of times I've prepared a home cooked meal since Reese's arrival
5,000 - number of congratulatory emails, text messages, phone calls, visits and gifts we've received in the past 2 weeks (THANKS)
10 - number of trips to pick up take out in the past 2 weeks.
24 - number of different onesies/pajamas Reese has worn in the past 2 weeks
50 - number of time per day I wash/sanatize my hands
10 - number of fingers and toes (each) on Reese (long monkey toes at that)
24 - number of years before Reese will be allowed to date.