I've created a MONSTER!

Looking at this face you wouldn't think she is a monster....but she is. I think this has something to do with me because I have clearly spoiled this child by staying home with her. When we went home a few weeks ago she was extremely fussy and didn't want to be held by anyone other than me. I attributed this to her not feeling well, because she was running a fever, and just being tired. This past week on my trip to College Station I took her to work to visit some friends. I left her in the office with two of my friends so I could go to the bathroom without a 6 month old in tow. She screamed as soon as I left the room until I came back....so I figured hey she missed her good morning nap so maybe she's just tired.
NOPE...kid can not be without me. No I'm not conceited or anything she seriously is extremely attached to me. I went out this afternoon and was gone for about 3 and a half hours and according to my dear sweet husband she screamed for a large majority of that. She took a break when he put her in the car for a short drive. Screamed through 12 oz. of milk, several diaper changes, and while she was being held. I walked in the house to a screaming child. I walk to her high chair, clearly Ryan is ready to kill himself, and she stops. I look at her, she smiles, sort of reaches my direction. So I pick her up and she's already starting to laugh.
I suppose we're going to look into a Mother's Day out program and I pity the people there for the first week but I can't very well let this go on. I can't leave the house without her. She was doing that cry where even after they stop it takes them a while to stop that whole gasping to get into their regular pattern of breathing.
She's didn't used to be like this.

pictures galore!

We're finally getting the hang on sitting up on our own!

Superstar! This was right before she took them off and poked herself in the eye...

She loves her dog!

just in case

I think Ryan is trying to kill me for the insurance money. He bought a weed eater this past weekend along with a gas can to hold the obvious...so today I am running the dryer (our laundry room leads to the garage) and I had the laundry room door shut to the kicthen. As soon as I opened up the door when the dryer stopped the smell of gas nearly beat me down. I opened the garage to find that the gas can he purchased two days ago has sprung a leak and has started to drip in the garage. It's been resolved, gas can is now in the driveway and the garage door is open to let the place air out...but just in case I ever come up dead...I think we've got another Scott Peterson on our hands...

Can I get an AMEN!

As for 3:30 p.m. today my husband has officially turned in his thesis. We've all been waiting for this day for quite some time. Can I get an AMEN! Hopefully if everything goes well I will proudly get to see him walk across the stage in May and become Dr. Ryan Bading. Yeah for him!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter
Love,
Sara, Ryan and Reese

Per Grandma's request

Dresses...we don't need no stinkin' dresses (only cool kids wear pants)

Her Easter present arrived early...and she loves it

Reese was tired after her walk.


For those who get motion sick easily CAUTION when watching this video. IT's swinging in action. Sorry Mom, you might need to puke after this.

A picture update

So we had an eventful week, Reese learned how to finally move her arm to roll over completely, she loves carrots and applesauce (similarities to a horse are beyond my control), and it rained mud. Sometimes you can't make this stuff up. I also posted a video on here for Grandma and Nana to see Reese's favorite new pasttime. For all other who watch...enjoy!



Lay off I'm hungry....carrots...can you tell??

Another cute outfit from Mimi (Celie)

Mini Ryan...

When it rains it pours.....mud, everyone's car looked brown, it was nasty

109 would be the outside temp (my husband is a nerd and has a digital weather station, however it does provide me with proof that I think we really do live in the Sahara desert)

Reese likes to suck on her thumb between bites! Then when her thumb is flavored like applesauce she keeps the flavor around longer

The cutest thing ever!

This morning I put Reese in the Bumbo on the floor in the office so I could type a short e-mail to Ryan. Chewie walked over and started sniffing Reese and she just got so excited...she started smiling and stretching out her hands to pet the dog. Chewie kept giving Reese her ball to play with and Reese would just keep reaching for the dog to pet her over and over again. It was too cute. I picked her up so she could stand up and see Chewie at eye level...she reached out grabbed her head, licked her doggie nose once and then just had the biggest smile on her face. Reese loves her Chew-baby!

Ladies and Germs...I have an announcement to make!

Today is one month from my offical start date at stroller strides...and I am now proud to say that I am officially now back in my Gap Long and Lean jeans from before I got knocked up!!!!! A little hard works pays off in the end!!!!! Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!

Our new living room

the lamp might not stay there but for now it will work

Living room show..all we need is a chair and we'll be totally done

New snazzy coffee table

We got our new furniture yesterday, and I'm super excited. It obviously makes us look like we're loaded but we so aren't...just good shoppers. Ryan and I really liked these sofas in suede but we figured the dog would destroy them. The good news in the sofas are bigger than the old ones we had and Chewie appears to be afraid of them. Chewie found a new home in the papasan (sp?) chair but she's mad at it right now. The other night I had some things in the chair and she was trying to push them out with her nose. Apparently she got the chair a little off balance. Ryan woke up to a bunch of noise so he came to investigate and Chewie had been dumped from the chair. It toppled over on her. I would have paid money to see that happen.

pictures from this weekend

Chewie with the thing you put around a bottle of booze...we torture her any way possible. I think she looks like a old Russian woman

Yup I'm short. Reese slept through the photo ops

All five cousins together again. Obviously my grandparents are excited...who knows what happened but the gene gods had something out for me since I am clearly the shortest in the entire family my at least five inches...sad really.

A pretty exciting weekend...

This past weekend we all went home to surprise Nana and Pop-Pop with a family reunion of sorts. We arrived at the house and a short while later Leslie arrived with some cousins in tow. James, Jon and Pete came down from Wyoming and Wisconsin and gave Nana and Pops one BIG shock. For a while we thought Nana was about to pass out. She survived and we had a nice weekend with the grandparents and the cousins. I had seen James for my wedding two years ago and had seen Jon once about 5 years ago, but we hadn't seen Pete since 1998. Pretty crazy. It was great to see them all and we had a blast.
Reese was apparently not feeling well so she screamed the entire weekend and would not let anyone else hold her but me. Very frustrating but hopefully that won't be something that happens all the time. I am pretty sure she had a low grade fever for most of the weekend so that might have contributed to the extra fussy behavior. Despite my child acting like the spawn of an evil do-er the weekend was a lot of fun. Something we should do again sometime soon.
Dad cooked a BIG Texas BBQ, which was awesome and Leslie planned some fun things for everyone to do.
****Pictures were not working at the time I wrote this I will add them later.

Yeah for working out!

So during my first week of Stroller Strides we had one day where we were in the mall due to "foul" weather (as the great Uncle Chips would call it) and we did this thing where we started in a squat, jumped up and went back to a squat. I pretty much died. I don't think I could do more than 4 without thinking I was about to have a heart attack. Today folks I successfully completed the whole set without stopping to die. Minor accomplishment but it only means I am improving. Reese loves her new jogging stroller (sponsored by Celie and Doug Herbst...great parents/grandparents that they are) and it's so much easier to get around using it. It might take me a while but soon I'll be skinny again and I won't be the blob in the Bading family wedding shot coming up in June. Yeah for me. I'm burning lots of butter.
Tonight we're off to Kingwood to visit the family. It's been one month since AL, Mimi and Grampy have seen Reese...the longest ever. Reese is so excited she just peed her pants! Tomorrow we're stopping in to visit Nana and Pop-pop, always entertaining!
As I write this Reese is in her jumperoo screaming at the top of her lungs (but having a good time) and Chewie's just sitting there watching her. Too cute!

Ghetto-Fab

We're out shopping for Reese's Escalade and some spinners! As soon as her teeth come in we'll have her grill made.

a girl and her dog

Reese discovered the dog this weekend...she has played with Chewie a few times. Chewie's lost a few tufts of hair already but she doesn't seem any worse for the wear.

Reese is very loud. Her new thing is high pitched squealing. As you can see she keeps us pretty entertained. And she's good at slapping me too! (an added bonus)

time for a little thing we call "updates"

the letters are complete! I think I did a decent job. (Sorry Leslie, I know you wanted stripes on some but I went with what I know I would not screw up)

This picture further proves my point that this dog fell off the circus train in College Station. Ryan was putting stuff in the attic and Chewie was all in a huff about not being up there with him. Jokingly I told her if she wanted up there so bad then she needed to climb the ladder. She also fully understands English because sure and shit she climbed that damn ladder. Not once but about ten times. She had to be given a bone to pose long enough to capture this wonderful moment on film but she really did climb the damn ladder herself. I think I might loan her to my Nana who is in her 80's and STILL climbs up to the attic. Chewie can help her out now.

My Dad calls this a "pousan chair" I think Reese looks like she's stuck in Big Bird's nest. Or maybe like she should have a mermaid tail and this is her sea shell.

Reese loves sitting in her stroller. Notice it is in the house as this was her spot of choice for most of the afternoon on Friday. She even napped in it.

Today Reese is offically 5 months old. Time flies when you having fun. She celebrated by watching me run hills and doing an extreme amount of leg work this morning, napping in the afternoon and giving her Dad a super huge dirty diaper to clean after dinner. I think she had a good day. I on the other hand went to stroller strides again this a.m. I figure if Ryan works on Saturday morning I might as well work on getting skinny again. Lesson for the day: Two back to back days of running hills and an extreme amount of squats and walking lunges will result in pain associated with minor things such as moving your foot from the gas to the break. I think tonight my legs might stop working altogether.

I finished my first project and completed the wall letters for Reese's room. Ryan doubted my abilities but I think they came out very cool. Now the task of hanging them on her wall. I predict this will take Ryan longer to do than it did for me to paint them.

I also figured we would update some pictures for everyone. They are of course random as always but hey I'm not a professional so take what you can get.