She loves her duck!

4 Months

On Friday, Marcella went in for her 4-month appointment. She weighed 12lbs, 11oz and was 24 3/4" long. Overall, the appointment went as expected. She did great while being examined by her doctor and the resident doctor, and then totally lost her cool after shredding the paper on the exam table. Dr. Bridge placed Marcella on her tummy, which she normally enjoys, but being in her diaper only paired with the paper on the table brought a little different element to the situation. She was not happy! After her brief meltdown I was able to soothe her to no tears right before her shots...3 of them to be exact. Yes, she again held her breath as she did at her 8-week appointment. However, this time I was a little more prepared and had given her Tylenol prior to the appointment. I think this helped! She hasn't been nearly as fussy. We even made it to Wichita that afternoon to watch State Track. JD's pole vaulter set a new girl's school record with a jump of 11'6". She placed third in 5A! We ended our day trip to Wichita with a stop at Babies R' Us. Picked up a few item including rice cereal; we'll be trying this out soon! On the drive home Marci cried from Park City to Lindsborg....oh, that was a long trip. When we got home I discovered her diaper was dirty, again. Upps! Sorry, Marci!









Here is a recent picture of Marcella and her pup, Wrigley. Yes, what you are seeing is correct; Wrigley caught in action licking our baby girl! Sorry for the blurry image; Daddy G didn't have the camera on the right setting.

Gettin' and Givin'

Gettin' some love from mom.

Givin' some love to her girls.

Marcella loves them all!

Marcella's Monday

Getting SO BIG!

The Garber's

This past weekend the Garber's (Scott, Summer, Austin, Noah, and Gabe) came to visit!

We had a perfect weekend for being outside. Grandpa B, Uncle Scott and Uncle JD worked all afternoon in the shed getting the three Honda three-wheelers up and running. They were so successful that they even got the little yellow Yamaha motorcycle running along with the Hondas. I can't tell you when the last time they were all running. In watching the boys race around the farm, I couldn't help but reflect back to my days of buzzing around the farm with my siblings and cousins; it's a miracle no one was ever hurt! I sorta felt like I was ten again. The boys have grown up so quickly--too quickly; Austin, the oldest, will be a freshman next school year. In fact, it was seven years ago this spring that I first met the Garber's; Gabe had just turned one. While the boys tinked around in the shed, Aunt Summer, Marcella, and I caught some much needed rays on the deck accompanied by a little Sweet Lady from the Smoky Hill Vineyard. Yum-O! We wrapped the day up with a great BBQ, a little .22 target shoot off, a beautiful sunset, and root beer floats. It was a perfect weekend!

Pictured below: #1 The Garber Boys(Gabe, JD, Noah, & Scott), #2 Grandpa B testing out the lil' yellow Yamaha, #3 Gabe and Marcella, #4 Noah and Marcella, #5 Aunt Summer and Marcella

Humpty Dumpty

This is what I found on Wednesday evening after returning from putting a load of whites in the dryer. I had been gone maybe a total 3-4 minutes. Marcella, who had been sleeping, had obviously woken up and flipped her way out of her swing. She made no noise, never cried, or even seem frightened. She just layed there with this look of How Did That Happen! Good thing it's a Space Saver Swing/Seat and it is no more than a few inches off the ground. Yes, it has a seat buckle, but she's never even come close to inching her way out. Please note her two socks that had also been kicked off; she's a strong one!

My Dad is the Man

Yes, this is what happens when your mom forgets your back-up outfit in your diaper bag. Clothes courtesy of the Benoist Boys, Mato and Mahpiya! I think their mom, Ama, thoroughly enjoyed picking out which of the boys baby clothes Marci would wear. Ending up in outfit #2 for the day has become a common occurrence lately.

16-Week Random Facts about our little Marcella

1. Was told she looks like her Grandpa Burger at one day of age by Dr. Bridge and Bachamp



2. Had her first bath at home at 4 days; cried the whole time...mom didn't have the water warm enough, upps!



3. Lost her umbilical cord at 1 week



4. Had her first trip to Wal-Mart and the Smoky Hill Vineyard at 1 week



5. Began recognizing Mom and Dad's voice around 2 weeks of age



6. Had her first road trip to Sabetha at 4 weeks



7. Began smiling intentionally around 6-7 weeks



8. Discovered her Rubber Ducky at 9 weeks



9. Wanted to roll at 10 weeks, did with assistance at 11 weeks, and flipped like flipper at 15



10. Lifted her head while on her tummy at 11 weeks; does very well at 15-16 weeks



11. Discovered her hands at 12 weeks



12. Started kicking her feet with excitement while reading books with mom at 12 weeks



13. Started squealing with excitement at 14 weeks



14. Began blowing bubbles at 14 weeks



15. Wants to spend more time on her tummy than her back at 15 weeks



16. Gave her first belly laugh at 16 weeks

A Perfect Beginning

This past weekend, we had a chance to hangout with one of my closest friends, Suzanne! Suzanne was in town visiting her parents, Frank and Joan. Her brother and sister-in-law, Adam and Joannie, along with their sweet baby girl, Sophie, were also in town from Missouri. Sophie and Marci are 2.5 months a part and simply adorable together! Frank did a weigh off Friday evening and Sophie won. We estimated Sophie at 17lbs and Marci at 13lbs. Marci adored Suz. They did a lot of playing, smiling, squealing and drooling--Marci not Suz! :-). As you can tell from the bottom picture, Marci was exhausted by the end of the evening. It was a perfect way to begin the weekend.

It's Hard to Believe

It's hard to believe that it was 16 weeks ago this coming Friday that we brought our baby girl, Marcella Reese, home. Here is a video of Marcella and Daddy getting ready to leave the hospital.

More videos to come soon!

No, I Did Not Make Her Wear This All Day!

Discovering Her Hands

For the past few weeks, Marcella has really begun discovering her hands. Often, I will find her lying on her back gazing at her hands held above her face. It's quite amusing, really! This past weekend Marcella's little "big" hands found their way to her bottle. Yes, I am nursing (14+ weeks strong), but with work we've found putting it in a bottle saves time and allows Daddy to help with feedings too. She doesn't always show an interest in holding her bottle, but we couldn't help but snap this photo last Sunday evening. Such a big girl!

Catchin' Some Rays

Marci and I joined the guys outside in the shed on Saturday afternoon to hear The Great Tilly Turkey Hunt! She loved being in her baby carrier and never once tried to take off her shades. A gift from Aunt Carly that we cannot get enough of; the shades are adorable! Uncle Josh, Robbie and Mark Tillman all met up at the farm for a manly-man weekend of guns, exploding targets, a little hanger cleaning while T-Bone was out of the country, and turkey hunting. What more could a guy want?! Here's a picture of Mark Tillman and his first turkey with his bow. This turkey weighed 22lbs and was bagged on our property after an amazing foot race between Penny The Dog and the Tom. Tilly was so proud of Penny that she ate steak that night. Papa Josh was also very proud of his little lady. Having the boys home for the weekend also meant Marcella got to spend some quality time with her Uncle Josh. These together are so ridiculously cute!

See for yourself below.

Here's a photo of all the "stuff" the guys hauled out of the airplane hanger. They were busy!