8 Months!!!

Reece is 8 MONTHS old today!!! It is scary how fast these eight months have flown by. They went fast. When I was pregnant with Reece we prayed specifically for so many things for her, and the Lord was and has been so faithful. He answered each prayer - she is such a happy, healthy, content baby. Reece is a great eater and a great sleeper. She fits right in with our family, making the transistion to from a family of three to a family of four such a pleasant experience. I can't imagine life without her now. She keeps us laughing and brings so much joy to our lives. We thank the Lord for her everyday! She is truly a blessing to Steven and I.

Reece has a developed a few new things over the past few weeks:
-She can say Dada, Mama, Bye Bye, and has her own word for kitty. It sounds nothing like kitty, but it is what she says when she sees our cat.
- Reece LOVES to be outside. She likes to swing on the swing set, or sit in her exersaucer and watch Ava play outside.
- She is quite the little dancer - she sways from side to side and bounces up and down. It is super cute. She also does this thing with her head when she dances that looks like Stevie Wonder. It is too funny.

Here are a few pictures taken on her 8 month birthday!

I thought these pictures were too cute not to share - the girls were "playing" together for the first time in the playroom! It was a sweet moment that I had to capture!!

Reece Pics and Playdate!

I just realized that Reece has not been in several posts - so I wanted to add some updated pictures . She is growing up waaaayyyy too fast! Reece is 7 1/2 months old, and honestly is the sweetest, cutest, best baby ever. I know i'm her mom, but she is the best!!! So enjoyable!!
Here are few things Reece has been up to lately:
- Got her first two teeth. (on the bottom)
- Is a great eater - she eats three solid meals a day and usually has three bottles a day
- goes to bed between 6:30 and 7:00 and wakes up around 7:30.
- Takes one long (usually 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours)
- sits up really well on own - Reece loves to take toys out of bowls and baskets
- love the exersaucer and jumperoo
- hates being on her belly and seems to have no interest in crawling
- is obsessed with Ava
- babbles and high pitch squeals a lot - She sounds like she are talking Chinese!
- can wave bye bye and give kisses



A few weeks ago, Reece and I went to El Dorado to meet some special friends! We met sweet Lottie Doddridge and Reece's future husband Eli Hurst. We had a great time just hanging out. Lottie's mommy Mary and Eli's mommy Amanda are college friends of mine - so it was great for our kids to meet! There is six months between each of the kids. I wish we could all get together more often. Eli and Lottie are two of the sweetest and cutest kids ever!

Thanks Mary for hosting the play date! Your house was sooo cute - I love it.

The Grape Festival

I am laughing at myself - because this was soooo long ago. But I am still attempting to catch up - It's going to be 2010 before I get everything from 2009 blogged about. Ugh well!

We met our good friends the Harris's at the Grape Festival - Ava and Natalie had a ball running from ride to ride. I was very proud of Ava, she was very brave. (Which is big for her) If I remember correctly our camera battery died after we had been there for about 15 minutes. It was a fun evening!

Carter - Man!!!!!!!!!!

Okay - so surprise, surprise - I have been a bad blogger lately!!! Somethings just don't change! I am so amazed at you all that blog everyday, or every week for that matter. Anyways, in an effort to catch up with everything I have to blog about I am starting back in July. Yes, I said July. I know it's October, but a lot has happened, so I am just going to start back in the summer.

In July, our good friends the Moss' came to visit. Bryson, Dee, and Carter used to live down the street from us. They were such great friends - the kind that you just walked into their house at any time, often unannounced. We miss them living down the street so much. They have since moved to Cincinnati, and we are still so sad about it. Ava and Carter became good friends fast, and I mean good friends. I don't know what it is about their little personalities, but they just click. They are too cute to watch, and even though we have only seen them like two or three times since they moved, A and C pick up right where they left off. They truly are great friends!! The Moss family has been gone for almost two years now and Ava still claims Carter, and only Carter, as her boyfriend!!! They are hoping to move back to Fayetteville one day so it will be neat to see Ava and Carter grow up together.
Here are a few pictures from their trip to Fayetteville this summer...

Farewell to a good friend

The other night we had to say goodbye to our beloved Kobe man. Kobe was Steven and I's first pet together - we got him for Christmas right after we got married. We loved him to death and he truly was a member of our family. Ava loved him and spent the last few weeks playing "Bolt" with him. Kobe would just let her drag him around the house by his collar as she was Penny and he was Bolt! Reece would giggle at him - they spent lots of time sitting on a blanket in our living room together - she would just watch him, smile, and get so excited. He truly was Steven and I's first baby and the first grand-dog on my side of the family. When my mom would watch Ava on Mondays and Wednesdays Kobe went too - they were a package deal! He was down right naughty at times - but we loved him so much.
Kobe had such a sweet, fun, energetic personality. He loved people and was great with kids. We have so many fond memories with him that we will never forget. The house has felt so empty the past few days without him here. We miss him so much, but are so thankful for the joy he brought to our lives. We love you Kobe man!

Ugh Oh!!!

When Steven went in to cover Ava up before he went to bed the other night - this is what he found......

We still don't know if she fell off the bed or if she fell asleep like this! With that girl - you never know. By the way, I know all of you all are jealous of her Hawaiian princess sheets and Hello Kitty pillowcase! She loves them - they were a special treat when it was time to move to a big girl bed - she was very excited to sleep on them, so it made the transition easy. Ava got to pick them out the day she moved to her big girl bed! I am funny about characters - but you can't see them when the bed is made, and she just loves them so much!

Sprinklers + Umbrellas = Fun

Ava and our across the street neighbor, Emmy, had the best time playing in the sprinkler. They were too funny to watch. Who knew an umbrella could make a sprinkler even more fun!

The fun afternoon was finished with an ice cream sandwich! Life doesn't get much better than this!

Lots O Stuff!!!

Well the Bertram family has been busy this past month - and in true Devin fashion I have decided to blog about it all at once! It's crazy how time is flying by. Hope you enjoy the next four or five new posts! One of these days I will make my life easier and blog about something when it actually happens!

For Eli....

So one of my best friends and college roommates, Amanda, is pregnant with sweet little Eli William. She is due in September and I can't wait to meet him. The honest truth is that one of Amanda and I's greatest goals in life is the have a successful love match, and unfortunately in all of our match making we have not had a successful match. However, that is until now! We have saved the best match for our children!!! We have arranged a marriage for Reece and Eli - they just don't know it yet - but they are going to loooooove each other!!!

So this pics for you Eli....

Can't wait to meet you!

Pure Joy!!

Pure Joy - that is what life is with this child! Notice all of her expressions - she has been little Miss Personality these days!