*Life as of Late*

We have been in Arizona for a little over a month now.  To sum it all up in one simple word...HOT!  It has been a record breaking month for high temperatures, 115 degrees H-O-T hot. At night it cools down to 96.  When you wake up it is already 100.  In the evening it is 110+.  CRAZY hot.  But people said we would get used to it...and we are starting too.

From July-September in AZ in considered the Monsoon Season.  This picture below is a the view from our front door.  We are in the middle of a dust storm on this day.  It was crazy!  We went out to get some lunch & while heading home there was a HUGE brown dust cloud slowly moving toward our apartments.  Half the sky was bright & blue the other half was being swallowed by this HUGE brown cloud...it was awesome. (I will get a picture of one some day!)  I came out to take this picture & everything outside was in "sepia" color.  The wind was blowing & I couldn't stay out for long because dust was blowing in my eyes & mouth.  The dust storms are typically followed by "monsoon" rain storms.  It will rain SHEETS of rain for 20-30 minutes.  Some areas get hail the size of golf balls, mud slides, floods or micro burst wind.  It also is a harder heat to deal with because it is more humid during this weeks of rain.  DUE to those facts...this is not the most exciting post because I don't have that many cool pictures because we have not done much...too HOT!

mini tour of our apartment: This is half the kitchen & the dining room.

Family room.

I don't have pictures of our bedrooms...but they are down that hallway.  Ours is on the right.  Reese's room is on the left & her bathroom across from her.

 Reese and I outside our front door.  We have a "lake" with a fountain out our door...

We also have a pavilion with a grill just out our door too...Jon is BBQ-ing dinner for us.

There are lakes & fountains & bridges all over our apartment complex.  We walk over this bridge to get the mail or to go to the pool.  It is full of tons of fish.  Reese loves to wave & make fishy faces at the fish everyday.  There are also ducks, geese & turtles in the different ponds.  Reese loves it!

 THE POOL.  We LOVE the pool.  It is amazing!  We go swimming at least 3 times a week.  Reese hates the sand...big surprise.  She won't touch it with her hands or feet.  She balances on her bum so neither touch it.  However, on the other end of the pool there are steps that she LOVES to play on.  I think she will like the sand by the end of the summer.

Random Reese Stuff:

Last week jon was trying to get reese dressed for church.  She wouldn't go to him.  So he pulled out this pretty dress (pictured above), showed it to her & she instantly crawled over and started to take her shirt off.  Once the dress was on, we set her in front of the mirror & she giggled & smiled & was loving how pretty she looked!

She says "hi," to EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE we go.  It's cute, but forces me to smile and awkwardly try to converse with random strangers...yuck.

She has all four molars, top & bottom! Teeth total is 12.

She just (this month) made the 20 lb weight club. 

She likes to play the "where's your nose?, eyes?, hair?, toes?" game.

Our first week in R.S. reese was on my lap as we sang the opening hymn.  As soon as it was over reese looked around, clapped & yelled "yay!"

She recognized clapping and cheering from anywhere & always joins in!

Lately she kisses EVERYTHING.  Every toy she picks up with a face gets a kiss.  If she want to give us a kiss, she suck her bottom lip in under her top lip tight, makes a kiss noise and leans toward us until we give her a kiss.  She also likes to blow kisses.

 These two pictures are the best attempt thus far of the kiss action...she is fast...my camera, not fast enough.  I will keep trying for a better shot.

 

Reese is still not walking.  She has a few toy "walkers" that she just started to walk with.  In mid july she figured out how to stand up without the help of furniture.  She is a pro now & pops up quickly whenever she wants.  

A couple of times she has walked.  But her attempts are few and far between.  She has taken as many as 7 consecutive steps before falling.  But she is not a "walker" yet.

She is starting to follow directions.  I love that.  If I tell her to go get a book or her puppy she can! 

As she has been following us around the house lately we hear her coming & when she turns a corner or enters a room, we say "BOO!" to her.  So now she walks around saying BOO to us ALL the time.  Here is a little example.   

Sorry, not much to report.  We have just been hangin' out together, getting to know our town & area.  I have been working on a quiet book for reese (pictures coming soon).  Jon just started school last week. He was glad to get started.  We have made some new friends & doing great!