Mother's Day 2013

Mother's Day is a little bittersweet this year. It's my first Mother's Day with a baby actually in tow. I couldn't be more blessed by Reid. He is the perfect addition to our family and I can't think of anyone better to make me a mom than him. And of course let's not forget my furbaby... Peety. =) Love my boys.

BUT - while I'm feeling such joy at having these two, so many women struggle to have a child. SO many go through SO much. I don't take this gift for granted. There's also many who have lost children or lost moms - I know it's a tough time for them. Plus - not everyone has wonderful moms like we do. I'm just blessed all the way around.

I thought a lot about this yesterday.

Still, I have great reason to celebrate and celebrate I did. 

The weekend kicked off with my very first Mother's Day card. =) Reid made this with Cori's help. I have never seen such beautiful tulips in all my life. Tulips just so happen to be one of my favorite flowers too! This was a total day maker.

I found this waiting on my porch this weekend... a super sweet card from Kayla and two adorable shirts for Reid. =)

Terese was sneaky and made this for me. =) I love it. I could look at that face all day. PS - how is he so big already?

Dac went overboard and got my an iPhone and a trip to Tanganyika. =)

Here's a picture of me and my little guy at Tanganyika Saturday. I'd wanted to go for quite a while and thought Reid might even enjoy looking around since he seems to like going for walks. I'll share more pictures soon but I had a great time!

Happy boy. =) We woke up early as usual Sunday and had every intention of going to church. I fell back asleep though (this never happens anymore) and Dac let me sleep. I needed it and so appreciated it. When we finally got around we went to the store before going to my Grandma's for lunch. Then, Dac had to go to work for a few hours so I went over to visit Terese for a bit.

(So much for not letting baby gear take over our house.)

Last night Dac cleaned up the kitchen while I sat and watched the two hour season finale of Revenge. =) All-n-all I'd say my first Mother's Day was a total success. I had such a great weekend spending it with my family.

Midweek Randoms

• There's not a ton of new to report. Dac and I are keeping busy at work and with photography while Reid is still being awesome. =)

• I guess the newest news is that we finally settled on a new (to us) car. We have the biggest commitment problems. It's ridiculous. It took us forever to decide for sure what we wanted but when we did, we found something pretty quickly. It's a 2007 Honda CR-V. It's been very well taken care of so while it's not new by any means, it's nice. =) We're buying it from an individual, which made me a teensy bit nervous but the guy couldn't be any nicer. We drive it home tonight. Holla!

• And the best smile award goes to... he's excited to have a bit more room in the backseat. =)

• We went out to eat Friday night and hung around the house Saturday morning before heading to check out that car.

• Sunday, we went out for breakfast before church. That afternoon we had photos. Val came over to keep Reid and we ordered pizza afterwards. 

• We got in as much cuddle time as we could over the weekend. Love the sleepy guy with the wild hair.

• My little buddy and I both had chiropractor appointments Friday. He was hurting pretty bad the next day. =( Needed extra cuddles.

• More cuddles...

• Monday night we did some housework together.

• =)

• Tuesday night, we did 6-month pictures of Reid's little cousin. Crazy to think he's right behind her. She was crawling like a mad woman. =) We are SO not ready for that yet.

More 5-Month Fun

Here's some fun we had after we caught the basic 5-month picture. (scroll down to the next post for that)

Getting the picture was a bit rougher this time. He's so squirmy!

He enjoys hearing Sophie the Giraffe squeak.

Annnnd eating her face... poor Sophie. Thankfully she's a good sport.

Oh those feet. And that little belly...

He has such pretty eyes and the most wild hair.

Wearing one of his new diapers on a blanket from Grandma Jo.

=)

Dear Alisha - get your big girl camera out more often.

Month 5

Dear Reid,

Hey buddy, I love you. =) This past month has been a bit wild. We started things off with that crazy growth spurt. It reminded me of when you were just a few weeks old. It wasn't pleasant Reid but this time it was a little different. We knew it would pass. We knew you were ok. What made it even better is that we could actually see you developing. You have learned and mastered so many new things this month. It's been so cool to watch and we've had a blast with you. It's been worth that week or two of awful. You've really started to develop your own personality. I think you might be a weeeee bit ornery and mischievous but you're oh-so-sweet and friendly. You win over hearts everywhere you go and it's rare that you smile at someone and don't make them smile back. You're a little lover and occasionally still like to cuddle up but for the most part, your too busy and wiggly. That's ok. You still hold my hand when I feed you. Thanks for that. 

Right now, you're enjoying chewing, playing with things that make noise, music, walks in the stroller, rolling, being tickled, jumping, and kisses. Ok - maybe you're not too into the kisses but I pretend you dig them. =) 

You're the coolest Reid! I'm so glad God picked us to be your parents. 

Mom

• You started that 4-month sleep regression otherwise known as Wonder Week 19. Lord have mercy that took us back to the time between 5-6 weeks. That's not a pleasant time to think back on. Maybe it's still too soon, ha! The cool part about the developmental leap is that you literally were learning something new every day for a while.

• You started putting your pacifier in your mouth and taking it out.

• One night, out of the blue, you started taking the bottle in and out of your mouth and smiled as I fed you.

• Everything started going right to your mouth.

• You learned that you need to bed/tuck your knees to really roll well. You went to sleep on your back and we found you on your belly the next morning. Over the next couple days/nights you were constantly working to master rolling. The rolling part you pretty well had down it was the getting comfy on your belly part that was rough.

• You found your feet!! =) We were all hanging out before church one Sunday and I look over to see you playing with them. Out of nowhere.

• You pretty well mastered the rolling thing and do it all the time. 

• You started sleeping on your belly regularly.

• In addition to the constant drooling and chewing you've been doing for a few weeks, I started noticing a little spot on your bottom gum that looked like a tooth might be on its way soon. You almost always had your pointer finger in your mouth rubbing your bottom gums.

• You became all about your hands and feet - and our hands too - constantly moving, grasping, feeling, and studying. 

• You still mostly wear 6-month or 6-9 month clothes.

• You started wearing size 3 diapers but still wear cloth more often than not.

• You still drank breast milk exclusively.

• You became more aware of the people around you and liked to know where your Dad and I were.

• You recognized voices.

• You became much more content playing on your floor mat, rolling around on a blanket, and sitting in your high chair while we fixed dinner and did dishes. 

• You loved to chat and started kind of "scream-chatting". Ya little loud mouth! =) 

• For the most part, you stopped using a pacifier at night.

• You started fussing when we'd put you in the carseat. I think you went from feeling safe and cozy in it to feeling confined in it. You liked to be free and able to move around. This also made changing you a much more wild process! 

• You started using the pacifier more again - you were working hard on a tooth and liked to have something to chew on.

• You loved to reach out and grab hair, noses, and glasses.

• You got up on your knees a few times and rocked back and forth. You wanted to go but just couldn't so you'd get a bit frustrated. 

Waaaaaake Up

This is a little series of photos I snapped over a month ago. Yeah, as usual, I'm a little late to the game here. =)

Still, I wanted to have them documented here. I took these right after he woke up from an afternoon nap. He was such a little hot, but happy, mess. 

Midweek Randoms

• I believe we left off last week with my aunt and grandma keeping Reid. It was a successful day and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. I joined them and my Dad for lunch (Braum's) at the house and when he woke up from his nap, I got to hug on my little man for a bit before heading back to work. Getting to see him during the daytime is a total treat to me.

• That night, Dac and I took Reid to La Fiesta. I had semi-planned to grill burgers but since we had Braum's for lunch, I decided against it. 

• The next day, I took a late lunch and left work early so we could go to my parents for a cookout. It was my aunt and grandma's last night here so my dad grilled steaks and had my Uncle Mike and Aunt Sue over too. It was a fun night. Reid is kind of a big hit at these things.

• Speaking of Reid - he is still just a rollin'. Total pro these days. Here's a couple pictures Cori sent me last week of little dude in action.

• Friday night I got my hair cut and Dac worked the high school track meet so Reid and I met up with the rest of Dac's fam for supper. Tasty and fun.

• Saturday, we got up early - like every other day - and got our camera gear packed up. We had a morning session with our friends Tim and Tamara (and their sweet girls) in Andover and Reid got to tag along as our fine photo assistant. Normally, we'd leave him with a sitter but since they wanted to meet him, we didn't have to. =) I enjoyed bring your baby to work day! Cutest dang assistant I've ever seen if I do say so myself.

• Backing up a bit... before we went to Andover, we went to Beiderman's in Winfield for breakfast. It was good. Reid had more fun than the look on his face tells. =) It was great little family date. 

• After the photo session we did some quick shopping and ate lunch at Old Chicago. I was highly disappointed. First off, they don't have the fabulous fish and chips anymore. Sad Face. It was so good but apparently they changed their menu back in November. Then, the food we did get, wasn't very good. Seemed cheap and like it was out of the freezer section. Not cool. 

• When we got back we took a quick nap (glorious even though it was only about 20 minutes worth) and later, Val stopped by with our bountiful basket loot. This is some of it soaking in vinegar water to get it so fresh and so clean. 

• We went to church Sunday, then Reid and I went to my grandma's for lunch to send my cousin Dustin - who was just home after completing bootcamp for the Marines - back to California for more training. We had chicken noodles (seriously the best around) and pie (also the best around - in fact, my grandma just won a pie contest last weekend!) I ate my weight and was miserable when we left. 

• When I got home, I did some house work before taking Reid on a short walk. Then, we went back to the church for our small group thing. It was the first night doing Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. 

• We had a session Monday night. By the time we got Reid picked up, put to bed, and stuff done for the next day, I was pooped. I did manage to love on this guy who doesn't get near enough attention these days. =/ He's still my fuzzy buddy.

• Reid turned 5-months old yesterday. He is so much fun. Cori sent me this gem yesterday. Getting to be such a big guy.

• I'll be sharing his 5-month picture soon. I also took some other fun shots of him. Here's a little back-of-the-camera sneak peek. I ordered him a Hazelaid Amber necklace to see if it will help with the teething pain he's been having. Sure it's a little girly and may be total hocus pocus but it can't hurt to try it! 

• We haven't been eating as well this week. More eating out and eating random junk. Last night was good though (until the Sonic shakes... oops). We grilled salmon and zucchini and had fresh pineapple on the side. =) Dac burned his hand on the grill pan. =( Later, we went for a walk and then got ice cream. We are the king and queen of counterproductive. =)

Midweek Randoms

As usual, these aren't necessarily in order. But hey, I'm doing good just to get them on here. =) That's what I tell myself anyway.

• The big news of the week is that my Grandma B. and Aunt Cindy are visiting from Louisiana! Yay!! They were both excited to finally meet Reid and I think he kinda likes them too. They are actually keeping him for us today and I know they'll all have lots of fun.

• I spent a good deal of the weekend at my parents house. Here's a picture of Reid my aunt took while we were there. He is WAY into blowing bubbles and making sounds right now.

• I forgot to send a pacifier one day this week. It normally wouldn't be a big deal but he insists on having something in his mouth right now... he's working hard to cut a tooth. Cori shared one of the girls' with him. I had a ton of these assuming that's the pacifier he'd take. WRONG. He hated it for the longest time so we ended up using the NUK orthodontic ones instead

• Eden really likes Reid. She always wants to be by him. =) Aren't they cute? 

• I got some new diapers in... now he has a rainbow of bum genius diapers to sport. Pretty, no?

• Still trying to eat more proteins and veggies for supper.

• Natural. This kid's hair is nuts.

• My Aunt Cindy.

• Grandma B. I just love this photo.

• Even though Courtney couldn't be here this time, she sent along her beloved Cookie Monster toy from when she was a kid. How sweet is that? Reid's going to take REAL good care of it. When you put the cookie in his mouth, he talks and wiggles his arms. =)  Reid has even learned how to do it...sort of anyway! =)

• Reid and I took a little trip to Wally World over the weekend. We went early, during Reid's first nap time. It was actually kind of pleasant. 

• Here's Reid playing with his new toy Grandma B. got him.

• Confession time. I'm horrible about remembering to put lotion on. When I do remember, I'm typically too short on time or lazy to make it happen. Enter this spray and go lotion. It's super quick and easy and it absorbs really quick instead of feeling greasy. It's a winner! I might actually moisturize my skin more than once every month or two now. =)

• We had Wii night last week and I was in charge of cooking this time. I took the ideas from pinterest. Sweet potatoes with bacon, oil, cinnamon, and onion. YUM. 

• Crockpot porkloin with apples inside and all around, marinated and drizzled with honey.

• Another weeknight meal - lemon maple glazed chicken and homemade sweet potato fries. I love me some sweet potatoes y'all.

• Aunt Cindy took these gem over the weekend. At first glance, my first thought was to critique myself in it. I quickly got over that and realized it's a fantastic picture. One I'm sure Reid will like to see one day. I'm so happy with my little love there. =)

• Friday night, the three of us went to Derby for a family date night. We ate supper at Panera, then went to Target and... dun dun dunnnnnnn... Lowe's. Here's Reid excited to start the night.

• Here's Reid after a liiiiiiiittle too long in Lowe's. I was about to join him. =) It was a great night though - fun to get out as a family.

• This one is from earlier that day when Cori had him out and about. She brought him to visit me at work. =) Loved that. The girls in the office kinda liked it too. 

•  Do y'all remember Hot Dog on a Stick? IIIIIIIIII do. They had it in the mall when I was a kid and I looooooooved to get the Cheese on a Stick. So divine. They had the cool teenagers working there with the fun uniforms and hats making lemonade. Now a Cheese on a Stick party? Get. Out. I'm. In.

• Courtney brought the Saints gear when she came to visit at Christmas. It fits him now. =) Who Dat look so fly? Reid looks so fly. ha! He wore this to celebrate cousin Ryan's birthday. He'd be proud for sure.

• How lucky am I that even though I wake up at an unGodly hour each day... I wake up to this!? =)