Extras

I forgot to post a few of these last week!

These first few are from when Darin and Darla watched Reid while we did photos. Reid apparently had a great time in their playroom. =) Thank you Darla for taking these pictures. =)

These were taken by Connie on Halloween. My little pumpkin' =)

Little goofballs.

A few of the kids at daycare (a couple were gone that day and of course the big kids had school). We are so glad Reid has such a fun and loving place to spend his weekdays. This is a great group of kids too!

Anyway, just wanted these for the scrapbook. =)

Midweek Randoms

I believe I left off talking about our fun Halloween and the fact that I ended up sick that night. The next day I stayed home from work. I was hoping it was going to be a quick thing but turns out, I'm still hacking away today.

We stayed home Saturday until a photo session that afternoon/evening. It was for my photographer friend Laura and her sweet family. We had a great time and they were adorable as usual. They even had a fun little campfire at the end. =) Y'all are just gonna die but I even turned down a s'more! I must be sick. ;)

This little guy was SUCH a sleepy head that day. He slept in plus took a 3-hour nap. 

Here he is all comfy in his long johns and enjoying his post-nap bottle on the couch. How did he get so long?

We were supposed to have two sessions in Wichita Sunday but one got cancelled due to a sick kiddo. =( SO - we got some work done then went up later. I was st-ressed that day for some reason. Nothing seemed to be going well. Before we left for Wichita, I just decided to have a do-over and feel better. After our session with one of our sweet repeat families, we ate at Freebirds World Burrito. It was tasty. I got the taco meal and Dac got the freebird burrito.

Monday, Sky came over to hang out and eat supper with us. We always seen to go too long without seeing each other. On Halloween she had a heart procedure done. She seemed to be doing pretty well and was still the same ol' Sky. =) The whole family enjoys when she comes over. Even Peety! 

We had french toast. She said, and I quote, "This is like the best french toast of entire life." I assure you my french toast is nothing special but she apparently tasted the love in it. =)

I've still been downing lots of this:

Reid was a bear last night. Poor thing is teething up a storm and there's just not a whole lot I can do for him. The fact that I also don't feel good isn't helping matters.

I made this loaded baked potato soup for work today. Yummy, creamy, fatty, perfection.

Tonight, I fully plan to park it on the couch (once the babe's asleep of course) then go to bed early.

About Me: Five Passions

In case you missed it, I recently started a little "About Me" series. I'm working through a list of things I want my kids to know about me. I thought it was sort of a cool getting-to-know-you project and would also be nice for this scrapbook that Reid will eventually look through.

Here's what I've done so far:

1. List 20 random facts about yourself

2. Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears

3. Describe your relationship with your spouse

4. List 10 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could

5. What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?

6. If you could have three wishes, what would you wish for?
7. What is your dream job and why?
8. What are 5 passions you have right now?


Sometimes I wonder if I'm truly passionate about anything... and yet, I get fired up a lot and I really do care about a lot of issues. I just don't know. Here goes anyway - in no particular order. =)

1) The treatment of people and animals
I can't stand to see someone (animals are someones too) being mistreated. It breaks my heart, makes me sick, and infuriates me. Everything from unkind words, to hunger and poverty, to physical abuse/crime I hate to see it. We all do it at times - to varying degrees - but I try hard to be kind and hate the thought of hurting someone's feelings.

2) Women's health issues
I'm not sure this is actual passion or whether it's more of an empathetic compassion. I've 
dealt with my share of lady part drama. I know a lot about it and I have a lot of experience with it. I know it can be hard to talk about but I think it's important to. I also think it's important to listen to your body and trust your instincts. I'm thankful for a doctor who trusted mine. Now go get that exam ma'am! =) My heart has also been softened about the infertility and infant loss that is too often associated with women's health issues.

3) Community
I don't just mean the town/city/county we live in. I mean the people with whom we live and share life with. I am NOT always good about this but I do think it's super important. The thought of more front porch-style livin' is appealing and yet always seems so hard to do. I like the idea of really knowing your neighbors and building a community in that way. I love the idea of small groups who are really supportive and encouraging. I think we should be better about helping each other out and not feeling like we have to do everything on our own. I just think the world would be a better place if we'd love on each other a little more. 

4) Our family
I am passionate about Reid. I love him and want nothing more than for him to have a full, happy life. I want hims to be a man of honor and a boy after God's own heart. I am passionate about being a good mom... a truly good mom not just society's beautiful picture of all the things a mom should be. I want to be a supporter of other moms and of those struggling to become moms. I want to be an encourager and not a judger. I'm learning it's not always as easy as just saying that's what you want. I want to be a good wife to Dac -   to always give 100% regardless of what I may be receiving on any given day. I want to be loving and kind - to speak encouragement instead in criticism. I want us to have a marriage that I can feel good about Reid striving for one day. (One day veeeerrrryyyy far off!) ;) 

5) Sleep!? I kid, I kid... Photography
There is something about capturing a moment, life that is pretty dang cool. We've gotten to meet so many awesome people and watch their love grow (as well as their families) and it's awesome. I enjoy the work, I enjoy the result, and I love being able to provide that gift to people. I also passionate about photography on the flip side. I think sometimes photographers can the world's worst at getting their own family pictures taken and even more so, remembering to take photos of their own families on a daily basis. It's important and we strive to remember that and make it happen.

Halloween 2013

So this was Reid's first Halloween. Dac and I have never been huge Halloween people but I was kind of excited to get Reid dressed up. I had the gnome idea for quite a while but even as of a couple weeks ago had nothing for it. Still, with some help (my mom picked up lipstick for his cheeks and sewed the too-big hat/beard to fit him and Terese picked up the boots for me) it came together and he was transformed into the cutest little yard gnome I ever did see. =)

He was even pretty good about keeping his hat on.

We started out at Terese's house. She made stew, so we ate then got little man dressed up. By that time Kayla's family and Cori's family were there to trick-or-treat so we were able to get a few pictures of the kiddos.

Felicity the ninja turtle and Reid.

Britton and Eden were big bad wolves. =)

I like this one because the two older girls are looking at them like "seriously!?" haha.

Adding in the big girls! =)

Love all these kids!!

Dac's parents

Aunt Val

Backtracking a bit... here's the extent of my fall decorations this year:

The night before Halloween Reid sported his monster PJs and "read" one of his spooky books.

Now then, back to trick-or-treating. We hit 7 stops and Reid made out like a bandit. He seemed to be a hit and I really think he enjoyed seeing everyone. I forgot to get a picture with everyone (fail), but here's a few:

Uncle Darin and Aunt Darla

Grandpa Ed

Grandma Millie - Reid was getting pretty tired by this point and not exactly cooperating.

Connie (Reid's wonderful daycare lady)

We also saw Aunt Debbie and Kevin, Grandma Jo, and Auntie Heather and Daniel. =)

Reid brought home yummy cookies and brownies (for mom and dad, ha!), candy, puffs, books, a glow stick, and other great stuff!

It was a fun night and Reid really did very well. Unfortunately, I started feeling bad by the end of the night and ended up with a fever of over 100, chills, and a bad cough. =( Glad I didn't miss the excitement though. Thanks to everyone who helped make his first Halloween a great one!

More 11-Month Fun

Reid: Month (gasp) 11

Dear Reid,

Each day with you becomes more fun and a little bit more challenging. Or maybe not more challenging... just challenging in a different way. There's now more focus on keeping you out of stuff you shouldn't be in and we're very much still trying different methods of guidance and discipline... if you can even call it that. Boy do we have a lot to learn. =)

The cool thing is, there's nobody else I'd rather learn with than you and your daddy. You were the perfect addition to our family at the perfect time. God has a tendency to do that. He knows us more than we know ourselves and he loves us more than we can even imagine in our wildest dreams.

There's no doubt in my mind we will make many mistakes as we parent you Reid. Heck! We already have. I hope you know our mistakes aren't on purpose and that we do the best we can and we do it out of love for you. I'm choosing to believe your Heavenly Father will fill in the gaps when we come up short.

Challenges aside you're just so much fun. I'm going to tell you a secret. Before you were born, I used to worry that you wouldn't be as cool as some of the other kids I know. Now, as a mom, I know I could never not think my child was cool. I get that now. But as your mom - I clearly had nothing to worry about. You have a personality that's all your own. You're ornery, funny, sweet, and just absolutely awesome. =)

Love you little man,
Mama

Highlights:

• In the past few days you made the switch to all table food (lunch and supper) except for the occasional stage 3 pouch while we're on the go. In addition to what you've tried so far, you've tried pancakes, scrambled egg yolks, sausage, cottage cheese, mandarin oranges, pineapple, mixed veggies with mini bowtie pasta, and probably some other things you tried off our plates that I'm forgetting.
• You wore size 4 and cloth diapers.
• You started switching more to 18-month clothes. Many are a little big still but many of your 12-month shirts are too short on you.
• You still have 8 teeth. You've been working awfully hard on others but so far they haven't completely popped through.
• You crawl (correctly) exclusively now and do lots of cruising around furniture. You also started walking some behind a push-toy. 
• You play very contently on your own.
• You get an 8 oz bottle first thing in the morning, then a 6 oz bottle around 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and then 8 oz again at night. You hit a bit of a growth spurt (mostly height this time) but now you're slowing down on the formula again and there's been a few times we've just done 6 oz all day.
• You're very vocal and have added new consonants to your vocabulary but still haven't really said any words... except "hi"... you did say that and even waved. =) We're waiting patiently on the "mom" and "dad". No rush. ;)
• I spent three days and two nights away from you while at a conference. It broke my heart to go but thankfully they kept me super busy so I didn't cry the whole time. The girls I work with in that group asked a lot about you. They love seeing your pictures on facebook. 
• You are ornery and still struggle to understand why we tell you "no" when you try doing certain things. 
• You are also very sweet and love to hug occasionally (lay your head on my shoulder/lap) and kiss (come at my face with your mouth wide open). 
• You learned to "pick-up" your toys and seem to feel very proud of yourself when you complete the task. We'll see how long that lasts. =)
• You wave, which is nothing new, but you do it with such enthusiasm I feel it's worth mentioning again. You flap your arm up down so fast I think it might fall off. ;) To top it off, you do so with that million dollar whole-face smile that just charms the heck out of people. 
• Peety interacts with you more now that you're a little bigger. He always makes you giggle.
• You are so stinkin' ticklish - which practically makes your dad's day. He loves to tickle you and make you laugh. You get to laughing so hard you can barely catch your breath. It's contagious.
• Your Eczema got quite a bit worse.
• This month you had your first trip to the pumpkin patch and experienced your first Arkalalah! You also attended a wedding and went to a couple birthday parties. You had a fun and busy month mister!

Midweek Randoms

Fall/Winter is always such a busy time, am I right? All the holidays? It's our busiest time in terms of photography too. Plus, now we have a little munchkin with a November birthday. =)

Speaking of which, Reid is 11-months old today. How? I don't even know. We're just a blink away from the big birthday. Although as far as I'm concerned the really big birthday happened 11-months ago. ;)

Here's a little sneak peek of my party plans. You can also see the red suspenders I'm using for his Halloween costume. More on that later.

Last week I went to Kansas City for the Kansas School Public Relations Association (KanSPRA) conference. I'm the president-elect this year which means... I'm in charge of this shindig next year. Big sigh. I've already mentioned to several members of our little regional group that I fully expect to have a rockin' conference planning committee! =) Anyway, the conference was great. It really always is. It's fun to be with people who understand my job and just get it. We had great speakers too and had lots of fun together. Makes me remember how lonely it can be being the only one who does a certain job.

I did enjoy baby monitor-less sleep. Sure, there were two young kids running amuck next door but I still call it a win! =)

I branched out and tried tapas at La Bodega... interesting. I didn't take pictures of everything but I felt accomplished having tried new things.

A couple girls got these fancy coffee-on-fire drinks.

It was a good time but I sure did miss these guys. They were on the porch to welcome me when I got home. =) Melt my heart.

Saturday morning, our friends John, Anna, and Ruby came to town. We walked downtown to grab some lunch. Dac and I got Jeffy Pups that were probably the best I'd had in a few years. Reid missed out on Arkalalah food this year but did enjoy a nice balanced lunch while we waited in line for 15 minutes.

Then we watched Ruby ride a couple carnival rides.

=)

Watching the parade

Reid of course was conked out by that time. It was his first Arkalalah and I'd say he nailed it. =)

I've missed out on a lot of the Arkalalah activities the past few years and I'm determined to go big next year!! We'll see how it turns out, but I plan to attempt more events that week and do pancake feed, street games, and more on Saturday. Maybe I'll even hunt for the medallion? Eh, probably not.

Dac and Ruby were study buddies the next morning.

Then it was time for family pictures! Here's a fun one. The girl get it from her daddy. ;)

After pictures we hit up Braums for brunch and then said our goodbyes. Later that day, we did this fun session. It was a 13th birthday surprise! =) Her mom took her to get her hair did that day and set up the photo shoot all without her knowing. She seemed like a great kid and I think she had a good time.

This week has just been nuts with work. Being gone really put me behind plus it's staff newsletter week AND we had a school board meeting Monday night.

Just keep swimming... LOOK! Another scarf.

I feel like I'm constantly away from this guy. Here we are in the final month of his first year of life and I feel like we hardly get to spend quality time together. He's getting so big and meanwhile, I'm shuffling to meetings, am way behind on housework, and when I am home, I'm sorting through photo sessions and just trying to stay afloat in typical everyday stuff. I look forward to a few days with him over Thanksgiving and his birthday.

Last night Reid had bananas and scrambled egg yolks with cheese. He ate it all up.

In other random news:

• I'm way into the show The Blacklist. It's suspenseful and has great acting along with a great story. Right up my alley. 

• We have several photo sessions this week and weekend. Here's hoping the weather cooperates!

• Happy Halloween early! =)