A trip South for Christmas

Last weekend, we loaded the car (to the max) and headed to Louisiana to visit family for Christmas. We got in late Sunday evening after our longest road trip with Reid to date. He did pretty well, really. He had his moments of course, but that's to be suspected. That night and the next day were really pretty rough on him though. I suppose the combination of being stuck in the car so long, a change in routine, and new surroundings.

Oh, but first, a couple shots of my two little guys. =)

Here they are trying to escape...

A minute later... Peety looking oh-so-pitiful and defeated.

Monday, we kind of moseyed around the house before venturing out to Wal-Mart to pick up a few last minute things for the Christmas Eve shin-dig Courtney and Ryan were hosting the next night. Then, Courtney and I picked Dac and Reid up (Ryan was working) for lunch at Fox's - a delicious little pizza/sandwich shop.

Reid loves his Aunt Boo and clearly missed her since her quick stay with us just after Christmas last year. That was such a help and I hope to return the favor one day! =)

After lunch, we made a quick stop at this fun little store, The Pewter Company, then headed to my Grandma B's house to see her, my parents, and my Aunt Cindy. It was Reid's nap time, so he fell asleep in the car and then was a total bear when we arrived. =/ His sweet face just gets me.

My Grandma B. broke her hip 3-4 months ago but looked great and was getting around pretty dang well regardless. It was so good to see her doing well. Reid enjoyed playing with her.

PS - I can't remember if I mentioned it or not, but Reid took his first real series of unassisted steps on Tuesday, December 17.... right before he got his big boy haircut. =) He's still not just taking off all over the place without holding on to something, but he did show off his new skills a little bit. =)

That evening, we had some yummy vegetable soup and cornbread and enjoyed a quiet evening (as quiet as possible with Reid, ha!) at my Boo's place. I even had a built-in foot warmer. PS - absolutely LOVED my niece-dog Penny!! =) So sweet and fun.

More pictures from our trip to come! 

Beats for Beckham

I have followed this family's blog for a while now. I follow them on instagram too. My heart has been breaking for them. I am so incredibly thankful for a healthy baby. Beckham and his family... their story, it keeps me grounded in that. I do NOT take for granted the simple path we've walked so far. On the other hand, I look at Beckham's sweet face and it's clear what a blessing he is. The love his parents must feel and the gifts he gives them has got to just be unreal. God is interesting like that. Anyway, I still hate that they must hurt so much. I still feel such pain in my heart knowing what they face. It hits so close to home since he and Reid are close in age (he just had a birthday party too!) I've prayed a lot for this family... specifically for peace and the ability to really live and enjoy each moment. I hope you'll join me. You can read more about their story HERE.

Photo from http://beatsforbeckham.com/blog

While we're at it, let's pray that for each other. We could all use a little help in soaking up the moments - especially in this hectic time of year. =)

A Year

Just for fun...

Midweek Randoms

My dad sent this picture of Heidi a few days ago and I wanted to post it here. =) Love that dog.

Happy fridge, full of freshly cut fruits and veggies last week.

I think I already mentioned Reid was sick last week. =( I took him to the doctor and as I suspected, it was just a cold but he was still pitiful. See Exhibit A.

Exhibit A:

I certainly enjoyed being home with him though. That night I made stuffed peppers...

 Meanwhile, Reid played in the cabinets.

Thursday was Wii night and bonus, it was Charli's birthday too. Six years old... I can't believe it. We had a yummy supper and cake. mmm.

Friday, I went to the Christmas dance recital with Cori. I got to see these top-notch dancers!! They rocked it. As did several other girls I enjoyed watching.

Saturday morning, Cori's girls came over to play. It was work, but it was a lot of fun too. Reid was definitely the most trouble. ha! Go figure. The girls were busy playing while he's running amuck and getting into everything. The difference in kids astounds me.

Charli colored for a bit...

Britton got to be a baby for a couple minutes. She wanted in that jumper soooo bad. =)

They ate snacks.

 So did Reid...

 Then Dac wrangled the babies while Charli helped me with some cleaning...

 Then, I got to be a dance aunt and get little miss here ready for day two of the recital. You can't really see it but she's rocking a side-pony. haha. I say aside from my lack of awesome hair/makeup skills, she still looked pretty dang cute. ;)

 That evening, we met my parents for dinner to celebrate my Dad's birthday (which is today, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!) Then, we continued our family tradition of looking at Christmas lights. Reid was festive in his santa suit!!

 He enjoys tupperware. What can I say?

 I finally got a daily stretchie picture of him in his camo pj's. =)

 Here's an outtake. He's holding a Rudolph Golden Book that was mine when I was a kid.

Sunday, we went to church. We even went early to have muffins with the bell choir that was visiting. =) Here he is looking rather dapper in his Christmas best.

 And watching the bell choir with Dad.

After church I went to the store then picked Sky up so she could come hang out and work on her project. She is so creative. She sanded, sculpted, and painted styrofoam to make a cathedral for history class.

Bad news: our dryer finally died. We bought the old set for like $150-200 for the pair. They were over 10 years old at the time and we've had them over 7. I'd say we got our money's worth out of them. Good news: We got a new washer and dryer. =) Meet Lucy and Ethel. I was going to name them Fred and Ethel but then I thought, Fred wouldn't do laundry. ha! I've already put them to work.

Yesterday, Reid got a haircut. This was his second haircut at the salon but his first real big boy haircut. Before, it was jut a quick trim of his au'natural baby mohawk. This time, it was the real deal. He lost a lot of hair!

He was good and actually sat still for the most part. I think he felt like a big guy up on that booster.

We can actually see his cute little ears again!

Big boy. =/

=)

Also, before we went to the salon, Reid took his first real, unassisted steps. He was so proud (and so were we... cheering him on)! I'll try to post a video of the little booger soon. =) Side note: I'm certain we looked like absolute bafoons squealing and clapping for a few steps. (You'd think he'd won a gold medal or something...) You know what though? I don't even care. I think once you've cheered for a good, substantial baby poop, cheering for anything else just seems menial and expected. ;)

If You Give a Boy a Party...

I started thinking about Reid's birthday party several months ago. I considered a couple different ideas. At first, I pretty well had my heart set on a gnome/woodland theme party. I thought that'd be perfect for his fall birthday and we may still do it eventually. 

I decided what I wanted to do with it might be a little better when he gets older and decided to go a different route. I liked the idea of a morning party for him and I love donuts! =) Why not, "If You Give a Dog a Donut"! It's perfect. Donuts, dogs, and it's a cute book too. ;) 

I figured that'd be inexpensive enough to pull off. I wanted cute and fun but I wanted simple too.

I really wanted Dac to design a cute invite but he was so swamped with photo editing that I just took it on myself. Not the cutest or most well-designed, but it got the job done. =)

My SIL Val was such a huge help with this party. He spent hours helping me decorate the day before (if I never twist streamers again it'll be too soon!) and even helped make favor bags. I kinda owe her. PS - shout out to having an awesome sister-n-law that I love, get along with, and actually WANT to hang out with. It's a pretty sweet deal. =)

We served donuts (glazed, applesauce, and sprinkled), applesauce (regular and cinnamon), and milk boxes.

We had water and coffee too.

There was a kid's table with a homemade coloring sheet and various activity pages.

The kids got to take a pack of donut seeds home.

And weeks later, I'm still eating leftovers for breakfast. =)

We asked everyone to sign his book.

See those streamers? They were almost the death of us. =) But I love them.

I won't even tell you how long we worked on the "1". haha. Perfect? No. But then, it is. =)

Dac whipped up the donut display for me and my cousin Carina made Reid's yummy cake.

I can't remember who snapped this one, but thank you. =)

These guys kinda like their kids... and each other's. =) That's Kayla's husband Mark on the left holding Reid, and Dac has Felicity. =)

Coloring is serious business. I wish I would have paid attention to how the decorated their donuts. I bet there was some good ones! Big kids include, Journey, Aldrik, Charli, Jessie, Jazzy, and Ellie.

This is my mom, grandma Millie, and me with the birthday boy.

We wanted my aunt in one too!

Dac's Dad, Dac, and his Gma Jo. We are so fortunate to have so many of our grandparents still living.

Eden.

Britton.

Opening his first present. Technically, he opened his first birthday present at our house the night before. haha. It came in the mail and just HAD to be done.

Here he is opening the shoes and sippy cups we got him.

He had lots of help. =)

Reid was actually quite cranky the day of his party. Totally threw me off. I planned a morning party because he's usually happy and awake at that time. Not that day. He was tired so Dac rushed through the present-opening. The whole party lasted about 45 minutes.

Taking his first ride on his dino.

Leaving a path of destruction in his wake. ;) The kid racked up.

I think the first time he realized all this fuss was for him was when we sang happy birthday to him. It's like it clicked and he got happy after that.

The sugar didn't hurt anything. =)

He absolutely loved the cake. (He get it from his mamaI) He kept shoving it in his mouth and would shiver and smile with each bite. It was the funniest thing. I wish I had it on video.

He was in Heaven.

I finally took it away because he really hadn't had sugar yet and I didn't want him sick and miserable. I honestly think he could have ate the whole thing if we let him.

That's right son, show 'em how it's done!

These are some extra pictures taken by Darla. I wanted to be sure they made our scrapbook too! I love that she takes and shares photos at family events. She caught more of the crowd and catches moments that I couldn't... like his after-cake bath! =)

Here's Reid on his Uncle Austin's shoulders.

 Sweet friends!

 He really didn't get too messy... mostly just his face and hands.

 Ahri - just 3-weeks older than Reid.

 Reid with his grandmas. They don't like him one bit.

The party was good and we had such a great turnout. Reid is one cared about little boy. I wish he'd been happier and able to enjoy it a little more but it is what it is. Special thanks go out to everyone who helped set up, clean up, and who were able to come up and celebrate with us! =)