Big Weekend

Reid has had a big weekend for such a little guy! He is now able to sit, unassisted, in a Bumbo. It's pretty funny since he's still a little bit wobbly, but it's GREAT for Mommy b/c I can set him down for a sec to wash out a bottle, etc, and he's not upset (like when I lay him on the floor) b/c he can still see me.


The little guy is getting soooo long!! I remember when we brought him home from the hospital and he was too little for the carseat...we rolled up blankets and put them in the seat so he didn't wobble around. Now, his legs hang off of the carseat and his swing! Check out the happy boy:





On Saturday, we went to nephew Henry's b-day party at Chuck E. Cheese. Birthday Boy had a blast doing everything from eating pizza to playing games to high fiving Chuck E. himself.



It was great to see Steven, Aimee, and Hayden, too!

I thought Reid would love it with so many things to watch--all the kids, colors, and lights--but he was NOT a big fan after about 5 minutes!! We did get some happy footage, but this was just before it all went downhill:

Soon after that, he was VERY cranky. We were going to leave earlier, but it was so fun to see the boys enjoying themselves and good to catch up with family and the Cerises. Soon, Reid passed out. We really should've taken a pic from the front b/c he was all squished in this funky position, but I didn't dare move him...

Later, we enjoyed the LSU game at the Keys' house. Great to catch up with old friends! Reid and I enjoyed an evening stroll home so Jason could stay and watch the game--a nice little taste of the Fall weather we'll hopefully have soon!

Reid's Dedication

Thanks SO much for all the prayers--Jason's checkup at the new cardiologist went well. His BP is back in the normal range, and the EKG didn't have anything abnormal. He'll go for another follow-up appointment on my b-day, Oct. 6. Sorry it's taken me so long to get that posted...it was an especially nutty week and we've all felt kind of bleh with allergy issues.


Yesterday was supposed to be a great day, but for me it kinda sucked. We were so excited to have both sides of the family coming into town! But in true Stacey fashion (or should I say "Laura fashion"? She was sick on and never made it on a single field trip in elementary school), I got sick. I felt pretty icky and just thought it was allergies catching up with me. We'd had a really fun night with our neighbors next door, whom we hadn't gotten to hang out with in quite some time. We sat outside for a couple of hours and had some wine, then moved inside for a delicious dinner. Holly and I chatted for another hour after the guys checked out for the night and I was very surprised it was nearly midnight when I left. So when I felt icky yesterday morning, I just assumed it was the allergies and being up later than I had been in awhile. I took a nap when Reid did, but still had no energy whatsoever. Jason grabbed us some Sonic for lunch, which tasted fine, but about an hour later after I'd put Reid down for his afternoon nap, it hit me. I felt worse and worse...and then finally upchucked it all. Lovely. I ran a low grade fever for awhile, so not sure if it was food poisoning, a virus, or if theh Sonic just didn't sit well with me...but it was right in time for everyone's arrival. I finally had to just go lay down upstairs and my parents ran to CVS since our Pepto Bismol was expired. I rested most of the afternoon (never really slept b/c I felt so bad) and went to bed early. I hated missing visiting/dinner with everyone, but was very grateful people were here so I could rest w/o having to worry about Reid, and my mom was gracious enough to forego dinner to help me. Moms are good like that, no matter how old you get ;)

On to the fun part...pictures! Here's Reid helping me update the blog last week or so. I should've taken a picture of the back of his monkey outfit--it has a big monkey face on the hiney, so we called him "monkey butt" all day. So cute!

Here's Reid after Gamma and Aunt Kristen dressed him in Kristen's old A&M outfit...a French tradition. Gamma now has pics of all the grandkids in it! (the booties are especially cute)

And here's our happy boy in a precious personalized outfit, compliments of my friend Julie--we taught together in Houston. We are soooo excited he's rounded the proverbial corner and is a happy boy most of the time now (versus being an unhappy/fussy boy the vast majority of the time).

And now for today's festivities! Here's our little family unit as we waited for the first service to let out. Crazily enough, we ran into just about everyone we know, including my old roommate Jill and her mom, who live in Houston!!

And we were able to get the coveted shot all Stonebriar families want...a picture with Chuck Swindoll! I just had to share with him how Reid would kick around in my belly about five minutes into the sermon EVERY single Sunday--he got a kick out of that.

Reid was such a good little guy during the dedication (and in the nursery, which was a great improvement over last week, where I was paged 15 minutes into the service!) and it was so special. I don't think many people nowadays realize what an important job being a parent is. You have the responsibility for raising your child and guiding him/her as they soak in all the important things in life, so better make sure you're a good, faith driven example yourself! Especially in this crazy world...

After the service, we gathered all the kids from the nursery and got ready for a few family pics. Wish we could've gotten everyone all in one, but we didn't know anyone to take that many pictures for us...

Hanging out with cousins Hayden and Henry:

And Uncle Steven...

Papa and Aunt Kristen:

The Frenches (Reid had had enough)

The Shepherds and us...and I didn't put it on here, but we were all laughing so hard in the next picture b/c the older couples sitting near us were so tickled by Reid's crying as we're trying to snap "one more" shot...

This was SUCH a meaningful, special day for Jason, Reid, and me. We're thankful that our wonderful families were willing to travel up for this, and wished the rest of our families weren't sooo far away (Grandma Penny and her new husband are in California, but visiting next month--yay! And Aunt Laura and family came to see Baby Reid this summer, from Australia!). Our goal is to be the best parents we can be. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6.

Prayers, please...

So I am dead tired and wish I could just go crash into bed right now...but more importantly, we need your prayers, please! Jason had a routine physical today (for his new company/insurance) and his blood pressure was high plus the EKG showed an abnormality. We're trying not to worry, but it is a concern, especially considering the random fainting/blackout spell and ER trip just before school started last year. Thanks so much, prayer warriors!!

3 months

At the risk of jinxing ourselves just for mentioning it, I think we may have FINALLY rounded a corner, thank the good Lord!! Reid is only a grumpy baby now when he's tired or hungry (and a few other times now and then), not 24/7 grumpiness with a few smiles thrown in!! Yaaaaaay! He has had a ginormous eating increase, too--went from about 2 1/2 ounces a few weeks ago to eating 5+ ounces this past week! Which makes me wonder...was I inadvertently starving him and had no clue??

I really don't think my milk supply was an issue until the first week of school...and that's when the real stress and odd pumping times began. I discovered I could potty, prepare, pump, wolf down lunch, and clean up all in 15 minutes the first week of school. Didn't really want to, but that's the only way it could work. Fast forward to this past week, and I'm only squeaking by with the help of some freezer milk. I've been on fenugreek a week and just began blessed thistle (two herbs that are supposed to help) Saturday, but I'm not seeing any difference except that I now smell like syrup and my pee smells like curry sometimes. Sorry--TMI ;) So I'm at the crossroads of deciding to just go with it and lessen the pumping...or fight it like crazy and try Reglan, a stomach medicine that has the odd side effect of making you produce milk. But you have to pump every 2 hours the entire first 24 hrs you take it--like I'm not sleep deprived enough already!!

Anyhow, our little guy is up to 12lbs 4oz as of last week, and after the huge eating binge he went on during the day this past week, I'm pretty darn sure he's now even more. It's getting hard to pick him up, and people keep commenting on how looong he is. Now he's beginning to fill out and get chubby little folds everywhere. I love it! Here's our little double-chinned cutie (and note the bubble beard, which he blows many times a day, now):




He's been a persnickity eater this weekend (which means waking up two or three times/night again, sigh) but we just discovered today that he's happier with a level 2 nipple on the bottles. Wonder how long ago we should've switched... But he's definitely growing, which is the important thing. So after all the ravenous eating last week, this week he's decided to stop eating long enough to smile at you and have all the milk dribble out of his mouth, or do this:




And this was two weeks ago, when he turned 12 wks:



And he just saw his first LSU Tigers game. The whole family was wearing our purple and gold, including Reid.



Jason just happened to find a Crown bottle just Reid's size. (And no, he did not have any--it's actually amaretto inside the bottle--made a nice travel size for our fancy French toast recipe last summer on vacation)


True to being a boy, and much to my chagrin, Reid LOVES to watch football on tv. Eek--I'm outnumbered!



New things in the past week: Reid is obsessed with his hands and especially his feet. He kicks ALL the time (below is a little tidbit...he, of course, pretty much stopped as soon as the camera came out, but you get the idea)--in the swing, in your lap, on the playmat, in his swaddler blanket, etc. His tongue is going crazy and he's a cooing, smiling machine, too. We love it and much prefer it over all the crying!