Happy 3rd Birthday!!

Reid's 3rd birthday fell on a school day since school went all the way through the first week of June, so we decided to celebrate the weekend before.  We had Uncle Steve, Taunt (Aimee), Henry, and Harrison over for dinner and cake.  (Hayden was at a friend's house)  All the boys had a blast playing in the backyard, and they even cooperated for dinner.

But the main even was Reid's "Cars" cake.  This kid is obsessed with Cars!  His wonderful sitter/friend/cakenista made him a beautiful and scrumptious red velvet cake.  It was to die for!

Couldn't get a good pic with him...but who could blame him since there was a big cake right in front of him?

The boys were soooo excited...

...especially the birthday boy!

He actually kind of knew what to do this year.  Got the best video of everyone singing, but (of course) it wouldn't upload.  Blogger never seems to like my videos.  When the cousins were gone and it was 10pm, the latest I think he's ever been to bed, someone had a major meltdown.  Plus, Daddy is his favorite once again...Mommy can't help with anything!

The next day, we tried out his new scooter (Cars, of course!)  It was a big hit!

On his actual birthday, I had to sing to him.  Luckily, I also got one other cute thing he's been doing lately:

 He didn't really like the sticker from Aunt Lala's card ON him, but it was too cute to not wear.  Once he was at Holli's, he forgot it was there, anyways.

Once home from school, we let him open his presents.  Red, the firetruck, and "new Sally" lined right up with the other Cars cars.

He also got GeoTrax racing cars and had a blast!  He cried when it was time to eat.  Looks like Mommy would've thought to feed him, then do presents.  Live and learn, right??

The next day, we let him open Hi, Ho Cherry-O.  He sorted the cherries several times and was in heaven.

Can't believe this not-so-little guy is 3!!  Time flies and it is neat to see his personality unfolding.  Hoping he will grown into a fine young man who loves God, his family (including me, lol!), sports, and reading.

End of May

I found some more May pictures on my phone.  I thought once we got rid of the camcorder, I'd have one less device to download from, but it's still three...phone, camera w/ video, and fancy camera.  Sheesh.  Anyhow, I discovered some more pics from our trip to the Grapevine Aquarium when Aunt Lala and family were here.  Uncle Matt was playing golf with some of his business people, so Jason, Laura, and I decided to try taking the boys to the aquarium.  Laura and I had attempted this (and given up, after seeing the line!) at Spring Break.  It was so crowded then that I'm not sure we would've even gotten close to anything or enjoyed the inside.  But on this particular day, it was perfect!  We saw all kinds of fish, sharks, rays, and other sea creatures.  Reid was still more enthralled with the "stuff" to do, especially the playground at the end.

The last time we'd taken him, he was barely walking.  Back then, he was confused by the plexiglass floor and kept falling.  This time, he had to hold on to a side the whole way across.

The best pose I could capture.  This kid does NOT like to have his picture taken...

Looking at the jellyfish...

In true Reid fashion, he was still extremely excited about the coin tornado.  We have to visit the coin tornadoes at Sam's and Wal-Mart every time we go, too.  I'm sad I didn't get a picture (or video!) of the little tide pool where you can touch the creatures.  Most of them were too far down in the water for him to reach, but he was still enough for a cute little shrimp to come crawl on him.  It was adorable!  But the funniest part was when he accidentally got his arm in all the way up to his shoulder.  He doesn't realize the water is kind of deceiving just yet.  Reid screamed and jumped about a mile into the air.

Ben and Alex were really into the creatures.  We were all kind of everywhere, but I managed to snap a funny pic of Alex in the bubble near the fun zone.

Reid got to see both sets of cousins, two weekends in a row!  The weekend prior to Memorial Day was Hayden's first communion.  I can see why most Catholic people with kids I know don't go to church/mass...they don't have childcare!!     It was right in the middle of nap time, so I (attempted) to get Reid down early for a nap.  Of course, it didn't work.  So he was extra awful during the ceremony.  But then again, most of the other young kids were, too.  I finally gave up after sitting him in time out three times for crawling all over me, hitting me, etc. and I took him out into the atrium.  We thought we were going back over to Steven and Aimee's house and had brought extra clothes to change, but we ended up doing an early dinner at Buca di Beppo...appropriately, in the Pope room.  All the kids were bonkers, so we adults were thoroughly entertained.  Thankfully, it was early and there were very few other diners.  After dinner, Hayden wanted to celebrate with their huge ice cream sundae.  The two boys swore they could finish it, but then it came out.  Larger than life!! 

Best pic we could get of our little family...and our wild boy!

I also realized that I can retrieve pictures off of my messages, and I haven't posted pics of Reid at Holli's house.  I love it when she sends them to me during the day...brightens the hum drum a bit.  This was from the beginning of the year...a very busy lunch time!!

A few months later...the bucket heads!  I am amazed at how young Reid looks (and this was just around Christmas time!)

And one of his sweet little buddies...Maddie.  Reid was the only boy for most of the year, so I'm hoping the sweetness and less rambunctiousness of the girls rubbed off on him, lol!

Memorial Day Weekend

As evil as it was to have a four day taste of summer, it was also quite fabulous at the same time.  Memorial Day weekend was a much needed respite before the final stretch of the school year marathon.  Our little stinker is doing some very cute things right now (and, at times, some very naughty things like yelling at Mommy, pushing, not napping...) and I honestly don't always think of getting the camera out.  In fact, it's been so long since I used our small camera with the video on it that I had a slight panic attack when I couldn't find it on Sunday evening.  On Monday morning, I realized I'd put it (along with a thumb drive of pictures and a few other very important things) in a Ziploc and stashed it in our tornado kit.  Yes, the kit has been out many times lately with this insane weather we've had.  I just sent a donation for the Granbury tornado, then donated stuff for the Moore, OK tornado (pretty sure some parents in the carpool line thought I was crazy as I hauled several loads of diapers, water, and food onto the sidewalk and eventually into the school building on Thursday!!).  I can't imagine how it must feel to attempt and rebuild a great part of your life, but how uplifting that EVERY person I heard on the news last week with the Moore tornado mentioned something about their faith, or God, or both.  Seems like so many faith-driven people right now are especially being persecuted.  My sweet student from last year, who is going through chemo, had surgery, and will endure more chemo soon...his grandfather just had a heart scare.  Please, please keep this wonderful family in your prayers!!  http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jjbryant

But I digress...  So back to our not-so-little guy who continues to amaze us each day.  He has loved the Dollar Tree tongs I bought him (so that I could have my own cooking tongs back) and practices picking up random things around the house.  The teacher in me realizes this is great gross and fine motor skill practice, so I'm all about it!  And he just has to do it in Mommy's sequined leopard slippers, of course.

 "Good morning, fishies!"

"Eek!  She caught me!"  Don't you love the deer in the headlights look?  And the fan isn't there for decoration.  Long story short, the aquarium leaked (not sure for how long, but it was the mildewy smell that alerted me to it, so that can't be a good sign).  We can't move it because it weighs so much, so I heavily Lysoled it and put several fans on it for at least a week.  Of course, the first box fan we put out proceeded to tip over and break off a blade.  Murphy's Law.   Not too long after that, Jason was doing yard work and  the weed eater caught a rock and shattered a window.  Good news?  Our glass is double paned, so the house wasn't open to flies and other creepy crawlies.  Bad news?  Our glass is slightly tinted green, so it was upwards of $300 to have it replaced this afternoon. Oh, and that was all on Mother's Day weekend.  Already a sore weekend for a gal who's been trying to get a bun in the oven for 2 1/2 yrs again AND ended up with bronchitis.  Yep, bronchitis...as in, in bed, antibiotics/oral steroids/codeine cough syrup/FIRST inhaler of my life.  Not our month.

But on a much happier note, Aunt Lala and the boys got to come visit for the long weekend, and Uncle Matt got to see our house for the very first time!  I ended up with not so many pictures because we were soooo active the whole time, but we made lots of memories.  Reid loves his cousins and we got to see the Grapevine Aquarium, go swimming at the pool, play in the sandbox, play lots of crazy games, and Reid's favorite?  Bath time with cousins.  I got no good "clean" pictures of that one.  He also decided he wanted to begin peeing standing up after watching the big boys.  Not such a good idea.  Let's just say there's no longer a bath mat in his bathroom, but it sure made for a good blackmail pic!

He also loved storytime with his cousins.  Aunt Lala read to the boys, so I (attempted) a pic but couldn't ever get them all looking at the same time.  Reid later "read" them The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Ben thought it was hilarious that Reid mumbled half of it and only said some of the words.  I'll have to get it taped because it really is pretty funny.

Dinnertime was also entertaining. Couldn't ever get a good pic, but it was funny.  This was as good as it got. As luck would have it, all the boys liked different things, but we made it a contest to see who could eat the fastest.  No one really won, but it was funny to watch!

It was so good to see family, and it gave us a little glimpse of our beach trip coming up in June.  I do wish Reid was closer to age with all of his cousins, but God has His reasons ;)  I am just glad he's at the age he can interact more with them, now. 

Derby Time

The past few weeks have been total chaos.  That's about the nicest way I can phrase it.  And I guess it's caught up with me because I have bronchitis.  For the first time in 36 years, I now have an inhaler (hopefully short term!) and four other meds I'm on as of Saturday.  I missed school today (no, it's not as glamorous as just calling in sick...since I'm a teacher, I have to find a sub, go leave plans after the building is open, but before the kids arrive, etc. etc. etc.  Let's just say it's easier to be there than it is to be gone!!) and am just now feeling human again.  Sleep has been nonexistent between my random coughing fits and the inhaler and/or steroids keeping me awake.  And I can't work out this week (GREAT use of my new gym membership, right?), which makes me sad because I'd gotten in a pretty good schedule.  But the bronchitis also explains why my lungs felt like they were on fire during/after last Thursday's Zumba class...  Ouch!

Somewhere in the chaos, I found a night to make my Derby hat.  I miss making crafts, so this is one thing I look forward to each year.  I also realized I never got a very good picture of the hat on me, so glad I snapped this one before we left.

I was totally exhausted Friday because we'd had our zoo field trip.  I had my new kid (let's just say I'm thankful he hasn't been here all year--I know that sounds mean, but I can literally tell him something 19 times in a row and he still won't do it!!), a special friend, and then an injured friend in my group...all boys ;)  They wore me out!!  I raced over to Holli's to get Reid, raced to the house to finish loading our stuff, then attempted to race down to Jason's office.  Of course, there was traffic and it took us forever to get there.  I struggled to stay awake, but we made it and Jason drove us safely the rest of the way.  Reid was actually willing to try the headphones this time, but began yelling, "No more!!" about 20 minutes into the movie.  So Jason and I got a little music, but Reid was so happy to watch Cars 2 that we didn't mind.

The Frenches hosted us and took Reid to his first golf tournament on Saturday right after Jason and I left.  There are a few cute pics on Jason's phone that I'll have to download and share.  He had a blast and even got a ball from one of the players.  Jason and I headed down to the Heights for the Carlins' annual party.  So glad we were able to go this year, even though it was last minute, because they won't be in Houston much longer.  We finally got to meet their adorable twins, whom we have been praying for!  Their sweet family, all dolled up for the Derby:

Babies Ford and Lucy Cole even had drinks named after them in honor of Derby day!

This was a neat idea...one of our friends couldn't make the party, but had a bottle engraved in their honor.

Our annual Derby picture.  It's a golfer...it's a caddy...it's a very tall jockey?

Getting ready for the race...

"Who are you betting on?"

The Gents

The Ladies

Everyone

The Gents' After Party

We enjoyed seeing old friends and making some new ones.  It was a quick weekend with lots of driving, but so much fun!  The party gets tamer each year, and there are sweet new, little faces to meet.  So thankful for true friends :)

April

I know it's been a month since I've updated the blog, but holy moly has it been busy!!  This time of year is always nuts, but it seems like every year gets even crazier.  Our little guy comes up with the most hilarious things to do each day.  I am finally "allowed" to get on the treadmill to work out on occasion (but it's rare, so I just broke down and joined a nearby gym for the group fitness classes and Reid can play in the Kid Zone...way more fun than watching Mommy on the treadmill).  One day, Reid decided "Reid work out!" so he put on my shoes, hopped on the treadmill, and proceeded to "run, Mommy!" (we have it unplugged for just such events). 

So if the new gym membership wasn't keeping Reid and me busy enough, I also decided to enroll him in swim lessons.  Grammy and Grumpy are letting us, Laura, Matt, and the cousins all use their timeshare time at Galveston in mid June, so we are quite excited.  But I'm a little apprehensive about him being in the water (yes, we'll definitely have floaties) so I wanted to start lessons now.  Daddy happened to have a nearby walk-thru at work that was up this direction, so he was home early that day and got to join us.  This picture is pretty terrible of Reid, but I didn't want to be "that" mom who took a bazillion pics before the lesson even started.  Reid was very excited and kept asking to "go in big door" to the pool area. 

Lucky for us, we were the ONLY people signed up for the 5:00 time (so far)...so Reid's group lesson became a private lesson with Coach K.  He was soooo happy and had so much fun, which was a big relief.  He's not exactly the best listener in the world.  We couldn't hear what was going on through the big glass wall, but it looked like he was listening to pretty much everything and doing what she said!

 They had some really neat kid-oriented things at Aqua Tots, and one is a cute little canoe that comes out at the end. 

 With the big glass wall, we couldn't hear anything but splashing, but this at least gives you a general idea...

It also didn't hurt that Reid got to pick a lollipop out of the big treasure box at the end.  It doesn't seem to matter that he doesn't actually like lollipops because anywhere we go that normally has them (doctor, car wash, bank), he HAS to have one.  All he does is carry it around, so I can't complain!

Other cute things he's doing?  One is putting T (Teddy, his lovey) to sleep.  I finally found a "replacement" T online so I bought both of the ones they had (I've been looking for over a year).  Rather than being a replacement, Reid now has to have both T's, "old T" and "new T".  Thank goodness I didn't get out the third one!  The video won't load, but here's a picture where he just tucked them in and said his own version of, "Night, night.  Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite!"

Grammy and Grumpy were so kind to drive up last Thursday to stay with Reid so Jason and I could go to our friends' wedding in Tyler.  We got to catch up with them on Thursday, they got to see me teach for a little while on Friday, then we hit the road.  I didn't think there was much to Tyler, but I definitely could live in the place where they had their rehearsal dinner.  Gorgeous!  The pic doesn't really do it justice...

 But then when we saw the venue on Saturday, it was even better!  I never got a picture of the inside, but it was gorgeous.  This was one of the beautiful pieces of artwork.  Basically, if I decorated some place myself, this place would be it.  Very Italian, beautiful flooring and outdoor landscaping...you name it.

 Jason was an usher, so we had to be there pretty early.  It had been years since we'd been to a wedding, so it was really fun.  Everything was beautiful!  And it was so nice to get away for the weekend.  We missed Reid, but I think it's important to have that couple time (and blissful sleep!!) to reconnect.  Thank you, Grammy and Grumpy!

Egg Hunts

I signed up to host this year's Easter egg hunt for Reid's playgroup at our house.  One of the other girls was going to help me (last year I stressed myself out hosting by myself--the other girls are all creative and go all out, which intimidated me until we've gotten to know each other better), which sounded good, but I ended up doing most everything.  Good thing, too, because her poor daughter came down with pink eye the day of, so she just dropped by to bring the bread bunny with spinach/artichoke dip, cookies, and cute banner.  I really enjoyed gearing up for it this time and ended up spending all the night before until midnight getting everything shopped for, prepared, and set up.  I think part of it is a little selfish...it's always so nice to hear people say you're creative (thanks, Pinterest!!  But the Peeps pops were all my own idea!), that your house and yard look great, and other nice compliments.  Everything turned out great!

We herded the kids inside for a minute to "hide" the eggs.  Then, it was all fair game!  Reid still didn't really get the whole concept of putting the eggs IN his basket, but it was fun nonetheless.

This was the best picture we've ever gotten of all the kids!  Even the two newest additions were quite happy to sit and be in the picture.  One of the twins was having too much fun indoors to come out, and I love how a couple were done by this stage (notice Reid checking out Hadley's eggs in her basket).  So funny!

Much to my surprise (and pleasure) Reid plopped right down and played with Tate, my friend Emily's son.  Hard to believe he'll already be a year old in July...seems like he was just born!

After the egg hunt, we had our traditional cookie decorating.  Reid heard someone say the magic word "cookie" and immediately sat down outside at his little table.  I was inside at the time and peeked out.  He was all by himself, sitting the nicest I'd ever seen saying, "Mommy, want cookie!  Cookie, Mommy!"  Everyone else quickly joined him.

This kiddo was in heaven with his egg-shaped, pink icing, and a TON of sprinkles.  Basically, he emptied the entire container of sprinkles onto his plate.  Lovely.

Once everyone headed home for dinner, Reid entertained himself with an extra long "tunnel" that the breeze had knocked off of our wine cabinet.  Who knew this could hold his attention for soooo long!  Should've tried it long, long ago...

Jason left early Thursday morning for his Pebble Beach trip.  What do you get when a bunch of men plan a trip??  No one bothers to see when Easter is :(  I was not a happy camper and it was a long, lonely weekend (but makes me thankful for all the other holidays we do have together...and makes me wonder how single, working parents do it solo!) so I'd planned a fun day for Reid and me on Saturday.  Much to my dismay, a huge line of thunderstorms woke me up in the wee hours of the morning.  The rain sounded like it'd pound through the roof, the thunder shook the entire house, and I'm pretty sure there was a little hail in there somewhere (I KNOW there was hail on Sunday morning when we were getting ready for church!).  But the Craig Ranch neighborhood egg hunt did happen.  We ran to Dollar Tree for a cheap basket since it would be muddy, and we pulled up at just the right time, but someone decided to start the egg hunt early.  We literally ran there and Reid was two inches away from a blue egg before some little brat swiped it.  SO I decided we'd hang around for the next hunt.  Reid bounced in the bounce house to his heart's content, but had a big boogie (and all my stuff was in the car since I had no pockets and didn't want anything muddy).  We ran to the car right quick, warranting me a slap on the arm for removing him from the bounce house.  So he was in time out for a minute before we headed back for the 10:30 egg hunt.  BUT someone decided to start it early once again...and we ran to make it there just in time for absolutely nothing.  At that point, it was cry in the car and go home, or be sure we joined the last hunt.  Reid was content to run around on the rock paths and look at the fountain, so I made SURE we were lined up and ready to go a good 10 minutes before I even thought they might start it.  He still didn't really understand the whole picking up the eggs and putting them in his basket until I did three for him, but it was still fun.  I think he enjoyed "Chikfiway" (Chick-fil-A) and his favorite yellow slide even more.  And I got a yummy, free meal thanks to their generous education program at school since my class won the last month :)