Best One Yet

This was truly one of my best birthdays yet.  

Of course, I adore my sweet son every minute of the day, however, there are moments when I'm truly and utterly overwhelmed with a deep since of love and affection for our new addition, and on this day I had several of those moments.  :)  I can't remember the last time I got to spend my birthday with any of my family in Corpus, so it was a wonderful bonus to be able to spend the day with my sister, Jamye, as well.  Between my birthday surprises from Jeff, Jamye & Reid, all the wonderful phone calls, voicemails, cards & Facebook posts from my sweet family and friends, the yummy dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Dallas, the amazing weather, and the Nordstrom shopping day, I couldn't have asked for a better birthday weekend.  

My sincere gratitude goes out to everyone who made it so very special and memorable! 

This was on my computer monitor when I walked into my office on my birthday morning.  I have such an amazing hubby!

This was waiting for me at the coffee maker

My awesome boys 

(Jeff would correct me here - My awesome MEN!)

Silver: always a fun birthday color!

My chunky monkey

Aunt Jamye & Reid right before my birthday dinner at Salum

Our little family

Reid's Birthday Gift to Mommy

As promised, here's our first video footage of Reid's roll over skills.  It's a lengthy one, but I think you'll enjoy his success at the end.  It was certainly reward enough for mommy, and it made the perfect birthday present from my sweet son.  Not only did he roll over, but he did it on a soft surface.  We wanted to keep him off the floor and away from the pups, but as you will see at least one pup made his way to the action anyway.  I imagine Reid and Hudson will be each other's biggest cheerleaders in the not-too-distant future.

A Look Back

Our good friends, Justin & Jen, stopped by for a visit and a little football watching on Saturday afternoon.  Jen surprised me with a DVD in my birthday card that contained all the pictures she took of sweet Reid when he was only 11 days old.  No wonder everyone says they forget just how little newborns are.  I can hardly remember what it was like to hold him when he was so tiny.

Thank you, Jen, for taking the time to capture our baby during his first few days of life. We are so grateful!

You can see more of Jen's photography on her fun blog here.

 

  

We've Got Lift Off

Well maybe not lift off, but we do have ROLL OVER!  Aunt Jamye captured this on camera on September 20th in the middle of the night.  Yes, she left the nursery to get her camera just so she could be sure to capture the first roll over ever (thanks J!).  :)  Go Reid Go!


As you can see from the look on his face, his first successful roll over was a bit of a struggle!

PS - we just captured Reid's roll over on video, so stay tuned for that post.

Our Fave

The verdict is in....

These are everyone's favorite footie pajamas!

 

 

Reid's 1st Hailstorm

Earlier this week we had a crazy hailstorm roll through Dallas.  It was another first for Reid.  Even though it was sometime around 9:00pm, our sweet little guy was still up. Thank goodness for mom's procrastination!  He would have definitely been jarred awake if he WAS sleeping.  This was one of the most intense, loudest hailstorms I can remember ever having in Dallas.  Jeff, Jamye & I stood outside and watched it like little kids in awe.  Isn't it funny how the news warns of a bad storm and the first thing we do is make a beeline outside?

For all the mommy critics out there, you'll be happy to know the day after the hailstorm, I enacted a much more firm bed time schedule.  I finally read enough to convince me that this is one of the more important components not only for a child's good night's rest but also for a lifetime of healthy sleep habits.  Not to mention, we just saw a news report linking inconsistent bed time schedules/routines and poor sleep habits to ADHD.  Am I convinced of this by one news report?  Not necessarily, but I can certainly see how it could be a factor in complicating the day for a young person.

"Wow dad!  That's some big hail!"

JOY

During the tough mommy moments {occurring daily} I've started reminding myself of all the joy & happiness I have to be thankful for in my life.  Since this has become somewhat of a ritual for me, I figured I might as well start documenting it.  It's always appropriate to be grateful for the good things in life, big and small alike. Please don't start waxing philosophical on me though.  Just because I'm not listing the obvious - God, family, country - doesn't mean I'm not grateful and joyful for the presence of those things in my life.  Those are a given.  This post is MUCH more light-hearted than that.

Just things that bring me joy.  Just things.  Just joy.  JOY.

My morning coffee - that first sip is utter bliss

When my first born pup looks at me with those puppy eyes

Sweet babies sleeping peacefully at night in the crib

Reid's BFF

Morning convo with Mr. Lion

A Day of Greats

We took a trip to Arlington yesterday for Reid to visit his great grandparents, Poppy & Jo Anne.  He also attended his 1st surprise party for his second cousin, Julia, at his great aunt and uncle's house (who Jeff so affectionately termed "graunt and gruncle.")  I'm sure that's the nickname Kathleen has always longed for.

Surprise!  Happy Birthday, Julia!

Reid meets Peyton

Reid meets Lauren

 

   

Reid & Great Aunt Kathleen