Sunday, February 27, 2011

Is Spring Coming?!

Thank goodness we have finally been able to enjoy the outdoors without snow on the ground. I am so looking forward to those 80+ degree summer days watching the kids play in the sprinkler! My parents were getting some pipes fixed in the back yard so the kids enjoyed sitting in the back of my mom's van watching the backhoe!
I still forget sometimes that these 3 are ours. I know that may sound weird but until you see your family in pictures it doesn't really hit that we have 3 kids....all under 27 months:-) What's even crazier is that I have always said that I would love to have 2 boys then a little girl and God blessed Ryan and me with just that!

Reed loves his Nana. I do have to record that part of this is due to that fact that Nana babies Reed, rocks Reed, gives him his paci when he shouldn't have it, sings him song after song, rocks him to sleep and the list could go on and on. I guess that's what grandparents do though. She would do the same to Braden but he will not sit still long enough for her to rock him or hold him longer than 5 minutes. These tractors look so small compared to how they looked just a little over a year ago at Christmas. The boys decided to get these back out and ride them. They definitely look like little country boys riding their tractors in the Carhart overalls!
Braden loves any book or thing that has to deal with tractors. He is one big ball of energy that goes non-stop all day with a 2 hour nap break and then on he goes until bedtime. He is such a big helper and loves to bring Kylie her bottle, Reed his paci and daddy his phone but this sometimes ends in a game of chase! Braden also loves to test the waters and see what he can get away with. He is so much fun to watch how he enjoys life to its' fullest! I think Braden could just about outrun me if he got a little bit of a head start. He is very independent and likes to "do it self!" His best friends still are his chocolate rabbits that his Aunt Tina gave him last Easter. He now has about 8 of those rabbits that are interchanged so they won't stink. So much of Braden reminds me a lot of how his Uncle Craig is now but he also makes these facial expressions that are just like his daddy:-)
Reed's eye surgery was successful and his eyes do not cross any more. Yea! Reed is just about opposite of Braden. He is much quieter and doesn't test things as much as his big brother. People usually describe Reed as a very sweet kid (dont take it that Braden is not sweet too!) and I think that pretty much summarizes him and his personality. However, he can be a little pistol when he wants to. It is still usually the trend that what Braden does, Reed will usually do a month or 2 later. We are so proud of how far that he has come and he is a smart little guy. The thing that we are working on now is trying to fatten the little guy up. He usually eats really well but when he doesn't feel well, he doesn't eat well. I was always really skinny growing up and I think he might take after his mommy in that aspect. We are now giving him whole milk mixed with 1/2 and 1/2 to drink. Any other ideas???
The thing that some people do not realize is how much lying in a bed affects your muscle tone. Those first 3 months of his life he just laid in a bed without a lot of movement. He is still trying to catch up in that department but he is doing great. We praise God every day for allowing Miracle Reed to be here with us along with Braden and Kylie! "Ky-Ky" Reese is all over the place! She is now 10 months old and such a joyful addition to our family. I will say that she is a determined little thing and very persistant. She might not look like her mommy but she does have a little bit of my feistyness! She babbles a lot and manages to say dadda and nana but no momma. She has some big ol' teeth totalling about 7. I have a feeling that she will be walking soon because she is cruising from furniture to furniture. She also will stand and drink one of the boys' sippy cups without falling. Let the fun begin!!!
This was the picture of Reed today. The poor little guy goes from eye surgery to having a double ear infection and a ton of congestion. The first antibiotic they put him on last week did not work so they put him on another one and it is working better. He is one whinny little kid when he doesn't feel good and just wants to be held. I try to remind myself at times like these that there will be a time that the kids won't want their mommy to hold them! The picture above definitely reminded me of this day about 2 years ago when both boys were not happy campers. Reed still can master the pouty lip and Braden doesn't cry as often but he can have his share of meltdowns usually when he is really tired. This picture seems like yesterday and now we have 2 toddlers that have come oh so far. Thank you God!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Behind Again!

Wow, where in the world did January go? Since it's been a while, let me go all the way back to mid-January when we celebrated Reed's two year heart birthday on Jan. 19th. What a blessed day! The boys enjoyed some cupcakes but had no idea what for:-) That day always brings back a flood of emotions but mostly joy. We definitely spend part of our day praying for the family who has a totally different flood of emotions for January 19th. I still pray that the donor family will one day choose to meet us but totally understand if they don't!
Braden was all about destroying the cupcake but really had no desire to eat it! January was a good month but the boys are really ready for some warmer weather so they can go outside and play.

The boys are so much fun these days. Their language is really developing and their little "conversations" are so cute with each other! Braden can put sentences together a little bit better than Reed right now but classic Reed style, he will "catch up" usually a month or so later than Braden.
They love to sing songs, especially the ones they have learned in children's worship like "I'm in the Lord's Army." They still love anything that has to do with tractors, amimals, or trucks. I think we might hae some future farmers on our hands:-)
Kylie is now 10 months old and doing great. She is still just the best little thing but definitely has a personality that can be strong at times. She is all over the house crawling 90 to nothing and now will let go and stand on her own without help. Oh how I cannot wait for the walking days to begin. I am not wishing anything away but I do not really like the crawling stage.
She makes some of the funniest expressions and lets you know if she doesn't get her way. She can hang with the boys pretty good and is going to give them a run for their money when she gets bigger.
We celebrated Ryan's 30th birthday January 29th and went on a little weekend trip without the kids. We had a great time! He is a great dad to our kids and they love when they hear the door beep when daddy gets home from work. If Ryan is gone to work, the boys think that he is either working, working out or hunting with Zach:-) I am so thankful for how much Ryan helps with the kids when he gets home and how he can handle all three on his own with no problems...for the most part:-)
This past week, we took the three kiddos to visit Grandpa and Granny Carol in Pensacola, Florida. This was a great time to make the 6.5 hour trip because Reed had scheduled eye surgery the following Wednesday in Mobile, AL which is only 1 hour from Ryan's parents' house.
Reed has strabismus, also known as lazy eye, which was only noticable at times. You could really see his eyes cross when he was tired, sick or looking down. The surgery took about 1.5 hours and it involved going in and cutting and tightening the eye muscles. He did well but was in a bit of pain following the surgery.
I wish that I had some pictures to document our trip home from Mobile, AL. We left there around 11 am and didn't get home until 8:30pm. I will try to make this as short as possible:
Reed rode in the back of the car by himself so Braden wouldn't bother him or his eyes. Poor thing just wanted to be held but I obviously couldn't do that. We stopped for lunch around 1:00 and decided that we would drive as far as we could until we had to stop. Well, not a great decision considering that a snow storm was coming Nashville's direction! We got 40 miniutes from of our house when the snow started falling around 6 pm(we had not stopped since lunch). It took us 2.5 more hours to get home. For about 1.5 hours of that, all 3 kids were crying wanting out, hungry or just wanting to be held. I was doing everything in my power to entertain them but was not very successful. While this is going on, Ryan is dealing with driving on dangerous roads that is stressing me out to the max. BUT, we made it home safely and the kids survived. They were soaked from sitting in their carseats for 7.5 hours without getting out:-( Memories!!!
Kylie loved the spinning top and she really loved Granny Carol's dogs. Ryan says that we won't be getting a dog, but I am making it known that in the future when this little girl comes to her dadyy and says"I want a puppy," he will give in for sure!!!
Braden was feeding the stuffed dog some of the dog food and water! This is typical of the boys in the morning or right before bed. They love to drink their milk together and watch Sesame or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
One good thing about being in Florida was the warmer weather. We enjoyed playing outside with the kids and Cousin Colin!
Reed and Colin playing some football
Kylie just cheering the boys on!
Grandpa playing chase with Braden. What a cute picture!
Do you think that Braden is up for holding his daddy's hand?! She already has him wrapped so tight!!!!

We had a great time but I think if Reed has to do a follow up surgery in the future I will just fly with him by myself!!!