Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Okay, so it has been a while since my last post. As you can tell from the pictures, this Christmas Holiday has kept us very busy!! We have had a wonderful time hanging out with family and celebrating Jesus' Birthday. Even today Shelby said that she wanted to go to NeNe's house to celebrate (and she really did use that word) Jesus' Birthday. I am so thankful that our savior's birth is what still stands out to her most even after the Christmas season has past.

On Christmas Eve we went to our church for the Christmas Eve service. I always love this service as it evokes so many wonderful childhood memories for myself. After the service was over we picked up the kids from the nursery and immediately Shelby asked for a cookie and to see Rob. Sadly there were no cookies or Rob that night, but she quickly got over it when we told her that there was something special waiting for her and JP at home. To care on a Christmas Eve tradition that I grew up with, Shelby and JP got to open up their Christmas pjs. Shelby was so excited and JP was nearly too tired to care. Christmas morning we were up nice and early. Shelby was a little tentative at first as she didn't know what to make of all the presents under the tree, but as soon as JP made a move for her new tricycle she was out from behind my legs and in the thick of things. It was such fun to watch the excitment build with her. The very first present she unwrapped was a new pad of drawing paper and she got so excited!!! JP also jumped into. He was beside himself with trying to figure out what to play with first. After we had our little family christmas time Aunt Suzy, Uncle Patricio and Meme came over. Shelby got to open more presents and JP took a little nap to recharge. We spent some time with them, opening presents and eating. Shelby took her tricycle for its maiden voyage outside. After JP woke up we went to Papa and Grammie's house. It was like a Christmas dream walking into their house with the living room overflowing with presents. Uncle Jake was there and got a lot of loving from JP. Once again we opened more presents and ate. That night we went to the Ussery's house for the first ever Feliz Navidad party. It was great fun! We had mexican dip, mexican lasagna, those little mexican sodas, and even a pinata. The kids had a great time running around and JP really got excited over this little ride in car. The highlight of the evening was the pinata. After the kids took a few swings at it the daddies took over. Of course my husband's zeal for life found him flying through the air and ripping the pinata out of the tree; at which point he wrestled it to the ground and tore his head off. For a minute I thought Shelby would be scarred for life as she came to me quite distraught saying, "Daddy broke the bunny." over and over.

A few days later we had Christmas with my family. It was great fun, and don't worry Matt, I forgive you for not saving any dressing for me. We had ham, mac-n-cheese, baked beans, green bean casserole, etc. Rob joined us and we just had a wonderful time. Of course this Chrismas party was filled with gifts of Clemson. I am so excited because tonight I am going to wear my new Clemson skirt (khaki skirt with little tiger paws all over it) for the Chik-fil-A Bowl game.

Well, I have tons more stuff that I could bore you with in this post, but I am going to have to run because JP is screaming for me to come get him out of his crib. I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy New Year!!

PS-Great-grandparents, don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you. I just haven't made it to the UPS store to mail your gifts. Hope to do it soon!!!

Strike Two

Tonight was the Annual May River Montessori Christmas program. We started out the late afternoon/early evening with high hopes that just maybe Shelby would get up on the stage with all of her school friends to sing "Jingle Bells". She talked about it all the way there and I thought that just maybe this would happen. Like true parents we were snapping pictures of our sweet little angel before the show to document this momentous event, and well, that is all we got....before pictures. No during pictures. When it came time to get up there she was a no show. Oh well, maybe next year when she is older and wiser.

Funny thing, as I type this I can hear Shelby over the monitor singing "Jingle Bells" in her bed. The program was quite cute. Some kids had speaking parts and some kids sang solos. During the toddler's rendition of Jingle Bells one little girl just sat there on the stage with the look of shear terror in her eyes and her little lip sticking out so far. It was so funny.

Today was once again another beautiful day in the Lowcountry. I am telling you, if you don't live here, you should!! We spent the lunch hour at the playground with some friends. In fact, I think that this little impromptu playground outing is becoming quite regular. So regular in fact, that Pratt woke up the this morning and said, "So, are you going to the playground today? Don't you guys usually go on Thursdays?" At any rate, we had a great time and look forward to doing it again soon.

JP has really taken a liking to the camera. He has really figured out how to make the cutest, funniest, cheesiest smile that I have ever seen.....eyes squinty, mouth wide open, and head tipped back. I just love it. Below is an example of one of his "I am the cutest baby in the world" smiles. He has just grown up so fast, right before my eyes!!



The big dump truck continues to be a source of never ending entertainment for the kids. Although, now JP is doing more of the pushing while Shelby gets to ride. While I was watching this video I was amazed at how stable JP appears. It may be only a matter of time before we have a little man walking all around the house. Also, Aunt Suzy, listen close to the end. Shelby sends you a little shout out; Hey girl, Hey!!!!

Before I close, I have to give props to Pratt. Every couple of days I have been able to go back to bed after I nurse JP in the morning. He gets Shelby up, feeds both kids, and entertains them while I get a little bit of extra sleep!!! Thanks so much!!! I love you!

Trucker

Here is a video of my little trucker climbing into his truck. Everytime I take him out he just climbs right back in.

All about the Girl

Well, you can probably guess that since it has been nearly a week since my last post that the Festival of Lights trip that I was so excited about didn't turn out to be as great as I had invisioned. After almost five hours in the car and a not so impressive light show we were home and fell wearily into bed. Shelby did pretty good the whole trip. We only had to stop twice for false potty breaks. JP, on the other hand, was non-to-thrilled to be in his car seat that long and cried most of the five hours. Oh well, maybe next year when the kids are older.......

On Friday we went to Aunt Leslie's house for a little Happy Birthday Jesus party!! It was so much fun! Leslie is so great at stuff like this and I am more than grateful that she is my friend as I never seem to have it together enough to even think of putting something together like this party. It was the most beautiful day. There were tons of kids there. First we started out with some singing time with Earl Stephens. I tried to get some video of them, but of course I was one step too slow and only ever caught the last note of the songs. After that it was craft time. The kids made this little linky thingy (see Shelby modeling hers below). It has a little star at the top with a little poem and you take a link off each day. On Christmas day you take the last link off and have your star.




As the kiddos finished their crafts they played outside. Let me just tell you that the weather has been gorgeous here!!! I love it! Anyway, then cake time! We gathered all the kids around and they sang Happy Birthday to Jesus!!! It just melted my heart. There is nothing more sweet and innocent then hearing children's voices singing about Jesus. Once again I tried to capture this moment on video, but well, that didn't work. Good for me though because I have the memory in my head, stinks for you because I can't share it:)

The weekend went on without too muck incidence. We had a great time on Sunday as we were blessed to have Ross and Erik join us for church and then we all went to lunch at Hampton Lake afterwards. Shelby just loves those guys (Rob, aka Rob-a-Dob; Erik; and Ross). She is forever talking with them on her pink cell phone and asking when they are going to come over.

Just for kicks I had to include these two pictures that we took of Shelby modeling her daddy's Clemson belt. I don't know much about that business, but I think she might have a career in it. We got the biggest kick out of her pose and all.

Today we had lunch with Erin, Jack, and Baby Finn! It was great fun to visit with them and try to begin getting back into our weekly lunch dates. Shelby and Jack had fun eating pizza, talking, and coloring. I think that Shelby finds Jack's new glasses very mature and attractive;)

Now for a little bit on JP....he is growing like a weed. I am sorry that I don't have a picture for you, but he is so cute!!! This weekend he has really started getting into daddy. He actually reached for Pratt from out of my arms!!! What a huge victory for me; maybe this "mommy only" stage is taking a breather. It is so wonderful to see JP's little face light up when he sees Pratt and he takes off crawling towards him. Remember a while back when I posted that picture of JP in the back of Shelby's dump truck??? Well, he has now figured out how to climb up into it. I have to keep that thing hidden in a closet or he would never do anything but climb up in it and sit there all day....hey, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing, hummmmm. Anyway, Shelby thinks that this is so funny and once he is in she takes off with him all over the house. He just laughs and laughs. For the most part they play so well together. What a blessing to see them engaging each other and laughing together.

About JP

I just realized that I hardly said anything about JP in that last post. Today he is 11 months old!!! How fast did that go by!?!?!?! The year of Kim will be here before I know it!!! Anyway, the following picture may be a little gross for you non-moms out there, but it was too funny. JP has so much going on. He has started teething again; so that means that his little cough is back and his runny nose is back and well, just general irratibility. Yesterday I took him to the doctor because he started running a little fever, and it ends up that he has an ear infection...so sad, I know!! Well, as I was feeding him dinner last night he got a little piece of bread stuck in the snot running from his nose (I know, but there is just no better way of explaining it). Being the mom that I am, I found it somewhat funny, somewhat amusing, and somewhat cute so I had to take a picture...and here it is....

Happenings....

This week has been a whirlwind of a week. Well, I think all weeks are like that these days. Can you believe that we are only two weeks away from Christmas!!! Oh man, I had better get moving on somethings.

Monday was a great day. Shelby went to school and JP and I hung out. We had lunch with Meme and went to the grocery store. That is all that I can really remember from that day. I had a great night though, I actually got to get out of the house for a little bit with one of my friends. We went to Starbucks and just got to relax without any kids hanging on us like little monkeys. It was great to chat and catch up with Heather. I hope that we will be able to start seeing each other some more.

Tuesday Shelby headed off to school again and JP and I went to CBS leadership. I truly love this time that I have on Tuesday mornings. Sometimes it seems hardly worth the effort of getting there, but once I get settled in I love it. The ladies and Al (our brave lone man of the leadership team) are always such an encouragement to me.

Now to the big day, Wednesday! This was our last week of CBS before the Christmas break. The children's program had their little singing show. It was so cute! I don't know what is wrong with me, but as soon as those sweet children started marching in the room waving their ribbons I had to start fighting back the tears. It was one of the most precious sights. There were tons of daddies and granddaddies there too. Anyway, this was the big test....would Shelby stand up there with her class and sing the songs that they were learning???? And the answer is.....NO. Most of the time she sat with me and JP. She started to walk up at one point, but then she got a glimpse of her daddy and that was that. Oh well, maybe we will have better luck at her school program. Afterwards we got to have lunch with Grammie at Hampton Lake. What a great week for Shelby, she got to see three of her five grandparents. (PS-while we were at lunch we learned that Uncle Jake was in the throws of finals, so Happy Finals Uncle Jake!!! We can't wait to see you soon!)

Oh so close!!!!

Today is the most beautiful day so once again we packed up and headed to Hampton Lake for a little afternoon play time. Shelby, Jack, Gracen, Neely, and Eliza ran around playing on the slides, in the sand, and the little treehouses while mommies plus baby Finn and baby Pavin hung out and talked about all sorts of things. What a perfect day!!!

I am so excited about tonight that I can hardly wait for the kids nap to be over....wait, did I just say that???? Just kidding, they can nap as long as they like. The longer the better, in fact. But, tonight we are heading up the Charleston to the Festival of Lights. It is going to be so much fun and I can't wait to see Shelby's face when she sees all those lights. They also have a little Christmas village set up with a train, Santa, and a place to get hot chocolate and make smores. I think that it might be too warm for the hot chocolate, but we may have to get some just because.

We Survived!!!!

Well, we made it!!! Last week started out with a lot of uncertainty on my part as to whether I could take on the job of being a single mom for the week. I tell you what, after just 5 days by myself with both kids, I now have an even greater appreciation and respect for military families!!! Think about it, I just had five days of non stop kids, but our military families go months and months as a single parent home. Thanks so much to all of you who are serving our country!!!

Pratt left Sunday afternoon for a CCIM course in Atlanta. I was very sad and nervous. For some reason him being gone all week sounded like such a long time to me. Thankfully we made it through and the week just flew by. Sunday night it was just me and the kids hanging out. Monday we got up and got Shelby to school and there was just no looking back. Before we knew it the end of the week had come and Pratt was on his way home.

Probably the most fun thing about last week was on Thursday. It was my dad's birthday; oh wait, really sweet story....in our family we always call each other on our birthdays and sing happy birthday. In years past it almost seemed as if we were having a contest over who could call the earliest, but thankfully that has changed to just getting several calls throughout the day (no offense family, but 6:30am is a little early). Anyway, I called my dad and told Shelby that when grandpa answered the phone to say Happy Birthday. Well, she did and then she sang "Happy Birthday" to him. It was so cute!!!! So anyway, after the kids nap that day we went down to visit and have a birthday dinner. When dinner was over we packed up the car and took Shelby to see the lights on Dove Street. As soon as she saw all those lights she got so excited. I can't wait to take her to the Festival of Lights this week.


I had to post this picture because Shelby actually has something in her hair. She is definitely an "au naturale" type girl. She never wants anything in her hair!!!! She really doesn't even like it when I brush it. Of course, she does let grandpa brush her hair during their play time in his truck. Anyway, I was out getting the kids Christmas outfits and she picked out this headband and wore it the rest of the day. She hasn't worn it since, but isn't she so cute!!!

The weather has been absolutely beautiful here. Some people are upset, they say it is too hot for it to be December, but I say it is wonderful. The kids do so much better when we can get out of the house and here is a picture of JP and Alex at the playground last week. They were both so fascinated by the bottom of the slide. I am sure that they were trying to formulate a plan on how to climb up it, but they weren't sneaky enough because Sheila and I were on to them.

JP is really growing and developing. He is so fast and he loves to climb on, in, around everything. The other day I was doing dishes and all the sudden Shelby started laughing so I stopped what I was doing to see what was going on and found JP stuck underneath her highchair. Somehow he figured out how to climb over the lower bar and get in there. Everyday I learn more and more that I am going to have to keep a close watch on him.

Well, one final comment....Aunt Lala and Uncle Matt, good luck on those finals this week. We are praying for you!!! We love you and can't wait to see you.

Elf Maddness

Since everyone else is doing it, I decided to jump on the elf wagon....hope you enjoy.
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1162884256

Shout out to Daddy....

Hey Daddy! We hope that you are having fun!!! We love you!

The completed Gingerbread House

Day of Crafting Fun

For those of you who don't know me, Martha Stewart has more craft sense in her pinky toe nail than I would ever hope to posses in my life so today has been quite a stretch for me as a mom. We started off our "day of crafting fun" with making ornaments with pinecones and lots of glitter. What a mess that turned out to be; and mainly because when I tried to take the cap off of the green glitter I spilt it everywhere!!!! Then Shelby grabs the purple glitter and ever so gently twists off the cap and hands it to me. Not a single piece of glitter came out......go figure!! Anyway, Shelby had a great time painting on the glue and then sprinkling glitter on the pinecones. Pratt also joined in the fun and made one for himself. I just supervised.

Once Shelby got bored with that we went out on the back porch to put ribbon on our Clemson Tree. Shelby supervised as I cut and tied the Orange and Purple ribbon on the tree. I don't have a picture of the tree just yet so I will show that on a later post.


Around 12:00 my dad came out and we loaded up the kids for Hampton Lake. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch there. JP loved just looking around at all the neat memorabilia they have hanging up and we even got to hear a stuffed moose sing a Christmas carol....I know, who would have thought. After lunch, Grandpa took on the task of keeping JP entertained while Shelby and I decorated a ginger bread house. It was great fun....no, I didn't eat all the icing and candy, but I can tell you some one who did enjoy a couple of gum drops....Shelby. Yeah, it is a Christmas miracle that she ate them, but she told me, "Those are my favorite."



Santa came by for a little visit; and as interested as Shelby has been in him, she wanted nothing to do with him. In fact, she didn't even want to be in the same building; so grandpa came to the rescue and took her outside while I took JP to get his first picture with Santa. Isn't he so cute??? He was a little unsure of this big man with a hairy face, but he didn't let his lower lip hang out too long. I think that he is even halfway smiling in this picture.

Where to begin.....

Sorry for the delay in posting lately. The kids and I have been fighting off one thing after another and it has left me pretty tired so every opportunity I get I have been resting. At any rate...here we go. Since my last post not too much has gone on. Last week was a great week. Lauren and Matt came home from college on Tuesday for Thanksgiving. Thursday was such a fun Thanksgiving. That morning started off early, just like every morning. We went over to the Eaton's for a little Thanksgiving snack. It was great to spend time with them. Shelby and Emily had great fun playing together and JP and Alex got to hang for a little bit before Alex's nap. Of course, what Thanksgiving would be complete without watching the parade. By the time the end rolled around we were at home and Shelby got so excited to see Santa. Everytime they cut away from him she would get so concerned and start asking us franticly where he went. At the end we had to explain to her that Santa went back to the North Pole to get all the presents ready. She seemed satisfied. I don't know what we are going to do when she starts asking why there are so many Santas....on tv, at the mall, etc. After naptime we headed down to my parent's house for a wonderful dinner. Of course, I think that my mom's thanksgiving cooking is the best in the world!!!! I hope that she lives forever so that I can always have her yummy turkey, stuffing, pies, etc.


This is a picture of JP during bath time. It is hard to imagine that months ago everytime the bath water started running he would start screaming and not stop until he was snuggled up nursing. Now he loves it. When we start the water he comes crawling in at lightning speed and pulls up besided the tub. He bounces up and down until I can get him undressed and in.

Daddy had to go to the store the other day and came home with two little treats for the kids; not shown here is the little remote control car for JP, that Shelby loves, shown here is the princess jewelry for Shelby, that JP could care less about. Shelby is really big into helping others get dressed up. She loves sharing her jewelry with daddy and she also likes to make sure that everyone, and I do mean everyone, that comes into our house is wearing lip gloss. I try so hard to explain to her that boys don't wear lip gloss, but she really doens't care.

Sorry honey, you know that I couldn't resist this picture. Isn't he the best dad in the world!!!????!!!! Not to mention oh so pretty!!!

Here is a picture of my little monkey boy on Thanksgiving day. He is really getting active. I don't know what I am going to do when he starts walking. He goes from 0 to 60 in no time crawling and climbs on anything and everything!!!! I am going to have to keep a good eye on this one.

Today we went to Cahill's to get our Christmas tree. This is a picture of JP's first time touching a tree. He was kind of intrigued by it all and I wouldn't be surprised if I find him half way up the tree one day. We got two trees this year....one for the house and one for the screened in porch (aka Shelby's tree). We are going to put orange and purple lights on Shelby's tree for Clemson. How much fun is that!!!! I think that I am more excited than Shelby.

And for the grand finale!!!! Saturday was a big day in the this house. It was the annual Clemson/South Carolina football showdown. Rob, Ross, Erik, Ryan and Lauren were all over for some fun. We deep-fried and turkey, fried some chicken (of course), and ate until it was too close to game time and our nerves were too strung out that we might get sick from the excitment of things to come. Well, the game was great. We were happy, then we were scared, but in the end we were victorious!!!!!! YEAH TIGERS!!!!!!!! The final score....in case you didn't watch....23-21. We kicked a field goal with 3 sec. left to win the game!!!!!!!

Oh so close.....

Yesterday started off like most Saturdays, we got up with the kids and got going. Pratt and Shelby made pancakes and we got dressed in our Orange in anticipation of the Clemson game. It was a big game. We were playing for a spot in the ACC Championship. Pratt worked so hard at trying to figure out a way that I could go to the game. He is such a wonderful husband, always trying to do little things for me like that, unfortunately it just didn't work out. I insisted that he go because someone from the Reed family had to be there to represent. Here is a picture of my three tiger fans before Daddy left. Aren't they so cute!!!! Of course, shortly after this picture JP had a blowout and we had to change clothes.

The day carried on like any normal day. The kids and I just hung out around the house as we have been fighting some kind of something around here. JP's new trick of the day was walking behind a walking toy. He has taken a few steps behind it here and there, but mostly it is knee walking, which is very funny to witness. I guess that he finally figured that walking was a lot faster and just took off. He cruised all around the house for about 10 minutes yesterday. It was too cute as he looks so little when he is up on his feet walking around. Oh my, how they grow so fast!!!!

Well, now to my heartbreak!!! I made sure to get the children to bed on time so that I could be ready for our game at 7:45. As soon as I finished reading Shelby her books I poured myself a Margarita and made some nachos for dinner (if Pratt got to eat all that yummy and not so healthy tailgate food then I was going to have my little bit too).

Kickoff-I was so excited I couldn't even sit and I am sure I looked pretty funny jumping around the house by myself after Clemson scored on their first offensive possession. The game went on and it came down to the final seconds....well, I am not going to relive that, but we lost. My heart was broken. I love my tigers and I love Coach Bowden. I sure hope that we come back with fire under our hinnies next week and take it to South Carolina!!!!!


To top off the night, Shelby ended up getting some kind of stomach thing and so I was up with her all night. I changed the sheets four times and by the time the night was over we were laying on a towel on a throw blanket on her bed because I ran out of sheets. She bounced back rather quickly and is feeling much better. In order to get her rehydrated Pratt and I gave her a little bit of Gatorade in her cup. We were only letting her have a few sips at a time to make sure that she would be able to keep it down. She was so cute....she kept asking us if she could have a sip of her gatorator. We think that she was combining the word Gatorade with Alligator.

Body Paintin' and Truckin'

This weekend was a wild one! Pratt went to Florida on Thursday to do some business and see some friends. Normally while he is gone things move very smoothly here and while it is tiring taking care of two children, nothing to out of the ordinary happens. Well, this weekend proved to be a little different.......

Thursday was a great day. It is nice to have a day where nothing really has to get done and you don't have to be anywhere. We stayed in most of the day and here are some pictures of Shelby fingerpainting. This is the first time that most of the paint ended up on her and not on the paper. I left the room for a few minutes to get JP and when I came back she had painted her arms. She is quite the artist, huh.....

Friday was supposed to be a fun day out enjoying the wonderful weather we have been having, but JP had other plans. My child who never sleeps took a three and a half hour nap that morning. I felt so bad because a friend of mine from the island packed up her two kids and drove all the way out here to meet us at the playground and we only ended up being able to go for about 45 minutes. When we got home I thought that I might want to take JP's temp. so I did and he had a little fever. Poor boy, no wonder he slept so long and then here I am dragging him all over town. Anyway, I took him to the doctor that afternoon just to get him checked before the weekend and besides his fever, everything looked good. Shelby also got a little check up and she was fine. Sunday I thought that we were in the clear and then Monday Shelby woke up with a nasty cough and by the time the evening came around JP's fever was back. Anyway, to make a long story short, we survived while Pratt was gone. Shelby and JP got to see Papa and Grammie for a little bit on Saturday and I got to watch some of the Clemson Football game at Wild Wings with mom and dad. Everyone had a great time and the Tigers stomped all over Wake. Only one more game to go....Boston College, if we win then we go to the ACC Championship Game!!!!!

This picture was taken just before nap time today. Shelby loves to push her tonka truck around the house. Several times she has informed me that JP would like to ride. Well, I gave in. I really didn't think that he would like it too much, but ends up he thought it was just as great as Shelby did. Aren't they sooooo cute!

Tiny Claps and an Angel's Voice

Tonight we had our annual Thanksgiving dinner at church. It was so wonderful. God is so good and it is just amazing to see how much our church is growing and changing. There was such a good turnout tonight that we had to put out more tables and use the good ole' paper plates. As always, the food was great and the fellowship was the best. One of the traditions at this dinner is that people share what they are thankful for. On my way home in the car I had a moment where I felt that I was the most blessed mom in the world. Shelby has been going to Discovery Club at church and it is a wonderful program. They have a theme song that they open with every week. We call it the Na Na Na song, but I am sure that there is some other official title. Part of the words are "Every move I make, I make in you. You make me move Jesus. Every breath I take, I breath in you. " Anyway, this is Shelby's new favorite song. We listen to it over and over again. As we were driving and the song ended Shelby asked to hear it again so I hit the rewind button and as the song came on again, faintly over the music you could hear JP's sweet little hands clapping along to the beat of the music and then as the words came you could hear Shelby's beautiful little voice singing the words to the song. Could there be anything better!!!!
I am so thankful that even at the youngest ages, my children are learning about God's love for them and hiding His truths in their hearts.

Where did it go?

JP and I were hanging out since he decided not to nap this afternoon. He was sitting in front of his favorite toy (see toy in background) and all the sudden he starts to get a little aggitated and fussy. He kept reaching his hand back by his ears and pulling on his hair. Come to find out, he misplaced a toy that he was chewing on in his shirt collar. It was too funny. Anyway, here is a picture of him with the missing toy. Funny thing is, when I pulled the camera out to take a picture he immediately flashed a smile. It is amazing how fast they catch on to certain things.

On the Shelby front... I went to visit her school today to observe the class and it was too cute! The children were so fun to watch. It is amazing how much they learn and adsorb.

One quick story....The other day Pratt and I were getting ready for church and Shelby was doing her usual thing of playing in my closet, pulling out shoes and all sorts of clothing when all the sudden she appeared in the bathroom with an old halloween costume of mine (it was a Sleeping Beauty costume). She held it up and said, "Mommy, this is too cute. Can I wear it?" Pratt and I almost fell out laughing. At first I wondered where she got from, but then through out the day I realized that I was saying, "too cute" quite a bit.

Shelby has finally discovered her sense of smell. I was wondering when she would; and now she tells me everytime JP has had a poopy. It never fails, if I am not in the room-heck, even if I am in the room, she makes sure that I know that he has pooped and she continues to tell me until I change it.

Funny Faces and Old men

Well, life is busy!!! I just don't know where the days go. Since last weekend we have been going non-stop. Shelby and JP spent sometime on Saturday with Grandmother (the grandparent formerly known as grandma) and Grandpa. They had a great time and can I just say, thank goodness they live here; I don't know what I would do with out them. Shelby, of course, was up to her usually funniness, or should I say silliness. I wish that I could record her 24/7 because some of the things that come out of her little mouth are so hilarious. Anyway, here are some pictures from the last few days......


This is the two cuties waiting for Daddy to come home from work. Just lately JP has started this little ritual with Shelby where they go to the door to peek out. I just think that it is too cute.

Two days ago we were out enjoying the wonderful evening with a little family walk. Shelby has really taken interest in pulling JP in the wagon so nearly every afternoon we load JP up and stroll through the neighborhood. This particular afternoon I actually remembered my camera and Shelby was being so goofy, making all these funny faces. In an attempt to get a picture we told her to hold her funny face, and well, she literaly held her face. It was so funny. Pratt and I busted out laughing.

Here is my little "old" man. All of his pants are about too big so I have to pull them way up to keep him from tripping.

Princesses and Pumpkins

Happy Halloween!!! I hope that everyone had a fun and safe time last night. We had a great time. Meme and Grandma came over to help me get the children ready for Halloween and then once daddy got home we headed off to the Walter's house for some Halloween fun!! It was a great time. Unfortunately I didn't get to many great pictures of Shelby and JP, but here are two. She was the most beautiful Cinderella and JP was the cutest Pumpkin. Of course, Shelby's favorite part of her costume was the shoes.

Shelby had a great time trick-o-treating. She surprised me so much by going up to the door and then she would even say "trick-or-treat. Thank you." It was too cute. We also have come to the discovery that her sweet tooth may finally be growing in as she ate a fun sized bag of m&ms and some candy corns last night....maybe she is my child after all.

Today Pratt and I had Shelby's first Parent-Teacher conference. We were so excited to get the chance to speak with her teacher and hear all about what she is doing at school. Afterward, Pratt and I concluded that she seemed to have gotten the best of both of us....she is very methodical and organized, but she also really loves to socialize and doesn't always finish somethings because she is so excited to move on to something else. I will let you guess which trait she got from whom.

It is such a beautiful day here. We went to the playground at Belfair for a little picnic lunch with Erin, Jack and Fin; and Jen and Gracen. The children had so much fun running around and climbing on the playground. They were all red and sweaty, but they didn't stop. JP got to get in the action on the baby swing. Even though he wasn't too fond of the swing when he was a newborn (come to think of it, I really don't think that he was too fond of anything, excepting nursing, when he was a newborn) he really enjoys it now. He smiles and laughs when he is swinging care free with the wind in his hair.

Getting caught up

Hopefully I will be able to figure out how to post pictures to this thing so that these stories will have illustrations to go along with them. So for the last few years life has just been flying by. Every week and every day go by faster and faster. Just to get you caught up on the last month.... We began October by taking a wonderful trip to Edenton, NC for Meme's family reunion. What a fun time. We got to fly up there on a private plane and we stayed at the farmhouse which ended up being more perfect then imagined. We each got our own room which is very key as Shelby sleeps with the light on (and by that I mean the light that you turn on to light a room, not a night light), Pratt ended up getting very sick. The first full day we were up there he spent some time at a dr. office. Thankfully he went as he had an ear infection, an infection in his chest, and an infection in his throat!!!! What a way to start a weekend. At any rate, we had a great time. It was so much fun getting to know some of Meme's family and visiting with them. Thanks guys for a great time! We can't wait to see you again!!

A few weeks after we got back from that trip Aunt Lala and Uncle Matt came home from Clemson. Shelby and JP always get so excited when they are here. This particular weekend we took a trip around the lake at Hampton Lake. I don't think that Hampton Lake will ever be the same. We definitely got rocking to some great music and made a little noise. It was the most beautiful day. Those electric boats that they have out there are great (I think that they are called Duffies). Shelby and JP can get down and move around and plus the grown-ups have just enough room to "bust a move." At any rate, there is never a dull moment when you are hanging with my family and it was a great afternoon of enjoying each other and God's beautiful creation.

What October is complete without a little pumpkin?? We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch at Cahills. The first time we went it was just me and the kiddos. We met some of our friends there and just hung out for a little bit. It was hard to get any good pictures as there were plenty of distractions going on. I put JP down in the hay for a little bit to try to catch a few pictures of him enjoying the festivities, but he was a little unsure of what was going on. It was so funny to watch him try to figure out what the hay was. Shelby and Daddy also took a special father/daughter trip to the pumpkin patch. Shelby loves her daddy and really loves spending special one on one time with him. We also had a pumpkin painting party at our house one afternoon. While it was a good idea in theory, none of the kids were too interested in painting anything (I know, weird....all that paint and no takers!!!). They just wanted to run around and munch on some of the yummy snacks.

Finally, the best part of this October....our annual family trip to Clemson Homecoming!!!! What a fabulous time!!!! I can't even begin to tell you how great Shelby and JP were. They went on minimum rest and didn't fuss once. Friday night we had our traditional meal at Don Pablos. Saturday was packed with food, family, football, and fun!!! Shelby got up at 4 in the morning with her grandpa and JP and I followed shortly after at 5. We made our way to Clemson with a few stops for potty along the way. This was JP's first trip and I think that he is hooked! Shelby of course is our little tiger. She was so excited. It was the cutest thing to see her sitting in the stands between Uncle Dave and Grandpa eating Puffs and cheering. She would yell, "Go Tigers! L-E-M-S-O-N Fight tigers, fight tigers, fight, fight, fight!" Of course everyone got a kick out of that. We were exhausted by the time we got home on Sunday, but it was great to see Aunt Sally and Uncle Jack, Uncle Sam, Uncle Dave, and 80,000 other of our closest friends.

Well, that is all for now. Tomorrow is Halloween and Shelby is going to be Cinderella and JP is going to be a pumpkin. I am sure that I will have plenty of pictures to post for that.


Shelby and JP at the Pumpkin Patch.

Matt and Shelby driving the boat at Hampton Lake.

Lauren and JP in the boat at Hampton Lake.

Shelby and Chandler in Edenton, NC.

Us on the Plane to Edenton, NC.

First Time

Well, here we are, the Reed Family in all its glory. At the request of some friends we have decided to start a blog. I am sure that sometimes it will be kept up to date and others it will fall away as one of those projects that you mean to keep up with, but never seem to find the time. Of course, most of the postings will be about my two precious children and then occassionally I am sure that my husband will grace the post with an appearance or two. I guess the best place to start is with today.

Today started out great as it was the first day in over nine months that I got to stay in bed until 8:00am. JP, who is usually up around 6/6:30 decided that he needed some sleep!! What a wonderful way to start your day. Pratt got up with Shelby and I just laid in bed until the little man was up. After that I had a wonderful massage at Hampton Lake. It was fabulous!!!! Seriously, if you have the opportunity, you have to go and have Diana give you a massage. After that we just spent the day at home.

One cute story from today, JP is our little dancing man. It doesn't matter what he is doing, who is holding him, or where the music is coming from; as soon as anything with a beat hits his little ears he starts swaying side to side. It is so funny. So, today Pratt and I were watching Grey's Anatomy and everytime any background music came on there was JP just swaying to the music. It was so cute. He also laughed anytime that anyone on the show laughed. He would look at us with his mouth wide open and let out this cute little somewhat fake laugh. We got a kick out of it.

Also, one story from Shelby....Last weekend I took the children to Clemson for our annual family Homecoming Clemson Celebration. It is a great time with family and friends. Both kids were such troopers as they got limited sleep and expended tons of energy. Well, my sweet Shelby, who didn't nap all day Friday, proceeded to get up on Saturday morning at 4AM!!! She went all day. I wish that you could have seen her at the football game. She sat so tall and proud in those stands inbetween Grandpa and Uncle Dave. She would occassionally give out a "Go Tigers" cheer and also say "E-m-s-o-n T-i-g-e-r-s! Fight tigers, fight tigers, fight, fight, fight." It was too cute. Anyway, after going all day long as strong as she could go, later that night she looked at grandma and said, "Grandma, my feet hurt." And right fully so, she walked nearly the whole day all around because she knew that if she even stood still for one second she would find herself fast asleep.