It's a Beautiful Day!!

Wow!! What a beautiful day!! We live in such a wonderful place. Today has been a great day...kind of bitter sweet as it was the last day of CBS until the fall. I just wonder what we are going to do with ourselves on Wednesday mornings now. Anyway, today was share day where we have an opportunity to share what God taught us this year through the study. All the core groups meet together in the auditorium for a little coffee/brunch. Since I was unprepared I found myself heading to the grocery store to pick up some yummy donuts and well, to make a long story short, I almost got in a wreck and afterwards, Shelby said, "What happened? What happened mommy?" I told her that everything was okay and then she said, "Mommy, you need to pay attention." The funny thing is that I was actually paying attention this time. I wasn't on the cell phone or talking with the kids or looking back to help Shelby with something. Oh well, that is life sometimes.


After we got home from CBS I fixed some sandwiches and we played out front for a little bit to enjoy this gorgeous day. Those little impromptu picnics are so much fun and Shelby and JP just love them. They think it is so neat to be able to walk around and play while they are munching away on lunch. Here are a few pictures from our picnic.


JP was so excited about the bubble machine. As soon as Shelby turned it on he shouted with excitement, "Bubbu!" His little voice is so sweet and it still catches me off guard sometimes when he says a word other than mama, mammy, mommmmmy, momo, or any other variation.

Shelby is getting really good at blowing bubbles. It didn't take her long to figure out that you don't put the wand in your mouth or touch your mouth with the wand...yuck!

JP's 15 month check up and Shelby's first Tattoo

Monday was JP's 15 month check up!! I can hardly believe it! Anyway, he checked out great. He was 22 lbs. 6 oz. and 30 in long. Compared to other boys his age he falls on the small side of the growth chart, but I like it like that!! I will keep him little for as long as possible! They did a finger prick to check his blood work and that all came back great too! One thing that the doctor did find was an ear infection. Go figure, the one time I am not rushing to the doctor because JP looked at me funny is the one time that he actually has something going on. Oh well, he will survive.


Tuesday was a great day for the most part. Shelby had her first run in at school on the playground. When I picked her up from school I could just tell that she wasn't happy so I asked her as she climbed into the car if everything was okay and she just burst into tears. Come to find out she took sand to the face. We went to lunch at Moe's to help her feel better. That took care of it and we haven't heard anything about it since. Later that day we were playing around with some toy tattoos that Shelby had gotten at an Easter egg hunt and a birthday. I asked her if she wanted me to put one on and she said no. So in a effort to show her that it wouldn't hurt I put one on and asked her again if she wanted one and she said, "No mommy. When I get older I will get one."


Wednesday was Dad's day at CBS. All the dads got to come and participate in the classes with their children. Then the children came to sing for all the mom's after lecture and I was shocked beyond shocked because Shelby actually got up on stage with all the others and sang. It was so cute and I was so excited. She was barefoot, but she was up there!! What an amazing change in her. When we got home she decided that now she was old enough for a tattoo so she got her first tattoo after nap time.....Dora the Explorer.

Shelby on stage at CBS!

Shelby's Dora Tattoo.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday were spent at the pool at Hampton Lake. We had such a blast with our family and friends. The kids are wiped out today from the three straight days of fun in the sun, but it is so worth it because their little faces light up and they are so carefree when we are there.

What are you cheesin' at?

Sometimes things are going to get posted because this is somewhat of a baby book for me. I know that I am not good at writing things down so I will put them on the blog to share with you also knowing that at the same time I am preserving a memory. So, here goes the latest Shelby story....

The other night while Shelby was brushing her teeth Pratt was looking at his teeth in the mirror...you know, kind of smiling so that he could see. Well, Shelby looks up at him and with a straight face says, "Daddy, what are you cheesin' at?"

I almost died laughing!!!

Bumpies???

Well, last night we reached a point in parenting that I didn't think would come up for atleast a couple of more years. It is really peculiar and I am still trying to figure out if Bumpies are good or bad. Here is the story (and, for all of you who see Shelby on a regular basis, please don't bring this up until we figure out what is going on in her little mind...thanks:-)

So last night we were going through our regular bedtime routine. Before we pray we always ask Shelby what she wants to thank/praise God for from the day. It is quite amusing sometimes; you never know what is going to come out of that little mouth. Anyway, last night she said a few things and I said, "Alright, is there anything else?" She said, "Bumpies!" I thought okay, that is weird, maybe she is hearing a word and getting confused of how to pronounce it. So I went along with it and we thanked God for all her praises and the bumpies. Later in the night, around 1:30-2:00 she woke up coughing so I went in to check on her and give her some cough medicine. As I was saying good night again and about to leave the room she said, "No, mommy, wait, wait." So I came back in and asked what was wrong and she came back with, "I can't sleep. There are bumpies under my bed." Well, that alarmed me a little bit. I mean, I know that children can become afraid of "monsters" in the closet and things under the bed, but I really didn't think that we would get to that point this soon. Her access to what she watches on tv is very limited to the preschool friendly stuff and if I feel that anything might be construed as scary to her or unfamiliar we turn it off. Anyway, back to the story. I checked under her bed and told her that I didn't see any bumpies, just shoes and socks. It seemed to satisfy her and she did go back to sleep. I just really hope that this doesn't become a nightly occurance. We haven't talked about it with her because maybe it is a one night thing and it will pass with out much of a big deal.

If it is something that is persistent, does anyone have suggestions?

Shelby's First Hair Cut and other exciting events

What a wonderful week! We have had the best weather and the best time doing a bunch of whatever we feel like doing when we feel like doing it. Yesterday and today have been the most beautiful days here in the lowcountry. Yesterday we went to the pool with a bunch of friends and today we started out at 9:30 for Owen's 3rd birthday party (Happy Birthday Owen!!! Thanks for inviting us to share in your fun day!) and then we changed into our suits and swam for a good couple of hours. JP and Shelby had so much fun!! What a difference a year makes! I can't even tell you how much more relaxing and fun it is to be at the pool without having to worry that at any moment JP was going to bust out crying or want to nurse or something like that. Anyway, here is a picture of the three of us in the "deep end". JP really loves his new float and Shelby did a great job kicking.



As most of you know, this week is one of the greatest weeks for golf fans. It is the week of The Masters. Wednesday night Rob and Pratt spent a good part of the night talking strategy. In honor of Pratt's endless love and passion for the game of golf JP wore his Masters shirt on Thursday. He was so handsome in it!!! If we had more I am sure that he would have worn a Masters something all week like his daddy.


And now, the biggest thing to happen this week was Shelby's first hair cut. Yesterday we were giving her and JP a bath and while they were playing Shelby looked at us and said, "I think that I need a hair cut." Pratt and I did everything we could to hold back the laugh that this comment from out of the blue elicited. We said okay and after bath time took Shelby into our bathroom, set her on the counter top, and cut away. Pratt did a really great job and she looks so cute. Even as I sit here typing this I really can't believe that my baby got her first hair cut. Wow, time has gone by so fast. It just doesn't seem right that 1-she had enough hair to cut and 2-that she is old enough to have a hair cut. Really, I just can't get over it.

Just a couple of Cute Pictures

First one....check out this picture of JP and my brother at Easter lunch. JP looks like a little man with his hair all combed over.
Two weeks ago they had a Sweet Sixteen themed night for the member gathering at Hampton Lake. We were encouraged to wear our school colors and so the Reed family showed up loud and proud to be Clemson Tigers. Unfortunately Clemson lost in the first round of March Madness, but hey, atleast we made it this year. GO TIGERS!!!

This picture is too sweet. Look at how carefree Owen and Shelby are just dancing away in a sea of bubbles. The bugs were so bad that night so Pratt took the kids on the back porch, turned on the fans, turned on the bubble machine and the result was a bubble wonderland.
I couldn't pass up this picture. I just love this t-shirt that JP has. Mostly because it is quite funny as JP is more on the shorter side in stature so I am sure that if he plays basketball he most likely will be a guard rather than a forward or center which leaves him little opportunity to block shots and live in the paint.

Slacker

That is the only word that can accurately describe me and my blogging habits lately! Oh my gosh!! How did so much time go by so fast???

Anyway, we have been busy to say the least. JP is looking more and more like a little boy. His vocabulary has been growing along with his body. Recently he has added "bubu" (bubble), "ahh dah" (all done), and "apple" (short for applesauce). He is the cutest kid, if I do say so myself, with the funniest facial expressions. The things he does with his lips crack me up all the time. He also loves to talk. Talk, talk, talk. I can't wait until the day that I can actually understand all that he says because from the looks of it, he has some pretty interesting things to add.

Shelby is as cute as ever, and talk about someone with a lot to say. She is so cute and the funniest things come out of her mouth. Since the time change we have added a new segment to our night time routine where she wants me to "talk about" why it is still light out. Our nights go something like this..."Mom, mom. I sleep a lil' bit, JP sleep a lil' bit, You sleep a lil' bit, Daddy sleep a lil' bit. You check on me, Daddy check on me." "Yes, Daddy and I will check on you. Good night." "Mom, mom, but its not dark out. Can you talk about it?" Originally I went into the long version of daylight saving time, but recently I have been trying to cut it to a shorter version and Shelby will have none of it. Last night when I just tried to say that it was still light out because we changed the clocks, Shelby replied with, "No mom, talk about the goberment." She has a hard time pronouncing "v". Pratt and I just died laughing.

Now to go back a few weeks ago. We had a great family weekend over the Easter Holiday. On Friday we spent the morning eating Easter Pancakes and dying Easter eggs. Shelby was really good at dying the eggs and decorating them stickers. But the big hit that day was Pratt's colorful pancakes. What a fun, easy, and creative way to start the Easter weekend...eating breakfast together, talking about what Easter means, and enjoying some yummy pancakes.

Here is a picture of the pancakes cooking. Don't they look delicious? Shelby and JP really loved all the colors.

Saturday morning was an Easter egg hunt at church. I was amazed at how many people were there. It was a great time. They started out with a craft, then while the little ones were doing their egg hunt, the older kids heard an Easter story given by Jeffery Beall. I spent half the story out with JP getting some eggs in his basket, but before the end I was back with Shelby listening to the story. He was using these plastic eggs to tell the story and each egg had something in it to go along with it and when he opened the last egg it was empty to symbolize the empty tomb. It was just amazing to watch the children respond to the story and the empty egg. Anyway, here is a picture of Shelby holding up one of her eggs.

Easter day....Normally JP wakes up around 6:15 every morning so we had every intention of going to sunrise service, but JP decided to sleep in that day so we skipped out and just went to church (of course the very next morning he was up and at 'em quite early). After church we met up with my family at Hampton Lake for Easter Brunch and a little Easter egg hunt. It was a lot of fun. Shelby was absolutely terrified by the Easter Bunny, but as you can see from this picture, JP wasn't shy at all. One look at that Bunny and Shelby was done for the day. She wouldn't go outside at all and at one point the bunny tried to come into the room where we were eating lunch and Shelby asked her daddy to "break the bunny". This statement is really funny if you know the story from Christmas at the Usserys. Anyway, JP was a great little brother and got some eggs for her. That night we went to Meme's for dinner and to see Aunt Suzy and Uncle Patricio. It was so much fun. Shelby had a lot of fun looking for eggs in Meme's backyard while JP spent most of the time climbing in and out of the chairs.

There really isn't much to report on anything else. The weeks have been flying by and we have had some really great weather. We have already been to the pool three times in the last week or so and Shelby and JP really love playing in the sand at the "beach". We also have been enjoying spending time with family and friends who have come down to visit.

Hopefully I will get back on track with this blogging thing and keep you guys better up to date on what is going on.