Monday, October 15, 2012

Girls Weekend in Chappell Hill

This weekend our small group girls went on a perfect little getaway!  We have been in our small group for about 3 years now and these girls are such a huge and wonderful part of my life.  Our friend's parents own a beautiful home in the adorable, quaint town of Chappell Hill.  They were so kind to open up their house to us for the weekend.  We spent our time relaxing, eating, going to the Scarecrow Festival, talking and sharing, watching the Aggie game, and having a "favorite things" party!! 
I wanted to write about the favorite things party because it was so fun and I think other people would enjoy it too!  There were 9 girls and we asked everyone to bring 5 of her favorite thing ($5 or less).  We went around the room and each person told about her favorite thing and then drew 5 names.  Those 5 girls got her favorite thing!  Everyone ended up going home with 5 new favorite things.  It was super easy and really fun! 

I decided to share some of my favorite things that I use on a daily basis...
sharpie pens, Burt's Bees lip balm, and Emi Jay hair ties!

These are a few of our favorite things...

We had everything from salad dressing to shaving cream to a gift card for a girl's favorite margarita in town! 

We had a wonderful getaway!  I was so excited to see my boys when I got home!
Chris did a little clothes shopping for Reid while I was gone. :) He isn't typically a fan of how I like to dress Reid, so I guess he decided to take matters into his own hands.  These pants are actually 3T shorts. :) 

While Mom is away the Boys will Play!

Brittany was out of town this weekend so Reid and I had the house to ourselves to do manly things like watch football and eat too much.

To start off on Friday night, Reid and I went out to eat a big meal at Spring Creek BBQ because: 1. It's loud 2. He likes it 3. There are a ton of kids running around making a mess 4.  It's loud (did I mention that yet).

Saturday morning through post nap time, Reid and I watched a lot of football and waited patiently for the Aggie game to start.  I think Reid was really more concerned with making sure he had an ample supply of Cheerios to snack on.

Our big trip of Saturday was to Bass Pro Shops so we could walk circles looking at all the animals and the big fish tank.  The past couple times that we have gone Reid had been scared of the big catfish, but this time he thought it was hilarious.
 \

After doing laps at Bass Pro, we headed over to HEB to find something for dinner.  We end up having a gourmet meal that can best be described as a "Dad's surprise" spaghetti bake thing.  Reid did a good job of eating but also did a good job of sharing with the dogs.  

Sadly we didn't buy enough Red Bull for Reid to stay up for all five hours of the Aggie and La Tech game (by the way for anyone who watched, does anyone else want a Reverse-A-Pal), but he was happy to find out the result this morning.  He was also excited to watch the Packers and Texans on Sunday Night Football (lucky for him he didn't stay up past the first quarter).

All in all it was a good weekend.  Reid and I spent a lot of time playing, hanging out, laughing, and bonding, but we were both very excited to see Brittany when she got home this afternoon.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Reid lately

Sometimes I feel like I over-document, but I feel like Reid is changing every single day and I don't want to forget anything!  This blog is really for me anyway and I would do it even if nobody read it. :)

First of all, WHY do babies grow up so quickly?  I try really hard to enjoy every stage because I blink and he's onto the next stage.  This phase of life (raising babies) is so sweet.  I am so thankful to be a mom.  Overall, I have just been feeling very content and grateful for every day.  I love our sweet boy more than words can say.  

Lately (at 16.5 months)...

*Reid is obviously becoming more and more independent every day.  He loves eating with utensils and gets so excited when I give him a fork or spoon.  He still isn't really a "climber" thankfully, but he does enjoy climbing on the couch and he gets a huge smile on his face when he gets up there.  
*He is still obsessed with the dogs.  He is fascinated with Chloie, but I'm not sure that the feeling is mutual unless food is involved. :) When he wakes up in the morning or after his nap and I go in his room, he immediately puts his arms out to the side (like, "where are they?") because he wants to know where his dogs are.  
*He is such a wiggle worm!  He rolls over every time I change his diaper and never wants to be contained in the stroller or high chair.  I'm sure this is normal for this age.  He DOES love snuggling with Mommy though.    He will come sit in my lap and cuddle for no reason.  SOOO sweet.    
*He is getting pretty good at following directions!
*He "says" mama, dada, bye bye (baba), more (mo), ball (ba), and recently night night (nini).  I don't know what to count as his official first word.  It doesn't really matter, but I kind of want an official first word, you know?
*He claps for himself all the time.  I guess he's not lacking in self confidence! :)
*His first animal sound is a chicken sound!  There is a chicken in the book that we read before bed and Chris taught him to make the chicken sound.  It's more like a really high pitched squack.  It's pretty funny.  
*He smacks his lips in the morning when I'm getting his breakfast ready.  He's being kind of wishy washy with food right now, but again, probably normal for this age.  
*He is down to only having his pacifier in his crib!  He hasn't even noticed that it's not around during the day.
*We are working on a few specific behaviors that we want to eliminate.  The main one being dumping out the dogs' water bowl 458 times a day.  Either he needs to stop it or the dogs are going to be thirsty all day because I am over cleaning it up. :) 
*He can identify most of his body parts (nose, mouth, ears, tummy, feet, hands).  We've been practicing! :)
*People comment a lot that he has a deep voice.  He kind of does for a baby I guess!  He has this funny, deep laugh that he does when he likes something.  Lately he finds it hilarious when things get stuck (cars getting stuck on the track, keys getting stuck in the shopping cart, etc.).  

Here are some pictures from Tuesday!  We had Little Gym and then my dad and grandmother came by for a visit.  We are LOVING Little Gym!  I feel like I am learning a lot about Reid from being there.  He's definitely one to sit back and observe the group/completely do his own thing.  My friend at Little Gym said he's just a "trail blazer".  I like that. :)


I love this picture! :) 


Guinny and Popsie


This boy has some great hair.  I don't intend on touching the back for a very long time! :) 

 Looking for airplanes...



This picture is random, but this is what meal time looks like!  I think everyone with a toddler should have a dog.  It makes cleaning up SO much easier!

Happy Thursday! 

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Just some pictures...

We've had a busy and fun week!  We had a few play dates, I went to dinner and a play with some friends, Chris and I went to the Aggie game on Saturday, we went on a lot of walks, and we had our regular weekly things like ibloom, Little Gym, and small group.  I did a horrible job of taking pictures this week, but here are some from the weekend...

He has figured out how to move things to get on the couch. :/

Not a great picture, but a GREAT game!!

My mom said that Reid was obsessed with this umbrella stroller and did NOT want to get out.  
 



 Bath time is so fun!



Sweet boy before church this morning... 


I was planning on doing some Fall cleaning today, but this weather is making me want to take a nap.  I'm loving it though! :)

Saturday, September 22, 2012

What I love about this age...

A few days ago I wrote about the challenges of 15/16 months, but just like every stage, there are so many things I LOVE...

I love that Reid still sweetly reaches up for my hand when he's taking a step up or a step down that he's not quite sure about.
I love that he is starting to clasp his hands together when we pray.
I love his "mouth wide open nose squished up" face when he sees me getting him one of his favorite snacks (currently craisins, goldfish, or a banana).
I love that he jumps in my lap when Annabelle is chasing him or when he's suddenly shy around another child.
I love his biting kisses.
I love that he can still wear footie pajamas.
I love the way he sings himself to sleep.
I love the way he laughs every single time I pick up his book to read before nap time.  Currently we read "Good Morning Good Night" before every nap time and bed time.  He has to pet all of the animals and tell them good night.
I love seeing his face break into a smile when I come into his room in the morning or after a nap.  I also love the way he stands right up and gives me a big hug.
I love that after several weeks of inconsistency, we've settled into a 1 nap routine of sleeping from about 12-2.
I love the way he still has that baby round tummy and chubby cheeks.
I may not always love the way he grabs onto me the whole time I'm cooking dinner, but I do love the way he's going through a major mommy phase (or maybe he's just really hungry).

My view at 5:30 pm...


I love Summer Fall mornings like these...



 Practicing his model face...





Happy first day of FALL!!! :)

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Mommy or Daddy?

I've been recently going through all of our pictures, and I came across some baby pictures of Chris and I that I have on the computer from wedding stuff.  It's pretty clear that Reid is a mini Chris.  The funny thing is, that he really doesn't look like Chris' baby pictures.  Other than the blue eyed, blonde thing, he actually looks more like me as a baby (well, at least my mom and I think so)!  It's like he's a mini adult Chris.  

Case in point:


 Chris will not be happy with this picture, but I think it's funny. :) Twins, right?

Mommy and Reid...don't even look related.  

Now, here's a random picture of Reid from last week.
 Me (not exactly sure of the age, but probably around Reid's age)...

 Chris...

See what I mean? I really LOVE that Reid looks like Chris.  I just think it's interesting to compare the baby pictures! :) 

Friday, September 14, 2012

College Station, Round 2

We spent the afternoon in College Station celebrating my baby brother getting his Aggie ring! Thomas is the last Preston to get his ring (until Reid gets his, of course), so we wanted to all be there to celebrate! This was Reid's first trip to College Station!  It's safe to say that he is already sold! :)












Thomas, we love you so much and are so proud of you! :)