Springtime celebrations!

Our family has LOVED the beautiful weather we have enjoyed recently! We've spent many afternoons/evenings out on the playground or eating dinner on the patio. Edee and Reed even shared a brief moment of sibling bonding! That is until Reed decided to annoy his big sister, which is not hard for him to do these days! Reed is finally up in his hands and knees crawling! He was so fast at army crawling that we decided he had no motivation to try the more common technique! Much to my surprise, here he was crawling all over G-Ma and PawPaw's yard when I went to pick the kids up on Friday!

I took the kiddos to celebrate Brooke's 3rd birthday on Saturday. She had an adorable Minnie Mouse party and the kids had a ball playing, bouncing, eating, etc.!!

I had never seen a pinata like this before, but then again, I don't get out much! ;-) Instead of hitting it with a bat, each child pulled a ribbon and the bottom fell out! So clever!

All of the kids scrambled for candy, except my little Edee. She picked up a couple of suckers and then went back to the sand table. I need to talk to her before the next party and remind her that Mommy likes candy too! HA!

Edee and Reed will be celebrating their birthdays before we know it! Where does the time go? Hope you are enjoying every precious moment as much as we are!

XOXO

Doctor, Doctor...Give me the news!

I had to wake up this precious snuggle bunny for his appointment with the ENT on Tuesday afternoon. We saw his pediatrician on Monday, who recommended that we get the ball rolling on the tubes. We were able to get in quickly with the same ENT I saw this summer about my thyroid nodule. They had an awesome area for kids! It was like a little carpeted play pen with a spongy floor. Edee and Reed didn't mind waiting while they read books and played with huge Legos! Dr. Edee was ready with her medical bag to give us a second opinion, if necessary!

I think Reed is starting to figure out that this is not just a play date! He has that, "What's going on here?" look!!

He is going to get tubes next Thursday. I am very optimistic that it will relieve some of his discomfort, which in turn will allow him to sleep better at night. It breaks my heart that he has been suffering through ear pain since October! The doctor advised us that he may be having trouble hearing us well, and that we should really speak clearly and enunciate our sounds to make sure that he is hearing words correctly. Edee must have known this already because that is how she talks on a regular basis! She has been a very concerned and supportive big sister by accompanying brother to his doctor's appointments and advocating for his quick recovery! :-)

Cute couples (and a few more posts)

I had a few moments to catch up on some blogging, so I'm trying to make the most of it with several posts at once! I also need to state a disclaimer that I realize iPhone images are not the best, but at this point of Mommyhood for me they are better than no photos at all! Enjoy some updates from our family!

This little honey belongs to our dear friends Brad and Katy! Little Miss Hadley is growing too quickly, but I can't wait to see her interact with her future husband, Mister Reed, this summer! Hopefully, they can join us in Red River for their first family vacation on Fourth of July!
Don't you think they will make a smashing couple??

This pair of dollies sat on my bed for a BIG portion of my life! They arrived at my house this week in a bag of garage sale items that Eric picked up from my mom on his way home from Longview. There is no way in the world I was going to sell them! Three of the four arms had fallen off, but my mom had lovingly sewn them back on before sending them. When I brought them in to Edee she said, "Should I play with them?" It made my heart melt! The little blue gown was also sent from Nonna's house and Edee WILL NOT SLEEP in anything else!

Edee and Reed were a stylin' couple in their new school shirts!

Read on for a couple more new posts! XOXO!

Big ol' garage sale!

The shop was transformed into garage sale central for the last week. This was taken as we were setting up a week before the sale. Believe it or not, more "stuff" was added as the week went on. By the time the sale day arrived, we had to create an additional clothes bar and line the driveway with many treasures! We had at least 6 plastic tubs of baby clothes! Most of those belonged to Edee Sue! I guess she never wore the same thing twice!

By Saturday afternoon, this was what was left of the clothes! Even though it looks like there are still many items, we sold a TON! I also sold Reed's bassinet and Edee's bouncy seat to my neighbor who is expecting a new granddaughter, and Reed's bouncy seat and play gym went to a friend in our playgroup who is expecting twins. It makes it easier for me to see things go to special friends rather than random strangers! I'm a bit sentimental about baby things right now!

Elkee was supposed to be guarding the cash box, but it was just too much responsibility for her!

If you look closely at the back of the shop, there is a small divider screen where we put some of Eric's tools and such that we wanted out of the way. We also put a small potty seat for Edee so she wouldn't have to get all the way to the house to potty. Well, she took full advantage of it and would disappear into her own little outhouse. At one point while the shop was full of customers, I looked to the back of the building and there she waddled with her pants around her ankles holding the little container to be dumped out. Another time, I found her sitting on it and said, "Did you have any luck?" to which she screamed, "YES! I pooped!" I'm sure that may have scared off more than a few customers! I know she will hate me for writing this later, but those moments are priceless!

Spring has sprung!

It took some blood, sweat and tears, but we were able to get a handle on the leaves in the backyard! WOW! 120 oak trees can sure shed some foliage!! We have all loved the results, though! We have white iris flowers blooming everywhere and it is a great place to enjoy our little ones! Reed is a happy guy in the swing! Our little monkey loves to...climb...slide...REPEAT!

Edee is such a helper these days. She likes to do so many things by herself. She has just about mastered potty training. HOORAY! She is very independent and doesn't appreciate the constant reminders from Mommy. She would much rather take care of her business on her own! (I'll tell a funny story about that in my garage sale post!) Her teacher, Miss Danielle, even told me that Edee will disappear to the bathroom on her own. :-) She had a couple of great Saturdays of training, so her reward was getting to help make a pizza and have a movie campout! That is where we put blankets on the floor of the living room and watch a movie. Nothing thrills this child more, that is except for black olives! She must be kin to her Aunt Tee!

Edee's teacher at The Little Gym emailed this picture to me. It is a little blurry, but I love it anyway! She is such a big girl!

Reed is battling ear infections, so we'll be back at the doctor to discuss tubes soon. I'm hoping that will help my little man sleep better, which in turn will help Mommy and Daddy sleep better. Elkee excused herself to a chair in the backyard one night recently. She had enough of the crying, and decided she would rather sleep outdoors. If you know Elkee, that was a HUGE sacrifice for a dog that only sleeps on the bed or a couch! Edee is the only one who doesn't seem to be bothered, thank goodness!

Growing so fast!

We had so much fun at Estella's 3rd birthday party! Edee and Estella were the only "little girls," but you would have never known it by how big they acted during the carriage ride! It was precious! The girls were able to take a nice, long trip through the neighborhood! The daddies and Jude took a "men only" ride when the girls returned. So silly!
Reed is in to EVERYTHING! He pulls up and thinks he is such a big boy! He loves to pull the laundry off the couch as I fold it! He crawls over to the playroom where he can drag out all the toys, and he is happiest if he is swinging, banging or biting them! He is all BOY!
This is Edee's bouncy ball, but he snuck away with it while she was napping. The ribbon in his hand is attached to a balloon that also belongs to Edee. He is (was) fascinated with it! It had to be thrown away while the children were sleeping, but G-ma got her money's worth out of that Valentine's balloon! They both would have cried if they actually saw it going away! :-)
I love every moment of watching these two learn and grow together. They were playing in Edee's room today and I heard her squeal. I ran back there to check, and she was laying across her pink chair with her bare feet dangling off the edge. Reed kept pulling up on the ottoman so he could squeeze her toes! It was a precious game that I watched them play from the doorway, until I was spotted! This week has been CRAZY, but the little moments of a lazy Saturday are what shape our lives!

Snow Days!

We have been iced in for the last two days. Unfortunately, we didn't get enough snow to build a snowman. Besides, it is entirely TOO cold to go outside~! The temps are 18 degrees and expected to be even lower tonight! Thankfully, we stocked up on food this weekend! We have been cooking and playing, while enjoying some lazy days in front of the fireplace!

Edee loves school, so she has spent time reading books and practicing her letter sounds. Reed has been busy pulling up on everything! I lowered his mattress on Sunday, and we now find him standing up grinning when we go to get him out of bed! He is so proud of himself!

Stay warm out there!