under the table and dreaming

Reed loves his walker (as mentioned in previous posts). We got our Christmas tree up this weekend and have to move a few of the dining room table chairs in front of the tree so that Reed doesn't crash into it. Also, he loves the shiny ornaments and would do what it took to grab one off the tree. Anyway, all of the sudden, I don't hear much other than his walker gently hitting something over and over. I look over and this is what I see:Happy as can be under the table (and dreaming if you are a Dave Matthews fan). He thought it was pretty funny that we were all laughing at him.

London must be ready for Santa to come, he is already sleeping under the tree:


And here is my tree this year. I decided to decorate differently this year. I found a good new spot in the house to put up the tree so I didn't have to move any furniture. I also got a great Black Friday deal on this 6 foot prelite tree at Target - only $25! It's sort of narrow, but it's nice cause it's not all over the place. It's in two pieces and super easy to put up, took me less than 5 minutes! I also decided not to put up all of my mismatched ornaments, I got this nice ribbon to put on it and matching bulbs. I did put a few of my favorite mismatched on it afterall, but it still looks good I think.

We had a nice Thanksgiving, went over a good friend's house. We spent the morning working on our basement then Fogg and I got to go for a quick dirt bike ride behind our house. I love that we can just head right our from our house for a hike or bike ride. A few dozen cookies later, we were off to a great Thanksgiving dinner. We had a great time with our friends and got to meet some new people too.

Reed loves LaLa!

Reed also had his 6 month doctor appointment last week. At six months, he weighs 17 pounds, 10 ounces and is 27 inches long. He went from being a solid 95 percentile kid down to 55th percentile. The doctor thinks this is because he is just so active that he can't keep on the same amount of weight as he used to. In fact, he really only has one "fat roll" and that's on his thighs. He is always running in his walker, flapping his arms like a penguin, rolling around and sitting up grabbing things. If he isn't asleep, he is moving (and I guess even in his sleep he is moving around a lot too). He is just very happy and laughing all the time. He has a very sweet disposition and loves people. While at the doctor's office, Reed perfected his "ham smile" which is different from his genuine smile. He will do this fake smile when he thinks he should be smiling, however, it looks more like he has smelled something undesirable. I got some nice shots while we were waiting for the doctor of him practicing his fake smile. When the doctor came in, he kept doing this and the doc thought it was pretty funny. He's growing perfectly and is meeting all of his developmental milestones so far! It won't be long before he is crawling I would guess.

I'll get some pictures posted of our basement project soon. Drywall is going up tomorrow, so I'd like to get some pics of the basement before.

That's all for now!
Cheers~

I've got a few things to say

I've got no particular thing to talk about today, just have several things that I'd like to say...

First of all, our little family went on a great hike last weekend. London of course loved it, he got to run all over the place and explore and sniff things. Reed liked it so much, he stayed awake the entire hour we were out, singing the whole way. Every time we stopped, he would stop singing and the second that Fogg would start moving again, Reed would start to sing. This trail is right up behind our house, we never even had to drive anywhere, we just head out from our front door! Here are a few pictures from our adventure.

Starting the hike

About 10 minutes in

Halfway there!

All the boys

Happy Reed at the end of the hike

Next, I would like to discuss parenthood. Not sure why this particular thought came to my mind today, but it did. You know how people always say "I've forgotten what life was like before having my kid, they have just made it complete"? Well, I partially agree with that statement. I absolutely remember what life was like before we had Reed. Fogg and I had a great time before Reed. We got to do lots of fun stuff, we played a lot, went on vacation. I remember coming home from work and feeling like I could do whatever I wanted. I remember just picking up and heading out to a restaurant for dinner and being annoyed about other kids making lots of noise. So yeah, it's a little different now. We can't just up and go to a restaurant whenever and we have to be aware of Reed's schedule and attitude. We can't just load up the dirtbikes and head to wherever and hop on and go. BUT, we love our little Reed. He doesn't "complete" our lives, he makes it richer for us. He is a true joy and we absolutely love *almost every minute with him (exception, changing nasty diapers and when he is really angry and inconsolable). We love watching him learn new things - talking, grabbing, eating, laughing, and recently, putting his feet in his mouth:

He is a true joy in our lives and really, we can't imagine our life from now on, without him. He is always on my mind, my heart is really full because of him. I would do pretty much anything for him to make his life full and rich. Fogg and my lives were so great before him and are even better after him. We don't live the same life as we did before him, and we mourn a little bit of that, but we have new challenges now and we are enjoying learning about those. Ok, enough about that. Here are some more cute pictures:



A total change of subject - I have recently discovered a new blog called Post Secret. I have put a link on the left side of the page so you can check it out. The deal here is that this dude was doing a social experiment or something and self addressed stamped a bunch of post cards and handed them out to people telling them to write a secret and send it back to him. Well, it became a viral thing and now years have gone by and this guy gets somewhere between 100 to 300 postcards a day with people's secrets. The cool thing is that people have been making them very creative. Every Sunday, this guy will post some of his favorites on the blog. He has also made a couple of books with these things on them. Some of the secrets are funny, some are sad. Not sure what I would write if I had to do it, but it sure makes you think.

I love the dollar section at Target. I know that the point here is some impulse purchases and I also know that it's not as "great" of a deal as I imagine cause I end up putting $10 in my cart almost every time I walk through - "but it's only a buck!". I got some really great Christmas decorations - I think I spent a total of $6 and a few Christmas gifts. I really enjoy walking through that section every time I go, I know I'm being swindled but I like it!

I think that's all I've got for now, hope you have a great week!

Cheers~

Take me out to the ballgame

I'm not really into Halloween or dressing up, but it's fun when you have a kid to dress up. I probably wouldn't have gone out and purchased a costume, though there are some mighty cute ones out there, but I happen to have one on hand. A friend of my parents, Cassie, gave me a Chicago Cubs (if you didn't know, that's where I grew up) outfit, complete with hat. It's the perfect size for him now, though the season is a bit off (it is short sleeve and shorts). So I put it together anyway, trying to make it a bit warmer for him. He thought it was fun that we laughed when we looked at him. Here are a few pictures of him and hanging out with his friend Jane (the Polar Bear).

My Nervous Tick

Do you find yourself doing something when you are bored or stressed or thinking? I have realized that I have a thing with my thumb. I guess I always knew I did it when I was stressed out but then I have realized lately that I do it more often than that. I thought about it more when Reed started to do it, then I found myself doing it. Could it possibly be an inherited trait? Anyway, this is what I do:

I tuck my thumb into the rest of the fingers. I do it when I'm cold, nervous, stressed, eating food, thinking, waiting. The other thing I do is pick at the side of my thumb with my forefinger on the same hand. I know things are bad in my brain when I've got red and bleeding spots on the side of my thumb.

I noticed that Reed tucks his thumb into his fingers when he eats too! He's done that right from the start!

What is your thing?

Auntie April came to visit!

One of my best friends, April, came to visit last weekend. Reed absolutely loved her (still does I guess). He loved her long blonde hair and would pull on it and just light up when he saw her. She was so much fun and got him a really fun toy. They were two peas in a pod, just having a ton of fun together. He misses her!



We went to a baby clothing store and got a lot of really cute stuff, here is one of the overalls we found! Every kid has to have a pair of OshKosh pinstripe overalls! I think he may be channeling some riverdance here?


And this one was just cute!


Cheers~

Good Luck With That

Probably one of my least favorite sayings ever - Good Luck With That. It's really just mean and frankly, I never have a comeback when someone says that to me.

Person: Meg, are you going to give birth naturally?
Meg: Yes, I'm going to give it a try!
Person: Good luck with that...

Why do people choose to say things like that? Instead, shouldn't the answer be - "good luck, I really hope you can do it, I couldn't..." But people would rather let you know that they really don't wish you luck...

Should the appropriate response be something like "Thanks!" in a super cheery voice and a big smile? Kind of like when you wave at someone that just flipped you off?

Don't touch my fries

I have a thing about my fries. I like fries a lot. I love them in fact. I'm very protective of my fries. I don't share. Always, I order my own fries at a restaurant, often times, it is an extra side dish for me. Fogg knows now to ask if he can have any, and if so, which ones can he eat. It's fairly unacceptable to me to just reach over and take one of my fries. It chaps my *you know what* when someone just takes one. But I'm willing to let it go for just one. But then if you have the audacity to reach over and take another, then, I'm starting to steam a little about it.

Last winter, I was up at Snowbasin working and had my usual lunch - tomato bisque (best in the world if you've never had it) and fries. I have special system with my fry sauce making. If you don't know what fry sauce is, because you must not live in Utah, here is the simple and delicious recipe: one and a half part ketchup, one part mayo, and a splash of BBQ. So I've got my fry sauce going, which at Snowbasin is two packets ketchup, one packet mayo and a little bit of BBQ. I've skillfully made my double batch of fry sauce and have my soup and fries displayed to eat. A friend (obviously not a close enough one to know my fry issue), sits across from me. He reaches over and takes a fry. I don't say anything. He reaches over and takes another fry (while I've got a mouth full of delicious soup, so I couldn't block). Then he reaches over and picks up a fry and dips it in my fry sauce! Never once did he ask if he could have any fries. We are now way too deep into this thing for me to stop him. So I sadly kissed half my fries good bye...

And just last week, I was sitting at my desk at work eating lunch and a coworker walked right up to my desk and took a fry. I didn't even move my body as to make it easier for her to take one. She walked away - again, I just let the one fry go. She walks by again, takes another - and dips it in the fry sauce!

What is it that makes people think it is ok to take someone else's fry? You wouldn't reach over, grab a fork and twirl up some spaghetti now would you? So why is the fry an acceptable item to take without asking? Now, others may not be as peeved about a fry being eaten from right under their nose, but I do not like it.

Consider yourself warned if you encounter me and a plate of fries...