Reed’s thin, blonde hair has been developing a little curl in the back for the last few months. Julie has intentionally nixed any attempts to trim is up so that the kid can show somewhat of a head of hair, instead of just a bald dome. It is finally thickening so she gave the official thumbs-up to my Mom to bring her scissors when they came over for a family BBQ yesterday.
-RB
I am officially a crazy pregnant lady. Remember my post a while back where I talked about the bedding I bought when I was only 6 weeks pregnant and how excited I was about it because it would be perfect for either a boy or a girl? That was before I found out she is a girl. Now I have crossed over to the dark side that I really didn’t think I would ever cross. I love pink. (Who the heck am I??) My friend Katy (the designer and owner of Caden Lane and Nursery Couture) talked me into exchanging the blue bedding for the pink set in the same pattern. Too bad we had already bought 2 gallons of blue paint to match the blue bedding. I have no idea what we are going to do with that paint. Maybe Reed’s room needs to be re-decorated…just kidding Randy!!
I have turned into ‘Mommy of a little girl’ pink freak. I guess it goes to show that you never really know how you will respond until you are in the situation.
-JB
The month started off with yet another ear infection after a fun weekend at the lake. This time I was ready to push for tubes, luckily I didn’t have to. Dr. Purnell pushed for it before I could get the words out of my mouth. September 10th was the day of surgery and he was a champ. He screamed for about an hour while coming out of the anesthesia, but other than that he was fine. Before the day was over I could literally tell an improvement in his hearing and in his speech. I don’t know why it never dawned on me that his hearing was impaired because of all the fluid stuck in his ears.
Julie
It’s a GIRL!!
It is truly awesome when God listens to your heart and not your mouth. Julie and I told each other repeatedly that we would be happy either way, whether Baby #2 was going to be a boy or a girl. We both certainly wanted a boy first, and if you asked Julie, she would tell you that she saw herself as more of a “boys mom”. As for me, I always wanted a brother, so it would be great for me to see Reed grow up with a brother so close in age. But the truth is, neither of us want a single-sex set of offspring, so why not make sure we eliminate that right off the bat. We have also had our girl name picked out for almost a year now, so as it was with Reed (no girl name to speak of), we were bound to have a girl.
So, about the name… there is quite a bit of significance to Alison Michelle. Her namesakes are two important women to our family.
Alison Renee Berry
Alison was a very important person to Julie and I. She and her husband, Chris, were part of the young couples group that welcomed us into their group when we first joined University United Methodist Church. It was through this small group that we became plugged-in to the church and made it our home. We bonded with Chris and Alison as couples and individuals, we shared many memories over 4 years. Unfortunately, Alison’s job required her to be on the road 90% of the time, and on one routine trip between Lockhart and Austin on October 1, 2009, she was the victim of a head-on collision.
If you asked Alison if she had two “L”s in her name or not, she always responded that her name was Alison, not ALLison. So we are going to keep it that way.
Michelle Lynn Reasonover
Michelle was my sweet older sister. She was two years older than me and like Alison; her life was cut too short. On October 15, 1995 my sister was killed in a drunk driving accident at the tender age of 18. It wasn’t until a few years later that I realized how I wanted to honor her life and who she helped me become by naming my daughter after her.
I loved both of these women dearly. Some of you might think it is a little morbid to name your tiny baby after two women whose lives were cut short. All I know is that it was the best possible way I could think of to honor their memories and who they were to me. However, you better believe little Alison will be on lockdown the month of October (every October!!)
-RB & JB
Julie and my Mom have been saying it for a while, Reed is ALL BOY. He is very physical and adventurous all the time. Now he is adding independence and stubbornness on top of that.
He enjoys hiding now and can often be found in the pantry (for more than one reason), closets, and various small spaces next to appliances around the house. He is also climbing on everything he can pull himself up onto. A common one is the couch, but we are trying to quickly curb the fun of standing on the couch… “On your bottom, Reed” is often used a few times before a firm spank is needed for backup. He is certainly pushing his limits now.
He has 11 teeth now by Julie’s count. About once a week he will wake up in the middle of the night to no other explanation than teething pain. A little Oragel and he is back to sleep. Rarely do we have episodes in the middle of the day.
There are a few stories we have to document as well…
Reed is very aware of shoes these days. He loves having his tennis shoes on, they seem to give him more confidence when running around. But he also likes to pick up our shoes and bring them to us. He will even attempt to put them on our feet if we are not wearing any at the moment. We have learned that if we do not put the shoes on that he has brought to us, there will be a fit to endure!! He tries to put his own on and it frustrates him to no end. Even his Crocs that just slip on. He gets the idea, but doesn’t have the mechanics yet to flip them over or push his foot hard enough to get them on. Most of the time he will bring his shoes to us, then sit down on the ground with his foot up. He will take one shoe and place it on his foot, but then point at it for us to fix it.
We went to an ENT consultation for Reed to get tubes in his ears (separate post on that coming later). While in the waiting room, Reed got angry with us trying to keep him confined and he threw his sippy-cup on the floor. For the first time ever, the top flew off and his water spilled over the carpeted floor. “Uh Oh!!,” Reed said. While we quickly picked up the cup to save the rest of the water, Reed surveyed the situation and then went over to console table where there was a box of tissues just within his reach. He stretched for a tissue and then came over to the wet carpet and spread the tissue out over the wet spot. He began dabbing the wet spot and even wiping it side-to-side! Julie and I just looked at each other in amazement. Then he gathered the wet tissue and took it over to the trash can next to the console table and repeated the whole process about three times! We were amazed and excited because neither of us had taught him that. We can only assume they have done such a thing at daycare, which just solidified that it has been the best decision we have made for him thus far. We are truly happy with his progress in the last few months and there is no doubt he is thriving in a much more structured environment.
-RB
(By the way…it feels so strange and wonderful to say kids, plural!!!)
On Monday Reed is moving to the 18 month room at day care. How can that be? I brag on Reed all the time, but he really is a good kid. His teachers at day care are so sad to see him move on. One of them even stopped me in the hall to give me her phone number in case I ever need a babysitter for him. I’m happy he is such a good kid at day care.
I just had my 16 week check up with Dr. Vanover today. Little Spice is doing just fine. Growing away like he/she should be (at least mom is growing like she should be). Heart rate was 152. I haven’t gone back to look at what Reed’s heart rate was at this time, but I have no idea if this is a boy or girl. Luckily…we find out the real answer in 2 short weeks!!!
JB
Dear Little Spice…you are growing so fast in there. Sometimes I still forget you are growing away in my belly because your older brother keeps me very busy. I can’t wait to see you again…two weeks from tomorrow!!! In two weeks we get to find out if you are a little brother or a little sister. Personally I would be thrilled with either. When I was pregnant with your brother all I wanted was a boy. Now that I have a boy I would love for you to be a little girl (to help me regain some balance in this house!) but I would also love for you to be a boy so you and Reed can play rough with each other and throw the football in the backyard and maybe even share a room someday.
More than anything I just pray you are growing strong and resting up. Life on the outside is fun and we can’t wait for you to join us!
That’s all I have for today, just thinking about you! 🙂
Love-
Mom
I am a freak and bought Little Spice’s bedding when I was about 6 weeks pregnant. I realize that is totally nuts, but I absolutely love this bedding from Caden Lane (www.cadenlane.com) and Katy (the designer and owner who I went to high school with) offered a very unusual 50% discount on one item of your choice. I had to buy the bedding. Too good of a deal to pass up!! I love this bedding for either a boy or a girl, so I bought it. Check it out and tell me what you think.
-JB
Reed is 17 months old today. I feel like I say it all the time, but wow time flies. It is crazy to think of the tiny little infant he was a year ago at this time. Now he is a full blown toddler who walks and (tries to) talk. He understands when we ask him questions or tell him to do something. He has opinions about what he wants to wear to school and he loves his school. He also loves routine. Sometimes I think we need to back off of the bath routine a little because he won’t really eat dinner anymore. He is always trying to push out of his chair to run down the hall to his bathroom and bathtub.
It annoys Randy that I put him to bed at 7 because he thinks it’s too early, but you tell me. I look Reed in the eyes and say, “are you ready to go night-night?” He stares back at me and reaches for my hand to walk him into his room. He leads me to his crib and starts trying to pull his favorite green blanket out of his crib. On the nights I let him pull it out he will put it under his head and lay down on the carpet. So what do you think…ready to go to sleep? I think so. Sorry Husband! (And P.S he usually doesn’t make a sound when I leave the room and sleeps past 7am!)
He has some words, but we are really the only ones who know what he’s trying to say. We are working on ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. His teachers say he will say it to them, but he definitely doesn’t say it to us. Kids.
He is still a great eater. He’s picky day to day, but overall he will eat anything. He really loves food if it comes off of my plate and not his. This is annoying to me, but a decent weight management plan as well as a good way for him to learn to try new foods.
We always talk about how much he loves water. But it is getting a little extreme. He has never had swim lessons, but has been in the pool and lake since he was about 8 weeks old. Reed’s new trick is running in the baby pool and going face down into the water and kicks his legs. He intentionally falls forward and puts his face in. When we pull him back up after a few seconds he tries to push our arm away to go back under. He also knows how to hold his breath and never comes up spitting water. I really don’t know how he learned this, or why he has no fear…but I love it. However, if I had a pool in my backyard I would be a nervous wreck!!!
-JB
The Pike’s have made their announcement, so I can make ours. For those of you that don’t know, I’m pregnant again!! Reed is going to be a big brother in January!! I have written lots of posted and they are cataloged under “Little Spice” if you are interested in going back to read my random thoughts. Reed is way too young to really understand what is happening, but I’m so curious how that will change as my belly gets bigger and we talk about little brother/sister more and more.
-JB