December was a whirlwind of a month.  It started off with Reed being sick (from previous post).  It was his first time to be sick, and it was scary for this new mom.  I have said it before, but it bears repeating…my mom is a God-send!  Not only is she a mom of 4 kids (and she was a great one!) but she works for Call A Nurse and knows how to triage anything that comes along.  I am so thankful that I don’t have to rush him to the doctor every time I have a question.

Randy and I were both incredibly busy at work the first 3 weeks of December.  Randy was putting together the new website for his company (www.globalscape.com) and for the first time he was essentially in charge of ensuring the launch was successful with no errors.  I was in the middle of analyzing November actuals and preparing the December – QI 2010 forecast.  My job gets better and better everyday, but as I have only been doing this since October each month is a new challenge and I’m constantly learning the ropes.

With Randy and I so busy at work, it left little time to enjoy the holiday season and not feel overwhelmed by the significance of Reed’s first Christmas!!

On a good note, we have so many of Reed’s friends that were born in December that we were able to spend lots of time at birthday parties celebrating all of these beautiful children!

To top off the month, I got the stomach flu.  Friday the 18th we had our White Elephant gift exchange and party at the Brown’s house.  So many of our friends were there and it was a packed house.  Best white elephant exchange ever and we all had a wonderful time.

The next morning I made the executive decision we were not going to the Tesoro Christmas party and instead going to McKaylee’s first birthday party. (Praise the Lord for that decision!!)  As we were leaving the Nichols house around 6pm I told Randy that I didn’t feel so good.  We picked up the cake for Reed’s baptism (the next day!) from Megan and by the time we got home I couldn’t stand up.  I laid on the couch for the next 2 hours and couldn’t open my eyes or move.  By 8 pm it really hit.  I have to tell you that I have never in my life (yes, never) thrown up from being sick.  A very few times from drinking too much, but never from being sick.  I threw up 12 times in 3 hours and truly thought I was going to die.  Poor Randy was running around the house emptying the trash can and rinsing it out and then running to replace it next to me in the bathroom.  I will spare you the rest of the gory details, but you can imagine all that accompanies the stomach flu.

Finally I could tell the throwing up was over and I laid in bed.  I wasn’t able to settle down enough to sleep so I just tossed an turned all night and eventually ended up on the couch.  The next morning I HAD to pull it together and make it to church.  As we were packing up to head out we started getting messages that everyone from the party on Friday night was sick.  Someone in almost every family at the party was sick.  I’m pretty sure I was the carrier because I had it the worst and because the Davis’ had it too…I’m the only one that had contact with the Davis’.  Plus Diana got it, and I’m the only one that was around her too!

I made it to church and stood through his baptism, but that was it.  Mom took Diana and me to my house where we literally slept the entire day.  My sweet husband was wonderful about taking care of us and also entertaining Reed.

It took me a solid week to get back on my feet.  I was pretty worthless the entire week leading up to Christmas.  Truly, that is the single sickest I have ever been in my life and I am so thankful that 1. it is over and 2. I didn’t pass it to Randy or Reed.

So that’s it.  All the stressful parts of December.  I will save the good parts for a separate post 🙂

J

Lots of women say they “like football”. Many of them even have a favorite team. Julie, however, is in a league that few women could claim.

We went over to a friend’s house earlier this year to watch the UT-Texas Tech game. It was a prime time game, so Reed made it through 3 quarters and was ready for bed. We packed up and headed home to catch the final quarter.

Now, we had been watching the game on a nice 52″ flat screen TV. The picture was crisp and clear, and the field had never looked so green. This was not the case when we got home. It was as if Julie had actually seen a side-by-side comparison, and said, “Our TV sucks!” I, of course, knew this already, but we don’t watch a lot of TV in our house so it was never a priority to us. All that seemed to go out the window in an instant.

We started talking about upgrading and that Christmas was coming up. We had gone this long without it, why not wait just a little bit more? Julie’s response to that was one that I will treasure for a long time (and validated one of the reasons I married her!) Instead of opting for any logical reason to wait, she said…. “I just don’t want the entire football season to go by without a new TV!”

I kissed her immediately. Best… Wife… Ever.

RB

It’s been about 2 weeks since Reed first let go of whatever he was holding onto while he was standing up. Both of us were there to see it happen and we were ecstatic to say the least. It kinda freaked him out like when he gets scared at sporting events when everyone starts screaming, but we calmed him pretty quick and let him know that we were happy about what he did. The kid loves the spotlight, so once he caught on that it got him even MORE attention, he never looked back.

Now, he almost always stands up against something with the intention of letting go… and it’s usually in one fluid motion, no pause. Once he lets go, he holds his hands way out and the smile goes from ear to ear. Then he starts exciting himself and usually looses his balance at that point. He’s certainly not afraid of falling down anymore, as he is getting MUCH braver and taking more risks during transitions. Julie says she saw him take a step, but almost by accident since he came crashing down after it.

We know it’s only a matter of time before those first real steps. I’m actually wondering if it will be before the new year!!

-RB

Reed has been a very healthy child for the first 9 months of his life, but that all came to a screeching halt on Saturday.  He was extra sleepy on Saturday and when he woke up from an extended afternoon nap he felt pretty warm to me.  I thought it was because he had slept so hard and so long so I didn’t worry too much.  10 minutes later I felt him again and he was still hot, and a little sluggish.  We grabbed the thermometer and I was shocked when it said 103.9.  Of course I immediately called my mom (for those of you who don’t know my mom is a nurse and works for Methodist Hospital “Call a Nurse”).  She gave me some steps to take and offered to come over and assess him in person.  In the meantime I gave him Tylenol and put him in a warm bath to try to lower his fever.  Sweet little Reed just played and splashed in his tub.

Long story short we monitored him very closely and alternated Motrin and Tylenol as directed.

Most people think I’m crazy because I didn’t take him to the doctor or the ER, but let me tell you why.  I had professional guidance and I don’t believe in taking a sick infant into a place filled with other sick people just so the doctor can tell me whether its the regular flu or H1N1.  They don’t give Tami-flu to babies under a year.  All that would happen is they would tell me to monitor his temp and make sure he is drinking enough fluids.  I’m off my soapbox now.

Reed has kicked the flu and is back to playing with Brody at the Davis’ house again.  Tending to a sick child was more stressful and taxing for me than when he was a newborn.  I really hope he doesn’t get sick again anytime soon!!!!!!

Seriously.  My sweet little boy is 8 months old today!!  I have truly loved every minute of his life, even when he was testing my patience. 

He got his first tooth on Halloween night, and the strange part is it was the top left tooth, not one on the bottom.  A small percentage of children get their top teeth first, but the vast majority get the bottoms first.  Saturday night the poor kid was screaming and screaming.  I put oragel on his bottom gums but it did no good.  It wasn’t until a good hour later that Randy suggested I put it on his top gums.  As soon as I did I felt his tooth and his pain was relieved.  Terrible mom of the month award goes to me!!

This morning Reed got his H1N1 vaccine.  I know there is much debate about whether or not to give this vaccine to your children, but I trust our pediatrician completely.  He endorsed it, so we got it!  Reed didn’t even cry.  (Is that because he is a sweet boy, or because he has been given so many shots that it doesn’t even phase him anymore?)

Finally, Reed is in a mommy phase.  I have patiently awaited the day that he would choose me over Randy and its finally here!  For the last 2 weeks or so he has consistently reached for me.  We went to a high school volleyball game on Monday night to see one of our former player’s playoff game.  When we coached sweet Lauren she was in 7th grade.  Now she is a senior!!  What the heck??  Randy tried to hold Reed to give me a break but Reed was having none of that.  (Of course I loved it!!)

Month 7 was a big one for Mr. Reed.  He figured out how to crawl and the same day figured out how much fun it is to pull up and stand.  Now he cruises around all the time and although I think it will be a little while before he walks, he is definitely on the path.  As soon as Brody (his daytime playmate who is 2.5 months older) learns to walk Reed will be right behind him.

He isn’t a chatterbox, but tends to sings his words more than speak them.  Ya-Ya keeps telling me I need to play music for him because he likes the sing-song noises more than plain words.  His little face does light up every Sunday when Mark starts playing, so I guess she’s right.

Reed loves Logan, and Logan allows him to.  Reed has decided it is super fun to crawl up Logan’s body when he is laying on the ground.  if dogs could roll their eyes, Logan does it.

Reed’s other favorite thing to crawl on is me!!  Every night when I get home from work I make dinner for Randy and Reed and then Reed and I play on the floor until its bedtime.  I know it is weird and not productive at all…but I LOVE letting him crawl all over me.  Except when he pulls my hair or scratches my face, but thats a small price to pay!!