Flat Reed: My Recent Upgrades

Flat Reed has been feeling a little, umm ... wobbly lately. He was not able to hold his head up very well. He little wrist was getting a little loose and wouldn't hold up very well.



We won't even mention the condition of his leg.

So, that made us come to the conclusion that Flat Reed needed a little support. You'll notice that we only use the highest quality braces for our little "foam core" baby. Who would have ever thought that Lowe's paint stirrers could be used as braces for our little flat baby.

What did Flat Reed think about his new supports?



I think his face says it all!

Flat Reed: More Mississippi Madness & WE GOT A COURT DATE!

Enna and Poppy have two gigantic magnolia trees in their backyard. Flat Reed was impressed by the state tree and flower. He thought we should plant one in our yard! We told him that his Aunt Ava knew TONS of Mississippi facts from when she was in the Miss Mississippi Hospitality pageant.



Poppy also let Flat Reed play on the old tractor in the backyard. I'm noticing a "driving" theme between Flat Reed and Poppy.



Finally, Flat Reed got to meet Uncle Bobby. We were going to take Flat Reed to the best Mexican restaraunt in the world, Fernandos, but they were closed on Monday! WHY!?!?! We couldn't tell you. I guess the Fernandos owners like to celebrate Memorial Day!



"You mean to tell me my cousin Joshilyn is in there?" Flat Reed was amazed that he would have a baby cousin soon after he came home from Taiwan.





If we ever build a house, this is the brick and mortar that we want to use. It's messy, but not really, and has an old-world look to it.



Can anyone guess where the brick is from?

NOW FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION IN THIS POST. WE GOT OUR FIRST HEARING DATE TODAY!!! IT IS JUNE 6, WHICH MEANS IT WILL BE JUNE 5 HERE IN AMERICA. BEGIN PRAYING NOW FOR THE JUDGE THAT HE WILL BE ABLE TO MADE A SPEEDY DECISION. IT SEEMS THE AVERAGE WAIT TIME FROM THE FIRST HEARING TO TRAVEL TIME IS AROUND 2 MONTHS WHICH WOULD PUT US IN TAIWAN IN EARLY AUGUST! LET'S PRAY FOR THAT OR EVEN EARLIER!!!!

We are SO very blessed!

Flat Reed: Helping Enna and Poppy Work

Flat Reed was so excited to visit his Enna and Poppy this weekend. He got to go and see the school that Enna teaches at.



Flat Reed was really glad to know that Enna teaches in a drug and gun free zone! It would be terrible if Enna taught her little elementary students in a gun zone.



Enna has a very nice school. It is pretty much brand new. The only problem is she teaches gifted children and the school ran out of room, so Enna doesn't really have a room. It is more like an open-air coliseum!



Then we went to Poppy's work where Flat Reed got to drive the hearse. How many Poppy's do you know that are cool enough to get to let their Flat grandchildren drive a hearse. I am sure that some of our readers think that this is a little unorthodox, but it is actually quite normal. I grew up the same way and I am normal (well, sort of!).



Then Poppy let Flat Reed play in the fax machine ...



... and then he got to make copies of himself ...


... and then spin around in the chair ...



... and finally play on the chandelier! Man, this kid is a climber and he is not afraid of heights. I think he is going to be spoiled rotten, too!

Flat Reed: Mississippi College

Last night, after we got to Poppy and Enna's, we went to take Flat Reed to our Alma Mater, Mississippi College. It was great to be back on our beloved campus. We would LOVE for the real Reed to go to school there someday and I am sure that Poppy and Enna would love for him to be so close to them.



Look closely and you can see Mommy and Flat Reed standing in front of the coliseum at MC. That is where Abbey graduated from college in December several years ago. I graduated in May on the football field. Has anyone ever worn a cap and gown in Mississippi on a football field in May? It was hot! We like the coliseum because it looks like Epcot center.



Flat Reed wanted to play in the fountain, but for some reason it wasn't working! So, he just played on it instead.



The Kugel really got Flat Reed's attention. It is this humongous heavy piece of marble etched like a globe. It is held afloat by a steady stream of water. It can spin, but we had to caution Flat Reed not to spin it too quickly! That is against the rules!

Flat Reed felt like he was on top of the world! We told Flat Reed that we would feel like we were on top of the world when we get the real Reed home!



Just inside these windows is the classroom where Abbey and I met for the very first time! We were in class together in Western Civilization. Abbey was definitely the BRIGHTEST and BEST thing about the class!

Just an aside, we didn't actually start dating until after that class was done in the Spring. Another interesting fact and quite unbelievably, ABBEY DID NOT REMEMBER ME!



Here are Flat Reed and I in front of our first home as a married couple! We lived in married student housing. It's been remodeled since we lived in it, so hopefully it is a little nicer than it was when we were there!

Flat Reed: A Shower for Me?

We had a wonderful shower yesterday for Reed. He is really loved and you can tell by the excited faces on everyone there. Before we went to the shower, we took advantage of being in Mississippi and had lunch with one of my best friend's Amanda and her little boy Matt.

Matt was a little confused by the Flat Reed concept, but when bribed, he began cheesing.



Flat Reed was REALLY excited about the pretty cake! He thought it looked very yummy!



Cousins Molly and Karen made sure that everything was perfect! Cousin Leslie and Aunt Suzy also did a lot of work, but we didn't get them in the picture!



Flat Reed finally got to meet his Enna (my mom)! I am not sure who was more excited. She told him that he would get to come to her house on tomorrow which is not today and meet his Poppy.



Lola had fun playing "pen Flat Reed on Taiwan." I thought that was an extremely cute game!



When we went to Market a few weeks ago, Lola bought Reed a little outfit with his name on it.



Check out this wrapping paper! It's totally us.



Enna made her own version of Flat Reed and put him in a little stroller. His body was made out of different things that we had registered for. The main gift was the stroller which indicated that Enna and Poppy had gotten Reed his REAL stroller.



During the shower, I snuck away to my favorite Batesville stop, "Talk of the Town." TOT has our favorite pottery, Peter's. We have posted about Peter's several times. We needed the Peter's monkey for Reed bedroom. Mrs. Robbie knew that I would be on the prowl for it, so she woke up early on Saturday morning and went to hide all of the Peter's monkeys so that I couldn't buy one!



Enna, Flat Reed, Mrs. Glenda (my best friend Jay's mom), and me.



Abbey's normal friend Emily! She is coming to see us soon with beautiful baby boy, Caden.

Some of you may have noticed Flat Reed tag on his outfit. Many of those attending the shower are loyal blog followers, Mrs. Robbie agreed that Melinda should have one American Idol, so she made him a tag that says:

"Melinda should have won! No, I'm not bitter at all."

Coming tomorrow: Going to Poppy and Enna's work! (This will be interesting, if you didn't know it, Reed's Poppy is a mortician!)

Flat Reed: Little Cousins

We have tons to post. We are in our beloved Mississippi for a family and friends shower. The shower went really well and we got a TON, literally, a ton of stuff. We are so blessed. We have the pack-n-play, the stroller, the bouncy seat, and the car seat, and LOTS and LOTS of other stuff.

I have so much to post, but tonight you are only going to get the best part. Reed little cousins (well, that's minus baby Ella, but she's still in the process of getting out into the world. Check back in October for pictures of her!).



Here are pictures of our cousins Molly and John's little baby Brady (see Bienvenu link to the right). He is such a cute little one. He LOVED. LOVED, LOVED his cousin Flat Reed!



Look at that FACE!!

Our cousins Richard and Karen's little boy Hugh was less than enthused about getting to meet Flat Reed (see the link to their blog, oh wait, they don't have one!).



Hugh kept trying to figure out what Flat Reed was all about, but was not sure that he wanted to have anything to do with him.



BUT, when I told Hugh to pick Flat Reed's nose, he was happy to oblige! Way to go Big Cousin Hugh!!! You really are going to be a great help at teaching the real Reed the ropes around the Drake (and Covington) family!

Keep checking, we've got lots to post!

Flat Reed: Mommy's Last Day of School

No, not that one, the other one! Flat Reed already is getting a little smart when it comes to boardgames.

Interestinlgy, the last day of school was for make-up exams, but Abbey still had students to come. Even though they didn't have exams to take!



"Look at Me! Look at Me!!"



Mommy, can I have one of these when I grow up?

Abbey didn't have the heart to tell Flat Reed that he would never actually get any bigger than he is now. We still haven't told Flat Reed that he would not be so popular once his 3-D counterpart comes home.



Abbey's principal gave Flat Reed a little goodbye kiss!



"Yes, our address is right in the system. Please remember that even though Mommy isn't working here naymore, we would still like for her to receive her full paycheck each month."



"I love America!!!"

Flat Reed: The Battery is Dead

Flat Reed had a busy day today playing with the 3 students that Mommy had that actually came to school, but the battery is dead on the camera. It should be charged and ready to go for a post tomorrow.

The biggest news of the day is Abbey is almost officially a work-at-home mom. Tomorrow marks her last day as a schoolteacher for now. She may go back at some point in the future.

Flat Reed: American Idol Recaps

Okay, so Flat Reed was getting a little impatient with the American Idol finale` tonight. It was pretty long for a 10 second spot at the end of the show which revealed that Sparky won! Yeah! If it couldn't be Melinda, Jordin is a very worthy winner. I am sure that she will go far and she was so appreciative of her win.



"Daddy, did they really need to bring back Sanjaya?"

I agree with Flat Reed that Sanjaya was tied for the worst possible person to be on the finale`. You may be wondering why a tie?



Ta Da! No they did not bring Bette Midler on to sing off-key! I think that Sanjaya and Bette are going to be playing clubs in the future. I don't think that they are going to be big venues.



Flat Reed and I were a little perplexed by some of the talent choices. Excuse our ignorance, but who in the world is Sergeant Pepper?

Flat Reed is a little upset with his mom and I right now. We told him tonight that we were going to the American Idol Concert when it comes to Nashvegas on my birthday. He was really upset until we reminded him that Sanjaya would be there. Do you think they are going to plant his "crying fan" in the concert?



Go Jordin Go! We'll buy a CD when it comes out! We are certainly going to buy one of Melinda's. I am really hoping that Melinda will sign with a Christian label. It would be great to have another great Christian musicisian with her exposure in the secular world!

One last note: Paula, lay off the Botox. It looked like you were trying to cry, but your face wouldn't move!