Christmas at Poppy and Enna's -- Take 3

We got a late start to the day this morning. Well, we actually had a pretty early start, when Reed decided to wake up at 5:30 AM. Because we are not at our own house, we didn't think that it would be okay to let him cry until he fell asleep, so I got up with him. I had heard my dad stirring around, so I told Abbey that I was going to bring him into the den to see if he would take him and I would go back to bed.

Daddy (Poppy) didn't understand at first so it was a little while before he took him.

Reed ended up being pretty sleepy around 8:00, so he took a nap. I laid down with him and finally at 10:40, we woke up!

After that, we headed to have lunch with Aunt Ava again!



We went to eat at "Old Venice" which is one of our favorite Mississippi restaurants. It was wonderful!



Reed loves when he gets to see Aunt Ava. Aunt Ava LOVES when she gets to see Reed.



We got to go to Aunt Ava's job today and meet all of her coworkers. Reed had a great time! he thought that it was a blast and he was amazed that they had STRAWS! He just loves straws!



After we left we went to look at some Christmas ornaments at a garden store we like to shop at. We're just not into the after-Christmas stuff this year. My how priorities change when you have a baby.

Then, we headed to our friends', Emily, Frank, and Caden (and Grayson coming soon!), house for a visit. Reed was totally impressed by Caden's toy collection which rivals the collections found at Toys R US! That kid has some toys.



Caden talked NONSTOP and Reed played with his toys. Reed and Caden didn't really interact, until Reed discovered a book that he also owns and he thought that Caden had stolen it. Reed doesn't understand the publishing world just yet.

And finally ...



We are happy to report that Uncle Trae got out of the hospital. He and Enna are now home! Woo hoo! Trae is doing well, but his wound is GROSS! Reed was thrilled to see his Enna. He even gave her a kiss. We can't get him to kiss anything but stuffed animals, and then all of a sudden he kissed Enna, but wouldn't repeat it!

Christmas at Poppy and Enna's -- Take 2

Reed got to visit Poppy the funeral home where he works today.

Remember this picture from Flat Reed's visit?



Check out the real Reed.



Reed got to meet all of Poppy's coworkers who have been watching him on the blog.



Reed's shoes will absolutely not stay on his feet. Part of this is because Reed will not keep them on and partly because for some reason they fall off even when he is not desperately trying to kick them off.



Reed was happy to applaud everyone at the funeral home for doing such a good job.



Since we we were in Jackson, we got to see Mrs. Melanie, Lola's best friend! She's also an AVID LandLife reader.



Reed thought Mrs. Melanie was pretty cool, but he really thought her nametag was EXCELLENT!



Then we went and picked up Aunt Ava and went for lunch at Newks. Aunt Ava was happy to get to see Reed.



Next, we went to visit Reed's Great Aunt Sib. She was SO EXCITED to see Reed and Reed thought her stash of toys was PRETTY awesome!





"Wow! Aunt Sib, you have a lot of toys!"



Reed also got to visit the Ridgway's today! He was so excited to see our dear friends William, Faith, and their boys. Faith was thrilled to finally get to meet Reed. They have been great friends of ours since we were first married.



Reed enjoyed getting to meet our friends and was especially thrilled that they had a dog! He chased their dog, also named Abbie, around their living room. When we first met the Ridgways, Daniel (the oldest son) was only 2 years old and Austin wasn't even born! I've come a long way since those days, because I used to not be able to handle spit-up or stinky diapers!

Good news! Trae is supposed to be released from the hospital tomorrow. That means Reed will finally get to see Enna and Uncle Trae again!!!

Becoming a Party of 4

Tonight, we submitted our application to Journeys of the Heart for the adoption of our daughter and Reed's little sister. She will also be from Taiwan and the same program that we used last time. It was neat to be able to all push the submit button together.

The wait will likely be longer than when we got Reed, which is good, because we are still praying about how to pay for this one! But, we know GOD WILL PROVIDE!

So, in about a year or 1.5 years from now be looking for Reed to start carrying around a little "Flat Ava" as he journeys through life.




How to Pray for us:

1. Continue to pray that we will raise Reed in the way that God leads us.
2. Pray that God will show us how to finance the adoption of Ava.
3. Pray for Ava's birthmom who is probably not even pregnant right now. Pray for her health and for her to know about program III in Taiwan so that she can have peace about placing her baby for adoption. Pray that she will know that Ava will be raised in a loving family.

Christmas at Poppy and Enna's - Take 1

We've been hearing recently that you are not supposed to tell your kids that they are "good boys," but I must say that Reed was near perfect on the 3.5 hour trip to Poppy and Enna's today. He slept almost the whole way, making it the longest nap he has had in well over a month.



Unfortunately, Enna is in Louisiana where my big brother is in the hospital. He has been in the hospital for almost two weeks due to an intestinal issue. He needs your prayers! Hopefully, he will be getting out on Thursday.

Reed enjoyed getting to wear Enna's namebadge.



Mommy and Reed both wore their Christmas clothes today.



Although we miss Enna and my brother Trae, I think that Poppy enjoyed getting some one-on-one time with Bubber.







Reed thought that silly Poppy was REALLY funny!



Since Enna has been out of town in Louisiana for the past week, Poppy worked really hard to get the house ready, gifts wrapped, and food cooked. Tonight we had ribs which were delicious. Poppy also made some ambrosia just for me. It is my favorite and my grandmother Mimi always used to make it for me before she passed away.



Reed got to experience something that he has never experienced tonight. A starched collar. He thought it was grand. It seems that since he has been home, we haven't really ironed very much! Imagine that!



DId I mention that I got an Ipod Nano for Christmas. I have already transfered a lot of music from my CDs to it! I'm so excited!



Reed really loves sitting in Poppy's lap. We have never seen him to so content just sitting in someone's lap. Apparently Poppy is very comfy because Reed fell asleep for no apparent reason!

Christmas at Pop Rox and Lola's -- Take 5

Yeah, Santa Claus came to see Reed last night!



Reed was excited to see all of his presents. Did that excitement mean that he might actually unwrap one?



Not so much. He went for the unwrapped presents. Growing up, we never had wrapped Santa, but Abbey always did. I am thinking that Abbey could have saved the wrapping paper this year.



"Yes! A drum!"



Unlike Lola and Pop Rox, we got Reed mostly items that did NOT require batteries. Reed liked playing with his new manipulative.



I got to unwrap all of Reed's gifts.



Reed got some great new puzzles.



This is his FAVORITE gift by far. A driving car that talks, and talks, and talks!



And a stocking full of fruit puffs! yum!



Multi-tasking, chewing a drumstick in one hand and driving with the other. Reed, you're supposed to hold onto the steering will with both hands.



Vroom! Vroom!



"That Santa Claus guy sure is smart! How did he know that I LOVE fruit puffs?"



Reed was very excited to had his first Christmas breakfast!

Christmas at Pop Rox and Lola's -- Take 4

First of all, let me apologize. Today was not one of our best picture taking days. It seems that although we had the camera with us, we weren't actually using it!



I know that all of you LandLife fans out there check the blog for one reason - to see if Bubber is still happy. Well, the answer to that can be seen in the picture above. Reed had a very happy, napless day! Even tonight as we ate supper and Bubby was only barely able to keep his head up, he just laughed and laughed. What a happy baby, indeed!



"No, Lola, I wasn't touching the present, pwomise!"

Doesn't it look like he had just gotten caught in this photo? It's funny!




Notice Reed's use of his index finger. He loves pointing. I am sure eventually his mom is going to have to tell him not to point because that is rude, but for now, he is just a pointing. I like to think that he is trying to just make a point, "and another thing is ..."



"Daddy, this paper sure is green and crinkly, isn't it?"



Notice Reed's interest in this bow. Don't let that fool you, he is still completely uninterested in unwrapping presents. We'll see what he does with his gifts from Santa.



Reed has learned to kiss his bear on the musical block. It's really sweet and cute.



Reed thinks that this is the cutest Christmas present that he has ever seen. Man, that's a cute baby.



This afternoon, Lola, Mommy and I went to Target to buy a few little last minute items. You know that we never need an excuse to head to Target. Reed and Pop Rox got to spend the afternoon together. We were sure that both Pop Rox and Reed would enjoy a nice nap, but apparently, that was not the case.



Reed loves his Lola!