Restful Saturday!

This morning, Reed woke up around 7:45. That was wonderful for us, because that's late for him! After breakfast, Reed decided that he needed to play with his tractor. To be honest, as much as Reed is like me, there is one way he is not, HE IS TOTALLY AGAINST ORDER! So, he really was moving his tractor because last night when I had cleaned up, I had put it in his place.



Another example of Reed's aversion to order are these little toys that Reed is playing with, inside the exersaucer, no less. The toys go in a barn that Reed got for his birthday. At the bottom of each animal is a shape and each shape has a specific place. Reed detests it when he sees they are in place. It's kind of fun to put them in and see how long it takes him to figure it out and pull them out.



Reed even tried to stand up while in the exersaucer.



Tomorrow, we will celebrate our first Easter as family.

Last year was actually Reed's first Easter, but he was in Taiwan at the time.



Tonight, we went to a prayer and worship service for our church's services tomorrow. We are holding them in the community center across the street so that there will be more seating capacity.

Hopefully, many people will come to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ!



The Land's are going to be decked out tomorrow morning, so be sure to check the blog tomorrow night for pictures.



Reed has several Easter baskets, and they have all been in plain view for several days now. However, today he finally noticed the one that Abbey and I are giving him. It had some fruit puffs in it and he thought that was grand!



This cold afternoon, we went over to Britton's new house to check it out. Really, it's not his house just yet, because they are still framing it, but it will be his house this summer and we are looking forward to it, because it is in the neighborhood right next to ours! It's a really short drive and a very doable walk away! Reed and Britton are going to be able to hang out a lot!


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Easter baskets and egg hunts are fun, but please remember the real reason for Easter. Salvation was made possible because of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross and his miraculous resurrection.

Zoo Day!

We went to the zoo today along with the rest of Nashville and the surrounding area! It was PACKED OUT! I remember when I was growing up and we went to Six Flags and was amazed at the number of cars in the parking lot. That's the way I felt at the zoo today. People were parking on the grass and everywhere in between. By the time that we left, several zoo employees were at the front gate, directing traffic to start parking in the median!



Reed was somewhat impressed with the elephants, as was he with all of the other animals. There was an older, possibly senile, woman at the elephants. She was talking to the elephant directing her to lift her feet up and show us what she could do. Problem is, she was whispering, so unless elephants have incredible hearing with those big ears, I don't think they could hear her.



I think that there may be some elephants in the background, far off.



We got to see the best neighbor in the whole-wide-world, Mia! She was at the zoo with her Mommy.



... And, of course, the meerkats. Reed loves them, but I am beginning to think that he loves them so much because they remind him of little dogs, which he loves. I really think that he loves them, because they are at his eye level.



A meerkat posing for the camera.



After the meerkats, we went into the "tropical" area which is an indoor exhibit and it was packed and hot. We saw some really gross things like bats, spiders, and snakes, but the WORST thing was the anaconda! That was the nastiest looking thing ever! Our house is neither snake, nor spider-friendly, in case you were wondering.



Next we went to the petting zoo, where Reed was more than willing to pet the goats. I am not sure what makes my son so very willing to touch stinky animals! I'm just really not into it!





After the petting zoo, we sanitized our hands and then we left. We headed to Chick-Fil-A and had lunch. From there, Reed decided to put up a good (but not fussy) fight to not go to sleep. In the end, the sleep won and he laid his head down. When we got home, Reed and I napped for a little while. Abbey worked on her writing assignment due soon.

When Reed woke up, we went to Lowe's and the grocery store along with the rest of our town. It was wild, but we succeeded. Abbey had to go to work at 3:30, so she didn't go to the store with us. We went and had supper with Abbey and then came home, went for a walk, and then cleaned up the house. Reed and I got the whole house clean. Well, actually, Reed got really sleepy after we got his room and the guest room clean. So, we took a break to give him a bath and bottle. Reed turned in and then I finished cleaning.

Now, Abbey is home and we are both tired!

Testing the New Grill

Reed got to come and visit Daddy today at work. It is always a good time when Reed comes to visit.



I included this one ONLY because some people incorrectly believe that Reed is always happy. While Reed is happy 99.5% of the time, there is a small window of .5% that he is not happy. Even when he is not happy, his dissatisfaction with life is usually short-lived and he once again becomes a happy All-American baby.



After I got home from work, Reed, Mommy, and I went to purchase some stone to edge our flower beds with. We bought a nice flagstone that will look really good, we think.



Once we got home, I had to finish putting together the MANY pieced grill we bought the other night. Of course, we didn't have any gas in our tank, so I had to go to Kroger and buy a new one. Then, it was time to grill. Reed couldn't wait though, he was HUNGRY!



Reed just loves eating time!



"That was a funny one, Mommy!"





Sometimes it is hard to get Reed to sit still while we are taking pictures of him. When you are being raised in front of camera, sometimes, you get tired of being photographed.



After supper, Reed wanted to go and swing while I got the grilling started.





"So, let me get this straight, Daddy, now we have a cooker outside too?"



Ah, the joys of grilling! We love the Springtime weather and we are all loving daylight savings time. We've been able to go on walks almost every night after supper!

Rainy Days Are Here Again!

Today was dreary! It was so rainy and windy last night and it continued the whole day! When I got home, Reed was glad to see another face. He and Mommy had fun today, but as most of you know, Reed prefers an audience.

The above picture would be really great if we didn't have a POSSESSED camera!



Mommy was thankful that Reed diverted from his normal anti-nap self, to a 2.5 hour nap this afternoon.



It was probably a good thing that it was rainy today, because Mommy also ended up needing a nap. She was able to grab one when Reed went to sleep. The only problem is now she isn't sleepy and it's really close to bedtime. The good news is that she can work on one of her writing assignments once I go to bed.



Originally, I was planning on tilling up the flower beds with my friend Lewis on Friday, but unless there is some serious sunlight tomorrow, I would only be tilling up mud. So, since Mommy really needs to get work done, we might go to the zoo, although Reed and Mommy are planning on going to the zoo tomorrow, too.



Reed has learned to lift himself off the ground by himself now. He is really good at balancing. Look at how good he was at standing and squatting without falling over.



Apparently he really likes to stand/squat.



Reed doesn't let anything get in his way, including the exersaucer. He just crawls right through it when he needs to get to the other side.

Another Day in the Park!

Reed and Britton got to go on another walk in the park today. This time, Britton brought his two-seater wagon. Of course, the boys wanted to check out everything that was going on around them and not actually look at the camera.



Sometimes Reed sits like an old man. Isn't he funny in the picture above?



Britton wanted to show Reed how he could turn around in his seat. Reed thought it was really funny that Britton was so smart that he could figure that out. I also think that Britton had told Reed a funny joke, so that made Reed laugh even harder.



All best friends have really in-depth conversations about wheels. Here is a picture of Reed and Britton checking out the wheels on the wagon. Reed said to Britton, "Did you know that the wheels on the bus go round and round?"



Reed is definitely one that goes for comfort over grace. Look at the way he kicked his foot up on the side of the wagon.

It is getting really windy here tonight, so I think we are going to get some rain tomorrow. We are excited because we might get to see our friends, Todd, Caroline, and Hunter tomorrow around lunch. That would be great, because they have not gotten to meet Reed.

Tonight after supper, Reed and Abbey went outside to swing while I was on the deck putting together the new grill. The grill is huge and nice, but it came in 50,000 pieces. I got most of it put together, but it got dark and so I had to quit.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Like most people who live in Tennessee, Reed has allergies. His cough closely rivals that of a cat trying to get a hairball up. I wish that I could say that colorful description was an exageration, but it's not. He really does sound like that. I am sure that he is tired of his sniffles and we are too.



Reed went on a walk in the park with Britton today. Of course, Britton remembered to wear his green, but no one in our home remembered it was St. Patrick's DAy.



Reed was thrilled when he saw his best friend Britton!



He wanted to share his Cheerios with Reed. Reed likes to offer the Cheerio to the point of actually putting it in your mouth, however, he never lets it go and eventually it lands in his mouth!



Tonight little man had his first Kid's Meal from Chick-fil-a. Not one to let a single bite slide past him, he ate every bit of his yummy meal.



The boy does love feeding himself.



After CFA, we headed to Target. I know that's a big surprise right! Well, it has been at least a month since I last stepped foot in Target and Abbey has not been in a while. What a difference a baby and budget make, right?



My trip to Virginia afforded us with a bit of extra cash, so we went to buy a grill. Our old grill was tired and well, has become more of a deck decoration than a useful cooking device.



The first Target that we went to didn't have the grill we wanted, so we headed to the one down the street from Nana and Putty's house.

They had the grill. Reed and Abbey stayed in the van while I went in to pick it up.



After we went to Target, we went to Nana and Putty's for a few minutes. That's where we discovered that Reed loves York Peppermint Patties. I believe, we know another cute little Tennessee girl who likes Yorks!

And finally, we leave you tonight with proof that gas prices are definitely on the rise. With prices like this, I don't think we'll be traveling much more. Thankfully, I think that the gas station attendant just misplaced a decimal.