the Team Reed

Warm & Fozzie

2011-11-19T22:25:00.001-05:00

I have Fridays off of work. It is nice. So, I typically keep the kids home from day care and get a little extra snuggle time in with them. However, I decided to do some things for myself yesterday. I started with a trip to the dentist....cavity free of course. Then I met up with our realtor, the amazing Debbie Dujardin, to check out some houses. I really just love hanging out with her. And to add to her awesomeness she took me to the bread store (we have a sweet discount bread store here) and bought us whole bag full of baked treats.

After that, I ran and picked up some BBQ to take to one of my favorite friends who just gave birth to one of the most precious little baby girls ever. Seriously. Lucky, for me, a few of my other favorite friends were at her house and I got to squeeze in some good catch up time. And then after that I HEADED TO TO THE SPA! You see I had a Living Social deal for a mani/pedi and it expired in a week, so I had to go. :) I get there to discover that OPI has a new "Muppet" line in this years holiday collection. I don't normally get super pumped about things like nail polish, but this line made me unusually happy. Check it out, via The Polish Aholic.

I went with Warm & Fozzie. I love it. And so does Emmy. The first thing she said when she saw it was, "I want that."

It is a good thing that this nail polish made me so happy because about an hour after I left the spa, they called to tell me that I had ALREADY USED my Living Social voucher, and I that I needed to pay $60 for the service (in addition to the $15 upgrade I had already paid). So, I got myself a $75 mani/pedi. Oops. On the plus side, I genuinely feel Warm and Fozzie every time I look at my nails.

Like Ice Cream on a Mid-August Day

2011-11-14T20:35:00.001-05:00

While my presence in the blogging world is fairly non-existent, my real life seems to be moving forward at light speed. Evan will be 13 months old this week! Yes, I neglected to document anything having to do with his first birthday. This is largely due to the fact that the G picked up a second job for a couple of weeks (well 12 weeks), both of the kids were sick for the ENTIRE month of October, and I got a migraine and barfed at Evan's b-day party (which was actually our 2nd attempt at a party). Oh and he's the 2nd child. Just kidding baby Evan...kind of. I'm the 2nd child and no one knows/remembers anything about my childhood, I suppose that is just the way it works.

Nevertheless, I do have this sweet little video of baby E learning to take his first steps. It makes my heart melt like ice cream on a mid-August day. He can actually take a few more steps than this video depicts....but at least we have something on video.

Also, before the existence of this blog and our little children, G and I once bought a house and turned it from this....

into this.....

And call us crazy, but we are itching to do it again. If so, you better believe I will be documenting it here. Sadly, I wasn't able to document the first remodel. Maybe I will do a few posts on it, just to have it officially documented. Stay tuned.

Missing!

2011-09-16T15:36:00.000-04:00

Missing....

My presence on this blog. True story: It has been so long since I have touched this blog, that they have changed the entire blogger interface, and I now no longer have any idea how to use it. We will see if I am ever able to actually publish this post.

Also missing....Emerson's USC cheerleading uniform. It looks like this.

I realize that is an old and not so great pic of Em BUT it is a great pic of the uniform.....that has somehow gone missing. I of course 100% blame my Clemson fan husband. The joke is on him though, because if I can't find it soon... I will just have to go buy a new one. :) I'm not kidding. He is lucky that Emerson is a micro-person and can still wear most of her fall clothing from last year. So, if he can produce the missing uniform, he can save himself around $18.

In the event that I am falsely accusing him of "misplacing" the above outfit, and any of you friends out there have seen it lying around at your houses, let me know. Our marriage would appreciate it. And, Em needs it to properly cheer on her beloved Gamecocks.

Until I the next time I find time to hop on the computer....Go Cocks!

You're Gonna Want to Try This

2011-08-09T21:52:00.000-04:00

Oh little blog.....I just don't have time for you. I mean who has time to blog when you are doing things like this.

Slide + hose + slip-n-slide w/ pool at the end = amazing and amazingly painful

Oh and have I ever mentioned how much I love this kid. Not only is he crazy cute, but he has started TALKING!!!! He's vocab includes all of 4 words, "mamma, dadda, uh-oh, and bye bye." He's a prodigy, with really cute cheeks.

There you have it. In case you have found yourself wondering where the heck we've been, now you know. We've been creating redneck obstacle courses in the back yard and kissing Evan's cheeks.

I Guess I Was Asking for It...

2011-07-08T15:50:00.000-04:00

Remember that time a month or so ago when I was awake at 3am with little Em, while she was throwing up???? And I asked the question, "Why can't kids throw up during the day???"

I would like to thank this little lady....

for proving to me that kids can in fact throw up during the day.

In the past month we have moved, I have started a new job (full-time), we took a trip to the beach, and the kids have started full-time daycare. Things have been a little overwhelming for all of us, but it seems that they have been the most overwhelming for little Em.

I actually had the day off today, so I scheduled several appointments for me and the kids. Well it seems that Emerson thought she was being sent to daycare (they have only gone 2 days) because she got really worked up this morning, and the second I put her in the car seat (to go to a dr's apt. for Evan), she threw up and threw up and threw up. So there you have it folks, I was wrong. Kids can in fact throw up during the day time.

My favorite part was after she had thrown up everywhere 3 times, she said through tears, "My car seat is dirty!!!!"

And because it wouldn't be fair (even though I don't believe in fair), to leave you without a pic of the little man....here he is in all his beach baby glory.

Good Morning to You

2011-06-08T08:57:00.001-04:00

Because it's Wednesday (and I hear Wednesdays can be difficult for some people). And because keeping this level of cuteness to myself would just be selfish. Enjoy.

It's easy to see where E gets his incredible looks from....it's ok to be jealous that my husband is this attractive.

Good morning and happy Wednesday people!

It's 2:30am...Here's to the Month of May

2011-06-06T03:11:00.001-04:00

I have finally found time to update our long abandoned blog. Most of you are probably sleeping since it is 2:30am...but not me. I'm wide awake because my daughter is wide awake.....because she has been throwing up since 11:30pm. So, we are watching Elmo, waiting to see if the worst of this little illness is behind us. I have to say, I couldn't love her more than I love her at this moment. As weird as it may sound, I'm so thankful for this time with her...i'll talke every second I can get with her....even if it involves barf at 2:30 in the morning (however, i can't help but wonder, WHY CAN'T KIDS THROW UP DURING THE DAY???).

Anyway, here is a little pictorial update on the month of May. At this point you may be thinking, "wait aren't you gonna tell the story of how y'all got back to Greenville?" And the answer is no. It's my (well my families) story and I'll tell it when I feel like it. For now, here's to the month of May. Which has been filled with a lot of "normal" things...it's been amazing.

Emmy has spent lots of time washing her hands. It's a little out of control. Luckily, her Aunt Amanda is patient. I think she washed her hands for about 15 minutes when this pic was taken.

Em also had her annual cardiology visit. Which went great! There have been no changes since last year, and we love our new pediatric cardiologist, which is good because we are now in a long term relationship with him. The visit was encouraging and definitely more fun than last years visit. Some of that is because G spun Em around on the doctors stool for an extended period of time.

Other "normal" things we have been doing. Washing cars on Sunday afternoon. And loving it. Em really got into helping. She also got really into washing her whole body with the dirty water.

We celebrated Mother's day. Watching my kids with my super hot husband is the best gift ever. Evan slept through most of it....and he looked so cute doing it.

Em refused to take a picture with me because she was too busy trying to jump off the bridge.

We have enjoyed more than one hail storm. I kind of think they are awesome

G and I have both been able to spend some amazing and much needed time with our friends. We are beyond blessed by the community we have here. Some of my girlfriends and I went to Design With Wine a few weeks ago. If you live in the area or are ever visiting it is a MUST DO thing. So so so much fun. I'm read to go again. G got to go to the shooting range with some friends last week....he loved every minute of it.

Emerson turned 2! What the heck! She had two parties, neither of which were well captured on camera. Part of that is due to the fact that she bit one of her friends five minutes into her "friend party". It's her party and she'll bite you if she wants to. Ugh. I got on a baking kick and made the cake for the family party and made cake pops for the friend party. No pictures of the cake pops, which is sad because they were crazy cute.

And we have spent TONS of time outside playing with the McCall kids. The water spot on this pic is because Bryson had just sprayed me with the hose (which is also why H.C. is sobbing in this pic).

Little Hannah Claire, beyond precious.

And last but not least, we have spent the month of May falling even deeper in love with this little guy. His cuteness is overwhelming and is only surpassed by his sweet, fun loving nature. He is a little wild but it is fun. Emmy constantly says, "Evan's crazy." She is correct. But look at him....

Ok, it's now 3am, I've done a load of laundry, and it's time to put the clean sheets back on the bed...and attempt to get this little girl back to bed. Which could be challenging since she is eating goldfish and watching Elmo....how can I tear her away from her 2 favorite things???

Eventually I will get around to telling the story of how we got back to Greenville, but only eventually. We are moving into some permanent housing next week. Since our stuff has been in storage for 2 years, it should be exciting (and nasty at the same time because it is probably really dirty). So, we will be busy......blog abandonment begins again now.

Say What???

2011-05-01T09:17:00.000-04:00

Garrett Reed quote of the day....

G: "I'm so glad my name doesn't start with an A."

Me: "Why?"

G: "Because I can't make cursive A's."

Really?? Who sits around thinking about that.

Also, Garrett got a new job and we moved back to Greenville yesterday. Say What???? It's true. No you are not out of the loop for not knowing. It happened fast...very fast. More details to come later.

Until then enjoy this photo from May 16, 2004 (my college graduation)...almost exactly SEVEN years ago. How is that possible? Mandy, has it really been seven years since we went to Europe???

"You Lie"

2011-04-09T11:04:00.001-04:00

Me: "Emerson, were you eating the paint while mommy changed Evan's diaper?"

E: "No."

Too bad Joe Wilson wasn't here to call her out.

In Case You Hadn't Heard...

2011-04-08T09:20:00.001-04:00

No I am not pregnant. We are a little nuts, but not that nuts. The real "in case you hadn't heard" news is....Garrett's baby sister Courtney/Aunt Coo Coo to my kids, is ENGAGED!!! We are so excited for her.

Coo Coo lives in Colorado so we only get to see her a few times a year. Lucky for us, she made a quick trip to Charleston last weekend for the Bridge Run. So, we made a detour thru the Holy City on the way to the Myrtle so we could congratulate her in person. It made our hearts happy to see her. Court, we love you so much and are thrilled for you and Chris! Although, I will say I am a little sad that we will only share the same last name for a few more months. Good for you though, Nicoletti is definitely a little spicier than Reed.

Court got to spend lots of time loving on baby Evan. And regardless of how it looks in this pic, he enjoyed every second of it.

Emmy wanted to say congrats again to Aunt Coo Coo. Yay Coo Coo!!!!

40 Days

2011-04-01T21:59:00.001-04:00

40 Days....that is how long it has been since I have touched this blog. So sad. Honestly, things have just been busy. Between taking care of both of the kids by myself, working part-time, fun play dates with friends, and trips to the beach (rough life i know)...I really haven't even thought about blogging. Whoops. And without Garrett around, I seem to have lost my biggest source of inspiration. Have no fear though, we are headed to see him tomorrow. I'm feeling inspired just thinking about it.

Pretty much, I am really tired these days. Kind of like Emerson was after little Harrison's birthday party a few weeks ago.

My day starts at 6:15 (i have to get up before both kiddos to get ready) and ends around midnight. I constantly day dream about how amazing it would be if I could have a nap time every day. Oh well, I can nap when my kids go to college. Until then, I'm going to enjoy every second of having these precious little faces wear me out.

I have fallen so in love with this kid I can hardly stand it.

This little girl brings light to the world. Yes she is wearing a leotard (and boots that are not pictured).

Hopefully I will be posting more this month. I feel like I am missing my opportunity to chronicle Evan's first year of life. It's so true, the second child gets the short end of the stick. I know because I am the second child. What was my sisters first word??, "thank you," what way my first word??? no one knows. Evan I am vowing to minimize how many of your milestones we forget. You deserve it....look how precious you are.

Yes, I nibble on his cheeks all day long. All day. Every day.

Help

2011-02-20T20:29:00.001-05:00

Garrett came to town again this weekend. He makes my heart really happy. He also makes my kids hearts really happy. There is no doubt he is the fun one. Tonight he decided to put Em in the Baby Bjorn (a baby carrier for those of you who are not versed in baby gear). It was comical to say the least. Watch for yourself. My favorite part of this video is my mom. She goes on cooking dinner completely ignoring the dancing man with an almost 2 year old strapped to his body. Apparently she is used to Garrett's uniqueness.

And as if the video wasn't good enough, I somehow managed to snap this pic. It makes me laugh. Not the most flattering picture of Garrett but hilarious nonetheless.

It's Not All Gloom and Doom

2011-02-18T16:08:00.003-05:00

I realized I had been emoting way too much on this blog when my friend Lindsay called the other day and said, "So, you're sad huh. I read your blog." So, in an effort to show the blogosphere that my life is still moving forward and that I don't actually sit around in a house by myself crying all day....here is a photo story depicting some moments from the past few weeks that have made me laugh. Here we go.

When we are visiting Garrett at the beach, he still has to work and we are stuck in a mostly empty third floor apartment. So, we all start to get bored and begin to look a little like this...

"Mom.....I'm so bored."

"Seriously mom, this is the pits."

So, I got sick of the whining and decided to let the kids entertain themselves while I did a puzzle. Well, I actually did 2 puzzles but I only have a picture of one.

You would be shocked to know how difficult those leaves were.

While I worked on those Emerson decided to take Evan's temperature. He said, "noooo."

She did it anyways. He was fever free.

We have also taken a few trips to Spartanburg over the past few weeks. On one of those trips, Garrett's mom dressed Evan up like a duck.

He clearly loved it.

On that same trip, Garrett's dad, made the rookie mistake of setting Emerson's pack and play up right underneath a set of drawers. Half way through "nap time" (there was definitely no napping), we heard loud banging noises coming from the room. This is what we found.

Here is a closer look at the contents of Garrett's drawers from high school. It should be noted that Emerson had completely cleaned the drawer out. These pics only show what was left after we put half of it back (it took me a minute to think to grab the camera).

That was fun. Emmy and I have also been playing outside or "side" as she call it. I have been taking lots of pictures of her because I love her. Here are a few.

Garrett came to visit one weekend and we were enjoying a quiet Sunday morning when Em came running into the room looking like this.

She had just been dancing in the shower (one of her favorite past times), but when she ran up to us she was screaming, "ball ball ball ball ball." We were both confused about what she could possibly be so upset about until we smartened up and realized she must have dropped her favorite bouncy ball down the drain while she was dancing. So we spent the next hour doing this....

Garrett trying to suck the ball up with a vacuum (while using his flashlight app), and Emerson ~~cheering him on~~ crying and screaming "ball ball ball ball." Sadly (especially for my parents since it is their house), the ball was never recovered.

And finally, in case you were wondering, Evan is still chunky. But, he is able to use his hands more now, so maybe he will lose some weight from all the exercise. Maybe.

There you have it, even with Garrett gone most of the time, I do still laugh and enjoy life.

In Case You Are Wondering....

2011-02-08T15:49:00.001-05:00

In case you are wondering where the heck we have been....and I know you have been, we have mostly been somewhere between Upstate SC and the beach, with a little bit of time spent in each location. The kids and I have been haulin' it back and forth so we can spend time with my husband and their father. His third floor apartment is not really the perfect fit for our family. So, we go and spend as much time as we can until we start to go nutty, and then we head back.

We thought the madness might be coming to an end soon and that G's company was going to be making some decisions about a permanent placement for us this week.....but they changed their minds and decided to hold off on any decision making until May. Yes, I cried when I found this out. Yes, this little journey has made me a cry baby. By the time it is all said and done with, Garrett and I will have lived apart for almost an entire YEAR. We are hoping he can get some new housing so we can be together.....please pray that this is possible. Also pray that I would stop being plagued with little kid type illness....my newest diagnosis as of this morning, Tonsillitis. Who over the age of 7 has tonsillitis...apparently I do. And little Em is acting all out of sorts and keeps saying, "Mommy hurt," so we are headed to the pediatrician in a few hours.

I can't lie, Garrett and I have had the "why is the Lord allowing all of this to happen to us" conversation more than once. Over the weekend as we were talking and struggling through the events of the past 2 years, I couldn't help but be reminded of Job. The Lord allowed Satan to test Job because He knew Job could withstand anything Satan threw at him. After losing his business, his health, his family, Job says to his wife when she questions his continued faith in the Lord, "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? (job 2:10)" And he goes on to say in chapter 13, "Though he slay me, yet I will hope in him."

Our struggles don't come close to comparing to that of Job but we feel the weight of them none the less. However, we know that God is good because of the love He demonstrated to us through Jesus. So, we will continue to hope and trust in Him. I keep singing to myself a little song we used to sing at Young Life stuff in college...

When the morning falls on the farthest hill,

I will sing His name, I will praise Him still.

When dark trials come and my heart is filled

With the weight of doubt, I will praise Him still.

For the Lord our God, He is strong to save

From the arms of death, from the deepest grave.

And He gave us life in His perfect will,

And by His good grace, I will praise Him still.

So, in case you were wondering, that is where we have been and that is what we have been feeling. I can't say I will be posting more often....but I can't say that I won't be either.

Whatcha Gonna Do

2011-01-15T00:17:00.001-05:00

Whatcha gonna do when you have been snowed in for the better part of a week?? Well, if you are Emerson then you are going to insist on wearing your pink hat around the house all day and you are just gonna roll with the punches and work from home.

Then you are gonna get really tired from working so hard and subsequently lay in your mom's lap and pout for a while.

If you are are Evan, you are just gonna lay on the couch and watch t.v. because you are only 12 weeks old and too young for workin.

Then you are gonna eat so much that your face starts to look like this....

But that's ok b/c you are really cute.

If you are me, you are gonna think to yourself, "I should go outside and take a picture of the down spouts. They are so pretty with all of the icicles on them." Then you are going to walk out the front door wearing slippers instead of proper snow boots, and you are going to slip and fall backwards down these stone steps (which are actually covered in a thin sheet of ice but you can't tell at all).

Then you are going to get up, look around and make sure none of the neighbors saw you, go get your camera that flew 25 feet into some far off bushes, and take the stupid pictures anyway (but you aren't gonna say the word 'stupid' in front of your daughter b/c she repeats everything you say).

See. Aren't the pretty.

Totally worth almost being paralyzed for.....

Then you are going to take loads of Advil and warm baths for the next few days to try to relieve the pain and bruising on your backside. And then you are going to remember that you have to drive through the ice to take your daughter to her first dentist appointment ever. And you aren't gonna mind because she is so cute.

And then you are going to shamelessly plug your friend Dr. Brian Jones and his practice, Upstate Pediatric Dentistry, because they are awesome (if they can handle Emerson, they can handle anyone). And then you are going to shamelessly plug his wife Lindsey who has a fun little blog that you can find here. That is what we do when we get snowed in. Oh and we might have played in the snow a little. But only a little b/c all Em's snow stuff was with Garrett in Myrtle Beach. Go figure.

The Conclusion

2011-01-10T13:27:00.000-05:00

I know the blogoshpere has been waiting on pins and needles to hear how our trip home from the Myrtle went. Well, I changed my game plan up a bit. The plan, no stops. Period. That plan actually worked well until we got about an hour from home and Evan starting screaming so loud that Emerson couldn't hear her Elmo DVD anymore, so she started screaming. So, I pulled over at a rest stop. Since it had been 4 and half hours since Evan had eaten, and he normally eats every 3 I figured I should feed him. However, I stuck to my guns, there were no diaper changes just a quick refill of Em's juice, a quick feeding for Evan in the front seat and we were back on the road....no one got out of the car. There was a substantial amount of crying from both kids (and almost from me) for the last hour, but I figure one hour out of 4 and half isn't that bad. And we made it home before the blizzard of 2011 hit.

I would call it a mostly successful trip. Oh except that Em's pants (and parts of her shirt) were soaking wet when we got home. It seems that the giant glass of water and multiple sippy cups of juice on the way back coupled with my refusal to stop created quite the diaper explosion. I guess I should wash the car seat. Now that your mind is at ease knowing we made home (well let's be honest, we don't have a home..we made it to my parents home), enjoy your snow day...if you are in the Southeast somewhere.

An Exciting Saga...Not Really

2011-01-08T23:41:00.001-05:00

I did it. I completed a 5 hour road trip with my 2 children (both under the age of 2), all by myself. It really wasn't that bad. The kids were fine in the car and the minimal stress I experienced came from the snack/feeding/diaper change stop. We needed to stop in Florence, and well, there just isn't a lot there. Any mom knows there are a few criteria for a road trip stop with little kids: #1. Clean (and preferably spacious) bathrooms WITH changing tables. #2. Good snacks/food. #3. A nice environment to rest but one that is also tolerant of my cute and always obedient children. For the most part the only places that fit the bill are Chick-fil-A (but on Sundays, gotta find another option), Starbucks, and Panera. If anyone has any other recommendations, now is the time to give them.

Typically Chick-fil-A is my first choice for obvious reasons BUT the CFA on my route through Florence is a DTO (drive-thru only) so it's a no go. No Panera in Florence. Starbucks it is. Which is fine except on occasions, you come across a Starbucks with no changing table in the bathroom. Guess what, the Florence Starbucks is one of those (As is the one on Harbison in Columbia... I have changed Emerson on the bathroom floor there before). So, I had to change Evan on one of the tables in the middle of Starbucks (maybe make a note to not eat on the table closest to the door at the Florence Starbucks). And little Em had to get her diaper (which she swore didn't need changing but definitely did) changed in the drivers seat of the car. Which wasn't so bad b/c it was 50 degrees outside instead of 15. While in Starbucks, I was smart enough to put Em in our little umbrella stroller to keep her contained and I just carried Evan in his car seat. My hands were full (literally) but we made it work. And it was worth it because we have gotten to spend the past few days with Garrett.

Garrett is living in a corporately furnished apartment which is furnished just enough to be able to call it furnished. However, it has 3 bedrooms and his company provided 2 cribs for the kids. So, we were able to spend the night as a family of 4 for the first time in a "house" by ourselves AND everyone had real beds. It has been nice. But it all ends tomorrow when I make the 5 hour drive (i should note the drive only takes 5 hours with kids, more like 4 without them) again to head back home before the big snow storm hits. Hopefully the return trip will go as smoothly as the first leg did. However, it is Sunday so no CFA and as I noted earlier, no changing table at the Starbucks. What will I do??? Stay tuned for updates to this exciting saga. Another exciting saga to look forward for updates on, Emerson's first dentist appointment next week, Lord help me.

No pics from our trip the Myrtle, which is super sad b/c I got to hold little baby Fisher and I didn't document it. Lame I know. But here is a pic of Em being sweet to her brother. They love each other.

On second thought...maybe she's hurting him.

A Joyful Moment

2011-01-05T14:56:00.003-05:00

I know I said I was taking a blogging hiatus but I'm so excited right now I can hardly contain myself. My best friend, Mandy, aka my boo, is in labor as I write this. If you are new to this blog, get familiar with Mandy....I reference her often. If you are not new to this blog, you may be sick of me professing my love for her. Sorry. Can't help it. Her friendship makes my heart happy. You ever had a friend that just understood you??? You never have to explain why you did or said something (whether it was right or wrong) because they understand your heart and intentions. If not, I pray you will experience this type of friendship one day because it rocks.

Little Adam Fisher Brantley will be born some time in the next few hours and the world will be forever changed. This little baby has been prayed for so much and I know the Lord has a beautiful plan for his life. Over the past year and half I have cried for Mandy and her husband Adam as they have had several miscarriages (2 of which resulting in emergency surgery), but today I cry tears of joy as the Lord shows his graciousness to the Brantley Family. Read Mandy's thoughts on Fisher's birth here....they are beautiful.

Mandy and I enjoying a joyful moment in Paris back in June of 2004. Who would have thought we would both be the mother of 2 only 6 and half short years later. I love that the Lord has allowed me to walk through life with her, the good and the challenging.

The Blogging Crossroads

2011-01-04T11:55:00.004-05:00

Well I have reached that point in every bloggers life (ok, maybe not every blogger reaches this point, I just like to add a little drama to things)....the blogging crossroads. I started this blog 2 and half years ago mostly as a way to keep our siblings (who were scattered all over) and families up to date on our lives. And because our lives are so exciting, there has been a lot to update on since then. :) However, the time has come where I just kind of don't feel like doing it anymore. I asked myself the other day, "Allison, why do you blog?" And I responded to myself, "I have no idea." So, maybe I will take a blogging hiatus until I come up with a good answer to that question. Maybe not. I really don't know. I do know that I will either quit blogging all together or blog more but with more intention. Only time will tell. The suspense. The good news is, Garrett says he wants to take the blog over if I quit. That would be win for everyone I think. Only problem is he and Em have the same attention span, so you may be royally entertained for a week or so until he forgot about the blog.

While you sit on the edge of your seats waiting to find out the verdict on my blogging status. Enjoy these pics I found on my parents computer of Em when she was a little baby (as opposed to the big baby she is now). I also found some interesting pics of a weird man brandishing a gun. I would post them but they are in a group of pics my dad took while he was in Russia a while back. I have been convinced he is a spy for some time now, so I would hate to post a pic that would blow someone's cover...but dang they are funny.

Undaunted Radiance

2010-12-30T15:42:00.004-05:00

The Lord used Oswald Chambers (and my sweet new Kindle my in-laws got me) to rock my world today. After the struggles of the past year and half (and Garrett making the move to the Myrtle today), the following passage from March 7th in My Utmost for His Highest spoke to my heart.... a lot. Someone please remind me of this in the near future.

"In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."

Romans 8:37

Paul was speaking here of the things that might seem likely to separate a saint from the love of God. But the remarkable thing is that nothing can come between the love of God and a saint. The things Paul mentioned in this passage can and do disrupt the close fellowship of our soul with God and separate our natural life from Him. But none of them is able to come between the love of God and the soul of a saint on the spiritual level. The bedrock of our Christian faith is the unmerited, fathomless marvel of the love of God exhibited on the Cross of Calvary; a love that is not earned and can never be. Paul said this is the reason that "in all these things we are more than conquerors." We are super-victors with a joy that comes from experiencing the very things which look as if they are going to overwhelm us.

Huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them. Let's apply that to our own circumstances. The things we try to avoid and fight against-- tribulation, suffering, and persecution--are the very things that produce abundant joy in us. "We are more than conquerors through Him" "in all these things", not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. A saint doesn't know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it. Paul said, "I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation" (2 Corinthians 7:4).

Undaunted radiance is not built on anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing can alter. The experiences of life, terrible or monotonous, are impotent to touch the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Two Days

2010-12-29T09:44:00.004-05:00

Two days, that is the total number of days our family has been well during the month of December (that may include November as well...my brain is too fried to think back that far). Keep in mind that two days is the number of days we have individually been well, we have not had two days of us all being well. Mostly because Evan has been sick since birth. Therefore, any vision I had of a dream holiday season was completely thwarted. When will I learn to stop having expectations of things???

Anyway, our little family had the stomach virus the whole week before Christmas, and Evan came down with an awful cold. Luckily the stomach virus was cleared up by Christmas Eve but Evan's cold was only getting worse and then after he broke out in hives after a bath, we ended up at the doctor with him in the late afternoon on Christmas Eve. And since the doctor's office is closed on Christmas Eve, we had to take him to the Children's Hospital. Garrett was at work when all this happened so my sister drove me to the hospital. Garrett met us there, so my sister took his car and drove home. Well, when we went to leave the hospital we realized we had failed to get my car keys from her (the hospital is almost 40 minutes from my parents house), so we had to wait for more keys to show up. We get home around 6:30 (after we had already missed church), only to discover that I had left one of our bags (containing my i-phone) sitting at the entrance of the emergency room. I cried (imagine that). We called. Praise the Lord they had it. So we scarfed down a quick but delicious Christmas Eve dinner and then made the trek back to the hospital. Then we came home and crashed.

We woke up Christmas morning, opened presents, and then packed up all of the junk it takes to go anywhere with 2 small kids. Then we headed to Spartanburg to spend Christmas with Garrett's family. We were there for two days (where we were all well except for Evan). During those two days we got to experience great time with Garrett's family and the most beautiful White Christmas. However, when we woke up on Monday morning, I looked at Garrett and said, "my throat hurts." He said, "mine too." We thought it was just allergies or something. By the time we got home that afternoon I had a fever of 101. Tuesday morning, I go to the doctor, Strep Throat. Seriously??? So, I've been quarantined (again). Garrett is going to the doctor this afternoon. Here's to 2011 being a healthy year. And here's some pics from the few seconds we were well.

When I Get to Heaven

2010-12-22T13:19:00.002-05:00

You know how you always here people say things like, "When I get to heaven, the first thing I'm gonna ask God is why does __________ have to happen (you can fill in the blank, I couldn't come up with a good example). Anyway, when I get to heaven, the first thing I am asking is, "Why the heck does everyone always come down with the stupid stomach virus in the middle of the night?" Apparently, my kids don't know how to throw up during the day and neither do we.

As you'll remember, Emerson had the awful stomach virus about a month ago and threw up, all NIGHT. Well, this past Saturday NIGHT she threw up at 4am. Then on Monday NIGHT, Garrett starting throwing up at 4am and then last NIGHT I started throwing up at 1am. Don't get me wrong, I don't want anyone throwing up any time but I really think I would prefer let's say, 11am.

Here's to a throw up free Christmas....and according to the weather man maybe a little snow.

Thank Goodness

2010-12-20T22:33:00.002-05:00

Apparently Emerson is really into watching ice skating. Twice in the past few weeks the Today Show has had people ice skating on the show. Both times Emerson has stopped dead in her tracks and climbed up into my lap to watch the skaters. As soon as they are done she hops down and goes about her business. I love her sitting in my lap so much that I YouTubed ice skating performances and let her watch a few...from my lap of course. Thank goodness she's not into synchronized swimming or I may have to watch this....

Another Move and A Cookie Swap

2010-12-15T21:12:00.005-05:00

Well, it's that time again, time for a member of our family to move. Yes folks, after 8 long weeks of having our family of 4 living under one roof, it's time to change it up. Last week Garrett got the phone call I've been dreading...they're moving him to Myrtle Beach at the end of the month. Ha Ha, laugh it up. After enjoying making fun of the Brantley's all this time for living in the Myrtle, my husband will now be living there too. I can't lie, I'm sad. Sad that I will once again not be living with my super hot husband. Sad that my kids won't have their dad around all the time. Sad.

A few positives however are: Garrett is employed, that's positive. Also positive, my best friend lives in the Myrtle so at least I will get to see her when we go visit....and Em will get to see her betrothed, Harrison, and we will get to see baby Fisher who is due to be born in early January. All positives. We have no clue how long Garrett will be there for.....only time will tell.

Another positive thing that is not related to the upcoming move, I'm helping host a cookie swap this Saturday. I can't wait. I love holiday parties, especially ones that revolve around eating cookies and taking cookies home. I have been thinking about what kind of cookies to make for a few weeks now. I turned to my friend Martha for a little help. First I tried making these little guys, Lucinda's Molasses Drops.

My sister-in-law, Amber, aka one of my best friends, came down on Saturday to help me test out the cookie recipe. We had a great time hanging out, but the cookies didn't turn out quite right. They were interesting but not what I wanted to bring to the 1st Annual Cookie Swap. So, on Sunday, I tried making something similar to these...

Cocoa Nib Rounds (shortbread with cocoa nibs). In case you are wondering...what the heck is a Cocoa Nib??? (i thought they were just little bits of chocolate)... Cocoa Nibs "are perfectly roasted cocoa beans separated from their husks and broken into small bits. They are the essence of chocolate. Nibs add crunchiness and subtle chocolate flavor to baked goods and savory dishes. They make a great substitute for roasted nuts or chocolate chips, without added sweetness (definition courtesy of gourmetsleuth.com)."

Anyway, the cookies turned out great. If you want to try them, COME TO THE COOKIE SWAP! If you are interested, message me, and I will give you the details (location, time, etc). Just show up with 2 dozen of your favorite cookies. And leave with cookies to take home to your family and friends.

Yummmm....the cookies are helping to ease the pain of the impending move already. I swear I'm going on a diet after Christmas...if not Garrett may never want to come back from the Myrtle.

It's A Miracle

2010-12-08T14:32:00.005-05:00

As noted on the sidebar of this blog, in the past it has been 100% impossible to get a picture of our family with everyone at least facing the camera. Enter Kim DeLoach. I got to know Kim while I was on staff at Grace. I have loved getting to know her over the years. Not only do I consider her a friend but I also think she is one of the more talented photographers I know. To check out her work go here. To check out the wonders she worked on our family...don't move a muscle. Here is a sampling of the recent pics she took of our little family. Please note that is only a very small sampling b/c to post more than a few would take a fortnight. And well, I have a little time, but not a fortnight (which I think is technically like 14 days).

Our precious, precious, precious Evan. You have never met a sweeter more pleasant baby. I promise.

Our precious, precious, precious Emerson. The cutest yet feistiest little lady I have ever known.

The miracle photo. Everyone is almost looking at the camera.

Thank you Kim DeLoach. We are so thankful for you!

Love Love Love

2010-12-04T14:47:00.008-05:00

It's Christmas, the time of year when we celebrate the Lord's love for us, love so great that "he sent His son to dwell among us and to give His life as a ransom for many." I am in awe of His love for me and am celebrating the many blessings He has so graciously given me. So, here are a few of the blessings that I am delighting in these days. I genuinely LOVE the following:

To begin with, I love love love that as I am sitting here writing this post, Emerson is dipping a Sharpie in the foam from the cappuccino my dad made me, and bringing it to me to lick off. Occasionally she takes a lick too and says, "yum, yum, yum." I love her.

Speaking of loving Emmy. I love that on Thanksgiving morning, she decided to climb up into this chair and enjoy the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It made my heart happy to watch her.

I love my husband....even though he dressed my daughter in Clemson gear on Carolina/Clemson game day. Regardless, I love the relationship he and little Em have.

I also love that Evan snuggled with G during our Thanksgiving meal. I am so thankful to have this little guy home and healthy.

I love that anytime Emerson sees a camera she makes this face and says, "cheeeeeese."

I love that Uncle Cullen and Aunt Courtney know how to "cheeeeese" like Emerson.

I love that Emmy's "Gama" likes to "cheeeeeese" too. It's funny how similar they all look.

I also super love that Courtney taught Em how to decorate the tree.

And I love that Em wanted to put all of the ornaments in the exact same spot.

And I most definitely LOVE this ornament. Uncle Cullen as a little tot. I also LOVE that Garrett's mom still has every ornament her kids ever made...and she uses them. That is a wonderful mother.

I love that my kids have Uncles and Aunts that love them like crazy.

And grandparents that can't get enough of them.

And sing them lullaby's when they are tired and sad.

And finally, I LOVE that the Gamecocks are playing for the SEC Championship. We may not win but darn it WE'RE PLAYING!!!

Disney Princesses are Drama Queens

2010-11-18T08:18:00.004-05:00

Garrett Reed quote of the day:

"I don't like Disney. All they do is create drama queens. Every Disney princess was just trying to runaway from their father."

Me: "That's not true. Only Jasmine was trying to escape her father."

Garrett: "Not true. What about Ariel."

Me: "Well, that's it. What about Cinderella."

Garrett: "Cinderella didn't have a father. And she was trying to run away from her step mom because she tried to make her do chores. Drama queen."

I guess Emerson will never have a Disney Princess party. And the poor girl will probably never be watching the Disney Channel. If Garrett thinks the princesses are drama queens, I wonder what he would think about Hannah Montana.

Second Garrett quote of the day:

"Allie I wanna be married to you for 75 years. Not 76. By then I think I'll be ready for another wife. How old will I be then?" You'll be 97 Garrett....good luck with your next wife.

Just a normal morning around the breakfast table.

Speaking of Emerson, I've had a few questions about this little outfit:

These little PJ's came from Emerson's world traveling uncle and aunt, Cullen and Amber. They brought these back for her from China and she loves them! This is her rocking them for the first time back in June. Of course she sported some shorts on her head with them. She wants to wear them all the time. In fact, she was rocking them when she barfed on me this past weekend. No worries, the cleaned right up.

Initiation

2010-11-15T08:39:00.007-05:00

Well, it's official, we are parents. One would think this would have felt official 18 months ago when Emerson was born. Or if that wasn't enough to make it feel real, you would think that Evan being born 4 weeks ago would have sealed the deal. But the truth is, even as recently as Saturday morning, I don't think either of us really felt like there was any way we could be parents. I mean we are young and more than that we are cool....there is no way we could be parents right??? Honestly, on Saturday afternoon when some of our great friends (Nicky and Scott...who happen to be dating now...woohooo!), stopped by to bring us dinner and to meet to little Evan, I remember thinking to myself, "there is no way I am the mother of two." Fast forward and few hours to approximately 10:37pm (only a few minutes away from an unbelievable Gamecock victory), and all of that changes.

In the wee hours of Friday night/early Saturday morning when I was up with EVAN because he was super congested and had a bad cough, I decided I should take him to the doctor in the morning. So I did, I took EVAN to the doctor Saturday morning. They told me what I thought they would tell me, "he has a little cold. Keep an eye on it. If he has a fever of 110.4 or higher take him to the ER." Got it. So we stayed home all day Saturday and had a rest day.

Back to 10:37pm Saturday night. I was watching my Gamecocks win and I was loving it and I was pumped to watch them wrap up the victory. Then all of the sudden I hear EMERSON screaming over the baby monitor. Which I should note is not abnormal these days. Ever since we brought Evan home, she often has a hard time going to bed or wakes up crying. It's like she thinks we are up partying with out her. Which of course we are because are cool and not parent like at all. Anyway, Garrett went to go check on her (since he's a Clemson fan and not as invested as I am in watching the Gamecocks bring home the W). A few seconds later I hear him bringing her down stairs and I think to myself in an annoyed way, "Why is he bringing her down here?? He just needs to make her go back to bed." I'm a good wife like that.

Anyway, as he walks into the room with her he says "We need to take her temperature, she's on fire." As he says this he plops her down in my lap. He was right, she was blazing hot. Garrett had brought the thermometer down with him so we immediately take her temp, 102 degrees. Please note she is still sitting in my lap facing me. Within 3 seconds of confirming her fever, she looks at me and starts sobbing, and then projectile vomits in my lap. While everyone starts scrambling to get supplies to clean up (we are sitting on my parents nice sofa), she projectile vomits in my lap, again.

We get everyone cleaned up and then I decide to put out an air mattress in her room so she and I can sleep on it together so I can keep a close eye on her. Mistake. However, in the short time we were on the air mattress together I tried to snuggle her and she kept pushing my hands away from her. Finally as I was laying there, I started to feel like a parent. I found myself thinking things like, "I wish I was sick, not her." "I wish she would let me snuggle and comfort her...I'm sure there will be lots of other times in her life that I want to comfort her when she won't want me to." And as I began to go down the trail of very parental thoughts, she looked at me and projectile vomited in my face again. Yes, I have been initiated into parenthood.

Luckily, the vomiting only lasted a few hours and the fever only lasted about 24 hours. And luckily again, Garrett got his initiation in to parenthood yesterday when he was sitting on the couch holding Em and somehow her diaper sprung a leak and she peed all in his lap. Yes, I took a picture.

Can you say A.W.E.S.O.M.E. I still can't stop laughing about it. Anyway, the point of this whole story is this: #1. Having sick kids really made me feel like a parent #2. Beware: If you take your 4 week old to the doctor for a cold, your 18 month may start puking shortly thereafter....the irony. Maybe the real lesson is that I'm not that great of parent b/c I took the wrong kid to the doctor.

Here is a pic of Em with a serious stomach virus and fever of 102 degrees and she still knows how to cheese it. I wish I was this cute.

Like a Ninja

2010-11-11T22:26:00.003-05:00

Good news....Emerson loves her brother. We were a little nervous there for a minute but that minute has passed. Emerson has been so sweet and loving towards her brother and for that we are extremely thankful. Evan seems to not mind her so much either. Here are a few pics from the past few days.

Emerson helping feed her brother.....and loving it.

Em showing off the giant bruise right between her eyes. Still not 100% sure how that happened.

Emmy carrying on a conversation with her brother.

Not sure what she is doing here but it made me laugh. Still rocking the bruise though.

In other good news, Garrett took the day off today. So, we and the McCall's took our kiddos to the Greenville Zoo. So much fun! The weather was perfect. I loved every minute of it. Apparently, Emerson and Bryson loved it too because they decided to share a spontaneous smooch.

I still can't believe my husband allowed this to happen. I guess you can't stop young love.

After smooching, they decided to ride some lions. (yes Emerson wore her head band like a ninja all day)

Emerson also tried to smooch the pig. I guess she's not too picky about who she smooches. We clearly need to work on this.

Fun times. That's it. A little snap shot of our life. Not pictured in this post, how little sleep we are getting these days. It's ok Evan, we love you despite your desire to eat every 3 hours around the clock.

An Overdue Update

2010-11-06T22:02:00.008-04:00

Ok so I stink at updating my blog. This should not come as a shock to anyone. But who cares because EVAN IS HOME! And to make things even better our entire little family is living in the same town and in the same house (which is so exciting that I am willing to overlook that we are living with my parents).

Let me go back a week and a few days in order to provide a complete update. The Wednesday before Halloween (also known as the day Garrett was originally scheduled to go back to Northern, VA), we walked into the NICU and little Evan was wearing real clothes. Not a standard issued hospital t-shirt and blanket, but a little orange onsie. I may not have jumped to any conclusions had the nurse at the front desk not said to us when walked in "how would y'all feel about maybe taking Evan home today?", but she had said it. So, when we saw him in real clothes, we both assumed he was coming home. Our excitement was immediately squashed when one of the other nurses said, "he's still breathing fast and not maintaining his saturation levels when he sleeps. The doctor wants to keep him for a few more days." A FEW MORE DAYS???...Garrett had just booked his flight back to Northern, VA for Friday morning hoping Evan would be home before then. A few more days would mean some time over the weekend while Garrett was gone.

So, when the doctor came in to talk to us I really tried to hold it together, I did. But, I was unsuccessful. I didn't sob uncontrollably or anything but I couldn't keep the tears from coming. The poor neonatologist is such a wiry and awkward man and I could tell I was making him extremely uncomfortable (which I personally find odd, you would think he deals with crying moms on a regular basis). Anyway, while I cried, he explained to us what we had already heard from the nurse and said Evan probably wouldn't come until sometime over Halloween weekend, after Garrett had left.

I was so excited to know Evan was going to be coming home at some point but I wanted more than anything for Garrett to be there when it happened. Well, the Lord heard my prayers and had compassion on me because the next morning the doctor called me and said he felt good about Evan coming home and that we could pick him up at lunch time. Garrett still had to leave the next day but at least we would have 24 hours together as a family. And to add to my joy, we found out that Garrett's company worked it out for him to take an assignment closer to home for a little while. So, Garrett was able to fly back on Halloween and we have all been living together again for a week now......wooohooo!!!!

I'll say, I don't know what I would do without Garrett here. I'm pretty sure I have 2 of the easier kids on the planet but juggling them both is time consuming. So, having their dad around is a blessing on lots of levels. Evan is doing great and is officially a healthy little boy. Emerson is still adjusting to having someone else to share the attention with, but she genuinely seems to love her little brother.

Since Evan made it home in time for Halloween, we all went trick-or-treating (which means we went to 3 houses). Much to Garrett's disappointment, I dressed Em up in a USC cheerleading outfit. In fact, he almost refused to to take her trick-or-treating if she was wearing it. I'm sure he will be going costume shopping for her next year. Regardless, we had fun.

We are still figuring out the whole having 2 kids thing but it has been fun to be able to do it together. We still feel like we are getting to know Evan but here's what we know so far....the little guy loves to eat. He loves to eat more than anything. He loves to eat so much that he gained a little over a pound in less than a week. Other than being passionate about eating he is super laid back...which is a good thing since he sister is not. Unfortunately his passion for eating trumps his desire to sleep. Oh well, we will sleep again some day.

Evan we love you and we are so glad you are home. Emerson, we are thankful you love your brother and we love you so much! Thanks to everyone for all of the support and prayers. We are so thankful for our friends and our amazing family! Enjoy some pics from our week together as a family!

Nana (Mary Jane Ramseur, from whom Ev got his name) holding Evan for the first time.

Garrett always finds the most interesting ways to use the boppy. And he really likes to zip his kids up into his jacket. He tried to zip Em up the other day...it didn't work.

Evan on his first Halloween.

Em trick-or-treating for the first time. She tried to give the candy back a few times. Clearly she didn't get it.

Emerson's new favorite thing to do is to where her bloomers on her head. She walks around showing everyone her "hat." Garrett let her wear them to school one day.

Em celebrating her brother being home. Ok, I actually have no idea what she was doing in this picture.

Emerson and Evan with Nana. Nana moved to an assisted living facility this weekend (at the age of 94!).....we miss her already.

Weekend Update

2010-10-24T22:11:00.005-04:00

This "weekend update" may not be as funny as SNL's version but it will update you on our life. Exciting.

Well, we left the hospital late Friday afternoon but not before I had a good old fashioned emotional meltdown. Yes, that's right, I totally lost it around 10am and I cried until 11:30am. And when I say cry, I mean I sobbed. I feel like I remember this happening after I had Emerson too...maybe it's just a post having a baby thing or maybe I'm just weird. Either way, it happened. I sobbed to Garrett and I sobbed to our lactation consultant. I was in pain and I wanted to get to know my baby.

It all started when the day before they had finally let us hold Evan and the night nurse told us that she thought I would get a chance to try and nurse him on Friday night. So, while I had been bummed to leave him at the hospital I was excited to get to come back that night and get some good snuggle time with him (trust me, this is a baby you want to snuggle). So, you can imagine how disappointed I was when Garrett came back from running some breast milk to the nursery on Friday morning and told me, "Evan had a rough night. They think we pushed him too hard yesterday. You aren't going to be able to try and nurse him tonight or handle him much today." I finished drying my hair and then I layed down on the bed and cried.

All I wanted was to get to know the little person I had carried around for 9 months, and then had cut out of my body a few days earlier, and I couldn't even hold him. Enter the lactation consultant. I was already sobbing when she walked in so I just let it flow (keep in mind we kind of know her from Clemson and really love her...she wasn't a total stranger). Well maybe it was a divine appointment because after my sob session, our lactation consultant marched herself down to the NCU and convinced them to let us hold him again before we left that afternoon.

And hold him we did. And his numbers stayed great the whole time (heart rate, oxygen saturation levels, respiratory rate, etc). It was definitely the encouragement and time we needed with our little guy before we left him at the hospital.

On Saturday, Garrett's sister Courtney flew in from Colorado. We spent most of the day at the hospital with Garrett's family. When we walked into the NCU that morning, I walked over to Evan's bed and when I looked at him I noticed he looked really different....it took me a minute to realize NO OXYGEN! They had taken him off the oxygen! And he was breathing. And his saturation levels were at the target and his respiratory rate were where they should be! They let us know that they had just taken him off and that we would wait and see how he did. As we were leaving they asked if we wanted to come back at 3 and try to nurse him....um yes. Clearly we came back, and it went great! He latched on immediately....I'm not gonna lie, having something go smoothly was such a huge blessing. And holding that baby skin to skin might have been the greatest gift I could have ever been given.

To top it all, little Emerson might have done the sweetest thing I've ever seen her do (and she does a lot of sweet things). Em isn't allowed in the NCU but there is a window she can look through. So, before we left I held Evan up for her to see him. Well, she definitely did not enjoy seeing me hold a baby. But, as we were leaving Garrett was holding her up to the window and he said, "tell your baby brother bye bye." And Emerson said, "Bye bye baby," and then she leaned over and kissed the window. As soon as I think I couldn't love that little girl anymore she goes and does something like that. Luckily, we got it on video so I can relive it over and over again.

Whew. All that to say, it was a long but good weekend. Evan stayed off of his oxygen all weekend and we were able to spend most of the day with him today. We held him lots and got to nurse again twice. I am so thankful that he is doing well. I am so thankful for our amazing family and friends. And I am so thankful that Courtney got to spend time with both of our kiddos and us this weekend.

I still feel pretty awful physically but as my sweet mother-in-law reminded me, "today may not be a good day, but tomorrow will be better." I'm clinging to that. Family and friends, we love you so much. Thank you for everything. Sorry we have been so out of touch but please know how much we appreciate all of the sweet phone calls and messages. I promise to be better at keeping in touch very the near future.

Hopefully we will be reporting on Evan coming home soon! In the meantime, enjoy this little pic of my sweet husband that I found in the photo archives. Hopefully, Evan will be as cool as his daddy.

Garrett Reed, circa Summer of 2005 (pre-marriage), and yes, he took this picture of himself.

Holding Babies is My Favorite!

2010-10-21T15:43:00.002-04:00

Today is the day that we both got to hold our son for the first time.....wooohoo!!!! We walked into the NCU for our routine morning visit and the nurse said, "Oh, go grab a gown, it's time for you to hold this baby." I cried. And then I held my baby. And loved every second of it. I loved it so much that I didn't even care that I was freakishly nauseated from the pain medication/coffee combo I had just consumed.

Anyway, I won't bore you with banter, I'll just let you enjoy the pics from our wonderful morning. Thank goodness we happened to bring the camera!

Evan Ramseur Reed

2010-10-20T20:26:00.008-04:00

Evan
(Hebrew origin means: God is Gracious; Celtic origin means: Young Warrior)

Born October 19, 2010 9:42am

7lbs 7oz and 19.5 inches long

Well, if you haven't heard already, our little man was born yesterday morning at 9:42am. After delivering Emerson wreaked permanent havoc on my body, every doctor I have seen over the past year said a C-Section for this delivery was necessary. So, a C-Section it was.

Typically, I think I tend to believe I am more hard core than I actually am. My thoughts on having a c-section were no exception. So, I was genuinely surprised to discover that I was kind of a wimp when it came to the c-section. I started to panic after they made me drink this nasty stuff that is supposed to neutralize the acid in your stomach. Then when they began to pump me full of drugs after not eating for a while, I really started to come unglued. More than likely most of the people around me didn't notice that I was freaking out, but on the inside I definitely was. Most of my thoughts went something like, "I can't do this." "We can never have more children." "There has to be another way to get this kid out." "Why do I feel like I am dying?" Keep in mind these were my thoughts BEFORE I ever even got the epidural.

I pretty much stayed in quasi-panic mode throughout the surgery. Especially when I asked the nurse anesthetist why I was having sharp pains in my chest and she responded, "Oh it's probably just because your uterus is outside of your body right now. Once they put it back in you'll feel better." Very comforting. Anyway, she eventually gave me some drugs that helped me relax which turned out to be a good thing because from the second little Evan was born it was obvious everything was not ok.

There was a brief moment of joy when the doctor first saw Evan's head and said "He has a ton of black hair," and everyone cheered. A few seconds later when they pulled him out of my body there was silence, no baby crying, no cheering, just nurses and doctors whispering. Every now and then Evan would try to get a little cry out and the nurses would whisper more. There was no shouting of stats or cheers of "He looks great." All that was said was, "It seems he has some fluid in his lungs." Then they whisked him by my face, let me kiss his soft perfect cheeks, and then he was gone...off to the Neonatal Care Unit.

And he has not left the NCU since. Because I had a c-section, I was not able to get out of bed for 12 hours after surgery, so it was late last night before I was able to get to the NCU and really get good look at my baby. He is absolutely precious. He looks JUST like his daddy (which is good since Garrett is freakishly handsome). He has so much jet black hair, it's amazing. His hair and coloring make him look like a little baby Latino Garrett...I love it.

Apparently it is common for c-section babies to have a lot of fluid in their lungs since most babies have the chance to expel that fluid while they are in the birth canal. Most of the babies that experience this problem are able to get rid of the fluid within the first 4 hours of life. Evan had such a substantial amount of fluid in his lungs, that this has not been the case with him. The neonatologist says that Evan has made tremendous progress since yesterday but still has a ways to go. So, when we leave the hospital on Friday our little man will not be coming with us. Of course this makes us sad but at the end of the day, we just want him to breathe with ease. We are both dying to hold him and kiss him....if they can wean him off the oxygen we will get our chance. I'm also dying for Emerson to be able to meet him. I feel blessed to know that I will get to experience all of these things in due time.

Thanks so much for all of the prayers and support. I wish I could get in touch with everyone personally to say thank you. Hopefully once we get everyone home and healthy, I will be able to do just that.

Baby Eve

2010-10-18T17:59:00.003-04:00

So, tonight is our last night as a family of 3! Weird. Just as weird as it was on our last night as a family of 2 was, exactly 17 months ago. That is right, little E will be exactly 17 months old tomorrow AND our son will enter the world. Unbelievable. So, in light of that, G and I are leaving Em with my parents tonight and we are heading out on a much needed date. No worries though, we have spent some quality time with our little cupcake over the past few days. I am gonna miss this little girl so much while we are in the hospital. It is amazing how much we love this girl.

So, Em, this is a little tribute to you. Your brother entering our family will never change the way we adore you. We can't wait to see they way you love him (and the way he will love you). Although the past 17 months have brought many challenges for our family, the Lord has blessed us beyond imagination with you. We can't wait to see you with your brother for the first time tomorrow!

Here is a snap shot of our last days as a family of 3.

Celebrating GiGi's birthday at Mary's Restaurant (holy smoke that place is yummy)

At the park looking sad....weird because we actually had fun. Where are the smiles people??

Emerson being her joyful self...makes my heart melt.

We couldn't not love this little girl any more.

How on earth did she get this big??

Stay tuned for baby updates!!!!! I will try to get them up ASAP.

Appy Appy Appy (that's for your Em)

2010-10-12T20:24:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it has been 3 weeks since I posted anything to this little blog. Between work, doctors appointments, trying to keep up with Nana (my almost 94 year old grandmother who lives with us), and trying to spend time with friends before #2 comes...I have been busy. One day when I have time I will write an entire post or 2 on what life with a 94 year old woman is like. We have been trying to get little Nana into an assisted living place but she has been more than resistant. But the reality is, she needs more care than any of us can give her. The sociologist/counselor in me has found watching my mom (and her siblings) deal with her aging mother extremely interesting. Like I said one day, I will give it a post or two. Until then, just know that life with your 16 month old and 94 year old grandmother all while being 9 months pregnant is exhausting but fascinating.

Since I have been able to be in Greenville more over the past few months, I have been so thankful to get to spend time with some of my favorite people. Among these people are two of my best friends from growing up, Lindsay and Kellan. Little E and I had the pleasure of dining with them last night. I could spend hours talking about these girls........because they rock. I love that when I am with them I have just as much fun as I did in the 7th grade.

To give you an idea of how close these girls and I are, right before this pic was taken Linds informed me (and the high school kid taking the picture)that it was ok that I was this fat because I have been pregnant for 2 years now.

It's ok though because I know they love me. Otherwise they wouldn't get on the ground in a parking lot to play with my kid.

Or maybe they just really love Emmy.

Speaking of Emerson, Garrett and I took her to Sky Top Orchard when he was here visiting a few weeks ago. It was cold and rainy but we didn't care....when you only have one day together as a family, you take advantage of it. Good thing we did because Emerson LOVED it. In fact, all she talks about since then is "appy's"...which is funny because she can actually say the word apple but she prefers to call them "appy's."

Em running around the orchard saying, "Appy appy appy appy appy." She loved playing with the rotten mushy ones that were on the ground. Yes we let her do that. :)

We also let her ride in the apple cart, which apparently is a big "no no." We discovered this when we returned the cart to the same place we got it from (under a giant sign that said, "do not let children ride in carts"). As I was reading a sign, one of the orchard workers proceeded to tell me why this wasn't allowed and continued to proceed for like 15 minutes.

I'm not gonna lie, Em had so much fun that it was worth the lecture (he was very nice while he lectured). Anyway if you have never been to Sky Top you are for sure missing out. No fall would be complete without a trip there (and a dozen freshly made apple doughnuts.....yum)!

Anyway, baby #2 is scheduled to be born a week from today. My dad gets back in to town tonight and Garrett gets back late Saturday night. So, once we get them both here, I will be ready. I mean as ready as you can ever be to have 2 kids and be living with your parents and 94 year old Nana, all while your husband works 8 hours away. Wish us luck and pray....a lot.

Just Some Random Thoughts

2010-09-14T20:12:00.007-04:00

Hmmm....blogging....I'm not even sure I remember how to blog because I do it so seldom these days. Let's see if I can figure it out. Ok, have I ever introduced you all to one of my fave people ever, McKenzie???? If not, meet her now.

Hey McKenzie!

McKenzie was little E's first real babysitter. The Lord introduced her to us right after we moved to Durham a little over a year ago and it was love at first sight. E was only 3 and half months old but they became instant friends. Not only was McKenzie the best babysitter ever, she quickly became an amazing friend to me. The picture above was taken the day before we moved. McKenzie, WE MISS YOU SO MUCH and we think of you and pray for you constantly. It should also be noted that McKenzie has a super awesome boyfriend that we love too....Emmy wants to be their flower girl one day. :)

Wow, it was good for me to reflect on McKenzie and the time when our little family was all living under one roof because lately, E and I have been feeling a little like this.....

The first week or so without Garrett made my heart hurt bad.....seriously I cried a lot. Morning, afternoon, night, I was probably crying. Emerson dealt with missing G by doing this,

wearing a 4th of july hat sideways and carrying a dust pan....

and sorting and moving around pine straw...this is her new favorite activity. In fact that is how she busted her chin...by throwing pine straw into the pond and tripping into the side of it in the process.

Luckily, Garrett sensed my overwhelming depression (or maybe all the crying gave it away), and he surprised us by driving 8 hours at night for a one day visit. Oh man it did my heart good. I think the move happened so fast that I wasn't able to process it all until after it was a done deal so it was so nice to spend some quality with him, processing things together.

We took advantage of every second of our one day together as a family. We spent lots of time downtown and although we hadn't really planned on it, we let Em get into the water park thing down by the river (i have no idea what the thing is actually called). Hence all of the other children pictured are in their bathing suits while E is not.

Oh man he is the best looking man I have ever seen...for real.

The baby standing behind Em in this picture fell and busted her head on the ground seconds after I took this picture....I hate to say that I saw it coming, but "I saw it coming." Parents please don't let your 8 month old run around on wet concrete unattended.

Em sitting down and protesting "No, no, no, no, no" as G told her it was time to go.

In the short time Garrett was home, he managed to take this picture and leave it on my camera. Seriously he has the grossest feet ever. There were actually 2 pictures of his feet, this is the less gross one. Warning, it could make you vomit a little.

So, after Garrett left, I said to myself, "Allison, you have got to pull it together ASAP." So, I enrolled Em in a Mothers Morning Out program from 9-1, two days a week, and conned K.Lo into watching her from 9-1 one other day a week. Then I got myself a job. That's right, 5 weeks before my scheduled c-section, I have started a new job.

It may sound totally nuts but after a year and half of not working consistently and living outside of community, I needed to do something. So, my sister hooked me up with a little 10 hour a week job at the design firm where she works. Basically, I sort, fold, price, and organize fabric samples and I LOVE IT! Plus, I get to work with my sister which is even better than I could have ever imagined. Thanks for hooking me up Amanda, you rock. The only negative thing about the job is that I get to play with beautiful fabric that I could never afford (I priced on that was almost $400/yard today....not a joke).

Did, I mention that Em and little Bryson are in the same preschool class??? Well they are! Along with my friend Jenn's little boy, Keegan....it makes my heart happy.

E and B on their first day (we could not get them to look at the camera to save our lives).

They both started screaming the second we dropped them off. It was sad but cute all at the same time. By the time we picked them up they were happy as can be. In other news, E and I went to Spartanburg this past weekend b/c my sweet mother-in-laws friends threw us a baby shower. It was so sweet and beautiful and Emerson loved every second of it. I have never seen anyone enjoy attention as much as my little lady. She stole the show for sure (even though I told her that morning that the day was about her brother and not her)!

Emerson showing her Great Aunt June the new blanket her brother received.

She literally stood in the middle of the room the whole time. And she opened most of the presents before I could get a chance to.

E enjoying herself a little more.

Anyway, we are still missing Garrett and I might still tear up when I see him on Skype every night but I would say I'm doing better. I'm staying busy which is definitely a good thing for me right now. If you are in Greenville and we haven't seen you yet please holler at us! We want to see everyone while we are here and have the chance. Plus you can marvel at how large I am. I seriously need to stop eating so often and such awful things. I'm sure I will be blogging about my weight loss plan after #2 arrives. But until then....well let's just say I made plans just a little while ago to eat breakfast at Broadway Bagels with some friends from high school on Friday!

Holy Smoke....

2010-09-01T14:01:00.003-04:00

Our life has taken a turn for the crazy....shocking I know. Well when I got back from California 2 weeks ago, Garrett told me that he had gotten a phone call saying they were moving him to an assignment in Northern Virginia and that he would need to be there by the end of the month. They said it would be a short assignment so we decided there was no way little E and I could go. You know since I'm scheduled to have a baby in 7 weeks. So, I got that news on Wednesday the 11th and on Wednesday the 18th the moving truck was packed and Garrett was driving E and I to my parents house in SC.

The memorial service for Amber's dad was that same Wednesday in Gastonia, so we drove the moving truck there. Really classy. The service was really beautiful and it was so good to just get to wrap my arms around Amber....she is such an amazing person and I am so blessed to have her as a sister-in-law. And I am beyond thankful that she and Cullen are finally back in the states and living so close to us know!

We got the Penske truck (we have permanently boycotted U-Haul...i can't believe i even just drew attention to them by mentioning their name) unpacked on Thursday and Friday and then on Saturday, G and I went to stay at the new Marriott in Greenville to celebrate 5 years of marriage! I think we would both agree that the 5th year has by far been the most challenging. Having our first child, being separated a lot for work reasons, and being in an extremely difficult position career wise has definitely presented us with challenges that we never could have imagined. I definitely think we both dream of living a "normal" life....whatever that means. All that to say, I love him more than ever and as we deal with all of these challenges together, we are both reaffirmed that the Lord ordained our marriage and that we were meant to walk through these challenges together.

So, our 6th year of marriage began with Em turning 15 months old, us being exactly 2 months away from having baby #2, and Garrett leaving for Northern VA for a few months, while E and I stay with my parents. Emerson is pretty amazing these days. She is walking and talking up a storm....in fact I think she probably had 10 or 15 words in her vocabulary before she ever took her first step (which happened on July 22nd). Her favorite thing to say is "No M'am." It's starting to drive me crazy. I working on "Yes M'am" but she doesn't seem interested.

Our little man is scheduled to be born at 9:30am on October 19th....hopefully we will have come up with a name by then. I'm thinking we will have to decide on something at the hospital b/c G and I really wont' be together to discuss it until then. Speaking of, G will have to fly home for the birth so please pray that our little guy doesn't come early...otherwise my sweet sister will be going into the operating room with me.

Ahhhh.....I'm too tired to update the world on much else. If I ever seem like I handle the chaos in our life gracefully, I assure that's all a big facade...not an intentional one but one none the less. I am tired and I miss my husband, bad. I miss having a home where my little family can all dwell together (G is living in a motel in Northern, VA...it drives him crazy when I call it a motel...he, he. I'm sure the Candlewood Inn is very nice). I would post pics of my precious little daughter but my parents will only give me guest access on their computer so I can't (this is not a joke). Nothing says "make yourself at home" like denying you full computer access. I love you mom and dad.

I am confident the Lord is doing something big in our lives amidst all this craziness and I am clinging to His promises but darn it if I'm not ready for a little relief. Selfish I know, but that's where I am.

Please Pray.....

2010-08-17T08:57:00.003-04:00

Friends, PLEASE pray for my beautiful sister-in-law, Amber, who lost her father extremely unexpectedly this week. Amber has actually been in India at a yoga school for the past 2 weeks (and was supposed to be there for almost 4 more) and had to travel back alone as soon as she got the news. I cannot imagine the depth of the loss and shock that she feels. Please pray for her and her family as the begin to process all that has happened and as they have to move forward with life....which I am sure does not even feel possible right now. Amber has three teenage brothers, Joey, Jake, and Daniel, please please pray for them as well.

Amber I love you so much. My heart aches for you and I cannot stop thinking about you and praying for you.

Greenville....we love you

2010-08-12T09:48:00.002-04:00

I've definitely been MIA...which is killing most of you I know. :) But, it is only because little E and I took a week long trip (that turned in to an almost 2 week trip) back home to Greenville. It was lovely to say the least. The trip started with throwing a baby shower for my friend, Kelly, who is pregnant with her first little baby. It was so much fun to celebrate her and her little girl, Harper, who will be here in October (Kell and I are due 10 days apart)!

My time in Greenville really was amazing. We spent so much time with friends and family....it was definitely what my heart needed. Our (our being me, Em, and a little bit of Garrett) time in Greenville included but definitely is not limited to:

A birthday cookout for our favorite 33 year old, John Childress
A SURPRISE baby shower thrown for us by our closest friends, they rock.
An abundance of time spent with the McCall family (trips to the pool and to the Greenville Children's museum were some of the highlights....well the pool not so much, our kids turned that in to more of a nightmare but the museum was great)
Emerson's first haircut (which was way more dramatic than I ever could have imagined)
Hang time with my freakishly cool artist friend Nina...check out her work here.
Multiple lunch dates with my mom aka GiGi....we love her
Lots of hang time with my amazing sister and brother-in-law
Not one but TWO dinners with my best friends from Middle School/High School, Lindsay, Kellan, and Brooke. Lindsay and Brooke's families were nice enough to host dinner for all of us.....It was seriously great to hang out with these ladies.
Dinner with my old co-workers from the church, aka some of the best friends a girl could have...Sandy, Jenn, and Leah, I miss y'all mucho.
Some wonderful time with my friend Shannon and her little boy Liam
My 10 YEAR HIGH SCHOOL REUNION....it was so great, I have no way to describe how much fun I had.
Watching one of my best friends from high school, Alexis, baptize her daughter Scout. I cried lots and loved it.
And last but definitely not least, little E and I got to spend some time with my dad who got to come home from Memphis while we were there.

See, I told you we have been busy. But man has it been great. We have officially lived in Durham for almost an entire year. I really cannot believe it. We thought we would only be here for 4 months! Quite honestly, it has been one of the loneliest years of my life. It has been so hard yet so good for me in lots of ways.

I was telling my mom while I at was home that two years ago, before we moved to Charleston, I think I had become bitter about a lot of the blessings the Lord had given to me (ridiculous I know). But, when we left Greenville, I felt over involved and over committed to the community the Lord had blessed us with...all I wanted was a little time to myself. Well, the Lord let me have what I swore I wanted...lots of time to myself. I could probably go on for the next few days about what the Lord is teaching me about my heart, but for now it will have to wait.

I just got back from a trip to California for work, on which I ended up in the hospital because I thought my water had broken at 29 weeks. Luckily, I was wrong and I am now at home with my family (and refusing to get back on a plane until this baby comes). Anyway, stay tuned because there are BIG CHANGES in the works for Team Reed. Hopefully, I will be able to share the details soon. Until then, enjoy some pics from our time in Greenville. I must have had so much fun that I forgot to take very many pics.

Em not so sure about her first hair cut.

Suddenly she is sure that she isn't feeling the hair cut.

Kristin and precious little Hannah Claire.

Em doing some serious grocery shopping at the Children's Museum.

Em pushed the cart while Bryson filled it up....they looked like and old couple.

Bryson wanted to load up on junk food and Em said, "We don't need all that syrup, get some veggies."

Water=fun and two soaking wet toddlers.

Garrett calls Bryson "the foreman" b/c he walks with authority and that combined with his little belly make him look like he should be the boss on a construction site...G this pic is for you.

My 10 year high school reunion! I got a little bored during the comedic routine so I took random pics. Here is my friend Kristen who is pregnant with twins! And the newlyweds, Kirk and Kristy Harmon. I love them all!

Garrett's face looked like this most of the evening....and I have no idea what Kellan is doing in this picture. However, I love these two so much, therefore I kind of love this pic.

Linds, this pic is especially for you. This is my BFF, Linds, she has been pictured on this blog several times before. The handsome fella with her is Jay Lee. He is pretty much one of the coolest people ever. He is a corporate attorney in NYC and lives in the East Village. He has a girlfriend but I still kind of want him and Linds to date. They would make a cute couple don't you think???

And last but most definitely not least, my friend Alexis baptized her daughter, Scout, while I was at home. Alexis has the most amazing life story and I could not hold it together watching her baptize precious Scout. I'm so thankful that they have let me be a part of their lives and that I have been able to watch the Lord do amazing things in their family. Lex, I love you and your kiddos so much!

This Is NOT a Joke

2010-08-07T15:44:00.004-04:00

Here are a few things that are NOT a joke.

Thing #1: On our recent trip home, Garrett and Marshall sat in this baby pool in my parents yard just like this for over an hour. It was awesome and definitely not a joke.

Thing #2: When I pulled back into our apartment complex after being gone for two weeks, I noticed that they had begun painting the buildings these colors. The pictures do not do the colors justice. I'm not sure what was wrong with the tan color they were before. Unfortunately, not a joke.

Bananas and Split Pea Soup...a true inspiration

Not feeling banana yellow and puke green??? How about burnt orange and peach??

Thing #3: Garrett and I went on a date last night. Outside of the movie theatre was this guy with his three daughters. They qued the music and ran sound while he flailed around and impersonated Elvis, for a long time. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the flailing aka dancing on video. But you get the idea. Sadly for his daughters, this was not a joke...but still really funny.

Team Reed...is still alive.

2010-07-29T14:40:00.002-04:00

No I do not actually like the new background on this blog nor did I plan on changing it again. But, something was wrong with my old one and when I signed in to update myself on all of your lives I couldn't see my blog list due to the background malfunction.....so I grabbed a new one real quick. I can't promise that you won't be looking at these clovers for a while. But at the rate I blog these days you should be ok.

Anyway, I have been back home in Greenville for a week now and have been LOVING every second of it. However, I am missing G a ton. So is E, she says dada all day long. Anyway, just wanted to let the blogisphere know that Team Reed is in fact alive and well. I have what seems like a life time of pictures and updates that I need to get up. One day soon...I promise. I am promising more to myself than anything. Since I don't do the whole baby book thing, this blog serves as my baby book. So, I gotta keep it updated so my kids will know details about their childhoods that will otherwise be lost.

Speaking of kids, anybody want to name baby #2. We got nothing. Suggestions are welcomed, remember, he's a boy.

Dear Family

2010-07-13T14:54:00.007-04:00

This summer has been completely nuts (and for the most part, not a fun kind of nuts). However, we did get to go to the beach for almost an entire week over the 4th and it was WONDERFUL. It was so relaxing, which was a stark contrast from last year. As I am sure I have mentioned before, G's grandparents have a house on Fripp Island and every year the entire family heads down for the week of the 4th. The Lord apparently really wanted us to go this year because despite having a manager quit a few days before our departure (a.k.a Garrett's birthday), and having some issues with another manager, we were still able to make it work.

Before I get into the picture recap, here is a little pic of Emmy from a visit we made to my parents house a few weeks ago. I'm pretty sure she knows how cute she is.

On the same trip we stopped by Spartanburg for Fathers Day and to see Garrett's brother and his wife for the first time in almost TWO YEARS!!! It was beyond good to see them. They brought Em some PJ's from China. So we made her model them...with shorts on her head???

Anyway, a week or so later it was time to pack up for the beach. The day before we left I said, "Emerson, do you want to help mommy pack your stuff??" She said, "I sure do (ok maybe she didn't say this with words, but her eyes said it all)." So we sat in her room and packed her stuff up together and then I walked of the room for 5 seconds and came back to this. I think I'll pass on any packing assistance from her in the future.

My dad got shipped off to Memphis for work the day after he and my mom got back from their European vacay back in early June. So since he got to come home for a little visit over the 4th we made a detour on our way to Fripp to stop in Greenville for the evening to surprise him with a little visit. It was so good to see him. I miss my family....bad.

Here are a few pics for our truly amazing trip to Fripp.

Garrett, Amber, Em, Cullen, Courtney, Me, and Wolf all getting ready to watch some fireworks. Please ignore how awful I look in this picture....I'm pregnant and I am not a cute kind of pregnant (apparently I don't have that gene).

EVERY time we go to Fripp, we drive into Port Royal to eat at our fave seafood restaurant, 11th Street Dockside. Yummmmy. This is G and Em celebrating the delicious meal we just consumed.

It's impossible to get a picture of Em looking at the camera without her fingers in her mouth, but we tried anyway.

I'm not sure what was happening in this picture but it looks like it was either really fun or really painful. I can't remember which.

It is also a tradition to skip oyster shells outside of Dockside's either while we are waiting to eat or right after we eat...sometimes both. In this case it was after the meal.

And since this is the first time we have all been together in almost 2 years, there was lots of picture taking.

Emmy got to spend some quality time with her Aunt Susan. I got so many cute pics of them. I may post more later. Susan is a breast cancer survivor and a freakishly cool person. We love her so much and Em LOVED playing with her.

Courtney made the trip from Colorado to be there for the 4th and she and Em got to spend lots of time together too. It makes my heart melt to watch Em with all her Aunt's who love her so much. I'm not sure how I escaped the trip without getting some good pics of her with her Aunt Amber. Amber, next time we are all together....photo shoot.

Em loved spending time with Great Grandmommy Reed. Which made us all happy b/c there was a point in time when her Great Grandmom was convinced that E just didn't like old people (her words, not mine).

It was SO hard to leave the beach. None of us wanted to come home. But, it helped that a few days later we got to drive to Concord to meet G's parents halfway to do a little car exchange. We were able to eat lunch and spend the afternoon together. It was wonderful. These pics of E with her Grandparents make my heart happy.

Dear Family (both Reed's and Green's), we miss you guys more than you will ever know. We value every second we all spend together. Can't wait to see you again soon!

Another Thing That Makes Me Real Happy....

2010-06-26T00:10:00.004-04:00

In case you haven't heard, my best friend Mandy is PREGNANT again!!! After two ectopic pregnancies, two emergency surgeries (one to remove a tube another to remove an ovary), and a miscarriage, the girl finally has a healthy baby growing inside of her. And that makes me crazy happy! For pics of their growing bambino and of their 2 year old, Harrison, a.k.a Emmy's betrothed click here. Whew, I'm glad I don't have to keep that bottled inside anymore.

On another note, I know I have been MIA, but I have been busy. Sorry. I've been on the road for the past 2 weeks for work. However, I have 6 more days before I leave town again, so I'll do my best to get some new pics and antics of little E soon. Until then, enjoy this...

Adam, it was so sweet of you to get this girl pregnant. Mandz, you really should stop posing like this for pictures. I have WAY to many pics like this.

Things That Make Me Real Happy

2010-06-08T17:30:00.007-04:00

There are lots of things in life that make me real happy. But for the sake of time (I'm not sure how much longer E will actually sit and watch the "On the farm" video I just put in), I will just list a few very quickly.

Thing #1: After another visit to the Pediatric Cardiologist (and more more medical bills), we found out that our little boys heart is developing perfectly NORMALLY! What a huge answer to prayers. So, unless the Pediatrician finds something after he is born, Emerson will be the only Reed family member going to the Cardiologist regularly.

Thing #2: This picture. I am fairly confident I have posted this picture before. The quality isn't so great since I took it with my phone. But, I love it. It captures my little girl so perfectly. If you want to know joy, hang out with this kid. She rocks. G and I love her and her little heart so much. I hope our little man loves life as much as she does.

Thing #3: Remembering our vacay with the Brantley's a few weeks ago. It was pretty much perfect. Here's a little photo recap.

Much to Garrett and Adam's disapproval, Mandy and I let Em and Harrison take baths together every night. They loved it. We will put an end to this when they get a little older. But for now, we'll allow it.

Harrison wanted to make sure E got cleaned adequately. Notice the giant shiner on his eye. E punched him cause he got to frisky. I'm kidding. He actually fell a few feet off of their porch onto some brick about 10 minutes after we got there. He's hardcore so it didn't phase him much. That's why Em wants to marry him.

Harrison, really likes to drive. I'm not kidding...the kid knows his way around a vehicle better than I do. If he could reach the pedals, I would actually let him drive little E somewhere. This is them getting ready to go on a date to the beach.

Our little buttercup just being cute.

G and Em on the beach. Don't worry her arms didn't pop out of socket.

Running towards the water....which she loved.

We were in Myrtle Beach so we of course played Putt Putt. Harrison wanted to push Em around the whole time. So, we let him. He only made me nervous once, or maybe twice.

Does she look scared?

"No ma, I ain't scared!"

Garrett and Adam thought it would be fun if they color coordinated with their kids.

The Brantley's took it a step farther and decided to all color coordinate. They are such a classy bunch.

And this is why we love them and miss them so much. We enjoyed every second of our trip. If you get a chance, you should go spend a week with them too. They're a good time.

Alright, that's enough of the things that make me real happy for now. Em is spitting her strawberry milk on the floor (yes we have to slip high fructose corn syrup into her milk in order for her to drink it, so what). Also, I should note that the look of our blog has changed yet again. I fully realize I am a serial background changer. But, I'm fickle like that. I change my mind a lot. One day I want color the next I want simple. There is a reason I do not have a tattoo.

Bicuspid Aortic Valve

2010-06-02T16:29:00.005-04:00

I had no idea what a "Bicuspid Aortic Valve" was...until today. A few weeks ago at little E's 1 year check-up her Pediatrician told me that he thought he heard a heart murmur at her 9 month check up, and that he was hearing it again at the 1 year visit. We also found out that our little lady, while in the 75th percentile for her height, is only in the 7th for her weight (our pediatrician wants her to gain weight, I think she should consider herself freakishly lucky). Anyway, our Pediatrician scheduled us an appointment with a Pediatric Cardiologist at the Duke Children's Hospital for today. Our Pediatrician told us that what he was hearing could very well be nothing but that he would feel better if we went to a specialist. So, we went.

Our appointment was at 9am and I think G and I were both thinking we would be on our way home by no later than 10:30 (in fact I was daydreaming about eating breakfast at one of our fave restaurants that is across from the hospital). We were wrong. After an EKG and a thorough exam by our Canadian Pediatric Cardiologist (which had we been done then, we would have been done at 10:30), we found out we were on to more testing. The doctor said that in addition to murmur he was hearing a clicking sound that could indicate problems with the valves in E's aorta. Therefore, he wanted Em to have an echo cardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) asap.

In order for them to do this, they needed to sedate Em since she is on the feisty side (just letting the doctor listen to her heart is difficult). So they pretty much got Em baby drunk until she passed out. **No mom they did not give her actual alcohol, just something that had similar effects. They promised she wouldn't have a hangover afterwards. Anyway, she fought it for about 30 minutes until she finally passed out. The nurse said she couldn't believe how much energy she had...she compared her energy level to that of a 2 year old...lucky us! It's not everyday you get to see your 1 year old drunk. So, we took a video. Don't judge us. I just happened to have my camera and we thought, why not. Warning: you may feel drunk watching it b/c you will have to turn your head sideways to watch it. When will I learn that vertical videos don't upload well to the blog?

It literally took 2 hours to get her drunk, get her to pass out, do the ultrasound, and then get back up to see the doctor again. As it turns out the doctors initial hunch was correct, Emerson has a Bicuspid Aortic Valve.

"A bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is a defect of the aortic valve that results in the formation of two leaflets or cusps instead of the normal three. Normally only the mitral valve (bicuspid valve) has two cusps (instead of three); situated between the left atrium and left ventricle. Valves ensure the unidirectional flow of blood from the atrium to the ventricles, or the ventricles to the major arteries and veins."

The way it was explained to us is that part of her aortic valve is fused together (resulting in 2 leaflets instead of 3), which is what is causing the murmur and the clicking noise the Cardiologist was hearing. The fusion of the valve can cause extra stress on the aorta (aortic stenosis). Right now the additional stress the BAV is causing is minimal and considered to be very trivial. However, it is something we will have to follow for the rest of her life.

Additionally, because it is a congenital heart defect, that means that baby #2 is at a higher risk for a similar defect. So, I have to go back soon for a fetal echo cardiogram so they can take a look at his heart. Exhausting.

Sorry for the long boring medical lingo. But, it's our life. We will gladly accept all the prayers we can get for our little children and their beautiful hearts. We love these babies so much it is overwhelming and we find a lot of comfort in knowing that the Lord loves them more than we ever could. After spending an entire day at the Duke Children's Hospital, the Lord has also burdened my heart for the MANY families with extremely sick kids that are there. I started crying multiple times while we were in the lobby waiting, not because of our situation, but because of all of the kids I saw that were fighting for their lives. I couldn't think about how precious those kids are to their families and to the Lord and how he never intended them to go through this. How sweet the day will be when we are all restored in perfect health and perfect relationship with our creator. I am claiming that and rejoicing in that for those kids and their families.

I have been claiming Jeremiah 29:11 all day for us and our kiddos, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and future." And at the same time I am acknowledging and rejoicing in the TRUTH of John 16:33, " I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Lord we love you so much. Thank you for blessing us with these precious kids. We know that you are good, even though we live in a world with pain and sickness, we rejoice in knowing that you have already overcome all of that. In you, and only you, we have peace.

Intelligender is 1 for 2

2010-05-31T13:11:00.003-04:00

Remember that Intelligender test I took a while back that says it can predict the gender of your unborn child with 80% accuracy as early as 10 weeks gestation??? Well, my friend Kelly took it and it says she was having a boy...turns out they are having a girl. As I posted previously, it told us we were expecting a little boy and as it turns out...it was right! Of course Garrett is thrilled and I'm excited too. Little E is gonna have a baby brother. I can't believe we are already half way through this pregnancy! Here are some pics of our little guy. Yes we realize he looks like an alien.

Sorry for that last one, I know it's a little risque. I'll never do it again. I promise! Stay tuned for a few pics from our recent vacay.

May 19th...Our Favorite Day.

2010-05-19T23:05:00.002-04:00

May 19, 2009 was Garrett and I's favorite day since our wedding day. Almost exactly one year ago (to the minute), Emerson Grace Reed entered the world. I still can't wrap my mind how amazing that day was for us. I would relive that day a million times if I could. But alas, I cannot. So we will just celebrate like crazy every year instead. We have celebrated so much this week, that G and I are both freakishly exhausted. So, I'm gonna sum up E's birthday week in pictures. However, as soon as I get more than a free 5 minutes, I will add some words. If you don't enjoy obscene amounts of pictures and the occasional video...you may want to end your journey through this post now. Otherwise...enjoy!

We had a party for E at my parents house this past Saturday. It was so much fun to have our closest friends and family there to celebrate our little munchkins life. I was pleasantly surprised at how well Emerson did with the crowd. She definitely LOVED the attention.

We didn't have pony rides but there were a few wagon rides.

Emerson just smiled and clapped the whole time...the new Radio Flyer is a hit.

There was lots of socializing (mostly with boys)....

E chatting it up with Liam.

And sitting in the grass...

while Dylan watched.

And cute boys running around... (if you have ever visited this site before, you know that the handsome young man in this picture is Emmy's future husband, Harrison).

And this is another one of her bestest male friends, Bryson. He really liked climbing the stairs. His mom, Kristin (aka my maid of honor), is 38 weeks pregnant...so she just let him climb the stone stairs. No worries, he's really good at climbing.

More chatting with friends...

Dylan eating some cake with his wonderful mom, Alexis.

Lindsay, my best friend from childhood. We have been friends since we were E's age (ok, that's a stretch, but since the 4th grade for real).

Kristin and Bryson...

Bryson is the best eater I know.

Mary Beth and Charley enjoying some cake (sorry the giant sunflower blocked out your face MB...I wish we could see your face too...I love it).

The Brantley's (we will be seeing y'all this weekend when we head to the Murrell's Inlet forvacay...yay!!!!)

The beautiful cake made my sisters mother in-law, Gayle. She is amazing!

G bringing E her first birthday cake. There was lots of singing in the background too.

Yumm...cake.

For some reason my mom bought Garrett a bunch of mustaches. The boys thought it would be fun to wear them. It was creepy. Joe's is real (yours isn't that creepy Joe).

Nina thought it would be fun to wear one of the mustaches as eyebrows. I think it's a good look for her. Nina, you'd be beautiful even if you had a giant third eyebrow.

Garrett tried to make Em wear a mustache...she said "Heck no, it's my birthday."

So to make up for being a bully, Garrett took her to the pool aka her new favorite place.

She said, "Thanks dad."

After all the weekend fun, we headed back to the Dirty D to celebrate E's birthday together as a family of 4 (I'm counting the baby growing inside me, not Stabler). So, we all busted into Em's room this morning to wake her up singing Happy Birthday. I can't wait to torture my kids with this every year.

Emerson's Grandmom Reed gave her this awesome plate for her birthday. So, I made her eat every single meal and snack off of it today. I think she loved it as much as I did.

And, we let her feast on this little creation from Kroger tonight. It was yummy.

Instead of blowing out the candle, she tried to grab it...dad saved the day.

I guess she liked it?

Stabler really wanted in on the cake action.

Emerson is so selfless and obliged him.

Well, after all that we are pooped. So we are headed to the South Carolina coast for the weekend to watch one of my best friends from high school get married (yay Kristy and Kirk!), and for some well needed vacay time with the Brantleys. We planned this trip months ago and I had no way of knowing how well timed it would be.

Yay for Emerson being 1 and yay for a much needed vacation!

A Little Bit of This and A Little Bit of That

2010-05-12T15:35:00.006-04:00

Due to the insanity that is the month of May, my blogging may be limited over for the next little while, but I'll do my best. I really don't even know where to begin. Hmmmm.... The month began with a little trip the upstate. A few days at Garrett's parents house and few days at my parents house. I also managed to get some professional pictures made of Emerson during this time. If you want to see a little preview you can go to my facebook page. If you don't have facebook or we aren't friends on facebook, then I guess you'll just have to wait. Anyway, the few I've seen turned out really well...I can't wait to see the rest.

My 1st mothers day was great, and very low key (which I appreciated immensely). I had a quick trip to Atlanta at the beginning of this week for a training meeting, and then we are headed back to Greenville tomorrow to celebrate Emmy's first birthday with our family and a few friends. I can't believe she is gonna be 1 a week from today...unbelievable.

Then next week, Garrett's brother, Cullen, and his wife, Amber, are moving back to the states after living in South Korea for the past 2 and half years....we are so excited we can hardly stand it! Then we head are heading to the beach the weekend after that to go to one of my best friends from high school's wedding and to spend a few days with the Brantleys for a little vacay. Then we head back to Durham to have our big ultrasound to make sure baby Reed #2 is healthy and to see if little E is getting a sister or a brother!

And last but definitely not least, on May 31st (also known as Memorial Day to you people that actually get this day off of work), we begin a huge new product launch at work, so that means lots of work for us. However, in the midst of all the chaos this month, we have managed to have a little fun too. Here's the proof.

We make E wear this hat, a lot (what could be more fun than that). Cullen and Amber sent it to us over Christmas. Apparently it is the "it" look for kids in South Korea.

She'll wear it for hours...it's great (for us).

One of my great friends from college, Wendy, lives right down the street from us. So, E and her little girl have been playing in the baby pool. Emerson could not love this thing more.

E's on the DL (not the down low, the disabled list)

2010-04-29T22:28:00.005-04:00

I've only got a second so I'm gonna sum up the past week or so real quick. We've had some big leadership changes at G's store, so that means more work for both of us. So we never made it to a baseball game and definitely have not enjoyed any beach music. We have however been interviewing new babysitters because McKenzie is leaving us for the summer...boo. It's also looking like I am going to be going back to work pretty full-time over the summer...I can't lie, it makes me a little sad.

Anyway, before life took a turn for the crazy (don't you hate it when it does that), G was taking E to play Frisbee golf every afternoon so I could take a nap. She was his caddy...it was cute. Real cute. She seriously holds his Frisbee's for him the whole time.

Em has also been sporting some super cool sunglasses. Ok, so I put them on her and she takes them right off...it's still cute.

She's also really into digging in her toy baskets and pulling everything out one at a time but at an extremely rapid pace.

Sometimes when she gets to the bottom she falls into the basket and her feet flail around in the air. It's awesome.

Then when things get stuck in the basket (in this case her cash register) and she can't get them out, she makes this face. It's even awesomer.

Sadly, little E burnt the tar out of her fingers by touching a light bulb the other day. One of our new babysitters was here when it happened and we didn't notice it until the next day. I'm sure we looked like great parents taking our kid to the pediatrician with a burnt hand swearing we had no idea what had happened (we didn't talk to the babysitter until after the visit to discover what really happened). It is really sad b/c all of the skin on two of her fingers is peeling off and blistering. I feel so bad for her. We have antibiotic burn cream for her and I tried to put band aids on her fingers. She pulled them off within a few minutes.

No worries, she's still her joyful self. We really love this kid.

We Might Just Have a Life....Maybe

2010-04-19T21:50:00.005-04:00

I realize that I have not posted in a while now, but I'm thinking it may be due the fact that we are starting to get a life...maybe. We have been in Durham (no traveling for work or pleasure), for 13 straight days now. And if you take out my 3 day work trip right after Easter, we have been here for 3 weeks straight...which I am pretty sure is a record. I cannot tell a lie, I kind of love it. The more time we spend here the more we realize how much we love this area. The only stinky part is that it is really starting to feel like home. I often find myself thinking, "if we can't live in Greenville, I would love to stay here." With my luck, we'll get moved next week.

Anyway, in our 3 weeks here, we have been enjoying all RDU has to offer: yummy food (lots of yummy food), a bazillion parks, a gajillion farmer's markets, 20 different natural food stores (local and chain), and an infinite amount of shopping centers. This week, I also hope to hit up a Durham Bulls baseball game and possibly go check out the summer beach music concert series at North Hills in Raleigh....I'll let you know if we make it happen. Additionally, we have started making some friends...exciting I know. When we first moved to Durham, we genuinely believed we would only be here for 4 months so we kind of held back on getting too settled or involved in much. So, after almost 8 months, we are abandoning that approach.

Additionally, in a fun little way I feel like little E and I are enjoying the blessing of Garrett's obedience in getting baptized. While we were waiting for G to get baptized on Easter Sunday (the baptisms were held outside after the service), a mom of a little girl in Emerson's nursery class struck up a conversation with us. It was so good to be able to just chat with someone in a similar season of life. Anyway, I ran into her again at church this past Sunday and she invited Em and I over for a little play group at her house today. It was so fun to get to meet and spend time with other women and their kids.

So there you have it folks, we've been busy...but the fun kind of busy. And last but not least, little baby Emerson turned 11 months old today. Here are some pictures from her 11th month of life. It has been a good one.

loving some blueberries...oh this child is pure joy

just being real cute

enjoying some froyo at our favorite local yogurt place (appropriately named "Local Yogurt")

just practicing walking...

driving around Harris Teeter (you can get your cart license at 10 months...he, he)

pulling everything out of the laundry hamper...i love it when she does that

eating pizza at our new fave pizza place, Cinelli's

(ok, E didn't actually eat pizza, just some of the toppings.)

It's Raining Pollen

2010-04-07T09:49:00.008-04:00

The title of this post has nothing to do with the actual post. However, it is true. I have never seen a "pollen event" like this in my whole life. It's hard to see outside b/c there is so much pollen in the air. I hope we all survive the plague.

Anyway, the past week has been kind of nuts so I am gonna try to sum it up pretty quickly. We took an at home gender test (yes they actually make these now). It says we are having a BOY. It is allegedly 82% accurate. We will see. I would love another girl (sorry little baby, if you are a boy I still love you), but G of course wants a boy (he will still love you if you are a girl). Only time will tell. Regardless the test was kind of fun.

We were spending lots of time until the great pollen plague of 2010. During this time Garrett taught Emerson how to eat dirt and sticks. I love him.

We spent Easter in Durham, just the three of us. I thought about it, and I think this is the first big holiday that we have spent together just as our little family. However, the day before Easter, we did head over to Winston-Salem to see some of my cousins, their kids, and my Aunt and Uncle. We had a GREAT time. It was so good to see my family. And to meet the newest addition to our family, Kellen. My cousin and his wife welcomed her to their family on January 18th (which also happens to be my birthday). It was so fun to meet her and to see their 3 year old, Maddox. They live in the Tampa area so we don't get to see them nearly often enough. Also, Emerson got to dye Easter eggs with her cousins...that was fun too.

Emerson mostly liked licking the eggs.

And she really LOVED the hammock swing. We need to get one!

We spent Easter morning at our church here in Durham, The Summit. It was wonderful to celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. As a family we are constantly overwhelmed by his love for us. It was a beautiful morning. Part of the teaching was on baptism. J.D. (the pastor) talked a lot about what baptism looked like in the Bible and that how biblically, people would get baptized immediately after coming to faith in Jesus to show their new identification with Christ.

I was baptized when I was younger after coming to faith. Garrett was also baptized when he was younger but it was before he really came to faith in Jesus. All that to say, he has been wanting to get baptized again for a long time. He kept thinking he would do it back at our church at home so our family could be there, etc, etc. On Easter Sunday, The Summit was doing baptisms after the service, and half way through the service Garrett decided that it was time to just do it. Although we wanted our family and old small group from Greenville there, we both decided that in the end it really isn't about any of those things. So, G got baptized on Easter. It was beautiful and Emerson and I enjoyed every second of it! I can't think of a better way to spend Easter Sunday.

I love you Garrett, and I love the way you love the Lord.

Thank You Lord for Spring...Seriously

2010-03-31T22:51:00.004-04:00

We are seriously thankful for Spring here in the Reed household. It sure is nice to be able to get your freakishly energetic 10 month old out of the house. It is equally nice to make her wear the bunny ears that her Aunt Amanda and Uncle Willie gave her in her Easter basket (thanks guys)...we are still trying to figure out how to get her to keep her cool new sunglasses on. Apparently she's not a fan of sunglasses b/c anytime I have mine on she takes them off too. Weird.

Pictures like this are why I keep having babies with this guy...

Grandmothers, her nose in these next 2 pictures is red b/c she was crying....not b/c she has a cold....no need to worry.

I Can't Even...

2010-03-20T18:14:00.006-04:00

I can't even begin to wrap m mind around the fact that little Emerson turned TEN MONTHS OLD yesterday. She's double digits! I also can't wrap mind around the fact that we will have another little one 7 months from now. I kind of like how life keeps me in constant amazement. Anyway, I have been accused more than once in my life of not being sentimental enough. Therefore, I don't have any pictures tracking Emerson's growth each month or a baby book full of stuff I've been collecting. So, in lieu of those things, I thought I would take a moment to share some of my thoughts about little Em.

My top 10 favorite things about Emerson:

(some of which might also make me crazy at times)

1. She is freakishly persistent

2. She has some really great facial expressions

3. She gets her feelings hurt easily (very sensitive)

4. She prefers to feed herself

5. She has ZERO fear (I wish I had that)

6. She claps for everything and everyone

7. She will mimmic almost anything you do (this could be trouble down the road)

8. She genuinely loves our dog, Stabler (she is the only one)

9. Instead of giving you kisses, she licks your face

10. She thinks she is the funniest person she knows

For your enjoyment, pictures of our little lady. She makes our hearts feel things we never knew we could feel.

she has mastered the downward dog

It's True

2010-03-18T09:30:00.005-04:00

In case you hadn't heard...

It's true....Garrett got me pregnant, again. I think we have both been in a little bit of shock/denial. So, when we were in Charleston this past weekend we paid a little visit to our doctor and she confirmed what we already knew. Here is the proof.

It was so cool to hear the heartbeat and to see our new little one. Baby Reed #2 is due on October 26th. However, due to the complications I had after delivering Emerson, this baby will have to be delivered via C-Section. So, realistically this baby will arrive closer to October 19th, which will make our kiddos exactly 17 months apart. Wish us luck!

Tour de Carolinas 2010

2010-03-10T09:27:00.007-05:00

Last week, I decided that our lives had not been chaotic enough lately, so I decided that Emerson and I needed to take a little tour of the Carolina's (G of course was working so we didn't invite him). Plus, it started snowing here in Durham last Tuesday night (I have noted in previous posts that I am over the snow), so I said "That's it. We're outta here." So on Tuesday night I gave Emerson a bath...and packed our bags.

*the snow was making her have crazy eyes*

*and this sassy little look that i love*

The snow happened to coincide with my best friend, Mandy, (i may have mentioned her before) having her second ectopic pregnancy in 9 months. The girl cannot catch a break. You can read their story here. So, since Mandy ended up having emergency surgery to remove her ovary, Emerson and I knew exactly where we were headed first on our road trip....Myrtle Beach, SC. I am sure Mandy is wanting to punch me right now. They actually live in Litchfield, and the idea that they would ever live in Myrtle Beach seems to repulse Mandy. I don't know why, it's a really classy place.

Anyway, Em and I decided we would drive down and help the Brantley's out a little bit. Which is funny b/c anyone who has a crawling baby knows that bringing your crawling baby to someone else's house could never really be helpful. But, we tried. And I think Harrison and Em thoroughly enjoyed their time together. You be the judge.

I mean he looks a little concerned that she is playing with his toy,

but he is in fact letting her use it for a while

Ok, now he might look a little angry

We know, y'all can both play with it!

(yes, we realize this looks slightly inappropriate...get your minds out of the gutter)

Harrison says, "I ain't sharin' with a girl (he says ain't b/c he lives in Myrtle Beach),"

and then tosses Emerson off of the truck.

It's true, Harrison wasn't wild about Emerson playing with his toys (he recently learned the word "mine"). However, I still think he's sweet on her. For evidence of this, you can look here. On Friday afternoon, it was time for Emerson and I to head to the Upstate. We had a 1st birthday party to attend. We hugged the Brantley's and Mandy and I cried (we do that every time we are forced to leave each other). Mandy I miss you so much already...looking forward to seeing you again this weekend! So, we headed to Greenville b/c Bryson was turning one!!!!

Emerson was ready to party

She liked watching the action from Matt's lap rather than being in the middle of it

Bryson...ready to eat some cake!

Yummm

The aftermath...

We loved getting to celebrate Bryson's birthday. We love the McCall's so much and miss them a lot. Oh to live in Greenville again....I dream about it. We were also lucky enough to spend some great time with my family while we were in Greenville. And Garrett surprised us with a quick visit on Sunday. We spent the whole day playing outside and we loved every minute of it.

We went out to dinner on Saturday night...Emerson wanted to play with her Uncle Willie the whole time (it was really sweet).

Em rolled around the driveway for a while...

Stabler rolled in the grass...

Nana smoked cigarettes...

And Garrett was happy to not be working (and so were we).

The tour came to an end yesterday when Em and I headed back to Durham in the hopes of getting to spend some time with Garrett (and to take a nap, we are tired). However, the tour will resume this weekend when we head back to Charleston to celebrate my friend Kelly's 30th birthday!!! Can't wait.

Spring Please

2010-02-27T17:19:00.004-05:00

It's official....I am sick of winter. Which is odd b/c I typically love winter. However, I was at my parents house this past weekend and it felt so good outside. We spent so much time playing outdoors and I loved it. Then, I drove home in snow and woke up to snow the next day. And now there is snow on the weather forecast for 2 days this week. I'm over it. I love snow, but no more please. I am ready to be able to play outside with little Em.

So, the new look of the blog is my attempt to rid my life of Winter and welcome in Spring. I hope it works. On a total side note, here is another picture of Emerson and Bryson. Bryson took her to breakfast at Chick-fil-A, they ate Cheerios. So sweet.

A Brief Look at the Past Few Days

2010-02-21T20:49:00.006-05:00

Well, for a lack of better words, I will just say that this past week has been kind of hectic. We rushed to the Upstate on Friday afternoon when we got word that Garrett's dad was in the hospital. Luckily, he is back at home now and doing well. Here is a little pick of Em looking out his hospital window.

Although we hated that we were having to visit Garrett's dad in the hospital, I will say that the view of the sunset over the mountains from his hospital window was pretty amazing. Coming home is always so bittersweet...It is so good to be home, but it just reminds us of how much we miss it here. I miss our families, friends, and those beautiful mountains. Garrett had to leave on Saturday morning to drive up to D.C. for a few days, so I decided to stay and spend some time with my family.

It has been good to be here although a little exhausting. While I love Emerson....she has been making me totally nuts lately. She cries when anyone but me holds her and she has begun screaming during both of her naps and at bedtime. It seems everything she does these days is totally irrational and quite honestly it's wearing me out. She is actually laying in her pack in play crying right now instead of napping. Parenting is a challenge even with Garrett around, but without him it is even harder. Single mothers of the world, I have so much compassion and admiration for you!!!!

Luckily the weather has been nice since we have been here, so we have been able to spend some good time outside. And we have gotten to spend some good time with friends and family. On Sunday, we played outside for a long time and my sister and brother-in-law came over and cooked dinner...yum.

Stabler trying to eat my parents fish.

GiGi, Em, Amanda, and Stabler feeding the fish

Braised Short-Ribs...Yummm

Playing in the driveway (it's so nice to be able to borrow a driveway to play in)

GiGi doing some gardening...she got more than a few whistles from the neighbors (sorry mom...I couldn't resist)

More enjoying some driveway time

Aunt Amanda so generously helping Em walk

Yesterday I got to go hang out with one of my favorites families ever...the Spann's. Donald, Mary Beth, Charley, and Eli we miss you guys so much!!! Donald and Mary Beth are some of our closest friend from Greenville and they produce some BEAUTIFUL children.

Case. And. Point. Eli (5 months) and Charley (21 months)

Notice the distance between them and Emerson. That is because Em is a bully and pinched both of them a few times.

Today we got to go visit my best friend from childhood, my college roommate, and maid of honor, Kristin. Her little boy Bryson is 10 weeks older than Em and the 2 of them have been friends since Em was born. Seriously, i have pictures of them holding hands when Em was like 3 months old. Anyway, Kristin and I took them for a wagon ride. It was so cute that it ALMOST made me forget what a little terror Emerson has been lately.

Best Friends

I mean....they are really cute.

Emerson kept trying to take Bryson's hat...he didn't seem to mind.

I also got to go to church with my friend Alexis on Saturday night and then to dinner too! She is a single mom of two little ones....I look up to her so much. It was such a blessing to spend time with her. It has been so nice to be around close friends and family. While we like Durham, it feels lonely sometimes. But alas, I am heading back there in the morning. If you are thinking, "hey you were in Greenville and didn't call"...sorry! But, I am hoping to be back for most of the month of April and looking forward to get to see the people I missed on this trip. Lastly, please pray that my sweet daughters crazy cranky alter ego decides to go away. Thanks.

Real Quick

2010-02-18T09:37:00.005-05:00

Ok, so we have been slightly busy....one could might even call it chaotic. Anyway, because I just got back from Maryland (for a work trip) late Wednesday night, and we are now trying to get in the car to head to the Upstate to see our families (before G has to go to D.C. on Sunday), I will give a brief overview of what has been going on. The overview will be random...enjoy. BTW...Emerson is 9 months old today....unbelievable. She has also become quite the handful.

On another note, Garrett bought me some beautiful tulips last week....they made me happy.

The dog continues to torture Emerson and she him. He breaks into her room often. And this is the result.

Emerson is cutting 3 of her top teeth at once. This means lots of teething biscuits, which also means big messes and occasional choking.

She makes this face a lot...I love it. She also prefers standing to sitting and if it were up to her she would be upside down...all of the time. I watch her hold onto her crib and lean backwards on a daily basis. I'm not sure what this means for her future.

While she continues to look super sweet and innocent, she is not. She climbs all over everything. Stands up in her crib and cries every time you try to make her take a nap (she used to go down with ease). She refuses to eat on a regular basis. And she continues to pinch the tar out of me constantly. Those are just a few reasons why I LOVE her. Happy 9 months Emerson...I hope you decide to stop crying and take a nap soon!

Sorry Stabler

2010-02-10T08:38:00.005-05:00

We (well actually Garrett) has discovered a way to keep our little crawler occupied for extended periods of time. Don't worry Mom (& Becky), we don't just leave her unattended...for too long. It drives the dog nuts...but we don't care. Sorry Stabler. If you have kids, try it (or if you are an adult without kids, it's still kinda fun).

And We're Off...

2010-02-07T08:39:00.003-05:00

After months of rocking, bouncing, standing up, and showing more interest in walking....she crawls. It's not graceful or fluid...but it is forward movement.

The Haunting...

2010-02-06T14:12:00.007-05:00

So earlier in the week I was catching up with one of my fave friends from college via her blog. On her blog she was discussing this super yummy salad that she had made for a little get together that she had attended. The recipe came from "The Pioneer Woman" (whom I had heard of but really had no experience with prior to this experience. However, I am now sucked in and I could and probably will write an entire post on her at some point...keep your eyes open for that). Anyway, out of curiosity I checked out the recipe and it looked AMAZING. My friend had noted on her blog post that the recipe involved lots of chopping. Ever since I got this for Christmas...

(a Henckels 5" Santoku knife)....I can't get enough of chopping. Additionally, it just so happened that I had most of the ingredients needed at home already and I was already in route to Kroger to do my weekly shopping. So, I figured I would pick up the few things I would need while I was there, and I would make this tasty looking salad for dinner.

The recipe called for the use of serrano peppers in the dressing. Now I should note that I'm not really into spicy things but G is WAY into spicy things (that's why he married me, hehehe)...the spicier he can get things the better. He could not care less if his nose is dripping and his lips are inflamed for days....homeboy loves the spice. I think it is mostly a way to assert his manhood. Anyway, I love him so I decided to oblige his afinity for all things spicy and actually use the peppers in the dressing. So, I picked up a few of these at the store.

Beautiful aren't they??? Seeing as how I NEVER cook with spicy peppers, I had no idea where they ranked on the Scoville Scale. In fact, I had no idea what the Scoville Scale was until yesterday.

I got home from the store and began chopping....loving every second of it. I was almost done with the dressing and it was time to add the peppers. Garrett happened to be in the kitchen at the time, so in an effort to brag about what a good wife I was I said "look I got these peppers just for you." I began chopping the peppers, and G grabbed and piece of one and ate it. Right as I hear him say "oh, wow," my throat begins to feel as if it going to close up, my eyes involuntarily began dripping water, and my hands began to burn as if someone had lit a match to them. All of this from just sharing the same air as this little pepper! As if this was not enough to convince me that using these guys in the salad wasn't the best idea for me, I decided to take my own little nibble. I had to prepare the rest of the salad with cucumber on my lips...wondering if I would ever be able to kiss my hubby again.

People, the recipe called for TWO of these things. There was no way that was happening. I told Garrett that I loved him but that the peppers had to leave the house, immediately. Poor Garrett had been so excited about them but he tossed them out anyway. For the rest of the night, my hands where ON FIRE. I had to take my rings off b/c the oil had gotten under them....I still have not put them back on. Yesterday, I went to take a shower and there must have been oil trapped under my finger nails that got released b/c again my hands were on fire (i cut my nails the second I got out of the shower). I went to use the computer yesterday...my thumbs caught fire again. THESE PEPPERS ARE HAUNTING ME! When will it stop???

I don't know. But I do know two things...Thing #1)The salad did end up being UNBELIEVABLY good! I will most definitely be hitting the Pioneer Woman up for recipes again. Thing #2) I will never ever ever ever listen to the Pioneer Woman when she tells me to add peppers to any of those recipes.

Everybody Dance Now

2010-02-03T12:33:00.008-05:00

While I tend to write posts about day to day events, often revolving around precious Emerson, I am starting to realize that I could probably make a killing if I started a blog devoted to telling tales of my out of control husband. I won't b/c I don't have the time and at this point really don't feel like it but I will give you a quick snap shot of what is like to be married to Garrett Reed.

So yesterday after we finished eating dinner I sat down in a chair in our den to relax a little (the den, the kitchen, and dining room are pretty much one since we live in a little tiny apartment but whatever). Simultaneously my sweet husband headed to the kitchen to "clean up." I hear him rinsing dishes and start the garbage disposal. As soon as he turned the disposal on I new there was something in it that wasn't supposed to be. How do I know this??? B/c he ground up one of Emerson's spoons in the disposal last week, so it is a very familiar sound. I listened to the sound for a good 30 seconds debating on whether or not to say something. I subsequently stopped debating and said "I think there is something in there." Garrett said "oh" and pulled out our now mangled measuring spoon.

At this point I decided it would be best if G took my place sitting in the chair and I took over in the kitchen (maybe that was all a part of his plan). I can't lie, as I was cleaning the kitchen I might have started to day dream a little about what it would have been like to marry someone who was really clean and neat and could cook. I let myself day dream for a little bit but I never could get a could picture of what that would be like.

Fast forward about 5 hours to a few minutes after midnight when we are headed to bed. As a married person, I know and all you other married people know, that when you go to bed there are a few scenarios that could unfold. For us, if you get in bed before 11pm, you may not got straight to bed (if you know what I mean). If we head to bed after 11pm, there's a 95% chance we are going straight to bed, and after 12am, a 99% chance we are going straight to bed. (Sorry mom, but it's true).

So, at 12:07am, I turn off my light and snuggle under the covers and immediately begin to fall asleep. Garrett turned off his light a few seconds later and seemed to do the same thing. About 30 seconds later, I hear, "EVERYBODY DANCE NOW, GIVE ME THE MUSIC. EVERYBODY DANCE NOW, YEAH YEAH YEAH" (you know the classic song by C & C Music Factory) blaring from G's I-Phone. I look over to see my husband dancing while lying in bed. This lasted for the entire duration of the song. I have to say it was a valiant effort on his part to "keep us up a little longer." However, I threatened to start crying if he didn't turn it off and I vowed to blog about it.

He obliged and let me go to sleep. I fell asleep laughing to myself and thinking that if I had married the clean, neat, good cook from my day dreams, my life would probably not be nearly as entertaining. Just another night in the Reed household....Oh the stories I could tell. Garrett did set a up a blog entitled, "Everyone! Stop What You are Doing and Listen to Me," which I am pretty sure it can be found at stopwhatyouredoingandlistentome.blogspot.com. (yes, he did this as a dig to all us bloggers). I'm not sure he has and/or will ever post anything but maybe he could use it to tell his own tales.

I BLOGGED

2010-01-31T21:07:00.002-05:00

I BLOGGED.

YOU MAY COMMENT...

-GARRETT

And The Winners Are....

2010-01-31T09:29:00.008-05:00

not Garrett and Allison Reed. Yes folks, we will not be winning any type of care taker/parent awards any time in the near future. We may win some other type of awards....like most fun, best looking, most moves in any period of time, but definitely not Parent of the Year or Pet Owner of the Month.

On Friday night buckets of snow began to fall from the sky here in Durham, and by yesterday morning we had close to 7 inches of snow. Little Em loved watching the snow fall...or maybe she just loves looking at herself in the glass.

Saturday morning began with Garrett taking the dog for a little walk while Em and I watched from the window (it was still a little cold out that early for me). As we were watching we saw Stabler run down to the little pond near our house. As you can see, the pond does appear to be frozen over...

Well, Stabler learned the hard way that the pond is in fact....not frozen over. Yes, on Garrett's watch, the dog ran into the lake. When he hit the water he went completely under and came up yelping. Luckily he was able to get himself out , so Garrett didn't have to go in after him. However, Stabler booked it back to the house where we spent a good 30 minutes drying him with a towel and blow dryer.

After that we decided we would all stay in for a little while and just watch a movie. Garrett and I were relaxing on the couch, thoroughly enjoying the movie (Paper Heart), and Emerson was walking around the coffee table. I guess we weren't watching her closely enough b/c she took a major tumble, hitting her chin first and then her forehead on the coffee table. When I picked her up she had blood running out of her mouth and giant welt and bruise on her forehead and a nice gash on her chin. She cried for about 20 minutes...until I let her lick a tootsie pop. As I stated earlier....we won't be winning any parenting awards anytime soon.

Although the morning was slightly traumatic for the dog and baby, we did get some quality family time out in the snow later in the afternoon. I am loving all of the snow. It makes our apartment complex look like a charming snowy village.

Flesh for Fanta

2010-01-27T22:39:00.004-05:00

My husband is hands down my favorite person...EVER.

Over the years I have noticed that Garrett sees the world through some pretty unique eyes. I've often thought about how I would give just about anything to get inside his head for a few minutes (but only for a few minutes). Anyway, back in college Garrett and our great friend John Moye decided it would be fun to look up mail order Russian brides online...awful I know. Anyway, my roommates and I were in the other room as he and John were checking out the Russian brides and we were lucky enough to overhear the following conversation. Garrett: "Oh check it out, that chick only has one leg. That's cool." John: "Yeah....No, I think she has on black boots that blend into the background...there are definitely 2 legs." The fact that they were looking at mail order brides was comical in and of itself but that fact that Garrett was in to the one legged chick was my favorite.

So today, we took an impromptu trip to Richmond for the day. Garrett drives a company car, and the last time he got a new car the guy at Avis told G he was gonna "hook him up with a sweet ride." As it turns out our "sweet ride" is a Pontiac G6...I will say it is much sweeter than the Kia Spectra they initially gave us. All that to say, the G6 actually has some nice features...only one of which is FREE XM radio. So, as we on our road trip today, G found some random rock station on XM that he dubbed his new favorite station. I personally am a big 90's grunge rock fan and this was more old school Billy Idol stuff but being the amazing supportive wife I am..I allowed it to stay on for quite some time. All of the sudden "Flesh for Fanta" pops up on the screen as the title of the song and Garrett says "Flesh for Fanta...that's awesome. I love Fanta! This is my new favorite song." Turns out the song by Billy Idol, is really called Flesh for

Fantasy...not Fanta. Poor Garrett...so easily mislead, yet so awesome.

If all of that doesn't make him entertaining to live with, the random black crap that he came home from work with on his face a month or so ago, does. Who knows how long he sported this look for.....I'm sure he rocked it.

She Really Just Did That...

2010-01-26T15:55:00.005-05:00

So, I came home from work this afternoon and I was holding Emerson as she and I were saying goodbye to our babysitter (we love you McKenzie). All of the sudden I felt extreme pain in my shoulder and I looked down to see this sweet face.....

biting the tar out of my shoulder. Of course I immediately told her no (while McKenzie and I tried not to laugh). She gave me a weird look and then proceeded to bite me....again. Wow.

Where to Begin???

2010-01-22T14:57:00.006-05:00

Gosh, the past week or so is kind of a blur....I'm not even sure where to start. Let's see...last Thursday we headed to Charleston for a long weekend. We were going down to see our friends Michael and Amanda O'Neal before they move to Africa in a few weeks and to celebrate my birthday with our friends. We were driving to Greenville to drop Em off at my parents house on Thursday evening when we found out that one of our great friends from Young Life had passed away that day.

Although the news was shocking and devastating, it was amazing to see how the Lord revealed himself in so many ways. The fact that almost all of our friends were already in route to Charleston from all over (Costa Rica, Tennesee, etc) was amazing. Literally within hours of getting the news,we were all able to be together and to attend the memorial services as a group. I never knew I could experience such a wide variety of emotion in such a short span of time...but I did. We celebrated the life and grieved the loss of our friend, celebrated my birthday, and said goodbye to some dear friends who are headed to Africa for a few years. We feel so blessed to have such amazing friends to walk through life with. Here are a few pics from Charleston.

Garrett and John Childress cuddling

Some of my favorite ladies

Garrett enjoying one of the yummy cupcakes Margaret made for my b-day

On Monday, we went back to Greenville to pick up Em and to celebrate my birthday with my family. My family treated me to a spa day that was AMAZING! And it was so good to see precious Emerson again. Garrett and I keep saying that we feel like we dropped her off as a baby and picked her up as a little girl. She is on the verge of crawling and is pulling up on everything. Additionally, she developed an entirely new vocabulary while we were gone. She says "mama" and "dada" all the time and then speaks in some baby language the rest of the time. Garrett and I are in awe of her and are constantly amazed by how much we love her. Her little spirit is so joyful...ALL THE TIME. It really is unbelievable. Here are a few pics of our happy little girl.

And last but not least, my sister taught Emerson how to clap while we were gone. She claps all of the time and I love it. Here is a little video for your enjoyment. Amanda, enjoy the fruit of your labor!!

"No"

2010-01-11T13:37:00.004-05:00

I think Emerson is staring to understand the meaning of the word "no." By the looks she keeps giving me, I don't think she is a big fan. What do you think??

You Have The Right....To Remain Silent

2010-01-05T13:11:00.005-05:00

Emerson has been making sounds for a while now that sound like "mama" and "dada." Well, about a week before Christmas we stared to realize that she was intentionally saying Mama and could say it when you asked her to. She says it all the time now and yes, it makes my heart turn to mush. Mostly she says it when she wants something, food, the dog, etc. But the other morning I went to wake her up and she rolled over and looked at me and smiled and said "Mama"....there is definitely not a better way to start your day. Anyway, I have been trying to capture her saying it on camera but of course that isn't happening. Today while I was once again trying to capture her first word on video, it occurred to me that she is just taking a cue from her dad's favorite song. For those of you who don't know Garrett well (if you do, you definitely already know this), he loves Meatloaf...not the food, the singer song writer.

Most of you may best know Meatloaf for his song "I Would Do Anything for Love", but G's favorite song is, "Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself" (although "Life is a Lemon and I Want My Money Back" is a close second). The song begins by saying "hey little lady, i know there is something on your mind i've known you long enough to know the words are not that hard to find" it then goes on to say, "you say it best when you say nothing it all, and i couldn't have said it better myself," and then finally "you have the right to remain silent." So, since this song is played repeatedly in our home, I guess Em is learning from Meatloaf.

Here is a video of Em asserting her "right to remain silent."

But even better, here is a link to the video for Meatloaf's, "Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCKN7XqSQw8 It is definitely worth a look/listen. We have decided that we should have danced to this for our first dance at our wedding. It would have been more fun than the random song we let the band pick...can't really remember what it was. Dad, maybe you can pay for us to have a big party to renew our vows and we can cut a rug to Meatloaf.