This kid LOVES his family!

Reed is obsessed with his extended family! Yeah, he loves us too and is such a touchy, snuggly little boy, but nothing beats time with a grandparent or cousin!



Fun with Grandma


Watching cousins play video games...


He copied what they did.


Reed would try to get as close as possible to them...luckily, Mckay is a really great cousin and didn't complain.


Random hug for Rhettsky. We tried to catch Reed putting his arm around Rhett's waist and laying on his shoulder during the game, but we weren't quick enough.


Playing with "goofy Grandpa." Reed thinks my dad is hilarious! He followed my dad everywhere for 8 hours straight on Thanksgiving. Seriously, I tried to play the same games/toys with him and Reed would just look at me and yell, "Grandpa!"


Grandpa taught the grandkids the fun that can be had with tape balls. Apparently all the weird stuff my dad enjoys and says is perfect for entertaining little kids! As long as Reed doesn't learn any swears from him, I will consider it a success.


Watching a Christmas movie and snuggling with Grandpa.

Harry Potter Party

In celebration of the 7th Harry Potter movie coming out, we threw a small party. Only one among us had seen the movie, but we were all Potter fans. We consumed a whole lot of Honeyduke-like treats and tried to stump each other on Potter trivia. We even sorted ourselves into houses--and a lot of people were mistaken on what they previously thought was their House. Yes, we are dorks but very cool ones.


Honeyduke treats


Mike and Bruce with their "Deathly Hallows" cake. Yes, they MADE it!


A close-up of the masterpiece: the cloak, snitch, and Elder wand. So freaking cool!


And best of all, Harry and Draco dualing!

Cabin Fever already??

With the weather changing, I am kind of dreading the next few months. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE SNOW! But when there is no snow to play in and it's just plain cold, we have to resort to other things than playing outside. In the summertime, we would spend hours outside so I am a little worried what the winter will hold. So what are some of your favorite go-to indoor activities? What kind of "field trips" do you go on with your kids? A few of Reed's favorite indoor activities are playing in the sink, playing with his tub of beans, and he could literally have me read books to him for hours. We still try to leave the house at least once a day (though that may change when the baby arrives), but we like to play at the mall treehouse, visit the pet store, and play at various toy stores. Let's swap some ideas and maybe we can survive the winter together.

Trick-or-Treat

On Friday night, we went to our ward's trunk or treat. Reed was pretty miserable to say the least. He was tired and I think a bit overwhelmed by the number of people packed into the gym. Seriously, I think our entire neighborhood heard "free food" and came on over to the church. I didn't even recognize 1/3 of the people. Once we finally got outside to trunk or treat, we went to about 5 cars and Reed had enough. He kept asking to go to our car and go home. So I walked him home and put him in bed while Kevin finished giving out candy.


Our miserable little Draco Malfoy. He had a wand but it was too much to carry. We even taught him some spells: "Expelliarmis!" and "Accio candy!" A lot of people thought he was a vampire...I guess we were too cheap to buy the actual Hogwarts robes, so we used what we had on hand. Oh well, I'm sure it's the last year we'll be able to pick what his costume will be. (P.S. I really wanted our entire family to be star-bellied sneetches--one-piece yellow pj's--how cool would that be?!)

On Saturday, we went to my brother's neighborhood to trick-or-treat with all the cousins.

Reed getting his hair slicked back in preparation.


He was so cute! He knew to say "trick-or-treat," and always said "Thanks" and "bye-bye" at the end.


Cousin Colton and Reed. I think Reed was more interested in what Colton got...
Trick-or-treating was a huge success! Especially considering the downpour! Reed didn't even care. After the first couple houses, he totally got what was going on and would run to the next house. It was awesome! However, whenever someone let him pick a piece of candy, he'd always pick "blue candy." I was a little bugged--who likes Almond Joys and Crunch bars anyway?!

Happy Halloween

Pumpkin Farm I



Grunting and everything, "Too heavy."


Apparently he doesn't like sticking his head through a tiny hole...


We were so proud of Reed for jumping in the Bounce House. If you know him at all, you know that this is a big deal! He spent like 30 min. in there. Of course his favorite part is copying the other little kids and trying to make them do what he does.



Pumpkin Farm II




Reed loved the corn box last year but didn't spend too much time in it this year. I guess he's growing up.


He "drove" a cool car.


He kinda hated the horse. I can't say I was too disappointed. Like mother like son.




Lots of slides! I think people were surprised to see such a little guy go down that last one. I was a little hesitant about the idea myself, but Reed loved it! Slides are the one thing in life that he is pretty brave about!


Choo-choo train with Daddy. Lots all take a moment and laugh at Kevin trying to fit in one of those cars. HAHA!


...and decorating pumpkins the next day.

Double Stroller

I need some opinions on double strollers. What do you have and do you like it? Why? Pros and cons. Reed still loves riding in a stroller, so I definitely need a double. But did you carry your baby for the first few months and then put them in the stroller? Or do you have one that you can click in your car seat (which is what I am leaning to)? Side by side or front and back? So many decisions....

Holiday season

Let the holiday season begin! This is my most favorite time of the year: Halloween and Christmas!!! I can't wait! Oh yeah, Thanksgiving is alright. I usually decorate for Christmas the day after Halloween, but I'm trying to decide if I want Reed to know that another holiday exists in between. But there's never enough time to really celebrate Christmas. We'll see.


I decided to make a Halloween advent calendar this year. I debated between candy or an activity in each pocket and went with an activity. I still have a few spaces to fill, but I may just keep them empty. I am so excited for Fall! Let's hope we have one this year...

Summer's almost gone :(

We haven't had the internet for a few weeks, so I have become a slacker blogger. Plus, I'm trying to take advantage of the last little bit of summer and be outside as much as possible. Come winter, I'm sure I'll be more regular. I must admit though, blogging has become a little like scrapbooking for me. It's definitely time-consuming, so oftentimes I'd rather just slap pictures up here and call it good. Recently, naps have won out over blogging for me. But nevertheless, here are a few things we've been doing this summer.


Playing with friends, Eliza and Ruby. Reed had his first kiss, by the way. He grabbed Eliza last week and open-mouthed kissed her...I think he only got her nose though. :)



Went on a short hike.



Looked at flowers.


Played video games with Daddy.


A little hide-and-seek.


Made breakfast in the Canyon. (Finally used our camping stove. Wahoo!)


And went to Farm Country with Reed's cousin, Rhett. Both boys were a little timid around some of the animals. But here is the BEST SAD FACE EVER!!!....


This is after Reed's fingers got pecked by a rooster. He hesitated a second and when I asked if he was okay, he said, "No," and then did this face (and cried, of course). I'm so glad I captured it!

Reed Frog Facts

He loves being outside, but the sun bugs him. He'll say "Sun off" when it's too bright.


He is absolutely obsessed with his Grandma! I think even I come second to Grandma.


He loves the water, but he hates getting water in his face. Sprinklers are a no go.


He loves animals especially my mom's cat. He cried and cried when they put her in the basement to sleep. He grabbed her neck and hugged her unprompted. He also is obsessed with snakes (mostly pretend ones).


He LOVES flowers! He spent over an hour watering my mom's flowers in ID. But we often spend up to an hour walking around outside picking flowers (dandelions) and putting them in his baby stroller. (Man, he's sounding pretty girly...)


He also collects rocks.


He likes to watch "Homer" with his Daddy. Don't judge us.


He loves the temple! He knows when we get off at a certain exit on the highway that we will pass the temple. He gets so excited about it that he gets pretty anxious if there a lot of cars at the stop sign previous to the temple. He calls it the "big, pretty temple" and chapels are just small temples. He is also ridiculously smart. He knows that Moroni is on top of the temple and he knows pictures of Enos, Nephi, Lehi, Captain Moroni, 2,000 warriors, etc. etc. He becomes obsessed with things until he can master it. That's how he was with his letters, shapes, etc.


He loves his cousin, Colton. He has some other cute little friends that he loves being around, especially Eliza and Zack. I'm sure he'll love having a little sister once he stops hating the fact that there is another person taking up Mommy's attention.