The princess and the frog

In our front yard there is a water meter box between our house and the neighbors.  I think the first summer we lived in this house we realized a frog was in there.  Ever since then there have been several frogs that have chosen that place as their home.  Well actually I think they are toads, but it's all the same to me.  Right now we have about 4 in there.  Until this summer Ansley would only occasionally go and check on the frogs.  I think she mostly wanted to know they were still there, but now she has adopted them as if they are part of the family.  We "go look at the frogs" just about every day.  She picks one out and holds it, carries it around, and pets it.  She almost always gets peed on at least once, but she doesn't care.  ICK, just thinking about it is gross.  She had it on the swing with us in the backyard the other day and it jumped up against my leg and I acted like the prissy little girl because I shivered and screamed.  HAHA!  They just feel so disgusting.  Ansley is a girl with lots of drama who loves shiny things, talking on the phone, and shoes like any girly girl does.  However, she also loves to climb trees, run around and get sweaty, and play with frogs.  I don't know whether to call her a "tomboy" or not.  Anyway, I have always thought this about Ansley but this situation makes it so much more evident.  I guess I was kinda that way as a young girl too.  I loved being outside, climbing trees and such.  I DID NOT ever like frogs though.  Here are a few pictures of my little princess and her frog.

This was about 2 weeks before Adalynn was born.  Her eyes are closed so because she is showing off her blue eye shadow. 

  
Here's a little video I did of her playing with her frog the other day.

Of course I have to post a photo of Adalynn.  I don't want her to feel left out. :)

This was on her 2 month biirthday.

For the parents

     Well summer is over.  I do LOVE summer, but this year I am kinda ready to get back into the routine of "school days".  Ansley started MDO this week.  I have always called MDO school but Ansley insists on me calling it Pre K this year.  :)  A lot of the kids from her class last year are in the other class which made me a little sad.  I think this means Ansley is one of the oldest in her class.  She already thinks she is so "big" so I appreciated her being the younger rather than the oldest of the kids last year.  It will be fine though.  Ansley's teacher Ms. Debbie is awesome and so sweet.  I think her calm spirit will be good for my crazy Ansley.  I hope that a little of Ms. Debbie's calm can wear off on her.  Today was my first day to "teach" music to the MDO kids.  It was a lot of fun and those kids were so sweet.  I'm glad that I see them in 15-20 sessions that way they stay sweet. HA!  It's not really long enough for them to get to cranky.

     Last weekend we went to visit my parents.  While we were there we went to visit my Nanny so she could meet Adalynn.  I think Adalynn is her 13th great grandbaby.  It was fun to go up there.  It had been a while since we'd gotten to visit and as always I enjoy seeing my family.  It still feels like home when we are all together.  Jay, Ansley, and I went riding around "the farm" on the gator.  Jay had never seen all Nanny's land and Ansley has been talking about how she wants to live on a farm when she grows up so we thought it would be fun to explore.  I wished I'd taken my camera with me out on our drive.  Oh well, maybe next time.

Adalynn will be 2 months old this coming Monday.  To me she has gotten so big, but today I had someone ask me if she was a preemie.  She has started holding her head up pretty well and reaching out for things she sees.  The other day she even pulled the rings on her swing to make the music come on.  Isn't she talented. :) Oh those little milestones.  My favorite of her new activities is her smile.  She has started smiling a lot and when you smile at her she will she back.  She also smiles when Jay tickles her.  Love those sweet baby smiles.  Now we just need to start sleeping through the night!  Here is a video of Ansley and I giving Adalynn a bath...she was all smiles!  

      

Road Trip

     Last week we took our first road trip to Clovis as the Reed family of 4.  The trip there could not have gone better.  I mean I was a little nervous but the girls did great.  Ansley did ask if we were almost there when we were in Georgetown though (which is 25 minutes from our house).  Once she realized this was a REAL car trip and not just a trip to go shopping she was fine.

     We got there on Tuesday night and on Wednesday Adalynn met her great granny.  Then later that night we went to the Curry County Fair and had our pictures made with our friend Cristy who has been a sweet friend since we lived in Clovis.  She is married to one Jay's best friends from high school and he was also a groomsman in our wedding.  Cristy is super talented and what I love most about her is her desire to use her business for the Lord.  If you have never visited her website, you should!  www.cristycross.com  Also if you want to help us earn free photos comment on Cristy's blog post of the Reed family here http://cristycross.com/jounral/?p=2085  
     On Thursday we ended up taking a few more pics of Adalynn and Ansley at Cristy's house and then we got to visit with our friends the Osburn's.  It is always good to see them and catch up.  Ansley then went swimming with Jay at another friends house.  Friday Ansley "played" golf at the par 3 course with Jay and his dad.  She has been visiting the driving range and putting green with Jay here at home through out the summer so this was her first time playing actual holes although I'm not sure she finished any hole all the way though. HA! Me and Adalynn just mostly sat around the house on Friday but that was good because I think we wore miss Adalynn out.  Saturday we packed up and drove back home.  It was a good time and kept Ansley and Jay busy.  Adalynn was a little more fussy on the way home but both girls did get a good 2+ hour nap in.

     Jay's dad has a huge garden in his backyard and I just had to post a pic of Ansley and her vegetable find.  It was pretty crazy!

One month old

1  month old

  
     So Adalynn had her one month birthday today.  I feel like "man it's already been a month, and man its ONLY been a month" all at the same time.  I am not sure I'm totally taking it all in.  I feel like I walk around like a sleepy airhead most of the day.  I am realizing why I barely remember anything from life with Ansley before she was 3 months old.  You are just too tired to remember anything that is happening.  HA!  The first two weeks seemed to go extremely well, followed by a much more difficult 2 weeks.  We will see how things go from here.  I feel like Adalynn is sleeping fairly well considering, she only gets up once around 3 or 4 AM.  It's just I'm still not accustomed to waking up in the middle of the night.  Apparently I am a deep sleeper and when I'm out I would like to be out for a long time.  I typically would rather not sleep at all then sleep for only a little while. So I am not a napper, usually.  I say usually because I think I've napped more this month than at any other point in my adult life.  This makes for feelings of guilt when relating to Ansley.  I can't help but wonder what she thinks about me napping all the time.  I keep telling myself that it's ok because if I didn't nap I would be a much grumpier mommy and Ansley wouldn't like that either. :) The best part of the last week has been 2 of my other friends having their babies.  Ansley's MDO teacher last year Ms. Kayla had her baby on the 5th and another of my friends from church/MOPS who's oldest son was in Ansley's class last year, had her baby on the 7th.  We are still patiently waiting for Kathleen to have her little girl.  Her due date was today and I am dying to meet Jill.  I'm sure Kathleen and family are too.  But it's so sweet to see all these beautiful baby girls that have all been much anticipated for so long.  

Before church last Sunday morning

     Ansley is still doing very well and seems to love being a big sister.  Yesterday she found one of the "baby" movies that we watched when she was little.  When Adalynn was awake and playing yesterday evening Ansley wanted to watch it because she thought it was a movie she and Adalynn could both watch together.  I thought it was sweet of her to try and include her baby sister.  She hugs her all the time and wants to hold her as much as possible.  She also likes to help hold the bottle if we use one.  Her favorite is when Adalynn holds onto her finger.  Ansley has so many questions too.  I can't imagine what she thinks when I'm nursing and what she thinks about all the crying.  I do know she does NOT like the crying.  I don't either who can blame her :)  I feel bad saying this but I kinda think the worst part of newborn life this go round is Ansley trying to "help".  Sometimes I just want to tell her, "Don't worry about it, I'm handling it".  Also she seems in the way a lot and I know she is just curious but some things would go a lot smoother without a sidekick following me around.  I am grateful though for how understanding she's been because I am sure I've hurt her feelings a lot lately but maybe one day she'll forgive me.
     So thats life from the first month of life with 2 children.  I can't wait until I am well rested once again and can really start taking it all in and enjoying these beautiful girls the Lord has given me.  I am so blessed!

A new look :)

This blog is so titled because my family not only has a new look but this blog page is apparently going to have a new look because my background says it disappearing on Friday.  So, a new look it is. :)

It has been just over week since we had our baby girl, Adalynn.  She is beautiful of course and we feel absolutely graced by God to have her join us on our journey.  There are so many things to say that I'm not sure where to start.  I was almost shocked to see how much Adalynn looks like Ansley did when she was a baby.  It is almost like de ja vu but Adalynn was 3 inches shorter than Ansley.  I'm super impressed with how my 4 year old is handling everything so far.  I just hope it continues this way.  Ansley loves being a big sister and wants to help however she can.  She has even done really well staying semi quiet for her little sister, and anyone who knows my crazy kid knows what a feat that is.

I also have been given such a gift in my husband, Jay.  He is such a servant and so sensitive to the needs of his family.  I can not say enough about how thankful and incredibly blessed I am by him.  I just hope and pray that I am doing well at loving him too.

Yesterday was really the first full day of life as it will now be.  Jay was at work and I was at home with the girls by myself for the first time since Adalynn was born.  We did pretty good most of the day.  Ansley had a play date with her friend Victoria.  Thanks again Nicole!  But by evening I was exhausted still.  Adalynn had gone down for a nap and Ansley asked me to play "door" (a game that is a Jay Reed original) I just started crying because I REALLY didn't want to play "door" but I felt like I should take this time to spend with Ansley since I could.  When I stated crying Ansley just said I'll just go see whats on tv in the living room.  AWWW how sad. Luckily Jay came home just a few minutes later because God won't give you more than you can handle. :)  He played play doh with Ansley and I laid down for a few minutes until Adalynn's next feeding.

So my life has a beautiful new look.  My sleeping patterns do too, but I will continue to count my many blessings because God is so good, He's so good to me!

This summer so far

       This has been one crazy summer and I can hardly believe that June is almost over!  Ansley had her first ever swim lessons and it was incredible how much she learned in just 4 30 minute one on one sessions with her teacher, Ms. Staci.  I was such a proud momma and still am because she just keeps getting better at it.  Jay is convinced she can be an athlete if she wants to be because she picks things up very quickly and has good coordination.  Of course, I wouldn't know anything about being an athlete but if he says so. :)          

       Adalynn got lots of stuff she will need at the shower that was held at our church.  My sweet friends and hostesses had planned a lunch for the guests and it was such a great day and I felt very special to have so many people in my life who are supporting Jay and I as we raise these 2 girls!

       Next, we stayed a week in WF with my parents while Jay and the HS kids were at camp.  It was a good visit and that week went so fast.  The following week we went to Port Aransas Tx to stay at the beach with my family.  This was Ansley's first trip to the beach and she had a blast.  Of course we stayed very busy so now every day she asks "what are we going to do today" or "where are we going now".  She needs to snap out of vacation "GO" mode because this momma is worn out.  It was a lot of fun and really the first time that my family has been together more than just a couple days over Christmas.  My brother, sister-in-law, and nephew Ridgely were there too.  It is so funny how things change like adding spouses and kids but so many things stay the same in family situations too.  I feel like I have changed the most and unfortunately not really for the better.  Being an adult doesn't wear well on me HA!  At least I'm aware of this though, and I'm working on it.    

       Two weeks from tomorrow we are expecting to meet this precious child that been sharing life with me for the past 9 months.  I am getting very excited to meet her and a little bit worried about the change all at the same time.  I find myself being sentimental about things with Ansley and am praying that she will still feel just as loved and adored as ever even when her mommy and daddy have another baby to love and adore.  My due date is July 26th but we are inducing on July 12th.  I really do feel like this induction is an answer to prayer.  I have friends that have shared their concern about inducing, but I also have friends that have had nothing but positive things to say about their induction experiences.  Like I said I feel grateful to have been given this option because I would never have just asked to be induced but my doctor is going to be away at a conference for over a week and since Ansley was born a week early my doctor gave me the option to be induced so she could be there for the birth.  We thought and prayed about it for a couple of weeks before deciding for sure what to do, and in the end we agreed to do it.  Like I said I really feel it was an answered prayer to an extra detail God allowed me to praise Him for.  Ever since I was having the ligament pain (which was worst between weeks 8-15) I've been talking to God about having this baby early.  HA  I'm sure lots of pregnant women pray this prayer because no one wants to have their baby late.  But I mostly said God whenever you're ready so am I.  Anyway, all this to say I will be induced exactly 2 weeks before my due date at 38 weeks.  I was kinda induced with Ansley because my water broke and nothing else labor related happened until they started me on the pitocin.  Seriously, I think I was only dilated to 1 or something when they started it.  But everything with Ansley went well and I loved the birth experience with her so that is keeping me from having reservations about inducing with this one too.

       Sorry that was a really long story about nothing of interest to anyone but me probably but I just got carried away writing my thoughts.  I am exhausted having started month 9 but I am going to try to make the most of these 2 weeks in preparation for Adalynn joining the Reed family.

short story

Sometimes, I underestimate the mind of children.  I really try not to because I learned a long time ago they are smarter than we give them credit for (even as infants), but still I'm amazed at what my child (and other kids too) says sometimes.
     Jay, Ansley, and I were on our way to the track as we have done a lot this spring/summer.  Jay was going to run of course while Ansley and I were gonna walk.  Anyway, out of nowhere Ansley asks, "Mom, why doesn't the track have a mailbox".  So in all my wisdom I said because no one lives here.  Without any hesitation at all she replies, "no one lives at the church".   I mean come on that is some serious quick thinking.  I just said back to her, "you are so right" and had to laugh.  Then of course Jay tells her that people work at the church and they send mail there and yada yada yada.  Obviously she had noticed at some point that the church has a mailbox and the entire block where the track is does not.  But it just had me amazed first of all at the random question and then how quickly she responded.  I have a feeling that this ability to think so quick on her feet will not be as astonishing when I am trying to discuss curfew (and other similar topics) with a teenager in a few years.  But for now I am going to marvel at God's precious creation that He is allowing me to parent and thank Him for His goodness in our lives.  

This picture is from a month or two  ago.  If you notice her arms she is pretending to be holding the reins of a horse.  I think she thinks that it makes her faster.  She runs with Jay on his warm up and cool down laps.