Blessed

This year marked Reed's 2nd Christmas! As usual we spent Christmas Eve at Aunt Cate's house and Santa came through and showed up again :)  (It's so cool that my family  has an 'in' with Santa). Reed did not freak out and cry. He studied his present and then studied the Big Guy and then went back to his present. 

Reed did great staying up late and entertaining our family. We thought he might sleep in Christmas morning...but to our dismay he was awake at 6am, as usual. 

Reed opened some toys and books from Mom and Dad and then took a short nap. We headed to Papa's for lunch and even more gifts! 

Overall, Reed did a great job and now has more toys than we have space to put them in and enough Cardinal apparel to outfit him for the entire summer. What a spoiled little sucker.  

Dane was really sweet and got me a Pandora charm bracelet. He started me off with one charm that represents Reed. It is blue with silver ivy wrapped around it and is meant to represent us (the ivy) surrounding Reed with our love (the blue being Reed). It's super special. He also got me a Willow Tree figurine that is a mom holding her son on a rocking chair under a quilt. He said this reminds him of how I hold Reed under his blankie.  Some other top earners for me were my new cookware set and canvas print from my dad. He printed it on canvas and mounted it to the frame himself (pictured below)! Now Reed's picture is really like a piece of art. 

I'm glad that my family doesn't get all caught up in the gifts they get but instead simply enjoys giving to each other, sharing laughs and creating memories. 

 Reed with Santa!

Christmas morning with Mom and Dad. 

Papa with his grandkids, year 2. 

The  canvas print my dad made. Picture doesn't do it justice. 

Merry Christmas. We are blessed.

9 Years.

A couple of months ago, at my dad's suggestion, I submitted an essay on when I first understood what love was to a popular magazine. Seeing as I haven't heard anything from them, I think it's safe to say that I didn't win anything and they won't be publishing my essay. However, on the ninth anniversary of my mom's death, I keep thinking about it and about how awesomely my mom loved. I've decided to share it with you, my dear readers (all 6 of you), in an effort to celebrate my amazing mom....

I have been lucky. Love has been a constant in my life since birth. I always knew that I was loved. I always knew that my parent’s loved each other. I understood that love was a powerful force. I was taught about God’s amazing love. The problem was that I just took it for granted. 

My parents had the kind of romantic love only seen in old black and white movies. They were truly each other’s best friend and loved nothing more than the others company. Most couples I know relish weekends without their spouse, my parents hated them. They would do anything they could together: walks in the evening, cooking dinner, weekend retreats and grocery shopping. To this day I thank them for showing me what true love really is and encouraging me to settle for nothing less.  At the time, I figured this was how everyone’s parents were.

During my freshman year of high school, my mom was diagnosed with a rapidly growing form of breast cancer. She was 38. Within a week she had found the lump, seen the doctor, had a mastectomy and begun chemotherapy. With no family history and her young age we were all pretty scared, yet, call us naïve, we just figured she’d beat it.

Within a year she had gone into remission. This joy was short lived, however.  Within another year, the doctor’s found that her cancer was back. It had multiplied and traveled to several parts of her body. We weren’t so naïve this time.

 Throughout this difficult season of our lives I was able to see love in action. Love was my mom sitting in bed all day drawing personalized cards for her family and friends. Love was the families of my mom’s students who made us dinner and shared their housekeepers with us. Love was my Grandma, Aunt and family friends taking shifts sitting with my mom while she was home alone during the day. Love was my dad’s boss telling him to stay at home for as long as he needed to be with my mom as her condition declined. Love was my mom being more concerned with her kids being kids than the unfairness of what life had dealt her.  Love was my dad carrying my mom to the bathroom when she was in too much pain to make it there on her own.  Love was the school my mom worked at closing the day of her funeral so everyone could attend.  Love was everywhere, but I was in too much pain to really see it.

When my mom passed away during my senior year of high school I was smacked in the face with just what love meant in my life. My mom was everywhere, and then all of a sudden, she wasn’t.  My mom was love and now she was gone. She wasn’t in the stands at my sporting events, she wasn’t at home after a long day to talk to, she wasn’t in the kitchen making dinner, she wasn’t tucking my little brother in at night, or supporting my older brother’s music dreams.  She wasn’t teaching her students, listening to her siblings, or being my dad’s confidant anymore. She was just gone and the space her love filled (and it was a large space) was empty. Don’t get me wrong, I was still loved by so many wonderful people…but it wasn’t my mother’s love. 

I have since learned to live without this love so present in my life. Some of that void has been filled by carrying her memories instead.  Some of that void has been filled through my attempts at loving others.

I am now a mom myself. When I first held my son I was overcome by a powerful force… “Now I get it”, I thought. Now I understand the love my mom had for her children. I understand why she sacrificed for us, why she attended EVERY event we participated it, why she always encouraged us, why she expected so much from us, why she prayed for us, laughed with us, cried with us, and eventually wanted us to be normal kids even though she was so sick.  I am often sad that my son will never know the love of his Grandma, but then I am reminded that I will share a similar love with him…my own kind of motherly love.

I now understand that love is a powerful, wonderful, ridiculous thing, capable of moving mountains.  None of us deserves love, but we cannot live without it.  Love gives us hope, allows us to forgive, and gives us the strength we need to accomplish our goals.  My mom loved me. She loved me unconditionally and from her I learned a lot about love, even how to love those who hurt you the most.  I know that I am loved.  I don’t know why I deserve such love, but it’s there. In spite of my faults, my flaws and blemishes, my mistakes and missteps, I am loved.

I have a tattoo on my foot. It simply says “love.” But what makes this tattoo so special is that it is in my mom’s handwriting, copied straight from a letter she wrote to me. When I think of love and what it means, I think of my mom. Love is her legacy.

I hope my children will be able to say the same thing about me one day, too.

Specialists

Reeds party was a blast and he got more toys than he knows what to do with. I'm not sure what to expect for Christmas! It was so much fun to have all the family over to celebrate our special little guy.

His 1 year appointment went well. Reed is 21 pounds and 31 & 3/4 inches. He's moved up in his weight percentile to the upper 25th and his height is in the 90th. Tall and skinny, but healthy. The doctor was a little concerned that his legs are still slightly bowed and Reed had another ear infection (surprise!). If Reed gets 2 more this season we'll be seeing an Ear, Nose & Throat guy to talk about tubes. The Dr did recommend a pediatric orthopedic and we saw her this morning. Reed got his first x-rays taken and we got good news. He has some mild bowing, but nothing serious. He is just a little behind in getting them completely straight, but the Dr is confident that they will straighten out on their own and not hinder his development. We'll return in March for them to track his progress. We're just getting to meet all the pediatric specialists at Children's! But I'm thankful that we have such a great hospital so close to us.

I'm happy to report that I have made HUGE improvements with my food fear. Reed is fed almost 100% table food now and I even let him have a cookie now and then. He does a great job chewing and I've made myself relax and trust his eating ability more. It helps to know that when he's at my dad's on Thursdays that he and my grandpa feed him brownies and cookies all day ;) He's just getting so big. He's a toddler now. I can't believe it.

What's going on? Why are you all singing and staring at me? 

What are you guys making me eat? This stuff is weird...

 So. Freaking. Handsome.

Huh? I fell asleep?

My kid is awesome. 

One.

December 2^nd, two thousand and ten

Early in the morning, your life did begin

We heard your first screams and saw your sweet eyes

Held your tiny hands and squeezed your chubby thighs

Who could have guessed how beautiful you’d be?

You can’t understand how completely you hooked me

Your first night at home was close to a nightmare

We called the nurses helpline in a moment of despair

But things soon calmed down and we fell into a groove

Before we knew it you began to explore and move

We traveled through 8 states in the month of July

You were such a trooper in the car, we barely heard you cry

You crawled at 6 months and started standing in month 9

There were 2 eye surgeries, but you came through just fine

It seemed like every month your ears got infected

And you’d go to the doctor to confirm what we suspected

Despite that stuff you’re almost always on the go

Chasing the cat and the dog and grabbing things placed down low

It’s certain that sitting still just isn’t your thing

But it’s worth all the action for the happiness you bring

We can’t believe you’re already 1 year old

And we’re looking forward to what year 2 holds

Happy Birthday Boo Bear.

Baby's First...

This week marked Reed's first Thanksgiving as well as his first trip to Rockford, IL to visit his great grandparents. I cannot believe that this time last year I was as big as a house with just about 5 chins, only days away from meeting my amazing little boy. Ca-razy. But, I digress...this is about Reed's latest first's.

Thanksgiving was spent at my dad's house with my brothers, Pop, sis-in-law, niece, and Pat's dad, brother, wife and kids.  It was really nice. Dakota (my 6 year old niece) was super sweet with Reed. He was really taken with her too. The last time they saw each other was Easter so it was neat to see them actually really interact. At one point, I went downstairs to try and get Reed to take a nap. Dakota was playing a Dora game on the Wii and Reed (although super tired) was stubbornly refusing to sleep. After about 10 minutes of fighting with him, Dakota said, "I know what he needs." Then, before I could do anything to stop it, she started belting out "Hush Little Baby." Not only does she have a surprisingly good voice (although, why am I surprised knowing how musically talented my brother is?), but she knew every single word to that song. Who knows every word to "Hush Little Baby"? Anyway, Reed was tickled by his cousins performance, but by golly if it didn't work! 5 minutes after she was done singing, Reed was asleep. Such a sweet little girl.

On Saturday Dane's Dad and sisters went with us up to Rockford, IL to visit Reed's great grandparents. We survived the 3.5 hr drive and enjoyed a day with Dane's family.

Today, Reed had his 1 yr pictures taken by an old high school friend of Dane's. It was just about freezing cold and the sun was not shining at all, but there was no rain so we went for it. She's already posted some pics and they look great so I'm excited to see the rest.

Here are some pics of the last few special, yet very exhausting, days.

 Cousin Love.

Us + Dakota 

Reed put the angel at the top of our tree! (yes, it's skinny) 

Reed meets Gma Pat

The next time you read this my baby will  be 1...

Nuthin' Much

There isn't really much to report on since my last entry...

Reed's top 2 teeth are coming in. One is in about half way and the other is just breaking the skin. What a cutie.

Reed has yet another ear infection. Awesome.

He continues to work on walking. He is so proficient at crawling, however, that walking is of little interest to him at the moment. I'm not going to rush it. It will happen soon enough and then I will never get to sit down again.

Plans are rolling for Reed's first birthday extravaganza! So exciting. But not really an extravaganza. More like a small get together with family.

Here are some pics:

 Why do I let Dad do these things to me?

 I can chill in here, right?

Really. I could be happy here.

So much excitement around the corner. Thanksgiving, first birthdays, Christmas...stay tuned!

Baby's First Halloween

If you haven't already seen his super cute pic on Facebook, here is Reed on his first Halloween:



Yes, he is in fact the world's cutest monkey. 

Confession: I am not the world's biggest Halloween fan. I don't really understand the hype and wasn't planning on taking Reed trick or treating (he isn't old enough to eat the candy after all). Sorry to those of you who think that is a mortal sin (actually, I'm not really sorry). We dressed him up and took him over to visit family members on Sunday, but didn't at that point have solid Halloween night plans. Reed goes to bed at 7 for Pete's sake!

Dane and I were invited to a Halloweenie party at the house of a friend from church. A few families and their kids would be getting together to roast hot dogs and hand out candy to the neighborhood trick or treators. Kids were encouraged to wear their costumes. We made the decision to attend on Halloween (nothing like last minute, huh?). I rushed home from work to buy some candy and chips and then we headed to North County (about a 30 min drive). We're really glad we went. It was good fellowship and Reed did a great job staying up past his bed time. He fell asleep soon after we got him in the car and did not wake up the rest of the night (even when we transferred him from the car seat to his crib). Overall, a successful first Halloween for Reed.

In other exciting news...Reed is 11 months old today!!! Holy craziness. I can not believe that I am planning his first birthday party already.

AND

Reed took his first few hesitant steps yesterday!!! Any day now he is just going to take off.  I only hope I'm able to keep up.

Well, catch you on the flip side!

Girls Weekend

This weekend was Sample Girls Weekend 2011. Devan and Darci came to stay with me and Reed while Dane went off to fish.
Aunt Devan and Aunt Darci really enjoyed waking up at 6am. I'm pretty sure that was their favorite part. Saturday was jam packed with fun: shopping, manicures/pedicures, dinner on the Loop, Ted Drewes, laughter, and wine. We had a really great time...so great in fact, that Reed almost refused to take a nap for fear of missing out.
I really love the relationship I'm building with these lovely ladies. Thanks for a great weekend!

After enjoying delicious fried pickles and root beer at Fitz's.

Reed loves Aunt Devan and Aunt Darci.

Looking forward to next time ladies! 

Pumpkin Patch

This weekend we made the drive to Milstadt, IL to enjoy an afternoon at Eckert's Family Farm. After getting turned around (just slightly) and adding about 20 minutes to our drive, we made it. The weather could not have been any better. We strapped Reed into the papoose and set out for our afternoon of fun. Just after we entered, I was getting my bearings and trying to figure out where the tractor was for the rides out to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch. As I was looking at the map and my surroundings, Dane nudged me and started walking over to someone. It took me a second to figure out what he was doing or who he had seen, but when I figured it out I was pleasantly surprised...my Aunt Cathy was there! I mean, of all places to run into her. She lives like 5 minutes away and I've never run into her at Target or Schnucks, but 30 minutes away at a pumpkin patch in Illinois we find each other. I was told my cousin Lauren-Ashleigh will be quite upset that she was not at Eckert's either (she wanted to go when she was in town last weekend), so to her I say I'm sorry we didn't get to see you there too. Maybe next time and good luck on your 1/2 marathon next weekend.
Reed seemed to really enjoy himself. I think we'll make this a family tradition...

Pics for your pleasure:

Ready for some fun.

 See? I told you she was there.

 The boys.

I heart them.

The fam riding out to the pumpkin patch.



Reed touched a camel.

Until next time...

Facing My Food Fears

*Warning: This blog is choppy and has no flow to it. Sorry. I'm tired.

I was lucky enough to have Columbus Day off of work so I got to spend it with my favorite 20lb, 29inch guy. Yep, you guessed it, REED!!! We had a really great day. We played, we ate, we brought daddy lunch, we laughed, we cried, we he napped. It was a really happening day. I just love that little guy.

The day after Reed's surgery he woke up with the sniffles. I thought maybe it was due to the surgery in some way so I decided to wait a few days before deciding if I should take him to the doctor. After Julie (babysitter) reported a not so good day on Monday I made an appointment for Tuesday. We saw the nurse practitioner, Megan, who's really nice. When she stuck the instrument in Reed's ears he would scrunch up and giggle. Megan thought this was funny and went on and on about how cute he was. Through her laughter she reported that, yes, his ears were indeed infected. Then she said "I shouldn't be laughing as I tell you that, but he's just so darn cute. He has the best laugh." And, I couldn't fault her, because he does indeed have the best laugh...ever.

Reed has been on an antibiotic since then and I'm not sure how effective it is. His nose is just now slowing down its drip and he's still pulling on his ears now and then. Just really hoping that this doesn't mean tubes in the ears. We need a break from surgery for a while.

This month is Breast Cancer Awareness month. In memory of his Grandma Rhonda, Reed has a special shirt that says "I wear pink for my Grandma." It's pretty awesome. Don't worry, there's a pic below.

Julie (babysitter) told me today that she and Reed were outside and a neighbor came over to talk. She went on and on about how "gorgeous" Reed is and then said "Wow, his eyes look a lot straighter." She didn't even know he had had surgery! Julie was really excited to share this info with me. I was glad to hear it.

I guess since this blog is titled "Facing My Food Fears" I should probably write a little bit about food. I know I'm a bit ridiculous about this whole table food thing...but I'm really trying to loosen up a bit and give Reed a little more credit regarding his chewing ability. The past few days Reed has had for dinner a variation of what I have made for Dane and myself.  He's had chicken with peas and carrots, roast with potatoes and carrots, lasagna, and beef with peas and carrots. Oh, and to my delight, he had some broccoli and LOVED it. In your face Dane! We can bring broccoli back to the dinner table full time now. Two against one. All that being said, I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I have to walk away and let Dane take over for a while. Progress, not perfection my friends.

Now for the reason why most of you even read this blog...pictures!

Look at how awesome his eyes look!

I wanted him to smile, but he wasn't being very cooperative.

And for those that don't know, yes, that is his Grandma Rhonda. 

Hoping to go to the pumpkin patch this weekend. Stay tuned!

Double Digits

As of yesterday, Reed is now in the double digits. I cannot believe that he is 10 months old. For those of you not math inclined, that's only 2 months away from 1 year!!! This is just crazy talk. But, there's nothing I can do to stop it so I'll just report what's new in my little 10 month olds life...

Reed can now add pancakes, black bean soup, pulled pork, and my mom's roast with carrots and potatoes to his growing culinary list. That list might sound quite daring for a mom who has a choking phobia, but I assure you that these are mashed and given to him in small portions (and I may or may not still freak out a little).

Reed can stand by himself for a good amount of time now. It's pretty impressive. He's a smart cookie though and whenever we try to get him to "walk" with our help, he just goes limp and waits for us to pick him up. I'm still convinced that he'll be walking before he's a year old...which, if I may remind you, is now less than 2 months away.

Reed has a little bit of an attachment to me. He usually doesn't like it if I'm not in the same room as him and will come crawling/crying to find me wherever I'm at. He then stands up and holds onto my leg until I am able to pick him up. While I would love to carry him around all the time, my back starts to hurt and I can't get anything done. It's sweet and I should savor it while it lasts, but, admittedly, it can sometimes be frustrating. Please don't judge until you have a 10 month old pulling on your leg while you're trying to do your hair in the morning or cook dinner after a long day at work.

What an exciting 10 months it has been. Our little bug just keeps growing and developing in leaps and bounds. It's so amazing to think that just a few months ago Reed couldn't crawl or sit up on his own. It's crazy how fast things change.

Enjoy these pics from Aunt Devan and Grandpa Al's last visit to St. Louis:

I believe that Reed is the definition of cute.

Surgery 2

Well we made it through Reed's second surgery. He did such a great job with not being able to eat all morning. Reed goes to sleep around 7pm and has his last bottle between 6:30-7. He sleeps until 6-6:30am so he had not eaten for nearly 15 hrs by the time he came out of surgery. If you recall, Reed woke up "ballistic" (to quote the nurse) last time and we never even made it to recovery before she ran into the room with him. He did much better this time. He didn't wake up directly after the surgery and we were called back to recovery about 20 minutes after the surgeon reviewed the results of the surgery with us. Reed was crying as we walked into recovery but as soon as I held him he stopped. We gave him some apple juice and once the nurse was convinced he was going to keep it down, we were moved back to his regular room. Here, Reed promptly fell asleep. He slept for almost an hour and when he woke up we were discharged. When we got home he had a bottle and then slept for another 2.5 hrs.

His eye is scary red again and this time he has had some bloody tears as well (all normal side effects of the surgery), but other than being a little more sleepy than usual, he is no worse for the wear. Praise the Lord for another successful surgery. We'll have a follow up appointment in 3 months and hopefully the doctor will like what he sees. Reed needs to continue to wear the eye patch until a month before our follow up visit, but now only 1 hr a day instead of 2. This will just continue to strengthen the vision in his left eye.

 Hanging out before surgery.

 You like my gown?

 Silly face.

Surgery's over. Time for a nap.

Thanks for the prayers all. We are so blessed.



Montauk

As I mentioned in my last post, the fam went to Montauk State Park for Dane's birthday this weekend. Dane got to spend most of Saturday and a little bit of Sunday doing what he enjoys most...fly fishing! Reed and I spent a lot of time hanging out on Saturday in order to let Dane do his thing, but we did get to go out with him for a couple of hours. The weather could not have been better and Reed and Dane caught a fish together! Dane would like to go back next weekend but I think he'll have to settle for maybe sometime this Spring.

Enjoy the pics:

Glad we had the weekend to relax and have fun. I'll get back to you all after the surgery :(

Surgery #2 Scheduled

Reed and I went to the doctor today to see how the effective the patch has been. Apparently there wasn't significant enough change and the surgery still stands. It is scheduled for the 30th (next Friday) and we'll know what time when the nurse calls the day before. This will just be on the left eye, not both like last time. Prayers, as always, are appreciated.

I asked the doctor for some more clarification on what exactly is wrong with Reed's eyes. When we first found out about his condition (strabismus) we learned that at any given moment one of Reed's eyes was essentially turned off. I asked the doctor today if this was still the case--if the left eye was turned off most of the time--and she said yes, his eyes do not work together. As adults when our eyes cross we see double, a baby's brain says "I don't want to see double, this doesn't work" so it just shuts the eye off. I told her that it just amazes me how well Reed functions taking that into consideration. To see him move, feed himself, follow the spoon to his mouth, "cruise" down the furniture, you would never suspect that he's operating with just one functioning eye. I guess he doesn't really know any better since this is what it's been like for him since the beginning, but I'm just amazed. I mean, he's so close to walking that I wonder if this vision deficit is what's holding him back. After I voiced all of this the doctor just said that children are amazing, they are so resilient and adapt so quickly--much better than adults. She agreed how impressive Reed's development is given his vision problems and then said, "Imagine what it will be like when this is all over and he can use his eyes like he's supposed to."

That statement was just a reminder for me that Dane and I are doing the right thing. This might take a toll on us emotionally and financially, but this is what's best for Reed. And thank God that it was diagnosed so early that Reed will never even remember this and can go on to reach the rest of his milestones with eyes working together!

Crazy man after the first surgery

The other day I was at Target walking in behind a mom, dad and little boy about 3 years old. The little boy had a completely shaved head with a scar from ear to ear and he wore a backpack. As I got on the escalator behind them I noticed that coming out of his backpack were a few tubes that wrapped around and connected to something on the front of his body. Of course I was wondering what was wrong with this cute little boy--cancer? brain tumor?--and was reminded that although surgery is scary, and I hate that Reed has to go through that, things could be much worse.

We are richly blessed.

Fun Stuff

Sorry I've been away from the blogging world for a couple of weeks. It may be hard to believe, but sometimes our lives just aren't exciting enough to blog about frequently, so I've been storing up our adventures for the last 2 weeks in order to make for more exciting reading (see how I take care of you all?). 

Last week, on Labor Day, we visited my dad in Greenville. We got to see his nice new office and his M-F bachelor pad. He even treated us to lunch in the DC (dinning commons). Dane and I took a walk around the town square and saw our old apartment. It was nice to be back in Greenville for a day and see how my dad is starting to fit in. We even spent some time with Aunt Darci in between her classes.

Last Saturday Reed and I had a "mommy and me" day while Dane went scouting for a good place to hunt this fall with a friend. Reed and I took a walk to Papa's house and saw Ms. Stefanie (my "work spouse") doing a work out in the park. We played at home and walked around Target too. I think Reed likes Target as much as I do :) It was a good day and, although a bit exhausting, really great to have a day with him all to myself. That evening Dane's mom and sisters were in town and we met them for dinner at Schlafly Bottleworks. Maplewood was having their art fair so we walked around there for a bit too and ran into Ms. Stefanie again! Twice in one day, how lucky were we?!?!

Yesterday we went to the Balloon Glow in Forest Park. Man am I glad we don't live far and were able to get a pretty good parking spot off of Hampton so we didn't have to take the highway or drive into the park. I'm pretty sure everyone in St. Louis and at least half of Illinois attends this event. 64/40 was like a parking lot in both directions and the park was completely full of cars. Hampton was backed up for at least a mile (maybe two). Ca-razy. But we didn't have any problem getting there and walking to the site of the balloons. It was beautiful. I don't think Reed could really appreciate it and we didn't stay too long since he was ready to go home and go to bed, but I hope we can do it again as he gets older.

This morning we got up and watched Dane run a 5k in my dad's neighborhood, St. Louis Hills. The race is called "Run for the Hills" and he competed in it last year. My Uncle Mike and his friend Scott also ran. They all did really well. Dane beat his time from last year and said he felt much more in shape. Reed had a good time cheering his daddy on. I'm so proud of Dane for committing to this whole running thing. As a past runner, I know how hard it is to run on your own but Dane does a great job of motivating himself and getting those runs in each day after work. Maybe his next goal will be the half marathon! Great job babe!

And the fun doesn't stop there. Tonight we will attend a cocktail party at my Aunt Cindy and Uncle Mike's house and tomorrow we will (hopefully) be having our good friends Trent and Frances over for Sunday dinner.

In food news Reed has now eaten mac n' cheese, green beans, some deli turkey, and tomato bisque (which he LOVED). I am slowly but surely facing my fears.

Here are some pics of the last 2 weeks:

Reed got stuck under his exersaucer.

 After a run with dad.

 Working on using that sippy cup.

 He's so studious.

 And so fly.

At the balloon glow.

September is a busy month. This time next week we'll be in Montauk celebrating Dane's birthday! Wednesday is Reed's next eye appointment. I'm expecting the worst and hoping for the best. If he does still need the surgery, it is scheduled for the 30th. Keep Reed in your prayers!!!

Pics I Forgot to Add Yesterday...

Daddy and Reed enjoying the great outdoors.

Still super cute, even with a patch on. Maybe even cuter.

Happy baby ready for his bath

(those are not my hairy legs & Dane is wearing running shorts).

Just sittin' like a big boy in the bathtub.