Corbyn's 9th Birthday Party

In an attempt to keep things simple this year we decided to nix the birthday party idea and let Corbyn have a couple of girlfriends go on a girl's night out. Corbyn chose to take two of her best friends, Abby & Jami along. Here is a rundown of the night's events. We began with a shopping trip to Old Navy to purchase new flip-flops ($2.50 a pair). There was a method to my madness in this purchase. I planned on taking the girls to get their tootsies painted next.




After searching for the optimal color and size of flip-flops we headed to N&T Nails to get pedicures (at least the little girl versions). The people working there were great to pamper the girls by letting them sit in the massage chairs and read magazines (but mostly giggle). It was pretty stressful trying to choose just one nail color so we ended up going with tootsies with designs on them. Abby and Corbyn got polka dots and Jami got rainbow toes. Corbyn was pretty ticklish and wasn't wild about having her arches scrubbed.



After the pedicures we ventured to West Town Mall to visit Build-a-Bear. The girls had been looking forward to this part of the trip all day. Corbyn selected a Panda Bear and named her "Jesica"; Jamie chose a Cheetah and named her "Sassy"; and Abby picked out a husky and named him "Mark". The girls had a great time dressing up their new friends.




Following Build-a-Bear we went to the Food Court at the mall and everyone chose where they wanted to eat. For dessert we enjoyed a cookie cake from Great American Cookie Company and it was delicious.


After the long evening of shopping and eating we headed to Putt-Putt for some outdoor fun. The girls didn't know we were going so they were so excited when I turned in there. We played 18 (stressful) holes. Abby took the game very seriously and didn't appreciate Corbyn and Jami goofing around. Jami scared anyone within a mile as she drove the ball each time like she was trying to hit it to the moon. Corbyn tried at most of the holes and ended up winning the game.

What a fun-filled evening! Corbyn had a great time with her very good friends. See more pics from the girl's night out below:

Fun Day at the Cove

Summer time is finally here! The kids and I headed to the Cove at Concord Park which is one of their favorite places to hang out in summer. It has a really neat beach area as well as a playground. The water was a little murky yet but the kids didn't seem to notice. Without hesitation they all run right in regardless of water temperature.

You can notice from the pics that Carson rarely puts his baseball down even when swimming. The boys mostly splash and chase one another while Corbyn plays with anyone she can make friends with. She is really good to play with the boys as well. I like taking the children here to swim because the boys can come and go without my needing to get into the water. Another benefit is the sand available for digging and building and the playground for after swimming. We always go home worn out after playing at the Cove.

Check out the slide show for more fun pics:

Championship Rings are Here

Our state championship rings finally arrived. Here are Wilson and me showing them off. The school board presented them to us last Thursday after the in-school band concert. The players were thrilled to finally receive them. The school board also unveiled our enormous team photo and championship banner that will be displayed on the wall outside the gym forever. Go Lady Panthers!! (my face looks like a lobster because the gym was an oven).

Winding Down

I wanted to share this picture with you so you could have a peek into a typical evening at our house. This is what we do every night to wind down. The boys love to lie on Mommy and Daddy's bed, have a snack & milk, and watch the Wiggles. This isn't exactly a mind-boggling experience but thought you could see how much the boys have grown from this picture if nothing else.

Sleeping with Brother

I have always been a fan of sleeping baby pics and couldn't help but shoot these a few weeks ago. I went in to check on the boys before heading to bed myself and they were fast asleep spooning in Micah's bed. Carson has been rather whiny lately at bedtime and waking often during the night so I suppose he chose to snuggle up with Micah for extra security. It seems that he is afraid of the dark all of a sudden and is suffering from a mild case of separation anxiety.

I had to sneak in and capture at least one picture of Corbyn too so my collection would be complete. She has no idea and probably wouldn't like my sharing it, but oh well...privilege of being the grown-up lets me share it anyway.

Of course I had to go to Tracy's and steal some sugar from my new nephew. I took these pics last Sunday of "Mattie" (don't tell Tracy I call him that).

He slept the whole time I was there but I suppose it is to be expected considering he was only 3 days old. I got one pic of him peeping at me.

He is absolutely adorable! We are so blessed to have him!

Announcing Matthew Jeremiah Reeder

He has finally arrived. Tracy, David, and Elijah were blessed to receive Matthew Jeremiah this morning at 8:46. Tracy was taken in for a routine c-section and all went well. Matthew weighed in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. and 20 inches long. He is beautiful and healthy and we are thrilled to finally meet him. As you can see from the picture below, he was born ready to eat. He was sucking on his fists in no time while Tracy was still in recovery. Matthew was eventually taken in to see Tracy so she could nurse him and he did a great job.




Elijah was smitten from the start. He wants to hold and snuggle him as much as possible. He told Nana that he "just can't stop looking at him" - love at first sight. Elijah gives explicit instructions to anyone who comes to visit to wash "both sides of your hands" and you can only hold him a minute before being asked "can I have him back now?" He also doesn't like too many pictures taken of Matthew because "you're probably hurting his eyes". Each time Matthew jerks or flinches, Elijah calls it Matthew's "robot dance".

David and Tracy are elated to have been blessed with a healthy child. Each shed a few tears of joy and everyone who has met Matthew so far falls under his spell within moments. As the saying goes, "you just want to eat him up". As you can see by the pictures, one of his best traits is his hair. We're not sure where the dark color came from, but we love the style. After his bath, he has it all styled and is ready to meet his guests. It almost looks like the nurses have jazzed it up with some product.

Other than the horrific nausea and hot flashes, Tracy has felt pretty good. As with all new mothers, she is pretty tired but seems to be going on the adrenaline and excitement of meeting her new son. New mothers are so beautiful.
You can't imagine how proud Nana was to meet her new grandson. She has grinned all day. She's been holding her breath that she might get to hold him for a second or two later tonight. She has been amazing as she has helped entertain Elijah, support Tracy, and doing what she does best which is just serving others any way she can. Nana will be staying at the hospital with Tracy tonight so David and Elijah can go home and catch a few winks.


As of now, Tracy and Matthew should be able to go home some time Saturday morning.



Corbyn was thrilled to meet him and quickly asked if Randy and I would have another one.
As adorable as he was, I doubt we'll jump right back into new parenthood. I think I'll just sugar Matthew up whenever I get a chance.

Please join our family in praising God for this precious blessing of life. We look forward to introducing him to you soon.

Here are more pictures: