Reed Update: 15 months

It's been a while since I gave a Reed update, so let's get it going:

15 Months!!

 

Height: 32 inches 

Weight: 23 lb

Hair: Blonde

Eyes: Blue

Food: Still a great eater. Surprisingly, he loves veggies of all kinds. He is currently really into squash and zucchini, but he will always eat broccoli and sweet potatoes as well. He still hates bananas and still loves cheese and yogurt. New yummy treats include blueberries and Chex cereal. He goes crazy for the stuff!

 

Sleep: Sleeps a consistent 12 hours a night. Praise the Lord! Naps have been interesting, though. He was on a one nap kick for about a month which made this mama really tired, but he would go to bed around 7 every night, so that helped. He has just recently gone back to two naps, one being rather late in the day. That means he is up later, but also waking up later, too. He has started trying to play in his crib instead of nap, so I have had to go in his room and tell him to go to sleep a few times before he knows I mean business. Funny how such a little guy understands what we tell him.

Temperament: Such an awesome little guy. He is so happy playing by himself and roaming around the house looking for new adventures. He will absolutely throw fits, but I think they are much less frequent than they could be.

Reed loves:

-Walking, and pretty soon, running

-Outside: he really likes exploring the outdoors and walking around.

 

-Playing on pillows. Still loves it.
-Bubble Guppies

-Stairs: only when we are at grandparent's houses. We did have a little incident where he got away from me upstairs and slid halfway down face-first. But he was fine. Bad mommy!
-Vacuuming: I'm sure this is most kids, but Reed is fascinated with the vacuum. I give him his own 'vacuum' and he plays with that for a long while.

 

New adventures:

=8 teeth! 4 top teeth and 4 bottom teeth. Such a cutie!

 

 

=Clapping: He has gotten really good at clapping when he sees other people do it. Proud Daddy moment: When Reed clapped after A&M scored

 

=Sign language: We have worked really hard to help Reed communicate with us since he doesn't know any words yet. He has mastered 'more' and 'please'. I'm working on 'thank you' right now, but it'll take a while.

=Dancing: Reed loves dancing when he hears music

=Waving 'Bye-bye'

=Pointing and 'talking': It's more babbling than anything, but you know he's trying to say something. We are still working on those first words by constantly talking to him and asking him questions. We know he understands, but we're just not there yet. For example, I can ask him "Where is your ball?" and he will walk over to it.

='Talking' on the phone: He hasn't quite found his ear, but he knows the phone goes somewhere near his head!

=Playing on the bed or couch: I'm pretty sure this was introduced by the grandparents, but he goes crazy for playing on the couch or bed.

=First big illness: Croup, YUCK! But he got over it really quickly.

=First trip to the eye doctor: He didn't have a problem, just checking to make sure! He was a real trooper, though. Sat really still and didn't cry when he got drops in his eyes.

=Feeding himself with a spoon: Wow, is this messy! But he's gotta learn somehow!

Can't believe this little one will be a big brother in a month!!
 

 

Enjoy!

The Turners

Baby Girl's Name is....

I really haven't meant for this to be so suspenseful, but I've been waiting on something to make this announcement.


I have a necklace with Reed's name, which I LOVE. It's simple and casual so I can wear it every day. I ordered it from The Vintage Pearl and knew one day I'd get to add to it as God grew our family. Well, here we are a little over a year later and I had to get another name already. God knows the perfect way to build a family.


So after the name fiasco (on my part) I had to get online and order my new necklace piece. Since they are hand-stamped and made to order, I knew it would take a little while, but to my surprise this little beauty showed up in the mail today!!

 

 

Woo-Hoo!

 

 

So now, the moment you've been waiting for!

 

 

Picked by her loving Daddy, little girl's full name is:

 

 

Melanie Michelle Turner

 

 

 

I'm really not sure where Melanie came from, and Wes isn't either, but we knew we wanted Michelle for her middle name because it's my middle name. Here is her sweet name!

 

 

 

 

Here's the new piece added to my existing necklace. I love how they are different, as no two people are. That's one of the reasons I loved The Vintage Pearl. You have choices of shapes, sizes, fonts, and placement.

 

Mel will be here soon!

Here is the random bit of mail I got to completely convince me of her name:

Enjoy!

The Turners

Sister is named!

I had Reed's name picked out pretty much right after we knew he was a boy. There wasn't a doubt in my mind he was a boy and Reed was his name, but this time around it was a little more difficult. Maybe that's the case for second babies. Your first is such an adventure and you spend a lot of time dreaming about your sweet little one; what will they look like? who will they be? It is such an enjoyable time. With subsequent children you spend your time chasing after the ones you already have and have less opportunity to daydream and plan (or none at all). It's still great, but a little less 'romantic.'

Maybe it was the second child thing, or maybe it was because God surprised us, or maybe girl names are just harder to choose...

In any case, this name was hard to nail down.

When we found out we were having a girl, Wes informed me that he would be picking the name. I will admit I was apprehensive. Not because I thought he would pick something stupid, but because I knew it would take a LOOOOONG time. After I had Reed's name picked out, it took Wes about 10 weeks to agree to it. Talk about pulling teeth! So I began the 'wearing down' process.

We threw around a few names, but Wes wasn't serious about any of them.

I asked, I suggested, I asked some more, I definitely nagged and probably even threw a guilt trip in there, too. Not exactly the way I wanted this name to come about.

So I stopped asking and waited.

And waited

But it wasn't long before Wes actually had some names. Strangely enough, they all started with the same letter...

Yes, sister's name starts with an 'M'!

I originally nixed her name. It was the first name on the list and to be honest, I was hoping for another 'M' name. Selfish, I know, since the honor of naming her was not mine this time.

So another 'M' name was thrown into the mix, which I liked even less...of course.

With a third and final suggestion from Wes that I disagreed with (because it wasn't the name I was looking for), he had had enough. The foot was put down and he said "I've given you three choices, pick one."

To be honest, I was disappointed...in myself! I was taking the joy of naming his little girl away from him! This sweet little girl who is going to have her Daddy so wrapped around her finger deserves a name that was lovingly and carefully chosen by him. So I started seriously considering the names.

I knew he really loved the first name, but it wasn't until we received a piece of mail that I really decided.

I was going through the mail Wes had gotten when he got home from work one night and found a letter that wasn't ours. Not just the wrong house (I'm sure you accidentally get your neighbors mail from time to time), but the wrong street and town. Weird, right? Well obviously God wanted me to see it because the person it was addressed to had the same name as the first name Wes picked out. NO JOKE!

Does this really happen?

So I gladly agreed to Wes' first choice for a name with a little help from the Lord and our local postal service.

I know what you're thinking...TELL ME! What is her name?!?!

Sorry! I have to clear it with the hubby first. One thing you learn in writing a blog is that you should run your ideas by your husband BEFORE you post them. But that's a whole 'nother story...

At least I gave you a clue!

 

Enjoy!

The Turners

Family outing!

This past weekend we got to spend some good family time together at none other than Six Flags!

Before I start, I know what you're thinking:
   1. It's a million degrees outside, are you ill?
   2. What do you do with a 1 year old at Six Flags? He can't ride anything and it's a MILLION degrees outside!
   3. You're 8 months pregnant!! You can't ride anything and, did I say it's a million degrees outside?

Full disclosure: it was the family day picnic for Wes' work, therefore we did not just choose to go of our own free will (that would have been beyond silly). Plus there were some perks like A) we got in free, B) we got food and drinks free, C) we only stayed for about an hour and a half, and D) there are some air conditioned places there.

Neither Wes nor I had been there in probably 10 years, so we were interested in seeing it. I could have pulled the "pregnancy" card, or the "it's WAY too hot for me to be out there" card, or the "it's WAY too hot for Reed" card, or even the "we can't ride anything so what's the point" card. Believe me, it all went through my mind. But then I thought, why not? So we went.

Despite it being over 100 degrees we actually had a great time. We saw a few people Wes worked with (this was the entire Fort Worth area, not just his little office so we weren't sure we would meet anyone he knew) and we had fun trying to spend all our "coupons." I wasn't sure we would be able to, but in the words of the great Barney Stinson: "Challenge Accepted!"

We got a free picture! Well, technically we got 3 (1 per person). Reed didn't look particularly happy in any of them, but we got them all anyway just to spend the coupons. Don't we look so nice in our matching shirts? And can you see Reed's super cute Superman getup?! All the kids got Superman or Wonder Woman shirts/onesies. Older kids got capes. It was pretty fun. I think Wes was more excited about it than Reed, but I'm pretty sure he's going to be Superman for Halloween now! Free costume!!

We drank and drank and drank. It was HOT!!

 

Thankfully we had coupons for free drinks the whole time we were there. That helped a lot!

I was constantly hydrating myself and Reed.

Speaking of Reed, he was a total trooper considering he refused a nap that day.

 

We had more coupons for food, so we cashed those in for some "dinner." It was only 4:30 but we figured we should have some food in our systems since it was so hot.

 

 

Wes was insistent on getting a caricature of Reed.

 

 Wes has one from when he was a kid, so we thought it would be cute for Reed to get one. We were given Six Flags "bucks" to spend however we wanted, so that was free, too.

 

Here's the finished product!

 

Super Reed!!

 

 

And what is Six Flags without funnel cake?!

 

 

Nom Nom Nom!

 

Reed got to have some and really liked it. We had to reward how good he was.

 

I had some "money" left over and had to get Sister something because she was technically there, too.

No, we didn't ride anything. The only thing we could have gone on with Reed would be the carousel. We seriously thought about it, too, but we knew we had a ticking time bomb and didn't want to inadvertently set him off. We opted to just watch it. I know Wes would have liked to ride something himself, but it was so hot that he didn't want to leave us alone with no one to take care of us if we needed it. I'm sure we could have found a nice air conditioned place to sit, but I didn't want Reed to become bored and fussy because he couldn't get out of the stroller. When in doubt, just keep "rolling."

And Yes, we were completely soaked with sweat when we left (except Reed, we tried to keep him as cool as possible and succeeded).  It would have been really easy for me to be very down and negative about everything, but I am very thankful for God giving me a good attitude about it and helping us survive our time there with no issues.

I'm not sure we will be back to Six Flags any time soon, but it was fun and we successfully spent all our coupons and Six Flags money.

Turner family - 1
Six Flags - 0


Enjoy!

The Turners

30 week update: Only 10 to go?!?!

So by the time I got everything written and pictures uploaded we are at 31 weeks, but everything is still the same.


Here we are at 30 weeks, already. YIKES! I probably said that at 20 weeks, but I still had half the pregnancy to go. Baby #2 seems to be going by much faster than baby #1. That's probably because I'm busy chasing after baby #1 and I don't have time to think about baby #2. Poor girl. And she still doesn't have a name.

Of the names Wes has come up with (since he is "picking" this one) I really don't care for the one Wes really likes. Of COURSE! But I think he is just being stubborn and holding onto this name because I told him I don't particularly like it. What a way to stress out a pregnant lady.

Anyway, so the pregnancy...

Still a lot like Reed's. Back pain and heartburn galore (but I got my meds adjusted so I'm doing good now). Sister is a mover and a shaker. I don't remember Reed moving this much, but that was over a year ago (which may make you think I'd remember better....not).

Sleeping is ok, but napping is starting to become a challenge. Every time I try to lay down and nap, I can't seem to turn my brain off to calm down and sleep. I keep trying though, because me and sleep had become great friends again and that friendship is going to end soon. I keep praying that sister will sleep better than Reed did. I don't know if I can make it through another year without a full night's sleep.

No cravings, just like during my first pregnancy. All-in-all a very boring (but blessedly healthy) pregnancy. It just looks more and more like I have swallowed a basketball but it is getting more and more difficult to get on the floor and play with Reed.

Here in the fiery furnace of Texas we are just trying to make it through the brutal summer, which has kept us at home and indoors most of the time, in the hopes that cooler temperatures are coming soon. The only problem with that is that means sister is coming soon, too. I'm trying not to wish away this time because it'll only be the 3 of us for a little longer and I want to try and enjoy being with Reed and playing with him while it's just us. Makes me get emotional. I'll blame it on the hormones.

Sister's room is slowly coming together. My awesome husband has been working so hard at every spare minute of his break to get it done. Unfortunately, the break was too short and the work load was too large. He was stressed because of everything he had to do and I was frustrated because I couldn't help him do anything. Moving furniture was out of the question, as was painting, getting on ladders to put up crown molding, and touch-up painting. Here are more "in progress" pictures:

"Measure twice, cut once" does not apply to crown molding.
 No matter how many times you measure, you'll have to cut it again (especially when you don't have 90 degree corners).

"Do we just start cutting?"

First board goes up!!

Reed was managing the project from afar.

A not-so-easy sloping roofline.

The good news is it is finally done! Well, the painting/crown molding part. We aren't going to put a crib in there yet as Sister won't be using it for a few months, plus it's nice to have an extra bed for my mom to sleep in when she stays the night. We have a futon and couch, but beds are usually more comfortable. We are using the current bedding to make the baby bedding, so again, we won't need that for a while. Here are a few pictures of the "finished" product:

View of the dresser. This was Wes' childhood dresser.

Deep purple curtains and art work. This shows off the glossy stripes.

The awesome crown molding. Makes is much more feminine.
Crown molding is tough with 90 degree corners, but add in a slanted roofline and they had their work cut out for them.
But my Dad and Wes did an amazing job.

Another view of the weird shaped room.
Wes said he will NEVER do crown molding again, unless the room has 90 degree angles.

The pictures don't do it justice. If I had great lighting and an awesome camera it would look amazing to you. It turned out really well. I think the pink and deep purple go really well with it.

Meanwhile, we inherited an enormous amount of baby clothes for sister. When I say enormous, I mean boxes upon boxes, upon boxes. Thanks Angela (seriously, thank you). So I busied myself with sorting through all the clothes and determining what we would keep, and what we would share with another family also having a girl in November. After this fiasco, I decided I needed some help. My mom came over and spent a day going through and sizing everything/taking off tags/helping wash/putting together an organizational plan for all the clothes. We seriously don't need clothes until this girl is 9 months old. CRAZY! (but Angela will be sending over more clothes as soon as her daughter is out of 9 month sizes). It's good to have friends that love blessing each other.

So really, all we need now is diapers, wipes, and a baby (and a name). That gives me time to relax and play with my little boy, who is not so little anymore. =(

"Feeding" himself yogurt!

Onto football season!!


Enjoy!

The Turners