What Happened to June?!?

I realize my last post was only on June 22nd, which wasn't all THAT long ago, but I feel like this summer is just flying by. What happened to June? Why do I feel so busy when I don't really have all that much going on?

Here's a rundown of what has happened since the last post (that I can remember!):
* Reid completed beginner swim lessons at the Y.
* I had lasik surgery on my eyes (6/25). YAY!
* I turned 32 (7/3).
* 4th of July.
* Two little boy birthday pool parties.

I'm sure there are other things... Here are some photos of all of the above, and then some, in no particular order.

Reid at Dawson's "Car Wash" birthday party. Yes, folks, those are blue spaghetti noodles (aka car wash brushes).

We gave Dawson a car wash curtain from Ikea for his birthday so he can have his very own car wash at his house. Reid freaked out and decided he wanted one, too, so we made a homemade one. It's still up 2 weeks later...

Me before the lasik surgery. Granted, I am not looking my best but I wanted to post the last photo of me in glasses for posterity. :)

The guys in their "chef" hats, which Reid decided to make out of dish cloths. They are making me a birthday cake (according to Reid).

My chef, with his "hat" and Spiderman outfit on. Who can say no to that face?

At the fountains downtown.

Yes, I told him not to climb the train...

My "birthday cake," a lemonade cheesecake-type pie. It was quick, easy, and yummy. :)

Fireworks on July 3rd. Ross and Reid watching the sky together.

I didn't take any official photos of Reid during swim lessons - they were chaotic enough without that - but I did want to document the day he played with markers about 30 seconds before we walked out the door.

Yes, that was my child in the creek downtown. That's what the city of Greenville gets for not turning on the fountains when they are supposed to be on! Reid, Camryn, Ceci, and Gideon didn't seem to mind....

Reid and Gideon, a friend from school.

Gotta love it when you know your birthday gift was enjoyed. Our (former) next door neighbor, Reeves, turned 4 and we got him a bubble gun. I looked out that evening and saw this - later, his older brother preparing to try to slide down without breaking his neck. Don't worry, their dad is a doctor. (Actually, he's Reid's doctor...)

Reid also got a bubble gun - a big hit!

And it makes LOTS of bubbles!

Birthday Trip to Maine

My best friend and I have birthdays that are only a week or so apart and, as we have gotten older (and more "adult"), we have upgraded our birthday celebrations.

When we both lived in the same city, we loved celebrating and even once took each other on an all-day shopping trip. He bought what I wanted and I bought what he wanted. Come to think of it, that was pretty fun. :)

Five years ago, we drew a city out of a hat (okay, an ashtray at a restaurant) and decided to take a birthday trip to whatever city we drew. That year it was Providence, Rhode Island, which also included a day trip to Newport and a spur of the moment trip to Boston.

This year, we planned a trip to Ogunquit, Maine. What an beautiful little town. If I remember correctly from something I read during our trip, Ogunquit means "beautiful place by the sea." The trip was a quick one - Friday morning to Sunday afternoon - but it was a much needed one for both of us. (Ross and Reid stayed home while I was gone, but more on that later.)

There is so much I could say about the trip. It was relaxing and gorgeous and fun. The town was quaint, the seafood was good, and the locals are really awesome. And I got to have some one-on-one time with my friend of 14 years that I don't get to see nearly enough of. Happy (early) birthday, friend!

I totally want to go back. Here are select few of the photos from the trip. (There are many, many more...)

Here we are at dinner on the first night there. What a great night!

My absolute favorite pic from the trip, taken from our lighthouse boat cruise.

Nubble Light, the lighthouse we took the boat out to see. You can drive up fairly close to it, but the boat view is way better. :)

Also taken from the boat cruise... just the epitome of the trip. A sailboat on the water. So pretty!

Self photo taken on the boat.

First Trip to the Dentist

The week of Reid's third birthday, he also had his first dental visit. We had been before to a "workshop" at the pediatric dentist's office, which was just a fun little visit to get Reid familiar with the idea and to make sure his teeth were coming in okay. This was his first "real" visit.

The office is close to our house and they are so great. Everyone there is so good with kids, as they should be, but still... they are so good. Reid got lots of stickers and a tattoo through the course of the visit. It took about an hour, because he got a little apprehensive when it was time to do the cleaning, but we worked our way into it and he did awesome.

In the end, he got a full cleaning and, bonus, no cavities!

Brushing his teeth before going into our special room...

Practicing cleaning teeth on a little fishy... you should see the set of teeth on that thing.

Checking out the tools.

Three Years Old!

After our big trip to Disney World, we were all tired and ready for a break. But, of course, that couldn't happen just yet because Reid turned three years old! Our boy is getting so big...

It was a great birthday week. Reid has his first "real" trip to the dentist (more on that later), a joint bday party at school with his buddy Hayden, and then a simple party at home on the weekend.

Here are Reid and Hayden at school. They got to wear their special crowns all day and the whole class got to have a special snack of cupcakes and ice cream. (Gotta love that kind of snack at 10 am!) Take a look at Hayden... he is only a week older than Reid, but he is half a head taller. And Reid is NOT short! That is one big boy... :)

Here's our backyard birthday party at home. We had SUCH good weather that we had to change Reid into shorts before it even started - yay! You can see the big gift- a bouncy house - in the background. Here the kids are working to grab some bubbles.

More bubble fun, while Joshua and Ceci swordfight with plastic golfclubs over there on the side. :)

Time for cake!

Reid checking out the bouncy house before the guests arrived...

I made the cake this year, in honor of our recent trip. I think it looked great but, frankly, it only tasted "okay." I tried a different icing recipe and it dried out even more than others. It's so hard to make a cool cake and still have yummy icing... at least it was cute!

Reid got some great gifts from all our family and friends, near and far. Thank you to everyone who helped to celebrate his special day!

Birthday Blues...

We went to a birthday yesterday for one of our neighbors and friends, little James, who was turning 2.

Reid did such a great job in understanding that we were going to a party for James and that James would be getting presents, because it was his birthday. Even as the presents were being opened, Reid even sat back with me and watched so nicely. He was excited for James to open our gift because he had chosen it himself - a pretend cash register, with money and sound effects to boot.

After the gifts were opened, we were all almost the three-hour mark. Reid was tired and SO over the "It's James party and these are his gifts" line. So, we came home to chill out and everything was fine.

I awoke this morning and heard Reid on the monitor. Sometimes, but rarely, he will wake up and not call for me immediately. I could hear him playing so I didn't go get him. Finally, I could hear him singing in the sweetest voice... "It's not my birthday. I don't get to have presents. It's not my birthday, no presents for me."

I swear. Hilarious. Of course, I could try to explain that his birthday is only a month or so away but since he has no concept of time, it wouldn't really matter. :)