Stayin', Scootin', Sleepy

First - the buyer that was making a decision on a townhome - did not decide on ours. We were pretty disappointed last night... and we really tried not to get our hopes up, but it was pretty hard not to! He had even asked to see the covenants of the association... all thinking that was a good sign! Oh well - we move on to the next buyer... hopefully soon!

Second - Kayson is officially scootin'. He may not like it, but he is! He pushes himself backwards (how do they learn to go forward!?), and he shifts himself to the side... so that's a start! We were pretty excited to see that last night!

Third - SLEEPY! I'm just plain sleepy today. I actually went to bed early last night, but was up several times in the middle of the night, tossin' and turnin'. I do think my mind raced about Kayson and the house... Then 5:30 comes around TOO quickly!! I struggle to get out of bed - especially now that it's cooler in the house... why not stay warm in bed!??!

Have a good day!

Today... and Do I dare?

Today has been a good day - beautiful weather, and pretty darn productive. First - just want to let you all know Mr. Kayson slept for 13 hours last night... down at 7:30 and didn't wake til 8:30 this morning. OMG!! He is fighting a little cold, so I think he's just worn out!

Anyway, Ryan worked this morning and I did some cleaning, as we had someone come look at the house. After that, we went to the mall to find me some jeans. What a stressful situation!!! I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight, but things are different - things shift, and it's just not the same! (I know first time mothers can agree with me!) Anyway, over the past 3 weeks, I've worn my old jeans, fitting into them just fine... but I've always spent little money on jeans - and I guess I get what I pay for. Most of them are too short (I like pants hitting the ground!), most of them sag in the butt (that drives me bonkers!), and they are too big in the waist (I know - shouldn't be something I complain about, but I get so tired of pulling pants up in the middle of the day and having them so stretched out!). So... we went to the mall. I tried on nearly 15 pairs - my thighs haven't changed - they are still large and most pants don't go over them!, but I found two pairs that will work. I'm pleased, and I hope they will be jeans that will last a couple years... Wish me luck! On a side note - I think those 'skinny' jeans are funny. You've got to be tall, and just plain SKINNY! Wouldn't look good on me!

And now the 'Do I dare' part -- we had someone come look at the house today... hopefully we'll get a good response. Thursday we had another buyer come through the house... and we found out on Friday that he really liked it and will probably want to look at it again. Both Ryan and I try to stay positive, but it's been frustrating when we've had so many people come through, but no offers. Well, the buyer that came on Friday has narrowed his search down to two - we are one of them. He is visiting the house again tomorrow. So - do I dare even talk about this, do I dare even get my hopes up?!?! It's funny cuz Ryan and I just said last week that we will be in the townhome through the winter, and we are okay with that... so we'll see! Again, wish us luck!

Now we are watching the Hawkeyes play... so far, good game. Hope it's a win!

9 Months

Our baby is 9 months old. I simply cannot believe it. I'm sad, I'm happy, I'm all over the place. Kayson is such a joy - such a good boy. We couldn't ask for anything else!

Just in the past week or two, things have really started to 'click' with him. Each day he's doing something new - even if it's really small. Some of the wonderful things are:

• Can feed himself the little Gerber Puffs
• Waves "HI" and "BYE"
• Claps
• Pulls his bibs off his neck when he's done eating... tugs and tugs, then gets it off!
• Loves to have us turn on lights, and turn off lights
• With that - he knows where the lamp is and what a light is (SO SMART!)
• Points at everything
• Tells us stories all the time!
• Uses his left hand a lot - could he be left-handed like Grandpa Paul & Cousin Lindsay!?

We go to the doctor October 6 for his 9 month well-check. I'm anxious to see how much 'tubbo' weighs. Technically the 9 month appointment is not suppose to include a shot, but he'll be getting the flu shot. (Momma & Daddy need to get that as well!) I'll update with his stats then.

Here are a few of his 9 month pictures. Enjoy.

So - since Kayson is 9 months old, that just means Christmas is 3 months away. Are you ready?!?! HECK NO - I'm NOT! :)

Road Trip

Kayson & I took a road trip today - to do two things: 1. Get my car fixed and 2. See my Mom, Dad & sisters. Kayson & I headed up to Clarion this morning during his morning nap... we hung out at Tricia's (her day off today)... we played (in & out), napped, had lunch, just had a very nice day. It was good to see Mom too - she's doing better... she said today was the best day so far, so that was very nice to hear. Her face looks better - not swollen, but going through the healing stage - lots of greens and purples on her face and neck... amazing what a fall can do. Each day seems to get better and better - lets just hope that keeps up.

Here are a few pictures from today.

Aunt Trish & Kayson

Kayson LOVED the wagon ride!

I also got my car fixed - been having some problems with that... so I had Lacey's Dad take care of it. Much cheaper, plus a reason to go home!

It was just a nice day overall... we are back home, playing some more... doing laundry... and will probably go for a little walk soon.

Gosh - if I only had a day off in the middle of the week all the time! This was great!

Where do the weekends go!??!

We had a nice weekend - sad to see it be over (which is nothing new!), but it was a good one. The weather has been perfect - oh my goodness... love the cool mornings, breeze and even the warm sun. We've had the windows open all day today, it's been awesome!

We headed over to the Iowa FB game Saturday - was a long day, just cuz we were gone from Kayson for nearly 12 hours. That's a long time!! I fought my allergies ALL DAY LONG, which was extremely annoying, and Ryan's cough is slowly getting better. It was a good win for the Hawkeyes.

Today has been a very productive, nonstop. Mr. Kayson slept a whopping 12 hours last night, which was great... after his breakfast, we went to HyVee so Ryan & I could have breakfast. Always a nice treat. We've decided we will do that once a month! While we were there, we got our groceries for the week... then back home and I took Kayson's 9 month pictures. Yes, he's not 9 months old yet (this coming Friday), but I figured today was a good day to get that task off the list. We did pictures outside, and inside... he was such a good boy. I won't be sharing these til this Friday of course! Kayson had a great long nap, and Ryan & I just did some things around the house - cleaning, smelling candle samples, watching football, etc. With only one nap today, Kayson went down a little earlier than normal tonight... so now it's more football on TV and getting stuff done on the computer. Great day.

Here's a new thing that Kayson does - we call it "Bad Cough". Check it out - too cute!

Tired & Emotional

What a mix (tired & emotional). Yesterday I sat at the 'Get Motivated' seminar that was in town... a great day of great speakers, I had a great time. Lots of sitting, which was probably one of the reasons I'm sleepy today... another couple reasons are: volleyball again last night (my legs just plain ache!) and Ryan's cough. It's back and more annoying then ever! He's going to the doctor today! Sleeping (or attempting to sleep) on the couch isn't really a 'good sleep' for me. Hopefully tonight will be better!

And the emotions... This is a question to you first time parents out there: Do you ever feel that your son/daughter is not at the stage where they 'should' be? (According to books, others opinions, etc.) I know, I know - every child is different, I remind myself of that every day. When I dropped Kayson off at daycare this morning, all 8 kids' birthdays are posted on the wall... Kayson is the oldest by about 5 weeks, and he's by far the least mobile child! Again, I KNOW that he's a very laid back child and moving/rolling/crawling just isn't something he's really in to right now, I KNOW this, but it's still hard to soak in somedays, and I guess today is one of those days! I'm hoping other first time parents go through these feelings and thoughts... I'm sure I'll eat my words soon, and he'll be all over the place, but for right now, this day, I 'think'. Could this be cuz I'm so tired too!??! ha.

Funny Story... I think!

So last night I attended the photography seminar... Lacey & Justin watched Kayson for me. Throughout the night, I got small updates from Lacey - Kayson was doing well, ate all his food, and went down like a rock star. The seminar was suppose to end at 10:30 (late!), but we were already behind by 9:00. I, along with my friend Aimee, decided to leave around 10:35. I was beat - a lot of great information, but one late night!

Anyway, so I get to Lacey's - Lacey, Justin and I sit and chit chat for a little bit - I peak in on Kipton (he's growing and cuter than ever - looks just like Corbin!). Then I went to get Kayson. I picked him up, he opened his eyes and looked at me, then buried his head a little... I thought "we are good to go - he'll pretty much stay asleep." Once I started to walk with him, he perked up, head straight up and started looking around... looking at Lacey & Justin and SMILING! Then we thought maybe he was going to cry (thought he wasn't sure what was going on), but no - he smiled, looked around, wide awake!! Oh it was really funny! Remember it's nearly 11:00 by now! I'm now thinking "OMG - he better go back to sleep!" :) Since he was awake and smiling, we then stood there for another few minutes or so and talked...

I finally got home around 11:15 - Kayson was STILL awake when we got home... so I changed his wet diaper and layed him down telling him it's still "night-night" time. He smiled at me and went to sleep. What a good boy!! I was thrilled! I did a few things (since I didn't have time after work), then I crashed by 11:45. It was a late night, but a good one... and so glad Kayson slept for me!!

So that's my funny story - 11:00 at night, I'm getting smiles from Mr. Kayson. :) He's such a joy!

Mom Update & Couple Other Things

Here's an update on my Mom -- she had a rough day today. She just wasn't feeling well - told Trish that she felt faint and just not right. The doctors did another catscan (apparently it is procedure to do about 24 hours after an incident) and some other tests, which was a good thing, just to check things out. Everything came back looking good (including her heart), however, she's having some blood build up in her sinuses. She had some work done on her sinuses about a year ago, and everything has been great - until she decided to land on her face!!! The blood build up was causing her to not feel right, so she was given some antibiotics, and already tonight she was feeling better... let's hope this does the trick and she can just concentrate on feeling more up beat and get those bruises off her face... Thanks to those who have been thinking about her.

Other random things:
Ryan is gone again this week, but hopefully just til Wednesday night.

Tomorrow evening I'm attending a photography class/tour/seminar thingie. Originally my parents were going to come watch Kayson, since they hadn't seen him in 3 weeks, but my Mom is just not up to it. So Lacey & Justin will be taking care of Kayson... lots of boys in the Reed household tomorrow night.

I really wish it would rain - my allergies have been in an uproar for about a week. According to Ed Wilson, no rain this week!!

Here is a cute video of Kayson - him doing those darn raspberries! You may have to really turn up the volume. Can you believe he's 8 1/2 months old??!

Mom & GO HAWKS!

Well, yesterday afternoon my Mom tripped and fell... right smack on her face. Apparently her arms and hands didn't work quick enough to break any of the fall. She was watching the Homecoming Parade back home, and needed to be closer, or something... tripping on a spot in the sidewalk. Luckily there were people around - an ambulance was rushed to her and she was taken to the ER. A catscan was done, just in case - nothing was broken, thank goodness... My sister says it's a miracle that nothing was broken, especially her nose or a cheek bone. Mom is all banged up and sore.

Today has been a good day - it was the Cy-Hawk challenge for football. An exciting day for all the football fans around Iowa! We headed over to Colleen & Travis' place to watch the game, play and eat some good food. It was a win for the Hawks, which was wonderful!! We had a nice time playing with Cali. Thanks for hosting Kuhl's!! Here are a few pictures from today:

Checking each other out - notice they are about the same height (and size)!

Cali giving hugs to Kayson... how sweet.

Bump, Set, Spike

Well, tonight was the start of the fall volleyball season. It was the first time I've played VB in just under 2 years. That's a LONG time... and I'm feeling it. I'm not going to lie - I was a nervous wreck!!! But once I got on the floor, and the first couple plays out of the way, I felt more comfortable... it's going to take awhile tho to feel REALLY comfortable! Only a couple times, my feet were 'glued to the floor'! The team said they didn't laugh at me once... well, maybe under their breath! :)

Anyway, it went fairly well - not a win, but a success. We'll see how I feel tomorrow - even more sore than I am today, I'm sure!

Our friend Heidi came and stayed with Kayson while I went to VB. She said she had a good time, and Kayson was a good boy for her - a big smile to her, so I know she loved that! Thanks so much Heidi!!

Ryan comes home tomorrow... will be nice to see him. Even tho it's been a 'short' work week, it seems like it's been just as long as a normal one. No big plans for the weekend, so that will be even better.

Random Thoughts

• Need to take a bath & shave these hairy legs... figured you really wanted to know that!
• My good friend, Brenda, dragged me to work out today - My hamstrings are sore!
• Speaking of working out - tomorrow is the official start of the fall VB season for me... I think I'm sore now - wait til tomorrow night!
• Ryan worked out this morning at his hotel - wonder if he's sore?!
• Hopin' the townhome sells soon - we've had some close calls over the last week or so.
• Wondering why daycare put Kayson and Kaison (pronounced: K I son) together in the same room - I am constantly getting Kaison's things!
• Just ordered a few tops for Kayson from Children's Place - some good deals! Just what he needs!
• Kayson now sleeps on his side... too cute.
• I have the munchies - but there's not much in the house to eat...
• Here are a few pictures of Kayson - enjoy!

Weekend

It was a nice long weekend - however, I wish we had another free day! The long weekends are great, so the next week is 'short', but long weekends just go faster than normal and we don't get that free day!

Saturday
Ryan & I headed over to Iowa City for the first Iowa FB game. Ryan was excited, I was tired! Things are different now that Kayson is here - how many times do I say that?! But it's so true. It honestly was hard for me to leave him for the entire day... even though I (we) leave him at daycare every week day - on a weekend it's harder. He had a good time with Grandma JeanAnn and Grandpa Mike - he was a good boy. And Ryan & I had a nice time at the game... it was a win in the end.

Sunday
Sunday afternoon we headed down to Creston to visit more family. JeanAnn's 50th birthday was earlier this week, and we surprised her with dinner out with all her friends and family. I believe it was a success - she was surprised! Martina did most of the work - planning and organizing, so big thanks to her.

Today (Monday)
Tha famous Diagonal Labor Day parade. Yep - I said Diagonal parade! It was a little chilly morning, but we had a nice time. It was Kayson's first parade, and he did wonderful! With all the firetrucks honking and turning on their sirens, he did great - no fussin! We saw lots of tractors (at least 50!) and horses and nice old cars. Following the parade, we went back to Grandma & Grandpa's (Janis & Dick) - for lunch and playing. Kayson took a great nap with all the commotion and we all just sat around and chit chatted and watched the kids play.

Now it's Monday night - glad it's Monday (just means a shorter week), but really wish I had enough personal time to take tomorrow off to just be at home. Oh well! Ryan is off to Minnesota tomorrow through Friday. One reason to be happy for the shorter week.

Hope you all had a wonderful long weekend.

Scratch that...

Let's scratch that post from Wednesday - all about not using the pacifier, and being so proud. ahah... we should have known! Yesterday I walked into daycare and Kayson is snoozing in his crib with the paci in his mouth! I about died!! Alisha said he was a little fussy, so she tried it and he took it. Then last night he was up in the middle of the night, so I tried the paci - he took it, and back to sleep he went. STINKER! :)

A busy weekend ahead of us - which I'll post about later! TGIF!

No Paci & Engagement

When Kayson was born, and the first time we used a pacifier, I always said "I hope he doesn't get too attached to that thing!" Well, he did - we used it for naps, fussy times, bedtime, etc... We did get out of using it at bedtime, which I thought was a huge step! Then last week, I was told by Alisha (teacher at daycare), that Kayson did so well without his paci. I thought - AWESOME, and I didn't think twice to even ask any questions. She continued every day to tell me that he did really well without the paci, and we moved on. Well, last Friday I picked him up and the paci subject came up again - she told me that he didn't even have a paci at daycare!! OMG! I didn't have one in the bag?? or in his cubby?? hahah... I laughed... then realized, "Well, that's the way to get him to not take the paci! Leave it to daycare to handle!!" Over the weekend (through his illness), we WANTED him to take the paci at certain times, and he wouldn't. We believe he's officially broken of the paci!

Another thing to note - Ryan reminded me that 3 years ago he proposed to me, and "his life changed forever" - his words. :) And today is my Dad's birthday.

Trying to figure it out...

Being a parent is the hardest thing I've ever had to do, and the best thing as well. In the midst of Kayson not feeling well - things are changing. Granted - is it just because we are getting over the 'not feeling well' stage, or are we moving to another stage of development?

Kayson typically has a bedtime bottle right before bed - last night, he didn't want anything to do with it. I mean NOTHING! He cried and cried, so I thought something was wrong - does his throat hurt? Is the bottle too warm? Finally, I just layed him down... he cried some more - and was asleep in less than 4 minutes... and out for the entire night. Whew. So then this morning, I was given another thing to figure out. Kayson woke up earlier than normal, (but slept thru the night, so that's fine!) - woke up crying. I thought - "he's gotta be hungry! It had been nearly 13 hours!" Again - didn't want anything to do with the bottle. I thought - "Oh no, something's for sure wrong!!!" He ended up being very content, wanted to play a little... so I jumped in the shower, and got ready while he played on the floor and watched me get ready. He was fasinated, he'd never really done that before! (thought my blowdryer was pretty funny!) I thought we had better try the bottle again - he drank it down like it was going out of style! So... like I said, just another thing that is possibly changing?? Will he maybe not want a bottle FIRST thing in the morning? Or is it just him getting back into the swing of things? These may be small issues, but when it's your first child and you are trying to figure these things out on your own, it's hard!!

I can say Kayson's been much happier, which has been great. Alisha at daycare said yesterday was a good day, and I'm just going to assume today will be as well! That little stinker. ;)