"Let's Go Down by the River..."

Okay, so it's a creek, but when I was trying to figure out a title for this post, that is the song that came to mind (from Oh Brother Where Art Though).

A Little background info here... my family is fairly musically inclined! In fact we have a band together! That's right... we have a band! :) Last Saturday we had a little gig at a local "music barn" and they were putting up fliers for advertising, so we got together for a little updated picture to go along with it. The name of our band is Cotaco Creek (the creek that runs along side my parent's house... where I grew up). SO, where else should we get our picture taken than Cotaco Creek!? My answer... ANYWHERE ELSE that DOES NOT have CHIGGERS!!!!!!

SO... here is our band picture, along with some pictures of my men as we were all unknowingly picking up those chiggers that were awaiting their feast!!

The itty bittiest man!

Okay... I HAD to put this in. They all THREE have the same face!! HAHA! :)

Now... that's better!

Sweet, Sweet stuff!

All real men carry a burp cloth in their pocket, right?

Digging for more things to throw in the water!

"You're so funny, Daddy"!

Demonstrating the "cheesy grin" yet again!

Strike a pose!

Found something else to throw in the water... he did a lot of that!

It's now been about 3 weeks since that trip... and I still have a few spots where the chiggers were, but at least the incessant itching is finally gone!! NOT a fun experience!!

Now... make sure you read the posts below... I was playing catch up tonight!

A few random pictures of the "Biggie"!

Here are a few random pictures of Reid... pretty much in reverse order, because, frankly... I hate how blogger uploads pictures!! I know I'm FOREVER behind in blogging... but, frankly between lack of sleep, chasing Maclain, holding Reid (he REALLY likes that), and going to every free kiddo activity I can cram in for Maclain this summer we have gone 90 to nothing! Reid usually does pretty good on the go, and Maclain USUALLY minds well, so we do lots of outings! Reid is 7 weeks now, and I have TONS of funny stories over these last 7 weeks. EVENTUALLY I'll get back to blogging about them all!



For now... here's an updated look at our newest bundle of sweetness and joy!!






Here's Reid (blue) with his buddy Whitt for a little play date! Okay... so it was more for their Mommy's and their big siblings, but as you can tell, they were doing something they enjoy as well! (By the way... I called Reid, Maclain in this description above and Whitt's Mommy just called and told me. MAN do I have mommy brain!! The description is fixed now, but I had to let you know the humor that transpired)!

Top view of Whitt and Reid!

Close up... I could just eat him up!!

Checking out the outfit that matches from head to toe... that doesn't happen very often!

Here's our first attempt for a nap in his actual bed (crib). It ended with Reid in my arms napping peacefully! :)

Again... I could just eat him up!!

His FIRST bottle!! He was a little less than 6 weeks old. He acted like it was no big deal, then nursed again about 2 1/2 hours later like nothing ever happened! :)

Just precious!!

Half grin... double chin!

Looks a tad laid back!

Visit to the Park!

Only July 2nd, Jared came home from work and it was such a beautiful afternoon we decided to run by KFC to grab some dinner (Chicken bucket as Jared calls it) for a picnic at the park. Of course Maclain was beside himself excited with the spontaneous change of plans... and well, Reid... he never knew what was even happening! :)

Here's Maclain playing... and... Reid, well, sleeping! :)

Fourth of July! (very late)

For the fourth of July this year, we had our annual block party! This year we were in our neighbor's back yard (meaning we didn't have to get ours ready for company)!!! We did our traditional grilling, and firework show... the only thing different this year (beside the addition of Reid of course), I had a bummed hand! YEP... I was getting grits out of the microwave right after the timer buzzed that morning (I should NOT do things in a hurry), and spilled them all over my hand! I was in PAIN!! I even took one of my pain meds from my c-section, and I didn't even need them from the surgery!!! Anyway, I was such a baby... or maybe it really did just hurt that bad!! Regardless, I am now healed, and it's a sheer memory!

By that night, my hand no longer felt like it was on fire, and we had a blast as usual! Here are a few images from the afternoon!

Maclain playing with his church budy Lilly, and his favorite puppy dog, Grace. Side story here: One afternoon while I was still pregnant, he came in from playing with our neighbor's little girl, and their dog (Grace), and he said "I REALLY wish I could have a dog like Brianna!" I said, "But you're fixing to have a brand new baby brother... wouldn't you rather have a baby brother?" And his answer.... "No, I'd rather have a dog!" SORRY REID... maybe he's changed his mind now!

Checking out the world on the day that he was originaly expected to enter it!

Now he's just checking out PawPaw... or maybe just the back of his eyelids!

LOVE their shirts!! Jared thinks I'm going to do this to them forever! :) I love having two boys!!

Reid's Newborn Session!

I FINALLY got Reid into the studio for some REAL pictures! :) It's SO much different with your own!! Several times over the last few days I've thought, "Maybe I'll just call and book a session somewhere"! :) BUT... now that I finally had the energy, and BOTH boys were clean and ready, I'm SO thankful I have a full studio at my disposal at any time! Here are a few of them... you can see the rest at http://www.lawsongallery.com/. Click to enter site, then clients, and the password is reid1.

Rounding out the first week!

Reid has now enjoyed his first week of life with us.. and boy have we enjoyed it as well!! Other than my pesky spinal headache that was fixed by a blood patch yesterday, it's been pretty smooth sailing! We are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO blessed!!

Here are a few pictures over the last few days!

Given the headaches... and the "taking it easy" after the blood patch... I still don't have studio pictures. I can't wait though!!

Introducing Reid Alexander!

SO... if you don't have facebook (where we gave a play by play of delivery and constantly posted pictures over the last few days because we can do it all from our blackberries), you're probably wondering why it's taking so long for ME to post pictures! :) I'm sorry for the delay, but HERE they are!! I can not thank my family, friends, and wonderful clients for all of the support not only over the last few days, but these last few months! I am SO blessed!!

Reid Alexander was born June 11, 2009 at 1:31 p.m. He weighed 8 lb. 3 oz. and was 19.5 inches long! BIG baby for less than a 37 weeker!! I won't go into all the details of the CRAZY week that preceded the event, but it ended in a pretty quick delivery by c-section!! NOT what I wanted, but by the time the Dr. called it, I was just plain ol' ready!!!! Me and Reid have both done great (although c-section one NOT be my first choice of delivery, my recovery really has been fairly easy)! Reid is currently strapped to a bili light because of jaundice! We really hope that ends soon, but he's still really yellow this morning, so we'll probably have at least one more day! We took him off the light twice last night while the storms blew through, so we lost a couple of hours... but I wasn't going to risk it!

OKAY OKAY... on to the pictures!


First time to hold Reid!

Exactly how Maclain used to sleep!

Big Brother warmly welcomes Reid home!

So precious!

Now that's "no drop" insurance!

Nightly "snuggle time"... Maclain no longer wants our snuggles... just Reid's!

Mommy's Men!

There were several more that I wanted to post from the last few days, but didn't want to overload my blog!! If you want to see the rest from our "first 4 days" go to www.lawsongallery.com, click to enter site, then click on clients in the right hand corner. The password is reid1. I'll let you know when I swap them out for new ones! :) I can't wait to be able to walk up the stairs so I can get my newest little man in studio! You'll see those asap!!

Loving lifes blessings....