I Did It!

Blogged before Christmas, that is. And turns out, I apparently haven't been very good at taking pictures the last couple of months either, because despite the long blogging drought, there weren't that many pictures to post. But here's some, and I'll try to remember to take more. There will for sure be a Christmas post though. :)

In November, Rachel and I took a trip to visit Mindy. It was so much fun! 

Rachel all ready for the drive. She's got snacks and her puppy, so she's all set.

Rachel and Ashlyn playing at the kiddie area in the mall. We also went to see Santa.

Setting up the Christmas tree. Reed thought this was great. He also had a hard time with the "No touching the Christmas tree" concept, as we will see later on.

Rachel helping get out Christmas stuff too.

Rachel loves wearing boots of all kinds. We thought it was funny how these went all the way up her legs.

We got a chance to visit with Chris (Reed's birth father) and his parents and grandparents. We're so happy to have been able to meet them!

Rachel loves imaginative play. Here we have a monkey in the bed, a vulture sitting on the stove, and an iguana in the attic.

This is what happens when Reed is left alone with the tree. I found him upstairs in the hallway, holding the star that goes on the top of the tree. We took him back to the scene of the crime to get a picture. He actually broke the base, and the tree is no longer usable. So basically, Reed broke Christmas. Just kidding. We were thinking of getting a new tree anyway, Reed just made the decision for us. :)

Rachel with Mr. Potato Head lips.

This is the smile I get when I tell Rachel to smile and show her teeth. :)

Just some funny kid odds and ends:
Reed is growing up so fast. He's so smart. He doesn't have a very big vocabulary yet, but he understands so much. He always answers our yes or no questions appropriately, and his breathless sounding "Yeah" with a big nod is really cute. He LOVES giving hugs and kisses, even to books and toys, and HATES it when Daddy leaves for work in the morning, and always gives him a big hug before he goes.
Rachel has assigned us all Mickey Mouse Clubhouse names. She is Mickey Mouse Rachel, I am Minnie Mouse Mommy, Mike is Goofy Daddy, and Reed is Donald Duck Reed. If we do not refer to ourselves or each other by these names, Rachel will correct us. "No, he's Donald Duck Reed". It's funny. Rachel also listens to EVERYTHING we say, as evidenced by her often referring to some conversation between Mike and I that we had no idea she was listening to. She also says the word "Hawaii" in the cutest way. She says "Hy-wy-wee". It's adorable. This is thanks to the calendar Granny and Grandpa who live in Hawaii sent us (thanks!)

We're looking forward to Christmas! Having kids at Christmas is so fun. I don't even care what I get or don't get, I just love watching them experience the magic of Christmas.