Our sick little boy...

This has not been a very fun week at our house...sweet Reid has had his first cold and start to his first ear infection.  No fun!  We went in to see Dr. Dalton on Tuesday morning, and thankfully it's not anything more than a head cold, but that hasn't changed the fact that I have become a human mattress for the last several nights.  Little guy is so congested that he's only really sleeping with me holding him while we sit straight up in the recliner.  But, despite it all and no matter how bad he's feeling, I have to say that we still have a very happy baby...what an angel!

We are very ready for this cold to pass, for Reid to be feeling better, and for Mom to start getting some sleep again. =)

Those BIG brown eyes...

...completely melt our hearts!!!  I think we're in trouble when Reid gets a little older...=)

I looked at the blog today and realized that it has been a LONG while since I've posted...sorry about that Blogland followers...  But we have been busy, busy!  The last week or so has included an adoption celebration for Lex (adopted from Russia by some friends of ours at church), BBQs with our CG group, dinners with friends, outings with the fam, Reid's first experience in the church nursery, and Reid's first kiddie bday party.  Lots of fun!

Sweet Reid is almost 12 weeks old now, and continues to be such a happy, laid-back baby - what a blessing!  He loves music, playing with his toys, standing (assisted by us, of course), and has started picking everything up and putting it straight into his mouth.  He's also FINALLY started belly-laughing...I captured a video of it this afternoon, but for some reason I'm having problems uploading it to the blog...so I'll be sure to try again later. =)  We're constantly amazed at how quickly he's growing as well - currently he's about 25 inches long and around 14 pounds - he looks so different than the day we brought him home from the hospital!  Reid is also expanding his circle of friends... he is now VERY interested in our two boys, Johnny and Fat Jack - he's so proud of himself whenever they get close enough that he can grab a handful of hair.  They love him...ha. (Note the sarcasm)  Reid has also gotten really interested in other kids...he loves to watch them and studies them so carefully.  Usually, after a few minutes of careful watching, he'll start smiling and laughing at them.  Too cute!

There is so much more I could write about, but for now I must run...chicken enchiladas are almost ready for dinner!  But before I end the post, I just want to give a shout out to 3 very special couples from our church that are beginning their adoption processes... we are SO EXCITED for all of you and can't wait to pray with you and your families as you walk through this amazing process.  It truly is incredible!!!  I also have another dear friend, Becky, who got to meet their birthmom today and found out that they will be getting a little girl on June 14th - the Lord's blessings never cease!  CONGRATULATIONS to you all!

Reid LOVES his Daddy...

These pictures capture nothing but pure joy...these two ADORE each other!!!

Pictures of our happy boy!

Words cannot express the joy this baby brings!...

10 Weeks Ago Today...

10 weeks ago today... Michael Reid Peterson arrived!!!

February 3, 2009

9 lbs 2 oz

20.5 inches long

Today...

13.2 pounds

24.5 inches long

Reid is already wearing 3-6 month clothes,

He can grasp objects and put them in his mouth,

He is smiling and laughing all of the time...

What a blessing and joy our baby boy is!!!

Reid's 1st Easter - Two months old!

As they entered the tomb, they saw a man in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.  "Don't be alarmed," he said... "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene who was crucified... He is risen!  He is not here.  Hallelujah!  He is risen!"  Matthew 16:5-7

Easter is one of my very favorite times of the year!  How incredible that we have a Saviour who died on the cross for our sins, then rose again on the third day - He is the Living God!  I was especially excited about this Easter as it is the first one that Ben and I got to celebrate with sweet Reid.  My favorite part of the entire day was while I was getting ready to leave for church that morning... Ben was hanging out with Reid upstairs, and I had left his baby monitor on in our room... I got to hear my amazing huband explain the meaning of Easter to our sweet baby boy!  Melted my heart!!!  Not that Reid understands, but still such a special moment I will forever treasure! =)

We had a wonderful, busy, fun-filled day with family and friends!  Church with the Keystoners on Sunday morning (51 saved and 21 baptized!!!)... Lunch with Ben's family... early dinner with my family...  and then finally home to bed.  We had one tired little boy!  Here's a few pics from the day...

Reid and I before church on Sunday morning:

Daddy and Reid

An attempt at our family Easter pic =)

Reid all dressed up in his Easter duds...what a handsome little man!

Reid with one of the baskets the Easter bunny brought... (He was spoiled with a whole new summer wardrobe and some fun toys!)

As you can see, his favorite thing was his new hat for the pool this summer (pictured with Aunt Neely):

Inspecting more of his Easter loot...

We hope that you and your family enjoyed a wonderful weekend celebrating our Risen Lord as well!  

April 10, 2009 - Welcome Isabella Renee Higgins!!!

Well...Friday morning started of with a BANG...bright and early!!! =)  Reid and I got up about 6am because we were planning on making the short trek down to Waco to meet up with a group of my college girlfriends and all of our kiddos.  Here's a cute pic of Reid all decked out in his Baylor gear...ready to take pics in front of the Bear Pit!

Right as I was finishing feeding Reid, we got a message from one of our best friends, Jayme Higgins, that her water had broken and she was at the hospital going into labor with sweet Isabella Renee (4 weeks early!).  Unfortunately, Jayme's husband Grant is a pilot and was out on a trip...and her mom, Gina, wasn't planning on coming in until the 20th of April from California.  Jayme was so calm, though!  She had driven herself to the hospital to get checked out and Jill and Shaun helped her get everything up to her room.  Needless to say, mine and the Reidster's plans changed very quickly!  We were so excited to meet sweet Isabella and immediately headed to the hospital to sit with Jayme in labor & delivery until her husband and Mom could get there.

Per Jayme's request, I didn't post any pictures of her on the blog (even though she looked beautiful as always!)... but here's a pic of Jill and I in labor and delivery VERY early that morning... =)

And my sweet boy, Reid, was a complete angel baby as always!  He obviously had to stay in the room with us, but didn't fuss or cry the entire morning while Jayme was in labor.  He must have known he had a little friend on the way! =)

Here he is getting his mid-morning meal in L&D...

He even took a few GREAT naps while we were in there =)

Thankfully, both Grant and Gina made it into town very quickly (they were both at the hospital by lunch time)... and Jayme was doing wonderfully!  Once they were both able to be in the room with Jayme, her labor picked up pretty quickly and Jill, Reid, and I moved out to the waiting room to join everyone else.

Here's a picture of Reid hamming it up in the waiting room with Daddy... (The day had turned to evening and Reid was already in his pj's)...

And the evening turned to night while we were still waiting to hear about sweet Isabella...  I loved this picture...it's Reid's impatient face...wanting to meet his new girlfriend =)

Finally, after a very long and difficult delivery... beautiful Isabella Renee was born at 7:58pm!!!  Both Jayme and Isabella did WONDERFULLY!!!  Even though Isabella was 4 weeks early... she weighed in at 7lbs 6ounces and was 20 inches long!

Here's a pic of me with this beautiful baby girl from this morning...

And here's the first pic of Reid and Isabella together... (They both definitely slept through their first meeting!)...

We are so thankful that Isabella arrived safe and healthy and couldn't be happier for the Higgins Family...we love you guys!!!

Camera Shy

Sweet Reid is still  camera shy every time we try to capture him smiling and/or laughing... I think it's because he's COMPLETELY FASCINATED by the gadget we're always holding in front of his face...=)

I couldn't get him to smile for the camera, but I did get him to show off his latest cool trick... That's right...Reid can stick his ENTIRE fist in his mouth!  It makes us laugh all the time, and he thinks it's pretty funny, too!

And here's a picture of Reid with Aunt Neely on her 23rd birthday...she's the greatest!!!

Thank you for the prayers!

We truly appreciate all of the prayers, emails, and texts we received this morning regarding Reid's ultrasound appointment to check out his spine.  Good news!!!  We are, of course, waiting on final confirmation from the radiologist... but the radiology tech said that everything looked perfectly normal... our sweet baby just has a hairy little back! =)

Reid did great during the appointment and thoroughly enjoyed flirting with the radiology tech!  She had him laying on his stomach to take pictures of his back, and he'd push himself up...swing his head around to try to see her...and smile.  Too cute!  

Here's our little man after his appointment...all of that "fun" wore him out!

Praising the Lord for a healthy, happy baby!!!

Prayers for Reid at 2 months...

Yesterday was the longest day we've had in a very long time... Our sweet baby got his 2-month shots...no fun.  He was such a little trooper in the doctor's office...hardly cried at all and was even asleep in his carrier before we left the appointment.  But then, about 11:30am, he woke up screaming...and it didn't stop until after 7pm last night.  Our poor baby...it was a very hard day on Mom because there's nothing you can do to explain to them why they're hurting and why it is so necessary.  Reid just wanted to be held and cuddled all day...this was his first time to experience not feeling well.  We gave him infant tylenol as often as we could and that would help to calm him down and put him back to sleep.  But then our sweet little guy would wake up and see us...try to smile and kick his legs...and the pain started all over again.  Uggg....  But, thankfully, Reid got back to his happy self by about 9pm last night.  He slept GREAT and has been all smiles and laughs today!

We do have a prayer request that came out of Reid's check-up yesterday...  This coming Tuesday at 1pm, we have to take Reid in for a precautionary ultrasound to rule out a tethered spinal chord.  Again, this is just precautionary, but Reid has a hairy patch on his lower back that can SOMETIMES be associated with this syndrome.  Good news, is that he shows no other symptoms - his motor skills are great, he's VERY active, and his legs are a lot stronger than most babies his age.  Reid is also partly hispanic, which means he tends to be a little hairier, so hopefully this is the case. =)  We are trying not to worry about it, but would truly appreciate the prayers.  We are VERY thankful for Dr. Dalton and that he is so thorough...he truly is one of the best pediatricians!   And, in case you're wondering...the other good news, is that if Reid does in fact have a tethered spinal chord... it has been caught so early, that it can be fixed with surgery and he would have a full recovery without any nerve damage. We just don't want our baby to have to go through a surgery... so please pray! =)

On a lighter note...  One of our cats, Johnny, has discovered that Reid is a warm body to cuddle with who won't move.  Here's what I walked into this week when Reid woke up from his nap...

Needless to say, I now have to keep the door to Reid's room shut unless we're in there. =)  

And, not to be outdone... Fat Jack also enjoys his cuddle time with the Reidster...(Please excuse my picture...I had just woken up!)...

And, finally... here's a cute picture of Reid with one of his little friends, Brielle McDaniel.  They had such a fun time playing together!  Brielle is 3 months older than Reid, and he thought she was the funniest thing ever!