The Flight Home from Philly

Had to post this pic... he's just too cute for words!

A Day of Sight-Seeing

Today was our last full day in Philadelphia, so we spent it seeing as much as possible. =) Ben's Uncle Wayne and Aunt Nancy were wonderful tour guides - we had a really great time! We were out the door at 9am and didn't get Reid back until about 8pm... long day for a sweet baby who didn't have a single nap (outside of a half hour snooze) and he did GREAT!

A lot of the places that we saw did not allow photography, but I took what pictures I could... (And a quick side-note... if you notice that I am wearing the same clothes as I had on earlier in the week... you would be correct. Let's just say that diaper explosions on vacations with a 9-month old can quickly ruin the small amount of clothes that you pack.)

Here's the little man of the hour as we were heading into Constitution Hall... so happy! He truly did love seeing everything and watching all of the people...

Quick pic with Mom =)

...and with his Aunt Candice =) Notice his stylin' sweater??? That was a gift from Candice!

Family Pic inside of Constitution Hall

The whole Peterson clan inside of Constitution Hall

Foyer inside of Constitution Hall

Constitution Hall is a newer museum and we spent most of the morning in there... it was WONDERFUL for people like Ben and I who love history. There was so much to see and do...we couldn't take it all in! We went through the main exhibit area, saw the constitution movie and presentation, and also went through the new Princess Diana exhibit (awesome!)... Obviously, no pics were allowed... =(

Reid was fascinated with some of the statues in the lobby area in between exhibits... He kept touching them, smiling, and wondering why they didn't talk to him =)

Grandpa, Ben, Reid, and Uncle Wayne waiting outside the Constitution exhibit...

We had to wait in line for a little while for one of the exhibits, and sweet Reider crashed out. His one and only little nap for the day...

One side of Independence Square

...the other side of Independence Square... loved all of the old buildings!

It got pretty cold this afternoon while we were out walking around... Reid refused his gloves and his skull cap... so the hoodie had to do...

And, of course, we made it to the Liberty Bell...

Independence Hall

The Philadelphia Art Museum... This was Ben's favorite because it's the famous steps that Rocky runs up in all of his movies ;)

Like I said, it was a jam packed day... we saw a lot and had a lot of fun. We ended the day with a giant SURPRISE 60th birthday party for Ben's Aunt and Uncle out at his cousin's house. There were over 60 people there, and I'd definitely say that Wayne and Nancy were surprised! =) Unfortunately, Reid was D-O-N-E by about 7pm, so the 3 of us had to leave early. But we were so glad to be a part! We owe a HUGE THANK YOU to the Carpenter's for all of their generous hospitality this week - we had a wonderful time and can't wait to see you all again soon!!

Much to be thankful for...

We had a WONDERFUL first Thanksgiving with Reid and all of Ben's family - we truly have much to be thankful for! So amazing to think that we only became eligible to adopt the week of Thanksgiving last year (2008)...and this year we have an almost 10 month old - God is good!

This has to be one of my favorite new pictures of the little man...completely sums up our day!

Reid with his Dad...

...and a pic with Mom (very bright early) =)

Spending a little quality time with Grandma

Around 10:30... All of Ben's cousins and their kids arrived..then Aunt Candice and Uncle Joey made it in from NYC

Reid loves his Grandpa!

Reider also had a great time playing with Jacob, Kayla, and Campbell...

Cousins...

Aunt Candice and Reid

Aunt Candice always has lots of fun treats for her nephew!

Sportin' his new sweater from his Uncle Joey and Aunt Candice =)

One of Ben's cousins, Tara, with Daisy (Reid's new BFF - ha)...

One side of the "kid" table - Mark, Britt, Tara, Me, Reid, Ben

And the other side... Uncle Jeff, Rob, Deb, Aunt Candice, Uncle Joey. All of the Grandparents were in the other room =)

Reid enjoying his sweet potatoes - he loved the sweet potatoes, corn casserole, mashed potatoes, ice cream, pies, fruit salad, and pumpkin rolls... kid's got a good appetite!

As I said... Reid and Daisy... new BFF's! She kept licking his face and he thought it was hilarious =)

And finally, the day ended for the little man with the Cowboy game... here he is all dressed up in his Cowboy gear with Dad...

We had such a great day giving thanks with all of our family here in PA - but we greatly missed our friends and other family back in TX - KK, Doc, Aunt Neely, and Uncle Craig. We love you and Reider had a blast video chatting with you today! We'll see you when we get home on Saturday!

We Made It!!!

So I have completely failed in my blogging mission to talk up adoption during the month of November... uggg... Life has just been completely INSANE keeping up with a very active 9 month old! But, rest assured... all is well in the Peterson casa... and...

WE SURVIVED OUR FIRST PLANE RIDE WITH REID TODAY!!! HOORAY!!! (That's no small feat, by the way!) Today marked the start of our first "real" family vacation as a family of 3. You know, where we had to fight the airport/holiday crowds, load up and ship the car seat, stroller, diapers/wipes, baby food, etc... what fun. Ha! In all seriousness, despite massive delays at the airports... it went very well and Reid was a trooper!

Where are we this week? (... you might ask...) We are spending the week in Philadelphia with Ben's family! We are very excited and already having so much fun! All of Ben's brothers and his Mom's side of the family are here. It should be a very fun first Thanksgiving for Reid. =)

So, all of that to say...I am trying to keep up with posting pictures each day as the week progresses to avoid getting even further behind in my blog posts. =)

Here are a few from our lovely airport adventure today...

11am: Our little fam... breathing sighs of relief that we actually made it to the airport alive, well, and in-tact... it was a bit of a crazy morning =)

11:30am: Reider and I right after he saw his first real airplane (he was VERY excited!)

1:00pm...Then began the airport delays. Apparently, Philadelphia was/is having bad weather, so we got to wait around in the DFW airport for an extra 3 hours. Yay. Thank goodness they had the awesome kiddie play area below:

Reid LOVED it... it kept him quite entertained and he even met a few friends!

2:00pm - Ben and Uncle Jeff got so bored that they even began to play. That's right... we talked Uncle Jeff into flying with us so that we had an extra set of hands. Sucker.

Finally... we were called to board the plane about 3pm... Please keep in mind, that Reid has had zero naps at this point. We were already making plans to buy drinks for everyone "fortunate" enough to sit by us. I had a feeling it was going to be a VERY long flight.

What I didn't know, is that my sweet husband had "charmed" one of the flight attendants (he calls it charming... I call it flirting... ) and he got all of us a row of seats COMPLETELY to ourselves - on a FULL plane, no less! That meant that Reid had his own seat (which we didn't pay for) and Uncle Jeff had two empty seats next to him that were perfect for Reid to play in =)

And wouldn't you know... we got on the plane about 3pm... just to sit for another hour. Sweet baby boy just sat perfectly content in his chair reading his books. Does it get any better than that?!? I was so impressed... love this little man so very much!!!

Finally, as the plane was taking off... I gave Reid a bottle and he passed out cold... no fussing or anything. =) (And yes, I look incredibly tired in this picture because I AM INCREDIBLY TIRED...it had been a long day.)

Handsome little guy! The extra seats were WONDERFUL! =)

That's all the pics for now! We finally landed in Philly and made it out to Ben's aunt & uncle's house. Reid was so excited to see everyone and definitely established himself as the center of attention. I have a feeling he won't be spoiled at all this week! And now... he's passed out cold in his little bed... I'm not far behind. More pics to come of Reid's first turkey day!

I warned you...

I have to say that I warned you about gearing up the adoption talk this month... And, without making a statement either way in regards to my political views, I do think this is AWESOME.  

White House Press Release

Happy National Adoption Month!

Video Happy

Here's a few videos of the Reidster we've taken over the last few days...enjoy!

Reid and the Fake Laugh:

The Mountain Climber:

Reid and Bubba = Buddies (kind-of):

And last, but not least... The Growl:

Happy 9-months, Reid! =)

WOW...what a difference 9 months makes!  I can't believe how quickly the time has gone... Michael Reid, you continue to bring nothing but pure joy and happiness to your Mom and Dad.  We love you more every day, if that's even possible!

You are EVERYWHERE now... crawling and pulling up on everything!  At times, you even think that you can walk and are learning the hard lessons of "respecting the floor."  You talk and laugh all of the time... it always makes us smile to hear your little voice and try to figure out what you are trying to tell us.  You've started saying a few words - mama, dada, baba (bottle, I think)... not sure you fully understand what you're saying yet, but it's a start.  Oh!  And how can I forget to mention your love for growling???  You think it's hilarious and growl at everyone you see.  You also love to sing in the car and are quite the "ham" in social settings - wanting to make everyone laugh (and you always do!). =)

You continue to be our own little food disposal - you eat a TON!  (And just about anything we put in front of you.)  You eat three full "food" meals per day and are still taking 4-5 8oz bottles.  If we don't feed you fast enough, we definitely hear about it.  =) Your new favorites are spaghetti, lasagna, and chicken with pasta.  You also love fruit smoothies for breakfast, have a sweet tooth for ice cream (just like your Dad!), and have finally mastered the sippy cup.  You LOVE brushing your two bottom teeth after you eat and have several more teeth trying to break through on the top.  I can't wait to see how much you've grown at your 9-month well check this Friday!

Your favorite toys continue to be anything electronic that aren't necessarily yours (laptops, cell phones, remote controls) - but you also LOVE anything with wheels.  We've already got quite the car collection going for you!  It's really fun to watch you "drive" your cars around on the floor now that you've figured out how to make them roll and move.  You also love to wrestle...that's how you and your Dad spend the majority of your time together...(and you wear your Mom out with it most days. =)  It's always fun to see how excited you get when your Dad gets home in the evening - melts my heart!

I could go on and on... My heart is just so full as I sit here and write this and think about where we were at this time last year.  We became eligible to adopt on November 18th of 2008...it hasn't even been a full year and we already have a 9-month old!  How fitting, too, that November is National Adoption Awareness month.  Just to give you fair warning...that means that I'm definitely going to take the adoption talk up a notch this month...haha! (As I hear a collective sigh from both of you reading this...=))

Happy 9-months, baby boy - we are forever thankful for you and we love you!