Nothing's better than those baby giggles...

While it might seem cruel, my child LOVES to feel scared... here he is having some fun with Doc and Blaire after dinner tonight... there's nothing sweeter than those little laughs!

We've had a week or two of ups and downs around here... On the downside, we've all been fighting that nasty head cold going around.  Sweet Reider's been couped up inside for a solid week and half not feeling too well, so he got a new (favorite) toy... his music and play table...

You can see that he's still such a happy little guy even when he's sick. =)

On the upside, though... Reid's very first tooth cut through - YAY!!  (Looks like we have several more on the way as well.)  And he is now...

PULLING....

UP....

ON EVERYTHING!!!  Oh, what fun... Is that the cutest little diaper butt you've ever seen, or what?!? 

Sorry for the blurry cell phone pics (we really do own a real camera, it just never happens to be with us!)... but this is one of my favorite pics from the week...  Reid sitting just like Daddy.  Foot propped on his high chair ready for dinner.  Yep, this is how our angel baby sits through every meal...love it!

And more GOOD NEWS... Reid's finalization day (aka GOTCHA DAY!!!) will be here a week from Monday...YAHOOO!!!!  We can hardly wait!  We are throwing one massive, fun-filled, Gotcha Day party that following weekend with all of his little friends and the amazing people who have been walking this adoption journey with us.  We are so thankful for everyone who has been praying for us and with us... we love you all!

Birthdays, New York City, and Labor Day Fun...

...So I'm a little behind in blog posts, but actually have a little down time today and trying to get caught up =)

The first big happening from the last several weeks... 

GRANDPA CARL'S 61st BIRTHDAY!!!  Grandpa hit the BIG 6-1 on August 30th... We all headed over to Grandma & Grandpa's house for a wonderful dinner then went to The Melting Pot for some fabulous dessert!  What a great evening!  It was extra special because Joey & Candice were in town still from NYC...

Here's a pic of the whole family except for Jeff who was already back at BU and our picture-taker, Grandma... (Debbie, Candice, Joey, Grandpa, Rob, Ben, Myself, and Reider)

Reid and I chatting...

If we look tired in this picture...WE ARE.  We had only had about 1 1/2 hours of sleep the night before...

Next happening... BEN'S FIRST (EVER) TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY!

For Father's Day this past year, Reid and I got Ben this trip to go visit Uncle Joey and Aunt Candice in NYC over Labor Day weekend.  He had a great time hitting up all of the tourist spots and even got to fly first-class out there.  He's the greatest, so we figured he could be spoiled a little =)

Here are a few pics of his trip (courtesy of Aunt Candice):

And while Dad was away on his NYC trip, Reider and I had a great Labor Day weekend hanging out with some friends and family!  Luckily for us, Michael and Grant were both out of town as well, so we had some great play time with Tiffany & Brielle and Jayme & Isabella.  Here's a few pics of the kids in the playroom...

Reid and Isabella - she had just sat up for the first time by herself!  

Brielle and Isabella

The only pic I got of all 3 of them together...Reid and Brielle were constantly on the move!

BIG (open-mouth...ewww) kisses between Reid and Brielle...

Reid talking to Isabella

We have a very busy weekend ahead, but looking so forward to it!  Two baby showers for two sweet couples in our church who are both adopting babies being born in October... dinner tonight... singing all weekend @ Keystone Church... and the kick off of Community Groups on Sunday evening.  Lots to do, but so much fun!

Happy 7 Months!!! (yesterday...)

Michael Reid turned 7-months old yesterday...I can hardly believe it!  Every day I look at him and can't believe how quickly he is growing and changing.  His little personality is really starting to show and he remains one of the happiest kids I know (I may be a *little* biased)!

This past month has been HUGE for the little man... just a few milestones:

Army crawling (still his preferred method of transportation)

Crawling on all fours

Sitting up from any position (from stomach or back)

Pulling up (on everything!)

Climbing (on everything!) - Yes, we have now lowered his crib almost to the floor...

Reid also LOVES food!  His current favorites include: carrots, squash, pears, green beans, and applesauce.  He also enjoys sweet potatoes, bananas, puffs, peaches, and oatmeal.  The only things he's really not a fan of are peas and rice cereal... don't think I blame him.

For breakfast, he always eats oatmeal and fruit... lunch is a vegetable... and dinner is a vegetable (and soon to add some protein).  I keep thinking that all of this food will help him cut back on his bottles, but nope... the boy likes to eat.  Reid is still taking 6 bottles per day (although we've backed down to 6 oz bottles rather than 8 oz).

Another huge happening... Reid finally got meet his Uncle Joey this past week!  Joey is getting his MBA at Columbia in NYC, and just had his first break in classes since Reid has been born.  He's been in town visiting this whole past week, and I think they've had a great time getting to know each other.  Ben is actually headed for his first visit (ever) to NYC with Joe and Candice today through Monday evening.  Here are a few pics:

Studying Uncle Joe for the first time... so confused that he looks so much like Daddy...

Big smiles...

Hugs for Uncle Joey

More sweet hugs (Reid is very into giving hugs and kisses these days)...

We're so glad that you and Aunt Candice got to visit this week, Uncle Joey!  Looking forward to seeing you in Philadelphia at Thanksgiving!

GOTCHA DAY IS FINALLY HERE!

We just received the news from our attorney that Reid's finalization date has been set for OCTOBER 5TH, 2009!  HALLELUJAH!!!  

He will forever and always be ours...a part of us...the missing piece in our family is finally complete.  I can't even begin to describe the emotions that fill me right now...  When we started our adoption journey, everything was so overwhelming, the paperwork trail seemed endless, and quite honestly I didn't feel like we would ever get to this point.  But all words have left me now...how did I ever doubt?  That has been our lesson over this past year, for sure.  The only thing that keeps ringing through my head right now is a song we sing at Keystone...

Nothing is impossible for God,

No, nothing is impossible for Him,

You hold our world in Your hands;

So let Your name be lifted higher,

be lifted higher, be lifted higher...

God is so good, so faithful, and so perfectly wove our family together through the miracle of adoption -  let His name be lifted higher!  Our ultimate healer, maker, caretaker, provider... 

All afternoon I've been reminiscing about our adoption journey and all of the miracles and provision we experienced along the way.  For those that joined our journey late, here is a brief synopsis:

It hasn't even been a full year since we publicly announced our plans to adopt... 

We were officially "waiting on Baby P"  on November 18th, 2008...  

Only (a very short) 8 weeks later we were chosen by Michael Reid's amazing birthmother...

Only 3 weeks after that, Michael Reid was born in Austin, TX  on February 3, 2009...

On February 5, 2009, we got to hold our miracle for the very first time as he was forever placed in our arms...

How has he gone from this...

...to this in just six short months???

Oh, how we love this little man!  Every day we thank the Lord for this amazing blessing that was brought into our lives just a few short months ago.

As I said earlier, our finalization hearing will be Monday morning, October 5th, at 8:00am.  The hearing will be in San Antonio at the Bexar County Courthouse in downtown, and our immediate families will hopefully be joining us.  We can hardly wait!!!

Before I conclude this post, we do want to take a moment to thank all of you.  Without your prayers, love, support, and encouragement we would not be where we are today.  We love you, cherish your friendship, and are so thankful for your faithful prayers.  From the bottom of our hearts...THANK YOU!

"For this child we have prayed, and the Lord has granted us what we asked of Him..."

Reid's 6-Month Pictures

On Friday evening, my sister took some impromptu 6-month pictures of Reid...  Thank you so much, Neely - we love them!  The pictures came out WONDERFULLY and truly captured our little man's personality.  Here's a preview...