Nine is fine

 

Last week Reed turned nine and yes, nine is fine...but I'm not looking forward to Reed turning 10 next year. My kids are getting too old too fast. In fact, two days before Reed's birthday I was at my doctor's appt and another woman in the office asked how old my kids were and I told her 8, 6 and 3 because I couldn't bear the thought I saying my boy was almost 9.

With Reed's birthday coming 2 weeks before my due date I knew two things: I had to plan ahead and it had to be low key.

As part of the celebration a few weeks prior to Reed's birthday, Sam took the boys to the Ripley's Believe or Not Museum in Baltimore. They had a great time and came home with lots of gross/interesting information but no pictures. (I guess that's my thing, not Sam's)

Reed's actual birthday was on a Sunday, so we had most of the celebration--which we called "Reed Rules the Day"--on Saturday.

We started the day with Reed's choice of breakfast. I offered him the world but junky cereal always wins. He picked out two to make sure their was a non-chocolate option to include me.

Max approved of the selection and actually decided to enjoy them as a mix. Yum!

Since it was "Reed Rules the Day" we didn't waste anytime getting to the presents. We were really on the ball so he got to open it right from the Amazon box.  He got the Wii Dance game he was hoping for.

He was even more excited about the Hex Bug Hive and 100 Hexbug batteries he had been wishing for too.

Max was plenty excited about the gifts too.

Next on the agenda was breaking in the new Wii Dance game. Reed's PE class at school sometimes plays Wii Dance so he was familiar with "Eye of the Tiger", which was the song Reed was looking forward to the most.

I love watching them playing all together. Ruby "wins" every round---at least that's what they tell her. It works for now and everyone stays happy. She's getting a little too smart for this trick so they've had to get creative. "Oh, look you won again. You got the number 3 next to your icon because you're 3...oh look at ours...we only got 1 and 2. We're only tiny babies."                                                                      

Sam got in on the action too.

 

  

I did my best, but Wii Dance is surprisingly difficult when you are 8 1/2 months pregnant. Sam didn't get any pictures of me trying, but he did get one as we were leaving for our next "Reed Rules the Day" activity and it's probably better that way.

  

Per Reed's request, we went to IHOP for lunch. He was just a little bit thrilled about being there.

Actually, nobody complained about the choice. I don't think I've ever been out to eat and seen every plate licked clean.  I think it helped that we didn't make it to lunch until a little after 2:00.  We were all starving.

We saved Reed's "cake" for his actual birthday on Sunday. I don't know if Reed was trying to make things easy for me, or if he didn't trust my cake making abilities, but he said what he really wanted was a big cookie cake from Walmart. In my current condition, I was more than willing to oblige...even to his request to write his own name in frosting.

They love him.

And his cookie too.

Reed and Max are the best of friends. These pictures are so typical of their interactions. First discussing and negotiating all of the options for splitting up the remaining cookie...

...and then being silly enjoying their spoils.

Another thing that is sooo Reed is the constant need to be creative. I don't think I could think of word that better describes Reed than creativity. One of the things that Reed frequently requests is to be able to make "own ingredient cookies".  He doesn't want to follow any kind of recipe and I'm not big on wasting ingredients so I don't unusually let him, but for his birthday I told him to go for it. He was thrilled with his freedom in the kitchen. For him it wasn't so much about the cooking as it was able being able to be creative and in charge--his two favorite things.

Me and my boy. I like how my belly nearly eclipses my 9 year-old- boy!

Possibly our last family photo as a family of 5.

As planned, this was a more low key birthday, but I still think Reed felt loved and celebrated. Happy Birthday my NINE-year-old boy!! We love you Reedy-o.

Bach to the Future

Reed loves music--he always has. From the time he was only a couple months old he would respond better to music than just about anything else to calm him down. Even my less than musical renditions of "5 little monkeys" could bring him down from a full blown screamfest in the car.  He was only about 18 months when I noticed he started singing along to the radio in the car and was fast collecting a large repertoire of song lyrics. Six years later his love of music has only grown and includes everything from hymns to pop music, classical, country and  even music theory. 

So when I heard that his class at school would be putting on a play about the life of Bach, called Bach to the Future, I knew Reed would be in heaven...and he was. They practiced after school for about  6 weeks and whenever I would pick him up, he would be so excited about how the performance was coming together. He loved to share tidbits of what he was learning about Bach, but was careful to keep details of the production a secret because he wanted me to be surprised.

We were all excited when the big night finally arrived 2 weeks ago. Reed was a "keynote" speaker, which was a narrator type role, so I was surprised to see that it included a time period wig. The setting was not the best for taking pictures, but it was too much of a highlight for Reed to not document it at all.

Reed (on the upper right) along with the other keynote speakers.

Hands down,  my favorite part of the program was the last song where they modernized one of Bach's tunes with a sort of rap element.  Reed got to come down from his narrator position on stage to the very front and even had a few lines that he sang with another little boy. I loved it because I could tell he was loving every bit of it.

Doing his part of the finale song.

Mrs. Alspaugh, who I call Mary Poppins, is Reed's teacher and the one who directed the entire production. She is an incredible teacher. In fact, when I was checking into schools before we had moved to  Maryland, I found an article on how she had just won "Teacher of the Year" for the district. I started  then hoping and praying then that Reed would have the chance to be in her class.  She is amazing and I am so grateful for what she has done for Reed this year.

Max, congratulating Reed on a great performance. One thing I absolutely adore about Max is how good he is about giving sincere compliments. When Reed does well, he is truly happy for him and is free and articulate with his praise. He also insisted on bringing his camera to the performance and was thrilled to show Reed how he had recorded his favorite part.

Sam and Ruby both really enjoyed the show too. Don't let this picture fool you about their excitement level--it was there...although I think Ruby was starting what turned into a week-long miserable cold.

Proud Mom. (Mysteriously leaning in just the right way to not look like the hugely pregnant girl I am.)

Reed and Mrs. Alspaugh. Whenever I would pick Reed up from play practice he would be one of the last ones out. When I asked why this was the case, Reed would often tell me, "Oh, I just had some ideas that I needed to tell Mrs. Alspaugh for some things that would make the play even better." He is a natural born director and she is a patient woman.

I'm so glad Reed got to have this experience. It was so much fun for him. And while I think he'd most prefer being in the director's chair, Mrs. Alspaugh did say that Reed's excellent diction and ability to take direction would make him a drama teachers dream someday. I'm not sure what Reed thinks about that, but even Spielberg had to start somewhere.

A moment of vanity

I think I can count on my fingers and toes the total number of pictures I have from my previous three pregnancies. When I found out I was expecting again, I was determined to document my expanding figure a little better this time around. It was a good thought, and I have done a little better, but not much. So when a friend (and talented photographer) in my ward offered to take "maternity photos", I uncharacteristically agreed. I think she did a great job--especially considering the fact that my own mother and husband admit that taking a good picture is not among my talents and the fact that I am currently roughly the size of a small walrus.

Taking them was one thing, sharing them is another, but I figure documentation wins out over my own embarrassment/vanity.

A couple things about this pregnancy that are worth remembering. (Since it's almost OVER!!!)

1. I am absolutely thrilled about having another little girl; however, apparently she must be some kind of joker. I normally deal with nausea for the first half of my pregnancy, but for some reason this time around I have felt sick at some point during just about every single day.

2. In my previous pregnancies (especially with Ruby) salt was my go-to remedy whenever I felt sick. This girl, however, isn't interested in a lick of salt. It doesn't help at all, which leads back to item number one.

3. Salt might not be my thing this time, but water sure has been. I don't think I've ever been so thirsty in my life. I drink water constantly, but could almost always use another glass. Whenever the kids want to do a "good deed" they know to bring me a glass of water. In fact, Sam is in the habit of bringing me a quart of water to drink before bed so I can make it through the night.

4. I feel like I'm focusing on all the negatives, but I must also mention (because I hope it will be nothing more than a distant memory soon) that this girl has has given me some nasty veins in my legs. I actually can't even look at them, but Sam has seen them and I think he is all ready to make me an appointment at the Laser Vein Institute if they don't clear up on their own.

5. I don't know if I have any real "cravings", but in the past I have eaten a ridiculous number of Granny Smith apples every day. I started out eating lots of apples this time around too, but I've discovered that this little one is really more of a citrus girl. An orange or grapefruit can do wonders for me sometimes.

6.  Just about everywhere I go I get lots of sympathy and "you look ready to go!" comments. (In fact I've been getting those for the past 2 months at least). A couple months ago at the mall, I was in the middle of telling Sam how I felt like a celebrity with all the attention this large belly gets when some very friendly women came up to me because they just had to know when I was due, since it looked like I was just about to pop! I had to disappoint (and amaze them) with the fact that I still had a couple months to go. I love it when I tell people how I'm not actually due any day yet and they say something like, "Are you sure about that?!!" Hmmmm...I can't keep track of everything while I am pregnant, but my due date is one of the thing I am usually on top of.

7. The kids are crazy excited about their new little sister, although for several months they were really pushing to name her Pippy Longstockings. Thankfully, they are past that.

8. Reed thinks it's so cool when he can see or feel her moving around in my belly and loves to be punched by her. He adores her already and thinks it's perfect that their birthdays will be so close.

9. Max is kinda freaked out about seeing my belly moving, but he absolutely loves her too--just from more of a distance. He is SO considerate of me and my larger size--always wanting to give me extra room and understanding when I'm not able to do everything I normally would. Just tonight while we were playing a game where I had to stand in the middle of them in a circle he said, "Let's all back up so Mom can have more room, because well...you know." He's also been known to say things like, "Oh...mom is definitely too big to do that!"

10. Ruby is mostly excited about the fact that she is going to be a big sister, and as such she will be the one to do everything for and teach everything to her little sister. She often tells me how "babies don't know anything" so she will have to teach her little sister everything (making a rainbow motion over her head as she says everything) She is also excited about having another female in the house. Whenever it's going to be just her and me going somewhere or doing something I trying to get her excited about it by saying it's, "girls...to...girls!!!" (Think softball team cheer style) to which she always says, pointing at my belly, "Don't you mean, 'girls to girls to girls'?" 

 Well, that's 10, so I better stop. So much for a "couple things"-- I guess I had 9 months worth of unrecorded thoughts to get out.  The end is officially in sight. We are all so excited to meet this little girl in a few weeks. Let the fun begin!