The one where Reed goes to the zoo

Last Thursday Reed took his first trip to the zoo! I'm not completely sure that he noticed any of the animals but he sure enjoys being able to sit facing forward in his stroller. That's right, he's big enough now that we don't have to put his infant car seat on the stroller anymore. He sits in there so big. This is great because he enjoys going for walks so much more now.

We met up with Kelly and Sophie, who introduced us to their friends Jen and Asher. They left after about an hour and then April and Hannah joined us and Reed and I ended up staying for about 3 hours. I'd hadn't yet been to the Oklahoma City zoo, so I enjoyed doing something new as well. I decided that its a pretty nice place to be able to go and take Reed for walks so I bought an annual membership. We should be seeing a lot more of that place in the next year!

Over the weekend Mike's parents came to visit. It's always so great to have them around. I know it's hard for them to have Reed growing up so far away, but we're just lucky that they are able to come visit fairly regularly. Of course with babies, "fairly often" is never often enough because they change so much in such a short amount of time.

Mike and I took advantage and were able to sneak in a date night while they were here. We had a wonderful dinner at Boulevard Steakhouse and then saw "Just Go with It". I love all the family time we get, which is why I don't go around seeking baby sitters so Mike and I can go out. However, when it is just the two of us, I realize how much I love to look in his eyes, and the simplicity of the evening; having my hands free to do with them as I wish, enjoying uninterrupted conversation and going from place to place with much less baggage.

One of the goals we had for the weekend was to choose our Hawaiian accommodations. We have it narrowed down to three rentals, which I applaud. I mean, it's Hawaii, everything looks great! So, narrowing it down to three is a pretty big accomplishment.

The weather has been pretty ideal and Reed has been able to spend some time outside. He really digs the swings at the playground just down the street from our house. It's very convenient! We have to tuck a towel around his waist because the bucket seat is too large for his little body, but once in there he's strong enough to control himself during the back and forth motion. Its cute to see him doing big boy things! Speaking of... last week he also figured out how to crawl! He was up on all fours and going forward, so I'm calling it crawling. It amazes me, because just two days prior, he was grabbing the carpet and dragging himself towards my mom on the laptop! Things happen so quickly with babies.

He now has a growing menu including rice cereal, carrots and peas. Up next will be acorn squash!

I've been cooking his baby food rather than buying it in jars, and before you start with any praise, I have to admit so far it hasn't really been anything that special. Heating and pureeing. I

wish I could say that with all this "big boy" stuff going on, he'd be sleeping well at night. But, I must report that is incorrect. He'll throw in a couple of good nights every now and then but generally he's had some night time issues. I'm sure it has something to do with his tiny digestive system and the chaos that comes with formula and veggies. It's got to iron out soon.

Today I took him with me while Allissa and I got pedicures. He was an angel! In my minds eye I had pictured us passing him back and forth, entertaining him while we tried to get express pedicures.

It turned out that he fell asleep on the way there and slept the majority of it in his car seat. In the end he woke up and I played with him on my lap for a bit. I feel blessed when Reed joins me in doing the things I want to do. Its much better than being at home, pouting because I need a pedicure but wondering when I'll sneak it in. He still makes me wonder and I'm never quite sure how it will turn out, but I give it a go anyway and just see what happens. He is precious and sweet.