American Idol

American Idol is our favorite TV show to watch. Its like movie night at the Reed household. We put the kids to bed, get our popcorn out, and head downstairs to watch the show. This year we have been disappointed with American Idol. For some reason we have not felt as interested in the show. After watching Idol gives back, we are hooked again. What a shocker that Michael Johns got cut! Now it is crunch time. We are watching with much anticipation each week in see who is the next American Idol to get cut. What is your finial top two pick for 2008 American Idol? We are going with the two Davids. Our number one pick is David Cook. Not only is he very talented, but he is practically from my hometown in Missouri!

Desperate Situations Require Drastic Measures

Ahhh.... Sleep!

Corey and I love our two kids dearly, but they are both horrible sleepers at night. Since day one of Peyton's birth, which is two years ago, the Reed household has not slept. Peyton finally learned to sleep through the night for the most part, but then Annisten came into the picture. By the time she was 2 months she would sleep about 4 hours strait. Then she started teething and... well her sleep habits and our sleep all went out the window. The week the family went to AZ, her night wakings were every hour and half. No matter what I tried, nothing changed. She would scream and scream if she was not feed every hour and half. I spoke with her doctor, asked about everybody I could about the situation, and read a lot of books. Finally being so sleep deprived and so exhausted, I took extreme measures. It was time to just let her cry it out. Now this is something I said I would never do as a mother. Something had to change and nothing else was working. Desperate situations require drastic measures. Of coarse I checked on her at the 5, 10, and 20 minute intervals. This was really hard for the both of us to hear her cry. The first two nights were really hard for us. After a week she was getting better at sleeping. Annisten would wake up at random times for comfort.

Then the miracle happened. Last night we went to bed and we slept. I heard a small cry for the 6:00 a.m. feeding. Then she went right back down. So now it is 9:00 a.m. and she is still sleeping! Everyone slept so sound last night that Corey woke me up in a panic. He needed help getting out the door because he had over slept. He usually uses the kids as his morning alarm clock. I guess he needs a real alarm clock now. Hopefully this will be the day; marking many days to come of nights where we actually get sleep at the Reed house.

Soap Box

Just one question....
What happen to our spring weather?!!?!
I guess we just have not had enough snow yet.

Enjoying Spring

Peyton enjoyed the warm weather by playing football, throwing rocks, and drawing with chalk.




All the playtime wore him out. Before Peyton could put up a fight it, he was out for the count.



Annisten enjoyed being outside. She loved the texture of grass and listening to her own voice.

Arizona Trip

We had a great trip to Arizona and visiting all of our friends.

The warm weather was a nice treat from the cold in Utah.

Our first stop, the Prodfit family's house. Peyton, Weston, and Jameson had a ball playing together. I think they made more messes than can be counted. Peyton was probably the instigator and Weston laughed at all of the fun. James and Annisten just watched all of the craziness. The carpet was the worst of it all. Don't even ask! Oh and just ask Tyson. How did unders and a diaper get in the swimming pool? Becky and I did not think that the boys would ever sleep.

Everyone loved the train.

All Aboard!

Look at all of those chubs. I think someone needs some bigger cloths.

No James does not have a black eye. That is a result of a day of playing at the park.

Our next stop was to see Kami, Erik, and Bryson. We celebrated Bryson's 1st Birthday.
We all had a great time watching the kids eat cake. Not just any cake either. Everyone had their very own Mickey Mouse Cake!

Where is the cake?

Hmmm! I am not sure about this...

That was some good stuff.

Digging in!

Look at me!

The trip to AZ was great. It was fun to hang out with our friends, the Proudfits, Peschkes, and the Spolestras. We wish that everyone did not live so far away.

A Fight at Costco

At our house, we are big Costco fans. Its the place for groceries, books, tools, gadgets, and odds and ends. Oh and lets not forget the samples. Peyton and I love to go to Costco around lunch time and check out all the samples. Then we top it off with a berry smoothie. Well our recent trip broke out into a fight. Poor Peyton was the victim.

So we headed into Costco for our favorite thing- samples. I put Peyton and Annisten in the front of the cart with legs facing each other so they could play together. Peyton was all excited because his favorite, pizza, was one of the samples. This was a jumbo sample too. So we stood in a long line and finally Peyton received his pizza prize.

Then all of the sudden Annisten went for the pizza. Before I knew it, I had two kids fighting, pizza flying, and a audience. Oh and of coarse they were both wearing white. Annisten stole all of the toppings and shoved them in her mouth. Peyton was left with the crust yelling "No Annie! NO!" Both kids were a mess. I had to take a time out and a dozen wipes to mend the mess. Not to mention try and get what was ever left of the pizza toppings out of Annisten's mouth. That did not go over well.

I learned that my little angel Annisten is sneaky and a food thief! Some one needs to teach her how to share. Any pointers on teaching a 7th month old not to grab food! Or maybe her parents should feed her more.

Moving Forward

Well almost. Annisten is learning to crawl. She rolls over to her tummy, pushes up on her arms, bends her knees...and...

scoots backwards.

Out With The Old And In With The New

The Old...

The new...

Look at those new pearly whites!

Annisten's 1st tooth came in on the top, far back. Strange huh. Even more bazaar...

When the two bottom teeth came in, the top tooth went back up into her gum.

All about Annie

Kitchen Patrol

While I am in the kitchen, Annisten likes to sit in her highchair and watch what is going on. When she cannot see what is going on, she will fuss until you move the highchair or pick her up so she can see. If you grab a bit to eat, she thinks it is her time to eat as well. Her favorite is Bananas. She cries if you do not feed her banana baby food fast enough.


Bounce Annie Bounce

Annisten also likes her jumper. Peyton and I have been trying to teach her how to bounce it. This is hard for a girl who refuses to use her legs for anything. She prefers be headbanger rather than a bouncer.


Bad Habits Start Early
Annisten is a pincher. When she is trying to get your attention or cannot quit reach something, she pinches. Annie also is a food thief. When food is within her sight, she is reaching and grabbing. Once she gets her hands on it, she shoves the food into her mouth as fast as she can.

Favorites
Annisten spends her time playing with her toys and exploring everything around her. This is her favorite baby. The minute Annisten sees her baby, her whole face lights up.

One of those two year old moments!

So the other day I went to the UPS store to get a few things laminated. Peyton decided he did not want to leave the store. So he laid down right in the middle of the isle, blocking the door. So here I am lugging the diaper bag, Annisten in her car seat, the things from the store, and trying to get Peyton to move. He was like dead weight and would not move. In the end, some nice lady carried Annisten to the car and I had to drag Peyton! Only a half a year left of the this 2 year old business, but I heard that 3 isn't any better.


There are proud moments too! Peyton is very affectionate. He always says I love and gives kisses. Peyton likes to help me with chores around the house or help Corey fix things. He has a good memory and is very social. He helps take care of Annisten and brings her toys when she is sad. Peyton likes to make people laugh too. He always makes sure everyone is included and happy.

Tricks of a Two Year Old!

Peyton likes to show off for anyone that will watch. One of his favorite ways is to spin really fast. This time his spin trick was too fast for him.

More showing off.

Oh in case you are wondering where his cloths went...well he does not believe in cloths this week. Every night before going to bed, Corey or I will check on Peyton. Some how he is always missing his PJ.

Check out my Slide Show!

Happy Easter!

Easter caught us off guard this year. Corey was out of town; so we celebrated Easter on Tuesday. On Monday night for FHE. We decorated "warm eggs" for the Easter Bunny. Peyton was so stirred up about his warm eggs and would cry if they left his site. Finally we convinced him that the "warm eggs" had to stay on the island so the Easter Bunny could find them. Peyton wrote the Easter Bunny a note and left carrots for him. He would not go to sleep and I had a little talk with him in his room. He said that he wanted to meet the Easter Bunny and he had to stay awake to see him. Finally sleep won.

By the next morning Peyton had forgotten about the Easter Bunny. He went into the living room to watch his morning cartoons and was all surprised. He thought it was so funny that the Easter Bunny made a mess of the carrots. Then he asked about his "warm eggs" all day and what the Easter Bunny did with them. We did not have time for the egg hunt until Corey got home from work. Corey told him maybe the Bunny hide them outside. So the search was on. Finally he found his eggs in the back yard. He did not even care about the eggs with candy in them. He was on a search for his "warm eggs." Oh and the blue and red dinosaur eggs too. Peyton told me the Easter Bunny hide the eggs in the backyard because that is where the windsock was hanging (Nana T and Papa Mike sent a windsock to hang up to help the Easter Bunny find our house