Ten

With the stroke of midnight, our third child happily entered into the realm of "double digits".  On Sunday, Reed excitedly announced his own personal countdown to the exact minute when he would move out of the "single digits" of his life.  In fact this morning, he reported that he was "exactly 5 hours, 37 minutes old.  I suggested that he add 10 years to that number.  Make that 10 years, 5 hours, and 37 minutes!

There is so much to love about this boy.  First of all, he has his daddy's grin. 

 He loves to laugh and joke, which brings about the biggest smile.  Just like his dad.  He is a number lover.  He's always been quick with math problems.  He especially likes mind benders and word problems that take deep thought and concentration.  He can whip out an answer in his head in no time.  Memorizing is easy for Reed.  He memorizes every piano piece he plays.  Charlie Brown, 007, and Carol of the Bells are his most recent favorites.  He likes songs that are fast and loud and I frequently hear him humming as he plays his songs. He is planning to take up the saxophone just as soon as he can.  He would also like to play the drums and the guitar.  He is full of musical talent and rhythm.

This year has brought about some firsts.  Reed adopted soccer as his sport of choice.  He learned the lingo and technique needed to help him develop into a very successful player.  He's aggressive yet gentle, competitive, and very serious about the game.  When we told him we were moving, the very first question he asked was, "what about my soccer?"  

Homework is now a routine.  He comes home from school and heads straight up to finish it all as quickly as possible.  He always makes his bed and straightens his room.  Hmmm, you must have a few of your mom's genes!   However, unlike your mom, you are obsessive about arriving on time.  You know exactly how long it takes to get to school in the morning, whether we make all of the lights or not.  It's all about numbers and watching the clock - let the count down begin - no matter where we go.

I would say this year you also developed a love for books.  The Hatchet series really caught your interest, or was it the movie you accidentally started at the Lester's house?? 

 Reed was an usher in Cousin Adam's wedding this summer. 

 He had a good time, but once it was all over, he wasn't too wild about the tuxedo!  His favorite part was filling up at the candy bar!  

Reed continues to love football - especially Manning football.  The Colts are his fave, although the Giants are a close second.  This year the Cowboys are also getting a serious look, but they didn't even make the playoffs!  After last week's playoff disappointments, I'm not exactly sure who gets his vote, but be assured, he'll be glued to the games with serious attention.

He's an enthusiastic Webelo Scout.  This week he crafted a pocket knife holster.  He stripped his own walking stick and has the blisters to prove it!  Campouts and bonfires are definitely his thing.

As his mom, I treasure the daily hugs he shares.  He is always helpful and has a happy, willing heart.  He memorized his 2 favorite Bible verses recently.  He found them on his own and committed them to memory right away. 

 

If I were to report on his favorite food this year?  It would be a tie between Pizza Stuff and chocolate.  He loves anything chocolate - bagels, candy, cakes, cookies, and muffins.  He won't eat banana bread unless I add chocolate chips.  He loves chocolate chip pancakes and chocolate ice cream.  He used to eat anthing with ketchup on it (eggs, mac & cheese, peanut butter & jelly), but now it's chocolate.  Lace it with chocolate and he'll gobble it right up!

The funniest things you did this year?  You counted the assembled pieces in the 1000 piece puzzle Dad was working and reported that he only had 763 more to go.  We all got a good laugh out of that one!  Happy Birthday, Reed Hollis!  I am proud of you and I love you bunches!

Viral Interpretations

We had a rather sickly winter this year. All four kids missed school at least one day for some sort of virus. Cole has been the grand prize winner - 3 stomach viruses and one stubborn fever. I was beginning to think that I needed to have a deep cleaning of our house in order to clear the house of our germs. Thankfully, with the warmer weather, things are looking up. I haven't had a kid home sick in 2 entire weeks. But when they are sick and mention a sore throat, I will no doubt load them up in the car and take them to their daddy's office for a quick, gagging swab. They hate it. I feel sorry for them. But I want to catch it early if they have the dreaded Strep Throat!

Reed brought home a small journal entry today. He will kill me for this, but I can't resist. I think it is great - and it explains his impression of an illness he's never had...

Now I know why he fears Strep Throat! Evidently it leads to death in dogs.

Amber actually died due to a stroke, but Reed's little mind conjured up another diagnosis.

Happy Hearts

Tonight Reed finished practicing the piano and walked into the kitchen.  Cole had just come in from outside because it was so cold.  Reed said, "Cole, do you want me to play with you now"?  I stopped him and hugged him.  I told him that he has been doing 3 things on a regular basis that I really love.

1.  He gets up in the morning and makes his bed without me asking him to.

2.  He has been practicing the piano without being asked.

3.  He asked Cole if he wanted to play.  

I told him that #3 makes my heart happy and his little brother's heart happy.  Reed said, "and it makes my heart happy".  and we had a 3 person hug (instigated by his younger brother).

Brotherly love at its best.

In Search of the Perfect Shot

I have been filing pictures away in my photo albums this week. I am not a scrapbooker. I started out that way, but by the birth of #3, I realized the album by album account of our life was never going to happen. I now resort to collecting our pictures for the year in a photo-safe box. At the end of the year, I spend a day going through the photos and selecting the best for an album like this.

Before digital cameras, I used to get a bad case of Christmas Photo Anxiety that I am sure many of you can identify with. Tim and I would spend several frustrating afternoons trying to capture that perfect picture to send out of our little angels (or a picture that at least made them look like angels).

2002 took the cake for requiring the most patience. We set out to the country club with adorned children in a happy mood. Hair was fixed, outfits picked, and naps had been taken. We even brought along some outfit changes, as I recall. I was feeling energetic and optimistic!

Unfortunately by the time naptime ends, the gnats are out in Ocean Springs. If you aren't familiar with gnats, avoid them at all costs. Gnats are the reason we moved away from Ocean Springs! Here is our photo journal:

Reed hadn't found his smile yet...














attempt #2...














attempt #3 with gnats:

change of location, attempt #146














a little fun in the middle:


new clothes for attempt #339 (and we left the 1 year old out completely)....

one year old chose to leave self out of this one...

not cooperating (again)... but the older ones are really trying to smile!
We ended the day with this shot, although Tim wouldn't let me send it out for our Christmas picture that year. I personally thought it was a perfect solution to our rigorous shot attempts. As you can see, even this one took a while. But don't they all look like angels?

The Naked Girl at the Slumber Party

My 3rd child, Reed, was 9 on January 15th.  As you know, the 3rd child position is a tough spot.  In our family, he followed the first child, the first boy, and lost his spot as "baby" just before he turned 3.  On the positive side, he lives with his best friend and brother, Brooks.  He is a talented musician (he prefers percussion to piano but is great at both), and he is a math whiz!  And, as the third, he flies under the radar most of the time.

Reed decided to have his first slumber party to celebrate his 9th birthday.  We invited a few friends for an evening of rock climbing and Wii playing - hoping for a few winks, too.  Unfortunately, we couldn't coordinate the climbing, so we resorted to the stand alone slumber party.  Once the parents had been gone about 15 minutes, I realized that the boys were not quite as calm and quiet as those who had come to our 10 year old slumber party.  No, these boys were rarin' to go - down to the basement, outside in the mud and cold, upstairs to the playroom, back through the kitchen and so on.  I was bracing myself for a sleepless night filled with rowdy 9 year olds.  All of a sudden, the house was quiet.  No movement, no yelling, no slamming doors, no balls bouncing.  Nothing.  

My kitchen is just below Reed's room - and next to the bonus room.  I heard nothing.  Those boys had disappeared.  I headed up the stairs.  Silence at a slumber party can never be good, unless it is about 4:30 in the morning.  Sure enough, Reed's door was locked.  The boys were in the closet.  I decided to listen from the bonus room to see what was really going on.  They were having a pow wow - revealing the names of the girls who were "hot".  That just cracks me up.  What exactly qualifies a girl as "hot" at the age of 9?   I know it's not the typical breast size, gorgeous long hair, dance moves - at 9?  I guess it is based on their smile and athleticism at recess??  I still haven't figured it out.  Well, except for the 10th grader who was mentioned by one boy.  I am sure she meets the earlier discussed typical "hot" requirements.

I felt rather confident that no harm was going to come to the 6 boys in the closet, so I headed back down to my brownies.  My mistake.  Just after the "hot" discussion, they became quite interested in the Guinness Book of World Records 2008.  As I was walking by to check on them again (that is a full time job), I heard one boy say to another.  "Do you want to see the naked girl on page ____"?  That stopped me cold.  What on earth were they looking at, and where did they find it?  I was responsible for these boys and they were gazing at naked girls.  Oh. My.  Well, it turns out, this 2008 edition has just a few eye popping attractions.  Yes, there is a person who can pop their eye the farthest - 11 mm.  Who knew?  Then, in Australia, there is a guy who can pop the most bras - his son came up with the grand idea - and you too can see this pun-filled variety show on youtube.  As for the naked girl?  Well, I don't have the exact copy (one of the guests brought it to the party), but they were gazing at something.  Something naked.

A few boys slept.  A few boys didn't.  I heard nothing.  Reed was a zombie the next day.  I finally asked (after hearing reports that they had only gotten 30 minutes of sleep) what kept them busy all night.  My little 9 year old - with quite a bit of coaxing - admitted they stayed up most of the night talking.  About what?  After much hemming and hawing, he added,  "we weren't sleepy 'cause we were talking about HOT girls.. and we were looking at the 2008 Guinness Book of World Records".  Hmmmm.  Wonder what they were looking at??

I am going to have to recalibrate my radar.