My Christmas Joy.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas!! The Reed family certainly did! The girls got lots of stuff, and we have no room for it. No one was sick (which is unusual because normally one of the kiddos is). So Christmas evening we were coming home from a very long day in K'town Missouri. We were all very tired. I had figured the girls had zonked out because they were very quiet. About the time I looked back to check on them I saw Berkley looking for Chloe and reaching her hand out for her. Chloe very gently grabbed her little hand and held onto it the rest of the way home. You could tell Berkley was content holding her sisters hand. I saw Chloe rubbing her little fingers. I did not take a picture of it because I was afraid they would stop. We weren't doing much talking and for some reason the radio was very low, but I could hear Silent Night playing softly. I said a small prayer, and was so thankful for this sweet simple moment. It made my Christmas very happy and fulfilling. It was a perfect way to end our Christmas!

Party like a Christmas Star!

Chloe's school party was this past Thursday. She had the best time! She got to be Santa's helper and sit beside him, and hand him candy to give to all the students. She was so excited! She tried to act real cool like it was no big deal. Her teacher and I were cracking up because you could tell she was beside herself with happiness. The kids were all high off all the sugar that had put in their little bodies, running around everywhere acting like little sugar junkies. It was quite a site to see! Her buddy Jackson (the red head boy in the pic)got her a Hannah Montanna Build a Bear doll, and oh my goodness Chloe was beyond excitement. Now the bear goes everywhere she goes.. her room, the bathroom, the bed, the car, and anywhere else she is. If Berkley goes near it she STROKES out! I like to mess with her and hide it when she's not looking, or put it in Berkley's room. Just little mind games mom likes to play :-)

Santa's Elves

Oh how we love this time of year! Any reason for a cute photo shoot! Just too sweet not to show off!

Happy Birthday Erica!!

Our awesome friend Erica turned 35 this past week. Last Saturday we surprised her with a lil birthday bash at Fuji. Thanks to her hubby Joe we pulled the surprise off. Everything was great...great food (me love some Fuji).. great gals (love hangin with my girls!)... great time!! Happy Birthday Erica!! You are one fabulous, funny, hot mama!! BTW she is 32 not 35...oops :-)

The sweetness of my girls

We lost our sweet dog Bosco about 2 1/2 years ago. He was the first dog that Judd and I got before we were even married. Chloe remembers this happening, because she will ask about him often. Last week we were eating breakfast, and she starting asking about him. Chloe-"Mommy did the angels fly Bosco up to heaven"? Mommy- "Yes, sweetie I believe they did." Chloe- "Mommy will Jesus and the angels make sure he does not fall out of the sky?" Mommy- "Chloe everyone that is in heaven are taking extra special care of Bosco!" Chloe- "I really miss Bosco..I want him to come back down from heaven and come back to our house." Mommy- "I miss him too, but Jesus was ready for him to come to Heaven, and leave earth." Chloe- "Hey I have an idea, lets pray to Jesus that he will let Bosco come back down to see us, and when he does our family will stand outside and catch him with a blanket, so he does not fall and bump his head when he comes down from Heaven!" So we stop eating and said this sweet, precious, innocent prayer. Berkley was clapping the whole time we were talking about this. I am sure she was happy we were eating, and we were all together!! My sweet girls!!!

Chloe's Perspective

It seems like the older that Berkley gets the more of a daddy's girl she is. We call her his shadow. It is really sickening! She has total meltdowns whenever he leaves a room or closes a door. A few weeks ago out of nowhere Chloe came up to me and said (picture 4 year old spunky girl with hand on her hip trying to act like she is 15) "Um Mommy how come Berkley like never cries whenever you leave the room or closes the door??" My reply to this precious darling(GRIT MY TEETH AND BITING MY TONGUE!!).."Well Chloe sometimes she does get upset if I leave her." Chloe's reply "Only if daddy is not here." What a precious child she is blossoming in to (GRITTING MY TEETH HARDER!!!)

How do they work so hard, and still look soo good?

I guess it was wishful thinking that we were only going to be in school for about a month, and then it would be summer break again..ha! Both girlies are in different places this year. This is the first year that they have not been with me at school. It has been quite an adjustment for moms! Chloe is at University Heights Pre-K. She LOVES it!! She loves everything about school, her teachers, her friends, eating in the cafeteria, and anything else. Several of her friends go to school there too, so she loves seeing them, and she can't wait to tell me she saw them. Berkley is staying at Mrs. Dena's house. She has 2 other kiddos the same age as her. She loves it now, but the first 2 weeks were rough on her....lots of tears shed, but it is all good now. I love fall! I love all the activities that are coming up..the Fair, Halloween, Fall Festivals, Basketball, Thanksgiving, and the ole fat man in the red suit hopefully will visit our house. I hope all of you in blogger land are having a groovy fall, and those of you that work in the public school system I hope your school year is going well. As you can see in the pics we are starting Berkley out early on household chores. She does very well, and does not complain when she has to do it. Chloe works hard at keeping her self looking fab! She has invested in Hannah Montanna make-up, and anything else related to Ms. Cyrus. Peace out!

Hangin with the Boys

Chloe first started daycare/school when she was 8 weeks old. For the first year she was the only girl in her class. There she was surrounded by 4 little boys. If you worried about her holding on her own with the boys..never fear she did. As the years went on 2 of the boys went to different schools, except for two of them Jackson and Atlas. These three amigos have never been apart. The three of them have been to each others birthday parties, been to each other houses to play. Whenever one of them was sick, you could bet the other two would be next...that would always happen! They all three even had the same surgery around the same time for their ears. Jackson and Atlas have always been soo sweet to Chloe. This past school year was the last that the kiddos would all be at the same school,that they started when they were babies. They will all be in a new school this year. Chloe and Jackson will still be together (it will a hard time separating those two) We are sad to say that Atlas and his family are moving to Mountain Home. We will miss him very much! We hope to keep in touch. A few weeks ago Chloe and the boys got together one last time to play at Atlas's house for his birthday. It was a very fun and sad time. We are just thankful for all the fun times they have had the past 4 years!

Stylin Gals

She is a year old now, so we figured it was time for Berkley's first haircut. Her hair was beginning to get in her eyes, so we called up our girl Lora and made an appointment for all three of us. Chloe informed me of the order the haircuts would take place. Berkley would be first, then mommy, then her. I was not sure how lil sis would do, or how long she would sit still. She did very well, and almost made it to the end. Her new do looks swell, and Lora told me she will have thicker hair than Chloe. I am so glad the girls did not get hair like mine. It is straight as a board, and fine...it is not fun at all to manage. Unfortunately, there was no time to get a pic of mommy gettin her haircut(darn maybe next time) but we did get some of the girlies.

Ok, this has absolutely nothing to do with haircuts or anything even closely related, but I have to tell this new thing I have discovered. Everyone knows about our new dog Wanda, and all that. I am starting to think that Reese now thinks he is a girl dog. He rarely hikes his leg anymore, he always squats just like her, and I am tellin ya he used to raise it on anything standing still. Should I be worried?? Or is this just like most men, and the poor thing can't think for himself now that a woman of his breed is in the house...

VBS 2008 Over and Out!!

We wrapped up our VBS Friday night. We all had a great time at VBS this year! I think the adults had just has much fun as the kiddos did. Erica and I had the 5 & 6 year old youngsters. They were a great group! Chloe loved VBS! She did so good! She really came out of her shell this past week. One night Amy B was asking all the kids a question about what they all were learning, and to my surprise I looked over and Chloe has her hand up to answer the question. This is so not typical Chloe behavior. She does not like any attention on her, and clams up in front of any audience. So I was stunned the hand was up! Amy called on her and feared she would be mortified by it, but she just answered real softly. She even performed the song and dance moves on family night. So, needless to say we were very shocked and happy at how well she did at VBS!

Big Sisters new Ride

Avery being so sweet and letting Chloe drive her jeep.

I think Berkley is telling her to push the gas and lets go!

How cool are we mom???

So it seems like forever that Chloe Bug has so badly wanted a princess/barbie jeep. Her friends Avery and Taylor have one, and every time she is at either girls house she usually stays on their jeep the entire time. Sadie has an old one that she has told us we could have. I guess we are all just lazy and did not want to get it for her (bad parents). Chloe and Daddy took a road trip Saturday to the bootheel of Missouri to help my grandma set up her new tv and stand, so after they finished with that they went up the road a little farther to Piggott and FINALLY got the barbie jeep. Chloe is so pumped that she has her very own jeep to ride...lil sis is excited too she loves to be her passenger. She gets irritated when she has to get off. The jeep needs a good detail job, and daddy is going to get some seat belts. The girls were riding this afternoon and big sis took a sharp right and lil sis came rollin out. It was quite a funny scene (she rolled on grass and there were no tears) if it had been on the driveway, it would have been a blood and tears scene. Chloe is very happy to have her own barbie jeep. Mommy and Daddy are happy the jeep was free! Thanks Sadie!!

Gettin ready for VBS....

Our church's VBS starts Monday night and goes until Friday. We are very excited about VBS. I think I am just as excited as Chloe is! She has the best teachers, and several of her friends are in class with her too. We have been working on VBS for the past two Thursdays, and then tonight we got to decorate our rooms. I am assisting Erica this year, and I think we are going to have a great time! Chloe was very excited that she got to see Eva Grace tonight. The whole Barrett family has been ill over the past month it seems like. Chloe has really missed Eva Grave, and was very happy she was at church. The whole crew had fun decorating and hanging out with friends. More bible school pics to come later this week.

Happy 1st Birthday Berkley!!

Our Berkley was 1 year old this past Wednesday..boohoo. She had a great birthday! She was very happy on her big day, but that is no different from any other day. We had a little family party on her b-day with my fam..then we are doing daddy's fam on Sunday. This past year has went by so fast (I know I say that all the time, but it has). I thought in honor of our girl's big day I would mention some funny, weird, cute, sweet, unique, happy, and other things about her that make her so special. Alright lets break down those smiles. We know she smiles all of the time, but the thing is the smiles are all different, no one smile is the same. She has about 10 different smiles. Smile 1- When she first sees Chloe in the morning. I stop whatever I am doing and watch her. She begins to glow! I love it! Smile 2- When she is has been caught doing something wrong (she usually adds a pointed finger at you along with the smile) Smile 3- Before and After she is about to consume food. The girl can eat some serious grub. She gets so happy when she knows she is about to eat, and then after she has stuffed her face there is this smile of pure satisfaction for her accomplishments. Smile 4- Mischievous smile..This one is usually when she is going for something of Chloe's that she knows she will freak out about. Smile 5- When her daddy comes in the door from work. There is also bouncing and shaking involved with one. Smile 6- When someone new is holding her, she smiles when they reach for her, but as she is going to them the smile kinda has a scary look to it. Smile 7- When we sing to her..loves it, claps for us when we are done..she is probally glad it is over!! Smile 8- When she sees a little one like herself. She loves her little friends! Smile 9- When I go and wake her up even before she opens her eyes she has this sweet grin on her face. Smile 10- When she sees the camera she knows just what to do. We love all her smiles, but one must wonder does her face hurt from all those smiles??

- Berkley has began this new thing, she will take food out of her mouth and offer it to you. It is usually mixed in with something of a totally different food group, but hey gotta give her props for sharing.
- Whenever she does get fussy food always does the trick.
- She has "mad" dancing skills. Whenever we have music on she bounces up and down.
- I think her personality is a combination of her Aunt Rachel and my mom. They are both big smilers, and my mom is an abnormally happy and upbeat individual (a trait I obviously missed out on).
- She has absolutely no interest in tv (her daddy thinks that is abnormal)
- We do not recall many times when she is awake that she is still...unless she is eating.
- She likes to empty out my underwear drawer, and scatter them among the house.
- She loves any attention that she can get. She likes to play shy, but she eats it all up.
- She loves to ride the 4-wheeler with her daddy.
- For the past 364 days she has been scared to death of the vacuum. She flips out whenever I bring it out. I have to carry her, and vacuum at the same time, but for some reason on her b-day I guess miss big girl decided it was time let the fear go. She followed me around the entire time I vacuumed, and did not cry one time.
- The trust and love between Chloe and her is so genuine! They both amaze me everyday. I hope they are always this close. I can't wait to hear all the funny, rude, and weird things they say about Judd and I.
- She loves dog food. There is rarely a day that goes by that she is not caught with it in her mouth. Now when I catch her she just pulls it out of mouth and hands it to me. When she starts raising her leg up to urinate I will not be shocked one bit!
- She has starting holding both her arms back when she walks real fast. It looks like she is about to take off flying, but that has not happened yet. It is so funny to see it though.
-OMG the slobber this child produces is insane. I have never seen quite so much! You never get a dry kiss..they are always nice and juicy..which is fine with us.
I hope this next year of Berkley's life is as great as the first one! She is such a wonderful, happy, and sweet baby girl!!

A new addition to the Reeds.....

For those of you who thought I might be... you know the big "P" word..Shame on you!!! Over the weekend we added to our family another dog, and three fish. We already have one dog Reese a weimermaner. He looks like a small horse up to the girls. I have REALLY wanted another dog. Reese has been very lonely since we lost our Bosco a couple of years ago, and I like having 2 dogs. Judd has been very stern on not wanting another dog, but that still did not stop me from wanting one, actually it made me want one even more. I even got Chloe on the bandwagon too. She would mentioned to Daddy in her sweetest, manipulative voice "Daddy I sure wish we could have a new puppy." He seems to give in to her faster than he will me...thats a little unfair..but Any hoo, Amy B mentioned to me that her bro Adam was looking to find a home for his dog Wanda a weimeraner(which is what I have been wanting) Adam brought Wanda over to meet Reese last week. They sniffed around on each others areas..used the bathroom everywhere the other one did, and immediately became buds. Once Judd saw Wanda he could not resist. She has fit in very well with our family. Her favorite person is Chloe (she must have heard how to get things done around here too) She is the sweetest dog, and we love that she is here with us. We are not sure if her stay here is permanent or temporarily, but we are happy that she is here. The other critters that we have are 3 goldfish. There names are Flippy, Kissy, and Orange Belly. Does not take long to figure out who named them. They seemed to have adjusted well in Chloe's room. She told me today that you have to be a very responsible person to have a pet, and she was not sure if I was ready for the fish to be in my room. She also said she would teach me how to feed the fish. One might say that our house is becoming a zoo. It was that way before all the new animals arrived, but we like to think of it as cozy...it does seemed a little cramped when we are all in the bathroom together. Thank goodness everyone is house trained around here..well Daddy has occasional accidents, but we are working on that :-)