Lots of Fun!

We've been quite the busy little bees around here the past few days! We'll start with last Saturday... Every year, Flowood hosts the Flowood Family Festival where they have all sorts of activities and food for the kids. This was our first year to take Reece, and while they didn't have a whole lot for kids his age, he thoroughly enjoyed himself. We hit the petting zoo first. Nick and I were a little skeptical that Reece would even like getting that close to the animals, but he would have stayed all day! His absolutely fave were the goats. He wanted so badly to touch the goat pictured above, but couldn't quite figure out how to get his hand through the fence. He also got to see bunnies, chickens (one of which laid an egg right there in front of us), and ducks! He liked looking at the ducks until one started to nibble at his little toes sticking out of his casts. Then, he wanted to watch them from a little further away. After the petting zoo, I insisted that we let him ride a pony. The whole time, Nick's like "This is going to be a disaster. He's going to pitch a fit." But, because I'm stubborn, we stood in line to ride the ponies. Reece finally got on a pony with me by his side, and he was really digging it... until we started moving. He didn't pitch a fit, just sorta whined off and on. It was like he really kinda liked it, but it was something new and different so he wasn't sure if he was supposed to like it. We made it through, thank goodness, because I was having a hard time holding onto Reece and keeping up with the pony! We took a break, got some McAlister's sweet tea (which Reece sucked down without ever letting go of his straw), and cooled off. You can tell in the pic above just how much he enjoyed the sweet tea! After doing the petting zoo one more time, we headed to Penn's where Reece gobbled up some fried fish. I didn't order him a plate because he never eats enough to warrant buying it for him. So this one time I decided to just let him eat off of mine. Well, the little toot ate half of my fish, which was a small plate! Needless to say, next time we visit Penn's Reece will be getting his own plate of fish!

Now on to Sunday... we went to church where Reece made it through about 30 minutes before he started jabbering. We think the time has finally come to bite the bullet and put him in the nursery. What's the point of us even going if we can't pay attention, right? That afternoon we met up with Andy, Jessica, AnnaLea, (and Caleb, due in September) Chambers. On that very hot Sunday, we walked around the Jackson Zoo with bags galore, sippy cups, snacks, fans, etc. We took Reece's wagon, which worked out really well after Reece decided to share it with AnnaLea. Let's just say that the first 30 minutes of the zoo trip were a disaster. Reece didn't want AnnaLea in his wagon, so he just pitched him one. Finally we consoled him with some bunny crackers. Things smoothed out, and then he dropped the bunny crackers. Nick and I couldn't help but laugh because it was like the end of the world for Reece. He sat there shocked for about a second, and then burst into tears, kicking and screaming. I mean, people were staring. I quickly scooped the beloved bunny crackers up out of the bottom of the wagon and put them back in his snack cup. A little dirt (especially good ole' zoo dirt) never hurt anybody! We were desperate, what can I say? At one point, the 4 adults just started laughing because we realized we were the people we had made fun of on our pre-baby vacation to Disneyworld. Dropping stuff everywhere, preventing meltdowns, tripping over curbs, and carrying more bags and gear than a kid should need. What an experience! We definitely made some memories!

After that busy weekend, Mama Kat and Nanny (Mama Kat's mama) came to stay with Reece for a couple of nights while Nick and I headed to New Orleans to see Coldplay. We ate at NOLA, which is one of Emeril's restaurants, and it was sooo good! We definitely recommend it! We did a lot of walking and looking that Monday. Then, Tuesday, we ate breakfast at Cafe Du Monde (of course) and met Nick's uncle for lunch at Mr. B's. Tuesday night was concert night, and I was pumped. This was my birthday present, and I love Coldplay! By far, the best concert ever! Everything was so energetic that by the time it was over, I was worn out from dancing and singing. We walked back to our hotel, ordered a pizza at midnight, and crashed until 9 yesterday morning. I can't tell you the last time I slept until 9. It was a nice little getaway and left us feeling refreshed. I was definitely glad to get back and see Mr. Reece, who as always, had a great time with Mama Kat and Nanny. I've got to get him on video saying "bye bye." It is so precious! Those are his favorite words now. The minute someone walks IN the door, he's waving and saying "bye bye." Yeh... we've got to work on the manners. Anyway, he's continuing to be barrels of fun, and we are soooo ready to go next Wednesday to get these hot casts off! Hopefully, the braces won't be so heavy and hot!

So, it's back to the old routine around here. Time to go catch up on housework... fun!

With love,

Beth