Owens Family Blog

2009-08-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

Florence to Rome

2009-08-23T17:53:00.000-07:00

Well, it's pretty ironic that my last blog entry was from our Rome trip in May. Because this Saturday we are moving to Rome! Matt is starting a new job with Advance Rehab. He will be the director of the Cedartown clinic. We are excited about moving to Rome for a lot of great reasons: location, professional opportunity, family, friends and Rome is just a great town. However, as we start our last week in Florence, my heart is so heavy and scared. We've spent the last 5 years building our lives in S.C.; getting married, Matt's first job, my great job, our first home, our first dog and of course our first child. Living so far from our family has strengthened our marriage and our family unit. I'm so thankful for all the lessons we've learned on our own. I'm so thankful for our church where Matt and I have had the opportunity to grow spiritually as a couple. We've made so many wonderful friends, had some great adventures and have so many magical memories that we are taking with us.

Some of my favorite S.C. memories:
1. Walking on the beach with Matt the night of our wedding...holding hands, taking a leap on love
2. Canoeing in Cheraw State Park for our birthday a few years ago...it was a beautiful day!
3. Eating hot dogs @ Jack's Cosmic Dogs in Mt. Pleasant...just sitting on the porch and talking
4. Looking at the stars from our hammock in the backyard
5. Walking in our neighborhood, walking with Brady and now Reed AND Brady

And even though I'm a born and bread Georgia Peach, I'd like to think a part of me will always been "Going to Carolina" in my mind...our first home.

May Trip to Rome

2009-06-23T13:21:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of May we all took a trip to Rome, GA to visit Ashley, Kevin & Taylor. Ashley was my college roommate. Taylor is 2 years old and has personality to spare! She calls Reed "Baby Reed." She was really good with Reed and really enjoyed all his toys.

Reed and Matt goofing around

Matt had just given Reed a "raspberry"

Caymen, Brady, Taylor, Becky & Reed

Ashley's mom, Teri, stopped by to meet Reed. Taylor is "winking" in the picture

We had a party on Saturday night with our friends and babies.
Lilly and Reed got to meet for the first time! Lilly is 3 months younger than Reed.

Ashley, Allison, April & Becky (I fell left out b/c my name doesn't begin with an "A")
It was so great to see everyone!

Brady had a little too much fun at the party. He disappeared under the deck and um...reappeared as a brown dog. We just let him stay down there and be a dirty dog...it was hilarious. He kept trying to get back on the deck with us. He was probably eating worms or something disgusting! BOYS!

Here's the "after" picture. Matt had to wash him twice in a cooler outside.
"You play, you pay" That's what we tell Brady.

And finally, we couldn't leave the state of GA without Grandma and Aunt Sara seeing Reed.

Rolling Over!

2009-05-28T10:51:00.000-07:00

Yea! A few weeks ago Reed started rolling over.
Here are some action shots..

Almost there...

Boom...on the tummy!

Sitting up (with help) playing with the farm toy.

Grandma's Visit in April

2009-05-28T10:37:00.000-07:00

Grandma came to visit Reed in April. (Let's face it...Matt and I are content in knowing that we are now just Reed's mommy & daddy)

"Grandma, your fingers taste good!"

Grandma loves to give Reed a bath. Here he is in the "big boy" bathtub. He looks like he's saying: "Um...a little privacy, please!" He's doing well in his little bathtub seat...won't be long and he'll be slashing in the whole tub and playing with the toys.

All clean!

Brady, before long, Reed's going to be chasing you and trying to ride you -- LOOK OUT!

Aunt Sara's Visit

2009-05-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

My sister, Sara, came to visit us in late April. She arrived just after Reed got out of the tub. Brady was extra excited to see Aunt Sara, too!

Sara showed Reed another way to play with his toys. Why reach when you can just kick?!?

"Thank you for my jammin' new style, Aunt Sara!" That's "Blue" in the picture with Reed. He likes to hold Blue while I change his diaper. Even in the middle of the night, if he starts to cry while I'm changing him, Blue will calm him down :)

Thanks for coming to see us Sara...come back soon!

Bathtime

2009-05-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

Ever since Reed was born, we've been bathing him in Matt's bathroom (which now is really Reed's bathroom) on the counter, in his baby bathtub. Well, towards the end of April, Reed started kicking so much and flailing so much that is started becoming dangerous (and quite messy). So this is Reed's last bath in his baby bath tub. So cute and squeaky clean :-)

Reed really needs a bath to wash his hair.

Hippity Hoppity -- Easter Time

2009-05-23T17:44:00.000-07:00

Reed is starting to discover Brady. They have pretty much ignored each other up to this point. But now Reed likes to grab Brady's fur. Luckily he hasn't pulled it yet. Brady still thinks he's the center of attention though.

April brought some pleasant weather and we finally got to introdue Reed to the hammock. Matt and I bought our hammock to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. I LOVE to lay in the hammock and daydream or look at the stars. One of the many nice things about living in S.C. is that it's hammock weather almost all year long!

When Reed smiled for this carseat shot, I just had to get a look back at his first picture in his carseat. Boy, he's growing so fast. A few days old to 4 months old--look how he's grown!

Reed's first Easter. I know it may seem silly to make a big deal about a holiday for a 4 month old, but as most of you know, I LOVE holidays. And I intend to make a big deal out of them all for Reed - especially the first ones :0) Here we all are, ready for church: clean, dressed and smiling (well, almost everyone is smiling!)

Reed's first Easter basket. I debated on what to get him for a while...then finally settled on diapers, shoes, clothes and a toy. Maybe next year he can have some chocolate. And he'll be old enough for an egg hunt. In the mean time, he looked so cute in his Easter clothes!

Easter Picture

2009-04-09T17:32:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter on Sunday! I wanted to snap a cute picture of Reed in his bunny ears.
If you have kids or pets...you know it takes a million shots to get a couple good pictures.
Here are the best bunny shots followed by the outtakes...

He's my funny bunny :)

Harrison's Baby Dedication

2009-04-09T17:05:00.001-07:00

The last weekend in March, we attended a baby dedication for our friends Brandie and Nick's son, Harrison. Harrison is 3 months older than Reed. Brandie and I are looking forward to our boys playing together as they grow older. This was Reed's first experience in a church service and also "dressing up" for church. His behavior was okay for church -- I had to exit as we sang the first hymn. As far as his dress up clothes...I think he looked so cute, if I do say so myself!

Brandie and Mr. Harrison

Matt & Reed
(Those are Matt's baby shoes Reed is wearing...isn't that neat?!?
Joyce did such a great job saving them for Reed all these years.
I wonder if I can make them last another 30 years?!?

Not sure what happened here...he was probably mad that he didn't get to
sample any of the delicious desserts ;-P

Brandie and Becky
(with our boys)

Reed fell asleep before we were leaving, woke up as we were walking out the door of the church and then this is what happened when I laid him down in the van to change is diaper...out again.

Late March

2009-04-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

"In like a lion, out like a lamb" -- We've been enjoying some of the nice spring weather (minus all the yucky pollen!) We took Reed for his first picnic a couple of weeks ago. He slept through the whole thing. Matt and I had a nice date. We've always really enjoyed picnics. In fact when we were dating, that was one of our favorite things to do together. Matt would make the best picnic food.

Matt and I enjoyed each other...Reed enjoyed sleeping...Brady enjoyed the nature: squirrels, birds and other dogs. All together, fun for everyone :)

The weekend of March 21st was the McLeod Sports Medicine Fun Run/5 K Run. Our friends, Ann and Daniel came into town for the event. Daniel used to work with Matt and now they live in Atlanta. More importantly, they brought Jasper, their dog. Jasper is Brady's favorite friend. Seriously, all the pictures you see on our blog and Facebook, when Brady's looking at the camera, it's because we've just said "Jasper." It's like saying "cheese" before snapping a picture of Brady!

For anyone who's been worried about Brady's "adjustment" to Reed's arrival...not to worry...he's still a prince, too. That's right, the dog sleeps in our bed and the child sleeps in his own crib. This is how Brady was sleeping one morning recently...right on Matt's pillow. Yes, he's rotten...I know.

And lastly, by the end of March, Reed had decided that his fingers worked much better than a pacifier. I can't say I'm disappointed...it really makes things easy. And it's so cute to hear on the baby monitor in the middle of the night. If Reed gets a little fussy, I'll just lay there and wait. Eventually, I hear him find his fingers and hear the sweet sound of him sucking away, soothing himself. It's so darn cute!

Trip to Atlanta

2009-03-20T11:46:00.000-07:00

Well, last weekend we were back on the road - this time just Reed and me for a weekend in Atlanta. We stayed at "Grandma Kay' s" house, and saw a lot of family & friends.

Playing w/ Grandma

This floor gym was money well spent...he will just lay there and giggle and kick his feet and wave his arms all around!

Bath time with Aunt Sara and Mommy...Reed managed to kick the plug out of the bottom of the baby bath tub and we flooded the counter...whoops! Grandma didn't get mad though because grandkids can do no wrong :)

Ashley and I went to a huge consignment sale in Decatur on Friday. Then we stopped by to see April who lives nearby. We had a fun lunch and some girl time. At the time of the visit, April was very pregnant, 3 days past her due date. We teased her and said we'd send her into labor. Well, sure enough -- WE DID! April went into labor LATE Friday night, early Saturday morning. She had the baby on Saturday evening. (Picture further below!)

Ashley, April, (Ashley's daughter) Taylor, me & Reed

April & Taylor (that's the tu tu and pinwheel I gave her!)

Taylor took this picture of Reed and me - sorry for all the double chins :)

My little sleepy head

Taylor really liked Reed's carseat and his toy -- Reed slept through it all (thank goodness!)

Sweet Taylor - who calls me "Beck Beck" -- she's growing so fast - she'll be turning 2 in a couple of weeks!

FAMILY GET TOGETHER - THORNTON'S

On Saturday night, we had a family dinner at Mom and Randall's house with the Thornton side of the family. It was great to see everyone and for them to meet Reed. Mom made some delicious lasagna!My cousin Stephen & Reed

Uncle Jerry, Aunt Denise, & (Stephen's wife) Noami
Aunt Sara (can you tell she's a proud aunt?!?)

LAST BUT NOT LEAST...I went visit April in the hospital on Sunday before coming back to South Carolina. It was so nice to meet sweet baby Lily.
Congratulations Apri & Brian!

Gatlinburg & First Haircut

2009-03-16T18:39:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we met Matt's parent's in Gatlinburg for a weekend visit and Reed's first haircut. Yes, at only 2 1/2 months, my child needed his first haircut. You may think that sounds crazy, but as you can see...he really did need a trim!

A proud "Joy"

On our way to the outlet mall to get Matt some work clothes.
(Doesn't Reed look thrilled about shopping?!?)

Okay, here are the before shots for the haircut. We couldn't resist having a little fun!

Baby Mohawk!

Here we go....

"Are you done yet, Joy?!"

Bathtime after haircut and then snuggles from Joy

Cute new haircut = cute bed head the next morning!

Well, since we were in TN...Reed decided to represent and wear his TN Volunteer shirt - dad followed suit...so here are my little "Volunteers." (Not to worry, my GA family & friends...we will see Reed in his bulldawg wear. He his after all "mixed" -- a TN Bulldawg or a GA Volunteer)

Matt's brother, Vince and my sister-in-law, Carter and our nephews and niece came down to spend the day on Saturday with us.
Briley Jo loves to hold Reed! Aren't they cute?!?

A couch full of Owens'!!

Sunday morning before we left...Joy gave Reed his Easter Basket (because we won't see them on Easter morning)

"Dad, look at all my Easter treats!"

My handsome boy and his new 'do!

Reed with Joy and Pa

This was one of THREE loads to the car.
It's amazing how ONE small baby requires SO MUCH gear!

Well, what says "Gatlinburg" more than Dolly Parton?!? (Reed wasn't amused...)

Pa and Reed's matching flannel shirts...cute!

Church on Sunday

2009-03-04T17:42:00.000-08:00

Reed's been going to Sunday School with us for the past few weeks. He stays in our class because he's not quite old enough to go to the nursery...he'll go in a couple of weeks. It's nice to be back at church. I'm going to be helping with Vacation Bible School this year in June at our church. (We snapped the pictures after we came home from church. -- Brady is always extra cuddly after we return home, he jumps up on the couch and wants to rub all over me!)

A Walk in the Park

2009-03-04T17:31:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago, we took Reed to the park for his first visit. I think Brady REALLY enjoyed it...he has cabin feaver from all this cold weather. Reed got hungry barely into our walk and started eating the straps of his stroller. So we headed back to the van to eat. Afterwards we were back on the trail -- it was nice to enjoy the sunshine and get some exercise. We're looking forward to the warmer weather and going to the park more often (on a full belly, of course!)

Grandma's Visit

2009-03-04T12:44:00.000-08:00

My mom (Grandma Kay) came to vist a couple weeks ago. It was so nice to have her here (and hold the baby while I ran around doing things!) As you can see, she didn't seem to mind holding the baby, rocking him and styling his hair. We can't wait for Grandma to come back!

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-03-04T12:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day...we had a sweet one.
Matt made tuna steaks and Reed helped me make blondie brownies. Even Brady had a special dinner.

Matt's Outfit

2009-03-04T12:20:00.000-08:00

This is the outfit that Matt wore home from the hospital when HE was born. I had to snap a few pictures of Reed in his dad's outfit for Joy. Good thing she reminded me, he almost didn't fit into the outfit. It was too cold in December for him to wear the same outfit, unfortunatly.

February Snow Day

2009-03-04T12:12:00.000-08:00

Our SECOND snow day this year!! I wasn't going to miss taking Reed's picture in the snow this time. We got all bundled up and ran to the neighbor's house to get her to snap a picture. Maybe next year, we can play in the snow.

Reed's Floor Gym

2009-03-04T11:48:00.000-08:00

Thank goodness for this little "floor gym." It provides a lot of entertaiment for little Reed.
He likes to watch the singing-light-up star at the top. We have it set to "motion" so when he kicks his legs, it comes on, sings and lights up...and Reed just gets the grins...it's so cute!

Even Brady likes the floor gym...sometimes a little too much. Brady thinks the squeak toys are for him!

After so much fun in the floor gym, it was nap time. Had to have all the toys right at his face...who know that funny one doubled as a pacifier?!? Whatever, as long as he's happy :)

Matt's been trying to teach Reed how to grab this ring...he

did it here (with Dad's help!)

Baby Shower for April

2009-03-04T11:35:00.000-08:00

At the end of January, we had a baby shower for one of my best friends, April. April is due March 10th! Reed can't wait to meet Baby Jordin. Matt brought Reed to the shower for a while so he could meet my friends (and so they could fuss over him!) It was so great to see everyone and we are all eagerly awaiting Baby Beoncye Elle Woods Jessica Simpson Jordin's arrival (just kidding!)

Snow Day

2009-03-04T11:29:00.000-08:00

We had our FIRST snow day on January 20th. Matt snapped these pictures while Reed and I were snuggling inside.

Cousins Come to Visit

2009-03-04T10:08:00.000-08:00

Reed's cousins, Wyatt, Mason and Briley Jo came to visit from Tennessee over MLK weekend. We also got to see Joy (Matt's mom), Vince and Carter (brother and sister-in-law). Everyone had a good visit, but as you can tell from the picture, Briley LOVED Baby Reed...she wanted to hold him all the time. And at 4 years old, she was so good with him. Briley, you're going to be a great baby sitter! Thanks for coming to visit, y'all!

2009-01-03T18:42:00.000-08:00

2009-01-03T18:33:00.000-08:00

Welcome Sweet Baby Boy

2009-01-02T17:23:00.000-08:00