August / September 2007

Reed and I went to the MN State Fair on Sunday, September 2nd. Grandma Sue, Grandpa John, Yvonne, Amy and Jennifer all were able to muddle through the hot weather while at the fair. We all especially enjoyed the food. Jennifer and Amy took some great pictures of Reed while at the fair so I hope to get those on the blog as well.

The month of August was a big month since Reed officially started walking in July. He is everywhere. It is now a lot tougher to go shopping with him because he wants to get down and walk unless you keep moving.
He had another ear infection this month as well. The doctor thought one of the tubes had fallen out. We have an appointment to see his ear doctor this week and hope to get Reed healthy again. He had a great summer and wasn't sick at all.

July 2007

4th of July week
We were on our way to the cabin for the 4th of July. We stopped in Albertville, MN and did some shopping at the outlet mall.







On the 4th of July Reed wanted to wear the shirt he made at school. It had fireworks on the front. He also spent a lot of the time eating which is one of his favorite things to do. He knows a few word in sign language like eat, more, please, and milk. He also blows kisses often and waves good-bye. The week of the 4th of July was really the first time Reed started to walk on his own. The chair he is sitting in was helpful because he pushed it from one side of the deck to the other. It seemed to keep him occupied for a long time and it was good practice.

Reed enjoyed the pool while at the cabin. He enjoys splashing around by himself but he doesn't like it when someone else is splashing . We tried to get him to swim with his cousins but he wasn't ready for it yet. Next year he will be right in there splashing with them.




Reed likes to watch TV like his daddy. I am not sure what was on but apparently it was good. Reed is wearing his Guatemala shirt which has the flag on the back.









The Schultz family has a tradition of gathering with the Miller family from across the lake to celebrate the 4th of July. They share an afternoon together eating, drinking and sharing the fireworks in the evening. This year we celebrated the 4th a few days after the official holiday. Grandma Lu buys the whole family matching shirts and this year the kids wore tanks. Don't they look cute! Cooper, Bella and Reed sat on the bolder rock wall with their friends Jordan and Jenna Miller.



Bella brought her 4-wheeler with and Reed liked to drive it. Bella was ok as long as she could go along with for the ride. I have some good video of Reed driving Bella around the yard. It is amazing how they pick up on how to use things so quickly.



Reed was playing with his toys one afternoon and he had taken almost all of his toys out of the toy box. I am not sure he has enough to play with but... haha

He has started talking and saying some words. He says mama and dada but I am not sure he knows who the names belong to yet. He says anana (banana), hi, ball, ouch and his favorite words oh no.





Reed sitting with daddy after celebrating Daddy's birthday.

June 2007

Reed's 2nd Hair Cut
Reed got his hair cut for the second time on June 15th. He also took his first steps in the lobby at the Great Clips that night. It was a big day. The hair cut went well and he sat still while Tawny cut his hair. I am not so sure this will happen again. The third hair cut in August was not as successful. He wouldn't sit still and didn't want the scissors near his head. I am not sure why the change in behavior but I hope it doesn't last.












Reed's Baptism
Reed was Baptized on June 17th, Father's Day. The family members that represented Reed as Godparents were Scot and Holly Schultz, Heidi Millner and Julie Robole. Grandma Sue made the outfit that Reed wore that day. The first photo includes Paster Marje too. She was the Paster who gave the sermon that morning. She added a piece in the sermon about Guatemala. The music was provided by a gentleman named Robert Robinson (Reed's name given to him by his biological mother). He was very good and he sang "It a wonderful world" (one of my favorites). It was a wonderful day for Reed and for us.

May 2007

I know I am way behind in keeping this blog updated. Here are some pictures from way back in May. I will update this throughout the week.













My Grandma Lois turned 80 this May so we had family portraits taken on a golf course. The first picture is the Schultz family. The second photo is the Millner family. Heidi , my sister (the tall blond on the left), is expecting her first child in November. Her due date is only 2 days after Reed's birthday. The third photo is my grandma.


We were given a Burley type trailer for our bike at Christmas time so Reed could ride too. Well, I wanted Reed to have a helmet. He was ok wearing the helmet for a short time but it really got in the way when he tried to relax while riding. The helmet went forward over his face and he couldn't see anything. It was only a 5 mile ride but it took like what seemed forever because I had to stop and fix the helmet to continue. Reed hasn't been in the Burley since. We will need to try it again soon before the snow flies.

April Update

Reed loves to watch out the windows in the front of our house. He knows when all the neighbors are coming and going.










These pictures are before Reed's hair cut. It was getting to be too long. I love the curls but...










This picture is taken after the hair cut. He loves to play with the plastic eggs the Easter Bunny brought him. Who knew those would be so fun? He loves to stick it in his mouth and crawl around looking like a bird.













Reed found the Easter basket the Easter Bunny brought for him. Thanks goodness the Easter Bunny didn't bring too much candy. He brought a bubble maker, one chocolate bunny and a Wiggle dvd. Reed is totally focused when it comes to watching the Wiggles. He will sit and watch them without losing interest through almost the entire 45 minute show. We only had one to watch and I was about to lose it if I had to see it again.



















The Easter Bunny brought a chocolate bunny and we had to get pictures of him eating it and making the mess that goes along with it. He seemed to like it. Auntie Holly gave him the shirt he is wearing which says "chicks dig me". Jason I and think this could be a problem in the future with Reed and the "chicks".









Jason and I took Reed to the park near our house. He went down the slide and loved it. But he loved playing and crawling in the rocks better.


Jason's Corner
A topic totally not related to Reed at all but something significant to our family is...

Jason has been with United Product for 11 years this March. He joined several others in the company this past weekend in a ring ceremony to celebrate the length of time with the company. It is a big deal for them. After you have been with the company for 10 years you receive a ring from the owners. Each additional 5 years they add something to the ring and present it to you again in the ceremony. It is definitely an accomplishment to be proud of. This is the second year they have asked for pictures of each employee (from a baby to an adult) getting a ring and put them in the slide show. When presented with the ring they usually give a speech. Jason was sent a letter the week before he was to receive his ring saying he needed to keep his speech under 2 minutes. Jason found that difficult to do. (haha) He is a man of few words. I felt he did a nice job and was very professional. But short and to the point. The pictures are kind of dark and it was a wild west theme (hence the cowboy hat in the front row) so it is hard to see. Jason (10) along with Kenny Mac (10), Berkman(15), Lanie (15), Rummel(25?), Pat Marcy (25?) and Charlene (45 and the co-owner of UPC) were all presented with rings this year. Congrats Jason!

March Update

This was taken during the big snow we had in March. We got Reed all bundled up and went to play in the snow. He just wanted to put his face into the snow. Why is it that kids always want to eat snow?









Reed also can create art with food. At day care Reed created this masterpiece with pudding. It was their snack for the day but also the art project. I was not able to save it so I had to take a picture to keep the first art done by Reed.









The stitch'n girls finally got together on St. Patrick's Day. It had taken us a while to get together for our Christmas party. Who doesn't celebrate Christmas in March? It was fun to see all of the kids and finally see my own child in the mix. What a great sight. The kids in the photo are: (back row L to R) Quinn, Hunter and Macy : (front row L to R) Cade, Ben, Ethan and Reed.
The group has really grown in the last year or so.












It is Girl Scout cookie time and Reed knows what that is all about now. Grandma Sue brought out the thin mints and Reed loved them. As you can see by the amount on his face. I would love to be a kid again and not care what is on my face.

Well that is March in a nut shell. I will put on some pictures for April here real soon. The hair cut pictures are stuck on my phone but I can try to do a before and after photo for you.

February Update

I thought I would include some othe pictures of Reed since I haven't been keeping up.

First of all Jason's family threw Reed a shower. This took place on February 11th and it was very nice. Reed's auntie Holly had it at her house while Taisa, Lois, Julie, Robin, Cheryl, and Lu all helped in some way or another. Reed received so much attention it was incredible. He has so many people out there that love him it is hard to even imagine. They are very generous as well with all the gifts Reed received. I will include just a few pictures of that.

Jason was gone on his cruise the week of Valentine's day but Reed and I managed with some help from Papa Charlie and Grandma Lu. Jason did remember me on Valentine's day with a nice bouquet of red roses delivered to school. It brought tears to my eyes. I know that is hard to believe because I am not really an emotional person. (just kidding)

Adoption finalized in Scott County

We all went to the court house on Tuesday, April 17th around 8:45. It was the weirdest feeling. It was very quiet in the courtroom. We checked in with the clerk and went and sat down. Reed decided he needed to fill his diaper before seeing the judge. I asked to clerk if we had time to change a diaper and she gave us the go ahead. When we returned she called us back into chambers and meet with the judge. She was very nice and was excited to see our cute little boy.
She had seen pictures of him from his passport and was glad she could meet him in person.

She asked us a few questions to varify the information we had given her was accurate. She asked me first of coarse since the mother usually knows the answers to all of the questions asked. We weren't there more than 10 minutes and we were done. She gave us permission to take pictures and we were on our way.

After court we went downstairs in the government center and received some of the paperwork we will need to apply for a social security card and a passport/certificate of citizenship. We are almost done. A couple last details to complete and we are finished. (Ready to start on number 2. haha)

Court Date Set

Reed's adoption will soon be final. We have completed the paperwork for the county and have been assigned a court date. We will be in court April 17th at 8:45. They only see cases for adoption on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday @ 8:45. Not much of a choice but the whole process has kind of been like that.

After we are seen in court we will receive his birth certificate about a month later. Then we can apply for a SSN and card. Then a US passport. Once this is complete we are finally a family by all angles.

Reed had surgery last week and is doing much better. He has been home with Mom for the last 5 days and was happy to see his friends at day care. He had tubes put into his ears. He has had consistant ear infections since last November and it was time to fix that for him. We also had him circumsized. Since he would be under for the tubes we decided to do both things at once. I am glad we did. One receovery, one sugery!

Reed also got his hair cut for the first time yesterday. He was so good. He sat very still while Tawny cut his hair. The ladies said he sat better than most 6 year olds. I was a proud mama watching the little man get his hair cut. He looks much nicer now. I don't have pictures yet but I will definitely put some on the blog. Those of you worried I cut the long hair short, don't be alarmed. I just had it trimmed. He still has curls.

I will update soon with some pictures.