Big Boy Haircut

Reed got a big boy haircut tonight.



His long little locks are gone, well, at least they are gone for three weeks until they grow back again.



Reed seems to be happy with his haircut. At least he won't wake up with a sweaty head. Hopefully.

Woodchippers

Today, when I got home from work, Reed and I need to go to CVS. We had to get some more of the good deals that CVS has this week.



When we arrived home, we took a few minutes for self-portraits. Reed and I then went for a walk while Abbey continued to cook supper.



Reed was being pretty silly this afternoon.



Apparently, he decided that he was going to have a little "come apart" while he and Abbey were in the grocery store this morning.



But, he was all smiles by the time I got home.

He was really funny this afternoon. He knows our routines so well.

As soon as I came in the door he said, "Daddy shoes off!" He wouldn't let me do anything until I took my shoes off. We don't have a "shoe" rule at our house, but he knows that I can't wait to take mine off!



He loves to play catch.



Reed took a few minutes to drive his plasma car that Mrs. Brenda gave him. She got it from the manufacturer who wanted her to feature it in the magazine she edits.



It's really cool, but he doesn't quite have the hang of it just yet.



While we were outside, Reed heard a loud noise and he wanted to know what it was. I explained to him that it was the tree trimmers that were cutting down the two trees that have split open near our clubhouse.

We walked down to watch them.



Then we came back and Reed enjoyed playing with the water fountain.



I tried getting him to sit in front of the vinca, but he wouldn't sit there long enough for me to get a picture of him. Thankfully, I did get one of him in the petunias.

Fourth of July Reunion

Yesterday, we headed to cousin Molly's house for a fourth of July family reunion with Pop's side of the family.

In the picture above are Mimi, Aunt Sib, and new baby Ava.



There were two inflatable water slides. Reed really enjoyed them after he finally got ready to get in.



Check out that smile.



What a slider.



"Lola get in, peeaasseee!"



Cousin Brady was loving the slide.



So was cousin Hugh!



After a while, Cousins Jason and Leslie showed up with Ella.



Cousin Karen holds new baby Caroline. Sweet and petite.



Apparently Brady's toys are perfect for Reed because he played with everyone of them.

We had a great time.



Here's the entire group! I look pregnant. I've got to go on a diet!

Silly Monkey

Abbey's cousin Molly is hosting her entire family tomorrow at for the 4th of July. The Drake's have always gathered around the 4th, so it is nice to restart this tradition.

We woke up this morning and headed to Memphis to Pop, Lola, and Max Bajoon (the cat)'s house.



Reed loves to see Mollie and Belle and Max. He is not as fond of actually touching them though. Just another wonderful characteristic of storm doors.



We went to eat supper at Pei Wei and after we arrived home, Reed wanted to blow up a balloon. We are pretty sure that it is not safe to let a two-year-old blow up a balloon, so we had to keep extra attention on him while he was trying to blow it up.



We didn't get it much bigger than this.



Later, he helped Aunt Ava do a little cooking. Tomorrow, Reed will meet his two newest cousins, Caroline and Ava.

Mei Mei Comes to Play

Today, Mei Mei came over to play with Reed. She really ended up helping keep Reed so that Abbey could do some work.



Reed loves to play with Mei Mei. She is so sweet and she loves Reed.



They went swimming and played with trucks and cars.



Peek-a-boo.

Friends and Fun

Reed is totally into cars right now! It's the first thing that he asks for when he wakes up and the last thing he talks about before going to bed. I thought this picture looked like he was opening up a used car lot. Getting them all in order and straight.



He is really good at playing by himself. Today, I woke up and mowed the yard. When I finished, we came in and had breakfast. Then, Abbey and I worked to clean the house. We decided that we would clean together today instead of our normal divide-and-conquer approach. This worked well, and we got to see each other more!



Reed came to visit us every few minutes, but generally played throughout the house the entire time. Although he is good at playing by himself, he's also really good at moving from room to room.



I'm sure that most normal people would think that the picture above might look like Reed is lining up a parade of cars maybe, but for the demented child of a mortician, I automatically saw a funeral procession!



When we finished cleaning, Manya arrived to keep Reed so that Abbey and I could go on a date.

We went to see "The Proposal". It was a cute movie. Sort of a common story line, I thought, but good nonetheless. It was good to see Sandra Bullock in a movie again.



Manya reported that they had a good time. The original plan was to take Reed swimming, however, Reed was not interested in swimming. So they stayed home and played with trains and cars.



When we arrived home, Reed was napping, so I decided that I would join him for a siesta. Apparently Manya and Abbey decided to go back to Wal-Mart (a store they have visited 3 times in the past 2 days!) and buy a few items for our meat and veggies supper with friends.



On the menu tonight was:

Pork Roast, Ham, Green beans, corn, fried okra, mac-n-cheese, and corn(bread) cakes.

Dessert was apple pie and brownies. Yummy!



On the guest list was Danny and Megan, Jane, Candace, Brandon and Tamara (and Britton), plus us.

We had plenty of food and plenty of conversation.



We decided that since it was a "country" meal we would serve tea and lemonade in mason jars.



We were delightful hosts indeed!

Baby Grayson

Reed has gotten into stacking and lining things up.



Today, Abbey and Reed kept a little baby named Grayson. He is the child of a friend of ours and his Mama needed a baby sitter today and tomorrow.



Reed was pretty sure that this little guy was too small for him. When you ask him if he wants a little sister, he says, "No, big sister." You think we might ought to change our preferences with our agency?



A picture of Reed stacking!



... and lining.



Reed loves to swim these days. He was jumping off the side of the pool and was going under the water and everything. Bitsy is supposed to be giving him swim lessons this summer. Maybe now that the Miss Tennessee pageant is over, she will have a little more time.



Reed tried his hand at self-photography today.







Reed decided that he would try Grayson's baby carrier out. It's hard to believe that just a short while ago, Reed fit into his own baby carrier just fine!