5 on the 1st

Well, November 1 marked another birthday for my little man. He turned 5 this year and every year I look at him and it seems like just yesterday I was holding that beautiful little baby in my arms for the first time. Now he is almost as tall as my shoulder and reading a few words on his own. He is riding his bicycle without training wheels and running so fast I can't keep up with him. This year we went to Andy Alligators for his party. We had 3 of Reed's good friends join him for pizza, cake, bowling, arcade games, go carts, mini golf and bumper boats. The kids had a blast and Reed rode the go carts by himself for the first time. He did an awesome job of steering and pressing the gas pedal. Unfortunately, he didn't do so well on the brake and he crashed coming in to park his car. He was fine, but it sure gave us a scare! Next up, he wanted to do the rock climbing wall. He got strapped in to the gear and headed up the wall. He got about 3/4 of the way up and got scared and came back down. Still, he is more brave than his mommy! Everyone had a blast, but we were ready to come home after a very busy 2 days.

Fall 2008

Well, this fall was a flurry of activities. I'll start with to the first visit to the pumpkin patch. Reed and I went to TG Farms in Norman the first day it was open. We were the only ones there, so we had the place to ourselves, except for an aging dog named Princess that had a thing for Reed. That dog followed him everywhere he went, including the bathroom. Reed would go down the slides and Princess would be there waiting to get kisses. It was funny for me to watch, but Reed was starting to get tired of her. We fed the chickens and once again measured how tall Reed was getting. We saw two horses and Reed named them Thunder and Lightening. Pretty great names for the black and white horses. Princess kept coming around and started nipping at Reed's leg, so we picked our pumpkin, rode the gator and left.







The second visit to the pumpkin patch was the TG Farms in Newcastle with Reed's daycare, The Children's Place. He had a blast with his friends, playing in the shed, riding tricycles, feeding the animals, and going on a hayride. Reed also had his first kiss on this hayride by his friend Lacey. She just leaned over and kissed his cheek, it was the sweetest thing ever! Reed turned around and looked at me like "Mom, did you see that?". It was priceless.










Halloween came and went and I can't really remember anything about it except that Reed was a fireman and he was a stinking cute one! He trick or treated in our neighborhood this year and Mimi came over and helped me pass out candy!

OH MEXICO!

In September, Steve, Reed, and I embarked on our first family vacation. We went to Riviera Maya in Mexico, about 10 minutes south of Playa Del Carmen. It was amazing. Reed and I had never flown before, so it was interesting trying to maneuver DFW for the first time with nerves and a 4 year old, but thanks to some wonderful pharmaceuticals (for me), it was a very pleasant experience. We arrived in Cancun and had a 1 hour transfer to our hotel. Our room was on the top floor of the ocean front building and we had a postcard perfect view. The grounds were immaculate, the beach was soft white sand, and the water was the clearest blue I could imagine. Reed of course found the kiddie pool where we spent most of our time. It had awesome water slides that Steve and I also enjoyed until Steve got in trouble with the lifeguard, oh well! The food was outstanding, shrimp and pineapple everyday! The only thing was the music. If I heard Marc Anthony's "I need to know" one more time, I was going to rip the cord off the speaker!
We decided to take a day trip to Playa Del Carmen one day and hitched a ride on the Collectivo (that's the Mexican version of a public bus). Well, let me tell you you haven't lived until you've taken public transportation in another country! I'll paint the picture. The "bus" is about a 9 seat van that is shaped like an aardvark. None of the seat belts work, on any seat. The music is the equivalent of national public radio, only in Spanish, and blaring across speakers that hum and vibrate. We get on with 6 other people at our hotel for the 10 minute ride. The van takes off and I mean it takes off, like an airplane. The speedometer is in k/hr, so we have no idea how fast we are going. I'm acting as a human seat belt for Reed, squishing him into the side of the bus with my body and draping my arm across his chest, because that would help in an accident:) Then we screech to a stop, swerving off onto the dirt shoulder to pick up 3 more people who take the last 3 seats. Can I just say, I don't think the whole deodorant thing has caught on there. We take off again and pass several people on bicycles, who are probably much safer riding along side a Mexican highway with crazy buses flying by than actually being on the crazy buses. We arrive in Playa Del Carmen and the bus drops us off in what can only be described as the "ghetto". The first step off the bus we see gang signs and graffiti on the fence. We began walking at a very brisk pace toward the ocean. We don't know where we were going, but anywhere was better than the "bus station". We did some shopping and decided we would spend the $20 on a cab back to the resort. We hail a Nissan Sentra and hop in, grateful for the air conditioning and deodorant the driver is wearing. Low and behold, the seat belts aren't working in the cab either. So I sit in front and Steve and Reed sit in back and the ride back to the resort is very uneventful. Moral of the story, spend the extra money for a rental car if you are going to drive anywhere! Overall it was a fabulous trip and we can't wait to go back.

Dr. Khichi's Goodbye

Hey everyone! Tonight we had Dr. Khichi's going away party at Zio's in Bricktown. There was a very good turnout with around 60 staff, friends, and family. We all enjoyed delicious food and great conversations with our coworkers. The kids had a blast playing on the playground adjacent to the restaurant. After the party, Steve, Reed and I took a stroll around outside where I was able to get some pretty good pics. You'll notice Dr. Khichi in a cowboy hat, and Dr. Griggs conveniently looking away when the camera flashed. You can run, but you can't hide. Enjoy!