VSD News

So, as those of you who follow the blog know, Anna's pediatrician did not hear her murmur on her six month visit a couple weeks ago. This made us VERY ready for her check-up today with the cardiologist. Although we didn't get to hear the magic words, "her VSD is closed", we didn't get bad news either. Dr. S feels as though she is doing so wonderful and was extremely encouraged by her growth. She has actually gained almost a whole pound in two weeks! He thought that she looked and sounded great. He did still hear her murmur but had more encouraging words than discouraging. Justin of course had to ask about the possibility of surgery and the answer was "highly unlikely". She will go back for another follow-up in three months.

I took all of this news much better than Justin. He has been super busy and stressed with work and I think this just added to it. We kind of don't think about her heart when we don't have an appointment coming up and therefore don't worry about it because Anna is doing so well. Then, we have to take her in and it brings back all the worry. While I want more than anything for this tiny little hole to close, I know that there are much worse situations to be in, whether it be a cardiac defect or something else. I also told Justin I think we are that much more worried about her because of the whole RSV episode. She just changed our lives with a BANG! and hasn't taken the "back seat" since!

Dr. S did say that she could go through her whole life with a VSD but continue to play sports or do whatever she wanted. Our prayer and hope is that it closes completely on its own (or with a little help from the Man upstairs) and that we don't have to continue following it. So, maybe her nine month check-up will be the ONE! Thank you for your prayers and following the blog.

Happy Birthday, Nana (Robin)!

Yesterday was our beloved Nana's birthday! We won't disclose her age. Like she said, "I'm not excited about being #$, but it's better than the alternative!". Yes it is! Brice loves picking out people's cards on their birthdays as well as making cupcakes or anything sweet. The sprinkles were all done by Brice.
He is getting really good at writing all of the letters by himself.


And here is Miss Anna in her dessert dress. As if we needed something else to tempt us into licking her, she is so sweet! So, Happy Birthday Nana! We couldn't do it without you. You are so giving of your time and energy to all members of the family. You have definitely fallen into the role of the "sandwich generation" taking care of the old and new. I for one am so thankful to you for watching Brice all those years so I could continue working. I know you two have sealed a bond that will last forever! We love you, enjoy your sweet treats!

My Favorite, Behind

From the title of the post, I know what some of you may be thinking. It's not the case however. I do not play favorites!

To sum it up, Anna has entered "my favorite" baby stage, SITTING UP. I just adore when these little beings learn to sit up and look at their world. They are so much happier. And, Anna looks like a little doll when she sits up because she is so little and then puts her little hands together and shakes her arms up and down while "talking". So, that is "my favorite". The "behind" comes in because that is what I am these days. Behind on cleaning, errand running, shopping for big stuff like a dining room set and another booster seat for Brice for the car. (Anna is now too long for the carrier so she will be moved to the 3-in-1 that Brice sits in if in my car.) I am behind on blogging, scrapbooking, organizing rooms. The more I think about it, the more overwhelmed I get. I am now really glad I signed Brice up for a summer camp. While I am truly enjoying spending the summer with the kids, the other parts of my life are falling "behind"!


So, here is an attempt at catching up with one thing, the blog. I have changed the title of it. Whenever I tell people our last name I say, "Reynolds, like the wrap". Occasionally, people want to spell it Renolds which I find odd but I do remember a time before I got married and someone once spelled Ruffin, Roughen. Anyway, hope you like the play on words. We spent last Saturday at the lake with the Reynolds' and had a great time. Brice became a prune in the water as he floated the entire day. Anna ate and slept well which is always a good thing. Brice continues to take the big brother role very seriously. He asked me the other evening if he could take Anna for a walk in her stroller, just to the front porch and back. He is like a mama bear with the things she puts in her mouth. Always asks me, "Is it okay if she chews on that?".Watching a rain storm
The stroll around the driveway.

Not a great picture of Anna, but look how happy Larry is with his granddaughter!


Brice had a great time with Kelly and Greg. Greg did lots of "boy things" with him and that went over VERY well.



Okay, so I lied. I do have a favorite and I will leave you with MY FAVORITE BEHIND! And go catch-up on some other things.

"If you love..."

This summer we have started "rest time". I set a timer for 45 minutes and Brice and I go our separate ways. It has been really nice for me. It is 45 minutes of NO TALKING! Today, he was resisting rest time. I told him we could play/do one more thing and then it was time. He was being all pitiful saying I never play with him or do things with him. Can you hear the tiny violin playing in the background?? He came over with his puzzle and we started to put pieces together.

Me: "Brice, you know I love you, right?"

Brice: "Well, if you love a kid, you just play with them all the time."

Oh, brother! I guess he thought this would get him out of rest time. Nice try, kiddo!

"Snap Turtle"

Yes, this is our deck with a snapping turtle on it. Justin saw it while driving in our neighborhood the other morning and thought Brice would like it. Boy, did he ever! We called every grandparent, individually, to tell them about the "snap turtle". The turtle hissed and snapped at Justin when he picked it up. I told him before he left for his meeting that day, he could kindly put him/her back where he found him. Don't think I want to be responsible for any missing fingers of the neighborhood kids! But it was fun for the two hours we had him. And this is why we love Dads so much. Only they would bring something like this home!

Brice's Brief Moment

Okay, so Brice only had a few hours in the blog spotlight. I have to blog about my little Anna again. We went to the pediatrician today for her six month check-up. It went great!! She weighs 14 lbs. (15 %) and is 26.75 inches (83 %). The nurse said she has a super model body already. I say, prima ballerina. Either way, I am hoping the girl grows to have the body of Aunt Kelly or Aunt Blaire!

Anyway, the BEST news is that the doctor DID NOT hear her murmur!!!! I almost starting crying in the office but didn't. She said that she didn't hear it "today". So, we are cautiously optimistic and now I cannot wait until June 29th when we go back to the cardiologist. God is good! I just know that her VSD is going to or already is close/closed on it's own. I will of course update when we go back, so keep praying that we are right.

Otherwise, she said Anna looks great and that we need to super baby proof the house because she can tell Anna is going to be "on the move" very soon. She said start giving her baby food three times a day and that we could even start offering her mashed potatoes, really ripe bananas and other table foods. NO TEETH REQUIRED.

Some of you may be wondering what Brice has to say about all of this. He was with Nana seeing "Up" and having a grand ole time with her. I'm sure he is not going to want to come home. So, since his moment in blog world was brief, scroll down to see "his" previous post!

Old Friends to New Friends

Last Friday,one of my high school girlfriends and I got together with our children. We've been talking about doing this since her little boy, Knox, and Brice were born. They are about two and a half months apart in age. Carey and her family moved to Birmingham but her parents are still here in Georgia so it finally worked out! Her parents were gracious enough to invite Brice, Anna and I out on their pontoon boat for a fun morning and lunch. Brice and Knox had the best time together with their water guns. Carey's poor dad ended up in a "war" with the boys and probably needed a nap by the time we left! Carey also has a little girl, Ann Tatum, who just loved Anna. Anna was such a trooper and didn't even put up a fight when I put the infant life jacket on her! I wish I had taken more pictures of the girls and had one taken of Carey and I. Oh well! Good excuse to get together again, right?!! Carey's blog link is to the left: birminghambakers if you want to check out her sweet children!

Six Months Old.

Load and Unload

This is what I feel like I do all day long.

Load and Unload.

The Dishwasher.

The Washing Machine.

The Children.

And this week, The Pool Bag!!! This includes towels, toys, floats (2), change of clothes for Anna, sunscreen, stroller, car seat, drinks and food! Which Brice is consuming at a rapid rate due to all of the swimming.

Load and Unload.

The best part is that the love I "unload" on my family is "loaded" right back on me!!!

Baptism Day

On Saturday, Anna was baptized. It was very special and I could've cried my eyes out but held it back. I was so proud of Anna. She "talked" almost the whole ceremony and smiled every time the Deacon came to her. Like Nana said, "We could be in a much different place right now, given what we went through with her.". This is so true. I know already how much God has been watching over her and our family and trust that He will continue to do so. Thank you to all who were involved in making it happen and to those of you who traveled to be with us. Thank you also for the beautiful gifts. I think we all agreed the bracelet made the outfit. As we ladies know, it's the accessories that style us up!


Four girls in the family have now worn this gown; me, Aunt Blaire, Cousin Kristen and Anna.

Brice was so wonderfully behaved and very proud of Anna. Prior to the ceremony, he didn't want the water poured on her head. "She will cry, Mommy. She isn't going to like that." I told him she would be fine and if she cried a little, it was okay. The next day I dressed her back up to take more pictures and he wanted to be in them. I couldn't believe it! He obviously knew it was a special day and wanted to be part of it.

A "Great" Week

So, we have been very busy the past week. Last Saturday, my maternal grandparents were able to come to my house for the first time. Actually, it was their first time to Atlanta since my Grandma's stroke almost four years ago. The last time they were here was to see Brice after he was born. My wonderful Aunt Deb flew up to St. Louis to pick them up, flew with the 'ole folks down to Charlotte and then drove them down to Atlanta! Are you tired yet? This is NOT an easy task given that Grandma is in a wheelchair and Grandpa is well...just Grandpa! You'd have to know him to understand. Anyway, she picked them up on a Wednesday and they all came to my house the following Saturday. We had a fun time introducing them to Anna for the first time and giving them a tour of my house. I am so thankful they were able to come. Below is a picture of my cousin Kristen feeding Anna with Grandpa watching.

And here is poor Anna with an audience; Grandma, Brice, Aunt Deb and Great Grandma.


After Saturday's lunch, Aunt Deb and my Mom drove back to Charlotte with my grandparents to finish out their ten day visit there. Brice, Anna and I followed on Monday morning. My sweet children were just that the whole way to Charlotte. Absolutely perfect! We had a great, great time with the great-grandparents, Grandma, Aunt Deb, Uncle Ron, Aunt Blaire and Josh. We missed Daddy a whole lot though. Unfortunately, he had to stay behind in order to work and fund our summer travels!

Brice managed to get my Mom in the lake water, no easy feat! They had a great time singing songs and being silly in the water. Mom slowly made her way down the ladder step by step in order to get used to the water, slowly. Brice then asked me if I would go in with him. I knew I could catch him off guard by throwing a life jacket on and jumping right in! His face was priceless and he said, "I wasn't expecting that!". He then proceeded to follow and jump right in off the dock!

This is Brice playing the bugle. It was/is my Grandpa's. When they had their house in St. Louis, it used to hang on a coat/hat rack as soon as you walked into their house. Grandpa used to play it for us every time we would visit them. So, I love that Brice likes to play with it.

I think these are everyone's favorite pictures. Grandpa, who will be 87 years old in August, somehow made his way down to the floor to play with his little girlfriend. Anna loved it as much as he did, reaching for his face and "talking" to him.



Below is a picture of Aunt Blaire with Brice playing Connect Four. This is a Lake Norman tradition where we actually don't play the game. Brice just likes to make designs with the checkers. He talks about this game whenever we talk about being at Aunt Deb's house.


Brice and Aunt Deb making brownies. They were delicious!

Four generations of women! Shirley Mueller Holster, Jill Holster Ruffin, Jennifer Ruffin Reynolds and Anna Reynolds ???. I can't tell you how much it meant to me to have my Grandma meet Anna, her great-granddaughter. Anna just lit up every time Grandma talked to her and it melted me. I come from a predominantly female family. My great-grandmother had two girls, my grandmother had two girls and my mom had two girls. So adding Anna to the family was very special for me.

What is it about Grandma's? They are just adored by their grandkids and Anna proved no different.

Brice is such a lake kid just like Justin. He went for a boat ride everyday and loved every minute of it. He had no problem living in his life jacket just so he could be on the dock or outside near the lake. As you can see, it was a wonderful week spent with people who mean so much to me. Thank you to all who were involved in making it happen!