The Tooth That Came Out On the Bus

Brice lost his first tooth today!!!! He hopped off the bus rather quickly and opened his hand to show me something. I thought maybe he had picked something up on the playground today but no, there in his left hand was his tooth! He said, "Mom, it just fell out on the bus. I felt something in my mouth and then I spit it into my hand. I kind of put my tongue where it was and then my finger to make sure there was no blood and there wasn't!".

At this point, I was so excited for him and also glad that he was able to hold onto it. It was kind of hard for me to believe. Justin is depressed. He doesn't want Brice to grow up and this is a sure sign that he is. His sweet little baby teeth are now falling out. Those little teeth that he seemed to cut at least two at time and caused him so much droooolll as a baby are becoming history. I sure hope the Tooth Fairy is good to him! ;)

Do you remember where you lost your first tooth? I do. I was sitting at my kitchen table in Durham, NC and eating breakfast. I was drinking some apple juice and when I brought my cup down from my mouth, my tooth had fallen in it.

For Brice, he can now tell the story of "The Tooth That Came Out On The Bus"!

Heartbreak

For those of you who follow the Dawgs or any college team for that matter know that this season has been filled with Heartbreak. I, for one, am still in shock about how the Dawgs have been playing. Of course I don't want them to lose but it's more the way they are losing than anything. I see no fire, no spark on that sideline as if not one player knows what an honor it is to be playing for the University of Georgia. Many people have asked what Justin thinks and to be honest he is very quiet about the whole thing. I don't know if he too is in shock, just disappointed or disgusted with the happenings on and off the field. For me, it is so hard to see Brice get so pumped up every week, ask "Dad, are we going to beat such and such a team?" and then wake up the next morning or look at me when the other team scores with a depleted face. So, for the most part, we don't know what is going on in Athens, but it is rotten. Like I said, it's not that we're losing, it's the way we're doing it. And it's heartbreaking.

As for the jersey that Brice is wearing. It was given to Justin before the Tech game in 2000 before the game in the locker room. It was the wrong size and the wrong number. So, he took it anyway and gave it to me. They switched it out and gave him the correct size and number, number 24. I put it on that night, after we lost and had my picture made in it. (I can't find the picture). Anyway, Justin didn't seem upset after that loss and I couldn't figure out why. A week later, he proposed. And the name on the back of that jersey, the right name, would soon become mine.

When the Cat's Away...

...the Mouse will Play! And, in the cat's room for that matter. Anna loves to head down the hall into Brice's room in the mornings after breakfast. After I make his bed, she wants to get up there to explore his things. Nothing more fun than getting into big brother's stuff!Messing with his door hanger that he made...it's now missing two stickers.
She even gets her hands on Pae! She is a stinker because if he touches Carly, he gets a BIG reaction!
Playing with his race number.
"What? I DIDN'T do it!"

The Rope Swing

My dad put up a Rope Swing for Brice to swing on at their house. We used to have one when Blaire and I were younger and we had so much fun on it. The tree that we used to swing from has since been taken down so the swing is now on a new tree. Seeing Brice swing on it brought back so many good memories that I have from our backyard. It was truly the house that Blaire and I "grew up" at.

An Update

I feel as though it has been a while since I actually typed something out. We haven't been up to anything special but it seems we remain busy. This past week, Brice has been feeling under the weather with some type of stomach virus. Thankfully, there has been minimal output if you know what I mean. However, there hasn't been much input either just lots of complaining about his tummy hurting. He started to worry me on Sunday evening when I got home from work and he was asleep on the couch. My nurse-mind started to wander and I wanted to get him to the doctor. So, Monday we went and my awesome Dad came to stay at the house with Anna while she was supposed to be napping. Instead, she chattered the whole time. The doctor put my mind at ease and Brice got a finger prick as well to prove that his blood work was fine. I also found out that Brice is not the only victim of this "bug" in his class which also made me feel better that he wasn't the only one. He returned to school today although he was hesitant and I think a bit nervous. He seemed content to just hang out on the couch all day everyday and watch cartoons. I think his mind was starting to disintegrate, as was mine because I can't stand that cartoon Phineas and Ferb. So annoying! Anyway, I did let him get away with some extra TV this afternoon so that he could rest up. He still had no interest in eating tonight at dinner.

And Anna, she started with a runny nose and fever last Thursday. Although, I am thinking the fever was a result of the flu shot she received on Wednesday and the cold was something totally separate. She made it to school today again and did so well!!! It made me so proud, I could feel the beams of pride shining off of me like the bright sunshine! She was not happy when I made the left-hand turn into school and immediately started crying and saying "no". Her teacher and I had made a plan the previous week that I would just come get her after three hours since the past two weeks I got a phone call about that time anyway. Well, then the phone rang at 11am after only two hours and my stomach did about five flips. But, the asst. director wanted to know if I could leave her there until carpool because she was doing so well!! Of course. And, she was smiling when I picked her up. It was so good for my heart to see after being worried all week about either Brice or her at school.

I also came down with a cold on Saturday and did not feel well at all on Sunday. I am feeling much better now which is so nice since I have two kids to keep up with. Thankfully, Justin has not come down with anything and has been very helpful with the kids.

The Dawgs have not been helping my mood lately to say the least. Good Heavens they are frustrating to watch. The weekends have not been fun around here as the Dawgs lose on Saturday and then I have to head to work on Sundays. Boo. Not sure what's going on in Athens, but somebody needs a talking to or a hobnailed boot.

So, that is the Update from the Reynolds' household. If you are looking for the picture of Anna, I took it down. I second-guessed myself when I posted it and then tonight Justin asked that I take it down. Sorry for those of you who didn't get to see it. I will try and get some cute pictures of the kids soon and post something more exciting next time.

Fun Anna

Justin is always saying what a fun girl Anna is going to be. I think she's already there. After seeing Brice with his batting helmet on, she kept saying "buball" which means football. And I guess the life jacket was her pads. It's hard to tell just how little she looked with this stuff on, but it was hilarious! Fun Anna!

The Kitchen Sink

Tonight as I was cleaning up the kitchen...again, I had the following thoughts:

I sure do feel like I spend a lot of time in this spot. I wonder if my mom felt like she stood at the kitchen sink a lot. I sure don't remember her being at the sink all the time. I hope my kids don't have memories of me standing at the kitchen sink, cleaning up their messes!

I then decided that this is why most kitchen sinks have windows over them. So that the Desperate Housewives can escape for a little bit while standing at The Kitchen Sink. Tell me I'm not the only one who feels this way. And, Mom, thanks for spending so much time at the sink so that we had clean dishes and a clean kitchen.(Here I am squirting down the sink.)

21 Months

At 21 Months, Anna is spunky, sweet, tender hearted, loves to be a mommy, adores Brice, Mommy and Daddy, enjoys being outside, cooking on her new kitchen, and is quite the delight most of the time.

Nine Years Later

Nine years ago, I was still orienting at Northside when the Twin Towers fell. I didn't see the images until about 8pm that night. While the majority of the world stopped, the NICU didn't. It was a weird feeling knowing that parts of our country were in devastation and I just had to keep working. And here we are Nine Years Later, on a Saturday in September where most of us have healed, most have moved on, but no one will forget. Overall, it was a good day, a day spent with loved ones and proud moments.

Brice ran this morning in our neighborhood's Sterling Stampede Tot Trot. It is 1/2 mile run from our clubhouse to the treehouse and back. The 5K follows for the adults. Brice did awesome and was pleased with himself which always makes me proud. After he ran, I was a volunteer on the course for the 5K. Before the race, the middle school chorus sang the National Anthem and I admit I teared up thinking about 9/11.

Brice and I before the race.At the starting line.
Racing to the treehouse. After he turned around to head back to the clubhouse, he asked Justin if he could run with him for a little bit. He didn't want to stop running and needed a boost.
Here is Anna, looking for her big brother. Or not. She was more concerned about the Chick-fil-A cow that was there and where it was going and if it was coming back...to get her!

"What are you looking for Anna? Brice?"
"cow."
As the kids were approaching the finish line, Brice raced ahead of another kid to beat him out! Good job Brice! Here he is having a little Gatorade afterwards.
And, a ribbon! Although, I think he was more excited about the t-shirt.
And, I must say, as bad as the Dawgs played and as much as I like to see them win, this little guy and his excitement on game day keeps the negativity at bay. He was busy setting all of our Georgia things out, i.e. blankets, old tickets, stuffed Uga's, programs, pillows to make the room look red and black. After half time, he found our car flags and brought them in and told Justin they could wave them for the Dawgs. I only wished that was all Georgia needed. And my favorite quote of the day, "Dad, all the games won't be the same." Let's hope not! Proud to be a Georgia Bulldog.
B.A. Green substituting while A.J. Green is out. Hopefully, little B.A. won't be selling his jersey to anyone. ;)

Hanging Around

Anna loves Brice. No doubt about it. As soon as she wakes up from her nap, "Brice" is the first word out of her mouth. He is usually two steps behind me into her room and her little face just lights up when he says, "Hey, Anna or hey, sweetie". Yes, he calls her sweetie. I am so glad they actually miss each other and hope it always stays this way.

We had a busy Labor Day weekend with Georgia playing, going to Grandma and Grandad's to play, and then I worked on Monday. This week we are just Hanging Around!

MMO

Today was Anna's first experience with being away from us for an extending period of time without any one she knows well. She did so well getting out of the car and being taken into the building. Her teacher, Ms. Rachel told me that she "walked in like she owned the place" which is so very Anna. She kept repeating to me in the car, "play, babies" and was very much looking forward to playing mama when she got there. Anna, however, doesn't like when someone else is upset and that is exactly what set her off after one little boy got to the classroom. He was upset which made her upset and then she cried "off and on" throughout the morning. So, while in the middle of Publix at 12:10 (school ends at 12:45pm) I got a phone call saying that "Anna has had enough of us."! She wasn't upset when they called but they could tell she was just over it. When we arrived she was calm in the teacher's arms until she saw us and she burst into tears. Poor little girl. Her report above details her day. One thing is for sure, I don't like seeing that she was "sad". We shall try again next week and see how she adjusts. Wish us luck!