Havaianas and Tennessee

"Aunt Sarah----these two pics are for you!!!! Look how great they fit me for this summer!!" We're so excited to wear them, and glad you bought them for us last summer in Brazil! We love you and hope to see you soon!

Wearing the TN hat on a stroll in this lovely 70 degree weather today!! We're so excited it was so warm and hope to enjoy more days like this!


We pulled out the Havaianas that my sister, Sarah, got him last summer in Brazil. They fit him perfectly this year, and he looks so cute in them! He just stares at his feet and stomps around in them. It's pretty funny! So we got to wear them today since it was so nice and warm. Reed loves being outside, and he's not happy when he has to come in either. So we got to spend alot of time outside today, so he definitely loved that! And of course we had to sport the TN hat---always got to support our VOLS!!!!!

Best Friend

These days Reed has discovered Elmo, yes the Sesame Street character, with the high-pitched and somewhat obnoxious voice. I occasionally let him watch Sesame Street and he LOVES Elmo's World---he giggles and smiles ear to ear when it comes on. It really is pretty cute to watch. In the past week if it's on he has been running up to the tv and pointing and shouting "Mo!" with such excitement and joy! And I have to boast about an exciting happening at our house tonight. Reed is still just imitating and using mostly one-word approximations (yes, I'm the annoying speech therapist mom who analyzes all his speech and language way too closely at times). And mostly he uses just one syllable, occasionally he'll use some 2-syllabel word approximations. Well, tonight as we were eating dinner, and he was having one of his favorites, macaroni and cheese, he used his 'more' sign and the verbal 2 words "more cheese". AND he said it a second time as well! I was very excited to hear him put together 2 words for the first time ever!!!! Yeah! Of course I don't think he realized what he had said, because I'm not for sure I could get him to do it again, it was definitely very spontaneous and out of nowhere. But we were excited to hear him use 2 words together. So maybe here in the near future there will be more of that to come. He really does try and imitate so much these days, and jargons in conversations with so much pitch inflection---it really is sweet to see him try and be telling us something in his little head.

Our Silly Boy

Reed loves to play in my tuperware cabinet--so he decided to make one bowl be his hat. He thought it was so funny! So here he is hamming it up for the camera!

Our half family picture from Easter since Casey was so sick that day.

Casey and Reed sitting on his bottom step--a favorite place of his to sit, and as you can see he wanted to sit there alone.

18 Months old today......

Along with being Easter Sunday, Reed also turned 18 months old! Wow, 1 1/2 years now! He has changed so much lately! He is saying lots of words---well, approximations of them (such as dog, cracker, cookie, shoes, bath, etc). He tries to imitate so much of what we model for him. It's also funny that I've been trying to get him to use signs since he was 8 months old, and in the past couple of months he uses them all the time! He usually pairs them with his verbalizations---more and please are his favorites. He loves to run now, dances, even tries to snap his fingers to the music--it's so cute! He is such a joy. And I'm hoping with the soon to be addition of his sister and our soon to be move (whenver it finally does happen--nothing official with our house yet) that he adjusts well to all the changes.

Happy Easter!

Here is a happy picture of our little man---not really from today, but earlier this week. We've had a rough last few days. The stomach bug/virus; whatever seems to stay in our house! These past couple weeks Reed has been on and off sick with fevers, vomiting, etc. The past couple days he's had---fun, fun, diarrhea too! So he's had no desire to eat. Then last night Casey got the throw up bug, whooo, it's non stop sickness around here! But Reed seemed somewhat better this morning, so he and I still managed to make it to church and lunch with friends. Then we came home and he took a nap, and I finally had some rest from my basically restless night as well. Casey seems to be a little better and more alert this evening, so hopefully his too has passed. Hopefully this week everyone will heal and no more sickness will be in the Willis home!
Hope everyone had a blessed Easter celebrating the glorious day our Lord has risen!

Just praying.....and playing.....

Daddy has been teaching Reed how to pray these past few weeks. So it is just too sweet not to capture a video of it! I know the camera doesn't do it justice, it's just not the best quality of filming. But he does say "men" for 'amen' at the end every time he hears "in Jesus name."

This video is really nothing spectacular, but he smiles real big at the camera and I thought it was too cute and that I'd post it anyways. I was trying to get him to say some words, but as you can see he is very busy--as is usual Reed mode!

Trip to Knoxville

This week we went to Knoxville while Casey was gone on a spring break trip with students. We kept busy the whole time we were there playing outside in the warm weather and visiting with friends and family. Reed is posing here with his friend, Sadie Parker. She was overjoyed for him to come over and play. I know he doesn't quite look it, he too loved playing with her and at her house--especially diving down her slide!

Nana came up from Blue Ridge to visit one day too. He Reed is getting a ride on the "horsey."
My sister and I thought it would be cute to take the boys' pictures in their matching Easter outfits. After snapping my camera about 30+ times we finally got a few cute ones! These two are some of the better ones.

Reed wasn't too sure about Gigi pushing his cousin, Brody, on the tractor toy he loves! After he got off and Brody got on I almost felt the "no mine" phase could emerge at any moment now.

On another note, Reed turns 18 months this weekend---I can't believe he is 1 1/2 years old now! He got his hair cut today before his Easter pictures tommorrow. He had a hard time sitting still, but overall did great. Then for the first time got some M&Ms that the hair salon had at the front desk as a fun treat at the end. He called them "me." He is really trying to imitate so many words these days--it's so fun! Sometimes when you tell him to do something it sounds as if he is saying "yeah", so Casey is trying to teach him "yes sir", which he attempts--and it's so cute!