And He's Barely Two?!

Here are a few things I never thought I would hear coming from my 2 year old son:

1) When my husband was leaving for work, Branson called out the door, "Peace out, Dad!"
2) When Branson discovered a new book he hadn't read before, he said, "Ooo-la-la." (I have no idea where he got that one from.)
3) When he woke up one morning he ran into our room and said, "So, do you wanna get me some chocolate milk?"
4) When his car derailed from his race track he said, "Woah! What the heck."
5) When I opened up a baby gift (a turtle-shaped toy) he said, "Well, that turtle's amaaaazing."
6) When I was doing dishes, Branson comes up to me and says, "So, I have a great idea..." But I never heard what it was because I was too busy laughing.
7) This one may not be that funny to most of you, but I will always remember it as one of the sweetest moments: I was busy and tired and frustrated one day - and I can't remember what mistake I made, but I let out an exasperated, "dang-it". Then Branson came up to me and with a very serious face said, "It's OK, Mom. Try again!". I nearly cried. He was so sweet and sincere.

I love my children so much! They can add humor to the most serious days. And although they often say the wrong things at the wrong time, they sometimes say just the right things at exactly the right time.

Ways to Stay Cool in Las Vegas Heat:

For the most part, Las Vegas has fantastic weather. But during July, August, and September, you have to make an effort to beat the heat! Here are a few ways we stay cool:

One, Two, Three, JUMP! We sometimes escape the heat by borrowing a friend's pool.

We've also been having a lot of playdates (inside, where there's AC, of course). Here are some pictures of Natalya and Branson playing with my good friend Kaymee's children - Jenna and Cody. It was so fun to get together! Kaymee and I have been friends since the 7th grade, but haven't seen much of eachother in recent years. Now we have children the same ages - and they have become fast friends.

Branson and Cody playing with trains.

Branson and Cody dancing to their sisters' princess music.

Jenna (Cinderella) and Natalya (Sleeping Beauty) dancing to princess music.

Jenna painting Natalya's nails a lovely shade of periwinkle. She also painted her toes with glitter.

We've been doing family activities during the evening, too - when it's much cooler (like 90 degrees, instead of 105). Here we are at our "Summer Splash" pool event that our Providence HOA put together. The kids loved dancing to the music - and the DJ gave them lots of toys to take home.

Our kids love to help me cook in the kitchen. Here's Branson helping mommy make pancakes - naked, of course.

Natalya and Branson have a new favorite activity - playing with cups and buckets of water. Several mornings in a row I find them playing on the patio - making "secret recipes" together.

Or just take a nap!

And that's how the Reeve's beat the heat!

Our Anniversary

On June 28th, we celebrated 6 years of being married! We could hardly believe how fast time had passed us by. We spent the evening at a restaurant called The Melting Pot where we had a four course fondue dinner. The food was amazing! As we ate, we reminisced over our dating experience that occurred just 7 years ago. I even brought the journal that I kept when we were dating - which was good for a few laughs! We had a magnificent time.




As you can see, we were really disappointed once dessert was over.

Happy 4th!

We had a relaxing 4th of July this year. We started our day with doughnuts, then played in the sprinklers with the kids, and ended our day with a barbeque with some friends, the Worthins. The kids LOVED jumping on their trampoline! We ate until we could hardly move. Once it was dark enough, we moved our little party to the front yard for some fun fireworks for the kids. Everyone had a fantastic time! The kids slept really well that night. :)

Baby Irelynn Update

I thought it was time for an Irelynn update! I will be 30 weeks along this Saturday, July 5th. That leaves us only 10 weeks left - and I'm still NOT on bedrest! This pregnancy is going much better than originally anticipated.

Having said that, I have still expreienced a few "red flags" so my doctor is taking all precautions necessary to ensure a healthy baby girl at delivery. The baby dropped at 27 weeks along (way too early) and I started experiencing some pain in my pelvic bones. I have also been experiencing contractions every day since I was only 16 weeks along. Most of the time they're just Braxton Hicks (practice contractions, not labor) but about once a week they would come every 2 minutes or so and wouldn't stop for a few hours. That means I would force myself to lay down, drink water, eat something, and rest with my feet elevated until they would slow down enough to stop. Luckily, I haven't had to run to the hospital for monitoring yet. And within the last 2 weeks, I've had that nagging lower backache that I get with the end of each one of my pregnancies - usually because the baby has dropped and is facing posterior.

SO, because of these little roadbumps my doctor had me receive steroid shots for the baby's lung development should she make her arrival before they're completely developed. I've also taken a fetal fibronectin test to see if my body will try to deliver within the next two weeks - and luckily that test came back negative! We're very happy about that. I had done all these things when I was pregnant with Branson so this is no new news to us.

I feel overwhelming peace and comfort with this pregnancy. I know we'll have baby Irelynn when she's ready- Until then, I am trying my best to take care of myself, my family, and the new little one that wants so desperately to join our Reeve household. Thanks for all your love and support!

Large Shoes to Fill

Branson loves to walk in his Daddy's shoes - we'll call that, "following his footsteps". My husband is such a wonderful role model. He's a fantastic husband and father and I'm proud to see my son always wanting to be just like Daddy.

Blonde Again!

I absolutely loved coloring my hair dark for the winter. I always wanted to know what I'd look like as a brunette - and it was fun! But I've been blonde all my life and with summer here, it only seemed appropriate to return to the old me!

Baby Girl Reeve

We have finially agreed on a name for our "Baby Girl Reeve". Unless another name strikes us in the next few months, we are going to name our baby girl, "Irelynn Kourtney Reeve" and we're thrilled! Lynn is my middle name - so naming the baby Irelynn seemed like she would be a part of me. And Natalya has wanted to name the baby Kourtney from the first stages of our pregnancy - so she was very proud when we told her that Kourtney would become the baby's middle name. Now she parades around the house saying, "I helped name my baby sister!!"

Irelynn Reeve seemed like a very unique (but not wierd) name for our baby girl - and the only name that Brian and I could agree upon :) The kids already call my tummy Irelynn! It was meant to be. We're all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Irelynn Kourtney Reeve~

Ballet Practice

I was in the kitchen when I heard my SON say, "Plee-yay, plee-yay, plee-yay," pausing between words. When I turned around, I saw him in first-position, knees bent, with his arms raised - copying his sister who was doing her very best ballerina plie. I laughed so hard! Once our little girl arrives, the poor kid will be surrounded by pink ballerinas!

Summer Days...

I think we're in for a HOT summer. It's only June yet we're hitting 100 degrees almost everyday! Trying to stay cool, our kids love to play in the sprinklers and snack on popsicles. These are the days that I want to remember for the rest of my life... picnics with our children in the backyard - complete with pink lemonaid and watermelon. Life is sweet~

27 Weeks Along

We can hardly believe I'm already 27 weeks along! Time passes so quickly when you're chasing after two other little kids. I feel like I'm a lot bigger with this one than I was with the other two. Natalya told me at church yesterday that my tummy looked like a "torpedo". And I have to agree with her.

Today's Little Laugh

Natalya was dancing to her favorite song and when it ended, she asked me to play it again. Well, my hands were full and so I told her that it would take me a minute. She began whining and asking me over and over to play it again. I finally said, "Honey, how many things do you think I can do at one time??" She answered with a clear and matter-of-fact, "Uh, Five."
I couldn't help but laugh aloud!

Our Phoenix Retreat

Brian's lawfirm has many branches. Phoenix is the main office (and the largest) - Then there are sattelite branches in Las Vegas, Denver, Salt Lake, and Orange County. Yearly, all the attorneys from every branch travel to Phoenix for a weekend retreat. A couple of weeks ago Brian and I were able to escape for the weekend, leaving the kids at home with Nana. We had an amazing time~ While Brian had to attend a few seminars, I got to go shopping and relax by the pool. I even found time for a pedicure! During our free time, we caught a matinee, enjoyed the lazy river at our hotel, and ate a lot of food. We finished the retreat with an amazing black tie dinner - complete with over 450 attorneys and their spouces. We're seriously going to have to have a no-kids retreat more often! Here are a few pictures...




We stayed at the JW Marriot Desert Ridge Resort. Everything was beautiful! From the duck ponds and golf course, to the swimming pools and spa - it was the perfect location for a work retreat.




Behind me in this picture is where we had all our breakfasts. They catered all our meals. I never thought that having breakfast on "the lawn" would be so charming!


Brian in the lazy river. I joined him after I took the picture, of course.


This is Brian and I at our black tie dinner.

Natalya's Tea Party

My daughter wanted to celebrate her birthday this year with a tea party! She was the director; I was the producer. She wanted everything pink - including the "tea" (which was pink lemonaid). She asked if we could dress up and make necklaces, so that's what we did. Then we read Nataly's favorite book Fancy Nancy (because you have learn to be fancy at a tea party).

Natalya and her five friends had a fantastic time! My mom was invited to the party, of course, because Natalya wouldn't have a "girls only" party without her! She helped me teach the girls to stick their pinkies out while sipping their tea and say "Darling" after every sentence. When someone would pass them the sugar, they would say, "Merci". The whole thing was absolutely adorable! I felt like it was all a scene out of a movie. Maybe next year, I'll have a tea party for my birthday!

There's a Whole Blogging World Out There!

So as you know, yesterday was my first official day of "blogging". I was so excited to choose a background, music, post a couple of pictures, etc... But then I started peeking at a few blogs of different friends and family members. I think I spent more time looking at other blogs than I did creating my own! I would view a blog, then notice several people listed under their "family & friends" list who I knew. One thing led to another and I realized how huge the blogging world has become! It's a lot of fun, but I'm going to have to be careful not to spend too much time blogging. My children may need me. :) I'm really enjoying keeping in contact with so many of those I've lost touch with and sharing our own family memories with others.

I finally joined the blogging world...

Yes, I finially joined the blogging world! Let's hope I'm a quick learner - pictures and news to come!