I owe it all to the Taco Bell drive-thru...Happy 4th Anniversary to us!

Dave and I have been married for 4 years already! Where does the time go? I thought it would be fitting to share how Mr. and Mrs. David Reed came to be...it all started with Taco Bell. That's right, this wonderful life I have with Dave and Madi all started because I took a trip to the Taco Bell drive thru in Laramie, WY.

It was May 2003 and I was getting ready to finish my 2nd year of college and drive back to Evanston for the summer. My car was packed up but I wasn't leaving until after a final I had the next day. So, I decided to go to Taco Bell to get something to eat. While I was waiting in line for my food in the dive thru a guy named Jeremy approached my car and started having a conversation with me. We chatted a little bit and he asked me for my phone number. Now, this is not something that I normally would've NEVER done. For some reason though, I gave this stranger my phone number, not realizing that this would all be part of the "master plan."

I went home the next day for the summer and started dating someone from my hometown. Jeremy from Taco Bell called a few times throughout the summer but since I was dating someone else I ended our phone calls pretty quickly. It was getting towards the end of the summer and I got dumped by the guy from my hometown. I was sitting at the restaurant that I waitressed at for the summer with my bff Erika and her hubby Tim, feeling depressed about my recent breakup and got this idea to call Taco Bell boy. Again, this was totally out of character for me, but with a little help and encouragement from Tim & Erika I did it.

I went back to Laramie later that week to start another semester of school and during my call to Jeremy we had decided we'd get together when I got back to school. The first weekend back at school my friends and I had a little get together and invited Jeremy. Jeremy wanted to bring a friend which was great, afterall there were LOTS of girls who would be there. Little did I know that Jeremy's friend would one day be my husband!

Jeremy and I hung out a couple more times and I saw Dave a few times as well since he lived in the same apartments as Jeremy did. Somewhere along the way Jeremy's phone wasn't working and he started calling me from Dave's phone. Well, one day I called who I thought was Jeremy and it turns out I was actually calling Dave. Dave told me Jeremy had graduated and went back home. I was feeling defeated, being "dumped" as much as I had recently would leave any girl feeling down:) Dave took this as his opportunity to make his "move" and the rest is history. Dave and I started spending alot of time together even though Dave got very frustrated with me not wanting to officially date him, that is a story for another day though.

So, today I just want to wish my husband a Happy 4th Anniversary...who knows, maybe we'll go out to Taco Bell for dinner tonight:)

My dad is the coolest...

Tonight we had dinner at Prime Quarter which is where my dad got this great medal! He had the HUGE steak which had to be eaten in 1hr 15min along with a salad, texas toast and a baked potato. Well he did it! He got this great medal, a free meal next time and his picture taken. The funny part is that the waiter came up and asked him if he should start timing him and my dad didn't really know what he was talking about. My dad rules:)

Happy Birthday to my baby brother & 12 weeks

First off I have to say Happy Birthday to my baby brother who turned 24 yesterday! It's funny to think that I used to despise you so much and now you're alright:) Happy Birthday Douglas!

How far along? 12 weeks
Total weight gain: 3 lbs.
Maternity clothes? I have one pair of regular pants that still fit
Stretch marks? No new ones, just the ones left over from when Madi was born:)
Sleep: My sleep has been pretty good lately but no matter how much I sleep I am exhausted all the time.
Best moment this week: Getting to hear the heartbeat again and having Madi there to hear it with us.
Movement: Not yet, hopefully soon!
Food cravings: Not today, today I am feeling super sick:(
Gender: Only 7 weeks until we find out if Madi will have a little brother or sister! Our next appt. will be at 15 weeks and then another at 19 weeks. My Dr. said we could do the ultrasound at 19 weeks (usually done at 20) if I wanted to. Well of course I want to!!!
Labor Signs: Nope
What I miss: Having energy and feeling like eating.
What I am looking forward to: This week I'm looking forward to leaving on our trip to WY/MY on Friday!!!
Weekly Wisdom: Hmm, this week I could use some wisdom on how to get my almost 3 year old to stay in her bed ALL night!!!
Milestones: Making it 12 weeks!!! Second trimester, here we come!

Carter Paul Reed

Carter and I and Dave and Madi.
Me, Dave, Paul, Erin and Carter
The whole crew.

Me and the little guy, he was such a snuggler with me today and I loved every minute of it!
Today we had the privelage of attending Carter (our nephew's) baptism. We are honored to be Carter's Godparents and just love the little guy. Here are a few pictures from the day. It was a double baptism with Carter and his cousin Brett who are only a month apart incase you're wondering who the others in the pictures are.

Gary Allan Concert

Gary Allan!!!
Sing it good lookin'

Sure, I can give you a hug:)

This is how Dave looks when he's had too much to drink. Notice the nice spill down his shirt...I had one to match down my shirt, pants and purse!

Awesome concert!

Doug and Sarah, so cute!

In case you didn't know, I LOVE Gary Allan...well, tonight I got to see him in concert!!! My life is complete now:) Just kidding. Dave and I went to the concert with my brother and his fiance, Sarah:) We had a great time but I ate so much bad food there. I'm sure the baby was wondering what the heck I was putting it through tonight between all the bad food and loud music. Here are some pics from our great night...you'll notice a theme throughout the pictures, my brother and Dave drinking ALOT of beer. They like having me pregnant again, always a DD.

Congratulations Doug and Sarah!

My baby brother is engaged!!! Doug and Sarah got engaged this past Tuesday night. I'm so happy for them and so happy to have Sarah as part of our family. Congrats you guys!

10 Weeks!

How far along? 10 weeks
Total weight gain: Not totally sure, maybe a couple pounds
Maternity clothes? Some maternity pants but some of my regular pants still fit.
Stretch marks? No new ones, just the ones left over from when Madi was born:)
Sleep: My sleep has been pretty good lately but no matter how much I sleep I am exhausted all the time.
Best moment this week: I took Madi to swimming lessons last night and she saw a baby in a carseat that kept looking at her and smiling at her. Madi was very excited and asked me if she could go and kiss the baby. I told her told her that might not be the best idea but I'm so excited to see how she is with her own baby brother or sister. Also, I asked her what she wanted to wear the other day and she went in her room and picked out her big sister shirt, I think she's proud:)
Movement: Not yet, hopefully soon!
Food cravings: Not really, the other day I wanted a regular Pepsi though which I never drink.
Gender: Only 10 weeks until we find out if Madi will have a little brother or sister!
Labor Signs: Nope
What I miss: Having energy!
What I am looking forward to: Our Dr. appointment next Wednesday which Madi will get to come to so she can hear baby brother/sister's heartbeat too.
Weekly Wisdom: Stock up on diapers now when you find a good sale and have coupons on top of the good sale.
Milestones: Making it 10 weeks, I'm 1/4 of the way done!!!

Well, today I am 10 weeks! I am at the stage where people look at me as if they're wondering if I'm pregnant but don't want to ask and I hear some "whispering" going on at work. I definitely have a belly already which is fine by me but I guess I just wish it was blatantly obvious that I was pregnant, maybe I should get a shirt made that says, "Yes, I am pregnant so don't bother asking.":) I grow big babies and if the 2nd one is supposedly bigger than the 1st like they say; then I can only imagine how big my belly is going to get this time around!!! Madi was a whopping 9lbs. 6oz. and was 11 days early!

I love cake...

A few days ago I said something to my daughter that probably wasn't very politacally correct. I said, "Madi, I love you more than a fat kid loves cake." She responded to me with, "I like cake." She is so funny. Then she told me, "Mommy, don't say that anymore."

Fun on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, & 5th of July!

We had a great holiday weekend and are yet again, sad that the weekend is about over. We headed "Up North" Thursday night and had dinner with Dave's brother's family. We got to spend some time with our little nephew Carter and had so much fun playing with him, he is just too cute. After dinner we headed up even further north to Dave's parent's cottage to spend Thursday and Friday night. Friday we had a blast going to the beach and out on the boat. Madi loved the "bumps" in the boat and had a great time swimming in the lake. She was one tired girl that night. We came back to Pulaski after a great cookout for lunch on Saturday, went to church and headed to Bonduel for fireworks. The fireworks were great until they started a farmfield on fire! They put on a great show and Madi had a great time. Today we enjoyed a cookout with my parent's, my sister and my brother and Sarah. It was such an awesome weekend. Now I just have to remember we only have a little over 3 weeks to go until our Montana/Wyoming vacation! Madi and Uncle Paul heading down to the boat.
Cute little Carter looking very patriotic!

Getting ready to go on a 4-wheeler ride; Madi finally agreed to go when I said I would go too.

The look on Grandma's face says it all here, Madi is a little scary with sparklers:)

Madi roasting marshmallows.

Loving little Carter. I can hardly wait until our little peanut is here (only 31 weeks to go!). Madi did such a great job with Carter this weekend, she is going to make an AWESOME big sister.

How many Reed men does it take to handle the grill?

Grandma and her grandkids.

Madi and Bear hanging out in the boat, she is such a happy girl!

Taking her turn driving the boat.