Addie Visits Dallas, and Charlie Meets the Reeds

Charlie and I were lucky enough to have my cousin Addie--a very experienced mother of 3--up to visit us for a few days. We did some walking, some running, some shopping, and some eating out. She even pushed the jogging stroller up the Kenwood hill for me (with only a small amount of grumbling :). It was so nice to have her up here to lean on, get advice from, and laugh with. Charlie just loves her (I think he can tell that she knows what she's doing), and, for the most part, behaved well for her. We tried to go out to dinner at Mi Cocina one night, but it was not our most successful outing ever. There was a huge table of 6-year-old girls next to us and between all the screeching and singing "Happy Birthday," Charlie was awakened and could not be calmed down. He could not stop looking at the girls, but became quite overstimulated and could only be calmed down by walking outside. We all took our turns with him out there, but needless to say, it was not the most relaxing meal ever. But even with all the screaming, Addie and I had a blast. She even took our first road trip down to Seguin with us, which made all the difference in the world. The trip back--with just me and Charlie--was not quite so smooth... :)

Addie and Charlie after our wild dinner--can't you tell he adores her??

When we got to Seguin, Charlie got to meet Addie's 3 kiddos. He just loves his cousins, and I think they are quite crazy about him as well. Baby Katie wasn't quite as sure about the new baby as her big brother and sister were...

Julia was very excited to meet the new baby.

Charlie is waiting eagerly for his cousins to get down and play with him.

And here they come! There was a lot of "inspecting" to be done. I think they are satisfied with him. :)

Shower for Baby Elec (and Megan)

On Saturday, we celebrated my cousin Megan's new baby (due in August) with a shower at my parents' house in Seguin. It was so fun to get to see Megan (in all the way from LA), and we had so much fun at the shower. Charlie got to attend as well and enjoyed all the attention he got from the ladies. :)

Megan, at 32 weeks. She looks so beautiful!

All the commotion made Charlie a tad nervous. :)

Charlie checking out the girlfriend potential next to him. Little Finley is exactly a week younger than Charlie and is so lovely!

Megan and all the hostesses (I promise I was in decent clothes during the shower--this was taken shortly after... :).

Baby Katie's Christening

My cousin Addie's daughter, Katie (Katherine Diane, like me :), was baptized this past Sunday in Seguin. She behaved beautifully during the ceremony and looked just angelic. Afterwards, Charlie got to attend his first pool party at my Aunt Dede's (Katie's grandmother's) house. Such fun!

Here is the lovely little honoree.

And here she is with her beautiful mom.

And with her sweet big brother, Jackson.

Meg and I posed for pictures with Charlie before church. Chaz was quite pleased with his fancy outfit.

Graeme joined in the fun.

Charlie relaxing next to the pool with his Grandma Ali.

Talking and smiling with Papa.

Here's Charlie in his first swim outfit!

Had to have a close up of the flips (and the precious feet inside). :)

Katie and Abbey spent some time catching up.

Jackson--a little fish in the water.

And Julia, the middle Reed child, is an incredible swimmer as well. At only 3 years old, she swims on her own, dives off the diving board, and can pick up things from the bottom of the deep end. It's pretty incredible to see someone so little jet around so quickly. Here she is preparing for a dive...

Sweet Jane Ann.

Samuel and Lizzy posed for a pic.

The party was VERY tiring. :)

Cousin Oliver

It is hard to tell by the photos :), but Charlie was so excited to meet his cousin Oliver on Sunday. Clint's cousin Megan and her husband Travis stopped by with their precious little boy and we had so much fun catching up with them and introducing the boys. I can't wait until these two are big enough to play together!

This picture cracks me up--they both look totally bored with the whole situation.

Sweet Oliver.



We were about done with pictures at this point...

I said enough guys!

Happy Father's Day!

Charlie posed for pictures on Father's Day and wanted to send a shout out to all of the important fathers in his life. He thinks Daddy, Papa, and Pawpaw are pretty much the best fathers he's ever met (but, to be fair, he really hasn't met very many ;).

Charlie's First Photo Shoot

Charlie made his first foray into the modeling world at only 5 days old. I had scheduled a newborn photo shoot for him before he was born, and when the photographer was short on openings, picked a date only 2 days after we arrived home from the hospital. Probably not the brightest idea (as evidenced by my haggard-looking face and puffy belly :), but I (in my totally unbiased opinion) think Mr. Charlie looks pretty adorable. These pictures already make me nostalgic--he is growing so fast!!