Monday, December 10, 2007

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland...



Wait...we live in Florida, and it was 80 degrees here today!!!--so it definately doesn't feel like Christmas. However, this past weekend we went to Tom Brown Park and took some Christmas pictures, with one of Ryans prized possesions. No not me...his red 1952 Chevy. It made for some great Christmas pictures...here are a few!







Grandma Dender:
This section is for you...here are a few pics of Reed in his Golf Ball outfit..notice the rear view picture!!




Wednesday, November 7, 2007

PICTURES ARE HERE!!

The Halloween Pictures have arrived.
Go to the website: www.amomentcaptured.com
Then go to projects, and click on Best Beginnings Halloween: Reed Dender
The password is: Ashley

Enjoy!! The other baby with Reed is Gabe, our good friends son!! They are too cute!! You can order the pics online also, if you so desire..BUT do it quick, they will be taken off Nov 21st!!

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Keeping Busy


Well, we certainly have been keeping busy. The picture above was taken while we were in Orlando for my good friend and college roommates wedding! We had a great time and were able to catch up with lots of good friends!! Those friends are hard to replace!!

Reed is more and more fun everyday!! He is giggling all the time- and LOVES playing in his little exersaucer! He is growing up so fast- it is hard to believe he is about 16 lbs- and started out at a measly 5!!! Speaking of growing up quickly- Ry and I went to a starting solids class Thursday- so I am sure in a month or so we will have some great pics of Reeds first reactions to food!!

On that note- for those of who would like to know when I update the blog- without having to check everyday- there should be a little box to your right, where you can put your email address, and it will send you an email when it gets updated!! :)

Well, Halloween was Wednesday, and though I don't have any pics for you of Reed, you should know that he was the cutest little "chick" ever! I took him for his first photo shoot, and he was a natural! The photographer should be putting the pictures online for you to order if you would like soon!! He really was adorable! Our good friends also dressed their son (who is Reed's age - younger by just 2 weeks) in the same costume, and then the 2 of them took some picutres together!! They were the talk of the store!! Too Cute!! I will let you know as soon as the pictures are online!!

I hope some of these pictures will satisfy you for a little while!!


Daddy thinks he will play Rugby...we will see!


He was excited about his photo shoot!!


Monday, October 8, 2007

It's been awhile....



Sorry it has been so long since I "blogged" last! Things have been going very well around this Dender house. Reed is such a pleasure - especially now that he is sleeping through the night. An Average night for him includes him going to bed around 9/10 and waking up around 7!! :) Also, for those of you who haven't seen him in awhile, he is about 26 in and 15lbs! He is still long and skinny!

Last night we looked through Ryan's baby book, and when Ryan was 4 months old he was 18 lbs and 25 3/4''. So Reed may not be as heavy as Ryan, but he is keeping up quite well length wise. Hopefully he will be tall like his Daddy!!

Saturday we took our first day trip to the beach. Well, it wasn't much of beach compared to what I am used to, but it was a beautiful day nonetheless. Reed enjoyed himself, soaked in sunscreen, he was the only one NOT to get sunburned. I had him sitting on my lap watching Daddy fish, and he started to nod off- It was so cute. He must have liked the beach breeze!
Well here are a few recent pictures. Enjoy!


Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Who can resist those faces??



I hope you all are doing well! We are great, things are getting a bit busier, but thats part of the fun part. I started back working, and so far things have been great! Reed comes with me and is so cooperative. He eats and sleeps and plays on his blanket- occasionally crys- but it is so great to be able to keep him with me (for now). He is almost 3 months old, and weighs a nice 12 lbs 10 oz!! I am very proud of him! In the last 2 weeks Reed has really started to notice things. He definatley knows my voice and Ryans, and he is intentionally looking at things. We got him a mobile over the weekend and he loves it! He smiles and watches the fish go by! So fun!!



A few weeks ago Nana came to visit our big boy, and we had such a great time that I thought I would share a few of my favorite pics from the weekend with everyone!!




Monday, August 6, 2007

All Smiles!!

Here is our little guy at about 9 weeks. He is smiling all the time, and what you can't tell from the pictures is that he also loves to "talk". It is so amazing to watch him grow and change! It is all happening so fast! He really is a gift from God.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Ready for Baseball!


Our little man is growing up so fast! I just loved this pic...he is ready to watch his Daddy play baseball!
Notice his shoes! :)

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

2 Month Check-up

Today was Reed's 2 month check-up. He is a healthy 22 1/2in, has a head in the 50th percentile (BIG) and weighs 10 1/2 pounds...which means he has gained 5 lbs in just 2 months! His 2 month check-up also meant he got his first shots!! He took all 4 of them like a CHAMP!! He barely cried, and even smiled and cooed some when it was over! The nurse said that this is very rare, but we won't complain!! We won't expect this next time either!! Anyways, he is doing well- just thought I would give a little update!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Growing up so fast


Proud Papa: Reed in his first "outfit" after church.

Little Reed is now almost 2 months old! Hard to believe I have been a Mom for 2 months! He is doing well! Smiling alot now, and cooing. He is about 10 1/2 lbs which is big for him! He is still a long skinny baby.

Last week was a busy week for us. We took a trip down near Lake City to visit the Middle Schoolers at camp. It was exciting though, because Reed had his first pool experience. It was a quick one, and we don't have any pics, but he seemed to enjoy it. Hopefully we can take a few more times before the weather changes. Reed also took his first trip to Jacksonville this weekend! He got to meet his friend (or will be) Jackson Bunn! It was fun and we look forward to watching them grow up together.

Well, those are all of the updates I have for now, Here are a few more pics for you!


When Daddy does laundry...



Just another cute bath moment

My Boys, just hanging out

Reading a corvette magazine...Like father like Son! :O)

Waving "HI"

Friday, June 22, 2007


After a Bath:





We are doing well. Although the waking up in the middle of the night is tiresome, I would say we are having a fairly easy time so far! He is a good baby! He crys when he is hungry, and other than that he is happy! He is gaining weight and length! According to our very "official" at home measurements he is over 7 lbs and about 21 inches! AND, he hasn't even made it to his expected due date yet!!


He has started to make eye contact, and he even watches things like his mobile over his bassinet! He got his first real bath last week, and he seemed to enjoy it. I put a picture of the event below, just to embarrass him when he is old enough to be embarrassed.


Enjoy the pics!









Thursday, June 7, 2007

Reed Evan Dender

May 30, 2007


Well there he is! He made is appearance a little bit early- well how about a month early. He is a healthy baby boy who weighed 5lbs 7oz when he was born! I can't imagine if he had stayed in there for 4 more weeks!! YIKES! Apart from a somewhat uncomfortable surgery after his birth everything went well. My water broke at about 3 a.m. on the 30th, and because my GBS test was positive we quickly went to triage to get antibiotics. Now, I don't think I have mentioned yet that is was almost a very full moon! Yeah, so you can imagine how busy triage was. Shortly after I arrived another woman ( a Labor and Delivery nurse) came in and jumped in a bed next to me and had her baby in about 2 minutes! It was crazy!! All of the beds in Triage were full, and so were the rooms in Labor and Delivery. Ryan and I waited in Triage for about 5 hours, waiting for people to give birth. Meanwhile, I was also waiting for contractions to start on their own, so that I wouldn't have to have pitocin. However, that didn't happen. Even after some uncomfortable walking around the contractions were still not happening! I was put on pitocin around 9 a.m. and things started to progress quickly after that. I spent some time in the tub, and on the birth ball, and come 4:30 I was ready to push. I only pushed for about 15 minutes, and with a little help from a vaccum suction Reed was born at 4:42!! :)


We are so thrilled to get to meet the little man that has been living inside of me for the last 9 months. It still doesn't seem possible that he was INSIDE of ME!!

Ryan is an amazing Dad, just like I knew he would be, and of course he is an amazing husband!!


I will try and keep this updated, and of course post some more pictures as soon as I can!!