Halloween is Coming

In preparation for the upcoming holiday, a group of us met at Irvine Ranch's Pumpkin Patch for some fun. I dressed up as Dorothy and Hudson was a Lollipop Kid, both from the Wizard of Oz (JR will be the scarecrow with us on Halloween).


Front row: Geneveve the butterfly, Elle the ladybug, Kaylee as Tinkerbell, Alyssa the Little Mermaid, Jordan the bumblebee, and Charlotte the spider.
Back row: Hudson the Lollipop Kid, Hannah as Cinderella, Isabella the clown with her Grandma Vicky the clown.

Music Class

Hudson has been going to music class at Gymboree (where he does gym class) for a month or so now. He loves it. At first I thought he might be too young to listen to the directions but it has worked out wonderfully and even helped improve his listening skills. The 'teacher' sings songs about everything and there is a different musical theme each month (last time was Latin and this last week we changed to jazz). There is even a song that has the kids do various things with little shakers at certain times - like shake them, tap them together, rest them on the ground. I am amazed that he does it all at the right times.
(he spilled his water all over himself before we walked into class so he is soaking wet in all these photos).

8 months pregnant and Hudson is 18 months!

So here we are, 8 months pregnant. No matter what I do, I cannot seem to slow time down. Full term is in 5 weeks and so we are hoping to have at least 5 or 6 weeks left and even that seems crazy near (even though I am DONE being pregnant, we are all hoping for a full term baby). People are still commenting that my belly looks smaller than 8 months pregnant but I am still measuring on track. I decided to dig some pregnancy #1 photos out for comparison.
Pregnant with Hudson at 32 weeks:


Pregnant with Baby Reynolds #2 at 32 weeks:
Hard to compare since I am showing a bare belly in the first set - but it has been so hot lately that all I wear is comfy dresses. I will have JR take more pictures of my bare belly soon for a better comparison but they look pretty similar to me (though the first pregnancy was maybe more 'ball' shaped whereas the second looks more 'watermelon' shaped to me - no?)



And my little man is 18 months old. One and a half! Where did the time go!?!? He is still my little baby and probably always will be (well, at least for 5 more weeks). This is such a fun age. He is talking so much - my little parrot that repeats everything he hears - it is hilarious.

We just had his 18 month appointment and he weighs 25 pounds (40th percentile) and is 2 feet 10 inches tall (90th percentile).

Wild Animal Park

Catt, my mom, myself and the kids went to the Wild Animal Park in Escondido yesterday. Fun but also very H-O-T. Not the smartest place for two pregnant people to spend the afternoon while chasing toddlers, but we all survived. And luckily my mom went too so we had some help. Did I mention it was H-O-T? We walked longer than I have walked in months, in weather that is hotter than I have been in in months. As JR said so perfectly later that night about my going - "not all your ideas can be good ones." Well said. Probably not my smartest idea but we had fun and so did the kids. And Hudson slept good that night and in the end, isnt that one of the reasons I do so many of these activities with him?

The petting portion of the park - Hudson not scared at ALL. He pet them, poked at them, fed them and chased them (unfortunately for the animals, they were too hot to move, so he caught them every time).




The gorillas were so amazing to watch - and smelly to stand near. And the gorilla on the right was more pregnant than me.



Hudson and the meercats.

Don't Drink the Water

We took these photos in Pismo 7+ weeks ago, but I wanted to wait to post them until we were all beyond 3 months...


We are 6, 2 and 4 1/2 months pregnant in this photo, respectively. My sister-in-law, my cousin and myself are all pregnant at the same time. Come April we will collectively have 5 kiddos under 2 1/2 years old, with 3 of them being newborns... Tracy and I arent finding out the sex of our babies but today we were lucky enough to find out that Catherine and my brother Ryan are having a BOY! Gianna is going to be a GREAT big sister and we are all so excited for what is to come!

Lovin' JetBlue

We headed up to SF this weekend for a little getaway. We are all assuming that it will be much harder for us to travel in a couple months and wanted to squeeze in a little vacation. Unfortunately, I only took a couple photos: the belly photos in the last post below and these:
Hudson was PERFECT on the flights - though I am not sure he would have lasted much longer. The 50 minute flight is about as long as he sits still - and that is REALLY good for him. I gave him all sorts of treats and activities to keep him busy. But you gotta love the JetBlue television - with animal planet and some cartoon channel on it.


And then there is this one - with the pretty background and me with the sun in my face, eating an ice cream. Interesting - note to self - take more photos so you have more to choose from.


Thank you Anthony Family for letting us stay in the condo and playing with Hudson!

30 Weeks

I am 30 weeks pregnant... Time just keeps flying by. I had Hudson at 38 weeks and if that holds even somewhat true for the second pregnany then I have about 8 weeks left. The baby currently weighs about 3 pounds and is about 16 inches long - he/she is kicking really hard to the point where my whole stomach shakes and looks like an earthquake is going on inside. I am feeling huge and warm most of the time even though most people say that my belly looks smaller than 7.5 months pregnant. I think that's because I am carrying a lot of this baby in the backside rather than the stomach this time around! I am measuring on schedule though - at my appointment last week, the uterus was measuring 29cm - corresponding to 29 weeks.

Punkin' Patch

Hudson and I were in for a nice little surprise today when we stopped by our usual hangout - Irvine Park Railroad. It is Pumpkin Season and along with the standard train and horse rides, they now have a hay ride, a pumpkin patch, a maze, a bounce house, a face painter, etc....

Introducing....

Jonathon Donald, aka Baby V, made his little way into the world on Saturday September 20th, weighing 6lbs, 12 oz and 20 inches long. Everyone is doing great and his first picture is one of the best I have seen - so cute and smiling already!

Biker Baby

I am in trouble... he already thinks he can ride Grammy's motorcycle by himself...

Hudson and Friends

(Kaylee - 8 months, Kaylee's cousin Connor - almost 5, Hannah - 4, Charlotte - almost 1, Alyssa - 4, Hudson = almost 1.5).

17 Months Old & 7 Months Prego

My baby boy is now 17 months old. He is talking so much and his vocabulary and memory grow and get better each day. It is amazing to watch the development happen right before our eyes.
His sleeping has improved. I havent written about that in ages because the topic was starting to get to me - it was taking over my life. But I am happy to report that it has improved since I last wrote. He started sleeping through the night at 15 months (yes, all you out there that think you have it bad - there are those who have it worse - and those who have it even worse than me! I met a mom today at his gym class who's 3 1/2 year old still wakes up at night). We didnt do anything differently, one night he just didnt wake up - it 'clicked' as the doctor put it. He still wakes up a couple times a week but boy have we improved. And of course, he is still an early riser but we know it could be a lot worse so we are happy. The unfortunate and ironic part is that he basically started sleeping through the night when I started getting up multiple times at night to go to the bathroom from this pregnancy. So I still dont sleep through the night. But that's what it means to be a mom - at least Hudson's mom (and dad- JR does more than his part)! Naps are another story. He seems to think he doesnt need them. He has been down to just one nap a day for MONTHS now, and we have to fight him to get him to take that one nap (it is usually around an hour maybe an hour and a half - NEVER two hours). He is just not a sleeper (he gets that from both JR and I so we cant be too upset). What he lacks in good sleeping he makes up for physically and mentally. He loves trains, books, daddy's jeep, animals, water, and of course, his mommy and daddy. He is a happy, smart and active child and I cannot believe he is 17 months old and that soon he will be a big brother!!

Which brings me to the fact that I am now 7 months pregnant and officially in the last trimester. I am to the point where I realize I am pregnant in terms of slowness, weight, some lower back pain, out of breath, etc. I cant just jump up or jump in the car... all of that takes a little more time/care.

Here is a photo of Jess and I. Baby V is due Sept. 29 making her about 37 weeks (I am about 28 weeks). We are all ready for her little guy to make his big debut!!

S.A. Zoo

While I can still walk (though I feel like I am starting to waddle) I decided to take Hudson to the Santa Ana Zoo today (another great find with only a $6 entrance fee - kids under 3 are free). Keeping him busy and outside. We were the first ones there today and it was the perfect time to go. No one was there, it was still cool outside, and the animals were wild because they hadnt been fed yet. It made it easy for Hudson to find them all in their cages. And of course, the train. Which we rode twice.




He wasnt scared to feed the animals.

Labor Day Fun

On Monday I took JR and Hudson back to Irvine Park (I know, we are obsessed - it is so close to us!)






And on Sunday - BBQ time!