Reid's words...

LilliAnn crying in her bed...

Reid: "I should go nurse her...but I don't have any boobies."

Happy 3rd Birthday Reid!

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The day before yesterday was Reid's 3rd birthday! I had to work all day, but I wanted to do something special for him when I got home. I called him during my lunch and told him that we would go eat anywhere he wanted because it was his birthday. I said, "ok, so where do you want to go eat tonight, Reid?" "It's a Donald's!!!" He shouted excitedly over the phone. He has always called McDonald's "It's a Donald's." I talked to my Aunt Johnna that afternoon and she decided that she would bring Grayson over to go eat with Reid and bring him his present. Here are some pictures of Reid opening his first birthday present this year. He was SO excited! Grayson got him the Moon Dough Magic Zoo and picked it out all by himself. He said that Reid had seen it on a commercial and really wanted it. 

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In the midst of all of the present opening, Johnna and I decided to surprise Reid with a visit to Chuck E. Cheese! The Chuck E. Cheese commercials always come on during Curious George and every time Reid stands up and yells, "I want to go to Chuck E. Cheese! Can we go, mom?" Reid's never been there and we decided that it was the perfect time to go! We loaded up and headed to OKC!

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As we pulled up Grayson told Reid that we were at Chuck E. Cheese's, but he still wasn't too sure about it all. As we walked in, Chuck E. came walking by with lots of kids following him and Reid went crazy! He started jumping up and down saying, "Chuck E. Cheese! Chuck E. Cheese!" He was so giddy that he could hardly talk!

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Reid & Chuck E.

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Reid's best friend and 2nd cousin, Grayson

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Driving the race car

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Sissy slept for most of the party!

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Reid's favortite thing to do was play air hockey!

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We bought the party package, so Chuck E. Cheese came out and sang Happy Birthday to Reid. This is him looking as Chuck E. walked up to us!

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HUGS!

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Reid's chocolate Chuck E. Cheese birthday cake! (It wasn't very good!)

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Still sleeping...

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Reid's really into monster trucks right now!

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Sis finally woke up and got to play for a little bit!

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Down the slide!

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Unlike Reid, she was NOT a fan of Chuck E. Cheese!

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It was such a fun-filled evening and Chuck E. Cheese was the perfect place to go for Reid's 3rd birthday! Reid wore his birthday crown the entire night and left with some cool sunglasses and I giant lollipop. The next day he told me that his favorite birthday present were his sunglasses from Chuck E. Cheese's! Success!!! We have a big baseball party planned for Saturday, so stay tuned for a Ruckus Recap of Reid the Rookie's baseball birthday!

Letter to My Birthday Boy: 3 Years Old

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To My Precious Reid,


This past year has seemed to go by extra fast. I can't believe that you're three years old. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing you home from the hospital and "ooooing" and "ahhhhing" over you as you showed us your first smile...said your first word...took your first steps. I feel like you went from a toddler to a little boy in just the blink of an eye. You've gotten so much taller...you're my tall, thin blonde haired, brown-eyed boy! You're on the 31% for your weight and the 83% for your height! It's been so much fun to watch you grow and learn to do new things. Just this morning, as I was watching you dance around the living room singing Curious George in your inside-out underwear, I realized how big you have gotten. You have such a kind heart. Not a day goes by that you don't say, "I wuv you mommy," or "mommy, you're my favorite." You love making me feel special and you melt my heart when you say, "I wike your hair, mommy," or "You look pretty, mama." Just this afternoon while I was unloading groceries, you walked up to me with a flower you had picked for me and said, "I got this just for you, mama." I told you that girls loved getting flowers from boys, and you responded with "yeah, they do!" I love how you still say, "mama, hold you," when you want me to pick you up.


You're such a great big brother to LilliAnn and I love watching you kiss the top of her head or tickle her tummy. As you guys were wrestling in the living room this afternoon, you would say, "sissy wikes it when I do this," and you would tickle her and give her kisses. LilliAnn had the biggest smile on her face and was belly laughing so hard it made me laugh too! She absolutely adores you and watches every move that you make. When she falls or gets hurt, you rush over to her and kiss her saying, "It's ok, sissy." And you'll be the first to run to get me if something is wrong with her saying, "mama, sissy's crying!" Yes, there is the occasional push or shove when she takes your toys or the accidentally hitting her with a ball or car that you've chunked across the room, but most of the time you are an excellent big brother!


You're really into watching Curious George right now. We have to watch George every night before you go to sleep and you'll ask me or daddy periodically throughout the show, "What's George doin' now?" You remind me a lot of Curious George...very intelligent, always asking questions, always up to something, always able to figure things out on your own, friendly, serious at times. And you're a good little climber like George! I'll find you up on the bathroom counter putting on daddy's cologne. "Smell me, mama!" You'll say. Or you'll be up on the kitchen counter washing off an apple or getting a snack from the snack basket. You'll even climb up on top of your dresser to get a basketball out of your ball net! While you're watching t.v. in the living room you'll throw all the pillows off both of the couches and jump back and forth from one to the other...just like a little monkey! Speaking of being a good climber, you're also very athletic. We started wee ball this year and you're a fantastic hitter! You're not only good at hitting off of the tee, but you can hit the ball really far when daddy throws it to you as well. You're good at dribbling the basketball, shooting the basketball, hitting the golf ball with good form, and kicking a soccer ball. You've always loved every kind of ball since you were a baby. Ball was even you're first word! I think we probably have over 100 different types of balls in our house! Every time we go somewhere you always end up bringing some type of ball home with you!


You love counting, even though you sometimes miss number 4, "1, 2, 3, 5, 6..." You love drawing, especially in the bath tub or outside with sidewalk chalk, singing songs, dancing, and going on "hikes."


Reid Jackson, I'm so proud of the person you're becoming. You have a serious, busy, get-the-job-done side to you like me and a care-free, silly side to you like you're daddy...and I think that's a great mix! My prayer for you is that you'll love the Lord with all your heart and always put Him first in all you do. Through Him, you will be...the strongest, biggest, bravest, most handsome man...Trust in Him and you will always be everything you need to be.


This is my verse to you as you turn 3...

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord, your God is with you wherever you go."

-Joshua 1:9

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A little bit about Reid

Things you love...

-popsicles

-fishing

-baseball

-Curious George

-dinosaurs

-your cowboy boots

-wrestling with daddy

-going to work with daddy

-sausage & pancakes

-orange juice

-strawberries

-taking baths

-singing "Fishing in the Dark" & "Chillin' on a Dirt Road"

-Dora & Diego

-going to the zoo

-playing in the sand box

-riding the Gator/Ranger

-Monster trucks

-4-wheelers

-playing with sissy

-counting and singing your ABCs

-hats

-Starbursts

-"pp" guns (bb guns)

-Nerf guns

-dancing

-guitars & drums

-basketball

-Greek yogurt

-going to the "wake house" (lake house)

-riding your Spiderman bike

-helping Papa "work"

-building things

-swimming

-sweeping, wiping, & vacuuming 

-Dr. Seuss books

-strawberry ice cream cones

-Tiger's blood snow cones

-dressing yourself

-chicken & dumplings

-chocolate 

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Things you don't like...

-washing your hair

-when mommy helps you brush your teeth

-taking your gummy Omega-3 fish oil

-going to bed

-naps

-clipping your fingernails

-leaving Papa & Nana's house

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Words that describe Reid Jackson Rollins - Age 3

energetic...kind...playful...strong-willed...intelligent...serious...curious...determined...caring...

handsome...mischievous...stubborn...polite...lovable.

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Reid - 1 Year Old

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Reid - Two Years Old

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Reid - 3 Years Old

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To read my letter to Reid on his birthday last year click HERE! 

Rugrats Recap: Game 1

Last weekend was Reid's very first Wee Ball game! Our team is called the Rugrats and we've been having so much fun getting into Reid's first extracurricular activity! We decided to play in the Seminole league, even though we live in Shawnee, because several friends of ours have kids playing in this same league. Reid's cousin, Jett, is on his team, so it makes it a little easier when they know someone on their team. Wee Ball is exactly what you would expect for 3 and 4 year olds...CHAOS! They play in the dirt, cry, get hungry, get bored, wrestle, and sometimes they even dance out on the field! Reid is still two and is actually a little young to be playing, but since some kids he knew were playing we went ahead and let him start. He has shown an interest in baseball from a young age and we thought it would be something that he would really enjoy. He has great hand-eye coordination and has been able to hit a ball that was thrown to him since he was about 1 1/2 years old. Jeb said he's going to get burned out on baseball and do drugs in high school since we started him so young :) Such a weird statement, Jeb!

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The morning of the game didn't start out too spiffy. I had stayed up late getting the car cleaned out and everything laid out for the next morning. I even woke up early to make a big pre-game breakfast for the boys. In spite of all of my hard work, I burned my hand on my new skillet and although I thought I had it all together, we still were rushed getting to Seminole in time. I did manage, however, to stop at the quick stop and get Reid a Gatorade and some Laffy Taffy sticks to give to the team after the game. Reid's used to sleeping in, so getting up at 7:45 to get ready for a 9:30 a.m. game was not his idea of fun. He was cranky and was not in the mood to eat breakfast that early. "Great," I thought. This is going to be fun. LilliAnn was fussy with her teeth and was running around all over the softball complex and Jeb was trying to help organize the team and get the roster together. I was tired, stressed, had a broken camera, and couldn't even seem to get myself together, much less my children.

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Reid was really excited at the first of the game and got a great hit on his first at-bat. After he crossed home plate though...it was over. He started crying because he wanted to bat again, and then started crying because he didn't want to go out into the field. "I'm tiiiiired! I'm huuuuunnnnngry!" He whined. I didn't like him throwing a fit in the dug-out and my thought was that if he wasn't going to go out on the field like all the other kids, then I would take him to the car and go get him some food. After all, it was just Wee Ball. This was better than him having a dug-out meltdown, I thought!

He cried all the way to the car, yelling for his Papa Kelbo, so my dad followed us out to the car. After my dad reminded me that he was only two and that he needed to get warmed up to the whole "baseball game" thing, we took Reid back into the ballgame and he did great! He ran out on the field, batted again and got a great hit all the way to second base, and didn't cry again! It was funny though, because by the time we got back into the game, most of the kids had had it! They were either sitting down on the field, getting in trouble by their parents, whining, crying, or throwing dirt. 

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Batter up!

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Run, Reid!!!

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Safe!

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Getting some tips from Uncle Josh

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Daddy trying to keep the roster straight!

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Reid was so excited to cross home plate! He jumped on it as hard as he could!

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And then started crying because he wanted to bat again!

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There's no crying in baseball! Oh, but this is Wee Ball.

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Sis thought she was big stuff cheering on her brother!

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The cutest little Rugrat cheerleader ever!

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"So who are you watching?"

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What a sexy coach!

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This... is Wee Ball!!!

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A little drawing in the dirt

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These cousins are up to something!

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Yep, they sure are!

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They get in trouble...

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They pout...

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They fight over the ball...

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But they sure are CUTE!

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"Did we win?"

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Well, in wee ball we don't keep score...but we sure had fun!

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Ready for a snack and a nap!

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The best thing about playing hard...

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THE SNACKS!

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One of my favorite pictures EVER!

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Reid the Rookie - #5

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All in all, I would have to say it was a exciting morning and a good experience. After he got warmed up to the "baseball game" thing, he seemed to have a really good time. He played really well and only got in trouble once for trying to tackle Jett! These boys are a handful, but it's so fun to watch them grow up together! Stay tuned for a Ruckus Recap on the Rugrats' Game 2!