15 months

"I am the great Cornholio...give me TP for my bunghole!!" Okay, so normally I'd never post that on my kid's blog, but Jason and I just saw part of Beavis and Butthead Do America on t.v. I'm not proud to say it, but (even as a nearly 35-yr old) I laughed my hiney off, especially when Reid did this the same week... And then he insisted on taking the blue circle (off of his Diaper Genie refill) on our hike.


And on more normal things, I love the normal things! Like how he fixes his toes just inside his high chair. (or on my tummy, whatever's closer at the moment...but lately I think he enjoys kicking me due to the instant reaction he gets)

Other normal things? STILL only six teeth (but he's been working on six or seven more since June!!)

And this one... Don't judge me for being one of those parents (such as the current one who called me at 11am on the first day of school "just to see how my baby is doing!" Hello?! I have 22 five yr olds to teach...I don't even get to eat lunch on the first day!!), but when I found out he was a boy, I saw this at Ross and just couldn't bear to pass it up. At first, I was just attracted to the cute Bermuda shorts (and then I saw the shirt and thought, "No way!!") but then again, it is Jason's son. So it only seemed fitting considering his college stories, hahaha! If you can't read it, it says "Get in line, girls!"


Reid has ignored the cats for the past couple of months (much to Samson's dismay, and much to Dixie's relief) but lately has grown attached again. We aren't exactly sure what his first words (aside from dad/dada/daddy and mom/mama) are, but one day around 10 months, Jason realized he'd been saying "Sas" for Samson and "Di" for Dixie. (Yes, I felt retarded since I'm the one who had spent more time with him and had no idea what he was saying.) So recently he's been very intrigued again. Samson tolerates it well. Dixie just hisses, as usual. I have a feeling that will evoke a response (soon!) that she'd rather not deal with. Curiosity killed the cat, but Reid might be close if he messes with Dixie. They don't often snuggle anymore, but maybe they'll join forces against the toddler child yet.


Or, maybe Samson is a goner...


Reid just "graduated" from ECI (Early Childhood Intervention)! He walks very well w/o any kind of help, so their services are no longer needed at this time. I am very grateful for all the help and wonderful tips they shared with us! Here are two of the wonderful ladies who worked with him. I just can't say enough wonderful things about them!!


Other new favorites? Being able to walk outside, now that the sidewalk won't fry his little feet! He loooooves the garden hose. Please take note of the pot belly :)

"I am toddler...hear me roar!"

"Hmm...interesting texture..."



"Fun to play with and water comes out of it??"

"...and I can drink the water, too!?"

"What??"

Much to my dismay, the latest "I can!" happened this morning. And he's only done it one other day, but looks like it's permanent. Those door handles I loved "because they're so easy"? Not so much, now!!

I recently discovered that there is not just a weight limit on car seats, but a height limit. Needless to say, Reid was past it. We've had a good Britax convertible seat we bought from my sister, but I was scared to install it since I didn't know which "roundabout" version it was. (In the meantime, she installed it when she visited at the end of the summer so thankfully I could see what she did) I've also been battling with the rear-facing versus front-facing dilemma since the recent AAP suggestion changed to 2 yrs instead of 1 yr. We finally decided to go ahead and do front-facing because rear-facing just didn't seem as solid (probably my installation). On his first weekend in the convertible seat, he smiled, laughed, played, and looked out the window happily the whole entire time. It suddenly got very quiet...


All three of us went to cousin Hayden's football game two Saturdays ago. I don't know how on earth I used to lifeguard, because I could NOT handle the heat!! We only stayed about 30 minutes because it was miserable. Reid was entertained with the grass for the first five minutes, and then he was cranky, too.


How's he sleeping these days? Since he's been walking, we've moved bedtime up to 6:15 again. On the weekends, he happily takes two long naps (would've been nice if he had done that this summer, when I had tons to do!!). I've heard that big changes when kids begin to roll over/crawl/walk can disrupt their sleep and I believe it--he randomly wakes up for no apparent reason on and off for the first few hours and last few hours of his sleep. Thankfully, it's only a few times per night and he goes right back to sleep, but Jason and I do not. But how can you be irritated with this?



Even though it's been crazy, stressful, and busier than ever with both our jobs, school beginning, and switching sitters (a wonderful thing!!!), we cram as much fun into the weekends as we can. We try to squeeze in one family trip to the pool each week, and Reid seems to enjoy it. A big change from our first trip at the beginning of the summer!

Happy guy!

"You didn't tell me I was going under!"

Favorite toy? Not toys at all...Mommy's flip flops. Thankfully, they float.

Another fave? Sunglasses, preferably ripped off of someone else's face and not his own pair. Trying on Daddy's:

Walking!

Watch out, world...we have a walker!! It is absolutely amazing that our little guy has gone from a few steps at a time to full-fledged, stable walking in just a few weeks. (and as a side note, I have no idea why previous videos look so dark...they seem normal until I upload them) At first, Reid would pull up and take a few steps. Then, it turned into halfway across the room. Now? He won't sit down and only crawls unless he's very tired.

This one is from last week. His favorite toys are still the 'non-toys,' so we still have to watch it. And no, the bubbles are not open. Safety seals are good!





And this is from today. A tired mama videoing a very tired boy. You can't tell from this, but he was a BEAR this evening--ate nearly nothing (despite my great effort!) and went to bed way early. But before that, a happy camper with Mommy's keys.

Summa Summa SummaTime

For our last (few!) days of summer, we've crammed in a lot. Who knew shoes could be so much fun? I'm not thrilled about it, but Reid LOVES to play with (and unfortunately, chew on) shoes.





He has thoroughly enjoyed the little house from Aunt Laura and now actually uses it for what it's for.



Laura and the boys came up at the very end of July and all the cousins had a blast. It was so hot that we decided indoor activities or the pool would be best. The little aquarium that just opened in Grapevine turned out to be way too expensive, so we all rearranged car seats, piled into my car, and headed to the mall for some Build-a-Bear fun. Reid was not as entertained as I thought he'd be, but did cooperate enough to pose for a pic. Give him a few years and I'll bet he will beg to come here!


Ben and Alex each chose very unique bears and got adorable little outfits for them, but I think the little house boxes were an even bigger hit than the bears!



Back at home, the cousins all played and had fun.


Reid discovered that he could move their little table all by himself. The boys were not impressed because that meant their meal was harder to eat...



One of Reid's newest favorite toys? Plastic eggs! He takes them apart, throws them, puts them in his mouth...I could go on and on with all the fun he's had with them, and I love that you can chunk 'em in the dishwasher to clean. My personal favorite is when he bites it and the egg looks like a beak on him, but we haven't been able to capture that just yet.


Most excitingly, Reid has begun to walk! He will take up to 10 or so steps at a time before he falls. It's so quick that none of the videos we've taken have really come out well, but this gives you the idea. He loves pushing his walker around, now!



Finally, if you have a spare moment we would sure appreciate prayers for an uneventful first week of school. Yesterday had enough drama in it to last for quite some time. We are looking for a new sitter after she told me, "I need you to start feeding him breakfast before he gets here in the mornings." Really? I'm not forcing my kid to eat before 7 when he normally doesn't eat until 8 or after. This is just the latest in a long line of annoyances and headaches in dealing with her, so we are on the search again...just in time for the beginning of school, which has plenty of drama in itself!

July 2011

July has flown by...I didn't even realize it'd been so long since I'd updated the blog. It's been so enjoyable (up until last week, when I worked all week and dropped Reid off at the sitter...leaving to "Mamaaaaa!!!!!" every day) Earlier this month, we took a little trip down to Katy to see Aunt Laura's new house. I learned the hard way that 13 months is NOT a fun age to travel and will not be doing a 6 hour trip by myself until Reid is older!! But it was fun once we were there and got to see everyone. I'm pretty sure Reid drove everyone crazy (including me, lol--he was into EVERYthing and I couldn't relax until he was in bed at night) and his cousins were sweet about it but weren't exactly sure why baby Reid got into everything.


The highlight of the trip? Ben's naked bike riding! We'd just gotten back from the pool (their neighborhood has a GREAT pool) and stripped everyone down. I had a really hard time taking the pictures because I was giggling so hard, but they came out pretty good. Ah, the innocence of kids!


Reid wanted to try, too, but he's a little small yet.


He played some sort of game involving the door and Alex. We adults weren't too sure of the rules, but the boys sure liked it!



I realized I don't have nearly enough sleeping pictures or nudie pictures of Reid (and he's getting to be more "little boy" and less "baby" each day, so don't want to miss out!). Jason caught me about a month ago...I just have to go in his room and check on him one more time at night. This picture was nap time, but how sweet are they when they sleep??


Last week/end, Daddy was gone for a bachelor party, came back for a day, then was gone for a fishing trip to New Orleans. I thought I would lose my mind with no adult interaction during that time (and Reid was ALL over the place 99% of the time)--glad Jason got to go have fun man time, but it was extremely difficult here on the home front!!! So Reid and I thought of everything we could do to play. He followed me into the garage one day and had a ball! I didn't think it'd be too bad, but he immediately went for the car tires. And then since he was already dirty, I figured what the heck--I might as well let him explore (highly supervised, of course). He was so ADHD that it was really hard to get a good picture that showed exactly how filthy he was, so this was about as good as it got.


So we had a nice little rinse in the sink before I disinfected it. He also enjoyed that.


He was already wet and still semi dirty, so I figured it was as good a day as any to explore in the yard before we headed to the pool to wash the rest of the filth off. I used to be really allergic to grass (and apparently still am--it makes me itch up a storm) so I was wary about him just running around in it, but he did just fine.

How cute is this pic??

And after the day's adventures were over, he escaped (for the first of many times, I'm sure) after his bath. When I caught up to him, he was dumping the contents of my bathroom drawers out, but did pose for this. Muscle man! I still don't understand how someone who wears SPF 50 can get a tan line better than mine!



He has been fascinated with blinds, so they've all been pulled up out of reach, which has created a new play place...window sills! He is now the perfect height to see out of most of them. I thought he wanted to see outside (which he does do sometimes), but he'd rather bring an object to hit/bounce around on it.


Everyone is always asking us where his shoes are (and really, he doesn't need any yet since he's not walking, but I didn't want him to look unkempt), so before church I wrestled Reid into these cute shoes that Ben and/or Alex wore. They looked adorable, but he didn't like them so much. Good thing he was the only one in his room of the nursery that day!


Reid has loved all of his birthday presents (not liked...LOVED!). He plays with the ball popper every day (thanks Aunt Laura and Taunt!), the trike every day (thanks Mamere and Papa!)-- even when it's too hot to go outside he pushes it around in the house, and we'd planned on getting him a wagon. But since he's still kind of little, I thought the Pottery Barn Kids everywhere chair (a quintessential kid must these days) would be even better for now. So thanks to Grammy, Grumpy, and Grandma Penny! Right now he enjoys climbing on it, but someday he'll enjoy sitting in it, too.


We went to visit my dear high school friend, Tyler, for an afternoon of yummy food and visiting. Reid loved her dog Sadie! It was hilarious!

And back at home yesterday, Reid was obsessed when Jason was mowing the yard. I finally found something fun to distract him (I didn't like us being outside with the mower, just in case) and even Dixie joined in on the fun, which is very rare these days. She usually just holds her ground and hisses when Reid comes near.

Playdates

The summer has been full of playdates for us. We have at least one a week, but usually two or three. I think it's good for Reid to socialize with other kids, but it also gets me out of the house and a little time around other adults. The best kid advice ever always comes from other mommies!

We went to the splash park in the Village at Fairview a couple weeks ago with Lacy (a teacher at my school--we bonded two years ago since our due dates were only a month apart) and her adorable daughter Violet. And can you think of a more perfect name for an art teacher's daughter?



Reid was still not a fan of the water, so I didn't even get a chance to take pictures in the fountains, but that has since changed. Jason and I took him back on Saturday after we had a burger next door and he actually played in the water! So on this day, we settled for snacks in the shade.



One of the girls in my playgroup is wonderful at finding neat places for little kids to go. She found Pump it Up, Jr. in Plano that has a "2 and under" time for little guys. Reid wasn't so sure at first...


But then when his buddy Jake arrive, the fun was on!



They also had a couple of cars, balls, etc. that he enjoyed. It was kind of hard to get him out of the car because he loved the steering wheel.


But this, by far, was the most entertaining thing!



We've had tons of other playdates, but either they're in the pool (and I'm afraid to ruin the camera/can't leave Reid) or we just get so busy that I forget to take pictures. They've all been so fun, and we're looking forward to some more!

4th of July

We were so fortunate that Great Grandma Will came all the way from Maryland to stay with us! This is the first great grandparent that Reid has gotten to meet, so we were quite excited that she was willing to take a little detour (she flew to Houston, then Dallas, then back to Houston the next day to visit the rest of the family) to come see us. Thankfully, Reid was pretty good (until bedtime, at least) when she came last Wednesday. But then on Thursday morning, he was a holy terror...screaming and crying for no apparent reason (laughingly we always say, "Could he be teething?" which seems to be the answer to everything, hahaha). Of course, I'd forgotten to take a picture the day before, so he didn't quite cooperate, but Grandma looks great!



The Fourth of July weekend was nice. We had a chance to enjoy some quality family time and even took a hike the morning of the Fourth. That afternoon was so hot that Reid needed a popsicle, which he loved.

"Hmmm...this stuff is cold!"

"How do I eat this, again? I've only had one in my life before..."

"Mom, I'd rather you get your hands sticky--I'll just eat it."

Our little firecracker (and boy, was he that afternoon!):

His new favorite trick? Emptying whatever happens to be at arm's reach in the pantry (or fridge, or cabinet, or shelf...need I go on?).



I'd also taken him to the park earlier that week so we could have a walk with new scenery. There also happen to be ducks and geese that are fun to feed, too. I gave Reid some bread to throw at the ducks, but he decided to eat his. Oddly enough, there was one snotty goose who would only drink water out of the doggie water fountain, not the pond. Hilarious!




He also loves to chase you to the back door, so we have to be careful when opening it (especially when coming back into the house, now). Of course, he didn't perform on demand here, but he was awfully proud of his clapping. It cracked me up the other day because I turned on the tv to find some music for us and the channel it happened to be on had "Family Feud" playing. All the people clapped for somebody's answer, so Reid clapped right along with them.