Saturday, October 13, 2012
Photos, Photos, Photos
I've been taking so many pictures lately, and I'd love to write about all of them. But I'm slightly realistic at times, and this is going to be one of them. So instead of waiting to write about these, I'm just going to post so we can all enjoy them. For context, I'm posting them basically in reverse chronological order (newest to oldest, but there are a few exceptions).
Reid - 10 and 11 months
I totally owe Reid a blog post, or two. Oops! Welcome to being the second child, I guess.
So Reid turned 11 months yesterday. He's definitely looking more like a little boy lately. He had his first haircut this week! I don't think we cut Jack's hair until he was two. Reid did well though. He batted at the stylist's hand every once in a while, but mostly he just "drove" the car and watched Toy Story 3.
So at 11 months, Reid is trying very hard to walk on his own. He loves to hold our hands and walk around. In fact, he'd much rather do that than play some times. He will walk around with push toys a lot when we play in the basement.
Second only to walking as a favorite activity would be climbing the stairs. Reid can now climb up all three flights of stairs in our house in one climb. One of us just has to follow him up in case he decides to try to sit and take a break. By the time he gets to the top, he's awfully proud of himself. We just have to teach him how to come back down safely now.
Another favorite playtime activity is ball. Reid will sit and roll the ball back and forth with us. He also loves to kick a ball around while "walking" holding our hands. This is how he has spent the last two of Jack's soccer practices. Have I mentioned that my back is starting to hurt more lately?
We have had lots fun watching Reid begin to play with friends lately. There are a couple of boys close to Reid's age that we get together with, and Reid will crawl around chasing them and laugh with them. He even let one of his friends "tackle" him. It was very cute. Reid's been playing with Jack for a while, but it's nice to see him start to recognize other kids he can play with too.
Reid has six teeth now. He has four on top and two on the bottom. I'm sure he'll be getting some more pretty soon though. He seems to be constantly chewing on something. He'll even bite down on us if we aren't careful! All of the teething and biting is worth it, though, because he seems to be chewing and eating better lately.
I'm pretty happy because Reid is finally taking to table food. He loves strawberries and fruit. He is also a fan of pasta and vegetables. He loves cooked carrots and broccoli. It's so nice to be able to feed him pieces of what we eat for dinner instead of trying to get him to eat baby food.
Another exciting development is his babbling. He makes several distinct sounds like "ta" and "ss" and "da". We haven't figured out if he is associating these sounds with anything in particular, but it's fun to talk to him and hear him try to talk back. Last night, we were watching the turkeys in our backyard, and he pointed and said "ta" a lot. I'd like to think he was trying to say "turkey."
One of my favorite developments has been Reid's ability to wave and clap. He loves to wave at us and others, and sometimes he'll even do it on command. The clapping is still at the early stages, but he likes to clap when he's sitting down and happy about something. There's just something too cute about babies waving and clapping.
I almost forgot to write about his sleeping habits. I hope I don't jinx this, but Reid has become a pretty good napper. He consistently takes a morning nap from 9 - 10/10:30 and an afternoon nap from 1-2/3. It's fantastic. He'll even sleep through the night every once in a while. But most nights he stills wakes up once or twice.
Okay, time for the photos. Since I missed the 10-month update, we'll start with those. Then I have a few 11-month pictures, but I think I'm going to take some more tomorrow. I didn't quite get what I was looking for in our shoot yesterday. I'm picky.
10 months
11 months
So Reid turned 11 months yesterday. He's definitely looking more like a little boy lately. He had his first haircut this week! I don't think we cut Jack's hair until he was two. Reid did well though. He batted at the stylist's hand every once in a while, but mostly he just "drove" the car and watched Toy Story 3.
So at 11 months, Reid is trying very hard to walk on his own. He loves to hold our hands and walk around. In fact, he'd much rather do that than play some times. He will walk around with push toys a lot when we play in the basement.
Second only to walking as a favorite activity would be climbing the stairs. Reid can now climb up all three flights of stairs in our house in one climb. One of us just has to follow him up in case he decides to try to sit and take a break. By the time he gets to the top, he's awfully proud of himself. We just have to teach him how to come back down safely now.
Another favorite playtime activity is ball. Reid will sit and roll the ball back and forth with us. He also loves to kick a ball around while "walking" holding our hands. This is how he has spent the last two of Jack's soccer practices. Have I mentioned that my back is starting to hurt more lately?
We have had lots fun watching Reid begin to play with friends lately. There are a couple of boys close to Reid's age that we get together with, and Reid will crawl around chasing them and laugh with them. He even let one of his friends "tackle" him. It was very cute. Reid's been playing with Jack for a while, but it's nice to see him start to recognize other kids he can play with too.
Reid has six teeth now. He has four on top and two on the bottom. I'm sure he'll be getting some more pretty soon though. He seems to be constantly chewing on something. He'll even bite down on us if we aren't careful! All of the teething and biting is worth it, though, because he seems to be chewing and eating better lately.
I'm pretty happy because Reid is finally taking to table food. He loves strawberries and fruit. He is also a fan of pasta and vegetables. He loves cooked carrots and broccoli. It's so nice to be able to feed him pieces of what we eat for dinner instead of trying to get him to eat baby food.
Another exciting development is his babbling. He makes several distinct sounds like "ta" and "ss" and "da". We haven't figured out if he is associating these sounds with anything in particular, but it's fun to talk to him and hear him try to talk back. Last night, we were watching the turkeys in our backyard, and he pointed and said "ta" a lot. I'd like to think he was trying to say "turkey."
One of my favorite developments has been Reid's ability to wave and clap. He loves to wave at us and others, and sometimes he'll even do it on command. The clapping is still at the early stages, but he likes to clap when he's sitting down and happy about something. There's just something too cute about babies waving and clapping.
I almost forgot to write about his sleeping habits. I hope I don't jinx this, but Reid has become a pretty good napper. He consistently takes a morning nap from 9 - 10/10:30 and an afternoon nap from 1-2/3. It's fantastic. He'll even sleep through the night every once in a while. But most nights he stills wakes up once or twice.
Okay, time for the photos. Since I missed the 10-month update, we'll start with those. Then I have a few 11-month pictures, but I think I'm going to take some more tomorrow. I didn't quite get what I was looking for in our shoot yesterday. I'm picky.
10 months
11 months
Friday, September 21, 2012
I'm addicted
I have an addiction to Mad Men. Yes, the television show. We got rid of our DirecTV last month and it's really been nice just to watch network television and Netflix (and not watch as much TV!). But I found Mad Men on Netflix, and now every night after the boys go to bed, I watch an episode - or two. I'm starting season 3 now, so I'm halfway through what Netflix offers. So hopefully I'll be back to blogging regularly soon.
I'm also addicted to Pinterest. I knew it would happen. The good news about this though is that it gives me lots to do with the boys, especially Jack.
I'm starting to get into a nice routine this fall. I found a homeschool schedule on Pinterest that works very well for activities for us.
Make Something Mondays
Time for Reading Tuesdays
What's Cooking Wednesdays
Thoughtful Thursdays
Fun Fieldtrip Fridays
So far, we've made monsters out of toiletpaper tubes and a leaf artwork using real leaves. We already had a well-established library day, and now we are starting to do the Reading Patch program there. We've made a freezer peanut butter cup pie, homemade applesauce, and homemade corn chowder. And we've gone to Ikea. Thoughtful Thursdays are proving to be a little more difficult. I'm pretty tired by Thursday, and I would like Jack to pick the person to be thoughtful for. So it's hard to plan ahead. Then I'm too tired, and so we talk about ways to be thoughtful, which is good, but we haven't put anything into action yet. Next week, we're going to try swimming on Thursday.
I'm not the only tired one around here either. Jack has been pretty exhausted lately. He's started soccer twice a week. It's a pretty neat program. The only problem is that it is from 6:30-7:30 p.m. He's doing it, but it is definitely right at bedtime, and you can see it in him on the field. As long as Steve and I don't make a big deal out of how much he does, he gets out there and plays as much as a completely exhausted 4-year-old can. It's pretty cute. A few of our friends from the Moms group are there too, which makes it fun for all of us. Reid is a pretty good sport about it too. He hangs out in the stroller and just people watches.
Alright, that's about all I have in me tonight. I'll finish with some pictures, and then look for Reid's 10-month update this weekend. He actually turned 10-months old on Sept. 12 (last week!), but I took the pictures in time, and I'll have the post ready to go in the next two days!
From our trip to Morton Arboretum on Labor Day
Soccer
I'm also addicted to Pinterest. I knew it would happen. The good news about this though is that it gives me lots to do with the boys, especially Jack.
I'm starting to get into a nice routine this fall. I found a homeschool schedule on Pinterest that works very well for activities for us.
Make Something Mondays
Time for Reading Tuesdays
What's Cooking Wednesdays
Thoughtful Thursdays
Fun Fieldtrip Fridays
So far, we've made monsters out of toiletpaper tubes and a leaf artwork using real leaves. We already had a well-established library day, and now we are starting to do the Reading Patch program there. We've made a freezer peanut butter cup pie, homemade applesauce, and homemade corn chowder. And we've gone to Ikea. Thoughtful Thursdays are proving to be a little more difficult. I'm pretty tired by Thursday, and I would like Jack to pick the person to be thoughtful for. So it's hard to plan ahead. Then I'm too tired, and so we talk about ways to be thoughtful, which is good, but we haven't put anything into action yet. Next week, we're going to try swimming on Thursday.
I'm not the only tired one around here either. Jack has been pretty exhausted lately. He's started soccer twice a week. It's a pretty neat program. The only problem is that it is from 6:30-7:30 p.m. He's doing it, but it is definitely right at bedtime, and you can see it in him on the field. As long as Steve and I don't make a big deal out of how much he does, he gets out there and plays as much as a completely exhausted 4-year-old can. It's pretty cute. A few of our friends from the Moms group are there too, which makes it fun for all of us. Reid is a pretty good sport about it too. He hangs out in the stroller and just people watches.
Alright, that's about all I have in me tonight. I'll finish with some pictures, and then look for Reid's 10-month update this weekend. He actually turned 10-months old on Sept. 12 (last week!), but I took the pictures in time, and I'll have the post ready to go in the next two days!
From our trip to Morton Arboretum on Labor Day
Soccer
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
My wild and crazy boys
Reid is definitely on the move lately. And he is not content with just crawling. Luckily, he has his older brother to show him lots of fun things he could be doing, like jumping on a trampoline or riding a powerwheels quad.
Over the last week or so, Reid has become much more adventurous, and, therefore, much more accident prone. He crawls through the end tables in the living room and falls on his face as he comes out on the other side. He pulls himself up onto the treadmill in the basement and then falls on his face when he crawls down. He pulls himself up on his knees and then falls over and bonks his head on the floor or whatever toy happens to be in the way. There is lots of falling. He does recover like a champ most of the time.
So today, I realized that our baby is really well on his way to being a toddler. He's been climbing up on the trampoline while Jack jumps for about a week, so that should have been a clue. But today, Jack finished riding around on the powerwheels quad and left it a few feet away from Reid. Reid made a beeline for the quad, and then pulled himself up to standing holding onto the handlebars. He looked at me like "Come on Mom, just help me get the rest of the way up. I've gotten this far!" So I did. And Jack came over and helped with the rest. They had quite a good time riding back and forth across the basement for about 15 minutes. And if you have ever watched my children play, you know 15 minutes is like an hour in regular people time.
So now we need to invest in that child-protection foam stuff you put on all of the sharp-cornered furniture. That, and maybe a helmet or two.
I have too many fun things to write about today to keep it short and focused. So here's my second story. My friend Mary and I took our boys to the Discovery Center Museum in Rockford. It was pretty fantastic, to say the least, and you should check it out if you get the chance. We stayed and played for a full three hours, and the boys would have loved to stay longer if the Museum didn't close then (and if we weren't so hungry and tired!).
I felt so proud and excited when we found the television news studio, and Jack was excited about it. He and his friends pretended to do the weather and played Batman thanks to fun green screen technology. I sat Reid at the news desk and pretended to do the news. The museum had lots of science exhibits that were amazing. But the journalist in me loved our few minutes back in the newsroom.
Over the last week or so, Reid has become much more adventurous, and, therefore, much more accident prone. He crawls through the end tables in the living room and falls on his face as he comes out on the other side. He pulls himself up onto the treadmill in the basement and then falls on his face when he crawls down. He pulls himself up on his knees and then falls over and bonks his head on the floor or whatever toy happens to be in the way. There is lots of falling. He does recover like a champ most of the time.
So today, I realized that our baby is really well on his way to being a toddler. He's been climbing up on the trampoline while Jack jumps for about a week, so that should have been a clue. But today, Jack finished riding around on the powerwheels quad and left it a few feet away from Reid. Reid made a beeline for the quad, and then pulled himself up to standing holding onto the handlebars. He looked at me like "Come on Mom, just help me get the rest of the way up. I've gotten this far!" So I did. And Jack came over and helped with the rest. They had quite a good time riding back and forth across the basement for about 15 minutes. And if you have ever watched my children play, you know 15 minutes is like an hour in regular people time.
So now we need to invest in that child-protection foam stuff you put on all of the sharp-cornered furniture. That, and maybe a helmet or two.
I have too many fun things to write about today to keep it short and focused. So here's my second story. My friend Mary and I took our boys to the Discovery Center Museum in Rockford. It was pretty fantastic, to say the least, and you should check it out if you get the chance. We stayed and played for a full three hours, and the boys would have loved to stay longer if the Museum didn't close then (and if we weren't so hungry and tired!).
I felt so proud and excited when we found the television news studio, and Jack was excited about it. He and his friends pretended to do the weather and played Batman thanks to fun green screen technology. I sat Reid at the news desk and pretended to do the news. The museum had lots of science exhibits that were amazing. But the journalist in me loved our few minutes back in the newsroom.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Not sleeping and bike riding
Why do my children hate sleep?
Let me start off by saying, yes, I have read the sleep books. I love "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." I've got "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" on my bedside stand next to HSH. I've read tons of blogs and internet postings with tips. But my children hate sleep, and I can't seem to figure out how to get them to do it.
Jack gave up naps a while ago. I'm sure I wrote something about it. It drove me crazy that he needed sleep and wouldn't take a nap. He's gotten better though. He doesn't seem to need the sleep anymore. He's a much happier kid in the afternoon/evening even without a nap.
Reid has decided to take on Jack's nap aversion now. He's only 9 months old though. Jack waited until he was 4 to really give up naps. I'm hoping this is just a phase.
Reid sleeps pretty well at night. Sometimes he has trouble falling asleep, but usually he falls asleep while nursing, then I put him down and he sleeps the rest of the night. I try the same routine for naps, but it just doesn't work the same way.
This all started about two weeks ago, when the illnesses hit our home. I thought that was the reason for the sleep changes. But now that we're all better, he's still not napping.
Today, he fell asleep in the car on the way home from dropping off Jack at school. It's a five minute car ride. I did stop at Startbuck's, so let's say he slept for about 10-15 minutes (there was a line at the drive-thru). He wouldn't go back to sleep once we got home. I even tried to play with him for a half an hour before I put him back down. Screaming, that's about it.
Then, he started to fall asleep in his highchair at lunch. So I calmly took him out of the seat and as carefully and quickly as I could, took him up to his room to put him in his bed. He slept for 15-20 minutes, then woke up screaming. We went to the basement and played with Jack. He got tired again around 2:45. So again, I took him upstairs to his room, went through the routine, and he slept for about 30 minutes. Woke up screaming again. We went to the library.
Tonight, at bedtime, he was so overtired that he wouldn't nurse. So we sang a few songs, he squirmed and cried. I kissed him and put him in his crib. He cried for about 5 minutes, and then finally went to sleep.
I have to figure this out before we all go crazy. At this point, I'm hoping a week of me being strict about napping opportunities at home (not in the car) will get him back on track. Keep your fingers crossed.
In other unrelated news, Jack is riding a two-wheeler (with training wheels). A few weekends ago, we stopped by a bike store, and Jack tried out a few bikes and lots of bells. We figured out a 16-inch yellow bike was his heart's desire. It was ridiculously expensive at the bike store, so we looked to Craigslist instead. And what do you know, we found one – for $30. The boys and I made a trip to the zoo and picked up the bike from the Craigslister near Brookfield. And now, my big boy has an awesome big boy bike.
He's taking to it pretty well too. He likes to ride it up and down the driveway. The hills in our neighborhood are a little too much yet. But I'm sure he'll get there soon. He loves using the coaster brakes to make it stop and skid. And when it's rainy outside, he's just as happy riding around daddy's side of the garage in circles.
Here are some pics from today's riding
Let me start off by saying, yes, I have read the sleep books. I love "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." I've got "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" on my bedside stand next to HSH. I've read tons of blogs and internet postings with tips. But my children hate sleep, and I can't seem to figure out how to get them to do it.
Jack gave up naps a while ago. I'm sure I wrote something about it. It drove me crazy that he needed sleep and wouldn't take a nap. He's gotten better though. He doesn't seem to need the sleep anymore. He's a much happier kid in the afternoon/evening even without a nap.
Reid has decided to take on Jack's nap aversion now. He's only 9 months old though. Jack waited until he was 4 to really give up naps. I'm hoping this is just a phase.
Reid sleeps pretty well at night. Sometimes he has trouble falling asleep, but usually he falls asleep while nursing, then I put him down and he sleeps the rest of the night. I try the same routine for naps, but it just doesn't work the same way.
This all started about two weeks ago, when the illnesses hit our home. I thought that was the reason for the sleep changes. But now that we're all better, he's still not napping.
Today, he fell asleep in the car on the way home from dropping off Jack at school. It's a five minute car ride. I did stop at Startbuck's, so let's say he slept for about 10-15 minutes (there was a line at the drive-thru). He wouldn't go back to sleep once we got home. I even tried to play with him for a half an hour before I put him back down. Screaming, that's about it.
Then, he started to fall asleep in his highchair at lunch. So I calmly took him out of the seat and as carefully and quickly as I could, took him up to his room to put him in his bed. He slept for 15-20 minutes, then woke up screaming. We went to the basement and played with Jack. He got tired again around 2:45. So again, I took him upstairs to his room, went through the routine, and he slept for about 30 minutes. Woke up screaming again. We went to the library.
Tonight, at bedtime, he was so overtired that he wouldn't nurse. So we sang a few songs, he squirmed and cried. I kissed him and put him in his crib. He cried for about 5 minutes, and then finally went to sleep.
I have to figure this out before we all go crazy. At this point, I'm hoping a week of me being strict about napping opportunities at home (not in the car) will get him back on track. Keep your fingers crossed.
In other unrelated news, Jack is riding a two-wheeler (with training wheels). A few weekends ago, we stopped by a bike store, and Jack tried out a few bikes and lots of bells. We figured out a 16-inch yellow bike was his heart's desire. It was ridiculously expensive at the bike store, so we looked to Craigslist instead. And what do you know, we found one – for $30. The boys and I made a trip to the zoo and picked up the bike from the Craigslister near Brookfield. And now, my big boy has an awesome big boy bike.
He's taking to it pretty well too. He likes to ride it up and down the driveway. The hills in our neighborhood are a little too much yet. But I'm sure he'll get there soon. He loves using the coaster brakes to make it stop and skid. And when it's rainy outside, he's just as happy riding around daddy's side of the garage in circles.
Here are some pics from today's riding
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Am I missing something?
Tonight is a very strange night for me. For the first time in 13 years, I am not going to an Institute Day at Wheeling High School tomorrow. I haven't been procrastinating creating lesson plans. I haven't been feverishly buying Uniball pens and hiding the colored ones so no one steals them. I haven't been worrying about who my new students will be. It's been lovely, to say the least.
But I am feeling a little sad tonight. Part of that is because Steve left for a business trip this afternoon. I miss him already. But I think a bigger part of my sadness is that I will not be starting another school year with my friends at WHS. I love the people I work with at WHS. Our experiences together have been an incredible influence on who I have become since I started working there. And I think by not going to school tomorrow, I might miss out on something.
I hate missing out on anything. Part of the reason I went into and enjoy journalism so much was my love of knowing "things." I love to be "in the know." I often pride myself on knowing the back story of whatever is happening now. As a journalist, you make your living by figuring out the stories. And I have always enjoyed the stories. Just thinking about missing out on the daily stories of WHS brings a tear to my eye. I won't get to meet the new people in the building and learn their stories. I won't get to hear all of the funny stories from everyone's summer.
On the other hand, if I were going to school tomorrow, I'd be missing out on the stories Jack, Reid and Steve are living. And they create some pretty awesome stories. I love meeting Jack's new friends at school and hearing about his day. I love watching Reid laugh when he watches Jack. I love hearing about Steve's work day. I love going to the park with our friends from the Moms group and hearing the funny things other people's kids do.
I guess, when it comes down to it, I'll always be missing something. Physics dictates that I cannot be everywhere at once. So it's all about what I choose to miss. It's not an easy choice. But I think for now, I'm in the right place. As much as I miss my experiences at Wheeling, I think the person I am becoming while I stay at home with my family has some pretty incredible possibilities.
But I am feeling a little sad tonight. Part of that is because Steve left for a business trip this afternoon. I miss him already. But I think a bigger part of my sadness is that I will not be starting another school year with my friends at WHS. I love the people I work with at WHS. Our experiences together have been an incredible influence on who I have become since I started working there. And I think by not going to school tomorrow, I might miss out on something.
I hate missing out on anything. Part of the reason I went into and enjoy journalism so much was my love of knowing "things." I love to be "in the know." I often pride myself on knowing the back story of whatever is happening now. As a journalist, you make your living by figuring out the stories. And I have always enjoyed the stories. Just thinking about missing out on the daily stories of WHS brings a tear to my eye. I won't get to meet the new people in the building and learn their stories. I won't get to hear all of the funny stories from everyone's summer.
On the other hand, if I were going to school tomorrow, I'd be missing out on the stories Jack, Reid and Steve are living. And they create some pretty awesome stories. I love meeting Jack's new friends at school and hearing about his day. I love watching Reid laugh when he watches Jack. I love hearing about Steve's work day. I love going to the park with our friends from the Moms group and hearing the funny things other people's kids do.
I guess, when it comes down to it, I'll always be missing something. Physics dictates that I cannot be everywhere at once. So it's all about what I choose to miss. It's not an easy choice. But I think for now, I'm in the right place. As much as I miss my experiences at Wheeling, I think the person I am becoming while I stay at home with my family has some pretty incredible possibilities.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Jack's first day of PreK
Yesterday was Jack's first day of PreK at Sleepy Hollow. It's his last year of preschool, which is a little crazy to think about. He's going every day this fall, which will be more like his routine when he was in daycare or at Little Wildcats.
He had a nice first day. He insisted on bringing his new pencil sharpener. He told me he didn't get to use it though since they didn't have to write anything. He was a little disappointed that they didn't get to go outside and play. He liked his breakfast though. He told me he had a cupcake. He had a blueberry muffin :). He didn't remember his friends' names, but that doesn't surprise me. He often feins forgetfulness when he is done talking about a topic.We celebrated the first day with a trip to the Sugar Hills Bakery for some cake pops. Yum!
I decided to put a good Pinterest idea into practice. As we got ready to leave, I grabbed my camera and took a bunch of photos in front of the garage door. I figure that will be easy to do each year, so we can watch how he grows. I also asked him about his favorite things, so I added that text to one of the photos. This could be fun as he gets older! Hopefully he will continue to play along!
And just for fun, here are a bunch of those photos as well as a couple I took the other day as I was getting ready to take Reid's 9 month shots.
He had a nice first day. He insisted on bringing his new pencil sharpener. He told me he didn't get to use it though since they didn't have to write anything. He was a little disappointed that they didn't get to go outside and play. He liked his breakfast though. He told me he had a cupcake. He had a blueberry muffin :). He didn't remember his friends' names, but that doesn't surprise me. He often feins forgetfulness when he is done talking about a topic.We celebrated the first day with a trip to the Sugar Hills Bakery for some cake pops. Yum!
I decided to put a good Pinterest idea into practice. As we got ready to leave, I grabbed my camera and took a bunch of photos in front of the garage door. I figure that will be easy to do each year, so we can watch how he grows. I also asked him about his favorite things, so I added that text to one of the photos. This could be fun as he gets older! Hopefully he will continue to play along!
And just for fun, here are a bunch of those photos as well as a couple I took the other day as I was getting ready to take Reid's 9 month shots.
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