Reid - 18 months

Reid just turned 19 months, so here's his 18/19 month summary:

* 50%-75% in height and weight but has a very solid build (I always say that he seems "thick" :)
* Still talking up a storm. This month he is saying 3-4 word "sentences" and expanding his vocab daily. This stage is truly amazing. Some of his new favorite words this month: bake-able (breakable), highchair, Thomas tain (train), kiss-mas tee (Christmas tree)
Some sentences: "help me pease Daddy", "read a book", "more water pease", "yook at me!", "c'mon Sawah", "put them back in".
* He loves getting a reaction out of his big sister so taking apart puzzles, knocking down towers and stealing her lovies are all favorites. Of course, she does the same back to him, so I'd call it even at this point.
* He has a very silly personality and LOVES to make people laugh. If he gets a laugh out of you, he will say/do the same thing over and over, giggling! He loves to dance and has the funniest moves with his head and hands. His run is very bouncy and i laugh every time - someone said it looks like he's river dancing!
* teeth- he got his first 2 teeth at 8 months, then went 8 months without any new teeth, and in the last month he has had 2 teeth and 3 molars come in/break through. This kids is a drooling machine!! And it's also made for some very grumpy behavior!
* his favorite toys are still balls, blocks, cars, trucks, trains, play kitchen and now also Little people. And of course all puppies and tigers!! He is currently sleeping with 5 puppies in his crib!
* he has begun some defiance, throwing himself on the floor, yelling "NOOO!", kicking, etc but thankfully it only lasts a few seconds ...as of now.
* he's still a big eater but has been a little more picky because of the teething. His favorites are fruits, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, orange juice, peas, carrots, beans - mostly everything except m
* his personality is so funny and he has us laughing all day! He is a cuddler, can play very well independently but also loves to be with people and especially to be held or sit in laps. He adores his sister, asks about her all day, copies everything she does and says but often refuses her constant desire to hold his hand or hug him. He belly laughs often and it is the most joyful sound :)

We so love our sweet little man!!

Cuddle bug

It only took 3 years, but Daddy finally has his sweet cuddle bug :)

She loves to lay in bed with us and rub our backs, arms and hair so gently and sweetly. We love it!

Merry Christmas!

We've had a very Merry Christmas!!

Dress up

Sierra likes to play dress up on occasion but still hasn't gotten into it too much. But... when her 4 year old friend, Gracie was over the other day...they got into it!!!

It was so much fun that even Reid asked "dress, wear it?". So we dressed Reid up too and Sierra gave him a purse and put different hats on him!!

Yes, these photos will haunt him one day! But I do love that he's also holding a truck in one hand!

...and I love the hats that Sierra picked to go with her princess dress! Haha, still not 100% girlie girl :)

lost and found

We lost our TV remote for about 24 hours. This stinks bc we couldn't use Netflix and were only able to watch the 7 channels we get on TV.

Anyway, we looked everywhere!!! Nothing.

Then, Reid and I came home from running errands and while I was unloading bags in the laundry room, he walks in and hands me the remote!! Just like that! We'll never know where he found it, but he must have been the culprit and stashed it somewhere very sneaky!!!

little stinker

Funnies

Sierra, wearing a cowboy hat: "look! I'm a yee-haw girl!!"
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After only 10 minutes of watching our friend's newborn, Sierra says: "Wow Mommy, you're really good at helping babies!" and then 1 minute later: "I think babies cry a lot."

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when Reid says 'glasses' he completely leaves off the 'gl'. It makes me giggle :)
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R: "Sah-wah!!!" (Sierra)
S: "yes ma'am?"
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Sierra and Reid are actually able to maintain some "conversations" together bc Reid is very accurate in answering questions. It's pretty amazing...and amusing. Some examples...
S: "Reid, which bowl do you want, blue or green?"
R: "orange?" (his favorite)
S: "no, sorry Reid. There isn't orange."
R: "pink?"
S: "nope, no pink. Which one, blue or green?"
R: "geen"
S: "ok, green. Good choice Reid! Here you go!"
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S: "ok Reid, do you to read a book or not?"
R: "not"
S: "ok, do you want to play with the house or blocks?"
R: "house. play"
S: "ok, c'mon! Which animal do you want?"
R: "tiger! roaaaar!"

Dress up

Oh, to be 3 years old again! What fun!

Advent Tree

I sent one picture of an advent calendar that I liked to my mom and she made it!!! And it's waaaaay more beautiful than the picture was!!! So many fun details and made all by her hands!!! We will hang it every year and it will be a special tradition in our family for years to come ... made with love and lots of hours of hard work, by our Lala :)

Thank you, Lala! We love it!!

Buddy

We often call Reid "Buddy" - even Sierra does.

And now, he is calling us "Buddy" too! I laugh out loud every time! It's hilarious!!

Any time he says "thank you" (which is a lot - he's picked up good manners from his big sis), when he's done with something, when you give him something, etc., he says "thank you, buddy!"

He also says "all done, buddy" and "I see you, buddy!" to all of us!

I'll get it on video - it cracks me up!!!

Laundry

My little laundry helper

Mo-vember

Kyle shaved his beard and grew his mustache in November. It really made me laugh the first time I saw him with it...and then I got used to it, mostly.

Well, he shaved it the other day before a big meeting and Reid was so confused for a day or two! He kept calling him Shu Shu (Erick). Poor guy, it's a little confusing when your dad and uncle are identical!! It did make us laugh all day though :)

Nature Center

I love our Nature Center. Mostly because it's close and free! There are animals like a bobcat, wolf, coyote, porcupine and lots of birds and owls.

Then there's a huge sand pit where you can dig up dinosaur bones!

Our weekly play group was cancelled last week and the weather was gorgeous so we made a last minute trip to the nature center. We had so much fun seeing animals, digging in the sand and having a picnic lunch!!! These are such sweet memories!! I love these 2 kiddos soooo much!!!

Funnies and Slang

Reid:
* yelling "Kyle" as loud as he can from the bottom of the stairs. He does this all the time. It cracks me up!

* he started saying "he-ya-go" all as one word when he hands you something. he means "here you go", but it must sound like one big word when we say it :)

* I was helping Reid do a puzzle and when I got a piece in, he said "yay Mommy!!"

* today at lunch he said "more. san-wich. please?"

* when something falls, he now say "Oh nooo!" or "Oh man!"

* after finishing his applesauce he said "Mommy, litta-bit-more!"

lovely Fall weather

Out enjoying it :)

Stories by Daddy

Daddy is a great storyteller! Sierra has been really into storytelling for a long time. Most nights at bedtime she prefers we tell stories instead of reading books. And Daddy is MUCH better at this!

Sierra usually requests what she wants the story to be about and the most common requests right now are: skunks, bears, puppies and sharks.

Here's sweet Daddy telling bedtime stories while stroking Sierra's hair. (they didnt know that i was spying!) Soooooo sweet :)

Rubbing off

After a long time of reminding Sierra to use her manners, it is so sweet to see her politeness come out without us even prompting. (of course this isn't perfect, we just went through a phase of a very rude "whaaat?" every time she didn't hear what we said)

She says "excuse me" when she needs to pass by someone. She says "thanks" almost every time you give/hand her something. She regularly asks who made a meal and says "Oh, thank you ______ for making this for me!! I love it!".

And the best part, is its rubbing off on Reid too!!! He also says "cuse me" when squeezing by or stepping over someone. He says "pease" when he really wants something and says "tank you" as he hands you something. Yay for good examples from big sister!!!

I have to end this with a bit of reality. The bad things are rubbing off just as quickly! Reid also yells "NOOO!" when he's mad, says "mine!" in a greedy voice, and slaps his legs out of frustration - all things he also learned from big sis.

We'll take the good with the bad! :)

Date with Daddy

Oh, Sierra was SO excited when Daddy told her that he was taking her on a special birthday date, just the 2 of them!!!! She kept telling me all day "... but it's just me and Daddy, not Mommy and not Reid, just me and Daddy!"

They went to Chick-fil-a and had dinner, ice cream and played together on the indoor playground! They had the whole thing to themselves and 6'3" Daddy even climbed all the way up the slide! Haha! What a fun Daddy!!

She was wired from the sugar and excitement of the evening and she sure felt special!!

Sierra and Reid are incredibly blessed to have an amazing Daddy who loves them soooo much!

Hard at work

Big helper

She loves helping right now!!! Picking up toy messes, sweeping, cleaning floors and furniture with wipes, setting and clearing the table, unloading dishwasher, folding and putting away laundry, dressing herself AND Reid, carrying things to and from the car, etc, etc...

I even caught her the other day trying to change the toilet paper roll by herself!

I am savoring this desire to help because I know it doesn't last forever :)

Best buds

They have so much fun (uh, ...and conflict) together! I'm so thankful they have each other!!!

Hopscotch

Sierra traced each of the numbers. They had a blast!