Lions, Tigers, and Bears . . . Oh my!!!

Okay so the Fresno Chaffee Zoo doesn't have a Lion and we missed seeing the Bear exhibit, but on Friday Jon left work early and we took a quick trip up to the zoo, where we did see a Tiger and so many more animals. Uncle Kyle, Aunt Kari, and Annaliese gave us a family zoo pass for Christmas and we've been itching to use it. Now that everyone is finally well again we decided a family afternoon out on the town was called for. During the winter the zoo closes at 4:00, so we only had about an hour to roam around, but we saw quite a few animals and it was a pretty dreary day so we had the place virtually to ourselves. Reed was a little wary of the animals at first, but by the end he was running from exhibit to exhibit and we had to pry him away from the elephants when it was time to go.

 

Not sure what he thinks about this zoo business

Can you see the baby orangutan clinging to his Mom?

 

In awe of the sting rays



Reed loved being so close to all of the birds

 

Sad face - we had just told him to say goodbye to the elephants

  

After the zoo we went to the bookstore where we picked out a few new board books for Reed, including, much to Reed's delight, a new Cheers (Cheerios) puzzle book. After that we went to Eureka Burger, where we had a great dinner, and were pleasantly surprised by just how allergy friendly they were. Driving home I just couldn't stop smiling, awesome days like that just make me so happy to have our little family!

Vegas (no Baby)!!!

This past weekend Jon and I snuck away with a few friends to Las Vegas. While we've been away from Reed a few times now, this is the first time we went on a "vacation" for us instead of a destination wedding in someone else's honor. We had a great time as can be evidenced by the pictures below.

 

 

 

Thankfully Nonna and Pepe were around to watch Reed who acted much more civilized than his parents on his vacation!!! We kept checking our phones to see if we'd been emailed any more pictures from Harold. Then, each night before bed and morning when we woke up, we looked at photos and video of our Little Guy - geesh we are sappy.

Testing out his new slide

 

Watching Signing Time before bed

Eating breakfast with "Dad" (he thinks the guy on the cover is Jon)

16 Months

It hardly seems possible that Reed is already 16 months old, between the Holidays, doctor appointments, a kitchen revamp in process, and a major battle with an icky cold - this last month slipped by too darn fast!!!

 

I know this is his outfit from Christmas, but I think he looks to darn adorable in it to not share again, I promise this is an updated picture from a few days ago.

Monthly Statistics

Weight: 23.75 lbs  (per the Doctor's office two weeks ago, I'm a little afraid he may have lost some weight while fighting his cold)

Height: 32.5 inches - that's right he's grown 2 inches since his first Birthday!!!

Clothing Size: 12-18 month pants fit perfectly, but the tops are getting a little short for our long-torsoed fella. I still squeeze him into them, but anything new is 18-24 months.  All of his pajamas are 18-24 months.

Shoe Size: Size 5, but they are starting to get snug

Teeth: 12 - 4 bottom/front, 2 bottom molars, and 4 top/front., 2 top molars. It looks like his top canine teeth are going to be making an appearance soon.

 

Reed likes: Shoes, Soft Sheep and other stuffed animals, Signing Time DVDs, doing "cheers," playing with the Salad Spinner, balls, reading books, his pop-up tunnel,  playing outside, his wagon, Dodger (all dogs for that matter), anything electronic he can take when Mom's not looking, going to gym class, bath time, his Cozy Coupe Car, and his Grandma and Nonna.

Reed dislikes: Sleeping in, having his clothes put on, getting his face and/or hands wiped off, waking up from naps, diaper changes, saying goodbye to Mom, being told no, nasal aspirators, and he seems to be fighting getting his teeth brushed more often than not.

Nicknames: Reedster, Reedcito, Reed Reed, Buddy, Monkey, and Baby Bear.

Favorite Foods: Applesauce, blueberries, grapes, pancakes, bread, muffins, avocado, mushrooms, carnitas, dried cranberries, chicken, bananas, whole pears and apples, fish, sausage, steak, graham crackers, snap pea crisps, smoothies, pasta, puffins cereal, oatmeal, milk (likes rice better than hemp but drinks either happily), and anything that he can use as a "dip."

Foods he doesn't like: Broccoli, ground meats, carrots, tortillas, hummus, beans, rice, cauliflower.

Words: Dad, daa (Dog), boom, mo (more), daan (done), baa (ball), choos (shoes), chees (cheers and/or cheerios), dis (this), dat (that), yeah, no, hi, mmmm (yum), mom, boo (book), kees (keys), peas, bre (bread), haa (hat), buurd (bird), ish (fish), ack (cat), cheeg (change).  He's continuing to pick up sounds too - vroom (for a car), woofroof (for a dog), nooow (for a cat), moooooo (for a cow), ong (for a pig), eeehhh eeehhh (for a monkey), buzz (for a bee), bah (for a sheep - he makes himself sound like an 80 year old smoker when he does it), rah (for a lion).

Signs: Eat, more, finished, bird, dog, baby, milk, ball, flower, fish, sleep, book, car, play, shoes (looks like "more" though), potty (when Dodger goes and once when he went), hat, Dad, cat. When prompted he will mimic signs for water, bath, and change.

How Reed is sleeping: Reed was heading towards one nap, but then he got sick, his nighttime sleep suffered and  I moved him back to two naps a day. He's been back on one nap for the last four days and seems to be doing well. I've been putting him down around 11:00-11:30 and he sleeps for 2 to 3 hours. He goes to bed around 7:30pm, then he usually wakes somewhere between 6:00 and 7:00 am. He sleeps in a sleep sack, with a pacifier and Soft Sheep (and sometimes his puppy dog as well). We also have a sound machine and a night light that goes off after about half an hour. The last two weeks he's been sick and struggling with breathing and coughing a bit. I've been getting up with him - some nights a few times just to help him find his lost pacifier and then other nights I've been up with him for hours at a stretch. I told myself that after New Years we would work on kicking the pacifier habit, but I'm leaving it be until he's well. Also, to be honest, he's ended up in bed with us on a few occasions, hopefully we aren't creating habits that are too hard to undo once he's well!

Favorite Moment(s):
Reed's interest in words, sounds, and signs seems to be at an all time high. He has started to ask what certain things are by saying "dat" or "dis" and pointing. A few times he has tried to mimic what Jon and I have called the object. Watching him put two and two together has been so neat!

Milestones:

12/25/12   Reed's first time climbing up a whole flight of stairs - he did it probably a dozen time at Allan and Lynette's Christmas party
01/10/13   I was asking Reed to point to Mom and Dad and when I asked "where is Reed?" he pointed to himself

01/12/13   Reed signs "potty" after going #2

Favorite Photo Shoot Outtake:

A Day in the Life of a 15 Month old Reed

I haven't done one of these posts in a while. I plan on doing them every 3 or 4 months during Reed's second year, just to help document the transformation of our daily schedule. I was going to wait a few weeks to do this, but Reed is going back and forth between one nap and two and I wanted to keep track of what a two nap day looks like since that has been the usual for the last few months. Anyway here is what our Saturday looked like.

6:10 Reed wakes-up, I change his diaper, then he signs "milk" and I oblige him by pouring a sippy cup full of hemp milk





6:25 Reed and I sit down to breakfast. Most days I eat whatever I prepare for Reed. On this day it is rye toast spread with avocado and some blackberries. I usually try to talk about what we are going to do that day. I leave out words I know will excite him like "outside," "Grandma/Nonna," or "book," but in general try to have a conversation, all be it one sided, with him. After about 15 minutes I get up and clean out the dishwasher, pick-up the kitchen, and make a loaf of spiced pear bread. The whole time keeping an eye on Reed and obliging him when he signs "more."

6:55 Reed signs finished and says "daan." He plays in his kitchen cabinet while I clean up our breakfast dishes.

7:05 I notice an unmistakable smell and take the Little Guy back to his room for a diaper change. Since we are back there I brush his teeth, administer his inhaler, and change his clothes.

7:25 I leave him in his room to play independently

7:35 Reed finds me in the living room and wants me to play with his new toys from Santa.

8:00 Jon gets up (so nice having him home on Saturdays now), I pull the bread out of the oven, and leave the boys to play while I get a run in.

9:00 Jon gives Reed a snack, then changes his diaper.

9:15 Jon puts Reed down for a nap just as I get home. While the Monkey is sleeping I have a meeting with the guy that is replacing the cabinet fronts in our kitchen, pick up the house a bit, take Dodger for a walk, and pay some bills.

11:00 I wake Reed up knowing if he sleeps much longer he won't take a 2nd nap and it will be way too long for him to happily make it to bed time. I change his diaper and we read some books in his room.

11:30 We go outside to play, usually this means soccer balls and the wagon, but today our garage is filled with cardboard from Christmas gifts and he's getting a kick out of putting pieces of broken down boxes in the trash can - not complaining about this game!

12:00 We eat lunch. For some reason Reed's new favorite thing is to have Jon serve him food like a waiter and then say "Mmmm . . . Good Choice" the kid cracks up every time.

12:30 Done with lunch, Reed plays in his kitchen cupboard while I clean up.

12:45 Reed and I head to the grocery store where he is overly friendly - waving and saying "hi" to everyone.

1:35 We are home and I unpack groceries while Reed helps by stacking cans and boxes.

1:55 Time for Reed's 2nd nap. Diaper change, sleep sack, read a few books, and he is out. I'm fairly lazy - get a shower taken and watch tv with Jon.

4:00 Reed is still asleep (the prior few days have obviously taken their toll). I wake Reed up knowing if he sleeps much past 4:00 he'll have a hard time going to bed later.

4:10 Reed has a snack
4:25 Reed plays with toys in the living room

4:45 I notice another smelly diaper.

5:00 We go back out to the living room and Reed starts signing milk, I pour him a cup of rice milk and then start in on making the risotto we are going to have with dinner. He is in a foul mood and keeps trying to play with the knob on the stove, then I tell him "no," then he starts to cry, and then it repeats. Jon tries reading to him while I cook, but he's not having it. He calms down long enough to help me set the table - it is really cute - he takes the place mats over to the table every night for me, but then it is back to whining until dinner is ready.

6:05 We sit down to dinner and all enjoy Jon's barbecued chicken.

6:30 Jon takes Reed back and gets him ready for bath time. You can see the gymnastics we are privy to every night on the changing table. While I hate that part, the next step is pretty funny - Reed walking in the nude to the bathroom and then one by one throwing his toys into the tub. The bath is followed by another round of wrestling as we put him in his pajamas. The weird thing is he will stop and sit completely still for his inhaler and fluoride and then start right back up again as soon as they are done.

6:50 We let Reed watch a Signing Time DVD while I clean up dinner and Jon practices the guitar.

7:20 I take Reed back to his room and put him in his sleepsack. We read his quilted picture book that his Great Grandma Norma made him. His new thing is to give all of the pictures a hug by laying his head on the pages. It is adorable!

 

7:30 I lay him down and he quickly falls asleep. Thankfully he sleeps through the night, which hasn't been the case for the last two weeks - he must have known I was documenting his day!