Big Boy Rooms

Before Kieran was born I tried to update Reed's room to be more of a "Big Boy Room." Mainly this meant the rocker and crib were moved into K's nursery, a bed and fun sheets were purchased, furniture rearranged, and that was about it. Over the last two years I've slowly added and subtracted from his room and I think it is finally a room that can last him quite a few years and also reflects his personality, encourages lots of play, and is full of things he loves. No surprise here, there is no "theme" but it is definitely very bright and colorful, has lots of vintage and handmade items, and a few nods to his favorite guy - Dodger!!!

The propeller belonged to my Grandfather,  the leather chair was my college graduation gift from my parents, the painting of Dodger was done by G-Momma, one of the hats above the painting is the green hat Reed wore everyday for approximately 3 years, the dresser was my Great Grandmothers (repainted by me and Grandma), the framed cross stitch above the dresser was made by Lyla's Grammy (Marty), the rocking horse belonged to Grandpa and was made for him by his Grandfather.

The Lego table was the boys Santa gift this year, the Number themed wall hanging was made for my second Christmas by my Aunt Laurie, the quilt on the bed was made for Reed by Auntie Amanda (he also has two other special quilts made by my friend Laurie and my Aunt Laurie he uses all of the time).

The painting of Reed as an infant was done by G-Momma, the Pennant flags were made by me for C's baby shower then modified and reused, and Nonna and Pepe gave Reed the picture of the Labrador who looks just like Dodger and is advertising a cupcake (Cupcake was his nickname before birth).

The Dog poster was picked out by Reed to complete his room and the bulletin boards were made by me from old window frames left at our house by the previous owners

Kieran made the move out of his crib pretty early on and had been sleeping on a mattress on the floor for over six months when I decided it was time to get him an actual bed (he now has Reed's old bed and Reed got a new bed). I also rearranged the furniture in his room but the décor is pretty much the same as was in his nursery. The colors are red, white, blue, and grey and most of the furniture and accents are white wood. Anyway, it definitely looks like a kid's bedroom now and no longer a nursery. So here is K's Big Boy Room as it is right now:

The framed cross stitch on the bookshelf was made by Lyla's Grammy (Marty), the piggy bank was a gift from Nonna and Pepe, the chalkboard was made by me and used at Auntie Amanda's baby shower, the toy box was made for me as a toddler by my Grandfather, the quilt on the bed was made by my Aunt Laurie.

The wall hanging by the door has a vintage McClarty Farms t-shirt mounted on it and surrounded by all the family members' hand, foot, or paw prints.

The framed photo is of me and Jon holding Kieran as a newborn and the quilt on the chair was made by Auntie Amanda. We will be saying goodbye to the rocker soon and moving it to C and Tio's house for their new baby but my plan is to put the white play kitchen in this corner.

There is probably only an inch to spare between the bed and the bookcases - perfect fit!!! The alphabet flashcards were bought by me and Jon on a trip to Seattle right after we had told our Grandparents we were expecting another baby and my plan right now is to replace them with a painted mountain outline or some other wall art in the coming years.

Easter 2016

We kicked off Easter weekend on Saturday by letting Reed and Kieran open a few cards and gifts they had received in the mail from G-Momma and Blingy. They were so excited by the personalized cards and cool new caps, it was pretty cute!

Sunday morning both boys were up at 5:30 am, this was definitely less than ideal but Reed was screaming about a bug buzzing him in his room and Kieran had to poop so what are you going to do? They were both so excited to go through their Easter baskets and the Easter Bunny did a pretty good job of giving them useful things like sunscreen, summer shoes, pajamas, bathing suits, garden shovels, and baking tools. He did throw in some jelly beans and a movie, but I guess that's acceptable. We had breakfast, picked up around the house, and made desserts for later in the day. Our original plan was to go to Aunt Penny and Uncle Mark's in the evening for a Birthday dinner for Great Grandpa Dean (his Birthday was on Easter this year), but sadly Penny was injured really badly after being knocked over by her dog, so our plans changed and instead we got to celebrate his Birthday and Easter all at lunch. The Stoothoffs joined us this year and it was so much fun to spend some time with them and cute little Maisie. We had three egg hunters and they acted pretty predictably - Kieran and Lyla took turns helping each other and Reed ran around grabbing eggs before the Littles could reach them, he did however do a good job of not picking up any on the lawn per my instructions. Each kid had a special egg hidden with a toy in it but the rest of the eggs were empty. I think the Easter Bunny knows from past experience that these kids get plenty of wonderful gifts from so many relatives and friends that there is no need to add anything else. It was a beautiful sunny day and after all of the festivities we managed to hang out with a lot of the crowd for a good chunk of the afternoon just playing corn hole, eating, drinking, and chatting.

Stand in Grandpa Jay with Auntie M, Baby Ben, and Hunky Kevin

Egg Hunt Spectators

Not so good at keeping the eggs in the basket!

The Burchett Family

The Boys Checking out Lyla's haul

The Ketelsen Family

Kieran decided he wanted to be a Ketelsen

The extended Cozzi Family

The extended Gillette Family

The Stoothoff Family

Kids Table

Happy Birthday Great Grandpa Dean!!!

When you gotta go, you gotta go.

4.5 Years

Here we are, 4.5 years old, a measly six months away from the crazy milestone of FIVE years old!!! The past six months with Reed have been pretty spectacular. He has settled into his school routine really well and is constantly telling me how he tries to listen to everything the teachers tell him. One day on our way home from school he was super upset and didn't want to tell me something. I was so concerned something bad had happened at school and crazy thoughts started jumping to mind, after about 15 minutes of questioning I found out he had kept playing when the teachers told them to line up but had gotten in line when they asked a second time, he was so worried that I was going to be mad and he was disappointed in himself for not listening - if these are the types of behavioral problems we have in our future - I'll take it!!!

Reed has become so independent since his Birthday. He gets his own snacks, carries plates of food to the table, drinks out of regular cups, goes to the bathroom independently (minus the wiping), has improved his sleeping habits immensely, and is really good at listening to directions. At this point the thing he needs to work on the most is his patience with his brother and bragging. He has a tendency to make sure Kieran knows anytime he doesn't have something that he does and will also lose his mind if K dare touch a toy or game he has setup in his room. When either Jon or I have Reed one on one we are always telling the other what a great kid he's become, how fun he is to be around, and how "easy" he is. He does have a seemingly endless amount of energy and could run, play tag, kick a soccer ball, do ninja tricks, etc., etc. all day and night long, which is exhausting but also can be really fun.

Interesting Facts

Weight: 37 lbs

Height: 42 in

Clothing Size:  4T and 5T tops, 4T pajamas, 3T and 4T shorts, and pants that are 4T are starting to get a bit short, but are loose around the waist.

Shoe Size: 11

Reed likes: Doing anything outside, pretending to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and imaginary play in general, playing legos, caring for his cuddly guys, dance parties, being read books, cooking, craft projects, and going to school. Screen time favorites are The Magic Schoolbus, Super Why, and Daniel Tiger, also any video game or movie we let him watch is always a huge hit.

Reed dislikes: Kieran playing with his toys and waiting for anything.

 

Nicknames: Reedster, Reedcito, Buddy, Monkey, Reed-man,  Darlin', and Reeder.

Food: Favorites still include pizza, hamburgers, french fries, steak, pasta, and avocado. His top places to eat are In-N-Out and getting coconut milk from Starbucks. Reed loves fruit, hates beans and vegetables, and likes most meats and grains. He devours any dessert put in front of him and is usually willing to try new dishes as long as they aren't vegetables, but will at least try a bite of anything we ask him to. He is allergic to dairy, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, and eggs.

Communication: Reed's vocabulary continues to amaze me and I love how easy it is to understand his speech. He knows all upper and lower case letters and the sounds they make and can sound out most 2-5 letter words if asked. He is doing pretty well learning to write his letters and can consistently write his first name correctly.

Favorite Color(s): Pink and Purple 

Best Friends: Grandma, Grandpa, Nonna, and Pepe. He also said his best friend at school has always been Skylee.

How Reed is sleeping:  He goes to bed around 7:30 pm and sleeps until between 6:00 and 7:00am most mornings. He sleeps in a twin bed, with a night light and sound machine as well as 2-3 quilts, girl soft sheep, Pooh, and 2-3 other cuddly guys. He has an hour of quiet time most afternoons but usually only naps if he's sick.

Milestones over the last six months:

The Monkey got his very own library card

Reed had his first class party (and has had four more since)

Reedster has started to tell people he can't eat what he's being offered because of his allergies all on his own without even checking with me

Reedcito is now able to write his first name

He attended a Birthday party for a friend he met at school (rather than someone we know the parents of)

Reed attended his first wedding

He had his first (followed the next day by his second) performance/recital

He rode his first legitimate roller coaster

Reed now uses lidless cups for pretty much everything

He attempted skiing for the first time

Reed-man successfully shared a bedroom with his brother on three different trips

 

C's Birthday Celebrations

Sorry I've been a pretty big failure in the picture taking/writing about our life department for a couple of weeks now! I'll make up for it soon. We did have fun celebrating C's Birthday last week and I even managed to snap a few pictures with my phone so I thought I would share. We started with Sunday dinner at Nonna and Pepe's and Gran and Papa were even able to join us. We had a delicious Italian dinner followed by cupcakes, ice cream, and a daiquiri sorbet that the kids were surprisingly fond of. The kids also loved being present opening assistants. Then the next night I slipped away to watch the finale of the show "The Bachelor" over at C's house with a couple of friends. Tio had decorated the whole house and made a four layer rainbow cake covered in green frosting. It should come as no surprise he has since been named Husband of the Year by us ladies. Tuesday was C's actual Birthday so Tio picked up pizza and we had a great time enjoying the nice weather and hanging out in their backyard. The boys couldn't get enough of the motorized jeep and made a pretty scary duo when Kieran took over the accelerator and Reed only had the wheel. We love C so much and are so lucky that she is such a big part of our lives and I have a feeling this is going to be a pretty great year for her!!!