Christmas . . . Round 2

On Sunday we had a delicious dinner with Nonna, Pepe, Tio, and Auntie C. They were all very accommodating and let us open gifts before dinner so we could get Reed home at a somewhat normal hour. When we got there he spotted his new chair and immediately knew what to do with it. I kept looking at him lounging and couldn't help but notice how much he looked like Harold. He also nabbed a stuffed puppy dog out of Chelsea's arms when she walked in the door. I think the kid has some kind of weird gift radar because when we walked into the living room, Reed immediately went over to a snowman package and started unwrapping. Luckily it was for him, but I was so surprised because he hadn't tried to touch a gift at our house and has seemed pretty uninterested in gift opening in the past. Nonna, Auntie C, and I took turns helping the Monkey open his gifts (and put them together) and he seemed to love everyone of them.

This kid never has a shortage of love or generosity in that house. Besides all of the toys, Harold and Debbie adopted an acre of land in Reed's name at U.C. Davis' Russell Ranch, a gift he will have forever.

 

I decided this year that we would try to take a family shot at at every celebration we could, in hopes that one would turn out. This was the first attempt, probably not it!

 

 

 

Christmas . . . Round 1

I've been trying to figure out the best way to break the last week down into a post or two, but it's nearly impossible to do so. I've decided instead that I will start with last Friday and work my way forwards until I get caught up ending posts when my free time is up or it makes sense to do so given the event, etc.

Our first Holiday event was last Friday. Auntie "M" hosted a wonderful party for my Dad's side of the family at her house. We were the first ones to leave and it was still a pretty late night for Reed. He managed to entertain himself most of the night by shuttling coasters to Grandma and entertaining Grandpa and the others with his general cuteness. There were three tables; the "adult" table (which Reed somehow worked his way up to), the "kid" table, and then the "sub-kid" table where our family of three sat by choice because of the wipe-ability of the table and the location directly over linoleum.

The next morning Jon and our friend Mason raced each other to see who would win a bet they made a few months ago. There was a chance of rain later in the day, but the morning was supposed to be clear with possible light showers. When we got to the trail it was raining really hard and was freezing cold. Reed was game for playing in puddles and wasn't too happy when I stuck him inside a car with me and our friend Russell to watch the race, out of the elements. Note to self: don't promise a little boy he can play outside and then try to contain him in a car. Reed cried the entire time the boys ran (I told him he was scaring Russell from ever having children) and unfortunately Jon lost the race. He had really ran quite a bit in the last few months and thought he had a chance at winning, but it wasn't his day. The good news is that the loser has to take his wife and the winning couple out to dinner, so I still get to enjoy the spoils of Mason's victory.

15 Months

This last month has been a roller coaster ride. Some days are great while others have been a little on the rough side. Reed is learning more words and sign language, is steadier on his feet, and has been great adjusting to changes in his schedule when we travel or have Holiday events to attend. On the down side he seems to be battling with some teething, has had some environmental allergy issues, is getting a little pickier in his eating habits (who needs to eat veggies anyways?), had a bad bout with constipation, has been waking in the night screaming, and has dreadfully learned the word "no." The last one is pretty funny if you only hear it once - he shakes his head and says "NO, NO, NO, NO, NO" as if he has just been given the worst news possible, usually over something really mundane like me asking if he wants to eat lunch - let me tell you, after the twentieth time in a day it is less humorous!!!

Now that Jon is working less hours and not at all on Saturdays he's been watching Reed more often. A couple of weeks ago I was downloading some pictures off of my camera when I ran into about a dozen shots that Jon had taken. Apparently when I was out, Reed and Dad spent an entire evening playing in a box.

Also on the positive this month has been our Christmas tree. I decorated it about three weeks ago, putting soft and non-breakable ornaments toward the bottom half assuming that I would probably have to move them, but at least if he got his hands on them he wouldn't hurt himself. Much to my surprise he only touched one ornament and has left the tree alone since. The kid hates hearing the word "no" (ironic given the information above I know), he breaks down into an inconsolable baby if we tell him "no" so we've started to reserve it for only the most dangerous of the things. Otherwise we usually explain to him that the thing he is touching belongs to someone else, divert him by giving him something that is his, and usually that is the end of it. When he touched the Christmas tree I told him that the tree and ornaments were Santa's and he quickly moved on and hasn't looked back.

Reed is more into books than ever and will demand a book be read over and over to him. I'm not going to lie, after three or four times I try to distract him and replace the book with a different one. I do love books with lots of pictures of animals, fruits, objects, etc. Reed can spend a long time on one book pointing out the different things upon request, making the coordinating sounds, or showing me a sign. I'm always amazed when we go through a book and he's been able to communicate something from every single page.

Monthly Statistics

Weight: 23.25 lbs

 

Clothing Size: 12-18 months for pretty much everything, he has a couple of 18-24 month tops that fit well, and 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 that are all but pushed through

Reed likes: Shoes, Soft Sheep, Signing Time DVDs, doing "cheers," playing with the Salad Spinner, his Baby Einstein Alphabooks, balls, reading books, 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, and his puppy dog key board.

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, and being told no.

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

Favorite Foods: Applesauce, berries, grapes, Mom's homemade pancakes and bread, avocado, mushrooms, carnitas, dried cranberries, chicken, bananas, whole pears and apples, fish, sausage, steak, graham crackers, snap pea crisps, smoothies, and overnight oatmeal.

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

Words: Dada, daa (Dog), boom, mo (more), daan (done), baa (ball), choos (shoes), chees (cheers), dis (this), dat (that), yeah, no, hi, mmmm (yum) and a couple times unprompted he's said MomMom, bye, and duckckc (duck). He's really been picking up sounds lately 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), and buzz (for a bee).

 

Signs: Eat, more, finished, bird, dog, baby, milk, ball, flower, fish, sleep, book. When prompted he will mimic signs for water, bath, and yes. He can't sign them himself but understands when I sign play and shoes.

How Reed is sleeping: Reed takes a nap in the morning that lasts 1.5 hoursand one in the afternoon that is about 1.5 hours. He goes to bed around 7:30pm, then he usually wakes somewhere between 6:00 and 6:30 am. He sleeps in a sleep sack, with a pacifier and Soft Sheep. We also have a sound machine and a night light that goes off after about half an hour. This last week he's been waking up screaming and it takes a lot to calm him down (like an hour or two). I've tried giving him something to drink, reading a book, letting him cry on his own, rocking him, and laying down with him. It seems like he just needs time to work out whatever is bothering him. Hopefully it is just the darn teeth and this will be over soon (and I won't have created too many bad habits in the process).

 

 

Favorite Moment(s):

Jon said his favorite moment this month was when Reed spontaneously started signing book. Since it is one of his favorite things to do, it's been so much fun watching him relate the sign to us going and getting a book to read.

My favorite moment was when I said something about brushing his hair and he touched the top of his head. I point out body parts all the time and I knew he could touch his nose on cue, but I was taken aback that he knew just what I was talking about when I said hair. This prompted me to ask about other body parts. Much to my surprise he can point to his hair, eyes, nose, mouth, tummy, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, and sometimes ears.

Milestones:
12/06/12 Reed goes to his first parade - The Electrical Farm Equipment Parade in Reedley

12/15/12 We take Reed on his first train ride while visiting friends in L.A.

12/17/12 Reed gets one foot off of the floor "jumping" in gym class

Favorite Photo Shoot Outtake:

So what if he's about to fall of the chair,
that face is too cute!!!

Supersized Play Date

I've talked about Jon's college roommate, Adam, before. He and his wife, Marli, had an adorable little guy named Cole three months before Reed was born. For awhile it worked out that we were seeing them every three or four months and I would call it my "quarterly preview" because during that first year there is just such a big difference, developmentally, over the matter of a few months and I always loved seeing what Cole was doing, knowing that those things were just around the corner for Reed. Now that the boys are close to 15 and 18 months the difference has all but disappeared, but unfortunately the boys haven't been together for over six months. After quite a few emails back and forth we finally figured out a weekend we could head down to Los Angeles and spend a whole weekend with them.

It was a very mellow weekend which is what we needed and so much fun seeing the boys play together. Cole was a sweetheart and shared all of his toys with Reed, gave him hugs from time to time, and took a liking to Jon right away. As luck would have it Reed's allergies flared up, he had an unexpected bout with constipation, and he's working on a few molars, but even with all of that going on he was a trooper and was a good sport for the most part. On Saturday we spent a good chunk of the day wondering around with the boys in a borrowed double stroller and ended up at a neat park that the boys seemed to enjoy.

 

Reed was having fun climbing up the slide and Cole liked going down with Dad so we made a misguided decision to send Reed down solo. Apparently I must have hit the button in the process of dropping my camera to try to catch Reed who somehow flipped over as he made his way down the tube (I think this picture is so funny). He wasn't fazed in the slightest, came out laughing, and wanted to keep going down every slide we encountered!

These two munchkins were just so cute together. Somehow Marli and I both managed to get the same adorable picture but from opposite sides.

On Saturday night we went to the Travel Town Train Ride. We tried to get a few pictures but were pretty crammed into our seat so they didn't turn out too great. Reed was kind of in a daze when we were on the train but he did seem to like it and had a good time running around the train museum afterwards.

All in all it was a great weekend, made easier because Cole let Reed borrow a bunch of his things, including his room, and because Adam and Marli are always such great hosts.

Christmas in a Farming Town

I've pretty much been around ranches and farming equipment my whole life, but this year I saw all of that equipment in a whole new "light." Reed and I, along with all four of his Grandparents, went to the Electrical Farm Equipment Parade in Reedley on Thursday night. The parade started at Reed's usual bedtime, we had to park about 6 blocks away, and it had been chilly and damp all day; we weren't deterred though, and ended up having a great time.

Before the parade started we stopped in to say hi to the Melville's at Pam's store David's. It was nice to get to catch-up for a bit and stay warm inside. They were kind enough to loan us some of their chairs to sit on as well.

Once we were outside we got Reed setup standing on one of the chairs so he could see over the crowd.

Don't worry there was no shortage of Grandparents to hold and cuddle with him, point out the big pieces of equipment to him, and help him wave to the people in the parade.

Here are some of our favorites parade entrants:

If you couldn't tell from the pictures above, Reed was pretty much entranced by the show - not smiling, not crying, just staring for the whole hour. I think he liked it, but it was pretty overwhelming for the Little Guy.

We Went, We Watched, They Conquered

On Saturday Jon and I went to the 2012 Major League Soccer Final. Jon follows the LA Galaxy and when tickets went on sale for the championship he was one of a small group of people that managed to get tickets via the first limited sale. By the time he got logged on there were only really really good seats or a few bad seats left. He decided to go for it and scored us some AWESOME seats. It sounds like we actually got a good deal and that people with seats way farther up ended up paying as much as we did or having to buy tickets for games next year.

We got to the stadium a bit before the game was supposed to start. We walked around for awhile and then decided to find our seats. I was following Jon when he stopped suddenly, I thought he had bumped into someone, but it turns out his college roommate (who leaves in NYC) was at the game. I think we were all in shock, but managed to get a picture before saying our goodbyes and finding our seats.

If you know Jon, you know by his expressions in these pictures just how excited and into this game he was.

 

I wasn't allowed to take my Nikon into the game so my old point and shoot Cannon and iPhone camera were put to the test. Not great for action shots, but I still managed to get a few. This one is probably the best because you can actually make out some of the Galaxy (white uniforms) players.

Franklin, Juninho (yellow shoes), Beckham (pink shoes), Donovan

It was such a great match. The Galaxy were down 0-1 at the half but came back to win 3-1. The energy in the Home Depot Center was electric and we had so much fun.

It felt like we could touch the players, I tried to get a picture of Becks for all of you ladies, but this is about as good as I could get.

We left the Reedster at home with Nonna and Pepe, but don't worry he had a great time too. While we were still in Los Angeles Nonna sent us this video of Reed dancing in Pepe's shoes. I think it is sooooo cute!