Reed is Three!

I will do a post in a few days with some measurements, statistics, etc. for Reed at three years old. In the meantime here is a barrage of photos from his Birthday party. We kept it small this year with just his Grandparents, Great-Grandparents, and Aunt/Uncle/Cousin, that live locally. Since he is so into puzzles and games I used that as a theme and had a few puzzle piece garlands and signs, along with puzzles to do during dinner, a Where's Waldo book for everyone to sign (that I forgot to get everyone to sign), and a puzzle making station that meant everyone left behind a personalized puzzle just for the Monkey. The dinner menu was Reed's choice - Barbecued chicken, sausage, green beans, pasta with Pepe's marinara sauce, and a blueberry cake for dessert. He wasn't sure about all of the puzzle pieces hanging about and even asked me take them down at one point (so much for all my time spent crafting them).

Our family and friends definitely know him and a lot of his gifts were puzzles, books, and games. There were an absolute ton of presents and he took two breaks from opening them to 1) thumb through one of his new books and 2) try on his new cowboy boots. His favorite gifts were a plasma car from C, Tio, and Lyla and a book written by C and Tio (notice a theme?) a close third was the helmet that went with the balance bike that Jon and I got for him. He actually left it on the majority of the night and we had to convince him to take it off for bedtime. Kieran did loud happy screams throughout dinner, but Reed didn't seem bothered and even would try to get him to calm down from time to time by telling him everything was okay or by putting more pasta on his tray - such a good Big Brother!!! He didn't get to bed until almost 10:00pm partially because he was on a sugar high from his two pieces of cake and partially because we were having such a great time with him and didn't want the evening to end.

Reed overseeing everyone working on their puzzle "crafts"

Kieran and Great Papa Dean



Reed and Grandpa working on a puzzle Auntie M and Hunky Kevin crafted



Nonna, Gran, C, Papa, and Lyla



Giving Baby Bro a lift

Dinner is almost ready!

After dinner wrestling - a Birthday must

Grandma and Nonna helping with a six-sided puzzle

The best picture of the Birthday Boy and Cousin Lyla

Grandma reading his new favorite book from C and Tio

Nonna reading his new favorite book from C and Tio

I insisted on a picture with Reed at the end of the night



Then I made Jon take one too

Michelangelo. . . he's a Party Dude!!!

With Reed and Jon's Birthdays falling so close together I decided on the day in between to do something special for the two of them. Reed really loves the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (he's never seen a movie or show but loves looking through Jon's old childhood books) so I thought that would be a fun theme for a little mini-party. During the boys' nap time I made turtle balloons and laid out Jon and Reed's gifts - matching turtle backpacks and cups, along with a floor puzzle and a book and hid everything away in our media room. I also made pizza for everyone, because obviously Ninja Turtles need pizza! Reed had a lot of questions and wasn't nearly as excited as I thought he would be, but I still might try to do it again next year if there is something I think they would both like. Reed did think the masks were cool and insisted on us wearing them around ALL NIGHT LONG!!!

In addition to the celebration we had another big moment when we let Kieran try some cheese on his pizza and he had no reaction. I can't describe the pit in my stomach watching him gobble up his slice and I still don't like having dairy in the house, but we have continued to give Kieran cheese for the last 3 days with absolutely no problem!!!

 

Jon's Birthday (aka Reed's pre-Birthday)

My lack of posting for the last few months is about to change, so get ready! Last Thursday was Jon's Birthday or as Jon refers to it "Reed's pre-Birthday." I think adult Birthdays start to lose attention once there are children involved but since Jon and Reed's special days only fall two days apart, Jon definitely feels the pinch. For his Birthday Jon requested to BBQ tri-tip to make sandwiches with, that I make a few side dishes/salads, and that we eat on paper plates so there would be minimal dishes. I tried to get him to let me cook but he was pretty insistent and the arrangement made my life easy so I didn't put up too much of a fight. We just had C, Tio, Lyla, Nonna, Pepe, Grandma, and Grandpa over for dinner. It was a relaxed night and great to hang out with everyone. 

Jon doesn't like a lot of desserts and the ones he does (cheesecake and anything with peanut butter) are pretty hard to replicate for Reed. Instead my, almost 3 year old, baking assistant and I decided to take one of Jon's favorite breakfast foods, cinnamon rolls, and make it into a cake. It turned out really yummy if I do say so myself!

Grandpa helped Reed make a game out of all of the tissue paper

This is the face Jon makes when he genuinely likes something!

C and Tio gave me and Jon a joint gift this year so we all had to go outside to see what it was . . . a Crazy Cart. You would think the boys (or at least Reed) would be excited about the vehicle but they thought the box was way more interesting.

Grandma getting cuddles from C and Lyla

Happy Birthday to Jon (aka one of my favorite people, my best friend, and "first" child)!!!

Let the Celebrations Begin

September, October, and November are pretty big months for Birthdays and Anniversaries in our family. September is the busiest of the three and the celebrating starts with our wedding anniversary (Happy 6 years Jon!!!) quickly followed by Grandpa's Birthday. This year I had to work on Friday, which isn't the norm, so Grandma took the boys to her house for the day. Reed took it upon himself to help "decorate" the house with some of his books and toys by scattering them all over the living room and kitchen. Kieran helped by taking a nice long afternoon nap for Grandma. Once Jon and I got off of work we headed over with a cake that Reed and I had made the day before. Grandma and Grandpa made a delicious dinner and we had a lovely evening spending time together.

Present opening is a team effort!

Our attempt at a posed photograph.

Cake decorating, also a team effort.

 Blowing out candles, you guessed it, a team effort!!!

 Happy Birthday to our hard working, kind hearted, and very loved Dad/Grandpa!!!

Ten Months

Ten Months, wow!!! I swear I'm going to blink and have a one year old. This month Kieran has made leaps and bounds in the milestone department. His crawl is still more of a no knees, straight leg, toe push, but man can he get around fast. He also is into EVERYTHING!!! He can pull up on anything, cruise around any piece of furniture, and will accept the challenge of climbing up anything and everything. He adores his Big Brother and wants to do everything he does, all of the time.

This Kiddo is a bit of an emotional roller coaster, flip flopping between crying and laughing all the time. Mom dancing, fake sneezing, giving him kisses, or tossing him in the air equals laughing. Mom changing his diaper, helping Reed go potty, not continually shoveling food onto his tray, or letting someone else hold him equals sobbing. Kieran really loves to eat and puts away more food than I can fathom at most meals. I gave up on "cute" pictures this month because I thought photos of him eating caption the majority of our days perfectly.

Monthly Statistics

Weight: 19 lbs

Height: 29.5 inches (measured by Nurse Practicioner two weeks ago)

Clothing Size:  For the most part 12 month tops and 9 month or 6-12 month bottoms,

Teeth: 2.25 - 2 bottom front and 1 top front that keeps poking through and then recessing back up into his poor little gums.

Kieran likes: Eating, taking walks, Dodger (and all other dogs/cats), bath time, balls, watching Reed do anything and attacking him as well, pool time, VTech tow truck, watching anyone brush their teeth, being tossed in the air, story time (especially his favorite - I Love you Through and Through book), tickles, crawling/climbing/getting around on his own, playing drums, when Nonna sings High Hopes, when Mom or Reed do fake sneezes, the puppy guitar and dog piano, his toy table, and Perrito his stuffed animal pacifier.

Kieran dislikes: Diaper changes, having something taken out of his hands, waking up because of a need to poop, being told "no" and waiting for food. He also detests teething - but we are all in agreement on that one.

Food: K continues to like almost all foods but is starting to show a few preferences, including oatmeal, blueberries, avocado, fish, broccoli, pancake, peaches, and squash.  New additions this month have included: green beans, pasta, mango, raspberries, peppers, grapes, toast, tomatoes, strawberries, mushrooms, steak, hemp milk, chia seeds, and corn.

 

Nicknames: Kier, K, K Dawg, K-Man, K-Bug, Kierito, Buddy, Buddy Bear, Smalls, Cuddle Bug, and Goldilocks has made a comeback as well.

How Kieran is sleeping: Ugghh. K's sleep is all over the board right now. He has been waking around 5:00 am and then tries to go back to sleep after I nurse him. He either goes back to sleep until after 7:00 am or struggles, poops, and then is up for good before 6:00 am. His first nap has been falling between 9:00 and 9:30 and lasts about two hours. His afternoon nap has been between 1:00 and 2:00 and usually last around 1.5 hours. Bedtime is almost always 7:30 and he sleeps through the night until that wake-up around 5:00.

Words: New Category!!! Kieran has started to say "Momma" and "Mom" quite frequently and sometimes it seems to be even directed towards me. He also loves to try to mimic us when we say "Lyla" and has let "Dada" slip out once or twice, but not when Jon has been around.

Favorite Moment: When I asked Jon he said he loves Kieran's nightly scaling of Reed's bean bag to try to play with his Big Brother. It is pretty funny to watch his determination to get up to reach Reed and also how much he adores him. For me I have to admit that hearing K say "Mom" and "Momma" has been so sweet. He likes to use it when he is upset, but I love that he is taking this step into the world of verbal communication.

Milestones:
08/07/14 Kieran goes from laying down to sitting up for the first time (in his crib).
08/08/14 K starts "cruising" between ottomans, the couch, and anything else he can reach out to grab.
08/18/14 Kieran says his first word - "Mom"
08/23/14 The Little Guy waves for the first time in response to me saying "hey you" from across the room
08/30/14 First time leaving the Kiddo overnight

Favorite Photo Shoot Outtake: (Reed decided K needed some guys to help get smiles for the photo shoot).