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).

Reed Says . . . August 2014 Edition

This last month has been all about potty training. Reed is still in diapers but often goes full days without having an accident. He just isn't very good at telling us when he needs to go yet. He will go when put on the toilet every 1.5-2 hours but since that is completely dependent on me or whoever is watching him we haven't moved him to underwear. While spending time in the bathroom can be exhausting (especially when you add in a 9 month old), we have found one thing Reed and I both like to do to kill time - learning jokes. You have to admit there is nothing cuter than a three year old telling a joke! His favorite goes "what do you call a skeleton that won't get out of bed? Lazy Bones!" Okay, okay, here are some Reed originals:

I was nursing Kieran when I heard some crashing and thrashing in Reed's room. When I went in to investigate I found his blinds all turned and twisted and he was singing "bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?"

One day while killing time in the bathroom I decided to quiz Reed by asking him which leg was his right and which was his left. He got both correct and then pointing down he said "and that's my penis leg."

Reed has decided that when only air (no loud sound) comes out it's called a "fancy toot."

A few Sundays back we were driving to Pepe and Nonna's and Reed was singing wee, wee, wee, wee, over and over again. It was beyond annoying and I muttered something along the lines of "we need to be there already!" He returned with " a couple more wees and then we'll be to Nonna's house Mom."

He was once again on the toilet the other day when he told me that "it hurts when I poop because sometimes I poop and the chunk splashes my pee back onto my penis." I was trying not to let him see me laughing so I put my face in my hands. To this he responded with "Mom, don't be sad I'm okay."

The boys were playing in the living room when Kieran actually got the etch-a-sketch writing implement and made a mark on the screen. Reed started yelling "Mom look, Kieran's drawing!" Then he turned to K and told him "I'm impressed with you!!!"

At the dinner table Reed was recounting to Jon what he had been up to during the day. He volunteered that "Dad today when I went potty I ate Star Wars gummies. Yoda is green, that's convenient."

Out of nowhere Reed ran up to me and told me that "Kieran and Soft Sheep are my two favorite babies!" (I'm not sure which one should feel more flattered).

Jon was helping The Monkey use the bathroom but his aim was a bit off and he ended up peeing a bit on the personalized step stool that is against the toilet. When Jon started cleaning up the mess Reed leaned over and told him "don't worry Dad, the R (the stool says Reed) doesn't have pee on it."

Reed is often times resistant to the idea of walking Dodger in the morning. One morning when I was putting his tennis shoes on He told me that his "nose doesn't want to walk Dodger it wants to go home. Mom, I do not wish to be outside."

I was snacking on tortilla chips before dinner and Reed asked if he could have some. I said yes and then he told me "thank you Mom, these will help my hungriness go away."

The boys and I were eating lunch when Reed suddenly fell out of his chair and landed with a thud on the floor. I stood up and peered over the table to see the damage - he was laying flat on his back and as soon as he saw me he started to sing "hit the road jack."