Trains, trains, trains

As promised, Reed, Tyson, and I went to the Botanic Gardens on Saturday so Reed could show daddy all the cool trains (choo choo) and so that I could take the pictures I couldn't take on Wednesday due to my lack of batteries! It was great fun :)

All Reed could talk about was "choo choo." He was so excited to see them again. It is cool when you realize that your child remembers things from previous days. He has been capable for a while, but it just hit me again on Saturday how aware Reed has become.

So, Saturday morning we got ready and headed downtown. With my good parking karma (what Tyson calls it) we found a spot across the street! Can't ask for much better, especially with parking in DC. So, we walked to the Botanic Gardens and started our wait to see the trains. On Wednesday there was no line to see the train room, but this was a Saturday. I always forget that people do everything on Saturdays. Although it was nice to see families there - something that I don't see very much around here. We actually stood behind a family with a little boy (maybe 3?) and a 6-week-old little girl! It got me thinking, "Wow! I am going to be that mom in just a little while!" Yeah, I try not to freak out too much, but I am a bit nervous to juggle two kids.

Anyways, during our wait, Reed showed daddy the water and the water fountains that led up to the room. I was grateful that Reed loves water because it kept him occupied for the 10-15 minute wait. I actually really enjoyed the whole thing because plants just make everything seem fresh and new. During Christmastime they also have these displays of various structures in the DC area (capitol, washington monument, white house, houses on capitol hill, lincoln memorial, jefferson....a few others that I am forgetting) that are all made out of plant materials! This was the most amazing thing for me because the buildings look AMAZING! Also, all the buildings in the train room are made from plant materials! It's just so cool what can be made out of plants! Some people are so talented.

When we got into the train room, Reed was in heaven! He just stared at all the trains. He really loved the trains that went above his head and the ladybug-decorated train. He couldn't wait to show daddy all the cool trains. I think he could have stayed there all day! Inside the room there were at least a dozen, if not more, trains and at least 6 different displays. For example, one area had a Santa's workshop (made out of plant materials, of course) and another one was a jungle theme. There was a cool castle near the ceiling and there was another small village. There was even a little cave the kids could go through, just for fun :) So, needless to say, we almost had to drag Reed out when it was time to go.

"Can I look at the water" (p.s. this is his new sweater that I am absolutely in love with....te blue goes so well with his eyes!)

"Wow! A water fountain!"

Posing by the fountain....

"Choo choo!" He was getting a little tired of sitting by the water and just kept saying, "Choo choo!"

The trains above our heads...

Daddy posing while Reed gets distracted with the passing train. (I was a little surprised that Tyson did not get distracted with the train as well. He does have a love for trains...probably as much as Reed loves trains. Again - like father, like son).

Here it comes.....choo choo!

A house in Santa's workshop....so beautiful!

"Oh, there is another train!"

Seeing the other trains, but missing the one right in front of him!

Almost a good family picture, besides the weird look on my face. The lady taking the picture did not count or anything. I had looked down and was in the process of looking up when she took the photo....ah well. At least the boys look cute, right?!

"Look mom - the ladybug train!"

"Where did it go?" (that's the motion he makes when he wants to know where something went)

The caterpillar train

Reed seeing the trains above our heads...

"Look dad."

"Whoa!"

They have that same look on their faces again....like father, like son :)

The jungle train....there was a dolphin jumping through the water and even a monkey swinging in a tree!

The castle (made out of plant materials!)

We walked through the rest of the Gardens (all indoor....thank goodness) and Reed loved the waterfall (not surprising) and just walking around in general :) We ended at the large Christmas tree they have at the entrance with a trains going around the base. Reed loved watching it and even had a certain spot picked out where he wanted to stand. He even made his way through a crowd of kids to get to the this certain spot where you first see the trains coming from behind the tree! He also made friends with a lady and was showing her how the train comes out from behind the tree! Ah, kids....it just made me laugh :)


Reed and the waterfall...one of my favorite pictures of the day....a bit modelesque

Watching the train around the big Christmas tree...

The tree...

The houses of Capitol hill at the base of the tree....

To end our adventure downtown, we walked by the Capitol and saw the huge Christmas tree they have in front of it. I just love all the Christmas decorations around everywhere. I really do love this time of year. It seems that everyone tends to be a little bit nicer (aside from when they are standing in line for presents) and people tend to give a little bit more. Even though it's not actually when Jesus was born, I do love celebrating Jesus' birth at this time of year. It just makes me happy! I am also grateful that I have a family of my own to share this special time with - Reed loves to see nativities and baby Jesus in the manger. It's amazing how fast kids catch on to the important things in life :) Merry Christmas!


The Christmas tree...

Reed and I with the Christmas tree (it's the exact same picture, but with people in it....weird).

Curls, Self-Portraits, Big Belly

This is what happens when Reed takes pictures....gotta love it :)

I did Reed's hair curly the other day and, though the pictures don't do it justice, it looked awesome! But, after rolling around on the ground and napping, it looked just a little bit fuzzy and crazy. Ah well....I love the curls! So, here are the only curl pictures I could get. (Reed just likes to take the camera when he sees it, so I have to be quick). So, here they are:

He loves to play the piano...he even claps for himself!

Leafing through the music to see what he wants to play....

Cheesy smile, but I still love it :)

Another self-portrait taken by Reed:

Look at those plump lips and white teeth - yes, I am jealous!

Last Wednesday we went down to the Botanic Gardens and saw the most amazing train display ever! They had a room filled with dozens of types of trains and a bunch of little houses (all buildings were made out of plant materials). It was breathtaking! Reed could have stayed all day watching the trains go past him. The only bad thing - my camera ran out of batteries after the following picture was taken! For that reason and because I knew Reed would love to show daddy all the trains, we decided to make another trip sometime soon. So, here is the only picture I could get!

Reed was mesmerized.

On Saturday, we went down to the trains again (that will be my next post, so I am not going to give it away now), but also took a picture of my growing belly (finally...yeah, I keep forgetting). So, here is a picture of me and baby #2 at 36weeks and 3 days! I cannot believe that I am almost officially full-term. But, baby still needs a few weeks of cooking - if she could come at 39 weeks, that would awesome! Hear that, baby?

Our decorated Christmas tree in the background and my highlighted hair (I think this is the first picture of the short hair with highlights) .

Different angle....for all those who care :)

Santa Hats and Birthday Cookies

Before we had the tree all nice and decorated, I tried to get a few photos of Reed with the Santa hat on while standing by the Christmas tree. Well, it was a more difficult task than I had anticipated. Reed did not really want to put on the hat nor did he want to stand by the tree (with no lights on it, he liked to get behind the tree). I did get one of him just staring at me (still love the bright blue eyes) and I missed the smile and got the tail end of it....so, it looks a little weird, but at least he was smiling at one point, right? I will post the decorated Christmas soon, I promise :)

Santa hats are ok, just not the big man himself :)

Yeah, I know, it looks a little funny, but just seconds before, his smile was adorable!

We also had a little birthday bash to go to a few days later. One of Reed's friends had her 2nd birthday and we got to go and decorate cookies. It was Reed, two little girls, and a 5-week-old baby boy. They were all "loving the baby, sometimes a little too much, but still trying to be nice.

Reed enjoyed decorating the cookie, then picking off his m&ms, but he didn't really want to eat the cookie after wards - weird, I know. I think I ate my fair share of the sugar cookies (and even some of Reed's). The kids had a fun time playing and the moms had a fun time talking. I think the party was more for us than for them, but ah well! Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention - while they were decorating, the girls had their shirts off so that they would not get messy - an easy solution when your child rips off the bib. However, Reed DID NOT want to take off his and WOULD NOT keep on a bib. I guess he just likes his clothes on when they are on. That is definitely a blessing in public, but a bit hard when he needs to change his clothes. Ah well....good times with a toddler!

Reed eating m&ms with the little baby boy in the background. He kept saying, "Beebee (baby)" and wanting to bounce him.

The party crew....

More of the party.....woo woo!

Santa = No Fun

You would think that a little kid who loves the idea of Santa would actually love going to sit on Santa's lap and take a picture - but, no, it was not so for Reed. We talked about Santa, showed him pictures, and he kept babbling about Santa. So, I decided to head to the mall and get a picture with Santa, secretly hoping it would work, but not-so-secretly thinking it would be a total disaster. Well, it was much closer to a disaster.

Reed was fine standing in line and looking at Santa. He even did fine watching other kids take pictures with Santa. But, when it was his turn, Reed just started screaming! He would not let go of me while I had put him on Santa's chair. He just kept screaming. Then, I asked if he wanted to go bye-bye. Immediately, Reed stopped crying waved bye-bye and jumped into my arms from Santa's chair. Yeah, a little dramatic.

Needless to say, I didn't get a picture of Reed sitting with Santa (he never actually sat anyway), but I did get some fun pictures of other people's children - I am going to use them as examples next year :) Someday he will probably be excited to take a picture with Santa, right?

Side story: We took down the infant carrier the other day and Reed loved it! He climbed in, would rock himself back and forth, buckled the top buckle, and just giggled! Too bad he is too heavy and too long for it.

This was Reed's favorite picture of Santa because he knew we were leaving.

This is what I was hoping for...

I thought the decorations were so pretty.

I got more of what the kidin the middle looks like....

Reed was even fine looking at Santa from the exit...just as long as he didn't have to touch him.

The Christmas trees. I do love Christmas decorations!

Turkey Day = Cousin Fun

For Thanksgving we went to Richmond to visit my brother, Brandon and his family. Sometimes I dread the drive because the traffic is almost always horrible. A 105 mile trip takes 3+ hours, which is never any fun, especially with a toddler in the back seat. But, this time was not so bad for a couple of reasons:
1. my parents were in the back with Reed = Reed was entertained
2. the drive only took 2 hours instead of the 3+ I was planning on

When we got there, I was sure that Reed was going to be super-clingy and not want to play with his cousins, but again, I was pleasantly surprised! He wanted to play with them and had so much fun, I think he barely noticed we were there! Well, every once-in-a-while he would come and check-in with either Tyson or myself....cute kid! Here are some pictures of our adventures!


This was one of Reed's favorite toys - a teeter-totter and kids to ride it with him!

Sasha, Alia, and Sawyer

Reed found this baby piano (looks like the one in Charlie Brown) and had so much fun banging on it! We need one of those :)

Grandpa got his hair "done" by Lanae

Tyson is the #1 pick to bounce the kids on the trampoline - even Reed wanted to try it.

Grandpa is excellent at reading stories :)

Reed helped to build the fort with Josh and Alia

The only problem was the fort kept falling over :(

A fort built by Sasha and inhabited by Sasha and Reed - that is where the books are located, so Reed had a blast!

Tyson with Reed and Alia

Of course, I forgot to take pictures of the actual meal, but it was delicious! We had fun talking, playing games, and just being together! On Saturday, we went and raked some yards of people in brother's ward. I was designated at the photographer, so here are all the pictures from that adventure!


Reed and Grandpa

Coleman raking up a storm

Tyson also raking

Tyler (back to camera) helping out

Sasha trying to get all the leaves to the back of the fence

Lanae - the rake looks huge compared to her

Josh looking a little confused

Kim (Brandon's wife) helping out, of course :)

Reed found a wind dragonfly thing and loved it!

Josh looking overwhelmed by the pile of leaves.

Girls vs. boys leaf fight - girls one

Reed picking up the rake for daddy.

Success! Reed got the rake by himself :)

Trying to rake the few leaves that are left!

Cookie Messes and Being Crafty

Recently, we have had some Oreo cookies in our house (which is something that never happens) because I made a homemade cheesecake with an Oreo crust (it turned out delicious! I even made homemade raspberry puree and put a few fresh raspberries on each piece. I was very proud. It was my first time doing this). Well, there were and still are some cookies left over, so Reed has had a few and loved them! He mostly enjoys the cream center, but eventually gets around to the cookie part as well. Well, here is what happens when he does.....


I thought his face wuld be much dirtier, but apparently, he just transferred it all to his hands :) (Doesn't he look so grown up?!)


Yes, both of his hands were equally as chocolatey.....he sure had fun!

A couple of Saturdays ago, we had a Relief Society craft day. I had signed up for 3 crafts (yes, very daring for me) even though I am not the craftiest person in the world. I ended up making a baby tutu, an eye spy bag, and a glass Christmas block. It was a ton of fun and my crafts ended up being pretty awesome (by my standards, that it is)!

The baby-sized tutu that I actually made! It is so sparkly and fun! I may have to make one in my size :)

I loved these "eye spy" bags at the school I used to work at and now I officially made one! I felt very accomplished after this craft.

I actually put the Christmas lights inside this glass, square box. I think it turned out pretty cool. I also want to do one with white lights in it. I just think white lights are gorgeous!