Reed's View and Preschool

Reed has recently become quite the photographer. He will ask to use the camera and sometimes, I will let him. The pictures he comes up with are both interesting and perhaps, a bit insightful! Take a glance at the world from Reed's view:



I have no idea when this picture was taken, but he did a pretty great job!

Holding Eve upside down - a favorite pasttime of hers.

The food storage closet is always a fun place.

Eve in eating in her high chair. She does this frequently!

Preschool has been going really well with Reed and his friends. He has really seemed to enjoy himself (what I care about the most at this point) and calls all of the kids his friends. Whenever they see each other, they are excited and always say, "Hi" or "Hi guys!" It is just the cutest! Here is what he has recently learned!

Week 17: Music 

Reed LOVES music! So, on the music day he definitely loved it. They did rhythms, got to make their own wrist bells, listened to Peter and the Wolf, and watched part of Fantasia.

Week 18: Kites

Kites and balloons - always a hit with Reed. Plus, he got green everything and jumped on the trampoline. Best day ever!

Week 19: Dinosaurs 

Reed loved learning about dinosaurs and practicing his roar! They searched for dinosaur bones, read some awesome books, made little masks, and played dinosaur stop and go. He even got to jump in a bouncy house. It was really hard to leave because it was just so much fun!



Horses and Bubbles

For as long as we have lived here, my dad has wanted to take us to see the horses on the military base. It has never seemed to work out, but it finally did! Saturday, February 26th was the day!

We went to my parents house for a monthly brunch that they hold for some of the students. That day only 1 student showed up, so there was plenty of food for all of us :) After we ate and played we got in the car and headed to see the horses.

At first Reed was a bit hesitant and understandably so. Horses are big animals! But, he liked to talk to the horses and after a while, he reached out his hand and touched some of them. In the end, I think he really enjoyed the horses.

Eve cried at first, only because the horse bent down and she wasn't being held by anyone (she was in her stroller). But, as soon as we picked her up, she loved the horses. She even put her hand out to touch a few of them. So, the horses were a hit.

But the best part (I am guessing) came just after when we did bubbles with grandpa and daddy in a big field. It was pretty windy so the bubbles flew everywhere. Reed ran after them and just laughed. Eve got really excited to see all the bubbles! They could have stayed all day, if it wasn't so cold and windy!

Sadly, our time came to an end to quickly. We dropped grandpa off and headed home. It was a great day!

Reed was talking to the horse.

Eve looking at the horse that just scared her while in her stroller.

I barely missed her touching the horse. But, she did it!

Bubbles are a boy's best friend (along with sticks, rocks, trains, cars, etc....).

Grandpa looking at the bubbles up high. Eve finding the bubbles down low.

Reed was a great bubble chaser.

Hint of Spring and Recent Fun

February 17th was an excellent day for my kids (and myself). It was finally warm enough to stay outside for more than 10 minutes without freezing our extremities. We went to our little park and stayed for over 2 hours! It was the best morning ever :)

Reed and Eve loves the slides, driving, climbing up the stairs, monkey bars, playing in the wood chips, and using sticks to dig beneath the wood chips and find lots of dirt! It was a bit messy, but completely worth it! Now, I just wish those days were more frequent. We can't wait for warm spring weather!

Eve had a great time!

Reed posed so nicely. I didn't even have to ask him. Maybe he really should be a model :)

Eve showing off her dirty fingernails! Peek-a-boo is a favorite game with this hole.

Digging in the wood chips never gets old.

Reed has been doing very well at potty training. It took a little bit to get him there (#2 in the toilet was a hard thing to do for him), but he got there. It was as if a light went on one day. I am happy to report that he is completely potty-trained and wears big boy underwear through the night as well!

A while ago I made him a dry Pull-ups chart. He got to put a Lightning McQueen or Mater sticker on every night that  he kept his Pull-up dry. Well, he did fantastic! There were a few times when his Pull-up was wet, but it ended up being because he couldn't get it off in time the next morning.

He filled up his chart super fast and was working on a second chart, when I finally bought him special Lightning McQueen underwear to wear at night. He got those on Wednesday and has had 2 successful nights. As a precaution I did buy a mattress cover and put that on.

Go Reed!

Of course, it had to be green :)

Reed loves taking pictures! Every once-in-a-while I will let him snap some pictures with our camera. He takes a lot random pictures of walls, but gets a decent one every so often. This picture turned up on the camera. Nice going, camera man!

I am still impressed that Reed got both of us in the shot.

Reed enjoys finger painting, and I have come to find out that Eve does, too! Here are some pictures of their recent creations.

Reed had to mix all the colors together.

Reed added extra blue in this one because Eve was using blue.

Eve was just happy to be putting her hands in paint and then everywhere else!

We have a W(w)alker!

Not only is Eve a Walker, but she is now walking. I have suspicions that she has actually been able to walk for a few months now and here is why: she is pretty much an excellent walker (I suppose it could be the name...hehehe).

On Friday, February 18th, I decided that it was time for Eve to walk. I put her by one of our bookshelves and sat across the room. I said, "Come here, Eve!" She looked at me and walked all the way to me without stumbling or falling - about 6-7 steps. Later that same day she walked 12 steps and reached her without falling. Saturday and Sunday she was walking all over the place, only falling when she tripped on a rug or something in her way. So, this is really why I think she has been holding back on us - she wanted to be a perfect walker :)

Now she walks from our bedroom at the back of the apartment to the kitchen, around the kitchen (granted it is not very big) and then into the living room. She is also working on picking stuff up (squatting) without falling and then standing up straight to walk again. She almost has that mastered as well!

So, yes, we definitely have a walking Walker!

Funny side note: Reed likes to copy Eve's walk. It does kind of look a bit Frankenstein-esque sometimes because she will put her arms in front of her to gain balance. It makes me laugh!

Anniversary Present?

August is a good month for weddings in my family. Ryan & Barbara got married August 8th. Brandon & Kim got married August 17th. My mom & dad got married August 18th. Tyson & I got married August 19th. It seems to be a theme. Actually, it is divided almost evenly. My 3 other married siblings got married in December. But, right now August is winning. Needless to say, I am a bit biased towards August. And there is yet another reason to biased about the month of August. Here is the story:

In mid-January, my parents came to visit, play with the kids, eat eggplant parmesan (my first time making it), and just catch up a little after Christmas break. That's what we did: ate, played, and chatted. Well, they had to be back to their house for some meetings and such (as is always the case with my busy, busy parents).

Before they left I told them that I had a 'sort of' anniversary present for them. They looked a little puzzled since their anniversary was not until August. But, I told them to close their eyes and hold out their hands. My mom dutifully obeyed because presents are always fun, right?!

I place a small piece of paper in her hands and told them to open their eyes. They looked, smiled at me, smiled at each other, and gave us hugs! Apparently it is a really, really good anniversary present! So, I guess it is time to reveal what it was they saw: an ultrasound for baby #3!

Yes, we are having another baby. Estimated due date is August 22, 2011. So, it is a 'sort of' anniversary present since nothing with a due date is 100% accurate.

Anyways, we are super excited and shocked that we are going to be parents of 3 kids in the near future!

Later that night, Tyson broked the news to his mom saying that she was going to have twin grandchildren (his sister is also expecting and due August 26th). She did not quite understand, but once he explained the difference in our due dates, she exclaimed, "I really might have twin grandchildren!" She was delighted as well.

As for me, I have been feeling the best I have felt being pregnant. I attribute that to the fact that I was in the best shape of my life before becoming prego and I am still exercising (at a slightly slower pace) just about everyday. I only feel sick if I wait too long to eat or eat too much sugar (especially eating sugar at night). So, life is good. So, who knows it may be an anniversary present for any number of people in my family!

Valentine's Day

Since Tyson has started working as an auditor Valentine's Day is not quite the same. It is right in the middle of his busy season (No, he does not do taxes. He is an auditor) which means that he is working until all hours of the night. If Valentine's falls on a weekend, I might have some luck of seeing him before 11 p.m. But, this year it was on a Monday = I didn't see him until 11 p.m.

I have also realized that Valentine's is important to me - I love getting flowers and sometimes chocolate - but not quite as important as it was when I was single and searching for a Valentine. I guess it's nice to have a forever Valentine. I also don't really like going out on that day just because it's February 14th. It is a little crazy with everyone else trying to do the same thing. I would rather spend a nice night with my family, some homemade Thai food (a little tradition of ours), and go out on another night with Tyson.

Anyways, Valentine's actually was a fun day for the kids and me. The week before, Reed, Eve, and I spent some time making homemade Valentines. I cut out the hearts and put the person's name on it. Eve colored with crayons on a few. Reed got to color with markers (if he wanted to) and glue on these little balls that I found at the store. It was amazing to see Reed in action. We cut out valentines for the kids in his preschool, my parents, Tyson's parents, Reed, Tyson, and Eve. For each one Reed would ask, "Does (so and so) love (named a color)?" He really wanted to make sure that each person got their favorite color. It was just so cute and thoughtful!

The valentines turned out cute and we distributed the preschool ones, sent off the one to Grandma and Grandpa Walker, and then I hand-delivered the one to Grandma and Grandpa Rowberry. We hung up the valentines to daddy, Reed, and Eve on our wall. I also made a collage out of all the hearts we cut out. Can't let the paper go to total waster, right? I actually think it turned out pretty sweet!

On Saturday, February 12th, my parents took us to the play, "The Carpetbagger's Children" at Ford's Theatre. It was an interesting play and only had 3 actresses in the entire thing. I really enjoyed it. It made me think of how different life is now - easier in some respects and harder in others. But, it was nice to be able to get out with my parents and Tyson. Tyson worked up until the time we had to go, but was still able to squeeze in those hours to see the play with me! He also bought me a beautiful vase with pink and red roses. I do love my flowers :) Thanks, Mom and Dad!

February 13th, Sunday, Reed and Eve wore their new presents from Grandma Walker. Reed got a new tie and Eve got a matching sash. They were a hit with Reed, Eve, and everyone else at church. It was fun to see them matching :) Thanks, Grandma Walker!

On Valentine's Day the day was pretty normal. I went grocery shopping, I taught 7 piano lessons (and gave out suckers for Valentine's Day), made Masaman Curry for dinner, and watched "Chuck." When Tyson did get home he gave me a Symphony bar, which is always so good! My parents gave us some books: a parenting book and a children's book (titles below). It was a quiet Valentine's, but pretty enjoyable.

I actually forgot to give Tyson his Valentine's present, so he got it on the 15th. He got some 'Valentine's' movies: "Ever After" and "Fool's Gold." I thought they were valentines-y since they are chick flicks! Yahoo for movies!

Our entryway

An example of the valentines we made.

My flowers!

The books

New tie and sash from Grandma Walker

They got lots of positive comments! So cute!



Preschool in Fast Motion

So, I keep meaning to post meaningful posts about each preschool week, but time has simply gotten away from me. Instead of feel bad about it, I am just going to give small highlights from the past several weeks! Reed, overall, has really been loving preschool and seeing his friends every week! He tells me, "Mom, I like preschool. I love my friends." So, the social part (which is the main reason I wanted to do this preschool) is really working for all the kids! They are learning so many different things about being in groups, sharing, transitioning to different places, and taking direction in a group. I love it!

Week 12: Oceans

They read the rainbow fish and Reed loved it!

Week 13: The 5 Senses  

I taught this one and really had a blast doing it! I could split the senses up over weeks, but I only had 1 day. So, we had a brief run-down, made 2 fun crafts and air-popped popcorn onto a sheet. This was the favorite thing ever! The kids thought it was so much fun to hear it, watch it, smell, it, touch it, and taste it! All 5 senses in one snack-making activity. Woo woo!

This is our touching turtle - filled with so many soft and squishy things!

We also listened to a story about an Elf with 3 pairs of ears. We painted our own set of listening ears.

Week 14: Groundhog's Day

I taught this as well. It was a fun day learning about groundhogs, where we got this crazy holiday from, and we even made our own groundhogs! We also played 'find the groundhog.' 

Reed holding his groundhog that he made (left) and the picture that he colored (right).

 Week 15: Valentine's

The kids made fun little valentines and even made jell-o gigglers in the shape of a heart!

 Week 16: President's Day

Reed learned about Presidents and President's Day. He even colored this flag in, of course, green.