Birthdays and Preschool

March 19th (Saturday) Reed celebrated his 3rd birthday with a bunch of his friends. One of his BFFs is named Brooks and Brook's birthday is March 13th (the day before Reed's birthday). So, Jenn and I decided to do a double birthday party for our little boys. We decided we would invite the same people, so why not! Also, Reed and Brooks love trains a lot! To me, they are so similar it is funny. They are these mild-mannered boys (but, yes, they do throw fits) that love trains, cars, sticks, and almost anything else! They play fabulously together - it is just amazing. So, we figured a double birthday party would be fun.

Sadly, I did not take any pictures. I think my mom did, but I have not gotten the copies. So, hopefully that will be up and coming.

We had our party at the little playground in my apartment complex. At first it was super windy, but thankfully, it ended up being a beautiful day and party. We sang train songs, made a human train, colored pictures, did some races, ate food, played on the playground, and opened presents! It was a fun time had by all.

Reed's preschool friends plus a few others from church were in attendance. Grandma and Grandpa Rowberry and Uncle Ryan, Aunt Barbara, and Lillie were there as well! Overall, a great morning!

Have I mentioned that the little preschool kids are just so cute together? Well, they are. They each get so excited to see each other. They will often give each other hugs and just go play. They talk about each other (in good ways) when the others are not there, saying things like, "When do I get to see my friends? When do I get to see _________ (name)?" I love it! Reed has really loved his preschool and has made some great friends :)

On Reed's 21st week of preschool he learned all about bunnies. He is already in love with the "Sleeping Bunnies" song, so he did awesome. He was also at Taryn's house - those 2 are inseparable when together. Needless to say, preschool was great! Going home not so great. But, we did make it home and then he got to take his weekly preschool picture.

Reed being cheesy with his bunny hat.

A much better picture despite the bluriness.

Another Reed picture to add to the collection. Can you tell that he loves Lightning McQueen?

Umbrellas and Friends

Wednesday, March 16th preschool was at our house. We learned about the letter "U", umbrellas, and talked about spring. The kids loved it!

We colored our umbrella page, sang songs about rain/what you need when it rains, and even read a story about puddles. Then, we talked about what happens after it rains and what plants need to grow. I told a story about a seed that grew into a plant and the kids each got to hold one of the pictures throughout the story. We did an experiment with celery; we put the celery in colored water and left it for a while. Then, we checked it and could see how the different colors were going up the celery (thus, the celery was drinking the water).

For our crafts we did a mobile with an umbrella, rain drop, sun, rainbow, and cloud on it and we painted a daisy mask. Our snacks were all things that came from plants -- fruits and veggies! It was a great time and the kids seemed to really enjoy it. 

Displaying the crafts

 Friday, March 18th was a beautiful day! For our play group we went to Clemyjontri Park. It is always a great park to go to, but a bit overwhelming on nice days due to the amount of people there. But, Reed was in heaven the whole time. Eve found it pretty fun as well. Reed found two of his favorite friends and pretty much stuck with them the whole time.

Reed is getting into the habit of talking about his friends (in a good way). He talks about how much he loves his friends, asks when he can see them again, and wants to play with them all the time. He is getting to be quite the social guy (I guess he was raised by me....so I should expect nothing less). He especially is good friends with the kids in his preschool and probably best friends with the two in the pictures below (Taryn and Brooks). Those three are just so fun together :) I tried to get a picture with all of them looking, but it didn't quite work out! They kept looking at each other and smiling and laughing at what the other one was doing! Such fun little kiddos :)

They all wanted to hold hands :)

Brooks kept touching his face and Reed couldn't help but watch.

I guess 2 out of 3 isn't bad, right?!

Reed turns 3!!!

I cannot believe that Reed turned 3 on March 14th! I feel like am in a time warp. I cannot imagine life without Reed, yet 3 years is not that long. It's interesting when you become a parent, how things change. I am a different and better person because I am a mom. Anyways....

Tyson flew home on the afternoon of the 13th and was originally supposed to be in Roanoke, VA by Sunday night. He was assigned a client there for two weeks starting on the 14th. He was able to talk to his manager and get the 14th as his travel day, so he could at least spend close to 24 hours with his wife and kids. :) So, it made Reed's birthday even better because daddy didn't leave until he went down for his nap!

Reed has been excited about his birthday for a while, probably because I kept bringing it up and presents came in the mail from Grandma Walker and Aunt Tifani. So, he wasted no time in wanting to open his presents when he woke up. We let him open Grandma Walker's and Tifani's before he even got dressed. He loved it! Eve loved the fact that she got to play with the paper. Everyone was happy.

Well, we got ready for the day and then Reed got to open our presents. The pictures will provide which present wins as the favorite. But, he did love everything and was just excited to be opening presents.

On his birthday Reed got summer clothes, sandals, a Thomas movie (thanks, Tif!), a miniature vacuum, a Rocknoceros cd, a Larry the Cucumber puzzle, a Veggie Tales book, and a game called "The Sandwich Stacking Game". The only things he has not quite broken in are the summer clothes and sandals since it is not quite warm enough for that yet. We are getting there....hopefully :)

We played with the toys for a while, then decided that it was nice enough to go outside. It ended up being a fairly nice day, so we went to our little park and played. I slipped out to get some Wendy's as a special birthday treat (Reed loves the chocolate Frosty.....he is definitely my child) while Tyson stayed and played with the kids.

I got back, we ate our lunches and then sang "Happy Birthday" to Reed. I had made the little train cakes (such a yummy recipe) and it worked perfect because on the Engine there are 3 spots where I could put 3 candles! Reed loved it and loved licking the frosting off his cake, with the occasional bite.

We played a little more, but then it was time for naps/time for daddy to leave for Roanoke. Sadly, Reed told daddy bye and then went to take nap (although he did not fall asleep that day...odd for Reed).

The rest of the afternoon was pretty normal - piano lessons, playing, reading books. But, there was a surprise for dinner: Grandma and Grandpa Rowberry came by and took us out to Olive Garden! I was pretty excited about this. Reed thought it was cool at first, but it got really long for him (especially since he had not taken a nap). He loved the breadsticks, his pasta, and the chocolate mints they give out at the end. All-in-all a great birthday!

Reed opening his clothes from Grandma and Grandpa Walker

Shorts!

Reed opening up his miniature vacuum.

He got another Rocknoceros cd!

Larry the Cucumber puzzle and a Veggie Tales book

Eve playing with the paper while Reed 'vacuums'.

Can you tell that this was his favorite present yet?

Everyone having a good time.

Singing "Happy Birthday"

Blowing out the candles.

I let Reed take some pictures and this is what he took.

And again. Vacuum, definitely a winner with Reed.

Lee Anne Winter Walker

March has certainly been a whirlwind for the Walker family. The phrase "March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb" comes to mind. I thought it was going to be a relaxing month since busy season ended the end of February for Tyson, but it was not so on many levels. Here is the first little bit.

The morning of Sunday, March 6th Tyson got a phone call from his mom. This was a bit odd since Las Vegas is 3 hours earlier than Virginia. Turns out Tyson's Grandma Walker had passed away. She had been sick for a while, but was not any worse than normal, so it kind of came out of the blue. So, it was a bit expected and unexpected.

Grandma Walker had also been a widow since before Tyson was born, so about 28 years. The first thing I thought of was that she was finally with her husband again. I cannot speak for Tyson, as to how he was feeling, but I felt that she was happy to be where she was and had been ready to move on for quite a while.

So, this created a busy situation for Tyson. The funeral was set for Friday, March 11th in St. George, UT and then the burial for Saturday, the 12th in Burley, ID. Basically, he had to finish his week of work by Thursday afternoon to be able to make it to Las Vegas by Thursday night. So, he put in some long hours and was ready to go by Thursday.

He flew in to Las Vegas and then drove with his family to St. George on Friday morning. He said the funeral was nice and positive. I do love the eternal perspective that I have as a Latter-day Saint. It is just a great thing to know that there is life after death, we will see our loved-ones again, and that death is not the end. Truly, Heavenly Father's Plan of Salvation is amazing!

After the funeral they hopped in the car (again) for the 9-hour drive to Burley. I am sure there are many funny stories that happened along the way, but Tyson will have to report on those. The trip would have been a little (no, a lot) too fast and too much driving for the kids. So, we stayed home.

They buried Grandma Walker on Saturday next to her husband, Reed Sanders Walker. That is one of the Reed's that our son, Reed is named after (The other one is Reed Sanders Walker's father named Reed). We learned that Reed S. Walker was born on Marh 12th, just 2 days before our little Reed! Tyson said the burial was nice and they got to talk with lots of relatives.

They also got to see the old house (now owned by someone else) and the farm land that is still owned by Tyson's dad. Not too long after that, they were in the car again heading to Salt Lake City. Tyson flew out Sunday morning and got back into town Sunday afternoon!

Needless to say, Grandma Walker will be missed, but we are glad that she can be reunited with her husband. There is just something about funerals that really bring families together. I think it may be that realize how short this mortal life really is. We realize that we want to spend our time with the people that mean the most to us in this world (hopefully our families).

Grandma Walker's house in St. George.

Looking through things in her garage.

Inside her house

Headstone of Reed Sanders Walker.

Tyson with his parents, brother, and sisters

The casket

Lee Anne's 4 children

When they were married

The house Tyson's dad grew up in, located in Burley, ID.

The shed

The view from the house.

Tyson and Jared standing on the farm land.

Touching the dirt - apparently it is pretty awesome soil.

One of Tyson's few memories was in this spot. He remembers his dad throwing grapes super high into the air and catching them in his mouth. Thus, this picture was a must.

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!