Read About Reid: Swim Lessons and Other Things

The last week in June Reid took swim lessons at Cheryl Hardy's house, or as he knows her, Nana's.  Since she was the one Reid and Owen stayed with the 2nd semester while I was working, and he loves to swim, I figured he would have the time of his life.  Boy was I in for a surprise.  He actually should have been in the little baby class that has little guys 6 months to 2 years, but since he will be 3 in October and pretty accustomed to the water, we moved him up. 

 He was ok until he realized we weren't going to be getting in with him, that's when he lost it. He spent most of Monday's lesson screaming, until we took him inside.  However, with the encouragement from "Nana" to just drop him off and go to the house and watch.  So the next day we went, dropped him off crying, then went to watch from her back window.  I'm pretty sure he tried to run at one point too.  However, by the end of the lesson he had calmed down and the next days, though he cried at the beginning we were able to stay out there and watch him and he had the best time.  Here a few pictures from the week. 

This is how I spent most of the first night. . . Wet and holding his hand

Mom has most of the pictures of him going under water, I will have to get them from her.  He did excellent and I am so proud of all he learned.  He really is becoming a big boy.  Honestly, I don't know how we got so blessed with this great guy.  He tries so hard (most of the time) to do the right thing and to be obedient.  He will tell me sometimes "I'm obeying Mommy" and I praise him thoroughly for it.  That isn't to say he's perfect, we still have our days where he will try me, but for the most part he is just enthusiastic about life.  

Currently we are working on two bible verses with him, Philippians 4:4 and Ephesians 6:1.  He has the first part of both verses down pat.  It really helps, being able to talk to him about Eph 6:1(children obey your parents) when I have to correct him.  He is also day time potty trained, and loves to use the potty "all by myself".  In fact a lot of things are "all by myself" lately.  He is still napping REALLY good in the afternoon (praise Jesus.  I am actually afraid to type it out, lest I jinx it) but that could be because he isn't allowed to watch TV until after nap, and we go and "run him" all morning long just about.  When we do come inside he is usually playing with a ball, unless we are doing some other activity or room time.  He will usually tell me after he eats breakfast that he needs to "go run." We try to do some "school" aka, we sit there with a magnadoodle and go through his letters and now his numbers with him, but that doesn't happen everyday.  I have to keep reminding myself he is 2, there will be time for "formal learning" later. He knows all his letters and their sounds, so I think that is pretty good. We read a book every day, and then every once in a while do a fine motor skill activity.  He loves to paint, but I hate cleaning it up.  Some days I just bite the bullet because I know it is good for him.  If you look on the right side of my blog you will see my instagram photos.  That is where a lot of what we do day to day can be found.  

He is also a spectacular big brother to Owen.  Honestly, he loves him so very much, even told his Sunday School teacher this past week "I'm raising Owen."  If Owen drops a toy, Reid is there to pick it up for him.  If Owen is up when I go to get Reid up, he says "Look Owen, brother's here!"  He loves to hold him, and absolutely can't wait for him to be able to chase him around (however I am loving him being stationary at the moment).  I couldn't have prayed for a better start to their relationship, and I pray they will always love each other like they do now and I will be able to foster that relationship. 

I know it is blurry, but he so wanted to hold Owen.

 Some of the things he says crack me up and I never want to forget them.  Things like every morning when I go into get him he says "Oatmeal's here?" meaning "am I having Oatmeal for breakfast?"  He also tells me "I need to go run" and asks me to tell him stories from when I was little only to say "When IIIIIII was a little boy. . ." and tell me a story about him.  He is a constant source of "Look at dat" and when we go on our walks he has to find "find that good shade" from the trees to cool down.  When I need him and call his name he will normally reply "Whaty" back to me.  I try to correct him to say "M'am" but it is just so darn cute.  He is my little sunshine and firecracker, I absolutely adore him and love being his mama!  I can't wait to see what all is in store for my little guy!  

Showin' Owen: 6 Months Old

My goodness, has it been half a year already?  Seriously, Owen's first year seems to be flying right on by, about 10 times faster than Reid's did.  Can I get an amen from Mamas with multiple children out there?  Seriously, I still think of him as my baby boy, and he isn't anymore, he is so big!  Here are some things that are going on in his life right now.

I took Reid's 6 month pictures in this same outfit:)

 1. He is still my little nursling, nursing every 3 hours.  However, I have started him on "solids" and boy is he on board.  He loves to eat and try new things.  The only thing that has made him gag were pears.  However I think it is because I didn't puree them correctly.  **Side note, I used some giftcards to get a baby brezza steamer and blender all in one thing, and it has been awesome!  So much cheaper to make his baby food and really takes NO TIME!**

2.  He is FINALLY sleeping through the night until about 5:30-6:30 when he wakes up, I feed him while laying in bed and he falls back asleep until around 8.  I usually feed him cereal and nurse again at 8:30 or so not matter when the last time he ate was, just so we can stay on brother's schedule.

3.  We are so close to sitting up on our own for long periods of time.  This is a relatively new skill that has developed this week, and I can tell he is loving some of the independence.

4.  He is still taking 3 naps a day (usually, that last nap is always debateable).  I love that he and Reid nap at the same time.  Heck, I love nap time!

5.  He is still more stoic than other babies.  I can make him laugh the hardest, but it is still work.  He is just so cute when he does laugh.

6.  He coos in the car, which Mark and I find super adorable.

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7.  He is still a cuddler, just not as much of one as he was when he was little.  That's ok, there are too many things to explore now.

8.  He loves his walker and the independence he has by being able to manuvere himself around the house.

9.  He is a mama's boy through and through, his eyes light up when he sees me.  I am not complaining in the slightest about this.  

10.  We started cloth diapering him, and we are loving it too.  He does well, and is generally just happy to be a part of life.

We love you sweet baby boy and are so thankful everyday you are a part of our lives!