10 months.

Dear Joe,

Well, you are officially a toddler now, kiddo! Just like we thought you might, you took off walking this month and haven't looked back! In just 8 days time, you've gone from 3 or 4 wobbly steps to walking from one room to the next to the next. Your steps are still very wobbly, but you manage to stay on your feet quite a bit. Even though we're in awe of how big & old you seem now that you're walking, you often remind us that you're still every bit our baby boy. You love your bottles - you learned how to sign & say the word "milk" this month and you come zooming over when you see us making them. And you would sleep forever if you were being held; at least a couple days a week, you end up in our arms at about 5 or 6 a.m. in order for us to get you to sleep a few more hours. Sleep in general is getting much better, though, making for 2 better-rested parents. And you're still developing great eating habits, munching on almost anything we put in front of you. Here's a taste of what you're into these days:

Favorites
Walking - Well, like we said, you haven't stopped walking since you started a week ago. You walk whenever you can, that is, when you remember you can. And you can stand yourself up in the middle of the room, which is pretty incredible for your age. We are on a mission to find you some sandals and good walking shoes now that you need some with real rubber soles!
Meat - You haven't met a meat you didn't like. Chicken, steak, pork, hamburger, meatballs, ham, turkey - you devour all of them! We cannot give you little bites fast enough! And, luckily, you got 3 new top teeth this month that are helping you chew it all up :)
Cozy Coupe - The little red & yellow Cozy Coupe is your favorite spot in the playroom. You can get in and out of it by yourself, and you can even make it move backwards. Your face lights up when Mommy asks you to beep the horn, and you wildly pound it with your hand! You get a little frustrated when you're on the side without a door because you can't get in. It also makes you mad when you reach out the side of the car to grab the giant ball but it's too big to fit through the window (this happens often and it's pretty adorable for us to watch!)
Climbing - You are quite the little monkey, climbing just about everywhere. We always find you up on the fireplace, Brooke's little chairs, even on top of your toys! You think climbing up the stairs is like a game: see how far up you can make it before Mommy & Daddy stop you! You're really, really good at climbing up, but you haven't quite mastered climbing down just yet. Until you figure that one out, we'll have to be diligent in keeping the gate at the bottom of the stairs - sorry, kiddo!
The Bathroom - What is the fascination with the bathroom, buddy? You make a beeline for that room every chance you get. As soon as you see us coming to stop you, you start giggling and try to walk/crawl even faster to get in there first. Inevitably, we find you standing at the potty, getting all sorts of germs on those chubby little hands of yours. We figure you must be jealous of your potty-training sister or something...
Watermelon - Your new favorite fruit: watermelon! The cold fruit feels good on those aching gums of yours and you love that you can hold a big chunk and take bites!

Not-so-favorites
Being told No - Nobody likes to be told they can't do something, & you, sir, are no exception! You're constantly getting into things you aren't supposed to. When we reprimand you, it's now met with a bit of a temper. We try to remove you from the situation, but you often speed right back to whatever it was you were trying to do, eliciting yet another "No!" from us. You haven't started full-blown fits yet, but we're afraid this little temper of yours is a bad sign of things to come...
Departures - You love when someone new comes over or enters a room, but you hate when that person leaves! From your high chair, you have the perfect view of the door to the garage, so you can easily see all of the comings & goings of the house. You get really excited when Daddy comes home for lunch or Grandma stops by...& then get equally upset when they leave.
Getting out of the Bath - You are a huge fan of taking baths. So it's no surprise that you hate getting out! As soon as we lift you out and wrap you up in your fish towel, the tears begin. You then spend the next few minutes - while we're attempting to put your meds, lotion, & jammies on - trying to get back into the bathroom. Whenever we let you crawl around upstairs, you always go straight into the bathroom to stand next to the tub.

The most delightful thing you've learned this month, even more awesome than the signs you've learned (more & milk) or the fact that you've mastered giving high fives, is how to give hugs. If we ask for a hug, you lean in and wrap those arms around our neck and make this sweet little "mmmm" sound. It's beyond precious and just makes us melt every time. You were even giving your teddy bear some good little hugs the other day. It really is just the sweetest thing.

Thanks for being such a happy, even-tempered baby. You really make things pretty easy on us! We can't believe you'll be 1 in just 2 months - time to start planning your birthday party!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

No longer a baby.

Introducing the latest and greatest in WALKING babies!



He's walking, you guys. Walking. He's been taking 1 or 2 steps here and there, but never really on purpose. As you can see in the video, these steps are definitely on purpose considering the boy just stands himself up in the middle of the room to take them! This started on Friday, so we'll call 6/29 the day he took his first real steps. Not even 10 months old yet. Holy moley.

It's hard to describe the amount of pride felt when your little one reaches a milestone like this. It's a very distinct feeling. It's the same feeling as when he smiled for the first time. Or the first time he crawled. It's the same feeling we'll have when he puts 2 words together or says his ABC's for the first time, just like we had with his sister. I imagine it'll be the same feeling as when he reads a book by himself for the first time or writes his full name. My heart is just exploding with excitement that my boy is growing up. Tears started filling up in my eyes as I watched him on Friday. Bittersweet that my baby is not a baby anymore, but thrilling at the same time.

Welcome to your first week of toddlerhood, buddy. On to new adventures!

p.s. Disregard the extreme crabbiness that is happening in the beginning of this video. Homeboy has some killer teething happening in that mouth of his right now. He just got his 3rd tooth of the month this morning, meaning it was trying to bust out of his gum yesterday when this video was taken. And yes, 3 teeth in 1 month is as hellacious as it sounds. I feel like a margarita is in order after surviving yesterday's crabtasticness.

1/2 birthday girl :)

Happy half birthday to my lovely little lady! I can't believe we've hit 2 & 1/2; before we know it she'll be a preschooler! It's been a long time since I've given a good Brooke update. So here's a half birthday synopsis of our favorite girl :)

- This girl is just hilarious. She makes us laugh on an hourly basis. The things she says are just fantastic. Also hysterical is her dancing; this chica is an awesome dancer! She has no shame, shaking her booty like the little rockstar she is. And she really seems to love music; she sings allllll day long. Scratch that - we sing alllll day long. And it's so funny to listen to her version of a song, botched lyrics and all :)

- Brooke does everything passionately. Spunky, sassy, Little Miss Attitude - all are good ways to describe her! I'm not ashamed to admit that she gets most of it from me; we're like 2 peas in a pod. She knows exactly what she wants and isn't afraid to tell you. And when she doesn't get her way, things can get dicey (I say can because it's only about half the time.) But she really doesn't like time out, so a warning is usually all she needs if she starts to throw a fit. On that note, she's been spending much less time in time out lately, which is good news for all of us!

- She's quite the conversationalist. She uses big adjectives that are just hilarious to hear coming out of a 2 & 1/2 year old's mouth (e.g. wonderful, awesome, gorgeous, incredible, etc.) She asks appropriate and meaningful questions while talking to someone. She is always asking Daddy how his day was, which is just 50 shades of adorable if you ask me. Just today, the husband & I got home from an overnight stay in South Bend for a friend's wedding. After we asked her all about her time with Aunt Sus while we were gone, she asked us "How was your wedding?" It blows my mind that, at 2 & 1/2, she understands that being in a conversation means you have to be a listener sometimes, too.

 - She wants to do everything by herself. "Can I do it all by myself?" This includes, but is certainly not limited to, the following: going potty, shutting the car door, buckling the top buckle of her car seat (which she can also unbuckle which is very unnerving so we've had very extensive discussions about only being allowed to do so when the car is turned off), putting on her bib, getting dressed, making her lunch, etc. The independence is pretty exciting for all of us (especially the going potty thing...if she was a little taller to reach the cold water handle to wash her hands, I wouldn't have to go in there at all!) And I bet the list of things she can do herself will really blossom when preschool starts in September!

- Potty training is going pretty well, considering she is just now the age they recommend for starting potty training with girls. She wears Pull-ups most of the time, and manages to keep them dry about 75% of the time. She enjoys using public restrooms (super fun for Mom) so she usually stays dry when we're out and about. I think she gets pretty distracted while she's in her playroom so that tends to be when she has the hardest time staying dry. And, as I said earlier, she can do almost the whole process by herself. And I know she'll likely give me grief in the future for taking/posting this picture, but I think it's adorable. Plus, everyone needs a few non-revealing, mildly incriminating pictures from their childhood, right?

- She has gotten very imaginative lately. She loves role playing! She & her cousins play (in her words) "the Mommy & the Honey". (I think 'the Honey' refers to the pet name the Mommy calls the child while they play; "Let's go, honey.") She's finally taking an interest in her baby dolls & always wants me to babysit for them for her. The one she plays with the most has been named "Baby Aunt Nicole Carson Reeder" (and she's very consistent with this name; poor baby's gonna have a heck of a time fitting that on a Scantron.) Another example: one night this week, she told me she built an airplane to take us on vacation. So she, Joe, & I got into her airplane and took turns being the "take-off-er" & the "co-pilot". When I asked her where we were going, she said "Walmart". Such a glamorous vacay, no? Another game she plays all the time is Blues Clues. She has a little notebook, her "handy dandy notebook" of course, & will walk around spotting clues & singing the songs from the show.

Some of Her Favorites:

• Favorite TV shows: Doc McStuffins, Team Umizoomi, Blues Clues
• Favorite books: Anything Fancy Nancy or Pinkalicious
• Favorite foods: Mexican (she loves tacos, rice, and salsa!), corn on the cob, raisins, popsicles, graham crackers, apples
• Favorite things to play: Legos, "grocery", tea parties, Blues Clues
• Favorite songs: songs from her TV shows - especially Doc McStuffins & Fresh Beat Band, Party Rock Anthem (sung by Alvin & the Chipmunks)

About 24 times a day I utter the words "Oh my goodness, you're so old!" Because she is, you guys. She's not a toddler anymore - she's a full-blown kid! I can't even handle it. 2 & 1/2 years of loving this girl with so many more to come! :)

All about Daddy.

The first of what I'm hoping will be an annual Daddy Interview.


A few thoughts on this:
- This went a lot better in my head. Apparently these questions weren't specific enough for her. And I guess I shouldn't have expected her to answer more than about two at age two. Maybe we'll try for just three questions at age three next year.
- So much sass in such a small package, eh?
- Can you hear Joe babbling away in the background? He was just chillin' in the playroom, enjoying the fact that he had the room to himself for a while.
- "Mowing the grass" was just the first example that came to mind, I promise it's not the thing I think you're best at. Sorry, husband.
-  "Picuter". I die from the cuteness.

Happy Father's Day! I couldn't have picked a better guy to be their Daddy. Love you.

Dino kid.

Disclaimer: This is an open letter to my son. I write it with confidence that he won't actually see it until he's in junior high or older and no longer so impressionable. I know it's wrong to try to influence your child's interests, to push them in a direction they wouldn't otherwise go. And I will, of course, support any interests he has and welcome all the stupid facts that he'll undoubtedly spout about them. (Isn't that what all boys do? Learn a fact, try really hard to remember it until someone else is around, and then recite it as if they are all-knowing about a topic? I mean, that's what SportsCenter is for, right? To provide guys with a fountain of lame, unimportant stats that they can then pull out at a Bdubs sometime and impress everyone around them that they know that John Doe has hit 29 foul balls on the 3rd base side in the 7th inning while the sun was shining & a left-hander was pitching.) All that being said, since I don't plan to show this to him until he's too old to be into any of this anymore, I feel safe in putting it here. And I also feel safe using, um, passionate language for the very same reason. (He'll ride the bus, so I'm certain he'll hear anything I'd say - plus the new inappropriate words that are around by then - by junior high.) So, yeah, here goes.


My Joseph Boy,

Oh baby boy, you are the greatest! You're so much fun to play with now. You're certainly starting to develop your own little interests, which is just the cutest thing to watch. And which is also why I felt like it was time to write you this note. You see, Mommy has a request, something I hope we'll both agree is reasonable. Here it is:

Please don't be a dinosaur kid.

If you love me at all, please, for the love of Michael Buble, steer clear of anything prehistoric. I'm not kidding about this. This is my biggest fear as the mother of a boy and one of the first few thoughts I had when they told me you were a boy at birth. "Holy crap, I can't believe I actually had a boy! He's so precious...and giant! Look how happy the husband is to have his boy! God, I hope he isn't a dinosaur kid...." Seriously. I have nightmares about stepping on plastic dinosaur figurines and having to learn all the ridiculous dinosaur names and having to go to the history side of the history museum instead of just the IMAX. Speaking of the names, can we talk about how fast & loose they are with the use of consonants in dinosaur names? Pterodactyl with its silent P? C'mon now, that's just silly.

And don't get me started on people that spend their entire lives digging for dinosaurs. The only reason anyone knows what paleontologists are is because of Ross Gellar. And no one born after 1993 will have any idea who he is (unless TBS continues to play Friends reruns until eternity...*fingers crossed*). And even though he got Jennifer Aniston in the end, I promise there are a boatload of paleontologists out there that didn't...just sayin'.

Here's my beef with dinosaurs: I don't believe in 'em. They might as well be ghosts. Sure, they've found "bones" they believe prove their existence, but I'm not buying it. And thankfully, I won't ever have to be the one to help you and Brooke with any dinosaur-related schoolwork in the future b/c that's one of Daddy's subjects (He took Math & Science, I took Religion & Sex. I definitely got the better end of the deal. And, yep, that means you'll be getting your Birds & Bees talk from your mother. Sorry, friend.) I just think the whole dinosaur thing is all pretty flippin' stupid. (Well, except for Rex from Toy Story - his nervousness is adorable. And I'm okay with the occasional article of clothing with a cartoon dinosaur on it, because hey, it's not an animal!)

And while we're at it, stay away from Space, too. We don't live out in the open air so you're bound to be disappointed when you can't see the constellations you're looking for because we can only see stars, like, 13 out of 365 nights a year. Also, telescopes are expensive. Plus, I just can't get behind a "science" that can't decide if we have 8 or 9 planets.

So, are you confused as to what subjects would be appropriate for you to become obsessed with? Here's a short list of some of my preferred interests for you:

1. Legos
2. Sports
3. Transportation (except Thomas the Tank Engine, b/c that shit is hard to watch.)
4. Game Shows (Yes, I actually knew a little kid that was obsessed with game shows. Hilarious.)

If you could just stick with one of these, I'd be forever grateful. If you wish to veer from this list, I'd appreciate you come talk it out with me first. And if you really, really, really just can't live without dinosaurs....sigh....I'll learn to live with it. That's love, my son. True love.

Kisses!
Mommy

p.s. Pick Legos. I mean, pick whatever makes you happy. But strongly consider Legos.

Three quarters!

Dear Joe,

Hey buddy! You are Mr. Adventure these days! When we put you down, it isn't 2 seconds before you take off to go exploring. You will climb up/into/on top of anything you encounter (and often things you shouldn't!) You're still letting go of things & standing on your own for up to about 30 seconds. And you've even taken a step or two here and there! You are just so active, so full of life! You have tons of new tricks this month, like showing us that you're "sooo big" and giving high fives. You also wave when prompted, but only with your right arm. All that moving around has kept your growth right on track, though still way at the top of the curve for your age. You're wearing a mix of 9 & 12 month clothes and size 4 diapers. You're still napping twice a day, and we are sure that morning nap will stick around for a while - you wear yourself out with all the climbing! Here's what you've been loving (and not loving) this month:

Favorites
Playing ball - Balls are your most, most favorite form of entertainment. Whether you're tossing a ball back and forth with someone or just chasing one around the house, you are a happy little sports enthusiast. And you're pretty good at throwing, too, even one-handed!
Table Food - You're singing a different tune this month when it comes to table food. You will eat anything we put in front of you! Your high chair is filled with new foods to try all the time. Some of your favorites include mandarin oranges, chicken, graham crackers, and pasta. Unfortunately, you had your first allergic reaction to something you ate this month, so we'll have to be very careful about what new foods we introduce before your appointment with the allergist.
Walking - You love to walk around! Even though you have taken a handful of wobbly steps, most of your walking has been assisted. You like to move about holding our hands, taking big wide steps. You also adore being able to walk behind a toy while you push it. We think this next month will be when you officially start walking unassisted.
Itsy Bitsy Spider - This has been your favorite song for a while. If anyone starts singing it around you, you instantly bring your hands together to make your "spider", then lift them in the air for the "out comes the sun" part, then start clapping for yourself. You're usually a step or two ahead of the song, but you don't seem to mind :)
Daddy - You and Daddy are just the best little buddies. You get soooo excited when he gets home from work and get pretty upset if he doesn't give you some attention right away. And to make matters even sweeter, you learned how to say "Dada" this month, a sound that makes your Daddy grin from ear to ear.

Not-so-favorites
Yelling - You really don't like when we raise our voices. Most often we are reprimanding your sister, but now that you are so mobile, we frequently find ourselves telling you not to do something (most often it's "Get off the fireplace, Joe" or "Out of the bathroom, buddy"). You're not even a fan of playful yelling!
Diaper changes - Nothing has changed here. You still hate diaper changes, wiggling and fighting as best you can to escape before we're finished.
Anything-but-warm bottles - We have helped you develop a bad habit: you'll only take your bottles warm. Since breast milk is warm, we started giving you warm formula so you'd get used to it. But now, you're very high maintenance about it! Not room temperature, definitely not cold, it must be warm!
Sun protection - Sunscreen, hats, & sunglasses - all the things we need you to wear to keep you protected from the sun. And you hate all of them! Lathering you up with the sunscreen is quite a challenge, as you squirm and whine the whole time (and your very sensitive skin doesn't like it either - it's been the cause of a lot of eczema lately!) Hats and sunglasses get removed by you immediately after we put them on. The only luck we have is when the hat ties on or we put it on backwards.

You are such a fun little goofball. You make us laugh multiple times an hour! You're a bit of a mimic; you try really hard to make motions and sounds just like us big people. For example, when Mommy reaches way up high to stretch, so do you. And when she wants you to be quiet, you try to make the "shhh" sound, too. And being the genius you are, we're sure it won't be long before we see you talking with your hands like Mommy, rolling your eyes like Daddy, or copying your sister's killer dance moves.

You're growing so fast and we're doing our best to keep up with you! Love you to bits, baby boy!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Life on film.

Boy are you in for a treat! I've got quite a few gems for you today.

1. Sometimes we play ball.

Don't you just want to eat him up? This little kiddo ADORES playing ball. And he's pretty darn good at it for his age, I'd say. This bodes well for his future as a basketball stud.

2. Sometimes a cowgirl just hiccups.

In case you haven't see this episode of Bubble Guppies (though I can't for the life of me imagine why not...it's quality programming,) these are the actual lyrics; I won't try to interpret her version of it.  This song is a fan favorite around here.

I wanna be a cowgirl

Just ridin' on a horse,

Sitting tall in my saddle

With my cowgirl boots on, of course!

And I'll be ropin' lots of cattle

With the lasso in my hand

Yeah I wanna be a cowgirl

'Cause it's the coolest job in the land.

3. Sometimes we walk on Memorial Day.

Remember how my kids are giant and therefore freakishly strong and therefore just go ahead and do ridiculous things like start to walk at not-even-9-months-old? Right. Homeboy is cruising like a fool, pushing toys across the room, and taking baby steps here and there. While I won't count any of them as his official first steps, we're thisclose to legit walking. Can. Not. Handle. That.

4. Sometimes we channel our inner boy band.

The NSync Pandora channel is, without a doubt, the best one I've come across. Check it out, kids; it'll change your life. And despite evidence to the contrary, my kids do own pants. Joe squirms a ton during diaper changes and Brooke is potty training, so bare legs are a frequent sighting at our house.

5. Sometimes we shake that.

Are you overwhelmed by her insane dancing? And, by insane, I obviously mean fantastic. The part where she shakes her booty? Um, dying over here. She's shufflin', you guys. Oh & also, that's the Chipmunks version of that song. Totally makes it kid-friendly.