Our little 4 year old

There are so many cute things Reid is doing and saying almost everyday lately and I wish I had a pen & paper in my hand wherever I am so I can write it down.  He makes me laugh more than anyone I know and I just want to freeze him at this little stage he's at right now!  We have some of the best conversations and I just love hearing his voice... even when he asks me why about a 100 times a day!  ;)

One of the funniest things he told me the other day... "I'm afraid the poo-poo monster will come & eat my poo-poo in the potty!" 

This little guy LOVES, LOVES his pajamas!  He never EVER wants to get dressed and it is like a major ordeal just to get him to put clothes on!  Can't say I blame him!  The other day I was sick and didn't make him change his clothes.  At the end of the day he said to me, "Mommy, I got to stay in my pajamas all day!"  You would have thought he'd won the lottery!

He has such a funny personality and LOVES to be silly!  Whenever we're at a place that has prescription glasses out, he  always wants to try them on himself and Riley! 

This is one 4 year old who seriously LOVES desserts.  If I can bribe him with anything, it's sweets!  Particularly cakes, cookies or cupcakes!  He would probably rather eat candy or cupcakes if he could everyday of his life!  Anytime he asks for a snack, he asks if he can have candy.  Doesn't he know mama don't fall for that one?

He is SO in love with his brother these days!  They really like to play together now and Reid is even sharing his favorite toys with him.  There is nothing sweeter than watching my boys play in the pillows, wrestle on the floor, or as seen here, ride in the cozy coupe together!

And Reid is one of the best pillow tent makers I know!  It's nothing for the pillows from our couch to be on the floor all day long.  Reid LOVES to pull all the pillows off the couch and make tents, a boat, a cave, or whatever his imagination will take him to.  Riley has watched him do this so many times, that now he even pulls them off the couch and onto the floor! It's so fun to watch them be boys together like this.  

I love watching Reid grow & learn more everyday.  He has a great imagination, is VERY musical, loves to read & be sung to, watch movies, eat snacks, and loves any animal that walks the earth.  He's silly, playful, funny, and just down right cute!  He wants me to take his picture any time I have the camera out.  Such a switch from the days when he would run away from it!  He's a precious gem of a child. I love his sweet, sensitive spirit.  I CANNOT believe he will be FIVE years old this year!  I am going to be THAT mom that cries when she drops her kid off at kindergarten.  Thank goodness we have one more year of preschool.  I would be a mess!  I love that after I pick him from school, he wants me to hold him.  He's huge, but I don't care.  One day he won't want me to hold him.  I don't look forward to those days.  For now, you're still a little boy.  You still need me, want me and need more hugs & kisses than I could give you in a lifetime.  Mommy loves you THIS much!

What I found this morning...

Reid & Riley are starting to play so well together lately.  This morning, Reid wanted to go into Riley's room & play.  I normally have to supervise all the play since Riley is in a "dangerous" stage, (i.e. climbing, falling, etc.) but I decided it would be fun for them to play together by themselves as long as I could hear them.  At one point, I could no longer hear noise coming from the room and of course, as a mom, that always makes you a little worried, right?  Here's what I found when I went to investigate.... 

Sweet brothers.  Love them!

Bath time & a song

I haven't taken pictures of the boys in the bath in a while.  I HEART bath time pics!

  Reid came home singing this song after preschool today.  The funny part is, this is a song I learned when I taught school at Lamplighter.  We used to sing it at what they called "Hootenannies." It was precious.  They would gather all the children in the auditorium and everyone (teachers included) would sing.  I LOVED it when Reid started singing this!  Next thing I knew, we were singing it together, doing the motions and laughing ourselves silly! This is one for the wedding rehearsal video for sure!

New year, new things

I am trying to do at least 1 craft project a week with Reid to reinforce what he is learning at preschool.  This week they are learning about the letter L.  Reid made a lion and named it Gracie.  Precious.  Love it!

Letting Riley learn to feed himself yogurt with a spoon.  Didn't go so well the first time... :)

Riley has started this new thing where he likes to go into his room and look at all his books.  He especially loves the part where he climbs into his chair all by himself (proudly I might add) and "reads" his books. 

Riley has learned to scoot himself forward on his riding toys.  He was only riding backwards and somehow figured out that these things go forward too! 

I love all the new things the boys are doing.  It's fun to watch Reid draw shapes and cut with scissors.  It's wonderful to see Riley continue to grow & develop.  I love seeing him do things that I watched Reid learn for the first time when he was that age.  I can't believe my itty is 18 months old already!  Reid is almost 4.5 and getting to be more of a BIG boy everyday.  Where are the days going?  I know I will look back on these days & remember them being the easiest when they are 15 & 12 years old.  Right now it can sometimes seem exhausting and overwhelming.  I hold each moment precious & dear and thank God each day for these gifts! 

Happy New Year!

Mr. Napkin Head

Okay, remember the movie The Holiday?  I LOVE that movie.  One of my all time favs to watch anytime, but especially during the Christmas season.  I probably watched it 5 or 6 times this past season.  Remember the part where Cameron Diaz surprises Jude Law and comes to his house only to find out he has 2 kids?  I love when they sit down at the table to drink hot chocolate, and the girls ask him to do "Mr. Napkin Head."  Cracks me up every. single. time! Well, we had a little fun of our own this morning with Rod doing his own rendition of "Mr. Napkin Head!"  

Love the boy's reactions!  This was a funny moment... priceless.  Makes me laugh just thinking about it!  Love you babe!  

You're the BEST Dad ever!

New Year's 2011

We had a kid free weekend this past weekend (thank YOU Mimi & Papa!) and decided it would be fun to have a few friends over.  It was a fun, low key night, but just a great time with my close Bible study girlfriends and their hubs.  We ate lots of great appetizers everyone brought, played a VERY fun game (thank you Stouffers!), and everyone stayed to ring in the new year at 12:00 on the dot!  Was probably the first time in a while we have stayed up till midnight on NYE to ring it in!  Happy 2012 everyone! 

Here's to hoping & praying it's a blessed & prosperous year for all of you!

Christmas Day 2011

Riley had a LOT of fun with the boxes!  Big surprise!

The garbage truck Reid has been asking Santa for.  I think he's pretty happy!

Riley's new plasma bike.. he's a bit too little for it yet, but Reid sure is having fun with it!

Reid's reaction to his motorized jeep Santa brought him. LOVE. THIS. FACE!

Our pretty table before Christmas dinner.

My mom, dad, & grandmother, and us... Riley is back there in his booster chair.  Just can't see him! Oops!

Riley is loving him a piece of our Happy birthday Jesus cake!

Reid's sweet Great-grandma

Reid was loving helping EVERYONE open their presents!

My grandmother, Mom, Riley, Dad & Reid

We had a great Christmas this year!  It was fun celebrating with both boys.  Reid really got into ALL of the fun traditions & things we did this Christmas.  Seeing Christmas through a 4 year old's eyes was priceless.  Loved every minute.  Riley came along for the ride and even though he doesn't know what Christmas is yet, he was still so sweet during all the things we did together.  We tried to do a lot of fun things in & out of the house this year to celebrate the season while trying to keep the focus on Christ and the celebration of His birth.  We had an advent calendar that Reid opened up a new door everyday and it had a fun activity for him to do.   We also lit a candle on our advent wreath to talk about the REAL reason we celebrate Christmas.  Reid is still a little young (and of course Riley too) to get all of that, but we feel it's important to start these traditions now so that he & Riley will know about them at an early age.   We had my mom & dad, and grandmother over on Christmas night and got to have a fun time eating wonderful food and letting the boys open a few presents from them.  Over all it was a wonderful 2011 Christmas.  We had a ball and will have fond memories of all of it!!  Can't wait till next year!  Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!