Reid Update

Reid is 15 months now!!! Right when we moved to Omaha he kind of went through a clingy stage but seems to be doing much better and for the moment is back to my happy little boy!  He took his first steps on February 6th, but only walks if directed too right now.  He is talking a lot.  He likes to say the following: hi, "da do" for thank you, hot, ball, "d" for done, woof, moo, oink, up, "bb" for belly button, "pp" for his pp :), "getcho" for I'm going to get you, "guck" for yuck, and yum, and mom and dad of course.  Sometimes I think he's trying to say Hayden, but I could be wrong.

Reid loves to go through cupboards and drawers, his favorite raid is our bathroom.  He hands Hayden something from the drawer and says, "Da do" for thank you and Hayden places it on the counter.  They play forever!

He's also become good at getting into food! I'm so sad I couldn't get my camera into focus for these, it was cracking me up when I realized where he had gone!

He LOVES the slide we brought up from the basement.  He plays on it a lot each day and I was shocked when he started going down it all by himself on February 18th.

He also likes to be an independent eater and drinker.  He WOULD NOT let me help him drink this smoothie and this is what happened:

We were all very impressed with how symmetrical the spill was!  He did not appreciate how cold the smoothie was.

Here are some cute little pictures of Reid at 15 months.  I just had to take him to the Dr because he got an ear infection so I know that he is 27 lbs (95th percentile) and 33.75 inches long (99th percentile).  He is getting HEAVY to carry around!

Seriously, baby buns are the cutest thing ever!

Reid loves taking caps on and off or screwing jar lids on and off, he is getting really good at it!

This just cracked me up, just taking it easy!

And on March 5th he figured out how to open doors!!!

I just want to squeeze this cutie all day long!  

Hayden Update

Hayden has become quite the little "scientist" she is always mixing things together and telling me about her experiments.  My mom gave us a science book awhile back and we have done a few experiments and she just goes nuts for them!

Hayden also started gymnastics at Metro Stars in February and has impressed Paul and I with her determination.  Finally, she is using her stubbornness to her own advantage!  She started out in an invite only group and did well but could not do a hand stand or cartwheel at all.  She worked on the hand stand all week and shocked her teacher by all her progress! 

Paul and Hayden on their Daddy-Daughter date.  She insisted on taking her purse and wallet just in case, but did let Paul pay.

And she lost her 2nd tooth on February 6th!  I also saw her determination here!  She was eating an apple and I think it snapped the root of her tooth. It started to bleed a bit which made her nervous at first, but once I told her how lose it was, she went in the bathroom and worked at it until she got it out!  The bathroom had little splatters of blood EVERYWHERE and she had filled a small cup full of bloody tissue, funny girl!  She was so proud of herself.

Sticking her tongue through her hole

Some of my favorite Hayden expressions as of late:

• "For Real Life Mom?" Whenever she wonders if I'm being serious of joking
• "Mom, we need to have a talk."   This one makes me a little nervous every time she says it!
• She always pinches herself to see if a really happy thing is a dream or real"
• "Mom, I think you're gonna be happy about this..." or the flip side, "Mom, I don't think you're going to be very happy about this..."

Kim and Katelyn Come To Visit

My dear friend Kim Smith brought her daughter Katelyn to come and visit us last week.  They arrived late on a Wednesday night (their flight was delayed by 2 hours and then they arrive in Omaha and the belt was broken on the luggage conveyor!  We got home and in bed around 2 am)  and were able to stay until early Monday morning.  We had a great time with them and I was lame and hardly got any pictures!

Thursday morning we took it easy and went to Hayden's gymnastics center for open play and followed that by lunch at Chick-fil-a.

Friday we FINALLY made it to the famous Omaha zoo.  It was as exciting as everyone described to me. Poor Reid was teething and beginning an ear infection so he was a little crabby unfortunately!

Saturday we went to breakfast at The Egg and I and then Paul was awesome and watched the kids while Kim and I braved the cold weather conditions and went outlet shopping.

Sunday was our normal church day.

Hayden and sweet Katelyn played SO well together the whole time.  Hayden was in heaven having a little girl to play with all day.

It was so fun staying up late into the night talking with my friend that I have known for over 20 years now.  It's so great that we are still friends despite the fact that we haven't lived next to one another in about 15 years!  Thank goodness for good friends.  She's been there during all my dark times and for that I am very grateful.

Breakfast at the Egg and I

Hanging out Sunday night before bed

Valentine's Day

Project basement has kind of taken over our weekends lately, but we did carve out a bit of time to celebrate Valentine's Day with the kiddos.  Paul had just gotten home from a business trip in Florida the night before as well, so we were excited to just be reunited again.

Hayden's Valentine's gift.  She decorated these glasses all by herself!

Hayden also had a Valentine's party at preschool.  Here she is with her best friend from school, Aubrey.

Reid eyeing everyone's treats

Snow Days

I actually anticipated winter being filled with snow days in Omaha, but it has been a pretty mild winter in terms of snow storms I guess.  On January 31st we finally got A LOT of snow. Paul was less than thrilled to shovel our huge driveway and Reid was less than thrilled to get into his snow suit.  I enjoyed taking pictures and Hayden enjoyed playing in the snow!

Our kind neighbors brought over their snow blower and helped Paul finish the rest. Paul would have been out there for hours without their help!