It's Only a Matter of Time

It's only a matter of time till Reese is crawling. She is all over now the place right now. She if even getting up on her knees and hands. The funniest thing is if you put a wipe container just out of reach, she will seek it out. She is relentless when it comes to getting something she wants.

Such a Helpful Son

Today we spent most of the day hanging out as a family. Jim had a later game so we were able to play, laugh, and have fun as an entire family. JJ was super helpful today. Before Reese went down to bed he emptied some of the clean clothes from one of the baskets in the living room into another one then proceeded to take it to Reese's room. We filled up his basket with all of her dirty clothes. As he tried to lift it he realized that it was too heavy and he looked up to me. I showed him that he could push it instead, and that's just what he did. He pushed it into his room, got all of his dirty clothes. He then pushed it through the living room where he picked up a few burp cloths off the ground and threw them into the basket. He then continued to push the laundry basket to the laundry room where he stopped right in front of the washer and began to put the clothes in. He was carefully placing them in the washer then he closed the door. I out the detergent in and we started it. He then picked up the laundry basket and put it in front of the dryer where he knew the clothes were done. As I opened it up his blanket was the first thing he saw. He put his head on it (inside of the dryer), sniffed it, then pulled it out. I was left with the rest of the items, but that was ok.
As I put JJ to bed tonight we did our typical routine, but as I put him in his crib he saw one of his Easter eggs that he must have gotten out of a drawer. He asked for it so I gave it to him. As I gave it to him I told him that I would put a liitle kiss in it so that he could open it up later if he wanted. Of course he opened it up right away, laughed, then gave it back to me to refill. I did, said good night and went to check on Reese. As I did I heard him scream out so I went back into him room to check on him. The egg had fallen behind his crib and he couldn't get it. He was standing there crying with tears coming down his face. I picked up the egg, put another kiss in it and handed it back to him. He gently set it on his matress and sat down to read one of his books.

Ballplayer in the Making

I got to sit and watch two of my most favorite guys play America's favorite pastime. Today Jim was teaching JJ how to out his glove on, catch a ball, and throw it back. It was so cute to see JJ put it on his right hand, then his left hand, then out it on backwards, and then finally see him understand and grasp the concept. Jim still has his work cut out for him though, JJ doesn't seem to understand that he needs to take the ball out to throw it back, he does almost everything but.

Middleville Trail

We had a great family day today. After JJ woke up from his nap we decided to pack up and head out to Middleville to walk along the trail. JJ loved the trail, we walked a bit over a half a mile out and got way to hot so we decided to turn around and go back. JJ wNted to get out and walk back. He decided to run the ENTIRE way. We tried to get him to stop to look at different wildlife and have some water, but he just wanted to keep going. He even fell two times, but he got right back up and continued on. As we got to the end of the trail his little face was red and his knees were all skinned up, but he wanted to keep going. We took him to get some ice cream to help cool off. Last time we went to get ice cream he wanted nothing to do with it. This time I ordered Mackinac Island Fudge and he loved it. He wanted it in a sugar cone and he couldn't get enough of it. It was a great day.

Reese Exceeds the Standards

Today was reese's doctors appointment for her four month check up. She did a great job, although she anticipated her shots coming. JJ actually thought the appointment was for him and tried to run the other way. Then whe Dr. Stutzman came in he wanted nothing to do with her. Jim and I kept telling him that this was Reese's appointment, but he didn't believe us. Reese scored very high for her weight, height, and head circumference. The Dr. Kept saying that Reese is big for a girl so that's why she is eating so much (like a boy). Later on in the day it was time for Reese's bath. As I was giving her a bath JJ noticed that she was squirming a lot and getting kind of fussy. She kept picking up her head, almost sitting up. Without me saying anything he left the bathroom and was back in 1 minute with her rattle that she likes to bite on and a blow up baseball. It was just what she needed. He was so proud of himself. What a great kid.

Wow, Busy Day!!

All I have to say is that any parent who thinks they want to take two children under the age if two, to a park by themselves should really rethink it. Throughout the summer I'm trying to think of different things that we can do. I thought about how we have gone to the library and have had some play-dates so I told JJ that we were going to the park. In JJ fashion he said, "ooh.". I packed us a little lunch if peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit snack, a banana, and a beverage. I packed everything up and we headed to Lakeside Park in Caledonia. As we pulled up (around 11:30) I got everyone out and grabbed all the bags, cooler, blanket, and stroller. We rolled up to the playground. JJ immediately wanted to play on the big kids equipment and Reese at the same time wanted to get out of the stroller. This should have been my sign to go home, but I didn't. I got JJ to go to the little equipment and he climbed right up on it and wanted to go down the slides. He would stand at the top of them running in place and then go to the top of the other slide. He did this for a bit before he finally went down one. I finally put Reese in the baby Bjorne which helped, but it was now getting really hot out. I got JJ to sit down on the blanket by the slide to eat our lunch. I kept having to wipes his hands to keep them clean, while at the same time Reese wants to eat. Kids are now coming over from the dual graduation parties going on just a little bit away from us and. JJ is "eating" his PB&J sandwich with one hand and picking up wood chips with the other. I had arched my limit. Then picked everything up, chased JJ down (he tried to keep playing with the kids on the playground), got in the car and left. Great Times!
Later that night Jim and I took the kids to Campau Corner for some ice cream. We met up with the Coates family. JJ didn't eat any of his ice cream, was constantly running around chasing Tana, and then proceeded to fall off of the tall planter landing on his knees and finally hitting his head. Needless to say, I was so glad when we got home safe and sound.

The Word Hi Never Sounded So Good

All Jim and I hear from JJ is blah, blah, wa, wa, and other nonsense words. We have become very good at deciphering his code, but we're waiting for him to start talking. This was why I was so surprised when I heard JJ talking to Reese. He went up to Reese in her exersaucer and started to say, with a tilt of his head, "hi.". It was the most precious hi I have ever heard. He continued to say hi to Reese as she was mesmerized by her big brother.

Thumbs Up

Jim taught JJ how to do thumbs up today. However, instead of holding up his thumbs he hold up his two pointer fingers.

Big Boy Books

JJ noticed the other day all of the "big boy books," as I like to call them, in his closet. I call them big boy books because they are not board books and they are only books that I allow big boys to read after their naps and before bedtime. JJ LOVES these books! He loves them so much that they seem to be the only books that he wants to read. Every night I let him pick out a big boy book that we read together. One of the most recent ones is, "If You Take a Mouse to the Movies" and "If You Give a Pig a Pancake". I then showed JJ the stuffed mouse and pig that go along with the books. They were instant friends. I noticed that after a couple of days. JJ was talking with them, reading to them, and playing different games with them. JJ even wanted mouse to sit and watch Little Einstein's with him. This is the first time that I have seen him use his imagination and I don't think I have seen anything cuter. Thanks mom for making this memory happen.

Playdate

Today we had a fun play-date with Holly Velding and her two daughters, Ana and Payton. We started off by meeting them at the Fun for Kidz gymnastics place where we had open floor time. JJ was a bit apprehensive about it at first, but after 40 minutes he was ready to go. He was walking on the balance beams and jumping on the tramps. He even went down the slide into the foam pit a couple of times. Reese did well too, besides being hot and tired she was a real trooper. We then got some McDonald's, JJ's first kids meal, and headed over to Holly's house to hang out for a bit. By the time we got home we all were exhausted so we took a nap.

New Library-New Experience

Today we went to the Cascade library for their family story time. On the way to the library I asked JJ where we were going he said, "blah blah blah, library.". I instantly called Jim to tell him how our son said library. As I retold the story JJ just smiled. When we got to the library JJ was amazed by it. We went back into the room and he didn't waste anytime joining the group. There was one little boy that noticed that JJ had goldfish so he came over and JJ didn't even hesitate to share with this little boy who hung around James for the remainder of the day. At the end of story time they had a little play time. As i was feeding Reese, James went around the room checking out the things on the table, knocking down a tower of blocks that another child built with their mom, and throwing balls around the room. However, when it was clean up time he was the last child to help the librarian clean up the toys. When we got home we spent a little time outside where JJ went around with his little shovel and scooped us dirt and walked it over to the weeds. He thought he was helping me pick up Slyder's poop. What a helper.

Rolly Polly

Wow, I'm so impressed with Reese. She rolls everywhere! If you place her on her back she immediately flips over and begins scooting and rolling across the room. Amazing!!