Reid's Birthday Weekend!

We have had a wonderful weekend celebrating Reid's birthday!  His actual birthday was on Friday, but we started celebrating Thursday evening.  We went to my parents' house to swim and let Reid open his presents from them (just to spread things out a little bit).  This was the year of the firetruck for Reid, so you will notice a theme. :) 

My mom found this adorable firetruck wrapping paper! 

This was Georgia Kate's first official swim!  The Preston girls always wore hair bows in the pool when we were little, so of course GK did too.  She really liked the pool!

Reid had fun too, of course!  He loves the pool!  We got to practice some of the skills that he's been learning at swim lessons.  I'm so proud of how well he's swimming!  

He was so excited about all of his gifts, especially his Aggie train and his scooter!

I got some firetruck balloons and a donut to have out when Reid woke up on his birthday morning.  Well, in typical Reid fashion, he was scared of his balloons for half of the day and wanted me to take them off of his chair and didn't eat his donut.  He wanted his regular yogurt and dry cheerios.  

A little selfie with the birthday boy!

We went on a morning wagon ride/scooter walk around the lake in our neighborhood!

For lunch I took the kids to Chick-fil-a.  We eat Chick-fil-a way too regularly, but it is very rare that I take them inside to eat, especially by myself.  That place really stresses me out.  However, since it was Reid's birthday, I decided to suck it up and take them inside to eat and play.  We actually had a very nice lunch.  Things got a little tricky when I had to take him to the bathroom (this was the first time I'd been alone with both kids in a restaurant since we potty trained), but I just wheeled little sister into the stall in her highchair and we took care of business! :)  The birthday boy was so excited that I let him get ice cream even though we would be eating ice cream again later that evening.  Anything goes on your birthday!! 

Chris came home early from work and Reid opened his presents from us.  

Then, Grandma and Grandpa came over to bring Reid his gift!  He was really excited about it, but it took him a good 10 minutes to go near it and at least another 10 to actually sit in it.  It always takes him a while to warm up to new things and experiences, so this didn't surprise me one bit.  Once he got going though, he was a pro!

Family pics before heading to dinner!

We went to eat with all of the grandparents, Auntie Alli and Uncle Thomas!  Uncle John was traveling for work and we missed him!

Peaches enjoying some puffs.

After dinner we went to get frozen yogurt.  Reid doesn't like cake.  I feel that this would be a good place to share about Reid's fear of the Happy Birthday song.  If you know me in real life, then you know that I am not a fan of being sung to, specifically Happy Birthday.  I just get nervous with everyone looking at me.  Anyway, I have never said anything about this in front of Reid, but he did NOT want us to sing Happy Birthday to him.  Every time I would start to sing he got the saddest look on his face and he would say, "No mommy!  Don't sing that song!  I don't like it!"  It actually made me sad that I didn't get to sing Happy Birthday to my baby!  This child is so much like me in so many ways.  

On Saturday we had a small party at our house with just a few of Reid's best buddies.  I knew that he would have more fun with less people, so that's what we did.  It was really fun and stress free!  Most importantly, the birthday boy had a great time!  We were thankful for those that came over to celebrate our boy!  

The entry table...

The "Firefighter Snacks" table…  

We also had pizza outside.    

Like I said, Reid doesn't like cake, but he does love cookies, so we did cookie cake and ice cream.  

And this is all the birthday boy ate.  A bowl of m&m's.  Sigh. 

I was planning to rent a regular bounce house for the boys to play in, but then I saw this one and of course we had to get it!  Last night Reid would not go to sleep and was crying that he wanted "his" bounce house back.  He kept wailing, "But I wasn't done bouncing!!!"  It was actually really sad!

We were all wiped out by Saturday night, but we loved celebrating our precious 3 year old!  

THREE.

Well, I blinked and he turned three.  This precious boy is more than I ever could have imagined him to be.  I never knew I needed a son until Reid Preston came along.  This is all about our little blonde haired, greenish (that used to be blue) eyed boy…

Sidenote: The fabric in his outfit looks really weird in these pictures!  It's black and white check. :) Mumsie made it of course!

In a lot of ways, Reid is a typical first born.  He is independent, a little bossy (but not necessarily confrontational), and cautious.  He needs to stand and access a new situation for a few minutes before deciding if he is going to participate.  He is also loving, patient, musical, smart, and creative.  

He likes to help me with a lot of things, but he especially loves to help me cook!

I love seeing his imagination come alive!  I always wonder where some of his little ideas come from, like the other night when he wanted us to put koozies on our hands and act like roller skaters!?

I love how excited he gets to tell me things when he gets home from an outing with Daddy or time with his grandparents.

He answers questions in complete sentences.  For example, if I say, "Reid, did you wash your hands?" he will say, "Yes I did wash my hands" instead of just "yes".  I think it's so cute.

He is definitely getting more inquisitive.  Surprisingly, we haven't entered the "why?" phase yet, but I'm sure it's coming.  He usually asks things like, "How does this work, Mommy?"  He also wakes up almost every morning and asks, "What are we doing today, Mommy?" or "Where are we going today, Mommy?"  He always adds Mommy to the end of his questions and sentences and I just love it.

  

He loves watching videos of himself.  He thinks he's pretty funny and so do we!

He is an amazing big brother.  He really is.  He is very patient (most of the time), comforts Georgia when she's sad, and loves to make her laugh.  

He has such an animated voice and an expressive face!

I'm proud of how well he shares with his friends and hope he's always generous with others.  

He LOVES music.  Nothing makes him happier than when we have family band time.  He gives each of us an instrument (even Georgia Kate), lines us up, and we all march around the house playing our instruments and singing.  We usually sing the Aggie War Hymn or Spirit of Aggieland, but sometimes he will let us sing other songs. ;) The joy on his face when we do this is priceless.  He is starting to actually sing more and I cannot get enough of his precious singing voice.  The sound of kids singing has always made me so emotional (even when I was teaching)!  There is just nothing sweeter!

He loves cars, trains, and trucks, especially firetrucks.  

  

This is a work in progress, but he is pretty good about using his manners and saying "please", "thank you", "excuse me", and "no, thank you".  Like most 3 year olds, he thinks that if he asks nicely he will always get what he wants. :) It makes me laugh when he says, "no, thank you!" when I ask him to pick up toys or if he needs to go potty.

His dimple.  It's been there since he was a tiny baby and it is still one of my favorite things about him.  He just has the sweetest little grin.  

He is just such a happy and joyful kid.  I love how excited he gets about the littlest things.  He is content and grateful and I pray that he is always this way.

We did our own little photo shoot earlier this week and this is my FAVORITE picture.  I feel like it captures him perfectly!

Big brother and baby sister...

The place where we went to take pictures is right by the fire station, so I thought I would surprise Reid and take him to see the firetrucks and take his picture on one.  He would not smile and was so serious! That is so him though.  He just takes everything in.  

He was excited about the fireman hat that they gave him! 

I am overwhelmingly grateful every single day that this boy is ours.

Happy 3rd birthday, Reid!! We love you to the moon and back!

3 year stats...

Weight: 39.8 pounds (97%)

Height: 39 3/4 inches (93%)

I did a simple little birthday survey with Reid this year!  He answered every question without hesitation…

What is your favorite color?  purple
What is your favorite toy?  firetruck
What is your favorite thing to eat?  cookies
What is your favorite restaurant?  Alicia's
What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?  grill (his pretend grill)
What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?  the baby pool
What is your favorite thing to do with Georgia?  the piano
What is your favorite book?  Wake Up
What is your favorite show?  Barney
What is your favorite place?  zoo
What is your favorite animal?  elephants
What is your favorite thing to do at Grandma and Grandpa's house?  throw the ball on the stairs
What is your favorite thing to do at Mumsie and Poppies' house?  find Easter eggs
What is something that you don't like?  the dancing bunny

Georgia Kate is 10 months old!

Our baby girl is 10 months old!  I feel like I say this every month, but we are really starting to see this girl's personality and she has a lot of it!  Georgia Kate is very vocal, opinionated, spunky, and loud!  I feel like we are opposite in most ways (looks and personality) and I love it!  She likes to hold her arms out, clench her fists, raise up her eyebrows, and SCREAM!  Sometimes she does it when she's mad and sometimes just when she wants attention.  She seems to be slightly dramatic. ;)  She loves when I pull out the video camera and totally hams it up!  She hates her carseat and getting her diaper changed and lets me know every.single.time.  I remember this little phase with Reid and honestly, it gives me anxiety. :)  I think the screaming in the car stresses Reid out too because he is always telling her, "Georgia, it's okay! We're almost home Georgia!  Stop crying Georgia!" She is so much more interactive now and it's really fun!  She learned to play peek-a-boo with washrags and her dresses.  It's adorable!  She just learned how to clap and likes to clap for her brother when he hits the baseball in the back yard!  She also likes to clap for herself when she turns pages in a book.  She was a big time mama's girl when she was a baby, but lately, this girl LOVES her daddy!  She lights up when he walks through the door.  I am working with her on saying "mama", but every time I say, "Georgia, say mama", she smiles and whispers "dadadadada".   She pulled up today for the first time and she was so proud!  Georgia Kate is a very good eater.   I would say her very favorite food (other than puffs) is blueberries!  She loves them and has them at least twice a day!  She definitely eats more than her brother.  Sadly, her cheeks are getting smaller even though she's eating more!  I think she has a dimple emerging. 

 I think I've mentioned this before, but all of the dresses that Georgia wears for her monthly photo shoots were made by my mom and my sister and/or I wore them when we were babies.  The one she wore this month was the very first dress my mom ever made!  I love the tag that's inside. 

Our little peach is just the perfect addition to our family!  She makes us all smile and laugh!!  We love you so very much GiGi (her latest nickname of many)!   

Oh this look…

Happy Mother's Day!

I am so thankful to be Reid and Georgia Kate's mommy!  I am also so thankful to have such a wonderful mom and mother in law. 

We skipped church this morning since we are just one week into potty training and I wasn't sure how that would go.  We may try next week.  We woke up and went to breakfast with Chris' parents!  Before we left I wanted to get a picture with my babies.  Reid was in quite a mood and refused to sit in my lap.   Don't let the smile fool you! ;) 

 Me and my mini-me ;) I know I've said this before, but I mean really, this girl looks NOTHING like me.  

 Just a few more pictures of the cooperative one before breakfast...  

After breakfast we came home so Georgia Kate could take a nap.  I got to snuggle with the one that made me a mommy!  

We went to my parents' house for lunch and spent most of the day there.  Chris and Reid braved the cold pool for the first official swim of the season!  

Baby leg rolls...

 I wanted to attempt one more picture before bed!  I love these two so very much!!!

the weekend of potty training and teething

With Reid's third birthday quickly approaching, I knew that it was time to start potty training.  I had been putting it off for too long.  I honestly hadn't really felt like he was ready until recently.  We looked at our calendar for the months of April and May and this weekend was the only weekend that we had absolutely nothing on our calendar, so I knew we had to take advantage and just do it!  Chris and I ended up going to celebrate a friend's birthday for a couple of hours on Saturday, so my parents took over potty training duty then.  It was nice to have a small break!  Leading up to this weekend we had been telling Reid that in a few days his diapers would go away.  He asked where they would go and I told him we would give them to his sister.  He quickly replied, "No… I wear a size 6 and Georgia Kate only wears a 3."  Sorry buddy, that's not going to work. ;) I had NO idea how this whole thing was going to go.  I had been picking my friends' brains about what worked for them and kind of put together my own plan based on what I felt like would work for Reid.  I feel like potty training is kind of a personal thing and I don't want to share every detail with the internet for Reid's sake, but I'll give a brief summary! :) Friday morning did not go well.  There were a lot of tears and I wanted to quit right then and there.  We pushed through and by that afternoon it was getting better.  It helped so much to have Chris home on Saturday and Sunday.  I know potty training isn't something you are just done with and can check off the list, but overall I feel like it was a successful start.  By this evening Reid had filled up his whole sticker chart.  He was SO proud!  He got a couple of rewards along the way (frozen yogurt and a snow cone and also 2 m&m's each time he went) and his big reward was a zoo trip with Mommy and Daddy!  He usually only goes with me so he is really excited about this!  We are going to take him next weekend.

This sweet girl had a rough weekend.  She had a fever Saturday afternoon and night and was drooling like CRAZY, which is unusual for her.  She did not feel well at all and it just broke my heart.  I really do think it's teething (even though teething gets blamed for everything)!   She seemed to be feeling a little better by this evening.

It was nice to just be home this weekend, but we are all a little worn out! :)

Monday Update: Poor baby girl has Hand, Foot, Mouth!  She woke up this morning completely COVERED in a rash so I took her to the doctor.  Reid had an awesome day in the potty training department.  Yay!  Tomorrow will be his first day to leave the house not wearing a diaper, so I'm a little bit nervous!