Long Time No See

Apparently Instagram started taking the place of blogging in my mind.  Or it just was so much quicker and easier that it was the only thing I felt like I could squeeze in.  We have also had trouble figuring out how we want to manage and store our pictures, but I think we've finally got that down. I recently got really sad about some of the things I have probably missed that could end up forgotten, and I obviously don't want that.  :(  

I'm not even sure where to begin-I could blog about moving here, any of the many things we've done since then, Cason's recent birthday, or I could start with Neely, because it's the night before her first day of Kindergarten.  :(  I think I'll save that though, so I can include her actual first day in that post. 

Since Reed has changed and grown so much, we'll go with him for now.  He fits into our family so well but is also very unique.  He is still the most physical, not super high energy or anything, but easily the most active and always busy with something.  He expresses every feeling he has physically.  He's exuberant in most ways, but especially about showing his love.

 

When he feels especially happy he'll run around shouting about it, or my favorite-does a little jig.  He points both index fingers up, and runs around in circles in a gallop, just like you'd do if you were riding a stick horse.  It's so funny to watch.  When he feels affectionate AND excited he will jump on top of your back or head if you're sitting and give you the most vigorous hug you've ever had.  

 

Or he hugs multiple family members, alternating between us and then starts rapid fire kissing our cheeks.  When he's feeling calmer but still affectionate, he gives these tight hugs with his head on your shoulder, and/or rubs his cheek against yours with this exaggerated smile and that usually goes along with little squeaky sounds for some reason.  Ha!  Tonight Neely was feeling a little emotional because of Kindergarten tomorrow, so she called a family meeting and announced that we should havea  family hug.  Reed loved it and he kept saying "famee hug(family hug)!" and getting so excited when we all swarmed and hugged with him in the middle. 

One of my favorites that he has done for a long time now, is any time he spots Jess and I hugging he comes running up and hugs our legs and waits to be lifted.  We each put a hand under one of his arms, and team-lift him so he can join in our hug.  He loves it, and over time it evolved into him hugging us like that but then he gets this mischievous look in his eye and Jess knows what he wants.  So he(Jess) will slowly lean in to kiss me and Reed lets him get an inch or so away from me and then shoves him away at the last possible moment, while cracking up with his villain laugh.  He LOVES that one.  Eventually Jess tricks him and pretends to be about to kiss me but then veers suddenly over and plants one on Reed, who loses it and laughs SO hard.  

He is so fun and loving, but his feisty side has been showing lately too.  ;)  He has quite the little screech when he wants to, although thankfully most of his (nearly)three year old tantrums are silent and just involve him slumping to the ground and stubbornly arching his back to slip free when you try to lift him up.  He's also perfected his angry stomp.  He crosses his arms and puffs up his lips and literally stomps away.  When he's feeling sad or disappointed if you deny him something he wants, he does the super exaggerated sad Charlie Brown walk away.  Nice and slow so you have plenty of time to change your mind, just in case the guilt overcomes you.  ;)

 He is always so grateful when you give him something or do something for him.  He says "thank you" in the most genuine way.  It sounds more like "baytoo".  I probably hear "Baytoo mommy" or "baytoo Neenee", or whoever else he's thanking, a dozen or more times a day.   He's especially thankful for treats.  :)

He was the quickest to do everything physical, and is the latest talker in the family, although he's known how to say a TON for a loooong time now, and just preferred not to.  For one he liked chattering away in his own language, but he also is a quiet, thoughtful guy.  Loves to gaze out the window on long drives and you can tell some serious daydreaming is going on.  He's picking up a lot of stuff lately though and suddenly putting words together he wouldn't before.  The kids can ask him to repeat a word or phrase now and he actually LIKES performing for them and watching them all squeal and lose their minds over his cute voice. 

 He is a loveable fellow. 

Reed Stuff

Reed is getting so big.  He's 21 months old already.  He is so much fun, still easily our most active child.  Always busy with something.

For a while he did these trust falls and it was funny but it scared me.  We had a sofa under the window in the living room.  He'd climb up and stand on the TOP of the back of it, and I'd rush to sit next to him because it made me nervous.  He would stand there, pretending to gaze out the window, and then suddenly lean back and let himself fall backward, his body stiff and straight, just bravely assuming I would catch him even with no warning.  Of course I did every time, but still.  Thankfully he hasn't done those in a long time.

He likes to call for Jess.  He'll just yell out "Daaaaaaa!" and wait for him to appear.  :)  He also likes to help him.  We've been working on a slow, tedious job out back.  We removed the outdoor carpeting a couple of years ago and it left hideous glue and mortar all over the concrete.  We're gradually chipping away at it.  Reed will help for like ten minutes at a time, just quietly working away.

He loves his siblings and they love him too.  One day Grama was over and Neely let Reed get away with something (I can't remember what it was) and Grama asked "Neely do you always give Reed everything he wants?" and she said "Well he's our baby" in that "well YEAH, obviously" tone.

 At bedtime he makes the rounds, giving them each a big smooch.  You can tell he knows his kisses are high-value around here.  He smiles, all confident in how happy he knows he's making them.  Haha. 

When he's hanging out with them in one room, and one of them does something he thinks is funny, or sometimes if something funny happens on their show, he comes running to "tell" us about it.  It's so cute, he's speaking gibberish but you can just tell from the look on his face he doesn't want you to have missed out on whatever he found hilarious.

He also loves his good girls...

 ...and they know he's their guy when they're wanting a snack.

There are three shows Reed LOVES-Tumble Leaf, Yo Gabba Gabba, and Bubble Guppies.  When we put one on and the theme song starts he gets so excited.  He'll get in your face, with his inches from yours, looking into your eyes, and yell "GABBA" or "BUBBA" in this funny hoarse voice.  Cracks us up.

He also likes to be read to, especially a few favorite books-two are about farms, and one is "Goodnight, Forest Friends".  He likes to stay on the bird page, and point out the birds, the tree, and the moon.  He'll also do the same thing he does at the start of his favorite shows, if he doesn't think you're as excited about it as he is, and grab your cheeks and make you look into his eyes while he says "Bird", or whatever is on the particular page he's interested in at the moment.  He did it to Cason the other day, and I wasn't quick enough to catch it while he had both hands on Cason's cheeks, but here's a moment just after.

 He loves birds in real life too.  He gets so excited when he sees them and yells "Burd" and tries to chase them.  Once they've flown away he'll say "Bye bye burd".

He loves to be outside.  Playing with dirt...

...or water...

 ...or being pushed on his "bike"...

  ...and pretending to fall, so you can help him back up.

 His favorite games outside involve throwing our stuff in the bushes or over the wall.  We've probably lost a lot of things we don't realize are gone yet.  Ha.  Then he waits while we go retrieve it, so he can throw it again.

 He is still a cuddly boy, but usually just for a few moments before he's off busy with something again.

 He takes a cute selfie.

 For a long while there, when he got upset with me he'd throw a silent tantrum.  He'd run away from me angrily and throw himself to the ground, and then just lie there looking mad but making no sound.  Those days are gone though.  NOW, his tantrums are far from silent.  Instead he balls up his fists, and screams the highest pitched, loudest pterodactyl screech he can produce.  It's crazy.  You can watch Jess's blood pressure skyrocket as it's happening.  You almost wouldn't believe this boy could do such a thing.  ;)

Why I'm Mean

I was starting to think to myself "wow, summer hasn't been so bad, maybe in the past I imagined it, or it was just because I was pregnant and it felt hotter."  It's been hot, sure, but bearable.  We tried to play outside some...

 

 Lily and Paige rode bikes back and forth to each other's houses, or talked to each other by walkie talkie.  The younger kids get jealous sometimes and want to walk to the cousins' houses too.  One day Cason and Neely thought they were getting to walk all by themselves.  They didn't realize Reed and I were following.  Haha.

Veronica and the girls walked down to play some days.

We went bowling with the Stout family one day.

 

Cason read books to us.  He's doing so well.  

 Neely's been asking to learn too, so Jess finally decided to start with her recently.  She seems to be picking it up really well too.  She's already on lesson 18, and gets so excited when she reads a word and realizes what it is.  She'll use it in a sentence for us and giggle every time.  She lasts about 1 lesson, sometimes another half lesson, and then starts getting distracted and Jess will stop there until she asks again.

I've also been on dates with Alex and Faith.  I took them separately to get ice cream.  It was nice getting to talk with them.  Usually the kids are so excited to be with their cousins that I can't really spend time with them.

 

When July started, and it got humid, I remembered why I'm always so ready for fall by this time.   We started spending more time inside, other than the occasional hour or so in the little pool.  Paige has done a ton of reading.  She read all 13 A Series of Unfortunate Events books in just a few short weeks.

There was plenty of Lego building, by me AND them.

Lots of cuddling...

Drawing, mostly by Neely and Cason.  

Cason has been drawing TONS of dragons, ever since seeing How to Train Your Dragon II.  We all loved it, but he can think only of it.  In typical Cason fashion, he loves it for the adventure and the awesome vikings RIDING dragons, but also because he thinks Toothless is SO cute and sweet.  It's funny because he was pretty much a baby when the first movie was in theaters, but we own it and he's hardly watched it.  He didn't realize how good it was until seeing the second movie.  Now he's watched the first one several times in just a week.  He spent days perfecting his drawings of all the different types of dragons, and the vikings that ride each of them.  

He's decided he wants a How to Train Your Dragon birthday party.   I love this, because I'm almost as obsessed with Toothless as he is.  I love when I get to plan their parties and it's something I love too.  It's so much fun.  I'm working on a stuffed Toothless toy for him, which I have to somehow do without him realizing what it is.  

Anyway, back to their art...Neely's drawings are very cute, and are of a wide variety of subjects, from robots and aliens...

 

...to our family riding horses and zebras.

She also recently started writing letters to people.

This specific one was written to me after we got the mail one day, and there was a package containing birthday presents for Cason.  I wanted her to keep it secret, since his birthday is still a month and a half away.  Anyway, the letter says "you are mean because you will not let me tell Cason his birthday presents."

Popsicle Fruit

Two posts in one night, woohoo!  

Cason and Neely are really cute lately, they play so well together all day.  (Minus a few occasions when Neely raises her voice unnecessarily).  We've joked about her voice immodulation many a time anyway, and when she gets frustrated she turns into Jacob Silj.

She's said a lot of funny things lately, but one that comes to mind right now is when she told us "green popsicles are my favorite fruit."  Haha!

She and Cason help me with chores, and they take it very seriously.

Especially Cason-he will come to ME before I mention it and ask what chores he has that day.  He does them WELL too.  On Monday we clean the kitchen and his job is to wipe down the washer and dryer.  He gets a chair, and climbs up to wipe down the tops, and opens up the lids to clean the insides well too.  He's a hard workin' fella.

They like to draw together, and are both really into the Lego Ninjago show, so they have been drawing lots of related pictures.

I've been doing some of the work from the homeschool curriculum I used for Paige last year, and Neely likes to have an assignment too.  They get comfy and work away.

 

Neely will color and then tell me how "rainbowy" her pictures are.

Reed sleeps right through it.

 

We still love Paige too, I promise, but she's not as big into posing for pictures for me as she once was.  Ha.

 She is feeling pretty big these days, riding the bus, and getting to walk down to her friend Ivy's by herself once in a while after school.  (She hasn't noticed I spy on her while she walks "alone"-Ha!)