Tidbits...

A few days ago, we were driving to dinner. Reid was in his car seat, which sits behind Ross, and he says, "Hey, Daddy. You're missing some hairs back there." Out of the mouths of babes, so they say...

Yesterday, Reid fell and hurt his behind. After some soothing, he forgot about it and went on his way. Then later...

• Reid: (pointing to his behind) "Mommy. I hurt my bum."
• Me: "Your what?"
• Reid: "My bum. It means booty."
• Me: "Yes, I know what it means. Where did you hear that word?"
• Reid: "The Wonder Pets said it."
• Me: "Oh. Okay. Interesting."
• Reid: "Yeah. Bum is Spanish for booty."

His Spanish teacher at preschool is gonna love him this year, I can just tell. :)

Tidbits...

Just few things for posterity:

* It has been a hot few weeks, and yesterday I commented on how hot it was outside. Reid replied with, "It's not the heat, Mommy. It's the her-midity." I asked him where he heard this (because I know it's not from me) and he said it was from the Wonder Pets. Ming-Ming, to be exact.

* On several occasions over the past few weeks, I have heard Reid either singing or humming Christmas tunes, usually Jingle Bells. He was really belting it out at Publix last week, and people were pretty amused. (I know some of you think I put him up to this, but I don't!) Then, on Monday at the library, Reid got to pick out two DVDs... he chose the Christmas Thomas the Train and the Christmas Wonder Pets. That just proves what I have believed for years - that the "Christmas spirit" is indeed genetic. It might skip a generation now and then, but it's there. My mom has it, I have it, and now Reid has it, too. I'm so glad I have someone to listen to Christmas music with when October rolls around!

What Happened to June?!?

I realize my last post was only on June 22nd, which wasn't all THAT long ago, but I feel like this summer is just flying by. What happened to June? Why do I feel so busy when I don't really have all that much going on?

Here's a rundown of what has happened since the last post (that I can remember!):
* Reid completed beginner swim lessons at the Y.
* I had lasik surgery on my eyes (6/25). YAY!
* I turned 32 (7/3).
* 4th of July.
* Two little boy birthday pool parties.

I'm sure there are other things... Here are some photos of all of the above, and then some, in no particular order.

Reid at Dawson's "Car Wash" birthday party. Yes, folks, those are blue spaghetti noodles (aka car wash brushes).

We gave Dawson a car wash curtain from Ikea for his birthday so he can have his very own car wash at his house. Reid freaked out and decided he wanted one, too, so we made a homemade one. It's still up 2 weeks later...

Me before the lasik surgery. Granted, I am not looking my best but I wanted to post the last photo of me in glasses for posterity. :)

The guys in their "chef" hats, which Reid decided to make out of dish cloths. They are making me a birthday cake (according to Reid).

My chef, with his "hat" and Spiderman outfit on. Who can say no to that face?

At the fountains downtown.

Yes, I told him not to climb the train...

My "birthday cake," a lemonade cheesecake-type pie. It was quick, easy, and yummy. :)

Fireworks on July 3rd. Ross and Reid watching the sky together.

I didn't take any official photos of Reid during swim lessons - they were chaotic enough without that - but I did want to document the day he played with markers about 30 seconds before we walked out the door.

Yes, that was my child in the creek downtown. That's what the city of Greenville gets for not turning on the fountains when they are supposed to be on! Reid, Camryn, Ceci, and Gideon didn't seem to mind....

Reid and Gideon, a friend from school.

Gotta love it when you know your birthday gift was enjoyed. Our (former) next door neighbor, Reeves, turned 4 and we got him a bubble gun. I looked out that evening and saw this - later, his older brother preparing to try to slide down without breaking his neck. Don't worry, their dad is a doctor. (Actually, he's Reid's doctor...)

Reid also got a bubble gun - a big hit!

And it makes LOTS of bubbles!

Tidbits...

There are several things I have been meaning to record for posterity. I know as soon as I hit the "post" button, I'll remember a few more. Here are the ones I can remember right now:

• I was lying in bed with Reid one night. He talks about the funniest things sometimes while we are lying there in the dark at bedtime. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Mommy, I have to tell you something." I asked him what it was and he replied, in his whisper voice, "Daddy has a special pocket for his boogies."


• Reid is starting to learn the words to songs - on TV, the radio, etc. It is so cute to watch him sing along to the theme songs or whatever happens to be playing.


• Reid refers to Parmesan cheese as spaghetti "sprinkles," which isn't necessarily incorrect. :)


• Reid's imagination is in overdrive these days, even more than usual. He has been playing by himself a lot and I can hear him in the playroom or wherever talking to his (stuffed) "friends" and reenacting things from TV or movies, always adding his own spin to it or mixing his favorite characters to make up his own little world. Yesterday, he wanted to play Wall-E with me, so he was Wall-E and I was Eva... for, like 40 minutes. (That is a long time to be a space robot with a limited vocabulary...) He pretended to compact trash into a cube under his shirt over and over and would laugh uncontrollably when I would say "Directive?" in my Eva robot voice. (If you haven't seen the movie, this will make no sense to you... :)


• The other day, in another imaginary world created by Reid, I was eavesdropping while he was playing and I was pretty sure he told Bunny to "hold on to" his "anger." What? So I asked him what he just said and of course he repeated it: "Bunny needs to hold on to his anger." This needed some interpreting so I had to figure out what he and Bunny were playing. I finally figured out that they were pirates and Bunny needed to hold on to the ANCHOR. Ah. Now that makes sense. I don't need my 3-year-old holding on to his anger! :)

Tidbits...

Just a few things I wanted to be sure and record for posterity... :)

• Reid has learned the concept of wishing for things. Lately, Reid has been "wishing" for several things, most often a puppy, a baby, and a sister. The odds of him getting his wishes are pretty slim, but I guess he can keep wising! :)
• We went to pick up some of Ross' pants from the dry cleaner a few days ago. I take them to a place that has a drive-through because Reid is usually with me and it just easier. For whatever reason, he was fascinated by it on that day and kept asking why they had to wash the pants instead of me, what made them special, etc. When Ross came home hours later, Reid was so excited to show him the "surprise" we had got for him - the pants. It was just so funny because he was SO proud and excited about it. :)
• Reid has become fixated on the boogies in his nose. I realize this had to happen at some point and have tried not to make such a big deal about it, but I have to draw the line somewhere - like when I was making his bed and find some dried ones on the wall. GROSS! Now we're trying to make the point that we only wipe our boogies on tissues...
• The cutest thing Reid has come up with lately is the fact that he calls Parmesan cheese "Spaghetti Sprinkles." In fact, it's just short of a miracle that he is even eating spaghetti. He would not even touch it for the longest time but he has discovered it and now will eat it up - with spaghetti sprinkles, of course!

Random Fun

We haven't been up to a lot lately - well, not much worth writing about anyway. :) But, we've had some fun days. Here are some pics:

I'm not even sure how to explain this pic. It was laundry day, and Reid loves playing in the dirty laundry pile. Gross, I know. On this day, he decided he wanted to be a ballerina which, in his mind, meant wearing as many pieces of clothing as possible while dancing around. I think he looks like a cute little bag lady. :)

We love, love, love our Chick-fil-a, where they have kids activities every Tuesday morning. Last week was finger painting!

I was so glad these hands were there and not at my house...

Hard at work... you can see a few more pics on the Chick-fil-a website. Just go to the photo gallery - we are in the Finger Painting and Glazing Pot albums.

It rained ALL weekend this past week. Reid and I ventured out to the mall - what was I thinking? - in the rainy mess. It was an adventure but pretty fun, too. We shared a snack from Starbucks and played in the play area for a while. Here is Reid in favorite car...

My New Obsession...

I recently found the Fiddledeedee blog, which offers up ways every week to save money on groceries at Publix. She is awesome - she basically does all the work for you, you just have to get/print the coupons, figure out what you need, and go do it.

This was my first week really "working" the system, and I am super excited. I tried to be conscious of not buying something just because it was cheap and think I did a good job. I did get some things that we normally would not get because usually they are overpriced... but they weren't today!

Here's my grand tally:

Total SPENT: $68.05
Total SAVED: $55.82

WOOHOO! The savings includes everything from sales, specials, all the different coupons I had, and a special Publix coupon. I'm sure it won't be this good every week, but it is certainly incentive to keep on working it!

By the way, I'm sure Ross is tired of hearing about it by now, but I think it's fun... :)

Random December Highlights

So, I have some catching up to do on the blog. I know, I know. Here are some fun things that don't necessarily fit into any other category but deserve to be shared:

12/20/08 was declared "No More Diapers Day!" After several failed potty training attempts, I decided to make it a household holiday. Lots of build-up, a special breakfast of cinnamon rolls with a candle to blow out, and the ceremonial throwing away of the diapers. We have been diaper-free since, though not necessarily poop- and pee-free. You know how that goes... but so far, so good!

Reid and me at the crazy Christmas house in Mauldin. LOVE that place!

Bundled up to watch the Mauldin Christmas parade. It was C-O-L-D that day.

We had great seats right at the beginning of the route. (Notice the big jug of hot chocolate, too!)

Four Generations... my mom and Granny came to visit on the same weekend Santa came to our house for the party. Here were are at Falls Park.

Birthday Blues...

We went to a birthday yesterday for one of our neighbors and friends, little James, who was turning 2.

Reid did such a great job in understanding that we were going to a party for James and that James would be getting presents, because it was his birthday. Even as the presents were being opened, Reid even sat back with me and watched so nicely. He was excited for James to open our gift because he had chosen it himself - a pretend cash register, with money and sound effects to boot.

After the gifts were opened, we were all almost the three-hour mark. Reid was tired and SO over the "It's James party and these are his gifts" line. So, we came home to chill out and everything was fine.

I awoke this morning and heard Reid on the monitor. Sometimes, but rarely, he will wake up and not call for me immediately. I could hear him playing so I didn't go get him. Finally, I could hear him singing in the sweetest voice... "It's not my birthday. I don't get to have presents. It's not my birthday, no presents for me."

I swear. Hilarious. Of course, I could try to explain that his birthday is only a month or so away but since he has no concept of time, it wouldn't really matter. :)

Tidbits...

Just a few funny things I wanted to write down:

• Reid passed by our wedding picture on the staircase yesterday, as he does several times a day, except this time he stopped and looked at it. He said, "Mommy, you're a princess!" then we got to have a whole conversation about how he was a Prince and Daddy would be a King (although Reid kept saying "Queen.")
• If you ask Reid where he lives, he consistently answers "Cow Sarolina."
• In flipping through channels the other night, somehow I came across an episode of Alf - remember him? The cat-eating alien from the planet of Melmac? He immediately caught Reid's eye so we stayed on that channel for a while... actually for an entire episode. Reid was completely engrossed in it. He asked who Alf was and I told him he was from outer space, since this really isn't a foreign concept to a 2-year-old. Reid decided Alf is a "space pig." I may have to TiVo another episode to see if the fascination sticks... :)

Tagged

(For those of you not familiar with this...this is basically a chain letter in the mommy-blog world. At least it's more entertaining and there are no curses attached! )

I've been tagged to do the following:
1) Choose the 4th picture folder on my computer
2) Choose the 4th picture
3) Explain the picture
4) Tag 4 other people


I wondered what picture it would be, but it's a good one! This is from the Feb 2006 folder on our computer. Me giving Reid his first bath. A you can tell, he was not too pleased!

I'm supposed to tag 4 other people now, but that might be impossible since so many others I know have already been tagged. If you are reading this, haven't already been tagged, and you have a blog- well, consider yourself tagged! :)

A Historic Day

I'm guessing a lot of you know my political leanings. I'm not writing this post to rant or, in this case, gloat, at all.

I would just like to point out that the first President elected in my child's lifetime is also the first African-American President (or any minority, for that matter) in our country's history. This is something that I wasn't sure would happen in my lifetime and now it will be a reality for my child from the very beginning.

The election of Barack Obama - whether you agree or not - is a tremendous turning point for our country and will go down as a truly historic day. Time will tell what his legacy will be, but I am so proud to be a part of it and only wish Reid was a little older so he could understand the significance.

Long Lost "Uncle Donald"

I simply had to write this one down.

Driving home from Alabama last weekend, it was lunchtime and Reid started talking about being hungry. I said that we were looking for somewhere good to stop. Right about that time, we passed an exit and he saw the ever-present golden arches. He pointed to them and said, "Can we stop at Uncle Donald's?"

Okay, yes, that's funny. But even moreso that he has probably only been to a McDonald's maybe 3-5 times in his entire little life (we're more of a Chick-fil-a family...). It's certainly not part of our regular vocabulary.

Just another example of excellent marketing by someone, somewhere!

Random Tidbits

Nothing too specific to talk about over the past few days. I thought I'd take the opportunity to document some of the completely unrelated - but memorable (well, from a mommy's standpoint) - things observed this week:


1. We may have caused major trauma to Reid when we left him for a week while we went to Chicago. Ever since we got back, he tells me all the time - seriously, numerous times a day - that he misses me. He uses different variations... "I missed you, mommy," "I was missing you," "I miss you when you're gone," etc. It started when we got back from the trip, which seems reasonable, but has not subsided. At first, he would tell me he missed me when I picked him up from school (a 4 hour time frame), and when got back from working out (45 minutes or so). Now sometimes he tells me when I leave to go to the mailbox, or when I'm in the next room. I didn't really give much thought to it until last week when I finally asked him, "When did you miss me?" and he replied, "When you were at the airport." Kind of sad... hopefully he'll move on from that soon. :(


2. Reid has discovered Little Bill - the Bill Cosby cartoon. It plays on Noggin in the afternoons. Personally, I am super excited about this. Prior to Little Bill, he was starting to love Caillou a little too much. (Sorry to all you folks reading this that aren't tuned into the preschool cartoon circuit...) Caillou is a fine show but, for those of you that know it, you know Caillou doesn't always portray himself in the best light (a.k.a., he acts like a real 4 year old). Oh sure, the message is good in the end but you get to see him throw tantrums and backtalk as we learn the lesson. It was so interesting (not necessarily in a good way) to see Reid mimic Caillou's personality. Not cool. Now we have discovered Little Bill - with his sweet disposition - who is nice to his friends, takes care of his hamster, and doesn't talk back to his parents. Now, I wonder how much I can sell our one Caillou DVD for on eBay...?


3. Somewhere recently, Reid must have seen someone making snow angels on TV. I don't know where. He remembers things so well that it could have been something he saw months ago. Well, he has decided that he wants to make them frequently these days, generally inside on the carpet. It's a pretty simple process but cute to watch, especially when he gets so excited that he calls them "snow jangles."

4. Finally got Reid to sing on video. It took a little coaching, but here is his rendition of his own composition called "Water" (notice the familiar tune, I think), and of course the classic, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." I let him watch it afterward and he was cracking up at himself - apparently slapstick with a pillow (you'll see) is all the rage in the 2 year old mind. Enjoy!

Misc. Fun Pics

I'm being a slacker today, using pictures instead of words. :) Here are some fun pics of things we've been doing lately...

I know I've posted pictures from previous puddle-jumping sessions before, but we've been at it again. Is this not the cutest picture ever? They had SO much fun that day...

Random picture... this is a field of sunflowers in North Alabama. My little camera can not do it justice. It was breathtaking. It's on a highway - people were slowing down to look at it and there were two other cars pulld over taking pictures. (I'm not the only looney one to do it!)

Ross and Reid at "Touch a Truck" last weekend. Lots and lots of trucks, tractors, etc. to touch!

Reid, ready to use the heavy machinery.

Gramma and Grandpa Weaver stopped in this weekend. Here we are the Greenville Zoo.

A Rite of Passage (I guess...)

Reid had his first trip to Hooters today. I know... yes, I know. We do not frequent that establishment. Actually, neither Ross or I have been there in many years and certainly since we've known each other. And, Ross demanded that I let everyone know it was not his idea to go.

As some of you may know, I do some mystery shopping now and then. This one popped up last week. It basically resulted in a free meal for the three of us with a small amount left over. But, free meals are always good so I thought we'd give it a try. Plus, I knew that Ross would be a little appalled at the idea, which made it slightly humorous.

So, back to Reid. I tried to explain to him that this was a fun restaurant where all the ladies wear orange shorts. He was sad that he did not have on orange shorts, too, but that idea passed. We walked in and saw a gaggle of girls in those hideous orange hot pants. With pantyhose. And leg warmers. And big white tennis shoes. I knew this is what I would see but it is so much worse in person. Just yucky, and a little embarrassing (for them - seriously). :)

However, our server was a sweet girl who was very good at her job and who thought Reid was Mr. Cutie (and, he is). She tried to talk to him and even brought him an "I (heart) Hooters" balloon. Except of course that he would not touch the balloon and refused to make any eye contact with her. There's no way I can do it justice here, but the look on his face was like he had accidentally walked into the wrong bathroom somewhere and was trying to avert his eyes anywhere - anywhere - else. Ross and I were cracking up.

The trip was pretty much uneventful. The food was mediocre, but I did see a Hooters girl doing jumping jacks (not kidding) and another one using a big orange hula hoop (also not kidding). So, I hope Reid enjoyed his first trip, because I'm betting he won't be back for a very, very long time.

Even Thomas the Train "hearts" Hooters.