Day in the life of Reed

I guess I just can't get over that the fact that Reed is growing up so fast. I am fascinated that he can communicate now. Looking back over the last almost-two years, I realize that I don't remember a lot of the things that I swore that I could never forget--when he reached certain milestones, etc. So I am trying to be better about documenting things...even the little stuff (maybe even especially the little stuff.)

So here is a little playback of my observations today.

When asked what he wanted for breakfast, Reed said, "pizza." (This is his response for every meal and when we do serve pizza he just picks off and eats the black olives and green peppers.) But in respect to "breakfast pizza" he is referring to Eggo waffles with jam. We have a bottom freezer drawer, so as I opened the freezer, Reed spotted the sherbet and grabbed it. I told him no and that he could have some after dinner tonight and forgot all about it.

He likes to sit on the countertop next to the toaster as the waffles cook. As I reminded him that the toaster is hot. Suddenly without touching the toaster he blurted out, "Ouch, that hurt!" Then he looked at me slyly. I was so caught off guard because it was like he was teasing me.

Later in the morning we were in the Kitchen and he saw the popcorn popper in the cabinet. After chanting "popcorn" for a bit, he was calmed by the promise of popcorn after naptime. Several hours later, within the first five minutes of being awake from his nap, he reminded me...popcorn.

After a fun afternoon in the park, we came home and fixed dinner--noodles and broccoli. He started with the noodles but quickly switched over to broccoli after a game of moving the food to the different animals on the plate. The alligator wanted the noodles for a while while the elephant wanted the broccoli, then the walrus wanted everything. Suddenly all the broccoli was gone and Reed shouted, "Mommy, more broccoli!" and then again, "more please!" I was in heaven. I'm so pleased that Reed loves his veggies.

When we cleared the table, Reed went to the freezer and stood there. I couldn't believe it. After a whole day, Reed remembered that I had promised sherbet and it certainly isn't routine for us to have dessert after dinner. I am blown away that his memory is that long. I guess I need to be more aware of what I tell him, because sometimes I think that he'll just forget something when it's out of sight or shortly there after. I guess it was good for me to see and realize because I do want him to trust that I will follow through with what I say. Needless to say, Reed got his sherbet.

Every night at bedtime, we read our books and then say prayers. Tonight one of our books was a Sesame Street book about physical fitness. On one page, Grover is doing push-ups and Reed got very concerned. He pointed at Grover's arms as they bent and said "Broke" and then "Grover break arm." Such compassion :)

Each night I ask him who he wants to pray for. Usually it is family members, the daycare providers, and friends from daycare. Tonight he switched it up a bit and we prayed for the cats (at daycare I presume, maybe cats of the world?). Maybe they need a special intention. Everyone keep that in mind in your prayers tonight.

Trip to Moline

Last weekend we visited our old friend, Christie, from our days in Champaign, and her husband, Clint, in the Quad Cities. They are expecting a little bundle of love this September so we thought we should visit while they still have "free time" and to give them a little introduction to parenthood by hanging out the Reed.

Reed was mostly on his best behavior. He helped them figure out a few things that will need to be babyproofed and he gave their cat, Alex, a taste of what life might be like with a little tike around. Reed loves cats, especially his buddy, Simba, at daycare. That cat must not mind abuse because Reed is, let's just say, less than gentle with his feline friends. Reed's way of saying hello to Alex was bonking him on the head with his hand and pulling his fluffy gray tail as he tried to run away. After reconsideration, Alex came back and laid down nearby. Reed then decided to try to sit on him. From that point on, Alex decided he was through with Reed, but Reed was relentless with his quest to pester the kitty. Alex managed to keep his cool and just ignore him (when in other situations he probably would have retaliated.)

Alex really passed the baby test, but I'm not sure that Reed did equally as well with the cat test. I guess if Simba puts up with the wrestling and teasing then he probably doesn't mind it. (Either that or Reed might get kicked out of daycare for cat abuse.)

It was great to see Christie and Clint, and their home and family is definitely going to be a haven of love for their new baby this fall.