Back to (Pre)School

Our big boy started his second year of Mother’s Day Out last week.

He is already loving school.  He goes three mornings a week so Tate and I can have some nice one-on-one time, and so maybe I can get a few things done. 

On the way to school he loves to spot all the school buses, garbage trucks and motorcycles.  (He also notices when the riders aren’t wearing helmets and says some version of this:  “his mommy wants him to wear a helmet so he can be safe.”)

Tater loves to watch big brother.

The night before the first day of school, I showed Reid pictures of him on his first day last year.  He noticed that he was signing “R” in the photos.  So of course, he had to sign “R” for his pics on the first day of school. 

His new teacher is so sweet.  He talks about her and his new friends a lot.  The first day he ran in and sat down without even giving me a kiss goodbye.  “Uh, okay.  Bye Reid!”

Here’s to another great school year! 

Meet a New Member of the Family: Big D

Ya know when a kid says something crazy, and you just can’t believe it’s true? Nonsense like, “there’s a dinosaur under my bed.” Or “I don’t need to go potty.” Or “My uncle has a fire truck!”

Well, Reid told his teachers that his uncle HAS a fire truck. He was adamant about it. He kept talking about it all day. (Shocking, I know.) “That’s nice, Reid,” they said, and let me know about his big imagination when I picked him up that day.

It’s true. Reid’s Uncle James has this fire truck:

James and Stephanie had a good idea, lots of experience being around kids, some guts, and made something cool:  Big D Engine Company.  They do birthday parties, special events, store openings, and most recently booked their first wedding!

This is no ordinary engine. This beauty is a 1977 Pirsch, (I had to look it up!) and is in damn fine shape for a thirty-something.

It also has magic powers. Don’t believe me? Tell a toddler that he can ride inside the engine, if he is good. See what happens.

Tell a kid she can honk the horn if she eats all her veggies. (Are they gone yet?)

Tell a grown man he can hold the hose…if he thinks he can handle it.

Or better yet, hire this engine to come to your kid’s birthday party and BAM!  Super mom!!

At the three parties we’ve been at so far, Reid has been out-of-his-mind excited to see Uncle James’ fire truck.  It is so much fun for him, and for us.

We are really proud of James and Stephanie and love to see them having so much fun!!

Congrats on your first summer with Big D!

Happy Father’s Day

Happy Father’s Day to my Dad.

Happy Father’s Day to Jer’s Dad.

And Happy Father’s Day to the best Dad my little boys could hope for!

We love you, Jeremy!

Farm Fun

We recently took took the boys to a local farm to pick strawberries and blackberries.  We first went to this farm in October of 2009 with our little baby Reid. Now Tater is the baby!

Dada taught Reid how to pick strawberries.

Let’s just say that we sampled a few…

Our friends Melissa, Darin & Hudson met us there. 

The boys had a lot of fun playing and running around.

After the harvest, we rode a “train.”  (In Reid’s broad definition of “train” this collection of barrels pulled by a tractor qualifies as a “train.”  He yelled “all aboard!!” and “Chugga-chugga!” to help it seem more real. )

Darin brought his RC car and the boys had a blast chasing it in the open field…

…and driving it!

As usual, Tate was an easy-going little dude.

And we made a few new (hungry) friends. 

I cannot overstate how much fun Reid had.  He asked to go back to the farm EVERY DAY for a week. 

Story Time

Reid still loves to read. And now he likes to read his books to his baby brother. Some books he knows all the words, we've read them that much. Others, he just does his best and tells Tate what is on the page. Tate usually lays still and watches Reid.

This makes me so happy.

School’s Out!

Reid’s first year in Mother’s Day Out went really, really well.  He made some great friends, loved his teachers and had fun every day. Most days he’d pass out from playing so hard and take a good, long nap. 

Here’s our little guy back in September on his first day of school:

And here’s our big boy on his last day of school:

Every day, the first activity is to pick a chair in the circle and have a morning snack.  From this spot Reid would usually yell, “bye, bye, Momma!”  Oh, okay.  I guess I can go now.

His teachers, Ms. Moe and Ms. Theresa were so great and so sweet. Reid LOVES them. LOVES. THEM. They have been teaching together in this room for ten and seven years.  They clearly love what they do:  it shows every day.

Yes, I was “that mom.”  Taking photos of my toddler at preschool, and wiping away the tears.  My tears.  Some moms giggled at me, but most gave me knowing, kind smiles.  This is all going by so fast…