Lights on the Lake

Last night we took advantage of the great weather to meet up with friends Nicole and Travis and their kids Miles and Tessa for a walk in Onondaga Lake Park to see Lights on the Lake, the annual light display through the park that people pay $15 or some crap to drive their cars through. We went once a few years ago and it's a total bore for kids in car seats because they can't see out the windshield but when we went when the boys were about Reed's age we let them sit up in the front with us (shh) and they mostly wanted to push all the buttons on the car display and didn't care much about the lights. We've thought about going other years to this walking night but the weather's usually crappy. So last night with the good weather forecast we decided to go. Which we will not be doing again. Traffic was a nightmare, it was crazy packed on the road, the kids only mildly cared about the lights, and there were lots of weird things--people dressed as creepy gingerbread men, christmas trees, and penguins, different organizations begging for donations, and a complete sh&tshow of a parking situation.  But the boys did have fun with Miles and Tessa running around (and nearly impaling themselves on) various light displays. They also enjoyed the cheese sticks, crackers and apples we ate along the way.

Adventures in potty training

About a month ago Reed sat on the potty and peed for the first time. He's been interested in the frog potty since I brought it down from the attic a few months ago, but now he is starting to recognize when he has to pee and will go over and sit on it. I'm trying to make it tolerable just to sit on it, so we try to catch the pee when it comes, but he's often on and then off it right away. But Friday morning he brought the potty in to the bedroom in the morning and said POOP POOP! So I took off his diaper. He hasn't mastered the sitting down while pooping yet but he definitely knew that he needed to go poop and pushed some out, resulting in a messy potty but lots of clapping and cheering from those of us awake at that time--Beckett, Daddy and me.

Our lives these days

Wherein I reflect upon our many months now of running in different directions, but ultimately toward the same goal. Our children demonstrate.

Reed's 18 month check up

Today Daddy took Reed to his 18 month checkup. He weighed in at 24 lbs, 8oz and was 30.8 inches long. He has some fluid in his ears but we are hoping it clears before it gets infected.

I thought it was interesting to compare the big boys with Reed at this age. Reed apparently has SO MANY MORE WORDS! Probably because the tubes in his ears allow him to hear so much better than they could.

http://teamlovebo.blogspot.com/2012/12/18-month-checkup.html

Trick-or-treating with the horses

The day before Halloween we were invited to the Halloween party of a local riding stable. The boys got to trick-or-treat in the warm, dry barn with all the horses and regular riders. They were very generous with the candy as well as a huge dinner bar with chili and macaroni and cheese and lots of snacks.

More fun with Auntie Alexis

After Reed kept insisting MORE MORE MORE when I put whipped cream on his plate with his brownie and only ate the whipped cream, I decided to introduce him to the expert technique for maximizing whipped cream consumption.

Halloween

Monday Grandpa Stu and Grandma Joanie came up to take care of Reed and trick-or-treat with us and help us with handing out candy in our very busy neighborhood. I signed up to help the kids in Theo's class put on their costumes and get ready for the school parade, which was so fun. The kids in his class are so sweet and interesting and have such great sparks. It's a great feeling to have, knowing your kid is surrounded by good people in his classroom.

 

After an absolutely fabulous dinner of chicken pot pie made by Grandma Joanie and Grandpa Stu, everyone but Grandma Joanie headed out. It was a chilly evening and Reed wasn't feeling well but I think the cool air and proximity to Mama helped him. The boys gathered LOTS of candy from our great neighbors and we saw lots of friends out and about. Grandma Joanie held down the fort and, including help from Theo and Beckett when we got home, handed out 450 pieces of candy! (We still ran out by 7:30.)