Naked Reid

The other day, Reid came out of his room after being asleep about 2 hours for his nap. He was completely naked- although he had just been in underwear for his nap. I said, "Reid why are you naked?", he didn't answer. I asked again, "Reid, where is your underwear?" He informed me at that point that he needed fresh water. As I was filling up his water, I asked again "Reid, where are your underwear?" when I turned back around, he was in his bed. I have never seen that before. So I left him alone.

Later, after he woke up after sleeping for about 30 more minutes, I asked him why he didn't have his underwear on. He said he had taken it off because he was looking at the trains (it was his new birthday train underwear) and they got inside out so he couldn't get them back on.

I found them later in his covers.

Silly guy...

Reid is 3 and a half!!!

Meanwhile, Reid is going to be 4 years old in 4 months!! That floors me, 4 is officially nowhere near babyhood anymore:(





Reid is VERY interested in trains right now. We of course have the train table, which he LOVES and plays with everyday. In addition, anytime we go anywhere that has a train table we have to go play there too. He still watches a show called Extreme Trains a few times a week which is a documentary about different kinds of trains. So we know all about steam trains, freight trains, refrigerator trains, etc. We have also taken to putting on You Tube and we look for different train videos. Consequently, Reid knows how to use a mouse with the computer, which terrifies me!!





He is still rocking out on his guitar. We got him a guitar after Christmas that simulates real playing, he doesn't get that yet, but LOVES to pretend he is playing and he has some moves!! He also loves singing. Probably, my favorite thing right now is hearing him belt out "Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit, he took the midnight train going any where" although the version from Glee. It makes me happy:)





We have had a nice summer off of school. In fact Reid didn't mention the lack of school until a couple of weeks ago when he said "Mommy, we haven't been to school in like forever". He is not very excited about getting a different teacher and different classroom next year, but I know he will get over it immediately. This summer we have been doing a lot of Gymboree and Playgroups. Reid does Sports class on Monday mornings, then School Skills which is a 2 hour class on Tuesday. This class has been helping him learn to write his letters, and introduces some science, and reading as well. The added bonus is that 2 of his buddies are in there with him.



We have been trying to reinforce Reid learning to write his letters and his name. We bought some work books which do some repetitve tracing of the letters. We also got him a Leap Frog toy that has a little writing thing on the bottom. It uses lights to teach the kids how to write the letters and also teaches some tracing skills. He is getting pretty darn good. He hasn't written his name all together yet, but can now write each letter independently. It is fun to watch. We have also introduced a bribe for him. When he writes his name he gets a new Thomas train. Along the same lines, at night when we read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom as has become our routine, I am now signing the letters to him, and he has gotten pretty good at trying to do them too.



As I mentioned in Ryan's update, we have been dealing with some sibling issues between Reid and Ryan. Reid spends a lot of time in his room in time out since he can't seem to restrain himself from inflicting harm on his brother (actually very rarely does he actually hurt him, but the potential is there). I think this is an impulse control thing and probably a 3 year old thing, but I have a zero tolerance policy.





Reid just recently started standing up to pee, I didn't realize he was tall enough until we were met with a toilet I didn't want him to sit on. He thought he was pretty cool. So far it isn't too messy. If their bathroom starts smelling like urine we may have to reconsider:)

Reid's new thing also is arguing with us, or more accurately trying to compel us to come around to his point of view:) If we tell him he is going to bed, he will get really loud and say "NO I AM NOT GOING TO BED, OKAY?" It always has an Okay at the end which is amusing on the tail of a definitive statement.

He continues to say things to us that are hilarious on a daily basis. Like today when we were in the bathroom at the mall he said "Mommy your pee is stinky but mine is not". He is so sweet:)

He is starting to act out scenarios, use his imagination, and talk for his toys. He has a high-pitched voice that he uses to do that.

His eating habits are interesting. He eats a HUGE breakfast. A bowl of cereal in addition to an egg, sausage, and a cup of OJ. This morning he added some pineapple to that. Lunch is usually okay, he has finally developed the standard issue crust phobia, only he has taken it to the next level by eating only the inside of a wedge of fruit and leaving the peel. It is not that he doesn't like it or won't eat it if I tell him to, he just avoids it. By dinner time it is like pulling teeth to get him to eat in a timely manner. We have tried different approaches, usually the desert thing will get him, but even then sometimes, we are all long done with our meals and Reid is still there. I am continuing to try and refine methods that won't eventually give him an eating disorder.

I guess that is a pretty thorough snap shot of a day with Reid. I am really enjoying him, when he is not trying my patience:) He is a very kind and gentle child, we have been blessed with him.

Ryan is 18 months old!!

Somehow 6 months has gone by and Ryan is 18 months old!!! I have NO idea how that happened.

He is such a funny boy, and it is so very interesting to watch how his personality develops especially under Reids influence, which is scary sometimes!! He and Reid spend a lot of time playing, well actuallythey start playing and end screaming because one or the other steals a toy. Lately, Ryan has been retaliating with some biting (mostly threatened, but still not cool). I have tried to explain to Reid that if he keeps pushing Ryan's buttons eventually he will retaliate.

Ryan is a very sweet and snuggly boy though, which I love. He is still nursing mostly before naps or bedtime, but occasionally he will nurse when he wakes up. He doesn't really sign to nurse, I usually just ask him and a laugh is a yes, or he will shake his head for no (this is exactly what Reid did too). A couple of times though he has sort of tugged on my shirt very gently and respectfully and then used the sign for please, which is probably the cutest thing I have ever seen.

He is a very opinionated and dramatic child as well and knows how to make loud sounds!! He can throw a temper tantrum. We have been using Love and Logic with Ryan and he already knows that when he hears "Uh Oh" he better stop what he is doing or he will go to time out. I have also been ignoring the temper tantrums with good results. He is a great independent player and will play for quite a long time by himself, which is different from Reid. He is already pretending like his big brother. For instance he pretends he is eating or drinking like Reid, or that he is handing us something. He is really close to being able to jump, and actually caught some air today and yesterday. He is now eating with a fork pretty successfully and switched him from the high chair to the booster seat. Ry loves playing in our sand table and will do that for quite a long time. He gets very focused on some activities such as trying to slide the credit card through the toy cash register or trying to get the toy lawn mower through the door. He is very patient in these instances and never loses his temper even though it appears frustrating. He definitely does not suffer from ADD. I hope the focus and patience carries through to his adult life.

At his most recent doctor's appointment, he weighed 24. 6 lbs, which is pretty much the same as 3 months ago, so he has really slowed down. He was in the 30th% for weight, 50th for Height, and 70th for head. He now has 8 teeth, the two top middle, the two bottom middle, and the first 4 molars. We can see the rest of the front teeth in the front of his gums, but they are taking their sweet time. I was surprised he got his molars before the other 4 front teeth. Ryan just got one shot at his visit. I was having anxiety about the MMR because of all the things I have read and researched about Autism. Dr. Miles agreed that it wasn't a terrible idea to wait a bit longer to make sure his speech continues to develop appropriately before we do it. Although, she also said we shouldn't wait too long since Measles has been going around again, and apparently it isn't fun.

We talked about giving it 3 more months and going in for the shot. Ryan's toenail finally fell off while we were on our vacation, I was very relieved because it was a pain to try to keep it on. It actually doesn't look bad at all.

So Ryan does this "funny" thing where he makes himself pee sometimes when I take his diaper off. We recently got him a new potty (which he wants nothing to do with), but I thought maybe we could get him to go since he can obviously make himself go. I put him on both the little potty and the toilet with a kiddie seat, and he wanted off almost immediately. Yesterday though, he pointed at the toilet and I asked him if he wanted to go pee pee on the potty. He said yes (his little laugh), so I put him on. Well, that little guy squeezed out about 4 drops of pee!! I was so excited. We did the same thing today though, and he then peed on the floor about 1 minute after going on the potty (4 drops again). SO I know we aren't anywhere near potty training, but it is fun to get him started this way.

I feel like I officially got inducted into parenting. I was putting clothes in the dryer the other day and Ryan grabbed the lint trap out of it. The next thing I know I heard a clunk which happened to be a matchbox car falling down the skinny little hole to the bottom of the dryer. What ensued was probably the most frustrating 25 minutes of my life. I had to dismantle my swiffer to use the handle to try to guide the car up a ramp type thing. On about my 10th try I got it up half way only to realize there was some sort of projection keeping my stick from continuing it's journey. So then I had to do it again, this time with a hockey stick in my other hand to catch the car and try to guide it the rest of the way up high enough for me to grab it as I couldn't get my hand in there. At one point I lost it after Reid bumped me when I almost had it and yelled really loud and told the boys to get out. Reid gave me the wide eyed/quivering lip move which made me feel horrible, so I immediately stopped and told him I was sorry. I finally succeeded in the end and had Reid grab it for me since I didn't have anymore hands. Yikes!! I think from now on, Ryan is not allowed in the laundry room with me:)

I think that is the gist of the update, to end I will post the words he is doing. He isn't saying a lot, but he understands EVERYTHING. That always amazes me about toddlers. They are miraculous!

Words

Boo
Up

DaDa

Mama

Doggy

Cheese

Tree

Reid = Dee

Star

Signs

More

Eat

All Done

Bye Bye

Doggy

Shh

St. Augustine Beach 2009

Our family rented a condo in St. Augustine Beach last week. We ended up still sleeping at our house since we were fairly close and we weren't interested in sacrificing sleep for the drive. We spent from Sunday to Friday out there.

Turns out the boys LOVE the water. Reid was just as happy as he could be swimming in both the ocean and the pool. He got much better at swimming and is not at all afraid for his head to go under water. He even started to do some effective kicking.

Ryan had fun with his cousin Claire. They do and I am sure will continue to have a love/hate relationship. It is so fun to see them together though and think about what it will be like for them being so close in age.

We enjoyed spending time with my Grandmother, mother, step-father, sister and brother in law. My mom even watched all the babies one night so we could go see Harry Potter. My mom never told me what time the boys actually went to bed that night, but it was totally worth it!!

It is always good fun getting together with everyone and eating yummy food and being together. Although with the new technologies such as lap tops and I-Phones and the fact that we are all pretty avid readers, I am not sure we got as much quality time as we would have in the old days- who knows though maybe that kept us all from killing each other:)

Here is a link to the photo album.

2009_07_15

Reid can dress himself!!!

I may have been a bit behind on teaching this skill. One day Reid was at his Gymboree School Skills class- which is a 2 hour drop off class. One of the teachers took Reid's friend to the bathroom and stood outside the door until he got himself dressed. That was a wake up call for me, because I knew Reid wouldn't know how to put his clothes back on after the going to the potty. So we started practicing. Now he can do about 95% of getting dressed himself. I am so proud:) And it is AWESOME to lay his clothes out and put him in charge of that task!!

And Shorts!!!

I can't believe how big he is getting!!!

The Tent

So last week we were rather bored, it is too hot to be outside, we had already expended the inside activities. I finally rememberd we had this little play tent, so I set it up. Well that has been a hit at our house ever since!!



Unfortunately, the favorite activity seems to be diving head first into the hole on the side. Probably shouldn't be encouraging that huh?

Ryan had just as much fun as Reid:)

Ryan vs. Refried Beans

So little Ryan had a run in with a can of Refried beans. It happened on June 18th or 19th. Initially it looked really bruised underneath his nail, and the can had cut part of his toe near his nail too. After he screamed for a while, I noticed he was walking okay, so I decided he didn't break it. I kept an eye on it and it didn't look to bad to me for a few days. About a week later, it started looking infected, just red and hot. I called the pediatrician and she recommended Epsom salt soaks and putting neosporin on it. We did that for a few days and by Sunday I was still worried (1 too many Oprah shows about bad things happening), so I took Ryan in. Luckily, it looked better that day and Dr. Miles didn't feel a need to put him on an antibiotic.

Here you can see where the nail is lifting up. Dr. Miles thought he wouldn't lose his nail. The left part is still attached, so I guess as long as it stays that way, we should be safe.

Tooth Brushing

So we discovered something funny about Ryan. He LOVES to brush his teeth- all 4 of them;)We can stop him in his tracks just by saying "Ry you want to brush your teeth?" He will then run (well almost) to the bathroom, try to pick up the stool and move it in front of the sink and then wait for us to hand him his tooth brush. He lets us brush his teeth first then we let him hold the toothbrush for a minute or two. We then help him rinse it off then he puts it into the giraffe toothbrush holder.

It's cute and it's a family affair:)

A new word for Ryan!!

Last night while I was putting Ryan to bed, we did our usual routine of giving him his paci and raffi, turning on his rain sounds, turning off the light, then turning on his turtle that projects stars on the ceiling. We were walking to the rocking chair to nurse and Ryan yanks his paci out of his mouth points to the ceiling and says dar, dar, dar!! (He was saying star!!) I was so proud. We haven't had many words so far, and that was one of the first that he said unprompted.

He also saw our next-door neighbor's dog (Kaley), first he said "ca", then he said "dada" which is doggy to him.

Yay! It is exciting to see him talking finally:)

Swimming Lessons!!

Reid started swimming lessons yesterday. He was supposed to start on Monday, but for some reason I miscalculated the time we needed to leave home to get there on time and left too late.

So far Reid is doing well. Yesterday they put him in with the kids who knew how to swim a little bit already. I was kind of cringing watching him because the activities seemed a bit advanced for him. He did everything though, and didn't cry, just looked panicky a couple of times. He is not too excited about putting his face in the water, but doesn't get very upset about anything. Today they moved him into the group of kids that are more beginners, so I felt like it wasn't as overwhelming today.

It will be interesting to see how he does after 2 weeks of this. The jury is still out:)

While Reid is swimming I try and entertain Ryan, luckily it is only for 30 minutes!! He thinks it is funny to walk towards the pool and then laugh when I tell him to stop. He is into doing things he knows he isn't supposed to do and then laughing when I tell him to stop... (kind of funny actually- little stinker).

Here is Ryan wearing Reid's shoes:) He thinks that is funny. Note the HUGE bruise on his forehead. He and Reid had an altercation...

May 2009

May 2009

So May had some fun stuff going on for the Hirsch's.

It began with the boys on their last day of antibiotic eyedrops for eye infections that they had. That was the first time either of them had been on antibiotics EVER- I am happy to say. Let me tell you that eye drops and small children do not mix. I was able to eventually bribe Reid to let me do it, I also let him pretend he was giving his stuffed giraffe eye drops. Ryan was not having ANY of it though. I am not so sure he got any drops at all toward the end there. They got them 3 times a day for 5 days!! That was no fun. Anyway, the infections cleared up almost immediately so that was good.

My sister came and visited for a few days since she and my mom ran a triathlon in Orlando. Ryan and Claire got to do a Gymboree class together one day. Another day we all got to play in the pool with some friends from our playgroup. Reid LOVED that. Hopefully that will translate to good swimming lessons:)

Ryan was kind of mean to Claire. I guess he learned it from his brother. He would stare at her and whatever toy she would go for he would also go for and yell and try to get it first. It was rather exhausting. So the entire time we all spent together was watching Reid be mean to Ryan, and Ryan be mean to Claire. Poor Claire needs someone she can beat up on.

The week after Carrie visited we went up to Newnan, GA for Claire's first birthday. I decided to drive up there BY MYSELF with the boys so that Carrie and I could hear Jen Lancaster (the funnies woman in the whole world) speak at Barnes and Noble in Atlanta. I was prepared for the worst and had tons of toys and snacks, but those boys totally surprised me and were awesome!! Mark (my step-dad) and Rollin (my brother in law) stayed with the kids for a few hours until Erik and my mom who drove together got up there. Jen Lancaster was really funny. We waited around for a bit to have her sign our books, but it got late and we decided it wasn't worth waiting. Then we went and had some YUMMY pizza.

Claires birthday party was the next day and was lots of fun. I slaved all morning on my famous potato salad. It was perfect, bacony, and soooo yummy. Well Reid was practicing his soccer kick and kicked a ball (right after we told him to stop), which hit a glass, which broke right above the potato salad. 2 big pieces of glass went into it. It was one of those ethical dilemmas for a while. We examined it thoroughly with a flashlight and couldn't see any glass in it, but in the end we decided we couldn't serve it. So we ended up eating it ourselves later (it was fine:).

Claire was the perfect first birthday cake eater. She went right for it. Of course when it came time to open presents Reid had a minor melt down because he wanted to open presents too. We got past it eventually and Carrie let Reid help with some things. The biggest hit was a Jack in the Box. Just goes to show we give our kids all these toys with lights and noise, and they go for the old standards.

The rest of the visit we had a nice time relaxing with the family. We even got some girl time in there when my Mom, Sister, and I went and got our nails done- which I NEVER do. It was really fun. We also ventured into Atlanta and saw the Bodies exhibit. That was quite fascinating on so many levels. I hope to see it again without small children, I know I could get more out of it. Oh, the best part was playing with the Wii!! I am TERRIBLE at Mario Kart- I have no idea what my problem is, but one day I will get better:).

Our drive home was also nice- just LONG. We hit some traffic due to some kind of accident with a truck carrying hazardous material- nice. Then we got into Jacksonville right at 5pm. We were all happy to be home, especially Ryan since he had JUST started to sleep through the night before we went out of town- that went out the window.

Reid had his last day of school on May 14th (cruel and unusual that their school year ended so early). He had SUCH a fun year, and I know he will have a great year next year too. Reid also told me his first joke this month. He said "Mommy say ' are you going fishing with a net?" so I said that, then he said "Who's Annete?" I have no idea where he learned that, he didn't tell me, but it cracked us all up.

Reid also had 1 of maybe 2 terrible public tantrums. They put this new train in the mall- I will admit that it is pretty cool. It drives around the mall. Well Reid's FAVORITE thing in the whole world is anything train related. We had managed to avert the argument for a couple of days. This week though we were playing in the mall play area, which is where the train loads and unloads. Reid asked me right when we got there if he could go on it, I said no we were going to play. This went on for about the whole hour until I guess he couldn't take it anymore and just totally freaked out on me. I ended up having to leave and put him in the stroller and hold Ryan while we left the mall. He screamed off and on the whole way home. Yelled at Ryan to "STOP LOOKING AT ME", to which I replied "if you act that way, everyone is going to look at you". When we got home he got to go straight to bed even though it was lunch time.

Now I am trying to figure out what to do about the train. It is expensive, so it isn't something we are going to do every time. I am thinking about making a chore chart, or bribing him with the train ride if he learns to write some letters. I want him to earn it though...

Ryan is doing great!! He is perfecting his walk and is getting less stiff with it. He started chasing Reid around and kind of tackling him, which is kind of funny except I am having visions of cracked skulls from the tile floor. Ryan's latest "tricks" are making the zerbert sound in imitation of the sound a horsy makes. He says boooo when you ask him what sound a cow makes. He says "goggy" for doggy. He says Uh oh. He is signing "please", "all done", and "more". It is quite apparent that he understands every word that we say. We can ask him to do something and he does it. For instance, I ask him to put his diaper in the trash can after I change him and he loves to do that. Sleeping is messed up again, but he (and Reid) have been sick. He is at least usually waking up only 1 time now- so that is an improvement. We still only have 4 teeth, which he likes to grind together just to make me cringe!! He is still constipated a lot, which I can't figure out. I figured out that Ryan has an allergy to Pineapple. I gave him some one day and he almost instantly got a rash around his face and on his chest. It was red with white hives. I gave him benadryl and it went away, luckily there was not a respiratory reaction. It happened again last week and I have NO idea what caused it that time. He had eaten everything already that he was eating at the time. It is a mystery.

I am doing well. I have been exercising more. My goal is to get up early and go to the gym to walk on the treadmill 3 times a week. Ummm, I only made it once this week, but I did my power yoga video (which is really hard) yesterday and we all went on a walk last night after dinner.So I tried to make up for it.

I am going to be working on a project with CIMS (Coalition for the Improvement of Maternity Services). We are going to be working on a continuing education module about assisting women in with non-pharmacological pain relief. It is all done by conference calling and e-mail, so I am excited about finally being able to do something for the greater good (hopefully).

Erik is doing well at work. He has been given the task of being the project coordinator for implementing the software program (that his company developed) at a different company. It doesn't really have too much to do with accounting, but is very good career experience.

If you click on the picture above, you can see all the pictures from May.

We hope those who read this are happy and healthy:)

April 2009

Catch up!!

I am so behind, I am just going to try to catch up.



Most recently I turned 31 on April 16th!! It took me a while to even realize that I turned 30, so to turn 31 was confusing!! I had a very fun birthday though. My Mom cooked dinner for me and made cheese cake. It was very nice and relaxed. Erik finally gave in and got me the Dyson I have been asking for forever. I LOVE it!! I found it refurbished for a fraction of the cost, and was so excited when I could even clean the AC air returns on the ceiling with it!! SCORE!! I have been marveling about how one becomes the age where getting a vacuum cleaner is exciting, but I guess it has to happen eventually. Work is still going well for me, I am loving the people with whom I work. We have a good team and manage to make our weekends fun.



I have started seeing an acupuncturist. I believe I mentioned in an earlier post that I have been dealing with some anxiety issues. I get these anxiety attacks and they are out of proportion to the causing situation. They don't happen a ton but most recently I had one that I couldn't shake for about a week. I am trying the acupuncture to help see if I can get my body back on track. I think my hormones are still a bit off, I am still nursing Ryan and have only had 2 periods both of which were irregular. I am hoping that this is all a hormonal imbalance- hence the acupuncture. I have also started studying the art of Mindfulness and meditation. I started with Eckart Tolle and read "A New Earth" and did Oprah's online class. This was a great help to me. Most recently though, I got his first book "The Power of Now", which I found to be a bit more focused and helpful. I also just got a book called "Mindfulness in Plain English". All 3 of these books are helping me learn that our pain truly is caused by the conditioned thought patterns in our brains. It has been really life altering to realize that and try to bring presence into my life.



Another life change for me is incorporating in exercise. I have been blessed with a thin figure, and have never felt a huge pull to exercise. I do find that it helps a great deal with the stress though. We just joined the YMCA yesterday. I am hoping that when Reid is out of school in a few weeks, I will be able to pick up some Yoga or Pilates classes and drop the kids off to play.



Overall, I am very happy with our life. Our boys make me smile and laugh everyday. Erik is an amazing father and husband. We have been blessed with awesome jobs, family, friends, and neighbors. I truly cannot complain about anything.



Erik and I are pretty much in agreement that we are done having children. We have decided to hold off on a final decision until Ryan is 3, but it seems pretty certain right now. I have learned that I am not a person who thrives in chaos, and I think 1 child per adult seems pretty doable- even that sometimes is crazy though!! We are so lucky to have our boys it almost seems like pushing our luck to have another. Of course, I can't have it too boring, so now I am thinking about getting the boys a dog around that time;) Assuming Erik won't divorce me if I do that...



Erik is doing well with work, he had a major milestone at work today which I can't begin to explain, but it was part of their computer software project that they have been working on forever and it came to fruition today. This is a huge accomplishment so he was quite pleased.



He has been trying to play tennis 1 time a week with a co-worker, and he enjoys that. He turned 35 on February 22nd. On the down hill slope to 40!! Hard to believe. He got a new tennis racket for his birthday.



Reid is doing well these days. The most amazing thing to me about raising children is to hear their language develop. Boy is his language developing!! Good and bad:) He now negotiates, argues, and tries to boss us around. Conversely though he tells us he loves us, and tries to be funny. He definitely loves Ryan, however, we are having a problem with him not understanding that knocking over, pushing, leaning on, and sitting on his brother is not acceptable. I am at a complete loss on how to discipline this, he is NOT getting the picture at all!!



He finishes Mothers Morning Out in May. I think we will both be sad. Reid LOVES school and is now always excited to go. I love the structure that it gives our week and the time Ryan and I get. Next year he will be in the preschool program and will go Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. I think we will start Ryan in Mothers Morning Out the following year.



Reid is taking a Sports Class at Gymboree. I drop him off for about 45 minutes and he learns about a different sport for about 4 weeks at a time. So far he has done hockey, golf, soccer, and tumbling.



This summer our plan is going to be YMCA, swimming lessons, play dates with friends, and lots of Gymboree make-ups.



Reid is still obsessed with trains, his favorite show to watch is called "Extreme Trains" which is an hour long documentary about different kinds of trains. It entertains us that he likes it since it is an adult type of show. He is still loving the train table as well.



Reid knows all of his letters now and the sounds thanks to the Leap Frog Letter Factory video and some Thomas flash cards. It was quite magical. Now we just need to master lower case letters.



Little Ryan is doing great!!! He FINALLY got some teeth on March 9th we saw the first ones on the bottom. That put him just a little bit over 13 months!! Now his top middle two are also in and I see more lumps to come. We have still be having rough nights with him- he wakes 1-4 (usually 2 times per night). Now we have something to blame it on though!



He is officially walking! We call him our T-Rex because he has stiff legs and keeps his arms up close to his body. It is quite comical. In the past week he has been trying to master standing up without pulling himself up on something. Once he masters that officially, the crawling will be gone.



He is quite a focused little guy and seems to have pretty good hand-eye coordination. For instance he will sit with a toy and play with it for 10 minutes or so which to me seems like a good attention span for a toddler. He loves putting lids on things, kicking the soccer ball, and chasing his brother around. He is still taking 2 naps (when I don't mess up his morning nap with an activity). He does those well, if only we could get the night time working.



We are in level 3 of Gymboree, which we both really enjoy. He is starting to really like climbing. He LOVES the bubbles, parachute time, and being thrown into the air.



When Reid is out of school we will be moving up to Level 4 which is the same time as Reid's sports class- which works out nicely.



In other news, Ryan just started saying something that sounds like Uh Oh and he will say MaMaMa when he is mad or upset.



I guess that is the latest update on us:)

March 2009

Pine Mountain, GA

We attempted our first vacation as a family of 4!!

We went to Pine Mountain, GA. I have been numerous times in my life. It is a fun place. With cabins to stay in and lots of fun things to do. We went up there with Carolyn, Rollin (sister & BIL), and baby Claire, and my Dad, Pam, and David and Bruce- my 7 year-old brothers. The drive is about 6 hours to get there. Carolyn and Rollin are actually only about an hour away so that was convenient because she got all of the food. We ended up getting there in the late afternoon on our first day. We decided to take a quick hike before dinner to prayer rock- which has an incredible overlook. I put Ryan in the Babyhawk on my back on the way there, but it was SUPER uncomfortable that way- so on the way back I put him on the front- at least that way I could support him with my arms if he got heavy. Reid ended up being carried by his daddy for much of the way. It was a beautiful hike.

We got back to the cabin and Carolyn made dinner. It was interesting to have a 12X12 room and 3 little boys in addition to 2 toddlers. It made for some frayed nerves on my part- I am working on that:)

We were worried about Ryan's sleeping as he doesn't really sleep all that well normally. AND we were sharing a cabin with Carolyn, Rollin, and Claire- who also doesn't sleep well. Ryan on top of that seemed to have some kind of illness wtih a stuffy nose. Needless to say the night did not go well AT. ALL. I think Ryan woke up every 1-2 hours. We were VERY tired the next morning. But we had to trudge on:) We went to Callaway Gardens, which was BEAUTIFUL. We had a nice walk and saw a bird show. For lunch we ate at a good southern bbq place.



We decided to go ahead and do one more activity that day because rain was forecasted for the rest of the weekend. We went to the Wild Animal Safari park, which is always a hoot. You rent these HUGE nasty vans and buy these big food nuggets, then you feed all these exotic animals. We saw Cape Buffalos, Girraffes, Zebra's, Deer, Llamas, Pigs, Emu's, and many more. The kids LOVED it (well Ryan didn't really but he also didn't really get to nap.) It was a lot of fun.



That night we went back to the cabins and grilled hamburgers and hotdogs (I think). One night we did Smores too- YUMM!! Erik got to play with fire and drink beer, which is I think his zen place. We had another AWFUL night with no sleep. We HAD to go to FDR's Little White House though. THat was fun and is the same as I rememered it. Pam, Carrie, and I did sprints up the hill of states, which was fun.


After that we went and had lunch at a dissapointing restaurant, but after that had ice cream in town.



We made the decision that morning though that we were going to leave that evening. We could either stay another night with no sleep or drive home and not sleep but at least be home in our beds by midnight. The drive was uneventful and we have never been so glad to be home!!!

In summary, we had LOTS of fun during the day, and NO fun at night:) We will do it again next year and hopefully it will be more fun:)

Reid's a Rock Star Part 2

My boy has MOVES!!!

February 2009

Ryan is Walking!!!

This was the day Ryan took his first steps. I was lucky enough to get it on video. We were so proud:)

Ryan's First Dessert for his Birthday

Above is Ryan's first birthday party. He was very neat with his dessert.



Ryan had a bit more fun with his second party:)

January 2009!!!

January 2009

Wow!! Looking back, January was a super busy month for us!!!

We had great visits with both sets of Erik's parents. Erik's mom, Susan stayed with us for about 5 days at the end of December/beginning of January. She was so wonderful as to watch our kiddos while Erik and I actually went out for New Years Eve for the first time in YEARS!! We went with my friend Melissa, her hubby, and their friend to Ruth's Chris. I was so worried that I would be passing out at dinner, but we did pretty well. It was fun, the food was great, and I really enjoyed the adult conversation.

Alex joined Susan at the end of the week, so we got to spend time with both of them. Reid LOVES his Grandparents, and they are so gracious as to give him their undivided attention. He is in such heaven when they are here.

The following weekend we got a visit from Erik's dad, Larry, his wife Charlotte, and their son Josh. That was lots of fun too. We hadn't seen them in a couple of years and had a really nice visit. They blessed the boys with a new train table, so one of the days was spent assembling that!! 3 adults, and a couple of hours later, it was up and running. Reid is SOOO happy as that is probably his favorite thing to play with ever!! We also went on a trolley tour of St. Augustine, which was very fun. It is amazing that we live here and yet never experience the history that is around us.

This month, Reid went to his first concert. It was the Imagination Movers, who n are a music group who sing kid songs with nice adult sounds. They have a show on the Disney Channel that Reid loves and rocks out to all the time. The concert was an interesting experience. My friend Melissa went with us and we had GREAT seat, 3rd road and right on the center aisle where they kept coming by us!! Reid wore his mover suit from Halloween, and we got a couple of comments on it (I am so proud!!). Anyway, once the show started, Reid was like a deer in headlights. Where normally, he dances at home, at the show, he was frozen. He did manage however, to give one of the guys a high five, which I thought was AWESOME!! Anyway, it was a great time, and I think he enjoyed it. That night I shot a really funny video of Reid rocking out with his new guitar and using his grandma's cane as a microphone. Reid is now singing to music. It is hard to say if he will be a singer or not, but I love that he tries!!! His favorites are James Taylor, Imagination Movers, and Jack Johnson.

Since Reid turned 3 he got to move up to a different Gymboree class. He gets dropped off for this class, which is bittersweet for both of us. It is a sports class, so he is learning about different sports. Reid isn't so sure about being dropped off, but he is working with it. He really enjoys the class once we get past the dropping off.

We are definitely enjoying having a 3 year-old most of the time!! He can definitely get an attitude with us, but not too often. I love that we can now have coherent conversations, and he can tell me what he is thinking or feeling. It is also fun to see him being enthusiastic about learning. His favorite show at this time is a documentary show called Extreme Trains. It is an hour long show about different trains. He is also enjoying reading a book about different trains. It's fun to see where his enthusiasm goes. We started flash cards this month with the Alphabet. They are Thomas the Train flash cards, so it helps keeps Reid's interest. He actually knows most of the letters, and has been bribed with a new train when he learns them all:)

The final new thing with Reid is that he finally learned how to pedal on his bike!! He can do 2 laps around our pretty large block. That was exciting because we are planning on getting him a real bike before the summer.

Ryan got his first haircut this month!! He was getting shaggy!! He did not really enjoy the experience, but he got a new friend out of the deal; a little blue hippo blanket. He also looks adorable with his new cut!!

He is doing all kinds of new stuff. He finger walks with us and is pushing things around such as the laundry basket, chairs, his shopping cart while walking. We can't really get him to walk alone yet, he just collapses to the ground. He is doing his first sign which is more and he claps (they are pretty similar, you have to use context clues). This kid is addicted to Gerber puffs and would eat an entire container of them if I let him!! We are working on his eating as he seems to only want to eat sweet stuff like fruit and yogurt. He does like Mac & Cheese, broccoli, and cheese quesadillas though.

Ryan turned 1 on the 26th of this month!! It is kind of surreal that our baby turned 1. It is nice to see him being more independent, and finally starting to sleep better!! He is the sweetest and snuggliest little boy. He loves to play with his brother (who isn't always very fun to play with:). He is definitely holding his own against Reid though!! Ryan has an impressive temper and an impressive voice!! He knows how to scream, and has not been afraid to use that!!

We had 2 little parties for him. One with my Dad, Pam, and Uncles Bruce and David. Ryan enjoyed the cream cheese icing on the banana muffins I made. He LOVES his sweets:) He helped open his presents too!! He had a really good time I think, and so did we. The second party we had was with my sister and my Mom. That was also fun. He got to experience chocolate and got a bit messy!! He didn't eat as much as I thought he would, but he did enjoy it for sure.

This month Ryan got two vaccines, a HIB and a Hep B. He weighed 21lbs 4 oz at this visit. We have been trying to figure out what is going on with his bowels, he tends to get constipated on a regular basis, and it is painful for all of us!! I feel awful for him. I have started putting flax oil in his yogurt in the morning. I think that seems to be helping.

In other news, we FINALLY got a water softener. I know I am an adult, because this excited me beyond belief!! Our glasses were white and awful. It feels so nice to have nice glasses again!! I also got a new lap top!! This was a wonderful thing because our other one was 4 years old and was SLOW, causing me to go crazy!! I got a purple lap top thinking that with all the boys around me, I need to get girly stuff where I can!

Erik was STILL waiting on his official CPA license to arrive, hopefully soon!!

I have done a lot of reflecting this month. We felt such a sense of celebration with Ryan turning 1. We have had a crazy year, and we not only celebrated the fact that Ryan turned 1, but also that we survived this first year complete with anxiety attacks, heartburn, NO sleep, and Erik's CPA certification. We are so very blessed and even though our last year was hard for us, we really have NOTHING to complain about. We are stronger as a family and realize how truly amazing our relationships are.

PS. if you click the picture above, this is our January photo album.

November 2008

November 2008

We had quite the exciting month in November!!

Reid turned 3!! It is amazing that he is already 3, it has gone by so fast!! We celebrated by taking the family to Disney World for the first time. My sister, Carolyn, her husband Rollin, and the boys cousin Claire joined us along with my Mom and Stepdad. We went down there on Friday afternoon and had Reid's birthday dinner at a new restaurant called T-Rex cafe. It is similar to Rainforest Cafe, but with Dinosaurs. It was a fun place!! Reid got to take home a new dinosaur whom he named Four. We ended up renting a condo type place that could sleep all of us, which was fun!! The next morning we made our famous breakfast of quiche, grits, and monkey bread before heading out for Walt Disney World. When we got there we met up with our good friends from Tampa, Rich and Lisa and their son Mason who was celebrating his second birthday!!

We all had a great time, Reid really enjoyed himself and actually Ryan did pretty well too! We did the obligatory rides like Pirates of the Carribean, the Haunted Mansion (Reid fell asleep in that one- it was the end of the day), the Mad Hatters Tea Party, It's a Small World, Winnie the Pooh, the Buzz Lightyear ride, the speed way, and the adults even managed to fit in Big Thunder Mountain Space Mountain. Not bad for having 4 children under the age of 3!!

The following day we stayed in Orlando and met Erik's Mom and Stepdad at Downtown Disney. It was a beautiful day and we had a nice time walking around. We ate lunch at a nice sandwich place. Reid had a great time with his Grandparents as usual. Susan (Erik's mom) got Reid eating potato chips with mustared on them, which was funny. After that we drove home. All in all we had a great time!! I am not sure if we will go again next year or wait until Ryan is older. We shall see:)

The following week was Reid's actual birthday. We had my Dad and Pam and the boys over and had a small birthday celebration, which was fun. Reid got a birthday month this year.

New things this month with Ryan are that he started to pull up. Watch out Reid- it's all over!!! Ryan started doing something funny this month. If you lie down on the floor, he will crawl over to you and head-butt you. It's really cute as long as you are conscious of him. He can really hurt you!!He also started to do his pincer grasp which means he can start feeding himself. Indeed his did feed himself. I tried cheerios, but he didn't like them(maybe the only baby in the history of the world). I gave him some puffs (which are little star shaped starchy things that dissolve quickly), he LOVED those- might have something to do with all the sugar:) Ryan also got to have yogurt this month, which he also loved. He is a bit of a picky eater, preferring fruits rather than veggies (not surprising I guess). So it is always nice for me to find something he will eat without a fight. I have been getting plain organic yogurt and mixing it with fruit, and he sucks it down.



The boys visited with Santa this month. Reid did great, Ryan- not so much. He did NOT like Santa. In the photo album there is a picture of the screaming. Poor kid.


Well the other exciting thing this month is we learned that Erik passed his CPA exam!!! There was much rejoicing as this has been a 4-5 year ordeal. First with Erik finishing up his master level classes at UNF, then with the CPA exam prep class, then the time it takes to take each test and wait for results. I am SOOOOO proud of him and to celebrate he got a new I-Touch, which is what he wanted more than anything in the whole world!!!

Nothing new with me really. Just enjoying my boys!!

That's all for now:)

October 2008

October 2008

Well October was a busy month in the Hirsch house!!

Ryan is 8 months old now and this month he started to do some new things.

Ryan started pulling up to his knees, which gives him a new vantage point. He is loving his Leap Frog Learning Table. He has also thrown the army crawl to the wayside and started crawling on his hands and knees! He realized he can keep up with his brother easier by crawling. Another new thing this month is that he can sit in the bathtub by himself!! We had up until this point just had him in his baby tub. Now that he can sit in the tub, we can bathe the boys at the same time which makes our life easier!!

Reid has continued to love school!! He looks forward to it every day he goes- that makes me happy:)

Some notable activities occurred this month. Ryan had his first boat outing with DeeDee and Poppee. Of course this happened while I was at work sadly, but they all had a great time from what I understand. Reid had a blast!!

We also had a fun trip to the zoo with Gramps, Bruce, and David. Reid always loves the zoo.

I spent this month working on Reid's halloween costume. I decided that he HAD to have an Imagination Movers costume. The problem is that no one makes them yet as the show is pretty new. So long story short, after ordering the "boiler suit" from England (I could NOT find coveralls for toddlers in the US), and playing with my computer, I managed to make a pretty good replica of a real mover suit. I am NOT at all crafty so this was quite an accomplishment for me:)

Ryan got to be Squirt from Finding Nemo. This was the same costume Reid used at his age and we LOVe it. We had a fun Halloween with Gramps and Pamps. Reid did great and said Trick or Treat and even thank you. He also enjoyed the candy this year- M&M's are his favorite!!

Erik retook what was hopefully his last CPA test. We waited for what seemed like years to find out that he didn't pass it the first time. We are very hopeful that this is the last test. Erik studied his tookus off this time. Now we just have to wait!!!

Reid is a Rock Star

We had gone to the Imagination Movers conert this day. Reid found my mother-in-law's cane (she had an injury) and he thought it made a good microphone!!