May/June

This post is primarily dedicated to Tyler since he just turned 4 at the end of May. The older the kids get the more fun Birthdays are for them and the more work they are for me, hahaha! I really do enjoy celebrating a special day for each one of our family members. Tyler's Birthday was on a Sunday this year so we just had a little get together with friends and then celebrated with everyone on Saturday.

I was hoping at age 4 the whining, tantrums, talking back, and all other toddler behavior would just magically disappear, but alas... On the bright side, Tyler is making progress, and we have finally made it through a hour of church with him. He has also just started swimming lessons again, and while last year he thought it was funny to push people in the water, this year he is following direction and doing great at not causing a distraction!

Tyler is a wonderful help with Kaitlyn. He loves her dearly and tries to take care of her which eases my burden at times!! Tyler loves to paint, color, or do any thing that is artistic. He is working on learning new sounds, writing his name, and trying new sports. He has always been really good at picking up toys and trying help do chores around the house with me. I am sure these things will not be looked at as fun in the next few years, but we will enjoy it while we can!
Tyler continues to make progress in all areas and has a great personality. He is always making us laugh and I can't believe he is already 4!! Time really does fly, it is so scary some times!!!


Tyler has finished his first year of Pre School. It was half day, four days a week. I am not looking forward to all of the driving we will be doing once both kids are in school. This year was exhausting enough! He did great at PreSchool and only was put in time-out once!! That says a lot for those of you who know Tyler!! I am very proud of him!! We will most likely hold him back from starting kindergarten since he is so small and needs to mature a little more, so I guess he will have 2 more years of preschool to go......


Tyler and Daddy before the big soccer party! The authentic soccer jersey was a little much in my opinion but Tyler did look good on his big day!! I think it might have been easier to have his party somewhere other than our home but since we just put the fence in we went ahead and had a soccer party which ended up being a lot of fun! David and a friend of mine who plays soccer did some drills and let the kids play around and kick goals. Alot of the children have already played soccer so they wore their soccer jersey's. We had lunch and they also got to go home with a water bottle full of candy!

16 Kids and no one was lost or hurt!! We did have some back up which was nice. Not sure we could have pulled this one off by ourselves!

In other news, Kaitlyn has transitioned to a big girl bed! I am not one who tries to rush this milestone. I love to sleep and don't want to jeopardize my chances of getting a full nights rest at all costs! In fact I had Tyler and Kaitlyn both in cribs for a while until I was ready to take the challenge on with Tyler!

She has actually done fine with it. At first she would wake up earlier than her usual or take a little less of a nap. No wonder she does not sleep well with the crazy positions she is sleeps in!! She has transitioned and things are back to normal now. Luckily she does not know how to open doors just yet or else I think it may have been more of a challenge!!! She usually asks to be tucked in a few times and we are done for the night.

We also enjoyed a family get together with David's parents and Sister Jana for Father's Day. I know David has learned many great things from his father and we loved having them all over for dinner.

The kids got candy bars to give daddy at church on Father's Day. Tyler was not to sure about giving up the candy but he must really love his daddy since he did give it to him after all! David is their own personal jungle gym! They love daddy and always ask about him when he is away at work. David is much more patient with the children than me! He is a great dad!!!!!

Spring Time Fun

At the beginning of the month I had the opportunity to go to Chicago for the largest nursing conference held for RN's called NTI. It was an amazing experience and I am so glad I was able to attend. It is always good to hear different viewpoints, research, techniques, and education in the medical field as practice changes so constantly.

It was kind of a surreal experience as it went by so fast and I barely had any down time!!! I was gone for 5 days, which was a long time for poor David!! We had a hotel that was close to most sites so we were able to run to the Navy Pier a few times, site see, eat at a 5 star steak house ( thanks to the KCI vendors), go to the Field Museum for Nurses night out, and eat Chicago style Pizza of course!

Thanks again to my wonderful husband and Andi (our daycare provider). Without them I would not have been able to feel at ease about leaving my family for the week. Also, a special shout out for Nurses Week. I love all the nurses I work with and have developed lasting friendship with them all. Just remember who is at your bedside all day long and can save your life. That's right! Your nurse!!!!! Enough about me!!
Finally we have our fence!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have been debating on this purchase for quite some time as we don't if we will move out of this house at some point or not. I finally put my foot down and talked David into it! Our neighbor put it in for us since David really does not have the time. It is so nice to let the kids roam free and not have to worry about them running in the street,etc.
Tyler at the Tons of Truck event put on by Parents as Teachers. I had never been to an event that was so crowded with people with my kids before. I have come to appreciate the smaller town Columbia is after that experience.
Tyler's field trip for pre school was at the Dairy Farm this year. Let's just say you knew you were at a Dairy farm from the minute you pulled in, the smell was overwhelming!!!

Pure Joy! Getting to ride on a school bus for the trip! I was not planning on riding the bus, but all the other parents were so I hopped aboard. The things you do for your kids!
As you can see, Tyler has a diverse group of kids in his Pre School class. Because he is so small I worry about him being picked on or not fitting in, but he has adjusted well and really loves it there!

Easter best. It seems like Easter just creeps up on us every year! The kids make looking this good effort less although trust me it was not. Tyler decided to run around out side and tore his pants in the knee which I had to repair. Then Kaitlyn decided to rip her hair bow apart, which I had to re glue. There were a few other mishaps but you get the idea! Thanks again to Aunt Rebecca for all the hand me downs.
Tyler said "Thank you mom, I love coloring Easter Eggs".
Unsupervised play!!! Who needs toys!

Terrible Two's are upon us!!!

My baby girl has now turned 2! It truly is amazing how fast time flies when you have children! Kaitlyn has matured much more rapidly than Tyler had at this age and so it has felt like she has been 2 for quite some time. I am able to rationalize with her (to a point ), she speaks in complete sentences, and has a desire to learn about everything.

I feel like she is babied much more than Tyler was at this age and so I am trying to be aware of this so we do not create a monster!! The problem is she has David and even Tyler rapped around her finger. Her father has told her she is a pretty girl so many times that when she looks in the mirror she says "who's that pretty girl, it's me! Kaitlyn!" Tyler adores her and is always trying to meet her needs or comfort her. He almost had her talked down at the doctor today when she was upset about getting shots! I do love that she is loved so dearly, but I also am concerned that she can have Diva moments in order to get the attention she is accustomed to!

Of course Kaitlyn can have her moments. For instance, she bangs her head against the oven because she does not get what she wants or she can throw a fit at the park because she wants me to hold her or be pushed in the stroller the entire time of our walk. But for the most part she is a good girl! She differs from Tyler in that she can sit and be entertained for long periods of time with just a book or snuggling with mommy or daddy. Where as Tyler would rather try and do a flip in the chairs at church (happened this past Sunday). She is also much easier to take shopping and enjoys it most of the time, a dream come true for me!!!

I feel such a special bond with Kaitlyn and hope she will always want to be close to me and her family.

Kaitlyn and my old dolly. At first she liked it and played with it but has since moved on :(.

She loves Mickey Mouse Club House so that was our theme for the cake. She really got into blowing out the candles this year. I was amazed by her efforts! Last year she grabbed for the candles and so I was glad this years experience was a little less exciting! Kaitlyn is so much more animated that Tyler. Tyler always plays it cool but Kaitlyn jumps for joy at the talk of a cookie. She was so excited for her cake, it was priceless to see her face when we were singing to her.

Note to self- Put Kaitlyn in a chair away from the other children or else she will have no chance at opening gifts on her own! Especially when her brother is around!

I'm Back!!!!

I have been horrible about updating the blog lately! I love to read other people's updates I just don't find the time to update on our own life as often as I should!
This has been a record year for snow around here! I am so, so, so tired of the snow!!! Poor David is tired of it as well! He has shoveled over and over and over again! Thank you!! The Blizzard left us with 17.5 inches officially. I would have thought we would have all gone crazy in the house together but we actually did ok and I think we enjoyed the time together! I was just thankful I did not have to work during the storm. My poor co workers were stuck at the hospital on cots, stranded, eating watered down spaghetti :( It is the last weekend of March and we had snow again this weekend! Hopefully the end is near. I hate the cold!

A special thank you to my bro and sis in law for watching the kiddos so we could enjoy a weekend alone in STL. It was so wonderful!!! This is the first time we have been without the kids, together, since Kaitlyn was born. We were able to go at our own pace, eat at grown up restaurants, enjoy the hot tub, and most importantly enjoy each others company. We also were able to attend a friends wedding with friends. The weekend was great and much needed. Now I want to do it again!!

March is a busy month with Uncle Neil and Aunt Sangs birthday. We enjoyed a family get together playing games and eating food. The kids don't get to see Neil very often, but they absolutely loved playing with him! I think it took him a while get up to their pace. They probably played 20 games in a 30 min time span!!! As you can tell, Tyler favors my side of the family!!

Both Sang and Neil wanted lasagna for dinner, so that made it easy for me!

The Wii is a staple at family gatherings. Not sure who won the play off during Beatles Rock Band!!! We are so thankful to have family near by and cousins that love each other.
We have been lucky enough to have a few days of 70-80 degree weather mixed in with the snow! As you can see Kaitlyn is ready with her transitional spring wardrobe! She is growing so fast. She is not a baby any more!! She will be 2 in May!

Holiday Time

Thanksgiving weekend. We had the privilege of having our Niece's stay the night with us. They are the most talented, pleasant, fun, girls ever. So laid back and patient with our children. We had a blast staying up late and playing games together. It was so nice to have them in our home. I truly do not know of any other girls their age that posses the maturity they hold. Anyone who can get up and be ready to go before my kids even get up is very impressive to me!!!

Tyler and his 105 year old Great Grandfather at the Reid Family Thanksgiving! What a great picture!

Cookies for Santa :) Kaitlyn ended up sick during the holidays so we tried to find fun ways to pass the time. We were not able to see everyone we wanted which was a big bummer! Holiday sickness is not a present anyone wants to have for sure!!!

Trying to instill the true meaning of Christmas is a challenge. I love the Little People Nativity and the kids love to play with the figures which helps hold their attention long enough to get our point across, I hope!!

Me and my girl!!!


Tyler and the Train Table Santa brought!

I could not believe how excited Kaitlyn was about Christmas! I guess she saw how excited Tyler was and it was contagious. Tyler at this age was not ripping through the presents like she did!!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Love, The Reids

Some Firsts

Tyler is a very smart little boy if he puts his mind to it. Focusing on projects is something he really struggles with so I was so happy when he sat down and finished his 48 piece puzzle. Of course he had to get up a couple of times in between finishing it, but the point is he stuck with it and completed the puzzle! It is amazing what he can do when he puts his mind to it! He is learning to write his name at school and I noticed he was not making as much progress as I would have liked him to so I just sat him down and worked with him and he was able to complete yet another task. His teacher says she usually has to sit right over him to have him practice and I don't think he is really putting much effort forth. I am trying to help him to be determined and have good self esteem rather than giving up so easily or not trying or practicing when things are not easy at first. He will thank me in the long run if he knows it or not!!!
At the beginning of the new year Tyler became a Sunbeam! This means he gets to sit in a Sunday School class with the older children rather than being in nursery class. There is much more structure and sitting involved so I was nervous he would not do well. He really surprised me the first week when he sat in his seat and behaved!!! I am hoping he enjoyed himself and learned something as well! Tyler has always had a hard time sitting still, although lately he is doing a little better. With him it is like a light bulb, the light bulb is off and then all of a sudden he gets it and the light bulb turns on!
Happy New Year! Yup! Tyler got to stay up until Midnight! Crazy! But he had a great time and so did we! We were able to play our own games and the kids did their own thing. Good times!

My first refinishing project involving stripping paint! These projects look so easy until you get started and then you find out how overwhelming they can be. By the end of the project David always asks me to just go buy what ever it is I need because he somehow gets talked into helping me out or has to talk me down when I get frustrated!
I thought I could just sand the paint off, but that would have been too easy!! Some of it did come off, but the rest had to be stripped! Crazy!! I also had to hand sand the top drawer due to all of the detail work. These kind of projects are so satisfying as you can see below! Plus I saved so much money!!I had an ugly white cupboard before. It is amazing how you can get used to something so ugly and think it looks ok. This beauty is so much better and constructed much better as well!! Well worth my time!
Gobble, Gobble! My first Turkey! I brined it first and then cooked it upside down for a half hour and then flipped it for around 2 hrs. We had a great time with my mom and my Brothers family.