Joy

I've been going through some tough times lately. I won't go into details about it to bore everyone, but I've just been overwhelmed, stressed and a little sad. As I was discussing this with Fogg last night, I told him that the little boy in the next room was my complete joy and happiness. That without his laughter and learning, this whole time would be so different for me. It doesn't matter what kind of day I have, there is nothing better that having that little boy come running full speed at me to give me a hug. Nothing better than rolling around on the floor with him, doing airplane and hearing his uncontrolled laughter. Nothing better than his snuggle at night before bed.

Though I've been lame at taking pictures since we returned from California, I don't have any cute new ones to share but I'll give you some funny stories and other things he's learned.

Reed has learned what a dog says - arf! When he sees any dog - both in person or on TV or in a book - he says "dog" (but it's not quite that clear). Then I say "what does a dog say?" and he says "ARF!". Sometimes he just generally barks at dogs when he sees them. He seems to really like dogs, he will always point them out and want to go check them out. Funny story - Dianne (also known as Nana, watches him on Thursdays) has a dog named Wesley. Wesley is a dog that barks quite a bit when we show up. The other day, I was dressing Reed, telling him that he was going to Nana's house and that he could play with Wesley and he immediately started barking a lot.

He has also learned "uh-oh". It's sort of funny to see his little mouth making the "oh" and his eyes look very inquisitive. He will say it mostly in the correct context but also when he does something on purpose that he knows he's not supposed to do - like throw his cup off the high chair tray. One day he was running and tripped (this happens often) and as he is falling he is saying "uh-oh" but then as he hit the ground it really hurt/scared him and he actually started crying so it went something like "uh-oh...aaaaa". The other day, I was carrying him down to the kitchen to get him his morning milk and lost my own balance. As it was early in the morning, I didn't have the energy to catch myself so I just gracefully sat down on the floor. I turned to Reed to make sure he wasn't upset about it and he said - "uh-oh".

Other words that Reed can "say" are Dada (but no Mama), ba (which means bottle), up, ball, and questionably baby, bird, balloon, and hi. He general just points and says "ehhh?"

Reed waves goodbye. He likes to put bags over his shoulder, like mama does with her bag. He likes piggy back rides. He loves to brush his teeth. He likes water and splashing it or filling up cups. He loves bath time. He hugs stuffed animals. He can give you a kiss. He will bring you his shoes to put on when he wants to go outside. He likes to push his lawnmower or cart around. He likes to throw things. He will go to his cabinet in the kitchen, get a bottle, bring it over when he wants a drink. He won't eat anything green, even if it's yummy fruit.

He is a boy through and through, starting to show quite a fondness for trucks, cars, and bikes. With the work being done in our backyard, there have been different digging machines that he has really enjoyed watching. He also wants to be on any kind of bike, dirt or bicycle. Fogg will take him for rides on his dirt bike and that kid is in heaven. He will run directly towards and climb on anything that resembles a bike. Don't tell him or you'll ruin his Christmas, but we are going to get him a strider bike (a small bike with no peddles, they just learn to push and balance). He also has a few cars and tractor toys that he will pull out and drive around.

There is nothing better than sitting down with that boy to read a book or play with his toys. He is starting to communicate either with words, actions or pointing and grunting. He's a great napper and sleeper at night. He's flexible when the schedule needs to change. He can stay out late and still be a pleasant boy. Though he's a little clingy to me in the mornings when I drop him off at daycare (not gonna lie, it's kinda comforting that he hugs me tight), he is so good when I leave him and does so great all day.

Love that joy in my life.