Reid - 8/31/2015

Reid had bites of cheerios and two servings of banana for breakfast.  For lunch he ate three servings of peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  (Today's menu was cheese sandwich.)  He didn't try the tomato soup, but ate lettuce salad, and three servings of broccoli salad.

Reid, Cooper, Elliott, and Sophie were all at the window waiting for Daddy Pat (Sophie's Dad) to drive by so they could wave at him.  Cooper was doing his waving ritual.  He holds one hand over his mouth and starts kissing his hand.  (That's how he "blows" kisses.)  Then he waves vigorously with the other hand.  (And still kissing one hand.)  And he starts early - as soon as he gets to the window and long before he actually sees anyone.  Reid stood beside him (looking very puzzled), studying what Cooper was doing and finally said (with authority), "Not Yet!!"  Ha ha!

Elliott was sitting on the yellow bench all alone reading books and playing with a phone.  Cooper joined him first and then Reid decided to squeeze in as well.  Elliott didn't mind at all and actually acted like he didn't notice!  (That's a good example of his temperament!)  There are lots of children that wouldn't sit squeezed in there for one second!!  (at any age and especially at Elliott's age!!)

We were outside and Reid was kicking the ball and I said, "Good kick Tate!"  I call him Tate so often that he didn't say anything now.  He didn't even act like he'd heard me!  Poor guy!  Maybe he's given up on me ever getting it right on the first try!!  Ha ha!!

I wanted to mention that the wind this morning really frightened Reid.  (I'm sure it's from the wind storm we had.)  It was blowing some, but not too hard at first.  He simply said, "Too windy!"  Then it picked up some and the wind chimes on the patio may have brought his attention to it as well.  But he was pointing across the street to the limbs blowing in the trees and started to cry a little and said, "Me wanna go in the house now."  (Special emphasis on "Now.")  :)  While they were eating lunch I took a diaper to the garbage on the patio and Reid asked me, "Still windy?"

Reid - 8/28/2015

Reid ate a huge serving of oatmeal and ate cranberries for breakfast.  For lunch he ate ground beef, three servings of elbow noodles, ate peas, and applesauce.  Cooper had asked for more applesauce and was putting his peas in it and ended up eating it all.  I guess he wasn't making quick enough progress because Reid yelled, "Eat it!!"  (It's an activity that Reid holds in high regard!!  No messing around; get with the program!!)  :)  Also at Lunch time; Reid did a big sneeze and Cooper said, "That was a BIG cough!"  Reid said, "I didn't cough!!"  (If Parents knew how much I enjoyed this entertainment they'd probably charge ME!)

Cooper has really been into talking about the different colors lately.  He and Reid were having another cool conversation.  Well, it was more like Cooper interviewing Reid!  :)  It kind of went like this; "Who likes Yellow?"  Reid said, "Mom"  "Who likes Red?"  Reid said, "Mom."  That was obviously his standard go-to answer!  Except when the question was "Blue" and the answer was "Me!"  Cooper also did "pink, orange, and a couple more.  Oh yes, Cooper was also frequently saying, "My Mom too!"    And it basically ended with Cooper saying, "This is the last one!  Who likes Gray?"  So I said, "I do!!"  And of course Cooper said, "Why?"  My answer!  "Look at my hair!"  Ha!

Reid was busy working on some legos building and Cooper was......well Cooper was there too!  Ha! Reid accused Cooper of "Messing up my legos!"  Cooper said, "No, it messed up all by itself!"  Ha! They always have an answer!

The boys built this "L" shaped block sidewalk around the igloo.  And it provided them with lots of exercise going around and around the igloo, onto the mattress, etc.  Sophie was watching them and occasionally being possessive of the sidewalk!  Cooper said, "I'm coming through!"  But Reid and Cooper were careful not to run over the "Littles."  (I like that word that came from the Cline house.)

Yesterday while the kids were having fun with the play dough I went to the bathroom and told Kenzie, "You're in charge."  Ha!  Later, she was the first one to be done and she came out in the Play Room and said, "Reid's in charge!"  Ha ha!

Reid - 8/27/2015

Reid ate two servings of breakfast; raisin english muffin and blueberries.  I made a second call for Cooper to come get his bib for breakfast and Reid said, "Him pooping."  No, actually he's just lollygagging.   Also at the breakfast table Reid was telling Cooper about going to the dentist and laying there while the dentist worked on him.  Cooper, not be outdone by a silly dentist visit (which included drilling out a cavity and putting on a cap), said, "Reid, I went poop in the potty last night!  And it was THIS long!"  Cooper was stretching out ONE arm to show him the massive length!  Length would be from point A to point B Cooper; not just point A.  Oh man, I was laughing so hard. For lunch he ate turkey slice, sandwich bun, green beans, and strawberries.  The last time we had green beans he said, "I no like green beans."  He ate them today!

Reid was intently watching Lauralea put a ponytail in Sophie's hair.  When she was done she asked Reid, "Did I do it right!?!"

I think the recent power outage made an impact!  Cooper just randomly said, "We no power last night!"  Reid said, "Our power back!"  Cooper said, "Our power back too!"  :)

We were going out to do some Dot Painting at Art Time and Reid was excited, whirled around and leveled poor Elliott.  I was loving on Elliott (minimal damage) and Cooper said, "He's kinda big." Then, as an afterthought he added, "His brothers are kinda big."  It was so funny.  (And Cooper was very serious.)  Speaking of Dot Painting, Cooper carefully painted all the Lady Bugs (mostly green) around the perimeter of his paper, but left the middle blank.  After Cooper had left the room I then noticed that Reid was reaching across the table Dot Painting the middle of Cooper's page!  Just wanting to help you out Cooper!

Ok Lesley, here's the modern Daycare.  Three of the four children have a cell phone!  This can be your new Target Group!  :)

Reid - 8/18/2015

Reid ate three servings of waffle and ate pears for breakfast.  For lunch he didn't try his tuna and crackers (I'd thought he'd ate them the last time we had this meal), ate most of sweet potatoes, and ate two servings of mandarin oranges.  So at lunch we had Cooper eating Reid's food -which is a switch from the usual!  (And Reid was more than happy to give Cooper both of his tuna and cracker sandwiches!)  Ha!

Reid and Cooper built this block barricade you see in the picture.  There were a couple of holes in it and they are sticking the small stuffed animals through the holes.  Then they were racing around the barricade and pushing the animals back through the holes.

Cooper was standing on his head (he's been doing that ALL the time lately - especially on the couch) and showing Reid how to do it.  Reid is closely watching, but primarily just waiting for Cooper to move aside!!  Ha!

After Cooper moved Reid simply laid on his back in front of the igloo and propped his feet up on the igloo.  He said, "I did it Gary."  :)  Nice work Reid!  That's a much more relaxed approach to standing on your head!  :)

When we went outside Cooper was warning Elliott to stay away from the apples that fall off the neighbor's tree.  Cooper is deathly afraid of bugs and bees and he said, "Watch out for apples Elliott!" (I told Cooper early in the summer to watch for bees around the apples.)  Reid, on the other hand, has decided (along with Cooper's help) that it's his job to pitch the apples back over the fence.  So Reid said, "Reid do those; throw like baseball!!"  Ha!  And he did!  When he was done he came back and reported in to Cooper; "Did it Coop!!"  :)

Reid - 8/14/2015

Reid ate a big bowl of oatmeal for breakfast.  He wasn't about to try the canned prunes!  (The other
kids love them and I think it's because they have added sugar.)  Anyhow, I just cut up one prune and sat it beside his bowl of oatmeal.  He looked at it and moved his oatmeal down the table and scooted down!  (Didn't want it to contaminate the oatmeal!)  He cracks me up!  For lunch he ate several bites of hash brown casserole, ate two servings of biscuit, and two servings of mandarin oranges.  At the lunch table Reid and Cooper were arguing about who was the last one to burp!  "I just burped!"  "No! I just burped!"  (Repeat this several times!)  By the way, he hasn't done his "burp-talking" silliness for a long time!!

As you can see from the picture below Cooper picked right up today where he left off yesterday.  In case you missed it - see pictures from yesterday!  :)  Cooper got his book, scooted over by Reid and said, "I like this one!"  Reid said, "oh."  Ha ha ha!  So Cooper asked him, "Which one do you like?"  Hee hee.  (One way or another Cooper will suck you into a discussion about trucks, tractors, and equipment!!)

Reid was using the blocks to slide down the little ramp at the climber inside.  Elliott joined him and was copying what Reid was doing.  Elliott gets such a kick out of every thing and thought this was extremely funny!

The boys played on the climbers, played on the bikes, and looked for apples from the neighbor's tree. Reid was laying on the climber (see picture) and said, "Take my picture!"  So here's the picture!

The boys were pretty sweaty when we went into the house from outside play!  Reid said, "I have stinky feet!"  So you already know what Cooper did!!?!!  You're right!  "Sniff sniff"  "No you don't," said Cooper.  "You have fresh feet!"  Ha ha!

Reid - 8/13/2015

Reid ate two servings of whole wheat cinnamon toast and three servings of cantaloupe for breakfast.  (Love those Dixon Melons!)  For lunch he ate turkey slices, bites of dinner roll, bites of green beans, and ate two servings of mangoes.

First thing this morning Lauralea was reading to the children.  Even Sophie looks to be interested in the book.  There are LOTS of pictures and kept her attention.

Cooper and Reid were reading together in the chair and Cooper was informing Elliott; "No room up here Elliott!"  Just so everyone knows - Cooper had this same book here at Daycare yesterday, so it wasn't like something new, but he held it tightly all morning!!  :)

I think this picture is super cute.  It was taken shortly before we went outside.  Reid was laying on the mattress and Cooper was beside him trying to entice him with the book AGAIN!  Ha ha!  Reid, by this time was pretty weary of the same book over and over and he simply rolled away from Cooper and was facing the opposite direction.  But Cooper pulled out his Trump Card; "Do you want to read it to me!?!"  He asked Reid.  And the picture tells the rest of the story!  Nicely done Cooper!!  That was quick thinking!!

Outside Cooper was pointing at the apples and showing Reid where they were laying.  Cooper is super afraid of bugs and bees and would point at the apples from several feet away.  Just the possibility of bugs in the area is enough to keep him at bay!  Reid threw the apples over the fence an then said, "Got it Coop!"  They make a good team!  ")

Reid - 8/12/2015

Reid had three servings of jelly toast and ate mixed berries for breakfast.  For lunch he had three servings of ham, ate some of his crackers, half of bean & bacon soup, and ate strawberries.  Reid was asking for more ham and Cooper was wanting more strawberries, so I asked Cooper if Reid could just eat his ham.  "No." And Cooper snarfed down all of his ham.  Ha ha!  It works every time!!  Speaking of snarfing down food - at breakfast Reid had jammed his last bite of jelly toast into his already full mouth and started pounding on the table and mumbling something that sounded like, "more food, more food!!"  Lesley, it was hard not to roar with laughter, but I actually managed to say, "After your mouth is empty you can ask for more food."  :)

About the end of Lunch time Reid pointed at Sophie in her high chair and said, "That my best friend right there!" Ha!  And of course an argument ensued!  "My friend!"  "My friend!"  "Mine!"  "Mine!"  So Reid and Cooper had their first argument that involved a girl!  Ha!  At least she's a very sweet girl and super cute!!

Also at the Lunch table Reid could hear Baby Layla starting to yell.  He said, "She call you!"  I asked him; "Who?"  He said, "Hofie!"  (Sophie)  I pointed at Sophie sitting in her highchair and asked, "Her?"  Reid said, "No! Baby Layla!"  He got it right that time.  Good job Reid.

Reid and Cooper played with the building blocks and (along with temporary help from Kenzie and Riley) they built the "train" you see in the picture below.  Reid said, "Hey Gary!  We're going riding!" He has a set of keys in his left hand.  There are several sets of keys in this toy exchange.

The boys had lots of fun outside riding bikes and playing on the climbers.  Then Reid spotted a squirrel running across on the wire and wanted me to take a picture of it.  :)  "Take picture of that!" pointing at the squirrel.  One other thing I just thought of - Layla's Momma asked Reid if he had lights at his house and Reid (who'd been listening to our conversation) said, "Our power back on."

Reid - 8/7/2015

Reid ate malt-o-meal cereal and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch he ate two servings of ground beef, three servings of elbow noodles, ate apple slices, and mixed fruit.

Yesterday when Reid saw Sophie he said (just like he'd never seen her before), "Him can't walk?!?" And that cracked me up.  I said, "Well, Him is a She, and you are correct, she can't walk.  I realize this is the first time you've met her!"  Then I was laid on the floor and put my head by the air cooler vent.  I said, "This is where I like to put my head!"  Reid saw me on the floor and yelled, "Get on him!!"  Ha ha ha!  (And they all piled on!)

Here are some pictures from the activities of the morning.  Reid and Cooper were holding hands and jumping.  They jumped and jumped for probably about 20 -30 minutes.

We haven't played in the tunnel for a long time so we took it outside and tried it in several different locations.  Elliott liked to stop in the middle of the tunnel and hold up traffic - well at least until Cooper started crawling over the top of him!!  :)

Cooper and Reid emptied one of the bins of all it's contents of wooden blocks.  They were working hard making different shapes and busy trying to ward off Elliott at the same time!

Reid - 8/3/2015

Reid ate cheerios and two servings of banana for breakfast.  For lunch he had three servings of PB & Jelly sandwich (in place of cheese sandwich), no tomato soup, and ate lettuce salad.  I usually let them drink their tomato soup with a straw, but this time I crushed up some crackers so he could try it with a spoon, but he was still not interested.  Oh....almost forgot...he ate his PB & Jelly sandwich and said he wanted more.  But this time he wanted "ham."  Ha ha ha!  Oh man, I roared!  Uhhh, sorry dude, you cannot special order, but nice try.  So he was content with more PB &J!  :)

At breakfast Reid and Cooper were having a discussion - which I couldn't really understand!  Then Cooper looked at me and asked, "Is my teeth broken!?!"  Ha ha ha!  Then during Lunch Time:  I never answer the phone at meal time and rarely during Daycare hours unless I think it's a Parent calling.  The phone was ringing during lunch and Reid was pretty adamant: "GARY! ANSWER THE PHONE!!"  LOL!  Oh man that was so funny!

Cooper and Reid had fun making a big pile of blocks this morning.  Prior to this, they were building with them, but what you see in the picture seemed to be way more fun!!  Then Reid was looking at the poster which shows the alphabet sign language.  He spotted the letter "B" and got all excited!!  "Blue Blue!!"  And started doing the sign for Blue, which is the letter "B" and move your hand side-ways back-n-forth.  That is awesome recognition!  I am totally impressed!  Great job Reid!

Our daily ritual has been for Cooper to find the apples that drop into our yard and I pitch them over the fence and back to their owner!  Ha!  Except when Reid is here and he slings them over the fence and they land about three houses over!  Ha!!  Cooper finds them and is not about to touch them.  I've told the kids to look and check for ants, bugs, and bees.  Cooper almost picked one up this morning, but quickly jerked his hand back right before touching it!  :)