It’s a another week of fun-filled happenings around here! Our summer nanny Jenn came over on Monday afternoon for a few hours. I’ve decided since I’d already planned to be off work Wednesday of this week for Finn’s preschool graduation, to just take Monday and Tuesday off as well and get Jenn started and the boys used to someone new while I can be home. While this has all happened so fast and my time off wasn’t planned it turned out to be such fun being home and being Mom all day every day for these days during the week. This is where I struggle with working or not as I really love being home! Reid is really on the move using his walker and is in to all the big kid toys he can manage to find. 
After we dropped Finn off at school for his last “normal” day of the year I headed to Millcreek with Reid to check in on the troops. See that big boy taking charge at my desk?
It was bike day on Monday also, so we took Finn’s bike for the day and he enjoyed riding around during the day with his classmates. 
Reid had his 1-year well check on Tuesday this week and he is doing so great! He weighs 21 pounds 14.6 ounces (60th percentile and up 4.5 pounds from his February 9 month check), is 29.5″ (36th percentile and 1.5 inches longer than 9 months) and his head circumference is 48.4 cm (96th percentile, up from 79th percentile in February). He is cruising along couches, chairs, tables and anything he can pull himself up to. He’s a happy boy, who loves to sleep at night and nap during the day. He loves to play and his smile is so big and bright. He’s a stubborn little man that knows what he wants and he often screams to let you know he wants it, he wants down, or he’s not happy you took something away or removed him from something he enjoyed doing. He’s got the most cute (and most pathetic) sad scrunchy lips when he’s sad or tired and he regularly takes his index finger to his lips when he’s without his paci but really wants it. He certainly does love his pacifier, so much that he sleeps with one in his mouth and his backup in his second hand. It’s not uncommon if he wakes up sometimes and has lost his spare that he’ll cry for it until you get it for him. Then he quickly plops down in his bed, lays down, and goes back to sleep. He is so fun!
And here is our soon-to-be graduate on his last morning as a Monkey at NPCA! He was excited to take gifts to his teachers Miss Laura and Miss Lori. His graduation ceremony was at the end of the school day. The kids were so cute they sang several songs and recited their memory bible verses during the ceremony. Finn’s face was obscured in almost every photo I took of the group up on stage, but if you look hard you can find him! He was the first kid of all the graduates to receive their certificate and thanks to Aunt Amy we got a good pic! After the ceremony we had cake before heading to First Watch for a celebratory lunch with cousin Greta, Grandma and Grandpa Beilstein, Aunt Amy, Uncle Andy, cousins Graham, Rowan, Greta, and of course me, Daddy, and Reid. 
And google has been showing me several “then and now” photos so I wanted to include a few. Time is flying by!
And here are a few others from the week. Reid enjoying his yogurt, Finn so tired after taking a nap one afternoon that when I brought him down to the kitchen he fell back asleep on the chairs, and Brutus wanting in on everything as always. 
On Thursday we went to Get Air in Hilliard for cousin Graham’s 8th birthday party! It was an hour or letting out all kinds of energy!
And on Friday Daddy had a surprise fun day at the zoo with Griffin! They spent the afternoon exploring the zoo, riding camels, and having a fun time together. They also went to the local bike shop and bought Griffin a new bike helmut for him to use this weekend as we teach him to ride without training wheels!
You’ll have to check out the video of Griffin learning to ride his bike without his training wheels. Kevin let go of the seat and he was on his way – never looked back! He was so happy and we spent probably 45 minutes to an hour of just watching him ride his bike! Then we went in to the library and checked out some new books before heading to Bob Evans for a celebratory breakfast. 
And of course at some point in the week we went to Graeter’s where everyone always wants to sample my ice cream cone. Griffin’s selfie was one he took while out playing in the yard one day. He asked for my phone and then showed me this. 
Three or so years after we had the birch tree and alberta spruces removed from the front of our houses we finally got some boxwoods planted. Albeit on one of the hottest days of the week and finishing in the dark as we didn’t start until nearly 8 pm once the sun was going down and it was the slightest bit cooler! And we are not at all looking forward to the Jewett Road closure toward Liberty Road where they will be putting in a roundabout this summer. Ugh, it makes the commute to work and home and pretty much everything we do in Powell pretty ugly as we’ll have to take 315 and Powell Road for most things. But hopefully the roundabout will be nice once it’s done!
The boys enjoyed some fun activities this week – of course the painting, of which Reid enjoyed painting not only the paper but also his body! Debbie did tell me that he wasn’t interested in eating it, which is great considering he usually puts everything in his mouth! The big kids made chicken noodle soup this week. Griffin loves to do this each year with Debbie. He thinks it is so fun to take the meat off the chicken bones (eek!!) and make the soup. I love that he enjoys it. Chicken bones aren’t my thing, lol. 
Reid continues to do really well sleeping. His naps are solid during the day and he’s still sleeping 12 hours at night. I sneek in to feed him and change his diaper once between 9:30-10 at night usually. And I love to find him amongst all of his pacis. Too many, I know, but you know what? He can always find one which makes sleeping at night for mommy and daddy that much better! Lately I’ve been noticing when I put him in bed that he has one in his mouth and he crawls or scoots around his bed to find another and then just kind of holds it in his hand or plays with it in his hand for a few minutes. Probably creating a bit of a crutch – but blue bunny that we got on Black Friday has been missing for 5 or more weeks, so he’s been going to bed with just his pacis. We’ve yet to unearth where blue bunny could be…..
And this boy has been sleeping hard too. He definitely grinds his teeth some and babbles in his sleep. And he is a sweaty hot-box! I find him in the craziest of positions all over his bed when I check on him at night!
And there are dog snuggles too. Brutus and Lils regularly hang out at the top of the brown stairs in the mornings. 
Awhile back I got these “iron beads” for Griffin but I must say, there require a lot of patience and fine dexterity! This particular evening Griffin said, “mom – I made a G!”. And sure enough, he’d made a huge G :). 
Reid, Finn, and I were all hanging in Reid’s room one afternoon. I had just unpacked a box of wipes and Griffin wanted to badly to put Reid in the box. He was able to do it all by himself (I kind of winced once or twice watching the attempts as Reid is not light, but he got it!). After he got Reid in the box he proceeded to get in himself and have the cutest conversation with Reid. “I just love you Reid” he said at one point. And they were just looking at each other. It was the cutest!
I’ve been struggling with poison ivy outbreaks over the last couple of weeks and one day this week Debbie texted me to see if I’d noticed a red spot on the back of Reid’s head. Instantly I thought it could be poison ivy because of where it was on my arm and how his head hits my arm when i hold or feed him. So I asked her to send me a picture – sure enough, he had gotten my poison ivy. Thankfully though it never really got bubbly and just kind of scabbed over. His healed very quickly and he didn’t ever seem bothered. Whew! 
We headed up to Mansfield for Mom’s early birthday celebration as they’ll be in Florida for her birthday. Graham wasn’t feel well so Andy stayed in Cbus with him, but the rest of us were able to gather for another tasty italian dinner and rich chocolate cake that Amy made. We spent the night and left early Sunday morning as we were in the nursery at church! Happy birthday, Mom!
Griffin had a fun week at home and school making a lot of art projects. He’s enjoying feeding Reid and being a big brother, in general. I love to see how he loves on his brother and wants to teach him things. This week he was teaching him about music. 
Each year on a really cold and snowy day Debbie brings snow inside and Griffin and Sam play on the blue rug. I love seeing the traditions continue. 
Griffin is really loving hot cocoa this year. And since it is really difficult to get him to drink much milk, I’ve resorted to treating him to hot cocoa both to get some milk in him and also just because it’s a fun thing we do together. Here he is after a mug 🙂 Oh, and of course it’s almost as much about the marshmallows as it is the hot cocoa. 
On Thursday we went to a Columbus Blue Jackets game with Mom, Dad, Amy, Andy, Graham, Rowan, and Greta. Graham’s hockey team got to play out on the ice between the first and second period – and Graham scored his first ever goal. They announced his name with the goal – what a treat! Reid was a trooper and slept through most of it other than a short stint of being awake (and fortunately we snapped a few picks) and then at the end of the game he got kind of cranky!
On Friday I was at work and Debbie called me about 3:30 to say that Reid was throwing up and he just didn’t seem himself. I freaked out and quickly called the doctor and got an appointment within 30 minutes. During that time I talked to Debbie at least once more and Reid continued to get sick. I had her pack Reid, Griffin and Sam into the van and meet me at the doctors office. I flew out of work so fast! I was really nervous moreso by him not acting like himself. Just before Debbie called me Reid woke up from a nap and was screaming/crying and seemed upset so she went right in and discovered that he’d vomited in his bed and was all over his sheet. She picked him up and took him into the bathroom and called me and while we were talking he puked all over the floor. I felt so helpless! When I met them at the doctors office she had him out of his carseat and was holding him, so she handed him to me and shortly after he started heaving and puking more. He had puked on the way their more also. Poor guy he just looked terrible with a pale face and pink skin around his eyes. The puke at this point was just slobber/saliva as he had nothing left. The doctor checked him out: took all of his vitals (he was down 5 ounces from his well check but had a normal temp), looked at his ears and eyes, in his mouth, felt his belly and so on. He didn’t vomit the entire time she was in checking him out. We talked about all kinds of things and she thinks it is most likely a virus. Debbie asked about the breastmilk (it left an uncommon film on the bottle and had a grainy-ness to it) and we also mentioned that he had oatmeal cereal for the first time at lunch that day. She didn’t think that it would be from the oatmeal. We talked about giving him some pedialyte and keeping an eye on his wet diapers to know that he is staying hydrated. Really, there isn’t much else to do. After she left the room I was getting ready to put him in to his car seat and he puked again all over the floor. That, however, was the last time he threw up. When we got home Jim and Pat were waiting as Kevin and I had long planned to go on a date night to the Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith Christmas concert at Nationwide Arena. Reid seemed ok and had a good appetite as he nursed well. I put him to bed and Kevin got the video monitor setup on our tablet. We decided to head out to the concert even though the circumstances weren’t great and we would barely make it on time. I’m glad we went as I really enjoyed hearing so many of my favorite songs that to me just represent Christmas. I’ve posted some videos at the end – be sure you check them out, especially Jordan Smith. His voice is a true gift! 
The weird part about Reid’s vomiting is the last time he puked was before we left the doctor office. He slept well that night and woke up like this the next morning! A happy guy and just like nothing had even happened! I, however, had slept on the floor of his room that night just to be able to easily check on him. Though the floor wasn’t super comfy I felt better being able to hear him during the night!
Our sweet Lily girl isn’t allowed up on our new couch so she frequently lays here on the floor. I feel kinda bad, but at least there is now a carpet on the floor and a comfy dog bed nearby. 
I love that I can watch Griffin from upstairs in our bathroom. He just really likes to explore and play outside independently. Sometimes with Brutus and sometimes without as Brutus sometimes ends up taking his toys and running away with them. Or he picks them up and won’t let them go! This moment though was so cute when I found them walking alongside each other from the deep backyard to the back door. 
Griffin and I occasionally stop for a sweet treat together at Starbucks. He was pretty happy with his choice on this day. 
Those cheeks. This view always takes me back to the ultrasound pictures of Reid. I would always see his profile and think “who’s baby is this?!”. So blessed that he is ours. 
In other fun news, Griffin and Reid received letters from Santa this week! What fun it was to read through them and learn about the happenings at the north pole. 
On Sunday we took Griffin on a date to see the Nutcracker. We began with a scrumptious dinner at Cap City, followed by a ginormous piece of chocolate cake and a milkshake. Yummers! We met up with the Bethune’s at the Nutcracker but I failed to take a single group photo! The picture of Griffin on the steps makes him look so grown up!
