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 highlight of our week was Reid’s baptism on Sunday! It was a special time and we were glad to have family join us. Mom and Dad came down the evening before and the Bethune’s joined us also for a tasty steak dinner. Reid’s morning schedule on Sunday morning was rather wonky as he only took about a 30 minute nap. Church typically falls right during his second morning nap so I thought for sure he would be cranky and make a scene. Boy was I wrong! His baptism was early in the service and he was a happy guy the entire time, only on the third splash of water did he wrinkle his face! But he didn’t cry and when Pastor Nate walked him up the aisle while everyone sang Jesus Loves Me he just looked around and took it all in! We headed to Matt the Millers for a nice brunch following the service. What a fun and joyful morning. 
Brutus has such a need for attention. He is basically a huge baby himself as he regularly inserts himself in every situation just begging for some love. He loves to get right up close to Reid if you happen to be on the floor giving Reid some fun interactive play. And he regularly just comes up and rests his head: on me, on the bedside, on Griffin, on a toy that is being played with. He can certainly be overbearing when he’s energetic but when he’s tired or calm he’s just like a big lovey!
Here Brutus is pouting because Kevin and Finn got all suited up to go play in the snow. He wanted to get in the car so bad that after they left he just went and sat like a statue like this for the next several minutes and just gave me this pitiful look. 
Griffin is great at playing independently. He often asks to go outside in the back yard to play whether it is with sticks or balls or hockey or just to go adventuring. This day he got all suited up to play in the snow. He loves to eat snow and he even threw snowballs at the window to try to get me inside :).
I went around and took some before photos of our trees as we’ve hired a company to come and give some major love to our mature trees. We have many low-hanging limbs that are pretty sizable and our front oak and maple in particular have grown together pretty heavily. We are looking forward to having a less obscured view from our bedroom window and to have more light in the house once the leaves are back on the trees. They are going to come in and do some crown thinning and raise up the bottoms. I’m pretty stoked. I would love to do it all myself but realize in this day that it just isn’t in the cards at this stage of life! Plus, what to do with all the wood after! They are going to crown thin and raise up probably 10-12 of our mature trees, remove two dead spruce trees, and remove a dead ash behind our fence that is covered in poison ivy – like super mature poison ivy that is about 2″ diameter branches growing 10-15′ up the tree. Ick – be gone yucky stuff!
On New Year’s Day we headed over to the Bethune’s for a tasty spread of carnitas. Reid enjoyed a carrot – that’s the only real pic I took apparently! We’ve also been enjoying some chill family time together. 
We’ve always loved the hat that Griffin has worn for the last couple of years. We wanted to get a similar one for Reid and while shopping online Kevin found a coordinating one for himself :). 
This kid is growing up fast. He seems to really enjoy school though honestly some days I can’t even get him to answer any questions about his day! I do miss being able to take him and pick him up. I feel really disconnected from the classroom happenings and seeing other parents but I do appreciate being able to keep up with things via the weekly email update from his teacher. His handwriting is getting really good and he is picking up on words as we drive around in the car and he’s regularly signing cards and writing his name on all of his papers both at home and school. 
As much as I wish I was, I’m just not super interested or talented when it comes to making meals. Don’t confuse that with eating meals, lol, I’m plenty happy to do that! But as we begin to introduce more foods to Reid I’m realizing we need to eat more cleanly, particularly less processed foods which he shouldn’t have. I usually get home from work around 5 and Reid eats shortly thereafter and heads to bed around 6. So on a normal night after I get him down I make dinner of some sort. Kevin has been working late hours so it’s usually just Finn and me so we’ve been keeping it pretty simple. Pinterest for the win on this one. 
This is the typical scene when Reid has food. Brutus and Lily nearby – hopeful to catch any scrap they can. 
This picture isn’t even close to how great this sunrise was in person. I was on my way in to work and caught the sun rising just before I turned on the road headed to Millcreek. 
What another busy and fun week we’ve had! As you can see, Reid is enjoying the holiday season and his first round of so many fun family traditions. He also had avacado for the first time this week as you can see what remains on his face for this picture. He’s pretty curious about it and is good at picking it up and getting it in his mouth. From there he makes the funniest faces, gags (which I REALLY don’t like but know is normal), and then spits most of it out as he’s using how to use his tongue to move food around. He’s just got the best smile :).
I love sneaking in to Reid’s room and checking on him at night. This picture is fuzzy since it was taken in mostly dark, but this night he was clutching his bunny. He honestly doesn’t seem to care if he has it or not, which is fine by us, but I thought this was cute :). 
Here are the boys one morning after Kevin and I headed off to work. It brought a smile to my face!
Debbie is really good about doing art projects and painting. It’s also fun that Griffin and Sam are old enough to take pictures of things now too! Here is Reid stamping his reindeer feet for his reindeer project. 
Paci’s everywhere, eh? But at least this way he soothes himself when he wakes up and decides he has to have one! He’s definitely a tummy sleeper and moves around in his bed a TON. The pacifiers regularly fall out of his bed (er, he throws them out or drops them when he’s banging them against the slats!) so having multiples is a good thing. He also prefers the 0-6 month pacifiers as the 6+ month ones have a new shape with a little roundness to the end. I’ve found that he will take them when he’s happy, but if he’s tired or fussy he will put one it and take it right out and try another. Kinda fun to watch on the video monitor. 
And here we are in our unplanned but color coordinated winter pajamas!
This week I took Griffin to school a couple days which was fun as he was Top Banana! He was super bashful about me wanting to take his picture but I got it nonetheless. 
As I’ve probably mentioned time and time again, Brutus is always in the midst of the action. He just begs for attention by inserting himself into every situation and he absolutely loves to lay on Reid’s blankets when they are on the floor. 
Reid isn’t really pulling himself up yet, but if you prop him up against something he’ll hang tough for a few seconds. He is more inclined to bounce his little legs and do a dance than stand still. 
I really enjoyed picking Griffin up from school and hanging out at home. One afternoon it was a terribly yucky weather day out so we snuggled up on the couch and watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It was the perfect thing. I had Finn model his Thanksgiving hat from school before we watched our movie. Shall we say, I’m not the best about emptying his folder each day after school. 
We’re enjoying our new couch and in particular sitting in our family room on quiet evenings after Reid and Finn are in bed for the night. There isn’t anything better than a Christmas tree, blanket, and hot beverage!
On Saturday Kevin and Finn (and Brutus and Lily for 2 minutes) went out and raked up our leaves in the front yard and walkway to clean things up for our guests. Finn loved jumping in the pile, Brutus wasn’t quite sure what to do, and Lily sniffed around and then was happy to come back inside. Later that morning we had our annual Candy Making Party at our house with Mom and Dad, the Bethunes, Mannings, Conrads, and Ryans. It’s one of my favorite Christmas traditions and of course all about family and treats. Mom planned and made some super cute crafts with the kids, we decorated sugar cookies, made buckeyes, four flavors of hard tack (sassafras, lemon, peppermint, and cinnamon), and caramel pretzel bites. It was constant motion for several hours but tons of fun!
Reid was a great napper during the party which was a great help! Then when he was up he was a happy guy and a hit with everyone who was here. 
The Ryans brought us a beautiful flower arrangement too. Such a thoughtful gift and so pretty! My favorite are the hypericum berries. 