I am sitting here as the snow flies reflecting on these pictures from two months ago! As cheesy as it sounds, I truly wish I had a pause button. Time is moving too fast. Not enough hours in the day to do all the things I want to do. I regularly find myself having to do the things I “have” to do which aren’t necessarily the things I “want” to do. One day all of a sudden becomes the next day and then another month is gone.
Reid’s personality is so fun. He’s sassy and stubborn. Sweet and silly. He makes the most skeptical faces. He’s not talking much (and I’m becoming more concerned that he isn’t) though he understands everything and listens well to what you ask him to do (unless he’s demonstrating his stubbornness). He will throw a “tantrum” if you remove him from something he wanted to do – he’ll often just sit down or lay down entirely on the floor and grunt and make a mad face. It’s actually pretty cute. Here he is eating his raspberries as finger puppets :).
I was able to venture to the zoo one day this week to meet a friend and her kids. We stayed for a few hours and at the end they headed out and we decided to do a few more things like ride the train!
Reid also has the greatest smile. He’s always lit up the room with his wide and cheery smile and now that he’s got a full set of teeth it’s even more precious. Here are some of his faces and his personality coming through. He was loving cuddling with Lily one night in his room behind the chair.
Kevin was invited to tailgate and attend the OSU-Indiana game this weekend with Chris, Paul, and a few of Chris’ family members. It was a warm one! He enjoyed the time. 
We’re enjoying our puzzling hobby and have found a few that are quite challenging. Especially when they are missing pieces! I’m the primary puzzler (even though Kevin was the one who got us started and bought several of them!). I enjoy sitting down and trying to make some headway in the evenings, though honestly I get addicted to getting a certain area finished and before I know it I’ve missed my bedtime by a great deal! Griffin enjoys joining me too and he’s actually quite good. And as much as Brutus might be to blame for eating the “missing pieces” we can’t blame him for getting them off the table – I think we accidentally drop them and then he eats them. We now have a good system in place so he can’t get to the pieces when they are on the table!
This week was also picture day at school on Friday. Our handsome boy picked out what he wanted to wear, choosing his blue button down. I had the day off on Friday and enjoyed being home to get him on the bus and off to school. It was a beautiful fall morning and I was able to capture a couple of pics of our front yard. Reid and Griffin rode around on Joe for a short bit before the bus came. Reid’s expression is one of many I find cute. 
Finn’s first school field trip was this week also. The kids rode the bus to Stratford Ecological Center and they learned all about nature, gardening, different animals, they made cider, and we went on a nice walk through the woods to the stream. The kids got to get their hands in the dirt, feed chickens, see how chickens lay eggs and the eggs are collected, and so many other things. My friend Claire and I were in the same group with our kids so we were able to hang out during the trip. It was a fun morning.
While Finn was in school Reid and I went to Liberty Park to enjoy a perfect fall day. The skies were blue and the temperature was perfect outside. He enjoyed being silly and running from me, exploring a few of the play areas they had there, and riding on the swings. He rode a teeter totter too and I’m pretty sure that’s where he got a tiny chip in his left front tooth when he took a slight tumble to the ground. He makes so many faces and expressions. He’s a silly boy, not really talking yet, but understanding and listening to all you ask him to do (unless he’s being stubborn!). 
Saturday night we had a progressive dinner with our neighborhood crew, this time our theme was Football Fan Food. The OSU-Penn State game was on at 8, so everyone was dressed in OSU gear and we watched the nail-biter of a game at Brian and Lisa’s. Good thing, as there was lots of screaming going on! Reid happily slept in his bed at our house and we are able to see him via our video monitor while we were next door. 
Sunday after church we headed up to Mansfield to go apple picking with Grandma and Grandpa Beilstein at Apple Hill. We love that the orchard is close to their house and even when busy isn’t congested at all :). It doesn’t take long to fill our bags with tasty treats. We all taste-tested different kinds of apples and ended up picking an assortment for our bag. We’ve been enjoying them at home – they have all been really good! This year Griffin and Reid tag teamed picking apples from Grandpa and Kevin’s shoulders at the same time. And as always, we always go for the highest Finn can reach! This year he was a bit apprehensive (it was really high up there!) but he was a trooper and was so happy when he picked that apple. 
These boys were beat after a long and busy weekend. They both were asleep in the car once we hit the road back home. Bedtime was a breeze!
And here is Mr. Reid with some of his funny face babble talk. I would have kept taking more video, but my phone ran out of memory so it cut off the filming! He’s a funny boy.
These boys. Though the last few months have been somewhat challenging and stressful finding childcare it’s pictures like these that warm my heart. There have been many a days where I just want to throw in the work towel and just be home with both of them. And if I’m being honest, even when I have great child care at home I still want to do the same. Then there are other days when I feel like I’m a terrible Mom and it’s better for them to not be around me all day every day. Part of what I love about in-home care is that the days are flexible and full of adventure. The boys headed to the zoo this week with Hannah a couple of times and afterwards one day they went to the newer Duck Donuts for a sweet treat. Who would say no to that? 
Since we are new to Tyler Run this year I’m doing my best to learn about the school and get to know people and things about it. I decided I would go to the first PTO meeting of the year, despite my tendency to dislike situations where I may not know anyone and feel like the out of place new person. But I went, and my friend Claire was there as well as my neighbor Alex. And it was nice to learn about the PTO, what it does, and start making connections. I didn’t even know that Alex heads up Dads and Donuts, so I’m going to help her with that in a week or so and Clair and I may takeover the book fair as co-leaders. Yikes – I may be in over my head with that one. Me, leading a book fair? I can hear everyone now “she doesn’t even like to read”. Yes, I know, the irony. The upside of going to the meeting was being able to stop in to see Finn at lunch!
Finn passed his next level in his sight word book this week! Go Finn! He brings home lots of papers each day as they are working their way through the alphabet and numbers. I’m not sure what is normal and what isn’t in regards to getting all the numbers and letters correct at this age. He seems to struggle with 3’s and 5’s so we’re going to work on that. I know I gravitate toward pointing out mistakes and flaws, and I’m really working on pointing out the positives so we’ve been focusing on how well he is doing with so many numbers and letters.
Another selfie by Finn. I enjoy finding these in my photos since he’s learned how to take pictures without having to unlock my phone :). He also took a picture of his magnet creation. Baby gates are good for more than just safety!
Reid babbles a lot but still doesn’t have any words. It’s something I tend to be worried about since he’s 16 months only now. We’ve started putting Sesame Street on in the morning for the boys to watch. Griffin always loved it (and still does actually) and Reid will sit through it for 5-10 minutes before getting up and moving on to something else. He’s like me in many ways, he doesn’t seem to care much about tv in general whereas Finn will become glued to it if you put it on.
For Patriot Day, 9/11, the kids were asked to wear red, white, and blue to school and since I headed to work early that day, Hannah snapped this photo for me while they were waiting for the bus. Reid and Griffin have such different features, Kevin was trying to capture a good profile pic of Reid this morning. Everything about their faces is so different other than their eye color – they both have the clearest blue eyes, perhaps Reid’s are a shade darker than Finn’s. 
And I love this picture of Reid, kind of his half smile. This was at 6:30 in the morning when he was happy as can be to just be up walking around, screeching happily walking in our room and bathroom. 
Griffin frequently likes to empty out his “save, spend, give” bank and sort his money. I’m not sure why he does, but on this particular day he made this long design with his coins. It’s difficult to tell here, but each coin is neatly laid on top of the previous one – all in the exact same pattern. Kind of like dominoes. He’s big on observing and making patterns!
On Sunday, Todd flew in from LA to surprise Pat later this week for her 70th birthday. The original plan was for Kevin to pick him up at the airport and Brett to come up and take him to Enon. So we all hung out for a bit and the plans evolved and Todd ended up staying here a few days so the surprise would be bigger – as Sean was arriving Wednesday. Griffin was so happy to have uncle Todd here. He followed him everywhere and wanted to play with him constantly. I mean all-the-time. They spent plenty of time throwing the football and shooting some hoops in the driveway. Uncle Todd brought him a really cool hat, too!
