Spring Break San Diego

I put much emphasis on this spring break, I think. This is in part because I think I have felt a little "trapped" in this growing pregnant body of mine :), as well as I can't help but think that this is our last family-o'-three vaca...a thought that makes me sad (resistance to change, here I go again...:)), though happy for our "complete" family that will make up the memories of our next family getaway.

Hmm, where to begin? Let's start by saying that I hope to relive this very vacation again and hopefully again and again...maybe make it a "tradition" of sorts. We LOVED our hotel, The Catamaran, and found it to be perfect for us. Reed exclaimed, "Our hotel is a RAIN FOREST!" upon our arrival, and the amazement, impressiveness, and good times kept rolling thereafter.

Our hotel had a "bay side" complete with sand toys for the kids, cabanas and food and drink for the 'rents, and nightly cruises for the whole family. Two blocks away was the non-bay, 'real' beach, "the wave beach" as Steve and Reed called it, Mission Bay. Plenty of shops and restaurants and easy rinse off and whatnot for built-in fun plus convenience...a family's "must". Within our hotel we had lush palms, talking parrots that greeted/repeated the guests, refreshing pool and plush cabanas, and...Steve's favorite...a large room with built in full-but-mini kitchen :).

SEA WORLD was a highlight of our stay, Reed rocked the place and we stayed until almost 5:00, skipping his usual 2-5pm nap altogether (he slept for the night, 12 hours, from 6:30pm-6:30am after we left :). We rode rides, hit three shows, lunched and snacked, played on the play structures and (literally) soaked up the mini water park. Reed feeding the dolphin was picture-perfect and he's talked about it several times since. Luckily, we were the very last people to be able to do so before they cut the line off!

Steve surfed, I had some pool time, and we enjoyed the perfect weather and beach as much as we could fit in. We were also thankful to spend time with Reed's former nanny (2nd mom, actually!) and best bud (like a sister, actually!) who live there. Eric, Jessica, and Bella were kind enough to host us for an evening and Reed and Bell had a BLAST (to say the least) slipping right back into their old days of both reckless fun (contributed by wild Reed) and structured play (thanks to Bella :)). Bella cried when it was time for us to say goodbye and Reed has mentioned moving to San Diego, staying at Bella's, Bella visiting here, and talking about the fun had ever since. Peas in a pod!

The only flaw of our time had was that was it was too too short (aren't getaways always that way? :)). We didn't spend time with all the peeps we wanted to, but that just makes for another excuse to head back again...hopefully, as I said, a Havenar family tradition!

"Choo, Choo, Choo...Reed Havenar's no longer TWO!"

My "baby" is THREE!
This is the first birthday that Reed "owned". It was all about him and his good time with friends, only a handful of his nearest-and-dearest as opposed to the bigger groups we have had in the past (which often included OUR friends with kids). It was priceless to see him interact with his "buddies" and also a bit embarrassing for me, too, when he played favorites with a few instead of including all...natural, I know, but not in my adult, "social etiquette" comfort-zone :).

Reed has been having on-and-off behavior at school and it often includes his interactions with his buddy/girlfriend-of-sorts :), partner-in-crime, Annie. She was his side-kick at his party, too, and the only one "picked" to sit by him on the train, for pictures, etc.. Other guest included friends Emerson and Brady, Annie's twin Ben, usual BFF Bella and her mom Jess, the three grandparents, and cousin Cooper.

We celebrated at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, and it was wonderful! Balloons, pizza, and cake on the "party car" all to ourselves and train rides for the kids. Roamed the grounds a bit, too, and Reed could have cared less if we were there, I think, he was in his "element" :) and a happy, social butterfly to say the least. He's growing so fast and, though it makes me sad that all of our family can't be a part of these experiences and changes, we treasure every day of them and honor each year of memories with a day of reflection and BIRTHDAY FUN. We love you, dear dear REED! :)

Reed Starts Pre-school (boo-hoo, sniff-sniff) ;)

Last February, I got teary when Steve and I visited some pre-schools because I just couldn't believe we were turning that "big boy" corner...I am sentimental and over-emotional about such things (I already know to prepare myself with much kleenex for real "milestones" in my children's' future). So, when his 1st day came, I should have known that it was a parent issue just as much as Reed's when the separation was difficult. As rough-and-tumble as he is, our firstborn is an attached, sensitive little thing!

We took pictures and did the long goodbye on Day 1, and Steve even got watery, too...who wouldn't when your son is clinging to your leg pleading, "Daddy, I don't want you to GO!!!!". Day two was the worst, he sputtered out through sobs, "Mommy, I want you to stay one and two and three and four more times" (which I took to mean "a long time" in 2-year old language). He also told me he "needed to suck his fingers again", which killed me as he never has done this, so I wondered if that was a self-soothe thing he'd discovered? (Pretty introspective and so sad, I thought!). I picked him up that day to find him in a change of pants and his teacher handed me a bag with his wet ones, along with his lunchbox with untouched food as he didn't want to eat, either. She explained that he'd cried on and off all day. On the way home he told me, "Dereck pushed me. He is BAD. The teacher said 'Dereck, we don't push our friends!'. Mommy, that's BAD". Sigh...
...and that night was back-to-school night. I felt that the teachers were only talking directly to us (though I realistically know that they weren't) when we all signed "potty contracts" which basically said that if our kids were still having a hard time with their training at school, it was legitimate for them to ask us to find another school with week's notice. Um, great. So, I cried again that night...this time out of despair as the "mama bear" came out in me, my poor baby :)!

Day three was much better...one of his best...and I chalked up my tears from the night before to my own back-to-school exhaustion. Note to self, I reminded my thoughts: this new experience is indeed NEW to us all, of course it's not going to be "butterflies and rainbows" from the get-go, though that's all I'd pictured when I'd happily read pre-school books to him all summer and when we'd merrily shopped for and packed up new classroom supplies, taken pictures of his cuteness (lunchbox in hand and all) in the yard, etc.! The teacher in me, I guess ;)

Despite the center's director mentioning to me that Reed "has lasted the longest" of all the 'criers', and also the morning that a parent said to me upon drop-off, "oh, he's so cute. I felt so sorry for him the other day when I peeked in their room to see it was him that was crying so hard", each day his tears have lessened from the previous and we have even had two NO TEAR days. I actually almost shed happy ones the day he looked super nervous but instead of crying seemed to think things through to get his act/courage together and exclaimed, "after a while, crocodile!" as I was leaving.

I still have some Kinders in my room who cry for their parents when saying goodbye in the morning and we are one more week into school than my Reed, so I am proud of his gradual-though-definite bravery during this big adjustment (and, may I say, of mine too ;)).

Mommy, Hold My Hand...

Reed is a hand-holder and how this sweet little-something is so important to me. Important and cherished as I know my days are numbered of "hand-holding" with my sweet boy.

In November, I had Veteran's Day off and so took Reed to the park (was super warm though November 11th!). A boy pushed him because he was about to pick up the kid's shovel or something, and Reed got that crumpled up, "wounded" face, burst into tears and shouted "MOMMY! Hold my hand!!!". I had to kinda love it, though his feelings were hurt, because I thought to myself...tomorrow he will be two and oh-how-fast these birthdays sneak up!...how many more until he won't want to hold my hand?

Come December, on Santa's lap, he kept calling over to me- in a timid little voice: "Mom. hold. my. hand.", (repeated numerous times). Would only stay on Santa's lap when I was holding his hand, though I eventually got a photo without my arm in it by bribing my child with fruit snacks...didn't think of it until now, but kinda wish I'd just had it taken with my hand as his comfort instead ;)

Over break, Steve cut Reed's hair. This took waaaaay to long and we have since learned from this experience :). Anyhow, because it was taking so darn long Reed understandably got restless in his high chair/"barber's chair" and Steve called to me, "will you come hold his hands?", meaning of course: hold his hands down, so he doesn't swat at the scissors anymore. As I was walking over there, Reed said, "yeah, Mommy, come hold my hand"...and that was enough to keep him perfectly content and still for the rest of the grooming! Poor thing...had to feel a little guilty that we'd thought of pinning 'em down and he, unknowingly, shed light and new perspective on our words....made the too-long experience much more pleasant for all involved!

Ah, do you think he will let me hold his hand when I walk him to school...high school even? :)

Thankful!

My Thanksgiving post is very late! Having left our camera charger in Colorado Springs until just last week, I hadn't uploaded any pictures from the holiday until just today. SO, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's photo organization is going down all in a day or so...a bit grueling when you snap as many photos as I! THANKFUL to be putting this task behind me, and fun to remember the great Turkey Day we had a month back...

Our Thanksgiving was full of chaotic fun, meaning we gathered with the Havenars this year! Fourteen cousins, mostly boys, nine adults, and two dogs all under one roof (thanks to the Palmer Lake bunch for opening their home, BTW!).

Our fun included a visit to the North Pole (a childhood memory of mine, such nostalgia!), a movie with the sisters-in-laws (New Moon, SO GOOD!), a wonderful multiple-dish feast, and of course much play and relaxation. We were blessed to have awesome weather in the 60's, so the kids were able to eat outside as well as run wild outdoors, too! And, speaking of running wild...

As many of you know, my son is a meek, shy, always perfectly calm and reserved child (insert: heavy sarcasm, of course :)!!!). But, I have to say, that his older cousins fueled his budding fire and he was "ON" that week, more so than I had ever seen. I noticed it the days following our holiday as he picked up a 'more mature', "nope!" sass towards me and tried to wrestle several- both non-living and human- beings as well. His nanny, too, noticed his new boldness and, hiding her smile, had no choice to put him in more time-outs than ever...couch-jumping, toy-throwing, weapon-making (out of toys), etc. I was lucky to capture this new Reed o' ours in the picture above, holding- and putting to use- a bat in one hand and toy pistol in the other, 'on the draw' and all...nice! Am gearing up for some years of wildness that I never had the chance to experience in my all-sister, Cabbage Patch Doll 'mothering' days ;)

Am VERY THANKFUL for our Havenar family, 'twas fun y'all (that's for you, Texan branch!).

Celebrating my boys...

Despite not posting any of them since almost two months ago, you can bet that I have been taking pictures galore! This post is a tribute to my wonderful boys, how lucky I really am to have them around!

#1 Tuck Dog:
We celebrated Tucker's 5th birthday earlier this month, can't believe he's getting "up there" in those doggie years! Check out his 'party': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fFykcNnzkI


#2 The Hubby:
Another five-year milestone was celebrated as Steve and I have now officially be married half of a decade (but together for more than a decade, I KNEW it seemed much longer than 5 ;)). We had a short-yet-perfect getaway to Fort Collins, a favorite spot of ours that is part of so many of our 'early day' memories. We stayed in Old Town and biked to a few brewerey tastings, along a creek trail, through campus, and more. We indulged in our favorite locat "eats" and can't wait to return again, or maybe even move up there someday...who knows?!

#3 The Daddies
After our anniversary getaway, we headed down to CSprings to celebrate the wonderfulness of Steve and my dad, two fathers who really couldn't be better dads. We were able to stay with Steve's mom and visit the gravesites of his late brother and dad, an important day to remember them as well. Coleman beef and "the fixings" made for a delicious Sunday meal, too!

#4 Reedo, of course
My summers "off" have taken on a new meaning since having Reed. While my summer days used to consist of errands, naps, NetFlix, long vacations to far-away destinations, and much pool time, now they are all about my bonding with my boy. And I LOVE it! We go on countless outings, but have officially dedicated Tuesdays and our 'field trip' day, our "Terrific Tuesday", where we gather with other mamas and their kids and have some summer fun! Last week was the Denver Botanic Gardens and today was the Colorado Train Museum. Reed has loved both adventures, and I have adored our time together. I love this age! (19months and counting!)

So many great boys in my life, all worthy of much celebration. *smiles*

Spring has Spring...maybe

So much mixed up weather in these here parts, per usual! A few quick pics of Reed and his daily outside play, and one of him longing to be outside in the spring snow a mere week ago.