One of These Things Is Not Like The Others

Of the three children on this picture, there are two whose mothers are already expecting their little brother or sister. Which one is not? That's right, the one pushing the baby carriage. Hmmm.... The other two, happily content to be fighting over the driver's seat in Leeze's new car, are both going to be big siblings - and soon. Morgan and Casey, of course, are expecting Baby Bearsch #2 in January, and we just found out last week that David and Jenny will be adding to their brood this June! Congrats to all of our preggers friends out there!

The Third and Final Mr. and Mrs. Halford

Congratulations, Amy and Blair!

Easy to Please

You want to know what warms the cockles of my heart and makes me happier than I ever thought I could be?

It's this. Just this.

Pictures Do Not Reflect the Story

So, every night before his bath, I have been putting Reeves on the potty, just to see if he will go. Of course, he prefers to reserve that for standing just outside the tub so that I can then clean it up. We have tried everything to get him to go - running water, flushing the toilet, even pouring warm water on him. Nothing has worked, which, honestly, is no big deal, I mean, he's 16 months old. But it would be fun to get him started early.

Well, Monday night, as I was undressing him on his changing table, encouraging the already fever-pitch excitement about the ba-ba-ba-bath, in all of his delicious nakedness, he started to go. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" I scooped him up and ran to the potty. Fearing I had scared the urge right out of him, I went about all the old tricks of trying to bring on the waterworks. At first, nothing, but then, the magic happened. He started to go. He was fascinated. It hit the porcelain, then it hit the water, porcelain, water. How amazing! He was so pleased with himself. Not wanting to scare him, I didn't get all over the top with cheering (of course, my insides were bursting to scream), but I did praise him ("Yay, Reeves! What a big boy! You peepeed in the potty!") and hugged him and let him flush the toilet himself, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

I know it's a baby step and most likely completely coincidental, but what a milestone. He has recently been indicating when his diaper is filled, and he wants to be changed, not that that makes him enjoy the diaper changes any more just because he asked for it. He is quite the gymnast/contortionist when it comes to wrangling him to get a new diaper on. Maybe this diaper discomfort will encourage him to potty train early. Who knows? For now, we'll just relish each little step forward and simultaneously mourn the infant he will never be again.

The Search for the Great Pumpkin (or How I Learned To Love The Gourd)

Last Sunday, we went to Boone Hall to pick out a pumpkin.

It was great fun watching Reeves run around and touch the pumpkins and pick up straw and fall and get up and drag Daddy around and do it all over and over again.

I can't believe the difference between last year (cound NOT get him to look at the camera!)...

and this year.

And it ain't just the hair! Again this year, we only visited the patch and didn't do any of the games/rides, but I know next year we won't be able to keep him away from them. I'm already looking forward to it.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit, Halloween is not really my favorite holiday. I think the reason is that I can't stand costumes where I can't tell who it is under the mask. It kind of freaks me out. I think it is a holiday variation of my clown phobia. Other than the readily available candy and occasional party, I haven't really noticed Halloween in the past. Anyway, since becoming a mother, I have made a real effort to embrace this holiday. I have pulled out the pumpkin dishtowels. The jack-o-lantern is on the front porch, in the lap of a scarecrow, no less! The ceramic jack-o is on the china cabinet. I have practically immersed myself in the spirit. No? You don't think so? OK, well, maybe not, but by the time Reeves is old enough to get excited about all this, I promise, I will be Halloween's, like, 5th biggest cheerleader.

Let's be honest, as long as Jodie is still around, I'll never be the biggest, and I'm sure there will always be a few others out there more animated than I. But when you get down to it, that's just another gift of having children. Through their own innocent wonder, they get you excited about things.

The light shining through the face of a jack-o, the fascination with patting pumpkins, the way they stare at themselves in the mirror when they have on their costume, the thrill at being given treats just for having on a costume and asking for candy. All of these are just some of the things I have come to appreciate in the past 16 months. Watching my child dance to a shaking, singing, blinking skeleton makes me want to run right out and get every bit of Halloween paraphernalia. (After the holiday of course, when everything is on clearance!)

OK, not the clown. I will NEVER be into those!!

DIPD

Last Saturday (a week ago) we went to Daniel Island Park Day with Caroline and Fordham. It was tons of fun, and we (mommies) particularly enjoyed stopping to get a latte (me) and a smoothie (Preggers). The boys might not have enjoyed that stop so much. Shortly after ordering, we turned and realized why we heard fussing. We had parked their strollers about 5 inches from the drink cooler, facing it. Basically, it looked like we had rushed in the door, pushed the children away as quickly and thoughtlessly as possible because we needed caffine and fruit, damnit! It was too funny to us, maybe not so much to the boys! Anyway, after that, we were on our way. The park was packed.

Luckily, we immediately found a huge bubble machine that kept them quite riveted.
We had hoped to catch Jimmy B. in the dunk tank, but we missed him by about 15 minutes. Oh well, there's always next year! We did get to see Beth and Betsy, though, so that made up for it!

I can't believe how fast Betsy is growing up! And don't worry, Dorothy, Beth agreed that next year, her Halloween dress would have to be black and "not that awful orange!"

Reeves loved dancing to the music, but it was a bit loud (for all of us but him), so we headed over to the kids area. Unfortunately, there wasn't too much for these little ones to do, although, they did spend a lot of time bemoaning the fact that they were too little to get in the jump castle.

There was a sand pile, but it cost a dollar or two and the kids got to look for treasures. Unfortunately, those treasures were tiny little shells and rather than paying to have our children do exactly the opposite of what we have trained them to do, ie, not pick up little , choking hazard objects, we chose to let them play in the hay with the pumpkins. It was free, and it was fabulous.

We tried to get them to pose for pics, but of course, that was an exercise in futility. It was like trying to pose two butterflies. They're both beautiful, but unless you are supremely lucky, there is no way to get a good shot.

It's much more fun to throw hay on me. Why is that so much fun for them? Then of course, there were the feats of strength where they wrestle then hug!

We met up with Morn and Leeze shortly after that and had a picnic of fried shrimp, chicken fingers, french fries, and hush puppies. Veggies! Get them away from me! Is a potato not a vegetable? We are nothing, if not health nuts! But the kids loved it and ate ravenously. And that, of course, made us happy.

Needless to say, there were three great naps that took place that afternoon.

Hoo, Hoo!

Well, Jodie knew it was only a matter of time, and it has finally happened. Reeves is acutely tuned in to the trains that go by. Every time he hears the whistle, he points and says, "Hoo! Hoo!" He has now started climbing on top of his toy chest to be able to look out the window. What is it with trains? Why do all little boys have such a fascination with them? Luckily, they don't come by too much at night.

First, he climbs up.

Then he tries to climb out.

Finally, he wave bye-bye to the choochoo.

We may have to move.

What's In A Name?

Bryant is so proud. I picked up fried chicken for lunch on Sunday. Not only did Reeves eat the thigh and the drumstick that I pulled apart for him, but he also wanted the drumstick bone AND and another drumstick all together. I am a very picky fried chicken eater (although, not as picky as Jodie!). I will eat the meat and some of the skin, but that is where I stop. Bryant, on the other hand, was apparently taught to eat fried chicken by a pack of starving refugees. There is not much left but a bare bone when he is finished. This has always been the joke between us - that he can make chicken crunch.

(Notice that Reeves is double-fisting.)
Anyway, as you can see, Reeves has apparently inherited the Bair gene for fried chicken eating. Oh, goodness! Looks like I've got my work cut out for me trying to reverse this one!! But look how much they enjoy it! This is true RBB form! I guess I should have expected it when we named him.

This is longing if I've ever seen it!

Brush-a, Brush-a, Brush-a

Not sure whether it's because his grandfather is a dentist or because the watermelon toothpaste tastes so good. Whatever the reason, Reeves loves brushing his teeth. He loves it so much so that last night, he was willing to skip his playtime in the tub to head to the sink to brush. We were a mere three minutes into his bath. I had only just washed his hair (granted, that doesn't take a long time), and he was standing up, trying to climb out of the tub. I was shocked. Even his Water Everywhere book was not enough to keep him interested in the bath. We have always brushed his teeth after his bath, but he has never before wanted to skip his bath to brush his teeth! I am glad that he enjoys brushing his teeth, but I will be terribly sad if this messes up his baths. I love watching him play in the tub.

Well, at least we know that the "Brush your teeth, wash your face" routine at bedtime shouldn't be a big fight!

May I See Some ID?

Marianne turned 21 today, of course, we celebrated with the fam yesterday at Laura and Rod's. I hope she didn't get in trouble for having that bottle of wine I gave her, you know, since she was only 20 and 364 days and all. Anyway, as it seems any family get together is these days, nearly everything was centered around The Babes.

Leeze and Reeves are really starting to play with each other now. I love it. They are too cute - and nearly the same height. Of course, Leeze is a chunky monkey compared to Reeves, but you can't tell until you pick them up.

As usual, we missed Lol, Ray, and Sarah. Here's Reeves talking to Ray on the phone. She must have been saying something fascinating!

Reeves gets a lift-off from Uncle Andy. Really, GREAT Uncle Andy, but I just can't make myself say that for some reason. I don't know if it's because I can't imagine him being anywhere near as old as I associate my great aunts and uncles or is it me, not being able to think of myself as the same age my parents were? I'll let you know....

Happy Birthday, Marianne!! Thanks for letting us share the pot roast and pecan pie with you. We love you!

Here is Leeze practicing for her upcoming role as Big Sister. January is quickly approaching. Hopefully, she'll be a little less rough with the new baby!

And what Sunday is complete without some good foot tickling?

We were all super sad when Marianne had to get on the road back to Clemson. Reeves was OK with it though. He just decided he was going with her.

And our day concluded with the children's favorite activity - the climbing of the stairs. Thanks, Miller and Bryant, for being the watchful eyes and strong hands!

Autumn, At Last!

Mother Nature gave us our first glimpse of fall this weekend. It was so refreshing to walk outside to a crisp, cool morning. Our meter is loving that the AC is not constantly running, although, last night, it was eerily quiet in the house. The cars are getting better gas mileage. There is a general sigh of relief from all the things on which summer puts a lot of demand. We can go for a walk and not come home dripping with sweat. (Of course, on some subconscious level, this makes me feel like I haven't gotten as good of a workout, but whatever!) I love fall. I always forget how much I love it until, each year, we have that one day or, in this case, that one weekend, that awakens my senses and brings all of the good things about the change of seasons careening back to me. Maybe it was the fact that it was a weekend, or maybe it was the light of the full moon and the super high tides, or maybe, just maybe, it was the fact that we got to spend a good bit of this weekend at Sullivan's, in Meggett, and at Edisto - some of my favorite places. It is impossible to pin down, but if you ask me, a big part of what made this weekend and this time of year so wonderful is that I finally get to pull out all of those cute overalls I bought for Reeves at the end of the season last year - when he was still a little bundle, and we had to wrap him in blankets and hold him tight when we went outside. And here he is, a toddler, and I'm watching him run around and explore and do all those things that we always knew he would do, but couldn't imagine as we held our infant last fall.

Like the seasons, we are in that special time of watching him change. He is, in many ways, still a baby (pacifier, warm milk at bedtime, footie pajamas), but he is also so much more than his 16 months should allow. He runs, he climbs, he understands. He is still a snuggle bunny at times, but if you look closely, you can see the boy he will become. Like this tender time between summer and fall, our little ones are growing and changing everyday.

"...But for now, Autumn and Summer hold hands and twirl lightly, dancing and singing sorrowful swan songs."

Tummy Troubles

This cool washcloth was just about the only thing that gave Reeves any relief that first night.
Well, we are still dealing with the tummy thing. Bryant and I got it on Thursday, and it made my heart ache to think that Reeves was dealing with anything like the pain we were in. B had to leave work around 3:30 and go home and get in bed. I made it till 5:00, but that was only because we had an auditor in. It took all of my energy not to double over while I was talking to him! Anyway, I was shaking by the time I walked in the door, and immediately crawled under the covers. Thank heavens for Judy and Julie. They kept Reeves out there Thursday night so that Bryant and I could sleep. I don't know that we would have made it without them. We never would have gotten over it in a day, that's for sure. I should say, Bryant and I never would have, unfortunately, it is still lingering in Reeves. But luckily, he is getting better and better everyday. We have his 15 month appointment today. I'll be interested to see what his weight will be as his diet has consisted mostly of yogurt, baby rice cereal, and Teddy Grahams for most of this last week!