Reido Turns Five!

Today we celebrated the five year anniversary of my motherhood. But, let's not talk about that. First, let's talk about Reido's last month of life. 

One afternoon I got a facebook message from Ben, "Call me ASAP!" (ha, he knows how to get a hold of me during naptime). When I went and grabbed my phone I saw that I had missed two calls from the school and one from Ben. I decided to call him first, and he informed me that Reid was with the school nurse, sobbing hysterically.  Apparently, "something was in his eye." Those are air quotes. Cause Reid is the little boy who hysterically cried "something is in my eye." We both knew there was nothing wrong, but we also knew the nurse would never succeed in convincing him otherwise. 

So I drove to the school and ignored their advice to take him to Urgent Care. I brought him home, gave him his snack, got him to stop crying and convinced him the "pine needle" that fell in his eye had magically slid out. Sometimes mom (and puppy) is the best Doctor around. 

He was so excited when our first leaves fell down. He couldn't wait to get out and rake them! He's such a hard worker.

Just enjoying a friend's backyard.

I just love this photo!

Last weekend Reid and Ben went on a father-son date. A nearby Children's museum had a Star Wars themed night. I think they had fun, but most importantly I'm glad they had a couple hours to bond without any girls around. Well, any girls from our family anyway.

His birthday weekend has been a special one. On Thursday he took his first big fieldtrip to a farm about 40 miles Northeast of us (last month they took a little fieldtrip to our neighborhood fire department). He was really anxious about riding the bus on the freeway, but I explained to him that I couldn't come with Nell and Coraline (which wasn't wholly true) and it would cost too much to get a babysitter for them. So we spent a couple days encouraging him and reminding him how exciting it would be to go with his class to the farm. He'd even get to pack a school lunch! 

The moment I walked him into the school I knew he'd be just fine. He saw his friends and forgot all about me. He was so proud and excited about his long day away from home when we picked him back up. He'd ridden a horse (something I know he would not have done had I been there by his side). He picked his own pumpkin, fed some kittens, milked a cow, and wet his pants! He didn't want to talk much about that last one, but I was sure grateful his teacher had the foresight to take all the kids' extra clothes with her on the trip. She said they don't make a big deal out of that kind of thing, so I tried not to as well. Had there been real toilets I'm sure he'd been fine, but port-a-potties aren't his favorite thing (are they anyone's?) and without daddy there to help him brave the stinky pit he opted out (and I'd warned him the day before that he absolutely could NOT just pull down his pants). Unfortunately he couldn't hold it in as long as he'd hoped. During a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch (last event of the day), he relieved himself while sitting politely on a straw bale. One of the mom's noticed his behind was soaked when he got up. Other than that little mishap, I'm proud of how independent he was. The autonomy preschool has given him is so beneficial to his development. 

Friday was a teacher work day so I took the kids up to the Children's Museum and let them run wild. They had a lot of fun and I made sure we had no time constraints. It was a full day of play on their terms. 

Grandma and Grandpa arrived that evening and let Reid choose what restaurant he wanted to eat dinner at. Ben and I were both shocked he did not choose the Chinese Buffet (he always asks to go there). But I'm sure they would not have given him the free sundae Red Robin offered.

I talked him into an army truck cake, like my mom often made for my brothers' birthdays. It ended up a pretty bright green, but he was excited to decorate the whole thing. He added all the Rolos and army guys himself. He also helped me bake it all (the day before). 

Leading up to his birthday he kept talking about which friends he was going to have over. He really wanted a Star Wars themed party. I kept reminding him that he didn't get a friend party every year. This year was just a family party, but he didn't seem to grasp that concept. I was kind of nervous he'd be disappointed in the end, but he did inform me that today was the best day of his life. 

It was really simple. After breakfast we headed up to High Cliff to show Grandma and Grandpa the beautiful fall colors. Also, that night was their trick or treating event, so I knew a bunch of campers had decked out Halloween decorations. It was intense. I think they had more decorations than even the most decked out houses. The kids (and adults) loved driving through the campsite and seeing all the spooky adornments. After lunch we came home and had cake and ice cream and opened presents.  He was in heaven when he opened his dinosaur trapper toy from Grandma and Grandpa. He has been wanting it (and saving his money for it) for months. He also received his first set(s) of real Legos. He was pretty excited to spend the entire afternoon enjoying his new toys. That's when he told me this was the best day of his life.