iPad

We got an iPad when they came out on April 3rd. Not a surprise, right? I mean, we are those kind of people! What was a surprise, is the way that Reilly ripped it out of our hands the first day and learned how to use it! She was maneuvering apps before I even knew how to turn it on...and she very quickly found out how to draw some awesome pictures. We really didn't expect much when she said to us in the car, "Do you want to see what I made?" When we turned around we saw this...a well drawn fish bowl:

Reilly can read??

This morning I am wearing my Halloween shirt (see pic below) (yes, I'll wear it tomorrow too - don't judge me!). As I am getting Reilly ready, she looks at my shirt and says, "Mommy, that says Boo!" I about jumped out of my skin. "How do you know that?" I say. And she points to it and says "B -- O -- O...that spells Boo." She said it so matter-of-fact, like Duh Mom!! I knew she knew the letter B, but I had no idea she was starting to put the concept of words together. I asked how she knew that and she said "Mrs. Bogart taught me!" Hurray to Mrs. Bogart!!

Pumpkin Patch

Every year Mike and I look forward to going to the pumpkin patch, even back before we had kids. I think that excitement gets to be more and more though as the kids get older and share in the excitement. Reilly has been asking to go since the "patch" got set up a couple weeks ago. We decided we would go when Grandpa Sweeney was here. Since we have been going to this patch since Reilly was born, we are able to get some great pictures.

Reilly's First Soccer Game

Reilly had her first soccer game this weekend. If you haven't watched a group of 3 and 4 year olds play soccer before, you are missing out! Not only do they not understand the rules of the game, but they run the wrong way, walk off the field in the middle of a play, and stop to talk to the other players. But we were so proud to watch them! Reilly did a great job. She didn't want to play a lot, but in the few minutes she did play, she did a great job.

Daddy is coaching her team, and cheering her on this weekend were Grandpa Sweeney, Grandma Trudy, Brooke and me!

Mommy's Helper

Reilly is at such a fun age right now. She loves doing adult things and helping whenever she can. Usually it is with sweeping or helping with dinner. The other day I pulled out the vacuum (a rare occasion in our house - haha), and Reilly asked if she could help. When I said yes, she ran to get her vacuum and started doing what I was doing. It was adorable! I'm so glad Mike grabbed the camera!

Reilly's Kids

Reilly has entered a very girlie stage. She loves to wear dresses and after a year or so of yellow being her favorite color, she has decided that she also likes pink, "I like pink a little too, mommy."

As part of this stage - she loves all her dolls, stuffed animals and Barbies. She calls them her kids. At any given moment she will have anywhere from 1-10 kids - depending on how many are laying around. She has one "kid" that she leaves in her cubby at school to sleep with - always has at least one "kid" in the car - and takes the rest with her wherever she goes.

When we are at home playing, she acts out events with the kids. She takes them to school, drops them off, naps with them, takes them to movies, etc. Sometimes, I am also one of the kids (I like this!). She'll pretend to drop me off at school, tells me she loves me and she'll see me this afternoon - then she'll put on my heels, grab my purse and be off to "work."

When she wakes up in the middle of the night and comes to our bed - she'll come with her kids in hand.

She is also in a very loving stage and keeps telling me and Mike how much she loves us. The other day when we picked her up from school she said, "you guys are the best mommy and daddy." Gotta love that!

Here is a picture of her last night in her bed. She has about 8 Barbie dolls and one stuffed animal "Big Dog" in bed with her.

Mason's Birthday Party

Sunday was Mason's birthday party - the kids had a great time. They did gymnastics...


Then arts and crafts...




And the Chicken Dance...


Not sure what they are looking at here - but a very cute picture of Mason, Reilly and Charlotte


Brookie was there too - and loved the conductor hat from the goody bag!


awww - hugs!

Mason's Birthday - Real Day

Mason turned 3 last week and the Golds invited us over to celebrate on his real birthday. Reilly and Mason had such a great time playing. They have moved from playing next to each other, to REALLY playing together and having a great time. They are best friends and these pictures really show it (thanks to Mason's Grandma for taking these pics!)

Beach Pictures

For Brooke's 9 month old photo shoot with Amanda, we went to the beach!

Despite being hot and Brooke wanting to eat all the sand - she took some amazing pictures! The Golds joined us as well for some cute kid pictures. Here is a sampling of the great shots.

Hunting Elephant

Reilly and Mike love to use their imaginations! Last night they were playing "hunt the elephant." They went all over the house with a gun and trap (i.e. a plastic golf club and Buzz's cage). Finally! They found the elephant - he was hiding behind the couch! He was caught without incident and returned to the wild!

Brookie's Back!

Brooke was feeling MUCH better today - after being sick for 5 days! So, off to her new classroom she went. Her and Reilly, of course, wore matching outfits and posed for some cute picture!

Here they are getting ready to go in:





Here is Brooke sitting at the big girl table with her friend, Baylor!


And here is Reilly playing with playdoh in her new room!

Moving Up!

It is the start of a new year at preschool. Reilly has moved up to the "4s" and Brooke is moving to "Jr. Toddler." Unfortunately, Brooke is sick and couldn't make the first day of the new room. But here is a picture of Reilly all excited this morning! She is holding her bedroll and her new purple polka dot lunch box - which she showed everyone as she walked down the hall.


And, as I like to do, here are pics from last year and the year before.

First day of the "2s"

First day of "Jr. Toddler"

Cousin Rachael

Cousin Rachael stayed with us for the night - Reilly LOVED having her here and they played non-stop. Here they are making necklaces.

Profile

Reilly curled up on the couch next to me the other night and I couldn't help but think about how beautiful she is - so I took some great profile pictures. She figured out what I was doing though, so I didn't get them as candid as I had hoped.

Two Mommies

With each step of motherhood, I am amazed even more than the step before. I have said this before, but there is SO much I was unprepared for. You don't realize during the 9 months of pregnancy, just how fast those infants will turn to toddlers and how quickly they will understand the world around them...and better yet, question and explore the world around them.

This amazement came to me, once again, this week. Reilly told Mike she wanted to replace him with a mommy. We were both hurt and insulted - she wanted to replace us. No, no, no...she explained. She didn't want to replace us, she just wants to have two mommies, like one of the children in her class does. She doesn't think it is fair that he gets two mommies - furthermore, she doesn't understand why she only has one mommy and daddy.

The conversation came up again after leaving school the other afternoon. I mentioned how lucky Reilly is that both Mike and I drop her off and pick her up every day. I said something about how most kids only have one parent at pick-up/drop-off, but because we work together we both come. She shifted that conversation and said, "yep, you both come...but Joshua has TWO mommies."

For now, it has passed as a quick conversation. But I suppose at some point I will have to explain more as to why he has two mommies. I feel like that conversation comes the same one about the birds and the bees - and I am just not ready for that. My how different her childhood is from mine. :-)

School Party - End of the Year

It is almost the end of camp and time for Reilly and her friends to move up into the older class. In preparation, her current class just had a fun party!

Funny Things Reilly Says

This morning Reilly told me I needed to go to the doctor. She laid me down on the couch and said I needed a shot. I pretended to cry when she got near me, and she gently stroked my face and said "Don't worry Mommy, I'm not the hurt doctor - I'm the nice doctor."

Reilly Sings

Reilly loves to sing - she will sing in the car, on the couch, playing around the house. Most of the time we'll try to join in and she'll stop us and say "No, just I'm singing."

Here is a quick video of her singing recently.

Dress Up

Reilly got bored playing dress up by herself, so she started dressing Brooke up - and she was a sport!

Reilly's Nose is All Better

It has been a week since Reilly got her stitches out and she is doing great. The scar is red, but will heal up very well. She doesn't like to wear a bandaid - which she has to do when she is in the sun....so mostly always. But other than that - she is back to doing everything as normal. Here is a quick video: