Reunan's 2 - a few stories and stats

Reunan turned 2 on Friday. I realize it's been forever and I just need to come here and share some of the fun things he's doing even if there aren't accompanying pictures. For now, here are some of the fun, funny and not so funny things Reunan's up to these days.

1. For about 2 weeks he would point emphatically at a family member and holler, "You're amaaaaazing!" He didn't like me sharing this and suddenly transition to a slight scowl and, "You're NOT amazing!"
2. Reunan loves music and we think he loves to dance even more. There's the constant request of, "Daddy, we will we will rock you?" Saul used to do the same thing. But Saul didn't have a big brother making sure we all knew how tired he was of the song. Still, once it's turned on - either in the truck or in the house, Saul seems to find it okay to groove with his little brother and briefly forget how tired he is of the song.
3. We've watched alot of tv and movies lately. I mean, for us, a lot. That's what happen when the chicken pox descend on your house. Between MLK weekend when Aaron got the flu and President's day weekend we had the following in our house, in this order:
• Aaron with the flu for about a week;
• Reunan got the Noro virus one weekend, keeping me at home with him on a M and T;
• Wednesday was normal....until we found chicken pox on Saul Wednesday night
• Yes, Saul had the chicken pox! Thursday I stayed home with him and Friday was a Grammie Barbara day, though he was so uncomfortable we took him to the doctor. By Saturday he felt much better but was covered! Aaron stayed home Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday it was me. Thursday back to school. And, Friday a home day for Aaron with both boys.
• A fairly normal weekend, though we were all really tired.
• Monday - mostly normal! Reunan hadn't been sleeping well and we found his 2-year old molars pushing through and blood on his toothbrush as a result.
• THEN, Tuesday morning, just as I was sure Reunan was immune to chicken pox, we found them. Light spots on his body and one obvious blister. Admittedly, I cried. Briefly. And then I went back to figuring out how we were going to make it work. Aaron kindly stayed home Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday we split the days - me up super early and working until noon and then Aaron off to the office while I stayed home for the afternoon. Friday, another grandparents day. And then, Monday was a holiday for Aaron. He was home with the boys while I flew off to Chicago super early in the morning. At least Reunan was able to return to school on Tuesday!
4. One result of movies is new songs and dancing (see! it all connects!). Madagascar and King Julian's song: "We like to move it, move it!" and the Puss and Boots cat fight scene between Puss in Boots and Kitty Softpaws. These are favorites in our house! I'm not a fan of Saul taking on King Julian's voice, however, and we'll be taking a little break from the Madagascar movies!
5. Reunan loves to do and say what he hears from his big brother. My favorite out of both of them right now is when Saul says, "Mommy, you're the BEST mommy EVER!" My reply is, "And you're the best Sauly ever!" Then Reunan says, "Best Mommy ever!" in his little Reunan voice. He's continued to gain the words and now says nearly the whole phrase.
6. Reunan loves the alphabet. He's been saying it for awhile, though originally it was clearly a big phrase with sounds that he didn't distinguish. Lately, he's been separating them all and continues to sing the full alphabet
7. Reunan also loves to count. He count to ten much better in Spanish. He doesn't miss a number! In English, it's usually - 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, twelve, thirteen-thirteen-thirteen-thirteen, twenty!" Love it!

Alright - now the 2-year old stats. Saul's are below for comparison. Their shapes are so very different I'm surprised by how similar they are in both height and weight. However, I suppose at that size a little makes a big difference!

Reunan

• Weight, 27 1/4 pounds or so (50th percentile)
• Height: 35" (75ish percentile)

Saul at the same age

• Weight: 28 lbs.
• Height: 34.5 inches

Reunan's 15 month stats

Yes, Reunan is now 18 months and I am recording his 15 month stats. I had to double-check these a few times as I hadn't written down the date and I keep feeling like they're wrong, but they're not.

Weight: 24 lb 8 oz (50th percentile)
Height: 32 1/2 inc (88th percentile)
Heid circumference: 49 cm (93rd percentile)

In comparison, at 15 months, Saul weighed 26 lbs., 12 oz and was 30.5 inches long.

Day in Tillamook - July 14

Despite the need to catch up, I'm going to start with today. And what a day! Aaron was at a race in Kent, WA, so the boys and I went to Tillamook to visit family. Turns out Michelle, Jeff and the girls made the trip, too. So, 6 cousins, three sisters and one father/husband/brother-in-law/uncle on the beach. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera for that portion of the day. I did, however, capture a bit of the fun we had at Grandam's house. I'm so glad she got to watch 6 great-grandchildren playing around her place! And, how nice for the kids that they got to play without having to watch for cars, stay on the side walk, not go too far, and otherwise get rules barked at them. The difference between city life and country life (at least in the summer!) is pretty amazing!

Grandma, Michelle, Jule and Sabine

Saul getting ready for his next run down the grassy hill.

Building up speed (plus a little camouflage)!

A salamander found by Uncle Jeff, held by Trevor and admired by Claire and Saul.

Reunan running down the grass hill desparate to catch up with his big brother.

Reunan's stats at 1

Reunan turned one on March 8! Already! Well, a few weeks ago, already.

Here are the stats:

Weight: 23 lbs. (50th percentile)

Height: 31 inches long (80th percentile)
Head: 95th percentile

In comparison, at 15 months, Saul weighed 26 lbs., 12 oz and was 30.5 inches long - 1/2 inch shorter than Reunan is now!

And, here are just a few introductory pictures - hopefully I'll get more online in the next week.

Top: Reunan celebrating his birthday with Pappa Tom

Below: Our little swimmer!

Palm Desert trip

We had such a great vacation with Barbara and Tom in Palm Desert and really appreciate the chance to join them at Barbara's time share. After a little break from the Portland rain and a fun visit, we drove home through Bishop, CA. This included one night camping and then some mineral collecting near the Bishop area. Amazing little boys were okay with a 12 hour drive home!



Silly Sauly.



First trip together in the desert.



Reunan with Grammy and Pappa.

 

Double trouble (I mean, double-stroller!)



Reunan and Barbara playing golf.



And finishing up dinner at Barbara's time-share. So appreciative of the chance to join her in the desert.



Swinging in the wind



Preparing to go mineral collecting for the first time.




And Reunan napping in the stroller.



Newest generation of collector.



Hungry boy.

Saul's vacation note to Claire

Hi, Claire.

One day on my vacation we went to the Living Desert Museum and saw lots and lots of train tracks. And trains. I goed zooming around...and I looked and there were even more and more and more. There were two longest trains and one time they were zooming really fast and then choo, choo, choo, choo....then they stopped.

Saul and Aaron admiring the trains.Then I went hiking on a tall, tall mountain. And, I had a rock and you know what I did with it? I dug and dug... Grammy Barbara and Pappa Tom and Mommy and Reunan came on that hike, too.

Saul getting a break from all that hiking!

Claire, I saw jack rabbits! Can you find the little one in this picture?
Then I saw lots of flowers and flowers and flowers.

Claire, I, was riding, riding all around the tennis court and on the pedestrian road. But then I was playing golf with Grammy Barbara. I just wanted to tell you that about this picture.


Then, you know what, Claire?! Then we went camping. And my daddy read me a book before we went night night. Mommy and Daddy heard coyotes while I was sleeping. But I was sleeping and so I didn't hear them.In the morning it was sooo cold and so it was a pajama day. And then we drove for a long time.

And then I had lots of energy to get out so we went to a park.

Yes, Reunan is on this trip with us! (Mommy, that's all I want to say to Claire. Can I watch Busytown now?) Bye, Claire. Talk to you later, Claire. (Mommy, I want to go home now and play with Claire. What day is it today? When are we going to see Claire?)

More August pics...before November's over

Here are some more pictures from August, meaning on either side of the reunion trip to Tillamook. Next will be September, really!

One of Reunan's first food adventures - at just over 5 months.

So, so sleepy and teething. But, he really wanted to watch his brother building.

Saul's having fun!

Classic Reunan - shaking a toy, body tense in effort. Notice the toes on on foot pointed and the other not.
Now, start noticing his feet throughout pictures - one foot tensed and the other not.

I remember those warm days. I also remember when Reunan was content just laying on this blanket. What a difference two months makes between 6 and 8 months!

Sweaty Saul playing with his brother.

When Reunan would help Aaron water near dusk and then fall asleep in the pack.
Can't remember the last time he fell asleep in there.

A happy husband. Jim & Patty's black tiger mocha and homemade waffles with garden fresh blueberry in the grid pattern.

Playing.

Laundry baskets are fun!

Hey, what's Saul doing over there?!

Swinging, big boy style!

And, the creative train track play begins. Two nights in the kitchen and we moved the creativity to the dining room. A few days of that and we moved it to the living room. And then we re-arranged the living room. Next, we will be rearranging his room. The boy loves to pretend and we love to encourage it - just not right where we're walking!

20 year high school reunion

Seriously?! 20 years since highschool?! Has it really been that long. Apparently, the answer is 'yes'. Back in March, when Reunan was just a few weeks old, Jill and I were talking about our reunion and the realities of trying to attend with such little babies. We decided to get a house for all of us to share. It was going to be so much fun!

It took some effort to find a place, but we did and we were excited as it was down on the beach in Netarts. After seeing how well Kate and Saul played together in June, I was even more excited. And then....the sand hill behind our rental house collapsed and we couldn't stay there. We found another place for Jill to stay and Aaron and the kids and I stayed at Grandma's. It all worked out just fine, though we did not get nearly as much fun time with Jill, Doug and the kids as I would have liked. Another time, I guess.

For the reunion evening itself, we had grandparents watch the boys. Originally, we would have had Jill's parents and Tom and Barbara and my parents all with the kids. Doesn't that sound fun?! Instead, Jon and Ginny were at Jill and Doug's rental with the kids. And, Barbara and Tom were with my Grandma Simmons taking care of our boys. How lucky are we?! It was such great fun.

Below are just a few pictures from the fun weekend. I didn't get nearly as many as I'd thought. Still, this reflects the fun of mid-August, Tillamook County Fair, reunion weekend! What's missing, though, is a picture of Jill and me together. Another thing for another time.

Kate and Saul swimming in a warm little pool of water on the beach near Netarts.
They had so much fun together!

Another angle. In the distance you can see the row of homes including the original rental we would have been staying in....and the construction vehicles working to move sand.
Grandpas and boys.

Grandmas and boys.

Reunan sitting on the table. Grandma Simmons in the background
enjoying the boys running all around.

Saul loved the ferris wheel! He had no fear and smiled so big!

On the beach in Oceanside with my dad.

Reunan watching all the action. I think Saul was playing baseball on the beach at this point.

My Grandma Simmons with two of her great grandsons.