Mo Willems at BookPeople

Jeremiah is a big fan of all Mo Willems books.  He loves Leonardo the Terrible Monster, any and all of the Pigeon books and has just discovered the Knuffle Bunny and Elephant & Piggie books.  That being said last weekend BookPeople, our local book store, had a reading and book signing with Mo himself.  He has a new book The Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed and Jeremiah thinks it is fantastic.  He was a riot during the reading laughing at all of the jokes and just being very sweet.  We stood in line to get our book signed and Jeremiah told him that he enjoyed his books (I might have encouraged that).  Anyway, here are some pics of Jeremiah's favorite Author to date.

Jeremiah's Personality

We have had several funny conversations with Jeremiah the past couple of days and I have to share them.  

I took Jeremiah to the child care at the gym and when I picked him up he was playing with this sweet "older" girl.  When I got home I told Ben about it and he began to ask Jeremiah questions about this little girl.  The conversation went something like this...

Ben: Jeremiah did you make a new friend at the gym?

J: Yes

Ben: What is her name?

J: Um, I don't know.

Ben: What did she look like?

J: Um, I don't know.

Ben: Was she taller or smaller than you?

J: Taller.

Ben: Was she older or younger than you?

J: Older.

Ben: Was she pretty?

J: Um, I don't, Um, I don't, well.

Ben: Was she pretty like mommy?

J: UMMMMM.  She was like mommy.

Ben: How was she like mommy?

J: Um, well, I don't, uhh, happy, I don't know.

I figure this is just the beginning of us grilling him for information about a girl and him giving us as little as possible.  

The second conversation was during lunch the same day. Ben has cut J's PB&J in the shape of dinosaurs. Jeremiah often likes to bite the top off and say "I bit his head off." Nice and morbid, but today he ate most of the sandwich and then asked for candy. We told him he needed to finish his sandwich, and Ben commented that the dinosaur's butt was still there. Thus Jeremiah quickly popped it in his mouth and exclaimed "I ate his butt, I ate his butt." We're so proud.

This morning we were watching cartoons.  Jeremiah loves "Super Why" and when it came on he shouted "Mommy Super Why is on...I need to give you a kiss!"

Jeremiah Turns Three!

January 7th was Jeremiah's third birthday. We were still in Tennessee, so he didn't get to have a party with friends. However, there was some cake involved, and that seemed to be his primary concern. We made a cake (which he helped decorate) and had some family over for dinner and opened some fun presents, including a very loud keyboard. Yea. 

16 Hours in Purgatory

For Christmas, we made the brilliant decision to drive to Tennessee to visit Shawna's parents outside of Nashville. We had the two parents, the two kids, the one dog, Ben's Aunt (who we dropped off in Arkansas), and Ben's friend, Amber, who was headed that way and hitched a ride. This is exactly what we imagined when we bought a car with a third row. The kids actually did okay there and back, no more fussing than one would expect. Jeremiah is now jonesin' for movies though, having developed a habit with the little DVD player in the car. The visit was great all around, though weather prevented us from some outdoor fun. We went to Opryland and downtown Nashville where Ben and Shawna had a date listening to late-night Karaoke. Shawna decided after this incident, that she would rather not be laid down in a "Bed of Roses" because "Every Rose Has Its Thorn." The boys had a personal visit from Santa (grandpa), rode the tractor, and pet some baby goats. Imho the dog managed to not only escape Shawna's parents' yard, but also break into their neighbors yard which featured two large huskies. He left untouched, the dogs obviously respecting his authority. On New Year's Day, we visited a longtime family friend of Shawna's. She had babysat their sons, now in their early 20's. They were surprised to find out she wasn't "way older" than them. On the drive home, we went by Scotland, AR which is where Ben's Aunt and Uncle live. Shawna had never met Uncle Tommy, and had never witnessed this little town which played a prominent role in her husband's childhood. We made it home early Sunday morning and spent Monday in a stupor. 

Quatro-Pedal?

For a couple of months, Davis has been doing one or two crawl steps. However, he has now officially become mobile. He generally makes it a couple of feet before diving at his desired toy, but were sure this is only the beginning of plenty o' drama. He seems to be using his powers to chase the dog more than anything.

San Antonio with the Murrie's

We headed down to San Antonio to meet up with Ben's immediate family. His brother's family came in, plus his parents, sister, grandmother, and aunt. Lots of kids, lots of presents, lots of craziness. The kids had a ball, swimming in the giant pool at the Hyatt Resort. Ben and Shawna both braved the waterslide, while Jeremiah and Davis waded in the shallow end with Grandma. There was also a scorpion/spider hunt, Smores,  and working out sessions. Jeremiah became very fond of his cousins or "friends" as he calls them. 

First ER Visit

We had a scare this past weekend when Jeremiah twisted his elbow. With how much he runs into walls and smacks his head on things, we're surprised a simple twisted elbow was the first thing that landed him in the ER. However, with how much he was complaining about it (unlike him not to continue playing), we figured it was serious. The Urgent Care office, after not finding any answers, sent us to Dell Children's Hospital Emergency Room. Shawna and J spent over five hours doing X-Rays and trying to keep the little guy happy, but to no avail. We also missed the Reaves Christmas party during this time and were pretty bummed about losing out on one of our few chances to socialize with friends. Dell sent us home with a cast and referred us to an Ortho specialist for two days later. He took off the cast and popped it back into place (this was the fifth time this had been done, so we weren't optimistic). We were also a little panicked, knowing the big Christmas gifts coming down the pipe were a guitar and bike, two things that can't be used with one hand. However, perhaps the cast help it sit because this arm-popping took. Jeremiah, though having gotten used to not using his left arm, eventually came around and is now as good as new. The good news for us is that he is now afraid enough of the doctor that we can usually use that to threaten him when he exaggerates a pain.

Holiday Pizzazz

Wanted to share some holiday pictures since we went ahead and did everything on time this year.

Jeremiah's conversation with Daddy

This morning we were talking to Ben on a Webcam. We try to do it each day so that Jeremiah has some Daddy time.  This morning we were saying our goodbyes, the conversation went something like this...

Ben - Alright J I have to go, I love you

J - I love you

Ben - I will talk to you later

 J -  I will talk to you later

Ben - Have a good day

J - Have a good day

Ben - You're Handsome

J - Thank you!

Cleaning Baby...

This morning we were in the kitchen making Deviled Eggs (I forgot to make them for Thanksgiving yesterday).  When Jeremiah announced to me "mommy, I want to clean something" I must be doing something right.

Not Bad...

Tonight when I gave Jeremiah his dinner he very sweetly said "thank you mommy" took a bite and said "that's not so bad".  What is that saying about my cooking??? 

kidding me...

This afternoon after Jeremiah's nap we were putting his pants back on.  He wanted to do it himself and was having trouble getting the second leg into the second hole.  He muddled under his breath "you've got to be kidding me".  I think I say that way too often.

Halloween

 I can't believe another Halloween has passed.  Last year Jeremiah had the flu so this year was much better.  Shawna's parents were in town and we all had a great time going to carnivals, dressing up and trick or treating.  Jeremiah was a Doctor, Dr. Murrie AKA McCutie.  We stuck Davis in Jeremiah's old chicken costume; Jeremiah was nine months and Davis is only five (fat Baby).  Here are some more pics.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch on Friday with my parents.  The kids had a great time, we went on a hay ride, fed the goats, pet horses and picked our pumpkins.  For more pics click on pictures.

Pictures in the Kitchen

We let Jeremiah take some pics of us in the kitchen the other day and he did a better job than we do.

Family Yoga

This morning, before the Farmer's Market, Shawna and Jeremiah enjoyed some Family Yoga at Ruta Maya, a coffee shop on South Congress. Jeremiah calls it "exercises."

Town Lake

Yesterday, we took a walk around Town Lake and enjoyed everyone being in town and in a good mood. More pics here.

Austin Wildlife Expo

Last weekend, we went to the Austin Wildlife Expo and saw all sorts of fun creatures and outdoor activities. Best free entertainment ever!

My athlete

What can I say...Jeremiah is a man of all sports.