My Big Boy

Mommy's heart is breaking! Even with RSV and an ear infection, Matthew is hitting milestones. He is asleep for the very first time in his "big boy" toddler bed! We started processing the idea of moving him out of the crib a couple of weeks ago. He has figured out just how to climb over that rail perfectly! Also, he keeps getting his feet stuck in the slats and then complains his foot hurts. I knew it was time - after all, Sami was in a toddler bed at 18 months. But I just wanted to hang on to that baby phase as long as I could. Never again will I have a crib up in my house and a baby in my arms. This is a big deal! I am perfectly content and blessed with my 2 children and I know (when I think about it logically and not emotionally) that we should leave our family as a family of 4. But my heart breaks to think this is it! My wonderful hubby is right though - he always tells me it wouldn't matter if we had 2 kids or 10, at some point I would feel the same way. So...when a friend a mine offered up her toddler bed for free we decided to go for it. Sick or not, heartbroken or not. The time had come for Matthew to be a "big boy"... but he will ALWAYS be my baby no matter what bed he sleeps in!

Sorry, no other way to say it - RSV Sucks!

The Reeder household is a sick household yet again! It started 2 weeks ago with Sami. She came down with the flu - chills, aches, fever, sinus congestion, cough - the whole thing. She stayed home from school for 3 days and then we had a 3 day weekend. By that weekend, Matthew started with a low-grade fever and runny nose. By this last Monday Sami was improving and Matthew was about the same. But, I had the day off and figured it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and take them both to the doctor. I really felt silly for making an appointment. Well we ended up leaving with 4 prescriptions! Sami had an ear infection and she had not complained about her ear at all! So she was given an antibiotic and cleared to go back to school the next day. Matthew was a different story! One of his ear tubes has come out and that ear is infected. Then they tested his nasal discharge and, sure enough, he has RSV. Also she officially diagnosed him with asthma. He was given an antibiotic for the ear, a nebulizer and 2 different medications for the nebulizer. By the next day, the RSV was in full force. Even with the 2 medications, he was still wheezing and having trouble moving air. So, the doctor increased his breathing treatments to every 2 hours and that has finally helped. Finally, 6 days later he is really improving. We are weaning down the breathing treatments and no fever for about 4 days now. So even though he is getting better, the rest of the family is a mess. Cory now has a horrible head cold and last night, around 11pm, Sami started puking!!! Are you kidding me?! Fortunately, it was a one time thing and she has been fine today. No more puking, plenty of eating! But what is left is one EXHAUSTED mommy! I am ready for a healthy house!

Snow & Fashion Show

Once again..playing catch up! We took the kids to Badger Pass for the first time this month. We rented a loft condo and took my parents, brother, his girlfriend and my nephew along. It was absolutely beautiful and the kids had a blast. We went sledding, played in the snow and even went ice skating one night. Sami was a champ and was skating with only a little help by the end of the night. Matthew was not happy that he had to just sit by the fire and watch - poor little guy! The next day we went skiing...well Sami went skiing anyway. I am not a skier in any way, shape or form so I took pictures and watched as she had her very own lesson. She did awesome, only falling a couple of times. She went down the bunny hill for the next hour and loved every minute of it. Once again, Matthew was not a happy camper and said over and over, "I ski Mommy? Pweease??". He was finally content throwing snow balls as Sami went by on the bunny hill! Cory tried snow boarding for the first time and hated it! By the time Sami was done with the bunny hill, Cory was ready to go too. So we let the rest of the gang ski and took a drive to through Yosemite before heading home. A long weekend, but very fun!

A couple of weeks ago Sami did a fashion show for Espi's at a luncheon. She absolutely fell in love with the idea but when the moment came to do the walk...the anxiety was a bit much. She got through it with Mommy holding her hand and says she can't wait to do it again...we'll see! So here are some pics of our latest adventures - enjoy!

Rockin' New Years

So much fun! We had a house full this year to ring in the New Year! There were 9 kids running around and 11 adults crammed into our house and we had a fabulous time! The kids got along abnormally well - no whining, crying, fighting! The adults got along pretty well too - no whining, crying or fighting (unless you count the Wii and Guitar Hero battles!). We were all able to make it to midnight when we toasted (sparkling cider of course) and ran up and down the street banging our pots and pans together! The only kid who fell asleep early was my godson, Mason, but he is only 7 months old. The rest were partying their hearts out to the very end. Happy New Year everyone!

Is she really old enough to lose a tooth?!

Cory and I are crushed, absolutely crushed. Not only did Sami lose her very first tooth on December 28th, but we weren't there to see it! Here's the story...Sami's gift from Santa was new bedding to turn her room into a High School Musical room. This meant her room needed to be painted (it really needed it anyway but this was great motivation to follow through) so we decided to spend our Sunday painting away. Since the ceiling needed painting also, by dinner time we still weren't done. So we decided to let Sami spend the night at Granny & Papa's house so we could finish it up after Matthew went to bed. There we were, working away, when the phone rings about 9:30pm. It was my mom and she was cracking up laughing. Evidently Sami was eating an apple while she waiting for her coffee to make (yes, I said coffee-thanks Granny!), when all of sudden she said there was blood on her apple. They looked down and sure enough there was her little tooth laying on the ground! Sami didn't know what to think and immediately wanted to know exactly how this tooth fairy thing works! They called to tell us the news and we just cried! We missed it, this big occasion in the life of our first born and we weren't there! On my way to work the next morning I stopped at Granny's to see the tooth and take a picture of "our toothless wonder" as she is now called. She was so excited and I assured her the tooth fairy would be making a visit that night! I was wanting to come up with a great tradition or something special for this...but got nothing! Thank goodness for www.toothfairyland.com - it is the cutest sight! They tell this wonderful story of how the tooth fairy came about and even send your child an email saying how proud they are and can't wait to come see their tooth! So when we got home that night, I showed Sami her letter from the tooth fairy and we read the story. Sami wrote a letter to the tooth fairy and set it, along with her tooth, on her night stand that night. About 11pm she wakes up crying, scared of having the tooth fairy come into her room. So we moved the tooth to the kitchen and I assured her I would contact the tooth fairy to let her know where to go. The next morning when Sami got up, she comes running out to see if she came. There on the counter was a pack of sugar-free gum (good oral hygiene is important you know!), a dollar bill, 4 quarters and a note from the fairy. Even better, there was fairy dust all over the counter. Sami looks up at me very serious and says, "Mommy, fairy dust is white not red!" (at 10pm at night all I could find was red glitter, work with me here!). So, thinking quick, I say back "well, fairy dust is red when she has her Christmas wings on!". Thankfully, that explanation was enough for her and she let it go! She was excited all day to have her own gum and note from the fairy. What a big girl...I can't believe we are here already. I love that little Sami - sassy, a little bossy, full of curiosity and imagination - I love it all!

Christmas Fun