Walking Video

Here are 2 short clips of Reed walking, they were taken a few days ago but I just got a chance to share them. I forgot I can not rotate video after I shoot it so I apologize for the sideways video. It is also hard to get video when I have to be prepared to catch him as he walks toward me.

Reed is Walking

I have no photos or video yet but I will. Since he waited a little longer than most to walk, his first steps were very good. He just took right off. He will start walking, then stop and then start up again. He is not taking off on his own or crossing the room yet but in a few weeks, he will be all over the place.

Reading Update

Millie FINALLY got through all of her first round of words without missing any. She was very excited to get her reward and can not wait to go to the pool today and play with them.

Keep Your Eye On The Prize

The prize...Spider Man dive sticks for the pool. We were at the pool the other day and someone had left some dive sticks. Millie had a ball playing with them and she asked if she could have some. When I was out over the weekend, I found Spider Man dive sticks. When she got back from Indiana, I showed them to her but told her should could not get them out and play with them until she went through all her words without one mistake. I really thought she would have earned them by now. She knows all the words but always misses just one. She gets so excited and goes too fast and will miss one. I really want to cave in and just give them to her but I am sticking to my challenge. She understands and she is always willing to try again right away...yep...because she knows she will get them all if we do it immediately. I make her wait several hours at least and she gets 2 chances a day. If she does not earn them tonight, I may give her 3 chances a day since we are going to the pool on Sunday.

Reed is 11 Months

This post is 6 days late but the picture was taken on his 11 month birthday. He has 6 teeth now and we have stopped pureeing his food. He loves bananas, blueberries, and well...just about everything. He is using sign language for 'more' but I have to say, we really have not been teaching him much, poor 2nd child. He loves to clap and play with balls, trains, and monster trucks. He attacks his blanket whenever he sees it but we usually keep it in his crib. I don't want him to get so attached that he carries it around all the time. I am trying to get him out of his morning nap but he really still wants one. He goes to bed like a champ and sleeps all night still, about 11 hours. He is cruising along but still being kind of a bum about walking. I have to run to keep up with his crawling so I guess he figures he does not need to walk. He adores Millie. He cracks up at hide-and-seek. He loves splashing in the bath tub and the water table out on the deck. When we ask where his ball is, he will look around and then go bring it to us. He loves drinking with a straw and it is the only way he will drink milk. He says Mamamama and Dadadada and says them when he sees us or wants our attention so he knows what they mean.

Nelson Reed O.

This is a conversation Millie and I had the other day...

Millie - "Mom, what letter does 'neilsons' start with?

Me - "What, I don't know what you are saying?"

Millie - "Nielsons"

Me - "I still don't know what you are saying, say it again."

Millie - "You know! Like Nelson Reed!"

This almost took my breath away. My mom's dad was Nelson Reed and he is who we named Reed after. That and my other grandpa, Albert John. I am not aware that I have ever mentioned the name Nelson Reed to Millie. I may have once but I know it has not been recently. Millie did not know either of my grandfathers. Nelson Reed (Grandpa O.)died when I was in England/Germany for a semester in college and Albert John (Papo) died a few weeks after Rick and I were married. I have talked about my grandpa's a lot, but I don't think I have ever called them by their first names when talking to her.

After I told her Nelson started with an "N" and who he was, she did not seem surprised or that this was new information to her. I would love to know that Grandpa O. may be visiting her and talking to her. Maybe since I did not get to say good bye to Grandpa O. or go to his funeral, this is his way of checking in on me. I guess if he does not visit me, I am still happy that he may be visiting Millie, and maybe even checking in on Reed from time to time.

Summer Reading

My main focus with Millie this summer is reading - well, when we are not outside playing baseball and basketball. My mom got her a box of 'Sight Words' and we are flying through them. We started with all of the 1, 2, and 3 letter words. When she knew all of them, we started to add 2 new words every night. She now only has a few cards left and she will know the entire stack of 110 words

In addition to the flash cards, we also do a beginner reader book every night. This is a little more difficult for me because she memorizes a book after about the third time we read it together. So, I had to stop buying the books and now we go to the library every week and get new books. That way she has to actually read the words in the book and not just recite it from memory. When we do these books, she usually reads about 50% of it and I help her with the words she has not learned yet.

This whole process has made me realize that I think learning to read is one of the most difficult things a person masters in life. Only about 1% (Yes, I made up this statistic) are read the way they sound. I am very proud of Millie and how well she is doing. Every night when we finish her flash cards or read a book, she gets to add a sticker to her reading chart. There are about 90 squares and when it is all full, she gets a swing set. Rick better start designing it because she will earn it in about 6 or 7 more weeks.

My goal is for her to know all of her Dolch words by the end of the summer. According to all the reading websites out there, when a child knows the Dolch words, they are considered a reader. All sites I have looked at are different but there are between 220-400 Dolch words. I can not find an official Dolch list but we are shooting for the 400 word list.

The Little Gym's Big Show

Millie had her Big Show today at the Little Gym. At the end of each semester, they invite the parent's in and we can watch them do all the skills they have learned during the class. I always love this because although most kids clam up and are shy when it's time for the Big Show, Millie turns it up a notch and really shines.

They all marched in with a grand entrance.


Then they were called up to say their name and demonstrate any skill they wanted to on the big red mat. Millie made sure EVERYONE heard her name and she choose to do a donkey kick as her skill.






Their first routine was on the balance beam.









She did a great job and leaped off at the end shouting "Ta Da" while she was in the air instead of after she landed.

Her form does not look great but she did land on her feet.

Next were the uneven bars.

She was the only child that did a front flip on the high beam. She has never done one of these during class but with the audience watching, she turned it up a notch and gave it all she had.



The final routine was on the big red mat and they performed several floor exercises including forward rolls, jumping off the spring board, backward rolls, gallops, monkey jumps and donkey kicks.

They all received their medals at the end.


Of course...having Rick there to watch got her really excited and actually allowed me to take photos while he kept Reed out of the way. It was pretty special that he took a little work break so he could come and we all had lunch together afterward.


Reed REALLY enjoyed playing in the gym. Millie was already going to The Little Gym when she was his age but I just have not signed him up yet. I am not thrilled about having to go 2 different times a week. But, if he were to get Little Gym gift certificates for his birthday, I would sign him up...hint, hint.