Reid's First Trip to Walt Disney World!

Reid's first journey to the magical land of Mickey Mouse (or "Mickey Mou" as he refers to him) did not disappoint.  Andy and I were both able to take a Friday off work, the weather was beautiful, and Reid was in awe throughout our little family adventure. We took the ferry to the park and the monorail home at the end of the day, which were nice ways to begin and end our day. Also, for the first time, Reid didn't display utter fear of a costumed character, and he approached Winnie the Pooh with relative ease (after telling us multiple times that Winnie the Pooh left to get more honey after he disappeared for a few minutes - "Pooh Honey, Pooh Honey"). We all rode on It's a Small World, Winnie the Pooh ride, Little Mermaid ride, and the steam train around the outside of the park. Andy and Reid also road on the teacups and the Dumbo ride. In addition to the rides, we all enjoyed the singing bear show, Mickey's Philharmagic (although Reid did get slightly overwhelmed), and the singing dinosaur (?) at the diner in Tomorrowland. Reid also enjoyed seeing the cars zoom by when he briefly watched other, bigger kids race cars, and we all enjoyed the Fantasyland parade. Reid even waved at Mickey and Minnie with delight.  The highlight of the day for Reid, I think, was meeting Pooh (and Eeyore- he barely missed meeting Tigger, who was bouncing around much to Reid's delight).  The intermittent, infrequent fireworks terrified Reid, but other than those instances, he was not phased by the crowds and noise everywhere.  He was also very excited to receive a special stuffed Tigger as a souvenir, and he has barely let Tigger out of his sight since. In fact, you can often find him bouncing Tigger around the house or up and down as he sits in his carseat, without prompting and without the knowledge anybody is watching him. He can also be found singing the Winnie the Pooh song ("Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh") throughout the day, and his love for Moana continues to grow ("Mo-Ana").  I think we have a lifelong Disney fan on our hands (Disney knows what it is doing). All in all, I call our second Disney experience (we took him to Animal Kingdom last year) a great success!

Reid's Mickey Mouse Birthday Party!

Reid had a fantastic birthday party! This year, we decided on a low-key birthday dinner (and dessert) with family. Grandma, Scotty, Gage, and the Rios family were sorely missed, but the Clarks, Grandpa, Dom, Aaron, Nee Nee, and Apa were able to celebrate our little boy with us. As an added bonus, Nee Nee and Apa picked Reid up from school and spent the day with him (yay for the Science Center). I was able to leave work early and was waiting at the house when they arrived home from the Science Center.  Luckily for me, I have an awesome niece (and nephew and sister) who decorated the house in a Mickey Mouse theme. They really spent time planning and buying and decorating, and it was so sweet to know the love that went into everything. Reid loved it...and so did I! Between streamers, balloons, whistles, Mickey Mouse hats, confetti, and even a fruit "cake" with a chocolate fountain...everything was perfect. Andy picked up Athena's on the way home for dinner for everybody, and we were all able to sit down and enjoy a meal together. Then, Jenn stuck a candle in the midst of the fruit "cake" and we all sang to Reid, while he sat at the table like a big boy with a big smile on his face. As soon as he finished blowing out the candle, he pulled the whole platter of fruit towards him.  Later, when I  gave him some chocolate to dip the fruit in, his smile grew even wider. I am so grateful for the love surrounding my sweet boy!

We have a 2 year old!

I woke up this morning with a sense of excitement and awe. Reid, our 7 lb 11 oz baby boy (two years ago), has a firm grasp on toddlerhood and is showing no sign of slowing down! Instead, his growth over the past year has been exponential, and I have reveled in every milestone he has met and, then, surpassed. Hard moments have been scattered amongst happy memories, but I miss my little man fiercely and deeply when I am apart from him, and my heart is so full when he is near. I believe Andy feels the same. Being Reid's "Mommy" (he started referencing Andy and me as "Mommy and Daddy" over the past few weeks) is heart wrenching and filling all the same, and I would never want to live my life without my little sidekick. Happy Birthday, Reid Andrew Layden!

Memorable Moments

The Layden household has seen its share of memorable moments, starring Reid, over the past few months. I feel so guilty that I haven't the blog in a while - I guess I  have been too busy living out the moments that I have neglected documenting them. Also, I am 14 weeks pregnant and have been really exhausted and have not been feeling that well throughout the majority of this pregnancy so far. I'm also a perfectionist and feel like I have to upload pictures with each post, but it is a multi-step process to upload pictures while at work (where I make most of my blog posts from.. shh)- so I am reluctant to upload the blog until I have a lot of time to do so. Time is something I haven't had much of lately. Anyway, on to the important stuff.

My little baby is growing up so fast! His vocabulary is expanding rapidly, he is running every where, he is showing his goofy and moody sides, and he is still as sweet and loveable as ever. I will update more in honor of his second birthday, but here are some recent memories that I want to document for years to come....

1. Winnie the Pooh
Reid has become more into role-playing recently. He loves putting his stuffed animals to "night-night" (Speaking of, Pay Pay the penguin, Eee Eee the monkey, and Mickey Mou are current favorites), and he loves bathing his toy cars or whatever we will let him take in the bath with him. He also mimics me when I sing or make funny noises or movements. The other day, my mom was watching him and she told me they had a fun morning of role-playing- Reid was pretending to be Winnie the Pooh and was eating bowls of honey like Winnie the Pooh. Of course, he loved it! (Sugar!) He has since asked for "bowl of honey" for breakfast, and he told me he played "Pooh, Honey" with grandma. I think he is tricking Grandma in to giving him honey, but it is pretty darn cute!

2. The Scooter
The Clarks gifted Reid a blue and orange scooter for his birthday, and he is in love! He asks to go on the scooter (or "bice" which means "bike") every day. Most days, we let him scoot around on the back patio. He always insists on wearing his helmet (good boy), and he usually just walks the scooter around. Yesterday, he put both feet on the scooter for a minute, which was pretty exciting. He even mimicked the action of scooting with one foot on and one foot off. Once he figures out how to actually scoot, it will be hard to catch him! I can't wait for him to see the bike that his Grandma and Grandpa got him for his birthday.

Well, it is quitting time for me! More stories to come later.

XO.