18 month pictures

I attempted to take Trent's 18 month pictures on Sunday. It was a very impromptu photo shoot. Mike wasn't feeling well last weekend, and taking Trent out of the house was the only way to guarantee silence. So, I found a cute outfit, brushed his hair, grabbed his boots and my camera, and headed to the park.

He did okay. It was tough, since I didn't have someone to attract his attention {and since I'm not a real photographer.} But I liked the no-pressure session. I took almost 300 pictures {let's just say I didn't miss a moment} but only got a few that I really like.

Here are my favorites:


He was doing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider." It made him smile... at least for a few seconds.


I love the light in this one but really wish he'd been looking at me.






He was over the bench by this point.


This is his serious look.


He still loves the boots.


This was right before he face-planted coming down the stairs. Needless to say, that was the end of the session.

He also had his 18-month check-up last week. The doctor said he was doing great. For the first time in his life, he was in a higher percentile for height than he was for weight! He actually lost one ounce since his 15-month appointment. He was 27.4 pounds {69th percentile}and 33 inches long {72nd percentile.} If you're wondering how I got the detailed percentiles, you can track your child's growth through this site. It's pretty cool- and it's free:) Happy Friday!

Family Board

I am the least creative/crafty person ever. I write neat, but that is where my abilities end. So when I got this "crafty" idea the other day, I assumed it would end in disaster. Much to my surprise, it turned out okay, and we're having lots of fun with it.

This is Trent's Family Board.



You see, Trent loves this book. When I saw that he'd learned all of the animals in the book, I decided to maximize his brain power and teach him to recognize our family members. I went to Target and bought a hard poster board then came home and cut out pictures of everyone. Mike thought I should label the pictures, just in case Trent starts reading- HA! I'm just hoping he will try to say everyones names at some point.

I'm sure it would look much better if I was crafty, but it serves it's purpose- and even makes us laugh. The first night I asked, "Trent, where is Paw Paw?" He pointed to his cousin Trevor and laughed.


Looking at his favorite book in his new chair. I was skeptical about the chair {because Trent never sits still,} but he loves it!!

When do you wear your boots?

When you play with your farm animals...


When you dance in front of the fireplace...


When you drive...


When you're only wearing a diaper...


When you mow your grass...


When you play ball...


When you torture play with your dog...

Trent wears his boots for all of these activities! My parents gave him these John Deere boots a long time ago, but they were too big. I pulled them out tonight, and little man is obsessed. He brought them to me twice after we took them off. I have a feeling I will be hiding these boots soon:)

Happy Birthday to you...

Happy 31st birthday Mike/Daddy!! In honor of your birthday, we are posting your favorite video...

Trent playing ball from April Reed on Vimeo.

"Daddy, thanks for letting me open your presents this morning!"

We love you so much!
April, Trent and Bailey

18 months

Trent is 18 months old today! He's pretty happy about his 1/2 birthday.

Is 18 months old enough to play t-ball? I really just got this set because I got a good deal on it, but Mike was excited to see it. He quickly let me know that he would be the one teaching Trent how to play ball, which is A-okay with me. {Let's just say my one season playing softball was far from successful.} Trent humored his daddy and played with him for a little while.

Warning... the rest of this post contains lots of rambling and details about my child that only my family will find amusing.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but the newborn stage is my least favorite baby stage. I know everybody says you don't get much sleep, but we really didn't get much sleep. All of you moms of two, three and four children can laugh now! Trent never fell asleep while eating- seriously, I can't remember one single time. It's like he read Babywise and insisted on following it 24 hours a day. I knew the only way we'd ever sleep again is to get him to sleep through the night. Thankfully, he was sleeping from 9-5:00 by 10 weeks, and thanks to my friend Sarah's great advice, he was sleeping or happy in his crib until 6:30 by 12 weeks. That is when I realized having a child could be FUN. I can honestly say that I've enjoyed every stage since the newborn stage. I joke that if our next child would come out as a 3-month-old, we would start trying for him/her tomorrow.

All of that to say that this stage {18 months} is my favorite yet! Of course he whines instead of talks way too often, climbs everything, and cries every single time we have to come inside... but he is becoming himself, and I love it! He makes me laugh constantly. I'm sure the average person would not think he's funny, but he cracks us up on a daily basis. He's quirky. He cries when he sees the lion roar/yawn on one of his Praise Baby DVD's, and he squeals and dances in the shower. He only says six words that we can understand, but he says sentences in his own special language. He sucks his thumb anytime he is tired or forced to be still. He thinks baby pools are overrated and insists on swimming in big pools... but he can't swim. He loves food- especially milkshakes and ice cream, but he will only eat cheese if it's on pizza. His favorite book is "Go Dog Go." If he starts fussing in the car, all you have to do is turn on his Elizabeth Mitchell CD to quiet him. He will let me rock him before bed as long as I am singing, but when I stop singing, he wiggles out of my arms. He loves doing the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and he's always early on the "down came the rain" part. He knows he is only allowed to climb up the first stair, and he's often found sitting on it or going up and down it. He's likely to cry if you raise your voice at him, and he will stare down a stranger with no shame. He'd rather meet new animals than new people, and his favorite toy is anything he can push around. I could go on and on, but the length of this paragraph is overwhelming:) I can't believe he will be two in six months!

Family Fun- July 4th

I took way too many pictures this weekend! I should probably divide this post; but since I'm too lazy for that, I'll just narrate the pictures.

We started the weekend Thursday when Munders {Mike's grandmother} and Brandon {Mike's brother} came to visit. Munders had not met Trent, but they liked each other immediately. Trent really liked it when Munders read to him.



Munders is making Trent a Christmas stocking. I was amazed at the time and effort she's put into this cute stocking! She told us it would be ready by Christmas, and I can't wait to hang it on the mantle.



Uncle B played a mean guitar hero! {I won't embarrass him by posting the pictures.} Trent thought he was very cool!



Friday morning we drove to Opp to spend a couple of days with Mike's family. If I didn't have to work this week, I would have begged Hannah to come spend the week with me. She is the coolest four-year-old I know, and she LOVES having her picture taken. {You just have to show her the pictures afterwards.}



I told Jessica that Hannah and I could be a dangerous combination. Having a cute little girl pose for me was a dream come true:)



This little man would never dream of posing. I had to let him climb up the side of the truck, so I could get this picture.



I think this was one of my favorite pictures from the weekend. Aren't they pretty?



Oh yeah, Mike was there too! He's a little better than Trent about posing for pictures.



Did you know that there is an AWESOME fabric store in Opp? My sister has been telling me to go for a long time, and I finally made it a priority. They have the cutest fabrics I've ever seen! You can visit them online here. I tried to only pick patterns that will work for appliques, and I still ended up with all of these..



We headed to Miller's Landing Sunday morning to spend the day with my family. Trent started with a little swinging. This is his excited face. {I have no idea where he gets these dramatic faces! Ha!}



Then we hit the trails.



Don't worry, they didn't both sit in his lap the whole time.



Daddy G took Trent and Trevor on their first tractor ride.



This picture cracks me up, because they all look so serious!



Daddy G also taught Trent how to rev up the four-wheeler engine. I'm pretty sure he's going to regret this one!



We finished the day with some fishing.



Trent caught his first fish. {He had plenty of help!}



It was just the right size for him.



We hope you all had a great weekend celebrating our freedom with your families and friends!