October 2017 - Witches and Warlocks

A dear family member was recently diagnosed with ALS and we spent some time trying to raise some money for the ALS walk we participated during the first of the month. Almost the whole Reeder family was in attendance to walk around the park and support the organization that has helped our Aunt/Grandma/Mother/Sister. We were part of the team of Reeder's Runners with T-shirts and ponchos. Otto was a little concerned about my maiden name on display so he had to ask, "What about the Earl Runners?"

Matt had to stay home and take cover as the Witches went out to fly and wreck havoc on the town. Megan and I and her friend joined us for Gardner Village dinner and shopping. We had dinner together joined by many other witches from around these parts. We didn't get ahead on tickets for the official "Witches Night Out" that they host there, but it was just as fun all the same. 

We went back the next week with my Dad as Lucious Malfoy and Matt dressed up as Jack Skelington. Every kid there was thrilled to see Jack and some of them ran up and gave Matt a big hug! Matt was able to get behind some couples taking pictures and position himself for a perfect photobomb. 

We decided to get traditional Halloween monster costumes this year. Otto wanted to be Dracula. His red hair can be combed to a perfect point on his head, so he looked a lot like a little red-head Eddie Munster. He loved to say, "I vant to suck your blood!" and make scary faces at the camera. 

We attempted another Halloween themed Story Time and had a few friends come over to make Q-Tip skeletons and read scary stories. I love this time of year, but I especially love to dress up! Dressing up like a witch has been one of my favorite so far. Every time we dressed up I tried to experiment with make-up. 

We tried to make it outside as much as possible this month knowing the nice weather is coming to an end. Otto likes to take his trike to the park with the circle sidewalk. He stopped every few feet to save a roly poly bug and put it back in the grass. It is a good way to wear him out and get him ready for nap times and bed times. It makes me wonder what we will do when the weather is too cold. I am a wuss about the cold wind up here in South Jordan and don't like to be outside if I don't have to. 

The week before Halloween, it was time for another trip to California for infertility treatments and tests. We had planned on staying in Santa Rosa, but because of the fires being so unpredictable, we opted to get a room in Sacramento and drive right back home after. Our aunt and uncle and cousins living so close to the fires, they had to evacuate. Luckily, they were okay and their houses survived, but it was very scary for everyone and the fires were very close. 

We got to spend the morning in old town Sacramento before the doctor's appointment. Matt rented a Dodge Challenger to make the drive there and back more entertaining. It was blast to walk around and window shop and spend a small fortune on salt water taffy. After the doctor's appointment, we took a nature walk and stayed the night in Reno at Boomtown Casino. We lost a little money at the slots and spent the rest of the night playing games at the arcade. It was a lot more fun to play Jurassic Park and Ski Ball. Otto stayed home with my parents for the few days, so it was like a mini-honeymoon for us.  

We attended the Barbers fantastic back yard Halloween party (a little late). The kids had a great time at the party with a lot of fun games and activities and art projects to do. I loved to see the family's clever costumes. We had to really convince Micheal Jr. to come over and get a picture with us. 

After we got home, we had to rake the leaves for the first time this season. Otto had his first chance to jump in leaves. His brown sweater and red hair made him blend right in to the pile so that he disappeared when he jumped in!

We celebrated Matt's birthday while up in BC with our families. He gets to share a present with Christmas and get a new sound system for his truck. He has only been able to listen to the radio and it will make his commute to work much more fun to listen to his own music again.

I took Otto for a playdate with our friend, Macy, at the Curiosity Museum. My long-time friend, Briana, joined us with her daughter and baby son. We had a great time! Otto dressed up in the Jungle play area and pretending to sell fruit at the market. 

We also had a playdate at a farm in Orem with the Adoptive Mom group. This was a great way to meet other families made by adoption and share stories. I am always amazed how each story is different, yet amazing. I think these moms and birthmoms are really so wonderful. We made the decision  that we probably won't pursue adoption again. However, no one could say it was because I have been scared away from it or don't have a monumental respect for it. 

Otto really liked playing at the farm. He solved the haystack maze in seconds flat (so smart), loved the wagon ride, and his favorite was the pedal tractors around the race track. 

Finally, it was Halloween! I couldn't wait to get home and get Otto dressed up in costume to go trick or treating. We've been taking him for the last 2 years, but he hardly knew what was going on. This year, he knocked on the doors and said, "Trick or treat." and "Thank you" all by himself! It was so cute and every house just loved him. I took him to Aunt Becky and Uncle Clark's house a few blocks away and all the cousins were in town! They agreed to stop by our house too. We watched Nightmare Before Christmas on the projector as is tradition in our house. Otto got to eat a few pieces before bed. We answered the door and gave out candy until we ran out of our 8 bags by 8:30. It was a perfect holiday!

September 2017- Peach Harvest

One thing I've learned about being Otto's mother: He is an absolute angel. . .except when he isn't. Since he was a tiny baby, he was so easy and wonderful most of the time and then he would go through a phase/growth spurt/ demon possession of some sort. He would scream 8 hours a day for no apparent reason (teething can only explain so much), or be incredibly defiant, or hit the table or wall whenever he was told "No" and throw a fit. I don't want him to look back on these entries and think he was awful, but when he is a parent and his precious angels are giving him a hard time, I want him to feel that he isn't alone. Neither are any of YOU, moms and dads that bother to read this.
In the beginning of September, Otto was having a hard time. He was asserting his independence and testing boundaries and all that jazz. It didn't help that Potty Training was in completion, school was starting full days 2 days/week, and he was becoming bored with a lot of his toys. There were a lot of time-outs that escalated into bedroom tantrums while I held the door closed and cried (both of us). Nap times that never happened because he would deliberately wet on the bed. Toys taken away in a "toy time out" because he refused to clean them up. Then, Matt would come home from work and I would be  exhaustively sitting at the kitchen table saying, "TAG, you're it."
Matt was wonderful in the way Dads can be. He would calmly talk to Otto and put him to bed. After a few weeks, BAM it was over. My sweet, wonderful little boy returned and the time-outs became rare and calm again. It will return again another day, but I am grateful for the reprieve these on-again-off-again phases give me. 
Matt and I celebrated 13 years married in style with 2 nights in Park City. I guess I've trained him well, because Matt arranged the whole thing himself. He knows how much I love to walk up and down the old town shops and check out the Arts Festival. We ate delicious food at the Irish pub and were the first people at the underground bar. We ate the second night at the High West Distillery and Saloon like real cowpokes.
Otto spend some much-needed time with his grandparents and they had a fabulous time. He can NEVER have enough of Nana and Papa

As every year, the next weekend is always PEACH DAYS in old BC. We enjoyed the parade in our usual spot at Snow Park with my family. Otto got into the "catch the candy" game with the other kids. He liked the fire truck and tractors, of course.
We are lucky enough to know people close by the festivities that wanted to co-host a BBQ with us. We could get some old friends together in one spot rather than spend the whole Saturday looking for each other at the booths, car show, carnival, or The Wall. The Barbers made delicious burgers and bratwurst and we brought some Maddox Peach Pie.








We also spent great quality time with Grandma and Grandpa Earl and their vegetable garden. We were a family of harvesters and pickers. I especially like to pick peaches from the tree because they smell so good and they are juicy and delicious.

We had a very special guest tagging along with us for the week. Otto's aunt and uncle were having a rare and special reunion with all their siblings in Colorado. They left their poodle, Achilles, with us and he was an honored guest and companion for all the Peach Days activities. He was the star of the show! Everywhere we walked we got stopped by people wanting to talk about him. My dad enjoyed taking him out and around for walks. He was such a good dog and lots of fun to have around.





During the month, Matt continued to work on his 4-wheeler projects. He got really into restoring and fixing them up and selling them over the Summer. Work is slow in the Summer, so this is a great way for him to fill his time and earn a little extra money.

Otto and I went walking in the neighborhood during our semi-annual community yard-sale day. I found a very good deal on a train table and train set that one of our neighbors were selling. It takes up a little more room in our little basement but it was such a great deal and I know Otto will enjoy building trains. It came with all the tracks and trains too!

Otto and I continue to work every Tuesday and Thursday at preschool. Otto loves to sing the letter songs he learns new every few weeks. His teacher says he is very well behaved and doing great with academics. We've started working on him writing his own name with a dry-erase practice sheet. I am adjusting to adding a second, afternoon class of 4-year olds to our days.