It used to be us!

I guess with the new school year just underway, I must be feeling a little nostalgic.

Every work day, I see the parents dropping off their kids at the Employee Child Care Center. Families that weren't even there at the same time as us. I see the kids happily playing out on the playground and remember when those were my kids. It seems so long ago!

The couple that lives across the street, who we've only met a time or two, had their first baby recently. A boy. I see them going out for evening walks, carrying their new little son, and it makes me think of when that was us. It used to be us!

Floppy little one month old Reed.

Which is not to say that was a better time. It was great...but different. We'll never again have a new baby to stroller around the block with. Never drop another kid off for their first day of kindergarten.

But these kids, they are great. They are growing up more and more every day, and much faster than I'd like. Now it's our turn to have the big kids, making their way through elementary school and learning more about the world every day.

Wouldn't trade any of this.

All-time greatest toys

We have two toys that have been in our house since Reed was a baby. These toys have stood the test of time, with kids coming back to them over and over...and over again.

The first is a ball drop, given to him on his first birthday by my friend Betsy Young. I think it has somewhat of a hypnotic quality, you can get into the motions, doing them over and over again, watching the balls fall down, roll side to side, and out...then start all over again. Even older kids can't pass this thing by without stopping to hammer a few balls through it (though Reed usually preferred to push them through with his hands when he was smaller).

The second is the Doodle Pro. This was a gift to Reed from cousin Cristie for his fourth birthday. Reed was never super into it, but he did enjoy it. This one is a go-to for Amy. As soon as she was old enough, she started drawing on the Doodle Pro and hasn't stopped since. Any time you like, you can draw. No fuss, no muss. Take it with you in the car, take it anywhere. Great toy. It also came with a companion smaller size Doodle Pro which has also been well-loved. It's in our living room right now, after just leaving her bedroom where it lived for a while. She doesn't play with it all the time, but her love for it goes on and on.

Not the greatest picture, but this was the night of
Big Steve's 55th birthday in November 2006
when Cristie gave Reed the Doodle Pro.

Look how great her drawings already are!!
This is from July 2007 – she is just over 2 years old.

Notice something about these two most enduring toys? No batteries required.

Favorite books

About a month ago, when we just couldn't cram another book onto either kid's many book shelves, Reed set out to choose the books he no longer wanted in his room any longer. After that process was completed, Amy went through that very large pile of books and picked the ones that she wanted to keep. She also methodically went through her books to see which ones she didn't need any longer. It was a long process!

The end result was a huge pile of books. I choose many of them and packed them up to mail to cousins Larson, Tensley, Blaine and Harmony in Wyoming, and Adlen, Ayla and Leo in Montana.

But before any of that, I had to go through the books. There were so many that I couldn't bear the idea of parting with! How could my babies have already outgrown these favorite books?

Rainbow Frogs? The Daddy Book? What Makes a Rainbow? Old friends, I'm so sad to see you in the giveaway pile! So I rescued those and other books. I know I can't save every book that I think is special to our family, but I'm going to save more than I probably should. I hope that one day these books will end up in the hands of our grandchildren.