Ren's 2 Year Photos

Instead of adding these to the last post, I decided to just make a separate one. Sutton and I took Ren's photos on a day when Daddy was gone alllllll day due to parent/teacher conferences at school. Ren woke up from his nap, I gave him a haircut and a bath, got him all dressed up, and we headed out to the studio. I was worried how it would go since I didn't have Adam's help, but Sutton was super helpful (and even took some of his own photos that I'll show you in a separate post). Fruit snacks were also helpful. :) Here are Ren's 2-year-old photos!

Had to include one with the pacifier since it is ever-present.

Sutton was helping me get smiles from little brother.

I love this one because he looks like such a little man from the back in his big boy outfit! (But for the record, I asked him tonight if he was a big boy or a baby and he told me baby.)

We get this concerned look from him a lot...

And Sutton gets this big ol' smile from him a lot...

He kept pointing at me, haha. Maybe I was asking him "Where's Momma?" or something to try to get him to look at me.

Not so sure about something Sutton was doing.

Hahahahahahaha.

This is his senior picture pose.

He makes this funny face a lot.

It has been unseasonably warm here for February, so we went out in the backyard for a few outside photos too. Ren has started asking to swing on the big boy swing, but it makes me a little nervous. This is just such a sweet photo of him. He has a mouth full of fruit snacks though... :)

See? There they are... {I decided at this point that I was over editing a million photos so some of the rest of these aren't as pretty.}

Big bro had to get in one but it made little bro mad that he was touching his swing.

"Noooooooooo!"

"Cheeeeeeeeeeeeese!"

My big helper!

I kept getting weird faces because of the fruit snacks...

Those ears! And those teeth!

He kept asking for more fruit snacks and I finally told him he could get up and have some, so he started running...

We went back in the studio and he got his snacks and went and sat back down on the little box I'd had him on earlier. :)

Ren {2 Years Old}

Note: I will update this at a later date with more photos...I like to get the blog post up as close to the actual birthday as possible. I took photos today but haven't had time to edit them and we have a crazy weekend coming up, so I'm not sure when I will get that chance! Wanted to go ahead and get the text posted though.

Ren, you are TWO whole years old. That is just craziness!

*You have a ridiculous amount of personality, and it's awesome. As you can see in the photo above. You are funny and stubborn and smart.

*You weigh somewhere between 27 and 30 pounds. I've had you on the scale, but it's been different depending on the day and what you're wearing.

*You still wear size 4 diapers and 18-24 month clothes. 2T is a little big still...especially pants around the waist. You seem to have a long torso and are tall and skinny.

*You go back and forth between being a good eater and not. Mostly not. You will sometimes just eat ketchup for dinner. We are trying to wean you off of squeezies (baby food pouches) bit by bit because they're expensive, but sometimes that's all you want. You love donuts, ketchup, juice, chocolate, blueberries, pretzels, crackers, cereal, cereal milk. You stand 2 inches from us if we're eating cereal and say "DWINK IT? DWINK IT?" until we allow you to drink our cereal milk.

*You go to bed at 8pm and get up anywhere between 5am and 7:15am. Usually around 6:15am. We have really been trying to get you down to one nap lately and you probably do one nap 75% of the time, and 2 naps 25%. You were sick last week, so we had a lot of 2 nap days. It's hard for you to make it til 12:30 or 1pm on the days we just do one nap, but I think it's best for everyone. You sleep later the mornings after those days.

*Your speech has exploded even more since last month. I can't even list your new words because you pretty much say everything now. Or at least try to. It often comes out sounding completely wrong but you try to mimic everything. You are still only talking in one word answers though. But like today, we had a full conversation:
   Ren: "Pee? Pee?"
   Mommy: "You want to go pee?"
   Ren: "Uh huh!"
   Mommy: "Okay, go to the bathroom."
   Ren: "Okay!!" Walks to bathroom. "Dark! Dark!"
   Mommy: "Is it dark in there? Would you like me to turn on the light?"
   Ren: "Uh huh!!"
   Mommy turns on light.
   Ren: "Welcome, momma."
Which brings me to another point, you say "welcome" instead of "thank you." Who knows. It's cute, so we roll with it.

*And that last point brings up another point, which is that you don't actually use the potty. You just think you are. You go up to the potty, stand in front of it, lift your shirt and stick out your belly, pause there for a moment, and then make a big production of pulling down your shirt and announcing "NONE!" (which means DONE).

*You still love your pacifier, which you call your wa-wa, more than most other things.

*Whenever I go to take a picture of you, you say "Cheeeeee" (cheese) once and then you say "See? See? Momma, see?" over and over until I show you the photo.

*Sutton is your idol. You follow him, you do what he does, you say what he says, you get excited to see him more than anyone else, you tell me that you love him. In the mornings, when we wake him up, I ask you if you want to go wake Sutton up, and you say "Uh huh!! Hug? Hug?" So we go in his room and you climb the ladder and I let you get up there. Sutton has usually heard us by this point so he puts his arm in the air so you can crawl under it. He puts his arm around you and you hug each other and it's the sweetest thing ever and I might cry.

*Momma is your safe place. Which I love but sometimes you are clingy. It's okay, I know I will miss this stage. You want to be held all day long (unless you're distracted, so we try to distract you), and if you're scared or sad or tired, you just say "Momma? Momma?" until you find me.

*Bedtime is so sweet with you. We read a book or two, and you usually interact with them. Current favorites are Pouch, Pete the Cat, and Monsters Love Underpants. Then I tell you it's time to turn off the light and I carry you over to the light switch. You turn it off and say bye-bye to the light fixture. Then we rock and I hum Amazing Grace and Come Thou Fount. Usually when those two are over you say, "Nap?" and point to your bed. I ask you if you want to go lay down and you nod. I give you a kiss, lay you down, cover you up and get your two favorite stuffed animals (Lambie - a wooly elephant, and Bear - a red bear). You put your arm around them. I ask if you're cozy and you say "Uh huh." And I tell you goodnight and leave. You are so good about going to bed. Usually. :)

*Current favorite shows include Curious George, Handy Manny, Dinotrux, Little Einsteins.

*Every time someone or something leaves, you say it goes to "wuhk" (work). Whenever Daddy is gone, he's at work. If we turn Thomas off the TV, you say he is going to work. When the bathwater goes down the drain, you say it's going to work.

*In the mornings, if you get up really early (which is typical), I usually get you from your crib, give you a squeezie, and put you back in bed with me and Daddy. You watch a show while I either snooze or try to wake up before we both go and have breakfast. Daddy gets up after a while and heads to work. We usually have to wake Sutton up to go to the Y. Or if we let him sleep in, he will sleep til 9am. You two are opposites that way.

*Our go-to with discipline is time outs. It's hit and miss if they work. Sometimes you put yourself in a time out if we just mention the word (like as a threat). But sometimes you can't handle being in one and you cry and cry. Usually when you're in time out, you try to get away with as much as possible. Such as laying down instead of sitting against the wall like you're told.

*You love to dance, you love to hold hands in the car, you love to play with Thomas toys. You love choo choos, diggers, tractors, airplanes, buses, and anything with a motor. You love going to the Y except if Sutton isn't there with you. You love you brother. You love your mommy and daddy and your grandmas and papas. You love hugging. Your love language is physical touch, so sometimes I just have to hold you tight to get you to calm down.

I love you so much Renny Roo! We are done with monthly posts which is kind of a relief but also the end of an era so a little sad. You are the best little brother in the whole world!

Adam's Golden Apple Award

Last week, the principal at Adam's school called to let me know that Adam was going to be presented with the Golden Apple Award for excellence in teaching from KAKE News! I was so excited and so proud, but had to keep the secret to myself for a whole week! Torture.

I was able to confide in his parents, and they accompanied me and the boys this morning as we tagged along with KAKE News and reps from Freddy's Frozen Custard and Davis Moore to surprise him. They filmed an intro in the lobby of his school before we went to his room:

Heading down the hall to surprise him:

He was completely caught off guard! Here's the guy from Freddy's handing him his giant check:

A fellow teacher, the assistant principal, superintendent, and Adam's parents watching:

Adam with Gloria, the anchor from KAKE, talking to the kiddos:

Adam and Ren being interviewed:

His class got ice cream sandwiches from Freddy's, so they were happy!

Congrats, babe! I'm so beyond proud of you and proud to be your wife!

We're Moving!

I can't believe I updated my photo blog with this news before this one, but here's the scoop in case you didn't read it over there:

Adam won’t let me share the whole story quite yet since we haven’t actually moved (which I understand, but I guess I’m the type of person who’s a little more forthcoming with sharing exciting news ;) ), but I wanted to share an update and a little more info since I’ve had lots of people asking about our house situation.

Our house is sold!

And we’re moving!

Long story short, we weren’t looking to move (I mean…how many houses can you find with a photography studio included like ours?!). But it has always been our dream to raise our boys in the country, and one day we happened upon a perfect country home that was for sale. Looked at it online, looked at it in person…and fell in love. We scrambled to get our house in shape to sell, and luckily it did in under a month. I have mixed feelings about leaving this place we call home, but I am excited!

For everyone wondering about what this means for Gina Dreher Photography: not a lot will change. The biggest change is that we will be living just outside of Wichita, so I will be driving into town to shoot on certain days only (instead of nearly every day). We’re building a studio at the new place, and it will be awesome. Some of you may have a bit longer drive to come see me for studio shoots, but it actually may be less of a drive for some. And we’ll have a new gorgeous location for sessions out on our land.

We have lots of work to do at the new place, so part of me is anxious to dive right in and start! But part of me is trying to soak up these last few weeks at our current house. Regardless, there will be lots of before-and-after photos once we start on the new place. So exciting!


Thanks to everyone who was asking for updates and who was worried we were moving away. It’s so great to know that you all care so much, and I am so appreciative of your continued loyalty to me and GDP. I’m excited for this change! And just to make this post a bit more interesting, how CUTE is this cross stitch of my family that my friend Abby made for me!? Obsessed!

Adam & Sutton's Big Trip

Last weekend, Ren and I went to Colorado with my parents to visit Michael and his family. Adam and Sutton had a fun-filled guys weekend. Adam made an awesome video that documented it all, and here it is!

Ren {23 Months}

Ren, you are 23 months old! There will only be one more post like this and then we're done with monthly updates. Crazy.

I took some photos of you in our living room right before bed tonight because you were in a good mood, a cute outfit, and this won't be our living room much longer (that's right! We're moving! More on that at another time...)

This is one (of many) ornery faces.

 At 23 months:

*You are ridiculously cute. Like, I know I'm biased as every mom is, but I get comments from strangers all the time. And people we know. So I thoroughly believe you are abnormally cute. Moving on.

*I feel like you have really started communicating more this month. You've started repeating and mimicking what we say. You love to imitate laughing and coughing. Even if it's strangers when we're out in public.

*Your most commonly used words are "UH huh" for yes and "no." You also say momma, dada, eat, snack, drink, donut, nap, bye bye, hello ("hewwow"), squeezie, oh no, home, and cars. You've really been able to show us that you understand what we say because we can ask you things and you'll respond accordingly. This morning, we had a WHOLE conversation after you woke up. It went like this:

Ren: "Eat?"

Me: "You want to eat breakfast?"

Ren: "UH huh!"

Me: "Well Papa is bringing donuts in a little bit, can you wait so you can eat a donut?"

Ren: "UH huh!!!"

It's just very exciting to be able to communicate with you and know that you are understanding finally.

Discovered my lens cap.

*I don't know how much you weigh or how tall you are (I'm just gonna wait til your 2 year check up next month to find those out), but you wear size 4 diapers still, and mostly 18 month clothes. I've started putting you in some 24 month stuff, which fits for the most part, and some 2T stuff, which is still too big.

*We just got back from a trip to Colorado, and while we were there, you slept in and only took one nap per day. But then today, which was our first day back at home, you fell asleep in the car in the morning for about 20 minutes, and then took a 3.5 hour nap that I had to wake you up from. You go to bed at 8pm.

*You've been waking up in the 5am hour and that has been hard on me. I've had to take some naps when you nap which I don't want to do because then I'm not productive! I feel that if we could get you down to just one nap you would sleep in better. But with Sutton's school schedule, it's hard to figure out how to accomplish that (we have to leave to take him to school right when the ideal time for ONE nap would be).

The lighting in our living room is terrible, but oh well. The new house will have lots of natural light in the living room!

*You love your big brother so much. Like SO much. You are constantly watching him and doing what he does. He loves you so much too, and is so good with you. He's always watching out for you and taking care of you. This morning I took you to the Y by yourself since Sutton is out of town with Daddy, and you cried when I dropped you off at KidsZone, which you NEVER do when Sutton is there. You two just run in together, happy as can be. But today there was crying and clinging because you didn't have your big bro.

*You like to brush your teeth but you mostly just suck the toothpaste off and are done then. Sometimes you wiggle it around a little. You hate it when I brush your teeth, so who knows how clean they actually get.

*You have a few little attitude-y quirks. When you're feeling ornery, sometimes you look at us out of the side of your eyes and smile. You also cock your head sideways sometimes just to be weird. If you're proud of something you did, you stick your hip out and walk with it cocked out.

*You love taking your shoes (and socks) off in the car. It's pretty annoying to have to put your shoes on every time I get you out of the car.

*You love putting on your hat and jacket to leave the house. You go to the closet where we keep the hats, find yours, and put it on. When you get to pick your jacket, you always pick your Thomas the Train one. And you like putting on shoes. I think you like all these things because it means we're leaving to go somewhere (and who knows? where we're going could be fun).

*You have what we have started calling spaz mode. You will suddenly get in this weird mood and start spinning in circles, yelling in your baby babble happily, or laugh uncontrollably and evilly. I think it mostly happens when you're tired or slap happy.

*You love to dance. You hear music and you dance. So cute.

*You love reading books. Your favorites right now are Pete the Cat and his New Shoes, Pouch, and Boats & Ships.

*You also love watching shows, though, depending on what show it is and what mood you're in, sometimes your attention doesn't last long.  Favorite shows as of late are Daniel Tiger, Little Einsteins, Julius Jr., Chuggington, and you're kiiiiind of getting into Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

*Our daily routine is this: you get up early (5-6am usually) and I come get you and carry you and your blankie to the couch or my bed. You eat a squeezie (baby food in a pouch) while watching a show. Around 7 or so, we head to the kitchen for breakfast. You usually eat oatmeal mixed with baby food. After breakfast, you play while I get ready to go to the Y and get Sutton up. We go to the Y and when we get back around 9:30, you take your morning nap. I work and Sutton reads and watches shows. I wake you up around 11 and we eat lunch before leaving at 11:50 for carpool to Sutton's school. After we drop him off, we run errands some days; other days we head straight home and play; on nice days I take you to the park or zoo; and on other days I have a shoot in my studio around this time so we have Grandma or a babysitter come watch you. You take your second nap around 2pm and get up between 3:30 and 4:30. Daddy and Sutton come home and we hang out and play before dinner. After dinner sometimes we have a bath. Just before bed we give you a squeezie.

*Your bedtime routine: change your diaper and clothes, read a couple of books, you turn out the light, we rock rock in the dark and I sing to you, then you point to your bed and I lay you down and you usually go down happily.

*Your love language is most likely physical touch. You love to climb on us and sit on us if we're on the floor (what was happening in the above photo). You love to hug and give kisses. (Last week, you were in the middle of playing when you came over to me, said "Kih" {kiss}, gave me a kiss, and went back to playing.) You lay your head on our shoulder when we hold you. You always want to be held.

*We've started holding hands in the car. Sometimes you're sad and I ask if you want to hold hands. You say "Uh huh." So I reach back. Sometimes you hold hands with Sutton back there. Melt my heart.

 

 He was very concerned that my lens cap wasn't on my camera and kept coming at me, trying to put it on.

 I was laying in this exact spot on the floor, then I got up to let Diesel out. When I came back, he decided he needed to lay where I had been.

*You are a whole different ball game than Sutton ever was about being a daredevil and about getting into things.

*You love to be given a purpose. So if I tell you to do something like throw something away, put something down the laundry shoot, take your shoes to your room, etc....you are all over it.

I was telling him to look at me and smile, but he wouldn't. In the photo below, he was looking out of the side of his eyes and saying "cheeeeeeeese."

*You've been eating better lately. Knock on wood. You will usually try everything we put in front of you and eat several bites. Your absolute favorite is still your squeezies. But you also love strawberry cereal, hummus, pretzels, and crackers. Anything sweet is a favorite, so cookies, juice, ice cream, etc. will be devoured.

*You still sit in your high chair at home, but I've had you sit in a regular chair a couple times lately when we've been at restaurants.

*You do the sign for "more" and you say it about EVERYTHING. If you want more food, more drink, more semis to pass us on the road, more lights on, more tickles, more books, more silly noises, more anything. We hear "moe?" a million times a day. But it's still cute.

You are my little buddy and I love you so much! I love your personality and your craziness. I love your cute face and I love the relationship you have with your brother. I love having two little boys and I love that I get to (mostly) stay home with you every day! You are amazing and I can't believe you're going to be 2!!