Jan. – June. 2015

Reagan is now a complete 3rd wheel for John and Larkin. She speaks in full sentences and can do most everything they do or at least tries to. Whether it’s going on a big swing, riding a bike, drawing pictures, making puzzles, dancing around like a pogo stick, she’s there doing it with them and they love it. It’s a joy to see. Reagan is now completely potty trained (hallelujah!!), which is awesome (no more daytime diapers), and she doesn’t sit in a booster chair any more. She moved up to a big girl bed and made the transition without a hitch. She occasionally falls out of the chair or out of her bed, but these bruises don’t stop her from wanting to have this increased independence. Paul has enjoyed this new found freedom of not having to watch them like a hawk every second of every day. They will play together in the playroom, outside in the backyard, and their favorite game is pretending to be a family with typically John as the Dad, Larkin as the Mom, and Reagan as the baby or Grandma. They get pretty creative.

Reagan continues to love reading books and putting together puzzles. We often see her looking at or playing with these on her own. Like her siblings, Reagan loves food and eats most things in sight, but quite adamantly, does not like tomatoes (at least for now). Reagan has the normal two year old tantrums, but her maturity is increasing every day and always impresses us with her ever-improving communication skills. It won’t be long until she is 3 years old, which is very hard to believe.

John is into basketball in a big time way. He recruits any and all adults around the house to play with him. He pretends to be either a Duke or UNC team member (mostly UNC). He’ll say, “I’m Tokoto and you’re Kennedy Meeks.” And then he’ll go up for a dunk and walk away clapping. It’s pretty hysterical. He likes to call for the ball, “I’m open” and enjoys shooting 3 pointers and free throw shots. He’ll fall to the ground and say he was fouled and then step-up to the chalk line he created for two free throws. He gets upset when his teammate isn’t totally focused and will tell you to put your drink down or to play better defense. He’s also started shooting around on the “Big Goal” in the driveway and actually makes a pretty high percentage of shots. The goal is adjustable and is set at 7 ft, but for a 4-year old we are pretty impressed by his skills, and more importantly his passion for the game. Paul has started parking the van on the street to keep the court cleared at all times. A lot of this passion may come from going to UNC Basketball games with Paul or with his Nana & Bapa. He loved watching live and televised Tarheels games this past season. Games that were on after his bedtime, he’d say, “Dad, can you record the game please”, then at breakfast he’d ask if the Tarheels won or not and then ask if we could watch the game. Paul would put the game on and they would watch the last 3 or 5 minutes together. Paul is a huge Tarheel fan and has always had a passion for basketball, so he’s very displeased with all of John’s enthusiasm for the game of basketball, wink wink.

John also loves baseball and has started to play more in the backyard. He wants someone to pitch to him (no T-ball for this guy), and will run the bases after hitting the ball into the field of play. We hope to get all of them to some Tarheel and Durham Bulls game throughout the season. John is doing great at school/daycare. He plays very well with everyone there, has been great at listening to his teachers, and shows a lot of enthusiasm for learning anything and everything. He still has the occasional mishap of tackling or being too rough with his hands, but he has shown great strides of improvement in this department.

Larkin has become an impressive artist. She continues to hone her skills in this area and sends home many pieces of work every day. Her use of color is impressive; she stays in the lines, makes surprisingly good choices with how to piece patterns together, and simply enjoys coloring, painting, etc. She’s also been working really hard on her letters. She can accurately write all letters and has even started to write each family members name. She writes “Mommy and Daddy” on most things she does, but will also write, “I love Grandma and Grandma or Nana and Bapa”. Larkin enjoys going to school most days. She is extremely well behaved and the teacher often tells Paul that she’s not sure she would get through the day if it wasn’t for Larkin because she’s so helpful. Larkin shows great maturity by wanting to help out around the house as well. She enjoys making her bed, putting away the dishes, and cleaning up the play room. Paul is grateful for her constant loving and helpful nature. What a joy she is. She’s also quite the powerhouse at the jungle gym. She recently saw another kid complete the monkey bars, and decided she wanted to as well. She started practicing with Daddy holding her legs, and it didn’t take her long to get the hang of it and was doing it on her own. Paul was most impressed when she worked on the rings. It only took her a couple of tries and she was swinging like a monkey across the five rings. This girl has some serious upper body strength! She probably gets some of this from picking up her little sister (not so little) and carrying her around (whether Reagan complies or not).

John, Larkin, and Reagan have been going to swim lessons. They have a great instructor whom has done a great job of teaching them the basics while making sure they are comfortable in the water. John and Larkin are now swimming on their own in the deep end of the pool. She has them drop off the wall and swim until they can’t any more, then grab on to the wall to rest and then do it again. She marks each spot and then tries to get them to swim past their marks the second time around. They love the water and we are excited for them to have the confidence to swim on their own this summer, not to mention the added safety benefits.

The family took them skiing this winter for the first time. It took some time for John and Larkin to get comfortable on skis, but by the end of the day John had done two big runs and Larkin was getting more and more comfortable. Reagan was not to be outdone by her siblings and convinced her Bapa to rent skis for her. She didn’t last too long on them, but she enjoyed it for a little while. This first trip was really just to give them some early exposure to skis, but Paul hopes to get them on the slopes more regularly next season.

Paul took John and Larkin on a special trip to Trinity (Dan & Maureen’s) sailboat located in Oriental, NC. Grandma and Grandpa had the boat ready for their arrival and John and Larkin loved everything about the weekend; staying up late and looking up at the stars, and sleeping and eating meals while looking out over the water. They asked many many questions about the boat, sailing, ocean, stars, etc. It was a joy to hear and see. One of their favorite things to do was to get in the dingy with Grandpa. He would take them on trips around the marina or to look at bridges, houses or whatever was nearby. Grandpa would allow them to steer the dingy, which they really enjoyed. Paul had promised them ice cream, so they took the dingy to the ice cream store, which was pretty awesome. On the second night Dan sailed Trinity across the Neuse River and down the ICW and found a nice cove to stay for the night. John and Larkin loved anchoring, eating dinner under the stars, and playing tag or racing around the boat while swimming in the water. It was a special trip for Paul, but especially for Dan & Maureen. They have owned a sailboat for most of their adult lives, it was something they loved doing with their children, and have now been able to experience it with their grandchildren. Given Reagan’s age, Paul elected to leave her at home with Aunt Ki and Nana & Bapa to make sure it was a fun and safe trip. We hope to get Reagan down to Trinity in the near future.