The Manley/Coleman Family

Reeve is obsessed with this Curious George book. He must read it six times daily.

We’ve been slacking on posting new items for Reeve’s blog. Sorry! To make it up to you, here are a bunch a cute videos taken in the last several weeks. Enjoy!

After Philly, we all took the train down to Baltimore to see the Coleman side of the family. There Reeve was even busier, as he got to play with his two cousins Charlotte and Susan. Three kids under the age of six equal a whole lot of energy! So here’s the recap:

First Reeve had to inspect the tree and gifts:

Next, Reeve discovered that twirling on a musical Elmo mat was a thrill.

Charlotte decided to join the fun:

Soon the kids were digging into the gifts:

Reeve decided he didn’t care for Charlotte’s recorder skills:

Next there was a rare opportunity for a group shot of Rob and his sister Karen with the kids:

After all that excitement and no nap that day, Reeve passed out during dinner:

The play kept on each day, especially when Reeve got a look at Charlotte and Susan’s play room:

Charlotte showed Reeve how to drive a car:

And Reeve thought that Lucille, Coleman family friend, was the most hilarious person he’d met in a long time:

Embarking on our Annual East Coast Holiday Tour, we went to Philadelphia for four days to spend Christmas with the Manley grandparents. Reeve was very busy the whole time, and engaged in many activities, including playing piano:

. . . climbing stairs . . .

. . . conquering chairs . . .

. . . meeting dogs . . .

. . . climbing stairs at other people’s houses . . .

. . . listening to Kathleen Battle’s christmas cd . . .

. . . opening gifts . . .

. . . eating his favorite snack of blueberries and raspberries . . .

. . . and learning how toy trains work.

In Quebec City, we stayed in the famous and glorious Chateau Frontenac. Perfect timing as well: inbetween the high tourist seasons, so it was fairly uninhabited, but also wonderfully decked out for the holidays.

The view from our room:

We walked down Rue Saint Louis to the famous Citidel.

For dinner that night, we went to a creperie. Reeve wouldn’t eat anything. Just one refusal after the next. But we had mentioned to the waiter that Reeve adores blueberries. So the waiter took some “bluets” out of the freezer and presented them to Reeve, who then instantaneously decided that he was hungry again. It was disastrously messy, but fun. And the waiter got a big tip for his fast thinking!

The next day we wandered down the narrowest street in North America: Rue du Petite Champlain. Perfectly decorated for the holidays. We saw some murals, lots of historical sights, and a museum that day.

One more family portrait in front of our hotel, the Chateau Frontenac.

The pool was so successful in Montreal, we had to try the one in Quebec City:

A shop owner gave Reeve a balloon to play with.

Reeve found the train ride back to Montreal exhausting, so he took a good long nap before we left for the airport.

And daddy knows how to burn off Reeve’s energy before having to sit on a plane for several hours: he found a cart that Reeve could push around. And around. And around.

We had many frequent flyer miles saved up that we had intended on using on a huge trip around the world. But then we had a kid. So we thought, well, time for Plan B! So instead we used the miles to celebrate our anniversary, have an excuse to get a passport for Reeve, and go somewhere international yet close by. So we went north to Canada! Everyone gave us grief for going north in December, but it turned out that Canada was warmer and sunnier then Chicago that week. And Quebec City is so much like Old Europe, it was perfect.

We split our visit between Montreal and Quebec City. So we’ll split Reeve’s Canadian experiences into two posts.

Not wanting to lose Reeve in a large crowd, yet let him burn off energy, we bought him one of those leash/backpacks. We swore we’d never do this, and yet here we are. Needless to say, it didn’t really work well, so it became more of just Elmo on a leash.

The hotel in Montreal where we stayed was the Queen Elizabeth, which is also famous for hosting John Lennon and Yoko Ono during their 1969 “Bed In for Peace.” One of the hotel employees was nice enough to let us see the room (which is available for a much higher price then the other rooms, of course). It has many incredible photos of the Bed In.

There’s nothing Reeve doesn’t like more than being naked and having control of an electronic device, like a remote control.

He’s also big into climbing stairs. The Museé de Beaux Arts provided him with the perfect and very long staircase for his stair-climbing pleasure. And mom and dad got to see some great exhibits too.

One afternoon after a round of sightseeing, Reeve was done with being carted around the city. So we relaxed in the kiddie pool for some fun.

The next day we stopped in to a small cafe in a very old building to have lunch. It was one of the best lunches we’d ever had, and they had a very nice christmas display on their more-then-2-feet-thick windowsill.

On the way back from lunch, we got a family photo taken at the artist’s alley.

On our final morning, with limited time, we decided to trek out to the Olympic Park, where the 1976 games were held. They have a very cool Biosphere with amazing animals. Reeve was transfixed.

But all that animal-watching can tire a guy out. He passed out in the train station on our way to Quebec City.

Grandma and Grandpa Manley came out for Thanksgiving. Rob as usual cooked a fabulous meal, with me making the desserts. Grandpa bought terrific wine, of course. Reeve had a ton of fun playing with his grandparents.

First we had to sit for a picture with one of the kitties:

Then as dad cooked, we went for a walk around the neighborhood:

Met some doggies:

Inspected some yard art:

Then came home for some real turkey:

And sat down for one last group photo:

Reeve outgrew the three bins of clothes my coach Dana lent us last year. So when I returned those to her, she gave us FIVE more bins of clothes for the next year of growth! Wow. We have over 30 pairs of toddler jeans, a toddler-sized tuxedo (!), one full bin of just pajamas, and about five hawaiian shirts at last count. One bin is just shoes, and included in that collection was a pair of cowboy boots.

So if anyone wants to invite Reeve to a wedding with either a hawaiian theme or Texas theme, we’re all set.