Sunday, May 24, 2009

due date


Today marks the year anniversary of the day Reagan was supposed to grace the world with her presence. A year ago today I was feeling pretty good, despite being huge, and walking through the Festival of Flags with my family (rather briskly, in order to induce labor!) Little did I know that she would not arrive for 9 more days...the longest days of my life, but the present that I received at the end for enduring those long, grueling, not to mention swollen days, was absolutely worth it!

It's probably time

Our internet has been acting up the past few weeks, but I must say I have not missed it one bit. A break has been nice. I feel more productive and refreshed. With summer approaching, hopefully I will have some more interesting things (and pictures) to post. We have been keeping busy with work, school, and lots of playing outside (thank goodness for this weather!) Here is some of what we've been up to, for those that like to keep tabs on us!
ME: With Penny's impending first birthday, I have been going through lots of different emotions. I blame it on my hormones being all out of wack from nursing. Reagan will nurse once or twice one day and then about 30 times the next. She's crazy. I cherish any time I have holding her close, though. I don't know why I never thought the day would come that she would turn one, but honestly, until about a month ago, it never even crossed my mind. To keep myself busy, I have (somewhat) taken up running again. It feels so good! My sister in law Kristin is my inspiration. Because of her, Jason and I have decided to run a race at the end of the summer. What kind of race, you ask? It could be a 5k, could be a marathon (yeah, right). I'll keep everyone posted when we decide. =) Thanks Kristin for the inspiration! Other than that, I've just been working, spring cleaning, and spending as much time as possible with my "baby" girl and Jason.
JASON:
Although in a perfect world, I'd see him much more often, Jason is doing well and keeping busy with church, school, and work. It actually amazes me how much he is able to get done on so little sleep...I admire him, but wouldn't want to be in his place! When he can, he takes a break and takes us out on adventures to the beach and the park. I am so grateful when he is here, because he lets me sleep in, nap, and cooks dinner for me. What more could I ask for? As always, he keeps me up to date on the latest world news and politics and makes me feel normal, even if I do have no idea what he is talking about. =)
REAGAN:
Our Penny has been learning so much that it's probably hard to write about all in one post. I must say, though, that she is such a doll. I have never met a more loving little girl. Heavenly Father sent her to me for a reason. I am someone who needs a lot of "love" from the people I care about. She must sense this because some days, she is giving me hugs and kisses about every 30 seconds (this is no exagguration, spend a day with us and you'll know!). She is obsessed! And who knows, it might get old sometime (although I highly doubt it), but for now, I'll take it! She needs a "love" for just about every occasion. She falls down, she needs a love. She is done eating, she needs a love. I tell her "no" and she needs a love. We finish a book, she needs a love. She coughs, she needs a love. Like I said, she is such a loving girl! Out of everything that she does and says, her "I love yous" are my favorite. "I wuboo" sounds so pure and sweet coming from the mouth of a precious little girl! We took a temple trip with our friends Scott and Liz and their daughter Brooklin in April. While the boys were in a session, Liz and I were hanging out with the girls in the lobby. I had just got done telling Liz that I think Reagan could walk if she really put her mind to it. She just needed to watch other kids and realize that she could actually do it. Shortly after, she was standing against a chair, and I said something like, "Reagan, you can do it!" And she did! She took her first real steps in the temple. It was a precious moment to me, but there were so many people in there at the time that I didn't feel comfortable shouting and jumping for joy like I wanted to. It's an exciting moment in a mom's life! And I'm hoping that the fact that she did it in the temple is just a sign that she is always going to be righteous and obedient, even throughout her teen years! Yeah! Any time she is acting out, I'll have to remind her where she took her first steps. I can see the eye rolls now, but it's worth a try, haha. This whole new method of transportation means all kinds of new places and things to explore. Reagan turns one in a little over a week. This is an exciting time, but also a bittersweet one for me. But, I am excited for her to continue to learn and discover new things. I just hope that no matter how old she gets, she'll never be too old to give her mama loves.

So there's a little of what we've been up to. We are all excited for Memorial Day tomorrow. It's a pretty big holiday in my family, partly because we grew up with Greenacres in our backyard, and the Festival of Flags every year is absolutely breathtaking. For those that live close, I would definitely recommend going to see the flags. I think there is around 1500, and it is quite a sight to see. We're going to visit the gravesites of loved ones in the morning, then attend the program that the cemetery puts on, and end the day with a delicious barbecue at my parents house. It sounds like the perfect day. Hopefully I'll have some good pictures to post later.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Reagan's Photography Business

Reagan is starting her own photography business. Most of the work she does is done while she is getting her diaper changed or hair combed. It is described as abstract and modern with a progressive appeal. Here is some of her more recent work. Details and pricing to come...
(She took every single one of these pictures, most of them while I was trying to take the camera away, hence the unhappy faces). I did include the one she took of me with a double chin, only because it's fun to see the world from her point of view.)







Steve-o

Steve has lived with my parents for 22 or so years, since I was very little. He has Down's Syndrome. Those who know him know his BIG personality. I am very fortunate to have grown up with him in our home. It taught me tolerance and patience at a very young age. I have since had a couple different jobs working with people that have disabilities and the lessons I have learned from Steve have helped me tremendously in these jobs. Steve's spirit is strong and unmistakeable. I get to work with him twice a week, which basically means I get to go hang out with him and talk about wrestling all day (his one true love). However, his other true love happens to be Miss Reagan Penelope herself. He always tells me that if he has a daughter someday he is going to name her Reagan. That's fine by me. He loves her so much, and the feeling is mutual. She gives him the smiles and attention he desires, and he gives her an audience while she makes funny faces and dances. I am so grateful that she is also able to get to know him and benefit from the spirit he brings everywhere he goes. They were being so cute together the other day, I had to snap a few pictures. They played patty-cake and sang Itsy Bitsy Spider. It warmed my heart.



little lady

Amanda did a little photo shoot of Reagan the other day. I am so glad that I have someone to take such cute pictures of my daughter since I have zero skills in the photography department. I am so spoiled having her as a friend! Reagan was being her usual feisty self that day, so she made lots of scrunchy mean faces, but Amanda still somehow managed to get some really cute pictures. She gets more and more beautiful every day! Here are a few of my favorites.










No way

Reagan has quite a vocabulary. I am definitely biased, but I think she is so smart. She is really starting to comprehend things I am saying, and it is so exciting! When I ask her if she wants to take a bath, she crawls to the bathroom, stands up at the tub and points to the faucet. Wehn I ask her if she wants a diaper change, she either says "By-doh" (diaper) or "poo poo" which is pretty self-explanitory. I am just realizing that I "ask" her if she wants to do a lot of these things, but the poor girl doesn't really have a choice. Maybe I just like her to feel like she is making an informed decision? She says "I lah la" (I love you) when I tell her I love her every morning, and gives me a great big hug. I live for those moments! Although she says a lot of sweet things, her favorite things to say are a little more naughty. She likes to say "no way" and "go away" all day long, and shakes her head no to pretty much everything I say. This little girl went from being the most calm, quiet, easy-going baby to one with an incredible amount of spunk and feistiness. She has SUCH a strong personality and acts more and more like Jason every day, always trying to make everyone laugh. She is one hilarious little girl full of an incredible amount of energy for such a little thing. She exhausts me, but the love I have for her is incomprehensible. Today, she was acting so funny. I am so mad I didn't catch it on video, but Jason was feeding her dinner, and he held the spoon up to her mouth and she just shook her head no. So he stops for a minute and tries again. She proceeded to then tell him "no way." We were cracking up which I am sure just reinforced her behavior, but it was too funny not to laugh. Here is a little video I took of her this morning saying "no way" and "I love you." I might be the only one able to understand it, but I am so proud to be her mama!