Memorial Day Weekend 2010

I have to start off by saying I couldn't have asked for a better weekend! It was absolutely PERFECT!

Friday night Adam got home early so we started the weekend off with going out to eat. I don't know who likes eating out more, me or Reagan! On the way home we stopped and got some ice cream and then relaxed the rest of the night.

Reagan slept in until 8AM on Saturday, so did Adam and I:) This was a treat in itself! We did some house work, mowed the lawn and then got our swimsuits on and headed the the Cedar Falls pool!! It was a very warm day and it was opening day for the pool so we were joined by about 1,000 other people. As expected Reagan was reserved and wanted to take it all in before she got her feet wet. It took her about 45 minutes before she was willing to get into the water! I don't know if she got tired of watching other the other kids play, got tired of sitting on the edge of the pool holding her blankie or if it looked like dada was having too much fun but she finally reached for the water!









This facility is only a couple of years old but it is really nice. They have a zero entry area for kiddos like Reagan. In this area there is slides, water toys and a little playground. Other areas include the lazy river, two water slides, a lap pool, splash pad with sprinklers and then just an area for older kids to swim.

On Sunday Reagan slept until 7:30 and again, so did Adam and I:) It was another special treat for us! Sunday was another beautiful day so we packed a picnic lunch (which consisted of Subway) a few things for Reagan and headed to George Wyth State Park for a picnic! We found a good shade tree across from the playground and enjoyed lunch and some play time before Reagan saw the playground.









When we got home on Sunday we thought we would let her take a dip in her pool. She couldn't wait to get in so we let her dive in with her diaper on. It didn't take long for it to fill up and soon she was pulling at it because it was uncomfortable and heavy! We enjoyed some more outdoor playtime before heading in for supper.





Today we got up and headed out to school to do some packing up. Reagan has another tooth coming through today so she has been a little more irritable but who could blame her! As I write this now she is down for a nap and so is Adam. It is nice enough to have the windows open here and the breeze is just wonderful.

I hope everyone had as nice of a weekend as we did!! We also can't forget on this Memorial day those who fought for our country and those who are currently fighting. Thank you!

Praying for Ben Ricketts

Many of you know about and have been following the story of 22 month old Ben Ricketts this past week and a half. For those of you who aren't aware- Ben's parents found him unconscious and tangled up in a mini blind cord last Sunday. He was in intensive care at the University of Iowa Hospitals for over a week and passed away on Tuesday night. I got to know Dave, Ben's father my sophomore year in college. He lived down the hall from me in the dorms. He was an amazing friend who was there for you if you ever needed him.

It was such a sad sad week. It was something that constantly was on my mind and I couldn't help but think of how Dave and Steph were doing each day. BUT- I've seen some amazing things amidst the tragedy. Ben's facebook page has over 49,000 followers who were/are praying for them His CaringBridge site has over 171,000 hits. I'd encourage you all to go to the CaringBridge site and read the entries Dave has posted this past week. It has been amazing to read about his faith and to hear him say "God is Good" even when it'd be so easy to hate God for the situation. And here's another blog you must read- written by their pastor who walked with them through this time.

This week, of course, reminded me not to take any moment for granted with Reagan. In light of these events, I hugged her a little tighter, rocked a little longer at bed time, cuddled a little longer in the mornings, and giggled with her a little more. I'm thankful for every single moment I have with my precious family!

My heart continues to ache for Dave and Steph's loss. I am so thankful though that they have their faith in God to help carry them through such a difficult time. When seeing them at the visitation is was apparent that they are surrounded by love and support not only by their families but a community.

Reagan's Pool

Grandma Pat gave Reagan some money for her birthday and we knew exactly what she would enjoy this summer! We bought her a little pool! After pulling it out of the box it was a little smaller than we thought but it will be perfect for this summer!

We had some nice warm weather last weekend so we blew it up and let her get her first taste of summer fun last weekend! She was a little apprehensive at first which seems to be the case when we introduce her to something new but after we threw a few bath toys in with her she had fun!!





It started to cloud over and she started to get bored of the pool after awhile but she didn't want to take off her swimming suit! We played around in the backyard for a bit before heading inside.

Learning something new everyday!

Reagan turned 15 months old yesterday! I can't believe how quickly time has gone!! She gets into everything these days! She often stops us in our tracks when she shows us she learned something new.

I thought that I would share a few of the cute things she has done recently.

On Sunday night we were giving her a bath. She was busy playing with her toys when Ellie started barking in the front room. All of a sudden she said NO and then went back to playing. Adam and I just looked at each other and laughed...I wonder if she has heard us yelling NO to Ellie a time or two!

She discovered the cabinets in the kitchen a while back. Now she knows that in those cabinets there is something good to eat! She will go to our pantry open it up and pull out her Cheerio box and bring it to us. The other night I had three bags of cereal at my feet. It wasn't that she was hungry, I just fed her!

She loves bath time. If you ask her if she wants to take a bath she will stop what she is doing and head straight to her bathroom and stand by the tub. She loves to help us get her undressed and will lift up her legs or arms as if she is telling us we aren't doing it fast enough.

Last night we were playing outside before supper and she was looking at our flowers that we planted. I noticed that they needed to be watered so I asked her if she wanted to water them. She had her cup in her hand and started tipping it like she was watering them! She got a little frustrated that nothing was coming out of her sippy cup. When we pulled out her watering can she knew exactly what to do!

This morning before I left for work Reagan was sitting on the couch with Adam sharing a banana. I was just about out the door and he called me back in. I walked in to see Reagan laughing hysterically. She was lifting her foot up to her nose and smelling it. We play a game with her at night when taking off her socks where we smell her feet and say stinky and shake her head. So she has learned to do this on her own and thinks it is just so funny!

We are so amazed with how much she knows as well. She has most of the body parts down. She knows where her ear, mouth, eyes, nose, feet and hands are. If we ask her what the dog says she will say "woof". She loves books so when reading we are constantly pointing different animals out to her. She has become a pro at picking out birds!

Can you tell we are proud parents of a beautiful healthy little girl? I knew that I would love her but didn't know that every time I looked at her she would just melt my heart away. Thank you God for giving me the opportunity to be a mom.

Our first trip to the golf course!

The weather was pretty decent here this past weekend so we thought we would enjoy some time outside as a family. As many of you know, Adam has a love for golf...I on the other hand don't have the patience for it-- aka I am not any good and I am done trying! I do however like being outside. Before Reagan was born I often times just rode in the cart with Adam and read while he played 9 or 18 holes. This didn't happen at all last summer but we both were excited to get her out this year. So Sunday we set off with a diaper bag full of toys, books and treats just in case she needed something to do while Adam played 9 holes. I don't really even think she realised that the cart was moving. She loved getting off the cart and walking on the greens with daddy. She got a little frustrated when he hit the golf ball while she was walking up to go get it but was easily distracted. We didn't even have to pull out books or toys but she ate her fair share of treats on the last three holes! I would say it was a success and look forward to the next time we can get out! She did great!!

A couple of pictures at the course.

Let's back up to...Mother's Day Weekend

My parents came up and stayed with us on Saturday night so Adam and I could enjoy an evening out to dinner with some friends of ours. We were also celebrating Adam's
33rd Birthday! This was only our third time out since Reagan had been born so we both were pretty excited for the change of pace! We joked around a little before going out and Adam said he may just catch himself cutting my food up into tiny pieces! It was nice to enjoy our food and not eat like we were running a marathon--which we often find ourselves doing these days!

On Mother's Day we went to church and then took my mom out for brunch at Sunnyside. We had a great brunch with lots of good food and a nice day. I enjoyed my second Mother's Day and feel so blessed to have such a loving husband and healthy and beautiful daughter.

Blankie update

A couple of weeks ago I was able to track down a spare blankie for Reagan. When I brought it home I gave it to her. She was excited to see it at first. She pulled it up to her face as usual and then pushed it away. I tried to give it to her again and she threw it down on the floor! I was amazed that she was smart enough to know the difference. A friend of mine told me to make sure to switch the blankies out so one doesn't feel more loved than the other. We have been sure to do that because she has a strong attachment to this thing! We now have a back up blankie that she loves just as much as the original! Hopefully we don't have to worry about finding another one anytime soon!

Another visit to the park

Sunday was another beautiful day and it wasn't all that windy (believe it or not) so after Reagan's nap we loaded her wagon up and took off for the park. We thought we would try something different so we could jump on one of the bike trails in town and get a walk in at the same time. Reagan is no stranger to the outdoors and loved every minute of it!



Loving the swings.

Testing out the Merry-Go-Round for the first time. She wasn't sure about this and didn't really like that we had to be with her so she was quick to move on. I don't blame her...I don't like going around in circles either!





She loves going up and down the stairs at our house so it wasn't a big secret that she would love these steps to the slide. She never even went down the slide but I think we went up and down the steps for a half hour! Luckily this wasn't something all the other kids were wanting to do at the park!







I can't get over how big she looks in this picture! My little girl is growing up too quickly!

Green Thumb

One of my many goals for this spring was to get some flowers planted around the house. I don't have much of a green thumb and didn't really know where to start. I drug Adam out to Menard's along with the other 1,000 people last weekend to buy some flowers.

If you haven't been to our house, we live in a new housing development so there are very few trees which means no shade. So I needed to find something that would survive in the sun, heat and wind. I am crossing my fingers that they survive the summer!










We bought Reagan a watering can so she could help water the flowers with us this summer. She thought this was the coolest thing ever!

While we were planting the flowers she was picking flowers...aka the dandelions that decided to grow in our yard this year. She was having fun picking the flowers and then putting them in her gas tank in her cozy coupe. As Adam said, "she's going green".