The Little Baker

I told you all I was I going to try to be more intentional with the time I spend with Reegan.  We play a lot, we read, sing songs, vaccuum together (she loves it :)...but I have been wanting to do more.  Those times are fun, but I want to have things to get excited about!  So here it is, project 1:

Decorating cookies.  I know many people have done this with their kids, but I was a little nervous about it.  While she ate lunch, I set up the table for us.  I pre-made the cookies, I'm not brave enough to have her help with this yet...   

Success!  She loved it.  Before I could get the first cookie iced, she was already eating the sprinkles...I kept the toppings to a minimum, 2 types of sprinkles and chocolate chips.  The sprinkles were a hit, the chocolate was not.  I think this was the only cookie she used them on. 

***sidenote:  Reegan thinks she doesn't like chocolate.  She refused to try anything if it is on there.  Crazy girl, she doesn't know what she's missing.  I'm not pressing too hard for her to realize she likes it, I'll let this crazy thinking last as long as she wants***

Quantity over quality was her motto.

This is tough work, she had to concentrate.

We rewarded our hard work with a few bites of the cookie.  Reegan only ate 2 bites, then was done...So, Jason and I will have to enjoy the fruits of her labor :)

Big Girl, Big Bed, Big...

This weekend we decided that it was time to make Reegan's crib a big girl bed.  Well kinda.  We have this railing that we'll use for now to deter her from getting up.  Then maybe we'll upgrade to a smaller railing.  For now we'll see how it works.  Last night she slept just fine so I don't think we'll have to re-evaluate just yet.   

I think she like's her big girl bed! 

Did you catch her shirt? 



I'll show you again! 

Thats right!  We're making the crib a big girl bed because Reegan is going to be a big sister!  There are a lot of changes going on this spring!  I bought this shirt a long time ago because I knew the time would come eventually.  I bought it long before we ever started talking about having a second so I would be prepared!  I just hope it fits until the baby gets here!  

I am 16 weeks and due June 30.  No idea yet if its a boy or girl, we wont find out for another 5 weeks!     

New Year, New Ideas

I know its a common theme this time of year, but even with all the success and blessings of 2011, I'm looking ahead to 2012 and how I can grow and make this year even more amazing.  Why is it that a whole year passes, 365 days, before I reflect seriously on my life and think about those decisions I make on a daily basis and the consequences they have on my marriage, my daughter, my relationships, and every other facit of my life.    

I don't like the term resolution,but I can't think of anything better.  New Year's goals, changes, desires?  I always make a list of things that I want to improve on: eat healthy, read more, pick up a new hobby, date night once a month, special family event once a month, .  This year is no different, I still want to do all those things.  But, all of those things are nothing if I am not intential.  So, that my friends is my New Years Resolution (goal, change, desire).  I want to be intentional with my time, my attitude, and my actions.

So, I have no idea what exactly this looks like, but I'm working on it.  Its easy to lounge on the couch and watch TV, do nothing, think about nothing, but then what do I have to show for myself, my day?  Nothing, I am inspired by the little things and I want, I can do more.  I have no doubt that my family knows I love them, but could I do a better job of showing it?  You bet, I could be more patient, more kind, more thoughtful.  I could watch a couple more football games with Jason or I could watch one Royal's game with him (baseball is fun in person, not fun on tv...).  And then there is Reegan.  That sweet, precious, amazing little girl.  I wonder every day how I got so lucky to be her mom.  I also question if I am raising her the way God hoped.  I love my time with her and I feel guilty when I leave for work in the evenings (even though it is only 3 days a week).  I just keep reminding myself that it is so good for Reegan to have this quality time with Jason and she loves going to daycare 2 days a week, so really it is a win-win.  With the time that I do spend with her, I could be more intentional.  I could plan more educational activities, I could take her to do more fun activities even though I'm exhausted from working the night before...or better yet, I could be more intentional in being the role model I am called to be every day, all day.  I can take an extra breath when she is throwing her water accross the room or be more patient while she tries to put her socks on by herself even though we're going to be late and I know that this is not a skill she has yet.  I will give her more choices and praise her more often for being the brillant, beautiful girl she is!

Look at this face!  I think she's seen her dad and I lounge one too many times because this is her new favorite way to sit in her chair.  Does she look comfy or what?  I love how she has her ankles crossed.  From the time she was born she crosses her ankles while she sleeps, in her car seat, stroller, etc.  Such a little lady. 

Seeing the Lights

To continue our holiday celebration, my parents told us to meet them on the plaza Tuesday night for dinner and a suprise!  We had an awesome dinner at Bucco Di Beppo.  It was amazing, I think "family style" throws us because we always order way more than we need.  Then we headed to the other side of the plaza for the suprise. 

It was a limo ride around town seeing the Christmas lights!  So much fun and such a special way to ride around. 

I was kinda suprised, but Reegan didn't have to be in a carseat.  We decided that there would be enough of us to pass her around that it would be a special treat.  I didn't know she would love being "free" in a car this much! 

She took turns sitting/standing on our laps and looking out the window.  We would point out the lights and she would say pretty and giggle.  (this was taken with our phone thats why its so blurry, sorry).

There were many stops along the tour, all of them inside except for this stop!  I think they called it Santa's Workshop.  The owner of the house has been setting this huge displace up for almost 50 years.  It draws quite a scene.  The funny thing is that my great friend Jamie and her family live about 5 houses down from this "tourist attraction", so I don't think they enjoy the display as much as we did :)

Thanks mom and dad for a fun trip!  We loved it!

Christmas Time

Our Christmas festivies have long since concluded, but here is the tale of our events.  It spanned 3 days and 3 separate houses for Reegan's 2nd year of celebrating the holidays and we had so much fun!

Day 1, House 1:  Dec. 23rd - We decided to have our family Christmas time a couple days early due to the rest of the weekend's schedule, so our house was visited by Santa on this day.  :)  Our main gift for Reegan this year was this table and chair set!  She was really excited about it when she came into our living room and saw it.  :)

It really came w/ 4 different colored chairs, but for now we're just using the two.  Then it was time for her stocking...

She really liked the Nerf football we got her.  I t was honestly a purchase made because we were in the toy section at the store and she was obsessed with it.  She loved it just as much this time too! :)

Day 2, House 2: Dec 24th - We headed over to the Heine family home on Christmas Eve.  It was a great day and Reegan had so much fun opening her presents.  Here she is digging into her stocking...

Reegan did a much better job this year with unwrapping her gifts.  She made sure each and every piece of paper made it into the trash bag too.  Such a good girl!!

Grandma and Grandpa got her a doll named Reegan too!  She loves it!

This ladybug hat was a big hit too --- can you tell this girl likes to be the center of attention??

And the big surprise of the day for Reegan was this kitchen set!  She was really excited about this too and spent a good part of the day "pouring coffee" for everyone.  :)

One highlight for us as an entire family was to each get a pair of Toms shoes.  Jess has been telling us for quite awhile now that we each need a pair...she was right!  They are amazingly comfortable!!!  Plus Toms donates a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair purchased - go get some!

Day 3, House 3: Dec. 25th - The Larson home was the last stop on the Christmas tour this year.  Another great day with family and gifts, and Reegan once again had a blast!  She got a bunch of hair accessories and this headband was an instant favorite. 

She got a cute bike helmet for when we go on our family bike rides this coming spring and summer!

And a matching Hello Kitty sweatsuit outfit - she loves thing with hoods on them.  Cute!!

This was Dad's favorite gift for his little girl - a Jamal Charles jersey.  Go Chiefs!!!

Reegan was so happy seeing all of the family and opening the gifts.  I can't wait until next year when she will hopefully be able to better understand the true reason we are celebrating this time of year.  Until then, I'll continue to enjoy the smile that always brightens my day...hopefully it makes you smile too.  :)

Seeing Santa

They say times flies when you're having fun right??  Well we must have been having WAY too much fun lately to not have a post for almost 3 weeks!!  I hope nobody out there thought we'd fallen off the face of the blogging earth.  :) 

But anyway, we're back.  And last Saturday afternoon we took Reegan to see Santa down at Crown Center.  We met up with Jana and Cade for the adventure so the kiddos could play together while we waited in line.  About the waiting...it took a hour and a half!  We knew that it was probably not the best idea to go see Santa on a Saturday afternoon in mid-December with all of the other slacker parents, but we really didn't expect it to be quite that bad.

Regardless, the outing was mostly successful - I say that because Reegan was terrified of Santa, but she did have fun with some other stuff...check it out...

Here we are in line - See the happy face on Dad?  We just got here...  :)

A little time gone by and Reegs moved to Mom...hmmm, I'm sensing someone might be getting tired...

I think she was starting to wonder how long this was going to take.

Santa was located in the Crayola play area in Crown Center, so after you had wound around thru the main part of the line, but BEFORE you got to see Santa, there was a little obstacle trail for the little ones to play on.  This proved to be the best part of the Santa experience for both Reegan and Cade.  They're both still a bit young to get the whole idea, but slides and tunnels and climbing and running around they definitely know!

Reegan went down the Crayola box slide about 20 times before it was all said and done.  :)

Finally we made it to Santa, and let's just say Reegan was less than thrilled about sitting with the scary man in the red suit.  We couldn't get her to sit on his at all, which was disappointing, but she was at least calm enough to snap a few pics.  No smiles though.......

After Santa, we took the kids to Fritz's for dinner.  They LOVED this part of the day!  While we waited in line here (yes, another line...) Reegan climbed up on the big train outside.

She insisted on sitting on the same side as Cade on these benches, and it was funny watching them because Reegan would come sit by him, and shortly after Cade would move to the other side...then Reegan would sit by him...then Cade would move!  It was cute.

Reegan was SO excited once we were in the restaurant!  Every time the train whistle blew signifying an order was on it's way out, she cheered and said CHOO-CHOO!!  And she really liked the conductor hat too.  She wore it just about the entire time.

It really was a fun time had by all in the end.  Maybe next year we'll try to go a little earlier...

Excited!

I am really excited about this!

And this!

The first is a kid's nativity set.  While we were decorating last week, I realized that we don't have any decorations for Reegan to say are her own or to even play with.  So after some research, I found it!  We're going to open it up this afternoon, so hopefully Reegan likes it as much as we think she will!

Second is a reusable gingerbread house.  We can put it together, decorate it and when we're done stick it in the dishwasher for the next year!  I bought this at Holiday Mart, but haven't used it yet.  Christmas is going to be here before we know it, so hopefully we can squeeze in all these fun traditions that I am hoping to start/continue!!!  I'll keep you posted!