The fun just keeps on coming....

Here we are at yet another Halloween celebration. A neighbor hosts a yearly party for all the kids on the street. The girls had a great time. They made crafts, ate lunch and cake, and ran around the backyard in their costumes. After Reagan's firm refusal to wear her cat costume last weekend, we went a different route. We had this old princess costume in our dress-up and she seems to like it better. Still haven't decided what to put her in tonight for trick-or-treating.

Fall Fun!

The girls have tons of fun raking up the leaves in our front yard and jumping in them. Many times the leaves have been raked....never have they made it into a bag. You might be able to tell that Addison is a little teary-eyed in some of the pictures. That is because she wanted to rake a "big pile" before they jumped and Reagan kept climbing in before she was ready. I look at these pictures and wonder how much longer I will be able to see my front yard. How much longer until it is lost under and pile of snow?

18 Months

Here is my big girl, running around the house in her "big girl panties". She asks for them all the time, running all three words together into one! She prefers to take off the diaper and wear them. I prefer that she put them on top! I know the chuch nursery thinks we are crazy when they go to change her diaper and find her that way, but it is what she likes!

I am amazed at how fast she is growing, but I love these sweet toddler days (minus the willfull tantrums). She is such a little parrot and repeats every word/phrase she hears. She is pairing lots of words with "mine" lately...."mine suitcase", "mine popcorn", "mine babydoll". Or, if it is something she knows belongs to her sister she will grab it and say "share". One of my favorite phrases she uses right now is "too-tight". She says this about clothes, shoes and mostly the carseat. I think she may have heard the carseat complaints from Addison. She also tells me the car radio is "too-loud". She knows all of her friends on the street and starts calling for them by name, the moment we step outside. Finally it warms my heart when she picks up my cell-phone or hears the front door open in the evening and says "Hi Daddy!". She is finally becoming his little buddy.

Reagan is very musical. It always amazes me how she can hear a song and then humm the tune right back to you. She may not always be able to say all the words, but she can get the tempo and tune right! She most certainly DID NOT get that from her Mama. If Tommy is in our bedroom with her, she immediatly starts singing a worship song she knows from him and crawling under the bed to get the guitar. They play music together almost every day. Her favorite songs right now are Twinkle, Twinkle and The B-I-B-L-E.

Reagan loves to draw and color and is most certainly left-handed. She loves the magna-doodle and crayons and markers. She likes to trace our hands and she loves for us to draw her cats, ghosts and happy-faces. She also loves playing with babies and barbies and she loves to read her books. She is pretty content and happy playing by herself, but most of the time her sissy, and best-friend, is right there to entertain her. They are big-buddies right now and I love to find them playing happily together. Addison leads her, sticks up for her and helps take care of her. Reagan misses her terribly when she is at school.

I am learning lots of lessons about will-power and asking God every day to help me parent her right. This is my first experience with a strong-willed little one. I am amazed everyday at the power and determination that are contained in that little 23 pound fireball! I know it will serve her well someday....I just hope I survive!

The B-I-B-L-E

See, that is my sweet girl, sleeping with her bible. This night, she actually set it beside her instead of falling asleep with it on her chest. Also, I promise that despite the flash on the camera and the hot-pink paint she picked for her room, it is night-time!

I love that she falls asleep each night reading God's word. She often comes right to me in the morning, with it open to whatever page she last looked at, so I can read it to her. She is such a sponge right now, I am glad she is soaking in this!

Gotta Wear Shades

A Dunder-Mifflin Halloween

The Incredibles
Sarah Palina and Joe the Plumber

Reagan....minus her costume

Addison and Clara

Jim and Pam

The kids are not into this picture!

The early Halloween festivities continued with a neighborhood party Saturday night. Despite my frustration with The Office this season, Tommy and I dressed as Dunder-Mifflin's favorite couple....Pam Beasley and Jim Halpert. It was a big hit. Tommy had just cut his hair, so he felt pretty dependent on the name-tag to complete his costume, but I can do a pretty good Pam. Other big hits of the night were The Incredibles and my favorite Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber. They actually won the costume contest, but wouldn't take the prize because the party was at their house. The kids ran around and had a great time, they just didn't like our efforts for a group picture....especially Reagan!

Trick-or-Treat Street

We started our Halloween festivities early on Saturday, and took the girls to an indoor trick-or-treating event at the rec center. They had a great time and gathered more candy then I will ever let them eat! Addison was on a mission to fill those pumpkins. The picture you see of Reagan, is a rare picture with her whole costume on. She looks precious and likes the idea of being a kitty-cat, but I guess she isn't comfortable, because she starts ripping things off shortly after we get her dressed.

A Mix of Ramblings

Things I Love:

~ Snuggling in the rocking chair reading to both my girls at the same time. Reagan is more and more interested in books and can sit still for longer periods of time now, so we spend tons of time just rocking, reading and snuggling. I love having them both so close....I am just trying to figure out where I am going to fit one more....I may need a bigger chair.

~Reagan laughs out loud at one of her bedtime stories. Same laugh, same pages, every night!

~Addison falls asleep reading her bible. She looks at it after we have read with her, prayed with her, and put her to bed. We often come up later to find her fast asleep with her bible propped open on her chest. Couldn't we all benefit from a little of that?

~My girls adore each other more and more everyday. They play together, look out for each other and don't like to be apart.

~The movie Fireproof. We got to see it Saturday while a neighbor watched the girls and it is amazing. We were thrilled to see the theatre packed, even after it had been out for a month. Every married couple should see this together.

Things I Don't Love:

~The Office, oh how it pains me to have it on a list of things I don't love! Don't get me wrong, I still can't wait to tune in every Thursday, but so far this season has been a big disappointment. I want more Jim and Pam and I want them happy. Come on NBC, we have waited 4 seasons to have them together. Don't mess with it! And Jim, you should have driven to New York last night.

As for the Michael/Holly scenes, could they be more annoying? The dialogue between the two of them is disturbing. The whole season is almost too painful to watch.

~Saturday Night Live's Thursday Night Weekend Updates. First of all, why do they still say, "Live from New York it's Saturday night" when it is Thursday? Second of all, I am tired of watching them push there political agenda. While I admit watching Tina Fey portray Sarah Palin is hilarious, I am not up for watching them push a candidate. Can anyone say subliminal messages? The first 15 minutes of last night was spent slamming not only John McCain and Sarah Palin, but also President Bush. Then they made numerous references to a win by Obama, while only making one quick joke about him. I didn't even hear that, I am taking my husband's word for it. I never could get past the six or fifteen times they had Will Ferrell as Bush saying, "A vote for John McCain is a vote for me". No more Saturday Night Live for me. I am done!

A Funny Story....

Until yesterday, I have managed to make it to all the doctors appointments for this baby either by myself, or with only one of the girls. Thanks to Tommy's flexibility and nice friends I haven't had to take them both in there at once. You can imagine the 10x10 room, full of things they aren't supposed to touch, for an undetermined amount of time can be a challenge.

I had things all arranged this week to go with Reagan and leave Addison with a friend. Then, the doctor's office called (4 different times) to change my appointment due to emergencies. So, I headed there with both my little ones. Since Addison is easier to leave, she actually hasn't been to any appointments for this baby.

The girls were great. I just had to explain a few things to Addison, who is watching and taking in everything! First, we had to give a urine sample. She of course, asked a million questions about why I was going potty in a cup!!! I explained that it was a way for the doctor to check and make sure the baby was healthy. All of you moms out there know that I was also quick to explain, that WE ONLY DO THIS FOR THE DOCTOR!!!! I could not stop the visions of finding Addison in her bathroom with a Dora The Explorer Dixie Cup!!!

Next we got to hear the heartbeat, which Addison thought was really fun! I am not sure which impressed her more, the heartbeat or the jelly-goo on my tummy! Finally they had to draw blood. Even Reagan was a little traumatized. She looked horrified when they put the needle in and she said, "Poke!!!". Addison again went through every possible "why" question. Funny how their personalities are so different. Addison was right by my side soaking it all in and questioning everything. Reagan checked in every now and then and was very sympathetic to my pain, but mostly just bounced around the room exploring on her own. She was her usual busy self. I told the dr. that I felt her moving really early during pregnancy and she said, "Well, I think I can see why!".

So the funniest part of the story was last night after Tommy came home. He was asking Addison all about my appointment. She gave him the run down....."Mommy peed in a cup, they stuck her in the arm and I don't think I am ever going to have a baby!"

Oh the poor sweet girl.....she doesn't even begin to know!

Tagged

Amy Martin tagged me to post the 6th picture from my 6th folder. I have a new camera, thus new folders so my picture isn't that old. It was March of last year, just a few weeks before Reagan was born. We were at Chuckie Cheese in Dallas for my nephew Austin's b-day party.

I tag Katy, Lacey and Jennifer. Post the 6th picture from your 6th folder. Have fun!!!

Little Miss Make-up

Don't they look fabulous? I had a free gift from Clinique a few weeks ago, and gave Addison the bag with the lipstick and some lotion. I didn't really plan for her to use it at her own discretion, but I also hadn't told her not to.

Props to Tommy for realizing, as we did the dishes a few nights ago, that they were completely silent!!! We glanced into the living room and saw them applying their lipstick and all slicked up with lotion. Tommy looked a little surprised when Addison said, "It's mine, Mommy gave it to me."

I explained to her that make-up was for special occasions (like dance recitals) or sometimes to play with at home. On the way to church this morning she asked me if today was a special occasion. When I asked her why she was wondering, she said, "Because I want to wear make-up."

Pumpkin Day

Tommy and the girls put the Mrs. Potato head face on one pumpkin and carved two others this weekend! Addison has been waiting and waiting for "Pumpkin Day"! I got the girls pumpkin cups, we made pumpkin sugar cookies to take to a neighbors block party, and then we did our pumpkin projects outside! We had lots of fun!

Friends!

We are so blessed to have landed in a neighborhood with great friends. These are just a few of the little girls on our street. They have so much fun playing together and have spent MANY hours this summer riding bikes, catching bugs and playing hide-n-seek! We are so sad to see summer coming to a close, even the day we took these pictures was a little chilly. But, we are so grateful that this winter we know the neighbors and can just move the playtimes inside!

Say "Cheese"

As usual, last Sunday, the rest of the family was ready for church long before Mommy was. I asked Tommy to take the girls outside and get some pictures of them while they waited. These are the best he could get! It is no easy job!!! Addison only wants to make silly faces and Reagan doesn't sit still! You can see that Addison was much more interested in holding the pumpkins and Reagan wasn't happy until she was free from the photo session and playing with her baby stroller.

Look At My Dog!

Poor Maggie! No, she isn't a new Dish Network subscriber....she just has allergies and can't stop itching her feet. She started chewing them NON-STOP a few weeks ago. Tommy and I have given her round the clock benadryl and anti-itch spray the entire time, but nothing helps. She has scratched to the point that she has blisters on her feet. So, today, Reagan and I took her to the vet. $250 later, we find out she has an ear infection along with all the foot problems. She has 4 medecines and the cone for the next three weeks! Poor Reagan gets knocked down everytime she goes near her. Maggie is bumping into walls and furniture. The worst part though, is that she is embarassed! Tommy and Addison started laughing when we came home, and Maggie wouldn't even come in from the garage. She just stood there with her little cone head hanging down!

The vet was the end of a day of dr's visits! If only Tommy had needed something we could have made it unanimous. The girls went this morning for Reagan's well-check and flu shots. For those of you counting. we had 2 hours at the office, one heel prick, and 6 shots! That is a pretty rough morning.

After the girls dr. I rushed them through lunch and dropped Addison off at school late. I then ran home put Reagan to bed, and ran to my dr while Tommy worked from home. My dr's appointment took another two hours. Then, it was back home to feed the girls a snack, pick up Maggie and take her in!

We are one tired family!!! Just resting tonight and thanking God that it is only an occasional day we spend at so many dr's appointments and that nobody is really sick! We know we are blessed!!!

Team USA's World Tour

Two cute girls.

The USA Men's Gymnasics Team.

Reagan loved it all!

Nastia Liukin on the balance beam.

Cutest Coke ad ever!

This was one of the most amazing things to watch.

Saturday we had tickets to the World Gymnastics Extravaganza, that were given to us by Tommy's friend at work. We have been looking forward to it since watching the gymnasts on TV. Most of both the men's and women's teams were there, but Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson were definitely the stars of the show.

It was so much fun to watch these athletes without all the pressure. They had beautiful costumes, fun music, and they just had a great time showing off their skills. The choreography, lights and music were all amazing. One of my favorite things of the night was Nastia Liukin's balance beam routine, which she performed to "Butterfly Kisses". That song almost brings me to instant tears...what a sweet tribute to her Dad/Coach.

We knew Addison would love watching it all, and she did. She was completely still and mesmerized the first half. The second half she was bouncing around cheering them on. Reagan was the big surprise. She loved everything! We thought one of us would be walking around with her, but she stayed in her chair the entire time. She danced to the music and pointed at the gymnasts. Each time someone left the stage she was asking, "Go?" and saying "Bye-Bye!". Tommy and I had the best time just watching her.

At the end, we had VIP passes to go meet the gymnasts and get autographs, but the line was really long. I really wanted a picture of the girls with them, but they wouldn't let you bring a camera in, so we bailed! I expect some serious acrobatics to be going on in our house this week, after all the girls have seen! Thanks Rob!

Pump it up Party

Addison and Reagan went to their friend Austin's birthday party at Pump it Up today. They had a great time. Actually, we all did. Tommy was of course just a big version of the kids, and despite pregnancy, I even climbed lots of slides and jumped in the jump-houses. This was Reagan's first Pump it Up experience, but she had no trouble keeping up with the big kids. Happy Birthday Austin, thanks for a great day!

At one point, I ended up playing with the little boys in a jump house. I was using the jousting stick to bat at the big rubber balls they were throwing at me. We were having a great time! Tommy saw us playing and said, "Maybe you can handle a boy!". We shall see!