Video games already?

Reagan has quickly learned how to play the new Kinect games on the XBOX 360 console. With the wave of your hand, you move through menus. She has conquered that skill pretty well. She's also pretty good at the Adventure games, especially the Water rafting and the kickball type game. Tonight, she actually got a silver in a game that some adults struggle to get a bronze in. Why? because she just plays. She doesn't really try to win or do what she's supposed to. She flails her body in all types of ways that ends up connecting with the balls. So she wins. Way too cool.

Mvoing up to 6 ounces

Tonight Maddy moved up to 6 ounces of formula in a feeding. In the mornings, she still does ok on ounces (plus me), but tonight she was super hungry. My little baby is growing... sniff sniff

No Mas?

Today I asked Reagan if she wanted "any more...". She said "no mas mama"

Wow

Maddy lights up

Maddy lights up so much when I start to play with her. She doesn't find too much amusement in things as much as she does your face. I put her in her swing to get a little break and she watched, but didn't start kicking until I sat next to her. It was too cute.

ET again?

Tonight we put Reagan in bed and realized how many stuffed animals she has on her bed... a LOT! She crawled into bed and wanted all the new ones she had gotten for her birthday and Christmas. We piled them up all around her and she snuggled into the pile.

We walked out of her room and turned around to say good night and couldn't see her at all. She was mixed in so well that I felt like we were watching ET again. :)

Happy baby

Maddy is so happy. She has been the easiest baby so far. She doesn't cry much - unless she's hungry. She'll fuss a tad when she's tired, but that is about it.

She loves to laugh. All you have to do is make popping sounds or coo with her and she will start to laugh and smile. She also has started to watch Reagan when she's playing. It's so obvious because Reagan is the one bouncing around and her eyes will track to her movements. So cute.

Children of routine

My girls or children of routine. Once their routines get off a bit, they really don't do well. Maddy has not been in a routine since right before Christmas and I can tell. She has been off schedule with her eating and sleeping. Instead of sleeping at 9:30 pm, she's been up til 11:00 pm. Ugh. That is so hard to handle when I've been used to her going to bed at a decent time.

Children of routine

My girls or children of routine. Once their routines get off a bit, they really don't do well. Maddy has not been in a routine since right before Christmas and I can tell. She has been off schedule with her eating and sleeping. Instead of sleeping at 9:30 pm, she's been up til 11:00 pm. Ugh. That is so hard to handle when I've been used to her going to bed at a decent time.

Reagan's birthday party

Today was Reagan's birthday party. Complete craziness was a part of our day. She wanted Team Umi Zoomi. Of course, because it's a new show, nobody had any decorations or cake designs out yet. I decided to go for it and make a cake myself with the Team Umizoomi design. Thank goodness for Emily - she taught me how to work with it. The cake worked out well.

Reagan had a great time at the party. She ran herself ragged - literally. We had mostly family hanging out. She was so happy to have her cousins here - she LOVED it. She did, however, miss her Alabaman cousins - they left a day early and had to miss her party again this year. She was sad.

By the time everyone left, she was so worn out that she couldn't even make sense of anything. She got so worked up that she fell to the ground. I took her upstairs to snuggle with her and put her to bed. She didn't even argue. I asked her if she wanted me to sing, she said "yes". I started singing a song that we play with and she said "no mommy, that's a wakey song". So I sang the Lullaby song - she closed her eyes and was out before I got through the first verse. So tired.

Maddy over the holiday

This holiday I've noticed a few things. Maddy really needs the interaction of people. She does not like to be left alone for any period of time. Unfortunately, I've had to rely on the props at home to keep her busy because of my lack of planning for Christmas this year. I hate it, but I keep telling myself that it needs to be done.

The good thing is she does love her play mats. I've used them while wrapping presents or doing chores. Often I've put her down and pulled her up next to me while wrapping stuff or working on the computer.

She has started to hold her head up much better. She's now too short for her 3 month clothing but too skinny for her 6 month clothing. Hmmm. She still is only pooping every other day (we have poop days). The nice thing is that we've been able to start a consistent bedtime for her - about 10:30 pm. Odd, but true. She sleeps in the evening until we need to put Reagan to bed and then she wakes up. She stays up until about 10:30 and then gets fussy - like clockwork. :) This is now her fourth night in a row in her bed. Yea Maddy!!!

She's tracking objects fairly well. She LOVES her giraffe on the play mat. Every time I put her on that, she tracks that almost immediately. It's cute. I did finally get her toys to the basement, so we can start playing more. She's getting much more interested in playing with us instead of just hanging out. It's nice.

Christmas Day 2010

This morning, Reagan got up and thought that Santa had not come. She was upstairs crying. Jordan had to talk her into going downstairs to look for stockings that were hung with care. They were. Once she saw the mantel, she was ready for the day.

The girls were excited to get their presents. Reagan got hung up on the stocking - candy and stickers. Too funny. Once we got to the basement, we opened up gifts. Again, Reagan wasn't too interested. She wanted to continue to eat her candy and play with her stickers. I think I wore a Minnie Mouse sticker all day.

Once we were done opening presents at our house, we were off to my parents. Once we got there, it was pure craziness. Both of my brothers' families were in town and ready to open the gifts from Mimi and Pawpaw. Dinner and presents were the usual drama. The kids got a ton of stuff. I enjoyed watching Reagan play.

After that, we took off for Connie's house. There we had some more craziness. The good thing is that it was much quieter. It was just a small gathering with food and fun. We had a great time. Maddy got a play mat from Grandma. She LOVED it. She had a place to play. Reagan got a game from them that looked like a ton of fun. Papaw Thomas played with Reagan a lot. He really enjoyed her. She did pretty well considering the day.

She almost fell asleep on the way home, but as soon as we hit the main road into our subdivision, she popped up. Darn. The family came up after and played until late. Both Jordan and Reagan went to bed pretty late. They had a super busy day. We all did.

Tomorrow is Reagan's party and then we get a break.

All in all, we had a great Christmas with our families. We are totally blessed with how many folks we have around us. :)

Christmas Eve

We had a pretty lazy day. We've been prepping for the holidays for two weeks. Everything we did this year was last minute, so we are still working on wrapping presents this morning.

Maddy has been patient with me. I usually spend a ton of time with her on the floor. I haven't done much of that in the last few days because of all we have to do. I can tell too. Whenever I get her on the floor or interact with her, she completely lights up. Guilt!

So tonight, we are going to Papaw Carman's house for dinner and fun. I expect all the normal stuff. It will be good to see the family. I hope all goes well.

Moving up

Reagan is moving up to the older classroom - thank goodness. Since we moved her to her new school, I feel like she's regressed in her behavior. It's hard to tell if it's the cast, move or the baby. Whatever the reason, we are not thrilled.

We are hoping that when she moves to the older classroom that she will fall in line with those kids regarding behavior. (fingers crossed)

Hands and holding

When Maddy sleeps, she sucks on her hands. I'm figuring out that she actually eats her hands - it pacifiers her some. She's constantly moving her mouth, sucking on her hands or chewing on her shirt. I haven't figured that out quite yet because that's also a cue for hunger. Hmmm.

The other thing I've noticed is that she tries to hold things. When I am feeding her, she either holds on to "me" or to the bottle. Reagan never really did that.

Maddy's like a melody

She is so active. If she is left alone too long or if she is "bored", she fusses until she's on the floor or sitting up interacting with someone. It's cute. She will play and smile the second she's put down. The best is turning on her mobile, in her bed, and watching her kick. She will kick the entire time the music is going. She just loves it.

Today, I put her on a blanket and got a bunch of the baby toys out. Some stuff she will track, others she will not. I haven't figured out which items interest her yet. Today I tried the puppets from the Baby Einstein shows.

When she gets done playing, she just starts fussing. But she LOVES to play. Second to that, she loves to sit up and watch. She would rather sit up on your lap than lay down.

Jim's birthday

Jim had a rough start to his birthday today. Maddy woke up at 3:30 am with a blow out diaper... literally. She woke up at her normal time to eat. I picked her up and went into the bedroom to change her - purposefully not waking Jim because it was his birthday. That didn't work out. I touched her diaper and it oozed poop. Ugh. It was so bad that it was up her front and back. She got a bath. He finally got back to be about 30 minutes later.

At 7:30 am, Jordan woke up and started hollering from the upstairs. She didn't feel well at all. She was sore, shaking and nauseated. Nice. He took her to the doctor. She has the flu. Even better huh?

Needless to say, it was a rough morning. We did, however, have a nice dinner of leftovers, eat some homemade cake and ice cream and chill out after the kids went to bed. At least it ended nice. :)

Reagan and sleep

Tonight is night three for Reagan to sleep with no pull up on. Woo hooo. I hope she really is trained to not pee in the middle of the night. We have hardly had any issues with that since we started potty training.

Said Hi today

Maddy said Hi today. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I swear she did.

Jordan was playing with her on my lap. She was, of course, repeating "Hi" over and over again. It was obnoxious to listen to, but after the 10th time, Maddy cooed. The coo sounded like "Hi!" in a very positive and upbeat manner.

Jordan and I both giggled like we had a great secret. It sounded real to us even though I know she probably didn't really say "Hi!"

We'll just pretend she did. :)

Mama

Madelynn is a mama's girl so far. She seems to cry if she goes to anyone but me (or Jim). I keep trying to let Reagan hold her, but she fusses every time. Tonight, I picked her up to calm her down and didn't "provide suction" for her and she started crying. I thought it was nothing at first but a fussy cry. Boy was I wrong. She went into "meltdown mode" pretty fast.

She creid so hard that shed had tears rolling down her face and was turning red and purple. Wow was all I could say. She calmed down after I sat down in the chair and let her nurse for a few minutes.

Back to normal

Today, Maddy went back to normal. She took a few bottles, took normal naps and overall seemed happier and more alert. I guess the shots effected her more than I thought they would. I was really worried for a bit, but hoped she'd get back to normal. The only bad thing is I think her new bed time is 11pm. Ugh. I hope not because I could really use some more sleep than that will allow.

Merry Christmas

Today we went to Best Buy to do some shopping. We were leaving the car audio section and Reagan started talking to the employee that was helping us. We actually call it flirting. She gave him part of her snack (which he didn't eat), smile and blinked her eyes at him and when we left, she said "Merry Christmas"!

Poop day

Today was poop day for Maddy. The only reason I'm even writing about this is because of our adventure at church today. She only poops every other day. Yesterday, however, was actually her poop day. She also hasn't been eating or sleeping great (since her 2 month shots), so I wasn't surprised she had skipped a day.

This morning, we all piled in the car and went to church. We got there, late of course, in time for the message. That was fine. I missed the carols, but did get to hear them on the way in. We sat down and in about 2 minutes Maddy was awake. I picked her up so she could "see" everything going on. That was nice.

Another five minutes goes by and Maddy decides that TODAY IS POOP DAY!! Wow wee. Holy cow did that girl have to go. She started with one and kept going. Jim looked at me like "get her out of here". She was smelling up the place quite nicely. I giggled the whole way to the nursery.

It took me just a minute or two to walk to the nursery. I put her down on the table and let her go just a bit longer. She practically gassed out the other lady in there nursing. I felt bad, but there was not a whole lot I could do.

So pretty... so dainty...

Snow day for the girls

Today is a snow day for Jordan, so I kept Reagan home too. That probably wasn't a great idea since she needs to be kept busy and I am so tired. That's ok. It's good for her to be home with me. Now how do I get some sleep?

Maddy's two month appointment

Today Maddy had her two month appointment. Sigh. She is doing great. Her head is no longer flat on one side and her neck muscles have straightened out. Yea Maddy! :) No PT for that. She's slightly behind Reagan in her growth, but she was early and 1.5 pounds smaller than Reagan at birth. She's still on the same track - above average height and weight.

The bad thing about the appointment was that she had three shots. She cried instantly. Reagan waited until after her last shot and then it registered. Not Maddy - she had tears a second after the first one went in her leg.

Oh yea- and she peed on me. Nice huh? When the doctor was examining her, she peed on me. :( Oh well.

She's doing great so I won't complain at all.

School time

Since we've moved schools, Reagan has been much happier. She plays more and seems to do more imaginative play. Her computer skills went from zero to 100. The teacher told me yesterday that she doesn't need help at all. She can turn the computer on, navigate from game to game without help and even helps others. The only thing I don't like is her demeanor - it's gotten worse since she's started there. She is "mean" at times. I miss my sweet little girl.

My guess is that she's ready to be back with the big kids. She is not getting mentally challenged in her classroom. At least she's playing a lot. :)

No sleep today

Madelynn had no interest in napping today. I'm not sure why at all. She wouldn't take a nap all day here at home. When I got in the car, she fussed. Eventually the car won. :)

Now we're back home for the evening and she is fighting sleep again. Ugh.

Watching Mickey

Apparently Maddy likes Mickey Mouse. I put it on for Reagan and it instantly soothed her. She calmed down (from being fussy) and started kicking and making noises. Is that bad that she's watching tv? hmmm.

Reaching out

Today Maddy was lying on her back in her play yard and was complete intrigued by the giraffe that was hanging from one of the hoops. She cooed and ahhed and kicked and played. She even reached up for it and batted at it. Woo hoooo!!!

She's done that a few more times since then with other objects. What a great thing to see.

Reagan and Maddy

I took some pics of Maddy today in a similar way as I did Reagan about this time (7-8 weeks). Reagan was definetly a chubbier baby. But Reagan was born 9 days late and Maddy came 9 days early. I guess I'd have to wait a few more weeks to do the comparison again to see. :)

Whaddayathink?

Hair growing back

Maddys hair is finally growing back on. When she was born, she had a full head of hair. It was short, but it was there. In a couple of weeks, she was "balding". She lost all the hair on the top of her head - just like her daddy. :)

In the last few days, I've noticed that she's getting some peach fuzz in that area. Whoo hoo.

I read in my book last night that kids that have blonde and red hair often shed their hair before birth. Those with dark hair tend to shed their hair after their born a few weeks. I found that very interesting. Maddy fit that... Reagan didn't. :)

Christmas season 2010

We put up our tree last night with the help of the two older girls. Actually, both trees. We put the big one in the basement this year. We decided to have a cozy Christmas instead of putting the tree in the main area. I like it much better. The girls did a good job putting the ornaments on. They, of course, argued about where to put ornaments. I thought it was funny. :)

We also took Reagan to her first Christmas program at the church. It was about 90 minutes of singing. She didn't pay any attention. She played on the iPod the entire time. Ooops. At least she was good.

Did too much

I did too much today. I met Lisa and Susan for lunch at Ingredients downtown today. Because the Westin garage was full, I had to park at Fountain Square. Ugh. I didn't use my stroller, I decided to just carry the carseat across the Square. Bad idea.

At first, I didn't think it was a big deal. I'm sitting here typing and my stomach muscles are having spasms. Nice. Oh well. Lesson learned.

Obsessed with Spoons

Reagan, for some time now, will get upset if she can't have multiple spoons whenever she sits down to eat. Not only that, but it must be specific spoons with the color end that she wants. I haven't quite figured it out. It really annoys Jim and Reagan both. I think it's a pretty silly thing personally. It's an easy thing to let go. Ha! This morning, I gave her three spoons for breakfast without her asking. She got so excited when I told her that she ran over to her chair and giggled with glee. She was so happy.

Cooin' gets louder, she gets more mobile

Tonight, Maddy cooed so loud I turned around. Jim was hanging with her on the floor in the basement and I was walking to my desk. She made such a loud "ahhhhhaaaa" noise that it shocked me. She was smiling so big when I went back to her. I wondered if she was calling me back to her. So darn cute.

She's also moving her legs and arms quite a bit more. While on her play yard, she grabbed her monkey that was dangling down. I don't think it was on purpose. I think it was a reflex, but she had a really strong grip on it. I loved it. She was kicking her legs and waving her arms around and cooin'. It was awesome to watch.

Mall shopping

Ugh - bad idea. Really bad idea. I wanted to get out of the house. It was only worth it for the walk. We didn't get a whole bunch done other than get me some sane time. We got the girls some winter accessories and Reagan some warm clothes to go outside in. That's about it.

I seriously need to find some post-prego jeans. I am nowhere near the size 8 I was prior to getting pregnant. I have about 35 pounds to go to hit that goal. In the meantime, I have absolutely nothing to wear but my pregnancy stuff and I'm starting to not fit in that very well - a good problem to have.

Cooin' and babblin'

Maddy is so vocal these days. When she's awake, she makes all sorts of noises. She coos and babbles and rolls her tongue all around. The best thing is when she just starts smiling. She will look for me and when she sees me, she will smile. I'm not sure it's all related, but I like to think it is.

New Christian

Jordan made her decision to follow Christ today. Jim and the two older girls went out to Graeters on Friday and came home with that news. I don't know all the details, but she was quite excited to tell me when she got home. :) I'm so happy for her.

Apparently, she told Jim that God had spoken to her on Monday and she wanted to make a decision. They called my brother, Chris, in Mobile and he walked her through the sinner's prayer, in the car, on the way home.

Yea Jordan.

I wish I knew the exact date that I got saved. I hope Jordan will remember hers. :)

Music teacher?

I've been approached to teach music lessons to the daughter of one of the women that clean our home. I've always said I'd like to teach, but when I was done working in the "real world". I'm not quite there, but after a conversation with her mom, I agreed to try it.

I've never formally taught anything but dance. I've worked with Jordan on her flute - which she did well at. But never anything outside of family or friends.

This will go nicely hand in hand with teaching Reagan violin though. The girl wants to learn piano. I want to work on violin with Reagan. So I guess I better start working on getting my stuff together. Should I get excited?

I want that

Ms. Reagan and I were strolling through Sams today and she pointed out a dolly and said "I want that". I've never heard her "request" anything before. Usually it's an idea of something, not a specific item.

I got out of buying it for her by saying "we'll have to talk to Santa". :)

Seven weeks and recovering

I haven't written in a while about my pregnancy/birth. I'm seven weeks out and finally starting to feel a bit normal. I actually got on the treadmill today and walked for 20 minutes. I was sore by the time I went to bed, but the doc said to start moving back into my normal life. Whew.

I will say that I have no ab muscles at all. It's awful. But it's getting better.

I'm only taking advil as needed throughout the day with regular dose at bedtime just in case for a while - a big change from 9 a day.

I will also say that mentally I'm starting to come out of my funk. It was a really tough thing to be laid up after having a baby. You're up all night and day without sleep while taking care of a baby and your body. It was a lot tougher than just having a baby. Reagan was easier.

All in all, I'm doing well. I'm starting to welcome the daily outing as I did with Reagan... just in time for snow. Ahhh winter is here!

Maddy at school

This morning, Reagan threw a holy fit before going to school. She didn't want to go. Jim put her in the car for me while I grabbed her lunch. By the time I got to the car, she had wiggled her way out of her seat belt and was screaming hysterically. Uh oh.

I put her back in and told her to stop and "carried on" as you do with toddlers.

She wouldn't calm down - or she couldn't. I'm not sure which. Either way, Reagan was really worked up about something. By the time I got to the fire station, she was completely out of the top part of her seat belt and was leaning sideways out of her seat - all the while screaming hysterically. Hmmm.

I knew I couldn't drive that way and I didn't want her to puke, so I pulled over in the fire station parking lot. I got out and held her for a bit and just tried to talk to her. I finally got her to calm down and start talking to me. "Maddy" was all she said. I, of course, thought she meant her little sister. But she didn't. There was a girl at her school that was mean to her - she didn't want to go.

I convinced her to go to school to talk to her teacher. We did. She was telling the truth. Her teacher said "she can be not very nice" and that she'd watch them interacting to make sure she was behaving. Ok. She was still clinging to my leg as I left. The cool thing - the dance teacher offered her a free lesson for the day. I grabbed that and left her in her first dance class. That was a good distraction for her to start the day better. I left her with the promise that I'd pick her up early. Whew.

So I did... I picked her up a little after 4:00 pm today. She and Maddy were friends again. I had asked her what she did today and who she played with. Maddy was at the top of her list.

I'm not ready for the "girl mean thing" to start. Apparently it starts at the age of three. Hmmm.

Sleepwalking

This morning, Reagan woke up at 6:30 am. She never does that. But today, she was screaming from her bedroom. I went upstairs to see what was going on - she obviously was having a nightmare or terror - and she was inside her clothes hamper. Really?

Monkey and a frog

Reagan has finally gotten the entire song that Papa Carman always sings when he visits. She even slaps her leg with her hand while she sings.

A monkey and a frog, a turtle and a dog, a wasp and a bumble bee. They all had a date but me.

Mae used to sing that.

Night from hell

Last night might have been the worst sleep night since we got home with Maddy. Maddy was up until about 10:30 pm. Reagan, who had gone to sleep at 8:00 pm, woke up screaming at 11:30 pm. Ugh. I was up in her room until 2:00 am. At that time, she started screaming and was convinced it was not sleepy time. Ugh again.

I had to call Jim upstairs because Maddy was waking up. Why? To eat of course. So I was up with her until 3:00 am. Unfortunately, the sight of Jim infuriated Reagan at 2:00 am so she threw a holy fit until about 4:00 am when she finally fell asleep.

I think Jim and I got to bed about 4:30 am. I slept until 7:00 am when Maddy woke up again to eat.

sigh...

When are the terrible twos over?

Sleeping in crib

Maddy does not like to sleep in her crib at night. I'm not really sure why. She will take short naps in her crib, but just not an overnight. Since birth, she's slept in her swing in the living room. I feel I'm doomed to repeat the same pattern with Maddy as I did Reagan. I've searched online for "sleepers". I found a few and actually bought a travel version that we can use now and take with us when we visit folks during the holidays. The problem is I don't want to use props with Maddy. Ugh.

Well, today I put her in the pack and play to gather up my laundry. She loves looking at the teddy bear mobile in it. Well, she fell asleep. Hmmm. I wonder if a mobile would do the trick for her at night, especially if it turns and keeps her interest. Hmm

Needless to say, I dug out Reagan's old one. I hope it works. We broke the tab that keeps stuff together so we are playing with super glue to hold it together. Pray that it works.

Reagan sleeping in her own bed again

Last night was night four alone. She was overly tired from the activities of the day - cooking and company. We had Papa Thomas and Aunt Wanda over - two folks that had not come to visit us yet in our home. We had a great time. Reagan was showered with attention from Papa. He spoils all his grandkids that way. She took him upstairs and showed him her room and the entire upstairs... all the bedrooms. I think that they were upstairs for 30 minutes at least.

She didn't eat much food yesterday. She did, however, eat a substantial amount of junk. She loves her Halloween candy.

I did have to go upstairs with her a few times in the night. She called out. I think when she is over-tired, she has a harder time sleeping. Either way, we celebrate it as a win.

Thankgiving and First Snow

We had a great Thanksgiving today. Aunt Wanda and Papa Thomas came down to visit and share in some food. We found out the hard way that it takes days to thaw a frozen turkey. Whoops. Jim had to do the "quick thaw" method in the sink last night to get the turkey ready to cook. It wasn't that big of a deal. We are both up until at least midnight between baby and video games (you figure out who was doing what). :)

I tried a couple new recipes - sour cream and chive potatoes and a cranberry dressing. Hmmm. The potatoes turned out okay. I personally would not make them again. The cranberry sauce was really good. It actually had an entire orange (including the rind) ground up in the mix. The green bean casserole never tasted so good.

Maddy was held the entire time - Wanda held her for the first 30 minutes she was here. She did that until her arms got tired. Then once she woke up and ate, Papa held her until they left. Reagan showed Papa the entire upstairs - including showing off her bedroom.

We had a really nice time visiting with the family. It was a true treat to have them here in our home.

Smiles and cooes

She smiles all the time. I love it. When she sleeps, if I kiss her on the nose, she'll smile at me. Love it.

Over the last week, she started cooing a lot. It's so cute to listen too.

Two nights in a row

I'm quite surprised, but Reagan has stayed in her bed the last two nights. The first night was a battle. Jim and I had to sit outside her room until she settled down in her bed. She did everything from doing a temper tantrum to jumping on the bed. She finally wore down after about 45 minutes. Not bad.

The second night, she was so tired, she fell asleep before Jim got done reading a night time story to her. Hopefully tonight will go just as well.

Bedtime attack starts tonight

We started a bad habit with Reagan when we moved her to her "big girl bed" this summer in order to keep her in her bed - we finished the bedtime routine with us sleeping next to her and the waking up to go to our own bed. Bad Idea. Part of it was because she wouldn't stay in her own bed at the start of bedtime. The other part was because she has gotten hurt twice at school and we were "babying" her a little too much I'm sure (call me a mush).

Because of all that, she flat out refuses to go to bed at night on her own.

Jim and I are done officially.

Tonight we are attacking the problem. The only consistent thing that I've found online on the message boards is to just do the silent solution - walk her back to bed without emotion or noise. Just do it.

So we have to talk it up today. It will be painful tonight and for the next few nights. Hopefully she will not resist for too many nights and just start going to bed like a "big girl".

Here's to hoping!

Reagan's growing up

She is cracking me and Jim up on a regular basis. Her language skills have changed so much in the last month or so. She will pop out with a "I don't think so..." or "You know better than that" in a conversation. She doesn't just say it, she does it at the right time. We're guessing she understands what she's saying. She's probably heard it enough in the right context that she can put it together.

Not only is she able to put some more slang type things together, she's also singing more of her songs from beginning to end. Before she would just sing part of it, now she's able to memorize a whole verse of a larger song or a full smaller song. So cool.

One month visit today

We had her one month visit today with her doctor. She's gone from a 50% baby to an 80% baby. She's grown 35% in the last four weeks. Amazing. She weighed 9 lbs. 8.5 ounces and was 22.5 inches long. Her head is "smaller" like Reagan's was - not surprising.

I had questions about two things - her head and her breathing pattern. I have noticed in the last few weeks that she likes to look over her right shoulder predominately. I asked and she said it seemed that her neck muscles were tighter on one side and to start doing some simple stretching exercises to work on that - turn her head to the left and touch her ear to her shoulder every diaper change. She did mention that her head was slightly flattened on that side already and that we would watch it. If it's not better by the two month visit, we'd have to do some therapy for her. sigh... no biggie though.

When the doctor was showing us the exercises, she cried the whole time. Now tonight, she seems to only want to look to the left side. Odd.

She said the shallow to deep to non-breathing was normal. Thank goodness. It made me feel better.

No shots this time either. All in all the visit went well. She said she was beautiful and strong. Go Maddy!

Eating all the time

I guess Maddy is on a growth spurt because she is eating all the time. The book I've been reading to help me understand how to get her on a schedule calls her eating schedule a problem... you tell a baby that. She will "eat on schedule" which is every three hours. Then she'll add another meal in after one hour. So she's eating twice in three hours. She only does that a few times a day, but it's tiring sometimes.

Crib tonight

Tonight is the night for the crib again. I have been catching up on my "Babywise" reading and discovered that my scheduling for Maddy is a bit off. I have her eat and play cycles reversed. I hope to straighten that out starting today. I also need to let her start learning how to sleep in her bed sooner than I did with Reagan since I'll be going back to work much sooner this time. I need to her to sleep better.

Wish me luck!

One Month today

Maddy is one month old today. I can't believe that time has passed so fast. She's gotten bigger and getting some fat rolls on her thighs - I'm excited. She's starting to show signs of a flaky scalp - I hope she's not getting cradle cap. :(

I'm starting to feel a tad more normal and am starting to get some motivation to get into a good routine. I'm starting to feel a little better around my incision and have had less pain over the last few days. I'm hoping my healing is turning around.

New school - week two

There are a few things that I've noticed about her school. We get sheets from her teachers every day that provide insight into what activities they work on each day. So far I've been impressed with how much they work on. The actually facts - like numbers, letters, and puzzles - she is well beyond. But how they work on them I like. It's reinforcing things in a more practical way that has made a difference already.

On her paper today, they showed that they worked with the kids on how to dial 911. Holy Cow - what a fantastic idea. I had to go back today to drop off her lunch. I peeked in her room and it was organized chaos. I loved it. I was surprised. There were multiple kids in multiple work areas having a blast. She was working on puzzles at the back table and there were kids up on the circle-time mat goofing off. They provide options for the kids all day long and they work through all the activities by the time they get through their day.

They also get computer time every day. I love that too. They have two in their room as well as a computer lab in the common area.

I guess what I'm saying is that I like it so far. I am completely surprised, but I am glad I was open to this option. I'm hoping that she continues to grow and enjoy her school.

Oh yea - they don't have a swing set. :)

Maddy week four

This week I've noticed a bunch of things about Maddy. I wish I had time to document every day (I'll get better), but thought I'd better catch up since I have the chance.

Her eating habits are changing slightly - she seems to have "hungry times" in the evening as well as in the middle of the night. I hope that converts soon to being able to eat more at one time.

She smiles all the time now. She started smiling early (I think) and smiles all the time. When she sleeps she frequently will make movements with her mouth and eyes - most of them end up in a smile. I love watching her sleep - so peaceful.

She is also awesome at tummy time. I'm not sure she loves it, but she can push her whole top half up off the ground and pivot her head around. I've also watched her try to roll over a few times. I don't think she knows what she is doing - just that her body is naturally trying new things. So cool.

I love watching her on the play mat. She constantly kicks the toys that hang from the arches when she gets her legs going. She, like most babies, does the "leg jerk" thing. It's cute to watch. I don't believe she has control, but she is getting the sensory stuff when she kicks the toys. She gets really going when she seems to catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror. It's cute.

She is so aware now. She is constantly looking around at things. She gets mesmerized by the fans in the rooms. She loves watching TV with us which makes me think I should get the Baby Einstein stuff out here soon. She also loves to sit up and watch things go by. I'll be ready for the holiday season this time around. She'll be ready for all the bright lights and people.

She's also gained quite a bit of weight in her first month. She's about nine pounds now. I'll weigh her today to find out an official weight... and try to measure her.

Her poop is just fantastic. That, of course, is sarcasm. She is the kind of kid that you must change her as soon as she pees or poops, or you will be in trouble. When she poops, it goes up the front of her diaper. No option. So if there is pee in there as well, it's a holy mess.

Breast vs. bottle - she hates bottle if she "sees" the breast, she will refuse the bottle even if she is still hungry. I don't get it. I hate the fact that I don't have milk again... sux. But I'm trying again. Hopefully I'll get enough that I can breastfeed a few times a day and do bottle other times. I'd be okay with that.

She also has some great noises and poses. She grunts the entire time she is sleeping. It's still makes me a tad uneasy when I'm trying to sleep. She also has a weird breathing thing so I tend to watch her very closely. I'm sure she's fine. I'm just a spaz. Her poses are hilarious to me. She does two that I love- hercules and corn holio. That should be enough said. :)

Well, I better do some other things or I won't get to before she wakes up. I'm sure I'll have more to write about soon.

FIVE GLORIOUS HOURS

Oh My! Maddy slept for about five hours last night. Ahhhhhhh. I actually feel like a got a decent night's sleep. I went upstairs last night at 9:30 pm to tuck Reagan in bed. I fell asleep and woke up at 12:30 am. (That was nice right there). Then I found Jim and Maddy downstairs in the basement playing video games. Well - Jim was playing, Maddy was sleeping. I said "just come get me, I'm going to sleep". He didn't come and get me until 3:30 am.

That was AWESOME!!!

She took a bottle (3 oz) and went back to sleep for 20 minutes. Just enough time for me to breathe.

The hitch - because she slept so much, she was hungry again one hour later. I had to give her another bottle at 4:30 am.

That's ok. I then slept on the couch (holding her on my chest face up) until 7:00 am.

Probably the best sleep I've had in months.

Chicken and no bottle

Tonight, we went out to eat with my parents - Me, Maddy and Reagan. Reagan and my mom played in the playroom while dad and I ate. Nice. Once I got done eating, Ms. Maddy decided that she was hungry. Of course, I totally forgot a bottle. Nice huh. So needless to say, we were rushing out of the restaurant to get home. :)

Reagan's having a cow

I am at a loss as to what is up with Reagan's temper tantrums. I'm giving into the fact that she's got the terrible twos that have been going on for quite some time (before two with no end in sight).

Sunday night was glorious. Jim took her upstairs to take a bath and it was a horrible 30 minutes. She kicked and screamed and carried on to the point that we were all wanting to crawl out of our skin.

Monday night wasn't that much better.

Tonight was the topper for me. I had gotten Reagan from school and successfully gotten her to eat and "be calm". She and I were having a great time. Jim tried to get her to take a bath and that set her off for the evening.

Jim had left me at home to care for her and Maddy about 8:15 pm. He had to get Jordan. Silly me thought I could handle it. :)

Reagan had already be a tad energetic (to say it with a positive spin). She was bouncing around, jumping off things etc... She had crawled up on the couch next to me while I was nursing Maddy. Unfortunately, she was kicking her legs a little too close to Maddy, so I moved. That set her off - "Mommy didn't want to sit next to her."

Needless to say that started her "attack" for the night. She was lit up. She wanted this and that - I was unable to comply because of her attitude. I went to the table and threw away her apple sauce and in the next moment her hand was IN the garbage can fetching the previously thrown away cup of sauce. Nice. I FLIPPED! I grabbed her hand and the apple sauce and ended up tossing her onto the floor. The apple sauce was everywhere. Reagan was convinced that she was in the right. HA!

Needless to say, my parents arrived about the right time. I was losing my mind. To add to the Reagan attack, Maddy was hungry. I couldn't stop to feed her and I was stressing out a tad.

They were a tad caught off guard at all the commotion in the house. I was freaking out. My mom said "I would be crazy too" with a smile and sent me upstairs with Reagan to go to bed. Ahhh.

That calmed her down. I think she needs mommy time. I don't know. But that was enough to send me to the funny farm for the day.

Mo Milk please

So I went and had my final lactation appointment today. With Reagan, I tried for over four months to increase my supply. I did everything - SNS, Pump, Bottle, Herbs with a crazy schedule. I was locked down to the house all day and while I loved my time with her, I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have.

Here I am again. My baby Maddy has a great latch, but I don't have enough milk to satisfy her. I've been doing the "stuff" again, but am not nearly as willing to drive myself and my family crazy this time around. So I'm giving it two more weeks to try to increase supply.

The doctor today pretty much told me to "hang it up". But she did it regretfully. She said, "you're one of those moms that breaks my heart. you want it so bad and will do anything, but still can't". Ahhh love that.

Ah well. I cry. I'm terribly sad. But I'll be ok and so will she.

Reagan and video games

Reagan has surpassed me on gaming ability on my iPod. She plays this game - Cut the Rope - and she's really good at it. She actually understands the concept and can frequently get all the stars (all the points). It's fun to watch her play it. I'm just amazed at her ability.

Now we have to work on her computer skills.

Mady ticklish?

Is it possible that my baby is ticklish? I've tickled her a few times and she seems to giggle. I'm sure it's all in my head, but it sure seems like it. :)

Me and my baby weight

So today starts my official diet of sorts. I have lost 25 of the 60 pounds so far without doing anything. Just being "normal" and eating whatever I want. I am starting to plateau a bit and have decided to start watching what I eat.

Here I go!

Starting weight - 195! 12 weeks to go. I wonder how much I can knock off of me before I go back to work.

Next big project

I am putting together a picture collage of me and my girls (baby pics) and then also me, Reagan and Katie (my brother's girl). We all look so similar at the age of two that it's uncanny. Every time I show Reagan a picture of me at two, she thinks it is her. I showed it to Jordan last night and she laughed out loud at how similar our pictures are. I can't wait to see all three together. :)

Lactation

So tomorrow I'm going to Children's for my last ditch effort at the breastfeeding thing. I have always wanted to be able to breastfeed, but I'm not having much more luck with Maddy than I did with Reagan. Both girls had different issues, but neither one was/is able to latch successfully and/or get milk from me. Frustrating as hell.

I know I have more milk this time. It's been proven. But Maddy is so aggressive that I can't physically manage it. Some days I breastfeed (SNS) all day long, others (like today) I can't think of it. Sigh...

I'm hoping for a miracle.

One interesting thing - I started taking the Reglan. I think it's actually improved my mood and I'm less tired. Very interesting. It's supposed to "depress you" and make you tired. Hmmm. Am I that weird?

Well, I'm almost four weeks into baby number two and I'm praying, literally, for a miracle.

Reagan likes who?

Will Reagan like you today? Who knows. She is so moody lately. One second she'll want Jim, the next she's sticking her tongue out in his face and screaming. With me, she's pretty consistent. Even when I mess with her, she still comes to me to fix things.

I wish we could predict with a little more accuracy which way she's going to be. It's be less frustrating here.

Poop for everyone

As gross as that sounds, it was everywhere. Reagan had a "hurt belly" today. She was pooping all day. It seemed that she was always going to the bathroom. Thank goodness she could catch herself. Well, until after dinner. Jordan got pulled by Reagan to help her in the bathroom. It wasn't two seconds after she disappeared that Jordan came running out of the bathroom saying "she pooped in her pants".

She did. She had a big smelly pile in her tights. Nice.

Two seconds after that, Maddy had an explosion. Literally. It was up her back and out her clothes. I actually cut off her onesie because I couldn't stand the thought of having poop run up the back of her head in order to save the $3.00 outfit. :) Jordan thought I was crazy for cutting it off of her.

Both kids got baths at the same time. Maddy fussed much less than Reagan. Reagan threw a complete fit for Jim. There was water all over the bathroom. All he wanted to do was wash her behind - she wanted nothing to do with it. Why can't she enjoy a bath. Argh. Those are the kinds of baths that split me and Jim. It's awful.

Anyway, by the end of the 30 minute pooping catastrophe, I was wiped out completely.

Sigh...

Going back to church

Today was a big day for us at church. Jim got re-baptized and we also had a dedication service for our little ones. Maddy was the youngest child up on stage today. Most babies were at least four months old. The pastor was even surprised to see us out and about so quickly. I would have preferred to wait to do this in the spring, but "it was done". So I went.

I don't think I'm quite ready to drag myself back to church yet - it put too much strain on my body today. Sigh

Passing gas

This is Reagan's new favorite pasttime. Unfortunately, she's quite gassy most days. I'm not sure what she eats to make her that way, but it's awful.

Today, she raised her legs and then let loose. It's starting to not be funny (not that I ever thought it was). Sigh...

Maddy and Reagan

I was looking at pictures today on my computer and I didn't realize how much the two girls looked alike. I was shocked. It's so funny what you remember and what you don't. I've been so focused on the breastfeeding issues, that I forget other things.

So both Maddy and Reagan had dark hair when they were born. Reagan was 8 lbs 8.2 ounces - Maddy was 7 lbs 2.3 ounces. By Friday (3w2d), Maddy was still not caught up with Reagan's birth weight. She was 7 lb 10 ounces. Wow.

Reagan was jaundice big time. Maddy had little to no trouble with it. Reagan couldn't latch. Maddy wants to suck the siding off our house. Both girls LOVE to curl up in a ball and lay on your chest. :) Love a snuggler!

There are so many similarities... and probably just as many differences. I can't wait to see them all!

New school - week one

This marks the end of Reagan's first week at her new school. She started at GS on Monday due to an accident at her old school. This is closer to the type of schooling that Jim and I would prefer - more montessori-like. It's not, but close. This place allows children to learn at their own pace.

We put her in the lower classroom to be matched up better with kids her age. Because their curriculum seems to be more rounded, we struggled where to put her. Not only that, but they also teach differently than LRS. It's all hands-on teaching vs. books and papers like at LRS. They offered to put her in either room because she was able to work in either environment - she was smart enough.

So far she's come home every day with far more energy than she had in the last few months. She had been telling us how much she didn't want to go in the mornings. It bothered me, but I always dismissed it after getting her at the end of the day. She was always happy. So it never made sense.

I think she still would enjoy LRS because of her friends there. She is still talking about Trevor - her boyfriend. Hopefully she'll make new friends at GS.

So here's to week one. I hope her second week is just as good if not better.

whatcha got daddy?

While riding in the car with the girls today, Jim popped a Starburst in his mouth. Reagan immediately asked "Daddy what are you eating?" He responded quickly with "nothing Reagan".

She waited a second and asked again. This time Jim had to show his mouth had nothing in it.

Next she asked "whatcha holding?"... he had to tell her this time.

Too smart for us. :)

Reagan's hot pink cast

.Today, we had our follow up visit at Cincinnati Childrens for Reagan's arm. The nurse took her splint off and she immediately started scratching her arm. I think she was happy to have it off. The doctor took a look at her xrays and said he didn't see a break. After poking around on her arm, he delt it was best to cast her arm just in case her growth plate was broken. That isn't anything that would show up on an xray or MRI.

So we go back in three weeks to get her cast off. But for now - her arm is decked out in pink sparlkies

Two weeks old

Holy cow - it's been two weeks. I just can't believe that my little girl is already two weeks old. It's crazy.

Today, we spent the day touring the new LRS location for Reagan. I was hoping to go shopping with my mom today, but the incident last week caused our plans to change for this entire week.

The coolest things she's done so by far is that she squirms across the floor. The doctor put her on her belly at her one week appointment - she squirmed six inches. She also squirms on her back. That isn't quite as funny simply because it's somewhat expected. But the tummy thing is great.

The funniest thing she's done to me in the last two weeks is poop and pee on people. We've all forgotten the way to diaper - put one down before you start. :) So far, she's pooped on four people and peed on just as many. She pees like a boy - straight up. I've learned quickly that i need to duck and cover when she starts.

I don't think I've taken nearly the same amount of pictures this time around. I have had a few things in my way - the c-section to start. I'm doing well, but definitely am looking forward to feeling better and spending more time with my baby going forward.

Rough night, sweet morning

Last night, Reagan had yet another melt down before bed time. She seemed to do ok, but as Jim got closer to putting her in bed, she started to cry more and more for me. Eventually he gave up and asked her if she wanted to "sleep next to mama". Hmmm, of course she does.

So they came downstairs to cuddle. At the same time, Madelynn decided she wanted to wake up hungry. Not only that, Reagan was hungry because she didn't eat any dinner. Argh!!! Needless to say, the girls ate and I got frustrated because Reagan would not calm down at all. The crazy fit she had was close to unbearable and neither one of us wanted to deal with it.

She eventually went to sleep on my lap. I tried to watch TV, but was too tired myself and ended up falling asleep sitting up. Ugh. Jim attempted to take her upstairs to her bed, but because she wasn't 100% asleep, she woke up and fought him the whole way up. Nice. She eventually won out (about 3 am). Reagan cried her way into our bed. I was sleeping on the couch. :)

This morning, I woke up with Madelynn. I looked in on Jim and Reagan and they were both fast asleep. They eventually woke up. I was feeding Madelynn when Reagan crawled up on the couch next to me. She leaned over and patted her on the head and said "I love you baby" and just smiled.

Awwww. Totally made up for the evening before.

Madelynn Ashley is here

Little Miss Madelynn Ashley Carman arrived a few days early - Wednesday, October 13th at 3:04 pm via C-Section.

To catch up, I went into my last routine doctor visit Wednesday morning and everything seemed fine. I did the NST - she was "reactive" and was checked by the doctor and was "closed". We did the last AFI just to make sure all was well and was completely shocked by the outcome.

The ultrasound revealed that there was very little amneotic fluid around Ms. Maddy. She looked at me and said "you're going to have this baby today". I was shocked. She said, don't worry, but this baby will be delivered today. The doctor won't let you go home.

She then, left the room and "broke the news to Dr. W" and he came in to inform me that we were moving her birthday up a few days to ensure that she was safe and healthy. What I didn't know at the time was that the doctor had said that the placenta was no longer doing it's job and that's why they were taking her early.

The next several hours were a complete blur. I was crying and stressed. Jim was supposed to drive in to work - but he didn't because he didn't feel well. Thank God for that. I really think God kept him home that day. :) He was home playing video games. I walked in and yelled downstairs "Jim it's GO time - let's go".

I finished packing, had a small panic attack on Jim and we took off to the hospital. Jim dropped me off and I walked to Labor and Delivery. They had me go directly back to the surgical prep area.

The nurses were great there. They were so upbeat that it really helped me not over react to my day and circumstance. I had to do a bunch of paper work and get into my beautiful gown for surgery. They started my IV. That was probably the worst part of the whole experience. It took the nurse and anestheologist four times to get it into my body. They tried my right arm twice and my right hand and finally ended up putting it into my left hand. I don't think I can ever express through the written word how much that sucked and HURT!!! But they did get it done and got my fluids going.

Once that was all done, my husband was allowed to come back and visit. I needed that. He helped me stay calm. My parents were eventually allowed to come back for a bit to visit before they wheeled me into the OR.

At 2:30 pm they took me out for the C-section. They got me set up with the spinal drug (which hurt, but was easier than the IVs). Then they laid me down and got me all plugged in to start the surgery. Everything was so official - the called out start and stop times on everything. I did learn that my doc had a sense of humor. Just about everyone in the OR was fantastic. My hubby was able to sit right by my head and hold my hand. All I could feel was the pushing and pulling. No pain, just weird. She was born at 3:04 pm. They had me put back together and back out into recovery about an hour later.

Once I got back into recovery, they brought our little bundle out and got her set up to breast feed a bit. The nurse helped me get her latched on. We were surprised to how well she latched on. She did great. After about an hour, they brought me to our room (1331) and this is where we sit... recovering and enjoying our blessing.

More to come later. :)

Madelynn Ashley arrived today

Today I went into the doctor's office for my weekly check and found out that my fluid levels were extremely low. The ultrsound tech said immediately "I don't see any fluid around your baby at all. It looks like you're having this baby today."

Panic set in. I was so worried that she wasn't ok. But the doctor reassured me that all was fine.

We got to the hospital today about 12:00 noon. Things started happening pretty fast from that point on. I had all my paperwork to complete, IVs, blood work, hydration etc... The only really tough thing was the IV - but I knew that would happen. It took them four tries to get one set. The first two times hurt like the dickens. The second two times they thankfully numbed the area for me. They finally ended up putting in my left hand. Ick. The C-section was scheduled for 2:30 pm.

They wheeled me into the operating room at 2:34 pm. Then all the official stuff started. They started "marking time" and geting all the stuff lined up for the doctor to appear. They completed my spinal fairly quickly. Once that was done, it was officially "go time".

The doctor showed up. Jim came in with the camera and looked as nervous about it as I felt. Once they started the actual "section", it was all done within 10 minutes. The doctor picked her up so I could see her. She was icky sticky yet completely beautiful. She cried a bunch which is good since she wan't born naturally. The doctor said "all the crying is good - we need that to clear her lungs".

We got some good pictues in the room and out. Jim got to wear a cool costume for the delivery too. :)


All is well!

Obsession with Rocks

Ever since Reagan moved up to the preschool room, she's been bringing home rocks. Rocks in her pockets, rocks in her bin. Rocks everywhere. Over the weekend, she collected about 10 rocks from various places. Oh, and don't threaten to throw them away. She will have a FIT!

Maybe she'll be a geologist?

Childrens Museum

Today was a great day. Mimi and I kept Reagan out of school and took her down to the Childrens Museum and the Museum Center. I started Reagan's morning with a question over breakfast - "would you like to go to school or stay home and play with mommy". I knew it was a silly question, but I wanted to have fun.

So we hung out for breakfast and got ready while we waited for Mimi to get done with her chiropractor appointment. We took off about 10am and got downtown around 11am. We started our trip off with lunch (of course Ms. Picky didn't eat). Then we headed to the museum.

She played hard. The first room we hit was the "ball room". They had balls all over the floor that you could pick up and shoot hoops with and all sorts of things. That intrigued her for a long time. We finally got her interested in doing other things - Legos, Rocks, painting and the sand and water tables. We played hard for about three hours.

We piled in the car about quarter after three. She fell asleep pretty quickly - I guess we wore her out. She slept for about an hour while we drove around and did some errands. We met Papa for ice cream. She of course slept through the whole thing and woke up as he was leaving. She got some ice cream as well and ate just about all of it on the way home.

We had a great day. I'm so glad I have that memory before Madelynn is born.

Good morning

This morning Reagan woke up, got out of her room, shut the gate, came downstairs and woke me and Jim up. :)

Dualling contractions

Tonight we went out with Paul and Emily. Em and I are due three weeks apart. It's nice because we will be off from work at the same time together again. Hopefully with the second kid we can be more relaxed.

Anyway, we got our parents to take our kids and took off for downtown. We had Boi Na Braza (all you can eat meat) and walked around the Square a bit. I honestly didn't think I could eat as much as I did.

The funny thing was that we both ended up having contractions one after the other at times. I stood up from dinner and almost immediately had one while trying to walk to the bathroom. We decided that the "girls" were trying to talk to each other.

Fall Festival

Today we took Reagan to the Totter Otterville Fall Festival. It wasn't anything major - just a small festival that had all sorts of things to entertain the kids. We went on a train ride to the pumpkin patch. We got to pick out a pumpkin with Reagan. It was cute. She wanted two - even tried to carry two of them at a time.

She got to fish, do tie dye, paint her pumpkin (which we totally forgot there) and get her face painted. We did all sorts of stuff. She had a blast.

We got back in the car and she was worn out after 2 hours. Actually, I think we were all worn out after the two hours. Either way, we finally did a fall festival with Reagan. Glad we could do it before Madelynn shows up. :)

Nap time pull up gone

Woo hooo Reagan. We've had two full weeks at school that she's not used a pullup or had an accident in her sleep. We are so proud of her.

Officially wiped out

I am officially done. I am so tired that I can't stay awake at my desk. It's sad. I left yesterday and today at 3:30 pm just to get a power nap before going to get Reagan. Hmmm. I need a good day's sleep. :)

Three days left

I am so happy. I only have three days left until I am "on the bench". Well, I guess "on the bench" for me is more like on the couch. :) I really hope I get at least a couple days to sleep before this kid comes. But, if not, I'll be ready.

Guess I should pack my bag huh?

Candyland

Jim decided to introduce "Candyland" to Reagan tonight. I was totally surprised how well she did. Of course, we stacked the deck for her so she could win. She had a good experience and had a ton of fun. She didn't have really any issues handling the rules. Yea Reagan.

Reagan has big feet... I think

Today we went shoe shopping for Ms. Reagan. To my surprise, she is now fitting into a wonderful size 9.5! Holy Cow. Is that big for a two and a half year old? I have no idea. Funny thing - she liked her old shoes so much she wouldn't change. So she has the exact same pair of shoes, just one full size bigger. Wow!

One week left... and then I can sleep

I have one more week left at work. I am so happy. It's been a really rough few months at my contract - there are so many politics and things that have started to occur that it has been tough to even go in to the office.

I went from wanting to go back there to being determined to never go back because the people are so bad. This place really treats their employees poorly. The people I respected at one point have lost a lot of my respect because of how they have handled things.

Too bad. It was a nice gig for the first 15 months I was there.

Baby C and Reagan

Reagan and I were laying in her bed last night and she reached over and said "there's Madelynn mommy" and pointed to my belly. She hadn't done that yet. :) I was so happy she finally said it. She's known that there is a baby in my belly, but has resisted calling her by her name. Although, she's only had a name for about a week. :)

Jailbreak!

Last night, Reagan did not want to go to sleep. Jim put her in bed about 9:00 pm and at 9:45 pm she was still very restless and gabby. So Jim went upstairs to "calm her down" and she was up with the lights on peeling all her Dora stickers off the wall. Whoops. That's the second time she's done that.

So he put her back in bed and we went downstairs to the basement. A few minutes later, I heard this loud thump and some other clatter from the upstairs. I asked Jim "do you really think we could hear her all the was in the basement?" He nodded his head yes. Hmmm.

Well, we soon found out that we were not hearing noise from her room - Reagan had made her way to the basement. Reagan had broken free!

So I took her back upstairs and laid down with her. She fell asleep eventually. I left her room about midnight. That lasted for a few hours.

A few hours later, I woke to a loud slam. It was the baby gate at the top of the stairs. I jumped out of bed and waited for her at the bottom of the stairs in the dark. Funny thing, I couldn't hear her. All I could see was this skeleton walking around the corner (she was in her Halloween PJs). Needless to say, I had to then take the rest of the Dora stickers down in order for her to go back into her room and there I slept until 6:00 am this morning.

I'm tired, but completely impressed by her ability to get out of her room and get to us.

Potty training update

This year, Reagan's room teacher is committed to getting all of her kids out of pullups at nap time. Reagan has done great with potty training. She has done better than I thought. She routinely wakes up dry at home, but I am too nervous about letting her sleep in underwear. But her teacher asked if they could try it because she always wakes up dry. So far she's been dry for a week with no accidents. Woo hooo!

I'm so proud of her!

Baby C (Madelynn)

I had my doctor's appointment today and they said she was still breech. Needless to say, the C-Section is still scheduled. I have kinda gotten over the initial shock of it all. I just want her here healthy. I've talked to so many people and gotten mixed reviews of a C-Section. So I'll just hope for the best at this point and pray that it all works out the way it is supposed to.

35 weeks

I made it to 35 weeks before I took off my wedding rings. Sigh. At least I made it that far.

Baby C updates

Today, I started my second week of twice a week appointments with the OB. As exciting as that is, there is not a whole lot to tell. She's fine and I'm not progressing towards labor right now. Both good for today.

The one hiccup in my plan to go natural is this little thing called a breech baby. Because she is still breech, they are setting me up with a C-section for my 39th week. So I could go anytime after the 15th. I have until the 15th for her to flip. The doctor said if she doesn't flip by then, statistics show she probably won't. Sigh.

So we'll see what date they give me over the next few days. I'm sure it will be before 40 weeks. Wouldn't it be a hoot if she actually came on time?

Night Terrors again

Over the last few weeks, Reagan has had night terrors again. I thought that she had outgrown them, but apparently they are stress-induced for her. After she moved rooms, I noticed that she had a harder time settling down and staying asleep. I'm guessing that she won't settle down much before the baby comes. I just hope that she starts sleeping through the night before Baby C shows up. :(

Second piece of gum

Today she had her second piece of gum. She asked for it. She smiled as she chewed. I was paranoid. She swallowed it. Nice.

Baby C has a name!

So we actually picked a name this morning. Jim threw one out and I said "I like it". He look amused. I wonder if he had been thinking about that one for a while.

Now you just have to wait to find out what it is.

Pre-school days

We found out recently that Reagan is the only two-year old in her room. They are moving her on up. I think the other one that would have moved couldn't because she wasn't potty trained. Thank you Reagan!!!

She's doing well so far in the room. The teachers enjoy her and she is filthy every day that I pick her up which means she is having fun. The only thing that concerns me is the new cycle of night terrors she's having. She's back to struggling with sleep again - all only five weeks before Madelynn is due. Hmmm.

Hopefully she's adjust and the night terrors will go away.

Either way, my littlest angel is growing up. I'm so proud of her. She's just amazing. Sniff sniff. How do you love more than what you already have?

Air Hockey

This morning, Reagan and I had an air hockey match. She actually beat me 10-2. Now, don't get me wrong, normally a two-year old wouldn't beat me. But she blocked her goal with her hand. Me being the good mommy didn't slam the puck in there to make a point. That's ok - she was so excited because she won. Every time she made a goal, she'd throw up her hands and shout "SCORE". She counted the goals and made sure I knew when she won.

The thing I was most fascinated with was her ability to chase the puck. She didn't miss much. Her eye-hand coordination is really good. I'm so proud.

Next time, I'll actually have to get her to move her hand. LOL.

Baby C checkups

So because I am old - or of Advanced Maternal Age - I have to have a check up twice a week. One day to see the doctor and do a NSI and the other day to do an AFI and NSI. For those of you that don't know what that stuff means - the NSI is to check fetal movement and heart rates, the AFI is an amneotic fluid level check. Yea team.

So I went in on Tuesday - all was well. Friday I found out my fluid levels were ok, but at a 9.5. So I plan on guzzling more water. It's fine, but still a little low. I don't want this baby coming out any sooner than she should.

The other thing I found out was the she was still breech - frank breech to be exact. Her rump is down in my pelvic area, her head is up in my ribs on the right side and her feet are folded back up towards her face but near my left side. Nice.

The doctor did say that in another two weeks, if she hadn't turned, I'd get scheduled for a C-section. Ugh. I'm praying that she turns. I don't want to deal with that type of recovery.

My kid snorts

SNOOOOOCCKKKKK

Pets of all kinds

Apparently we have all sorts of pets in our home - dinasour, lions, hyenas, moose and dogs. How do we have that much room?

Nanny nanny woo woo

Jim and I are trying to figure out where she picked up how to say "nanny nanny woo woo". She came home with that today. The bad thing is that she actually waggles her rear end when saying it. I'm sure she gets it.

Active Imagination

Reagan couldn't go to sleep Friday night. Jim put her in bed around 9:00 pm as usual and then came downstairs to watch some TV with me and work on the computer. He disappeared about an hour later. When he came back to bed, I asked him where he went. He said that Reagan had called him upstairs saying she needed him.

Apparently there was a jaguar at the door. So being the creative person that he is, he joined in on the story and made something else up that was better... like "oh Mr. Jaguar, Reagan and I aren't here. You can go away now".

He asked, "so do you think he's gone". After a long pause, she said "yea, but now there's a lion".

What do you do with that?

First piece of gum

Jim gave Reagan her first piece of gum today. She loved it. I was paranoid.

First day of Preschool

Sniff Sniff. Today was Reagan's first day of preschool (officially). I got her a bigger backpack, with Dora on it of course. She actually had a school supply list too. How funny is that?

Jim dropped her off. He said she wasn't too jazzed on the whole big change today. When I picked her up she wasn't as excited but still seemed like she had a good day. Apparently this is a big change for the kids when the move "downstairs". I hope Day Two is a little better in the morning for Jim.

We have a family of moose living with us

So I guess we officially have a family of moose living with us. Reagan has been talking so much about the moose that live with us lately. She brings them food, toys and all sorts of stuff. When I'm sitting on the couch, she brings them over so I can pet them... but only they baby one. I have to be careful.

I can't really remember when it all started, but she's been talking about them for the last three days solid. I figured I'd better write it down.

Her imagination has really taken off.

Flowers

Reagan has been so sweet lately. She's been bringing me flowers every day after school. Apparently she picks them up off the playground and puts them in her bin. She gets so excited to bring them to me - it's so cute.

I keep them most of the time on my dash in the car. She recognizes it too.

Today she brought me a bunch of leaves (flowers). I was just grateful none of it was in the poison oak/ivy families. :)

GRUMPY

Oh My! For the last several nights, Reagan has just been a pill to put to bed. She's always fought taking a shower or washing her hair because she wants to do everything by herself. But lately, she's not interested in going to bed. She seems to be scared of the dark. She's having night terrors again. She's a mess. I seriously hope it straightens out soon. I'm starting to wonder if she's reacting to my pregnancy.

Hmmm

Baby C scans

We had our follow up scan today for Baby C. All good news was reported. She's fine.

The brain measurement was within "normal range". Her weight and size are all normal. Come to think of it, normal is all relative right?

They said she was a little small which I don't get. She's already measuring about 4 pounds. That's over average. But whatever. They said she'd be at least 7 1/2 pounds when she's born. Again - NOT SMALL!

Anyway, I breathed a sigh of relief when the brain measurement seemed to be more of a mistake than anything.

Thank you God!

Sick again

I can't believe it. I think I've had the worst two weeks in a while. Two weeks ago today, I came down with a sinus thing. I was coughing and sniffing. I had trouble breathing through my nose. By Sunday, I was an official mouth-breather. I made it through three days at work before they told me to go to the doctor.

The doctor gave an antibiotic and also suggested I take some sudafed and afrin to breathe. The OB had said that was ok as well, so by Wednesday night I could breathe again. Whew.

Friday morning, I went in for my follow up ultrasound from my doctor's appointment and they said "your fluid levels are too low". I was instructed to get off all meds, stay inside, rest and hydrate. So I was back to not breathing. Ugh.

Monday morning, Jim and I went to St. E's to get checked again. All was good. The pareonatal doc said the fluid levels were normal and I was good to go.

Tuesday morning, my OB called to confirm the report but then also said "we found a soft marker off - the cisterna magna" and said we want to check you in two more weeks". Great. Not to worry though... HA!!! Tell a old prego woman not to worry. Geez doc.

On Wednesday, I went to work and by 10:30 am I was puking in the bathroom. Nice. Jim had a stomach bug the past weekeend. I guess I finally got it. I managed to get home and onto the couch. I puked another time that day and managed to get Jim to let me hide in the bedroom after Reagan got home. Two days later, I was back to work (on the couch).

Needless to say, I'm soooo done being sick. I've literally had something wrong virtually my entire pregnancy. This little girl is wreaking havoc on my life already. I totally can't wait to meet her. She's going to rock our world just like Reagan did - just in a different way.

Pray she's good and that I can stay healthy for the next two months. That's all I have left folks!!!

My prego pic at 29 weeks or so

Someone asked for me to post my prego pic, so here it is. As of the beginning of August, I was THIS BIG!!!

New tricks at the table

Last night, we gave Reagan a little girl cup filled with chocolate milk. After slurping it down as fast as she could, she proceeded to cover her mouth with the cup, suck in and create a vacuum on her face. She actually held the cup there. I was so impressed :)

Friday the 13th

Our date night got changed slightly due to my bed rest situation. Jim and I both thought it would be better for me to just stay home and drink as much water as possible. He went to Blockbuster and got us a "movie deal" and then to Friday's to pick up dinner. Mom and Dad took Reagan out to dinner and gave her a bath before bringing her home.

We ate downstairs in the basement and watched Cop Out. I was shocked it was a good movie. We laughed all the way through. We started to watch The Bounty Hunter, but Reagan wasn't eager to go to bed so I sat with her til she fell asleep.

At one point, she had the lights on and said that Boots was scaring her. Hmmm.

Anyway, Jim and I had a nice night together - no kids. Yea! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Baby C scans

Yesterday we went back to the doctor to see how the baby was growing. On Monday, the doctor had ordered a scan because she was concerned. The tech was really good with us - she confirmed that the baby was fine. She was a little small, but all things were growing correctly according to her size.

My amniotic fluid, however, is a tad low. The measurement is supposed to be between 9.0 and 23.0. Mine is at 9.0. So the doctor put me on "bed rest" this weekend. He told me to stay inside where it's cool, rest and drink lots of fluids to get hydrated. I was also to stop all medication except my antibiotic. So - no more breathing. :) That's ok. Anything for this kid!

So Monday will be the next milestone for me. I will go to the hospital to have my fluid level checked again. If it's low, they will either put me on bed rest or admit me to give me IV fluids. Yea team. We'll see.

Keep praying!

Reagan's night

Tonight we all went out to dinner at Max & Erma's. It was a nice evening. Reagan even told us when she had to go potty - yea!!! When Reagan was crawling back up into the booth, she slipped and smacked her ear on the table. She went straight to Jordan, but was crying so hard that she didn't make a noise and wasn't breathing. Hmmm.

I crawled very quickly up next to her just in time to see her eyes roll back into her head and have her faint in my arms. OH MY GOSH!!! Talk about freaking out. My mom popped up, Jordan was yelling and I was just doing my best to get her out of the booth. My mom picked her up and went straight out to the car. She was not very responsive for a few minutes. Her eyes were open, but just not focusing on anything.

I was ready to drive to Children's when she "came to". She started talking and playing. We got a call back from the pediatrician and they said to just watch her for two hours. If she was "ok", she was probably fine. Apparently it's an automatic reation when kids have a quick and unbearable pain - their bodies shut down. He said to watch for her behavior or throwing up. Either case we would need to take her straight to the ER.

We all came home and played. She's fine. But she scared me to death. It's been a rough week at the Carman's house. Ugh!

Now I'm sick

Ok, this has been an interesting week for the Carman girls.
Jordan had a rash when we picked her up from camp on Saturday, Reagan was feverish and had the runs plus coxsackie virus, I ended up at the doctor today with a sinus/throat infection. Hmmm. What's next? Well actually, i go in Friday for my re-check ultrasound to determine if the baby is growing ok. If not, I get bedrest.

Saying tons of prayers this week for wellness!!!

Sick kid - no kidding

I just got back from the doctor with Reagan. She has the cox-sackie virus. Because there are so many strains to this virus, they were hesitant to call it anything but that. The doctor did confirm that there is a major outbreak of HFM disease. Yea - that's awesome.

I thought she only had them on her tongue - he said they are all over her mouth, tongue and down her throat. Great.

Time and motrin is about all we can do. Sigh!

Home sick with Reagan

Last night I found some more sores on Reagan's tongue. She hadn't been eating well at all and been sucking on her fingers a lot. She's always grumpy anymore, so I just attribute any moodiness to her "terrible twos".

Anyway, we woke up this morning and she had more. I only saw two last night. This morning she had four. I'm guessing she's got something contagious - hoping it's not HFM disease. We'll see.

So far today she has been able to milk the sick thing. She got chocolate popsicles for breakfast, pudding for a snack. I'm wondering what she's be able to get out of me for lunch. :)

Baby C updates

So today I went in for my standard appointment - I'm 29w3d. Yea team! Unfortunately the doctor became a tad worried when she measured me. Apparently she thinks I'm small. Now if you saw me, you would not say I'm small at all. I've actually put on about 33 pounds at this point - slightly more than recommended, but a LOT less than my first pregnancy.

She told me that my uterus was lower than expected and said "I think she might be small". She said she's either a pretzel baby (all bunched up in one place) or small. So she set me up with an ultrasound for this Friday and said "if she measures small, you will be put on bed rest." WHAT??? Yep - bed rest. Hmmm.

So of course my mind is going crazy. I know everything is in God's Hands, but sometimes it is hard to not worry and let go. I've looked up everything that could be wrong. One post said "just quit looking until you get your results because you'll likely find a bunch of things it could be that might scare you more than your results." Nice again.

My poor baby saw me crying to Jim tonight. She just kept looking at me and holding on to my leg. Poor thing was worried. Now she's not leaving my side at all. I'll be better tomorrow until Friday morning. Then I'll probably be sick to my stomach until I hear "the news".

Just keep me in your prayers!

Reagan and Baby C

Tonight, I got home and snuggled with Reagan on the couch. We typically do that after school - we eat a snack and watch Dora before playing. She was laying on my belly and started lightly patting my belly. Then she did it stronger. Finally, she dropped her elbow on my belly and said "I don't like that". I said "what honey, you don't like the baby?". She actually said "no mommy, I don't want one".

Hmmm

New Dora Bedroom and Baby Room

Reagan has done really well getting used to her new big girl room. We filled the walls and her bed with "Dora" and she really likes it. She has not seemed to have any issue getting used to the size of the bed either. We all like the size of the bed, because it makes it easier to cuddle if we want to. :)

And now, because the baby's room is now set up, Reagan wants to play in there. I'm not sure why, but I'm sure she's getting used to the idea of having another little thing in the house.

Baby C updates

Oh My Gosh - It's over 100 degress today. It is NOT a good summer to be pregnant... or at least THIS pregnant. Ugh!

Zerbert

oh no, she figured out how to zerbert!

Baby C updates

I left work yesterday around 2:00 pm to lay down. I was having considerable pain across my abdomen and was having trouble sitting up. I got home, popped some Tylenol and laid down. By the evening, I wasn't much better. In fact I was worse. By the time Reagan had to go to bed, I was done for the evening.

So this morning I woke up thinking I'd be ok. Nope! So I called into work and called the doctor. Great thing - the doctor wanted me to come into today to check the baby.

I got to the doctor. They checked me for infections, pushed on my belly and said "hmmm... let's check with an ultrasound". Even better. The baby was just fine. The heart was beating and she was moving around just fine.

The doctor said to take it easy and come back in about a week to see how I'm doing. But he thought that my pain was muscle strain and round-ligament strain. I hope so. :)

Baby C updates

So lately Baby C has been beating my stomach up from the inside out. She's has literally kicked me all day and all night. Not only that but I've been having some upper stomach issues - not my stomach, but the actual muscles. Someone at work finally convinced me that I was having Braxton Hicks. Yea team.

The good thing is the last two days that they've calmed down. But I've also had more strain in my pelvic area. I've resolved to just not workout because it's not worth the three days of recovery. I am struggling to pick Reagan up or hold her for any period of time. I hate that. I'm so used to being super woman - nothing stops me. Well, nothing until I got pregnant again.

But, I look at it this way. I have a little baby growing inside me. That is just a miracle. I'm 40 and had no problems getting pregnant. I'm grateful. So another 12 weeks to be selfless and just take care of myself is all I can do.

I'm looking forward to the end of the pregnancy for a lot of reasons. But am patiently waiting her arrival.

If you feed my boots, it will feed the baby

Tonight, Reagan was eating goldfish crackers as a snack after school. After some period of time, she reached up and said "I want to feed the baby". So I grabbed the cracker and started to put it in my mouth. She yelled "no mommy, your boots". Hmmm. She reached up and put her hand in my bra and left goldfish crackers in there.

Now what?

I turned around and quickly removed them and ate them. Yummy!

She did it again. "Here mommy", she said reaching up towards my bra, "this is for the baby." Jim just looked at me and laughed.

I have an idea...

Reagan has been coming up with all sorts of new tings to say. It's been really fun watching her put together different sentences and phrases. Her speech is growing so fast that we can't keep up with it very well. But the other day she said "I have an idea" and kept going with something. I was laughing when I heard her say that and didn't listen to anything else.

I wish I could keep up with her better, but I'm a tad lazy these days with writing stuff down.

New Furniture

We finally decided after a couple weekends of shopping that we would upgrade Reagan's room to a full-size bed and dresser set and pass on all the baby stuff to Baby C in my belly. It ended up being about the same as just getting a new convertible set for the baby.

That came out so easy, but it was a process to figure that out. We picked out a few things we liked, got her to bounce around a bit on the furniture and finally settled on something.


We hope she likes it.

Of course, I had to order all the Dora decorations too. We got a cool bedspread and some stuff for her wall. When I get the room together, I will post again with the images. :)

Little Miss Independent

Our little Reagan, who was once so cuddly and snuggly, has changed. She is probably still a mama's girl, but is more likely to do her own thing now. Since we moved her to her toddler bed about a month ago, she's slowly changed from needing her snuggle time at night to just needing to know we are around.

I miss my little snuggle butt sometimes. When she appears, I grab a hold of her and only let go when told. It's probably good timing since we have #2 on the way, but still a bitter sweet time for me.

The lights are all on

This morning we got upstairs to wake Reagan up and her overhead light was on and she had a TON of books in her bed with her and her animals. Last night Reagan threw a fit and we left her in her room to put herself in bed. She did just that - she read books and fell asleep on the pile of things in her bed.

Awww...

Bath time woes

We haven't figured out what has happened, but Reagan went from enjoying the bath to being completely opposed to the thought of it. Hmmm. She hates to get her hair washed, hates to do anything related to something you want her to do in that process. But if you can get through the bath and walk out of the room, she'll sit down and play just fine. It's odd. Is that her crazy independence coming out? Who know. All I know is that Jim and I do not enjoy the bath routine at night. It's a necessary evil, but not always fun.

Furniture shopping

Today we went furniture shopping for a big girl set for Reagan. We found a place that had an awesome kids section that Reagan could play in and I went looking around. We actually found something that we both liked - huge shock. Even Reagan like it, I think. She's getting a big girl bed. Of course, her new room will be decorated in Dora! Weeeeee.

Our Trip to Children's Hospital

So tonight was just fun. Of course that statement is loaded with sarcasm. I was on my way to the chiropractor after work when Jim called with some bad news - Reagan was up at the front desk crying and holding her arm. She can't move it without screaming and she's in a lot of pain. So no chiropractor - I went straight to pick her up and take her to the doctor.

Once I got to the school, I saw that there were four teachers huddled around her and nobody was talking. Taylor was crying and holding Reagan. But no one would tell me anything. I scooped Reagan up and took off. Walking with her and even getting her in the car was a huge challenge. I didn't know if her arm was broken or her shoulder dislocated, so I had to move her as little as possible. Hmmm.

Once in the car, we put in Dumbo and I gave her a lollipop. That helped. She still whimpered, but she was distracted for most of the car ride. She did tell me that she was scared - I was impressed by that. I don't blame her, so was I.

Once at the doctor's, she wouldn't leave my side. I had to use the potty :), but that was nearly impossible. We got back to see a nurse and she tried to pop her elbow in place (interesting) but nothing worked. (Yes, our kid was screaming in pain and they didn't give us a damn doctor - although he was just standing there... nice huh. But they did overcharge us. Not that I'm bitter.)Anyway, they said basically take her to the ER. Jim and I opted to go to Children's Hospital Urgent Care.

Once there, things calmed down a bit. She actually told us she had to go potty - totally impressed with that. She seemed less stressed. The wait was fairly short. She played in my purse quite a bit. She put on all my make up, not just on herself, but on me and Jim too. Jim was a good sport - he let her put lipstick and powder on him. :)

We got back to the room and the nurse and the doctor were great. The nurse checked her out and totally calmed her down. She was up on the table playing some. She was calmer. Then the doctor came in and basically said "it's nurse maid elbow - or a dislocation". Sweet. :) She played around with Reagan's arm while she was talking us and popped it back in without us knowing. Reagan didn't cry as much when she did it. So it worked. Within minutes, she was totally back to normal. She was going crazy -jumping around, giggling and of course, eating a treat.

That was that. We got home about 8pm from this whole ordeal and ate pizza with my parents. She went to bed quite easily - I believe she was tuckered out. I know I was.

Reagan's activities

I have no idea when it happened, but Reagan changed. She walks around the house making up stories and having conversations with me (and everyone else) like she's an adult. She talks ALL the time and never seems to lack for topics of conversation. Not only that, but she is so animated at the same time. She user her hands to talk now and tilts her head when she wants an answer. That giant leap that people talk about with their kids has officially happened to mine. :)

Baby C

So over the last week or so Baby C has gotten very active. She's not quite active all day, but she will go for LONG periods of time just kicking and punching all over the place. She's gotten so strong that she can now make my clothes move and other objects that I might balance on my belly.

The other day, Reagan was snuggling on my belly like a pillow and she got kicked by the baby. I'm not sure she knew, but I did. Her head moved.

I've started to get some of my energy back, but still having a lot of back trouble. If I sit too long, my hips lock up. Some days my groin gets too sore to walk, but stretching helps sometimes. I have to admit, I've had a few women catch me in the bathroom at work stretching in some odd ways. They just smile like they get it. Thank goodness.

Uncle vs. Aunt

This morning over breakfast I was telling Reagan who was going to be visiting after she got home from school. When I got to Uncle Eric and Aunt Tonia, I mixed up their names and called them Uncle Eric and Uncle Tonia. Whoops.

Don't think she didn't catch me. She said "no mommy, it's Aunt Tonia". So I tried again and reversed what I said. I said "Aunt Eric and Uncle Tonia". She said again "no Mommy, it's UNCLE Eric and AUNT Tonia".

Smart girl!

LIttle Reagan

Last night, Reagan refused to go to sleep. I put her in bed and she just could not calm down. The bad thing is she's in a big girl bed. That just means she can get up and get out of bed and walk around her room.

So Jim and I settled in to watch a little boob tube and listened to Reagan chat away. She would fall silent at times which meant I was hoping she was asleep only to hear her start chatting again. I finally fell asleep sitting up about 10:30 pm.

This morning, I went to wake her up and found her snuggled around most of her animals and way too many books to count. I'm guessing by the scene that she had read multiple books to all her animals last night prior to passing out on top of them. Way too cute.

Potty Training

So over the last two and a half weeks (of four) Reagan has had perfect days at school with potty training. She no longer has accidents at school which is awesome. She's actually close to being accident-free at home too. The only time she has one is if she is in a bad mood. Then it's expected unless she hasn't had fluids. But for the most part, I think we're down to 2-3 accidents per week.

Last night, we ventured to the store after she went potty and had no trouble. When we got home, she had to go. But the great thing was that she held it. Woo hoo.

So the last thing is her night time stuff. So far, she's dry almost every night. I think in the last week, she's had no wet mornings. She did one time over the weekend, but that's it.

Potty Training is good today. :)

Temper temper

Reagan has finally broken out of her room. Jim put her in bed tonight and she was just not interested in going to sleep. She was fighting everything he tried to get her to calm down and get into bed. Between a challenging bath and a frantic attempt to get her into her PJs, Jim walked out of her room and left her to scream and cry. He waited for her to calm upstairs in the bonus room.

Little did he know that she was a step ahead of him. After a period of time, she fell quiet. All of a sudden, she appeared before him with both halves of the door handle lock and threw them on the floor like "you think you can keep me in my room - take that!"

How do you NOT laugh at that?

Bad thing, all those door handle covers that we have around the house are probably useless at this point. :(

Get away weekend

So this weekend Jim and I went to Great Wolf Lodge. We struggled for a couple weeks to find any place (spa or other) that had reservations available. This was the only place that was open. It actually only had two rooms left which I found funny.

We dropped Reagan off with my parents on Saturday afternoon and came home to pack and drive to Mason. Mason... lame. But guess what - it was awesome. I loved it. There were kids running around (they weren't mine). There were babies crying (they weren't mine). There was a water park with lots for us to do (huge plus).

We got there and immediately went to the water park. It was wonderful. It had a lazy river, hot tubs, water coasters, obstacle course, kid areas, wave pool and just tons of fun for all. We stayed at the water park until we played enough and then got ready to have a "date". Yes a date.

We went to Outback and saw "The Karate Kid" (a total waste for me and Jim, but a date none-the-less). We had a nice time. We came back and crawled into bed and just relaxed. How nice.

We slept in Sunday til 9am. Holy Cow - that just never happens. :) We got up, ate, and swam. I got my toes done (me time) and Jim took a nap. Again, stuff we can never do. We ate a late lunch and then went right back to the pool. Again, lots of fun.

Jim rode the water coasters several times and loved them. We played until late and ran up to the restaurant about 830pm to eat dinner. After that, we watched "Date Night" and relaxed again.

Of course we slept in again on Monday, got up and ate about 10am. Wow. The cool thing about that place was that we could play until the park closed at 10pm on our check out day. Perfect. We ran down to grab Reagan and brought her back up to play all evening. We didn't get home until almost 930 pm on Monday. We were all tired and done for the night. Whew!

I am so happy we took the chance to go. It was a better get away than I expected. I had fun with Jim, relaxed and missed my girl. :)

Who won? Reagan or the Waterslide?

So you be the judge...

Monday after our "get away weekend" we drove down to get Reagan from school a bit early and take her back up to the Great Wolf Lodge for an evening of fun. She was curious as to where we were going, but we just kept telling her the waterpark. Confused as she was, she was happy to be going.

We got there and she lit up. She played in the water, went down the water slides confidently and played in the fountains. There were several structures that kids could play on - Reagan found them. She climbed up one - and just kept going. Jim and I followed her curiosity and ended up face to face with two water coasters.

Of course, Jim and I both thought that she could ride down with daddy, so I headed back down. I looked up and Jim was waving at me and I figured out that she had to go it alone. Uh oh. It was a big kid slide, not meant for kids at her level. I was worried. But Jim said "she's going down alone and the lifeguard is okay with it". Hmmm.

So I waited. He sent her down and I waited. As she came down, I heard nothing. No screams nothing. But she appeared butt first, face down and plopped right into the pool of water. I, of course, scooped her right up expecting her to cry or something. Nope! She had this look of terror and shock on her face. But no noise. She didn't make one until she saw her daddy and immediately wanted to go to him. :)

I still haven't figured out what happened. Did she flip out, was she in shock? I'm guessing the answer to my question is that the Waterslide won!