Tonight, the girls were missing daddy. He left town again today for a week. We are holding down the fort without him. All girls... except Carson. He's the lone male this week. ha ha.
Maddy tonight wanted some extra soothing at bed time. She snuggled into the crease of my neck and said "one more song mommy" Love her.
Reagan wanted to snuggle until she fell asleep. She cried to talk with daddy. With his flight taking off late, it wasn't going to happen. Extra snuggling was necessary.
I think the best part about this... my girls are starting to be able to express how they are feeling. So much better than guessing. Reagan just misses her daddy. So sweet. I love her. I love Maddy. Mush! Come home soon Daddy.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Monday, February 4, 2013
Friday, September 11, 2009
Our trip down south
I actually woke up this morning at 5:00 am. I can't believe it at all. I was able to get me and Reagan up and out to Mom & Dad's house by 5:40 am. Reagan didn't go back to sleep but she was very quiet for the first part of the drive. She did absolutely fantastic. She watched TV with mom and colored some. We got out of the car every few hours to let her jump around and also let me and mom take a potty break.
Once we got to Mobile, we made a short stop to Wally world to get a few things for us. But we were at Chris & Lee's by 6:00 pm. So all together, it was a 11.5 hour drive that we made in 13 hours. I think that we really good with a toddler. :)
Once we got to Mobile, we made a short stop to Wally world to get a few things for us. But we were at Chris & Lee's by 6:00 pm. So all together, it was a 11.5 hour drive that we made in 13 hours. I think that we really good with a toddler. :)
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
My weekend in Mobile wrapped up
Reagan and I went to Mobile over Columbus Day weekend (with my parents) to visit my brother and his family. Chris and Lee have three beautiful children - Sarah, Katie and John - and a wonderful family environment. Chris is the pastor of Dauphin Island Baptist Resort which is located on a barrier island (Dauphine) off the coast of Mobile, Alabama.
This was Reagan’s first plane ride and first vacation since she was born. She did extremely well on both legs of the trip to Mobile and was in a good mood (and rested). We arrived in Mobile on Saturday and saw five smiling faces as we entered into the main part of the airport. Reagan smiled and waved at the kids as they swarmed around her. It was soooo good to see them again. We only typically get to see Chris’ family about once a year unless something happens in the family which causes them to travel up north. This was a treat for us. The last time they saw Reagan, she was only about 10 days old.
We took a quick trip over to O’Charleys for lunch and then made our way over to Wally World to get our supplies for the weekend. Once back on the island, we unloaded the cars and got settled. We didn’t really have anything to do, but I know Reagan was ready to play.
I stuck her on the floor with the kids and started unloading things and getting unpacked. Sarah, Katie and John all played with her. It was a completely new experience for her because she is used to such a quiet environment. Everything was just louder there because there are so many more of them LOL. Over the weekend, the kids played all day. It took Reagan some time to get used to everything, but she quickly adapted to the home and just excelled. She played with all the toys, crawled, climbed, walked with Sarah and even rode on John’s toddler bike. How cute is that? I caught her a few times trying to stand up without any support at all (uh oh I’m in trouble). We even went to the beach (another first for Reagan) and got her to go into the surf some.
I was very happy to see her go straight to Lee when we got there and that she had no problem with Chris. Anytime she was with me and caught a glimpse of Grampy, she started wiggling to get away from me and get to him. I am sure he loved that. I was able to hear my brother preach twice and even attend Lee’s Sunday school class on Sunday morning. Both things were a blessing to me. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.
Their kids are growing up so fast… Sarah is lovely, beautiful and mature and was definitely the mother-hen. Katie was the energetic excited one that just wanted to play, play, play. John was very curious and gentle with Reagan. He is a year older than her and just took to her so well.
The weekend was too short. I didn’t get enough time with my brother or anyone, but I’m not sure I’d ever feel like I got enough time with them even if I was there for a week. My flight home was busy with Reagan alone and I was glad to be back to our routine. Reagan was definitely happy to see Daddy at the airport. As soon as she saw him, she started waving and didn’t stop until he picked her up out of the stroller. Now that I am home, I think I’ll try to sleep. :)
This was Reagan’s first plane ride and first vacation since she was born. She did extremely well on both legs of the trip to Mobile and was in a good mood (and rested). We arrived in Mobile on Saturday and saw five smiling faces as we entered into the main part of the airport. Reagan smiled and waved at the kids as they swarmed around her. It was soooo good to see them again. We only typically get to see Chris’ family about once a year unless something happens in the family which causes them to travel up north. This was a treat for us. The last time they saw Reagan, she was only about 10 days old.
We took a quick trip over to O’Charleys for lunch and then made our way over to Wally World to get our supplies for the weekend. Once back on the island, we unloaded the cars and got settled. We didn’t really have anything to do, but I know Reagan was ready to play.
I stuck her on the floor with the kids and started unloading things and getting unpacked. Sarah, Katie and John all played with her. It was a completely new experience for her because she is used to such a quiet environment. Everything was just louder there because there are so many more of them LOL. Over the weekend, the kids played all day. It took Reagan some time to get used to everything, but she quickly adapted to the home and just excelled. She played with all the toys, crawled, climbed, walked with Sarah and even rode on John’s toddler bike. How cute is that? I caught her a few times trying to stand up without any support at all (uh oh I’m in trouble). We even went to the beach (another first for Reagan) and got her to go into the surf some.
I was very happy to see her go straight to Lee when we got there and that she had no problem with Chris. Anytime she was with me and caught a glimpse of Grampy, she started wiggling to get away from me and get to him. I am sure he loved that. I was able to hear my brother preach twice and even attend Lee’s Sunday school class on Sunday morning. Both things were a blessing to me. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.
Their kids are growing up so fast… Sarah is lovely, beautiful and mature and was definitely the mother-hen. Katie was the energetic excited one that just wanted to play, play, play. John was very curious and gentle with Reagan. He is a year older than her and just took to her so well.
The weekend was too short. I didn’t get enough time with my brother or anyone, but I’m not sure I’d ever feel like I got enough time with them even if I was there for a week. My flight home was busy with Reagan alone and I was glad to be back to our routine. Reagan was definitely happy to see Daddy at the airport. As soon as she saw him, she started waving and didn’t stop until he picked her up out of the stroller. Now that I am home, I think I’ll try to sleep. :)
Monday, October 13, 2008
Traveling home from Mobile
On the way home, Reagan did really well. It was just me which meant that I was very busy in the airports. I had to make sure she had her food prepared and fed before the next plane ride. It was way too hard to get on the plane and feed her with someone sitting right next to me. The first leg of the trip was not too bad. I had a seat between me and someone else, so we had some room to spread out. I got a ton of compliments on how well the baby did. The flight attendants were really helpful on this flight – even holding her while I collapsed the stroller at the entrance to the plane. The second flight wasn’t quite as easy, although she still did really well. It was very cramped quarters and the person sitting next to me was at least 6 foot and 240. It didn’t leave a lot of room for me, let alone me and the baby. Oh well. She eventually went to sleep and I just sat there watching her for about an hour. I didn’t hurry off of either flight figuring it would be easier to just wait for the crowd to die down some. When we got home, we hurried to the baggage claim to see “daddy”. Reagan saw him from quite a distance – which surprised me – and just started waving like crazy. She was very happy to see her daddy and so was I! :)
Dauphin Island Beach!
Today was busy again. My flight didn’t take off until 3:45 pm which meant I had the morning at my brother’s house. We went to the beach in the morning which was Reagan’s first experience in the sand and near the water. She had a blast!
We walked onto the sand and the wind picked up immediately. Reagan loves any type of breeze. I plopped her down in the sand and her cousin Sarah joined her. She started piling the sand up on her feet and legs and Reagan just watched with curiosity. She played with Sarah for a while before we picked up and went closer to the water. Katie and her two friends (and everyone else) had already beaten us to the water. The Dauphin Island public beach was quiet that day and absolutely beautiful. I tried a couple of times to get Reagan into the water by dunking her feet in the surf and she was NOT happy about it. She didn’t like it. I think she was probably unsure more than anything, but I didn’t force it on her.
The funny thing is that Sarah was able to convince both my mom and dad to go out into the water pretty far. They both had their shorts hiked up to their booties and they were still getting a little wet. I got some good pics of them wading hip high in the water.
They tried to coax me into the water, but I am not real big on ocean water. It is a little scary to me since I got pulled under about 20 years ago. I’ve never forgotten it. Put me in a lake and I’m good, but the ocean… nope. On our way back in from the water, mom was apparently trying to reach for John and turned a little too much and fell on all fours. The best part was that she couldn’t get up because she was laughing so hard. I wish I had gotten that on camera. It was apparently really funny.
We walked onto the sand and the wind picked up immediately. Reagan loves any type of breeze. I plopped her down in the sand and her cousin Sarah joined her. She started piling the sand up on her feet and legs and Reagan just watched with curiosity. She played with Sarah for a while before we picked up and went closer to the water. Katie and her two friends (and everyone else) had already beaten us to the water. The Dauphin Island public beach was quiet that day and absolutely beautiful. I tried a couple of times to get Reagan into the water by dunking her feet in the surf and she was NOT happy about it. She didn’t like it. I think she was probably unsure more than anything, but I didn’t force it on her.
The funny thing is that Sarah was able to convince both my mom and dad to go out into the water pretty far. They both had their shorts hiked up to their booties and they were still getting a little wet. I got some good pics of them wading hip high in the water.
They tried to coax me into the water, but I am not real big on ocean water. It is a little scary to me since I got pulled under about 20 years ago. I’ve never forgotten it. Put me in a lake and I’m good, but the ocean… nope. On our way back in from the water, mom was apparently trying to reach for John and turned a little too much and fell on all fours. The best part was that she couldn’t get up because she was laughing so hard. I wish I had gotten that on camera. It was apparently really funny.
Last day in Mobile
Today was busy again. My flight didn’t take off until 3:45 pm which meant I had the morning at my brother’s house. We went to the beach in the morning which was Reagan’s first experience in the sand and near the water. She had a blast!
We walked onto the sand and the wind picked up immediately. Reagan loves any type of breeze. I plopped her down in the sand and her cousin Sarah joined her. She started piling the sand up on her feet and legs and Reagan just watched with curiosity. She played with Sarah for a while before we picked up and went closer to the water. Katie and her two friends (and everyone else) had already beaten us to the water. The Dauphin Island public beach was quiet that day and absolutely beautiful. I tried a couple of times to get Reagan into the water by dunking her feet in the surf and she was NOT happy about it. She didn’t like it. I think she was probably unsure more than anything, but I didn’t force it on her. The funny thing is that Sarah was able to convince both my mom and dad to go out into the water pretty far. They both had their shorts hiked up to their booties and they were still getting a little wet. I got some good pics of them wading hip high in the water. They tried to coax me into the water, but I am not real big on ocean water. It is a little scary to me since I got pulled under about 20 years ago. I’ve never forgotten it. Put me in a lake and I’m good, but the ocean… nope. On our way back in from the water, mom was apparently trying to reach for John and turned a little too much and fell on all fours. The best part was that she couldn’t get up because she was laughing so hard. I wish I had gotten that on camera. It was apparently really funny.
On the way home, Reagan did really well. It was just me which meant that I was very busy in the airports. I had to make sure she had her food prepared and fed before the next plane ride. It was way too hard to get on the plane and feed her with someone sitting right next to me. The first leg of the trip was not too bad. I had a seat between me and someone else, so we had some room to spread out. I got a ton of compliments on how well the baby did. The flight attendants were really helpful on this flight – even holding her while I collapsed the stroller at the entrance to the plane. The second flight wasn’t quite as easy, although she still did really well. It was very cramped quarters and the person sitting next to me was at least 6 foot and 240. It didn’t leave a lot of room for me, let alone me and the baby. Oh well. She eventually went to sleep and I just sat there watching her for about an hour. I didn’t hurry off of either flight figuring it would be easier to just wait for the crowd to die down some. When we got home, we hurried to the baggage claim to see “daddy”. Reagan saw him from quite a distance – which surprised me – and just started waving like crazy. She was very happy to see her daddy and so was I! J
We walked onto the sand and the wind picked up immediately. Reagan loves any type of breeze. I plopped her down in the sand and her cousin Sarah joined her. She started piling the sand up on her feet and legs and Reagan just watched with curiosity. She played with Sarah for a while before we picked up and went closer to the water. Katie and her two friends (and everyone else) had already beaten us to the water. The Dauphin Island public beach was quiet that day and absolutely beautiful. I tried a couple of times to get Reagan into the water by dunking her feet in the surf and she was NOT happy about it. She didn’t like it. I think she was probably unsure more than anything, but I didn’t force it on her. The funny thing is that Sarah was able to convince both my mom and dad to go out into the water pretty far. They both had their shorts hiked up to their booties and they were still getting a little wet. I got some good pics of them wading hip high in the water. They tried to coax me into the water, but I am not real big on ocean water. It is a little scary to me since I got pulled under about 20 years ago. I’ve never forgotten it. Put me in a lake and I’m good, but the ocean… nope. On our way back in from the water, mom was apparently trying to reach for John and turned a little too much and fell on all fours. The best part was that she couldn’t get up because she was laughing so hard. I wish I had gotten that on camera. It was apparently really funny.
On the way home, Reagan did really well. It was just me which meant that I was very busy in the airports. I had to make sure she had her food prepared and fed before the next plane ride. It was way too hard to get on the plane and feed her with someone sitting right next to me. The first leg of the trip was not too bad. I had a seat between me and someone else, so we had some room to spread out. I got a ton of compliments on how well the baby did. The flight attendants were really helpful on this flight – even holding her while I collapsed the stroller at the entrance to the plane. The second flight wasn’t quite as easy, although she still did really well. It was very cramped quarters and the person sitting next to me was at least 6 foot and 240. It didn’t leave a lot of room for me, let alone me and the baby. Oh well. She eventually went to sleep and I just sat there watching her for about an hour. I didn’t hurry off of either flight figuring it would be easier to just wait for the crowd to die down some. When we got home, we hurried to the baggage claim to see “daddy”. Reagan saw him from quite a distance – which surprised me – and just started waving like crazy. She was very happy to see her daddy and so was I! J
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Sunday in Mobile
Sundays are always crazy in Mobile. My brother is the pastor of a Baptist Resort ministry and he leads service every Sunday morning and evening. Lee also leads the Sunday School group, the singing and other stuff to keep it humming. So needless to say, we were busy busy busy.
Sunday morning started off well. Reagan did sleep ok the night before in the pack and play. I was a little surprised by that, but she woke up happy. We all spent some time just relaxing and eating Lee's wonderful food before getting ready for church. I really debated going to sunday school because it was right during Reagan's nap time and I wasn't sure she'd sleep at the nursery. I eventually decided to just bundle her up and take off with my mom. Other than a few short crying spells when I dropped her off, she did fabulous with Ms. Ann. She said she went "right to sleep" and slept for over an hour. Yea Reagan!!!
She played all afternoon in the playroom with the other kids. She was able to get acclimated pretty quickly to the "older" toys and had a ball with the other three kids. There was this one toy - the caterpillar with the letters on the feet - that she just LOVED!!! Oh My! I would hit the button on the top and music would start. As soon as the music started, she would start rocking on her butt - back and forth to the music SMILING SOOOO BIG!! She just had a blast. Eventually she started reaching over and turning it on herself.
I really feel like she was able to “stretch” some today. Their house is all new to her which meant she was going everywhere looking at everything. She would find something new and pull up on it. She even tried to just stand up on her own and ended up getting stuck a little bit in “downward dog” position. It was amazing to watch what she learned in just a day! All three of the kids were just wonderful with her. John tried to play with her and the ball. Whenever she would crawl anywhere, he’d follow beside her with his hand on her shoulder. So darn cute… and protective. Awwwwww.
The interesting thing about a different family is the different dynamics of the home and the effect on Reagan. She is very used to a quiet environment even when Jordan is home. She is by nature a quieter child and very content to just hang out and play. Chris’ family is much more active with three children and the house is much louder than ours is right now. I think all the activity kept her wildly awake at night and she didn’t settle down until everyone else went to bed. While that was a little frustrating, I loved watching her interact with her surroundings and think she did fabulous!
Sunday morning started off well. Reagan did sleep ok the night before in the pack and play. I was a little surprised by that, but she woke up happy. We all spent some time just relaxing and eating Lee's wonderful food before getting ready for church. I really debated going to sunday school because it was right during Reagan's nap time and I wasn't sure she'd sleep at the nursery. I eventually decided to just bundle her up and take off with my mom. Other than a few short crying spells when I dropped her off, she did fabulous with Ms. Ann. She said she went "right to sleep" and slept for over an hour. Yea Reagan!!!
She played all afternoon in the playroom with the other kids. She was able to get acclimated pretty quickly to the "older" toys and had a ball with the other three kids. There was this one toy - the caterpillar with the letters on the feet - that she just LOVED!!! Oh My! I would hit the button on the top and music would start. As soon as the music started, she would start rocking on her butt - back and forth to the music SMILING SOOOO BIG!! She just had a blast. Eventually she started reaching over and turning it on herself.
I really feel like she was able to “stretch” some today. Their house is all new to her which meant she was going everywhere looking at everything. She would find something new and pull up on it. She even tried to just stand up on her own and ended up getting stuck a little bit in “downward dog” position. It was amazing to watch what she learned in just a day! All three of the kids were just wonderful with her. John tried to play with her and the ball. Whenever she would crawl anywhere, he’d follow beside her with his hand on her shoulder. So darn cute… and protective. Awwwwww.
The interesting thing about a different family is the different dynamics of the home and the effect on Reagan. She is very used to a quiet environment even when Jordan is home. She is by nature a quieter child and very content to just hang out and play. Chris’ family is much more active with three children and the house is much louder than ours is right now. I think all the activity kept her wildly awake at night and she didn’t settle down until everyone else went to bed. While that was a little frustrating, I loved watching her interact with her surroundings and think she did fabulous!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Going to Mobile
Well tonight I'm writing from Dauphin Island, Alabama (or Mobile as I call it). My brother and his family run a Baptist Resort Ministry on a barrier island just off the cost of Alabama. It is peaceful and beautiful and I absolutely love it here.
He's got three great kids and a wonderful wife that I have dubbed "super mom". Everything just gets simpler here. There's just not a lot to do but hang out and enjoy each other.
Reagan did great on the flight down here. Mom and Dad were both on the first flight with me and because they missed their connecting flight, they ended up traveling the rest of the way down with me as well. The first leg of the trip, Reagan slept. She did wonderful. She didn't have any trouble with the flight or the ear thing. The second leg of the trip she was quite tired but just wouldn't sleep. We had some entertaining to do, but she was really very easy. There was one baby on the plane that obviously had trouble with her ears. I felt really bad for her.
Reagan seemed to instinctively suck on her pacifier on the way up and down both and had no trouble at all.
Once we got to town, the Schansbergs greeted us at the end of the walkway. The kids were all over Reagan and she did great. I think the only time she cried today was when I woke her up - does that count?
The girls were so cute with her - she had a hard time with it a few times, but quietly played on with a nudge or two. I know it was out of excitement so I just didn't care. I thought it was sweet that they were so excited to be with her. John was just a doll. He did great too. Reagan definetly is used to a quieter existence than what is here. But it is neat and will be neat to watch how she changes some this weekend.
He's got three great kids and a wonderful wife that I have dubbed "super mom". Everything just gets simpler here. There's just not a lot to do but hang out and enjoy each other.
Reagan did great on the flight down here. Mom and Dad were both on the first flight with me and because they missed their connecting flight, they ended up traveling the rest of the way down with me as well. The first leg of the trip, Reagan slept. She did wonderful. She didn't have any trouble with the flight or the ear thing. The second leg of the trip she was quite tired but just wouldn't sleep. We had some entertaining to do, but she was really very easy. There was one baby on the plane that obviously had trouble with her ears. I felt really bad for her.
Reagan seemed to instinctively suck on her pacifier on the way up and down both and had no trouble at all.
Once we got to town, the Schansbergs greeted us at the end of the walkway. The kids were all over Reagan and she did great. I think the only time she cried today was when I woke her up - does that count?
The girls were so cute with her - she had a hard time with it a few times, but quietly played on with a nudge or two. I know it was out of excitement so I just didn't care. I thought it was sweet that they were so excited to be with her. John was just a doll. He did great too. Reagan definetly is used to a quieter existence than what is here. But it is neat and will be neat to watch how she changes some this weekend.
Throwing up in my hand
Ok I've been grossed out by poop and other things, but this was ridiculous. Tonight, after the DI Schansbergs picked us up at the Mobile airport, we went to O'Charleys for dinner. I order my typical chicken and boring veggies thinking that I could get Reagan to eat a little of it. We've started feeding her some table food to get her used to it, but not a whole bunch.
Anyway, towards the end of her meal, I mushed up some plain baked potato and gave it to her. It didn't really work out for her at all. It was way too dry (I guess) and she started to choke on it some. You could tell she was really struggling to swallow it and started the gag reflex thing.
I knew in an instant that she was going to vomit. I didn't know what else to do, so I just stuck my hand underneath her mouth. I obviously did not think that through at all because she did puke RIGHT IN MY HAND! It was just solid enough that it didn't ooze over onto her outfit or even between my fingers. Nice huh?
I dumped the contents of my hand into the empty salad bowl on the table and sat there in amazement that I even did that and that I didn't hurl myself.
Anyway, towards the end of her meal, I mushed up some plain baked potato and gave it to her. It didn't really work out for her at all. It was way too dry (I guess) and she started to choke on it some. You could tell she was really struggling to swallow it and started the gag reflex thing.
I knew in an instant that she was going to vomit. I didn't know what else to do, so I just stuck my hand underneath her mouth. I obviously did not think that through at all because she did puke RIGHT IN MY HAND! It was just solid enough that it didn't ooze over onto her outfit or even between my fingers. Nice huh?
I dumped the contents of my hand into the empty salad bowl on the table and sat there in amazement that I even did that and that I didn't hurl myself.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Jordan's big trip
Well Jim is a nervous guy this morning. We are taking Jordan to fly for the first time alone. She and my parents are flying down to Mobile to visit for a few days, but Jordan is flying out of Cincinnati (not with my parents). We couldn’t get her a flight with them, so the first leg of the trip she is an “unaccompanied minor”.
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