Papa!

 Today's is Papa's birthday!! :) Man, do we love our Papa around here.  It's funny to think that it has only been 3 years that he has been playing the role of "Papa", because it seems like Papa is who he was always meant to be.  He positively glows in his role as Papa, and adores these girls like I've never seen any other children adored.  And they sure know how much they are loved.

Here are some things that Papa loves, according to Reilly.  This is straight from the two year old's mouth, word for word, prompted only by questions like "What does Papa love?"  and "What does he like to do?" :

 Papa loves me. Papa loves Rea Rea.  Papa loves my bed.  Papa plays toll bridge, and gives me prizes, and goes to get the ice cream man for me.  Papa loves to eat gum!  Papa loves to eat food, like ice cream man.  Papa goes to work to coach.  Papa loves Mima!  Papa likes to coach.  Papa takes me to Penny Lane and to the stores.  We just play and have fun!

You are an amazing Daddy, and we all love you so much!  Have a wonderful birthday, we can't wait to celebrate with you.

Our Deer Friends

So we love deer around here.  Yes, Hubby is a hunter, and we eat the meat, blah blah blah.  But we still love them, and love when they come around the house, and love watching them.  (It's not that weird - think eating eggs, but still loving petting little chicks. See? I'm right. ;) ) I'm pretty sure the love comes from the fact that I didn't grow up surrounded by them, and there is still a magic associated with them for me. A magic that of course, intensified with the little chickies and how fascinated they are.

Now, we moved from the middle of the woods to slightly-less-in-the-woods.  Still very rural, but now we can see other houses.  And there are many more deer!  The deer love our house.  They come so close, and Reilly loves watching them.  This little fella does this all the time - just stands on our front lawn and watches use through the front door.  It's like he is as interested in us as we are in him!

 See? He's still watching us. Hi buddy!  Reilly names them "Reilly Deer" and "Reagan Deer".

 It's a fun little pastime we have, watching the deer run and play.  They actually play in out yard, running in circles and chasing each other back and forth.

Another favorite thing I have about our new house is the sunsets.  Where we use to live was extremely beautiful, right near the river - but it was in the valley.  I realized after living there a while, that living in the valley meant never seeing the sunset.  The sun dipped behind the trees and mountains in the afternoon (at 2:00 in the winter), and then it was gone.  Our new house is right near a lake, and we watch the sky light up with colors every single night while we eat dinner.  It's such an amazing blessing that we never even knew about when we bought the house.  From 4:00-6:00, which is usually a tough whiney-kids-end-of-the-date-dinner-making-waiting-for-Daddy time (as all stay at home Mama's can attest to), has now become my favorite part of the day.  It is so stunning.  And every night at dinner, Reilly talks about all the colors she sees in the sky.  I am so grateful for these beautiful little experiences that our girls will grow up with as normalcy.  If I can teach them to observe and appreciate the little, the beautiful, the natural things that God has given us, what an accomplishment that will be.

The Best Ever.

 

So recently, I have been blessed with, like, the best birthdays ever.  EVER.  This one did not disappoint.

Last year, my sister and amazing family threw me a glorious surprise party.  I literally floated through the whole thing, as much as one can float when 7 month pregnant.  I still think about it and feel overwhelmed by how much thought and effort went into every detail.

This year, I had the perfect amount of celebrations, and the perfect kind.  I went to visit my family, had home cooked meals and fro yo, and lots of yummy wine.  Then back in PA, we had a relaxing day, and my parent's took us to dinner at my favorite place.  It was such a nice meal, one of the ones that becomes a memory right away.  The girls were amazing, and allowed for us to have a nice relaxing time.  There was a guitar player, more delish wine, and such good food.  Followed by dessert and wine in a french press - my fav!

 At one point, Reilly started having a heart to heart with Mima and saying the sweetest things.



Mima started crying, as per usual, and Reilly was so enthralled with the fact that she was crying.

 

 She is the funniest little chickie.

 Little twinsies!

 Daddy and his little angel. :)

 After dinner, Hubby surprised me and took me my favorite (our town's only) wine bar!  He had planned for our good friends to meet us there, and the night got even better.  We had such a great time, laughing and eating.  And I had one of the best desserts of my life!  Yes, I had 2 desserts, it was my birthday. :)

After that, our night still wasn't over!  We went to another place, where my besties were waiting to dance and celebrate!  It was such an awesome night, made even better because of all the quality time I got to spend with people I love so much!

11!

 Okay, so who can't believe this little beanie is turning one next month??  I can't!  It's so funny to me how little she still seems...I know that she will be one, but she seems so much closer to a baby than Reilly did when she was turning one.  Maybe it's because she is the baby, so therefore, she will always be a baby in my mind.  Well, here are some little fun facts about 11 month old Reagan Kate.

 She MOVES.  Anywhere she wants, and very fast, in her army-crawl fashion.  She also climbs!  She can sit up from laying down on her belly now, so she is puller herself up onto chairs, baskets, basically anything she can hold onto.  Especially is she sees a rogue Cheerio that she is trying to capture.  It's funny how determined she is.

 She is the most easygoing baby, ever.  Some people would say that since Reilly was such a good baby, that we would never have another who was the same way. (I know, really nice to say to a new mom, right?!)  But Reagan continues to be just a little lovie blessing.  She giggles in the morning when she wants to be picked up.  Literally.  We don't hear her crying, we hear her laughing at her sister.  She lets us know when it is 7:00 pm on the nose (or 6:45 if she had a particularly exhausting day), by rubbing her face with the back of her hand, and sucking on her thumb like it's her last meal. :)  Cutest thing ever.  And we sing a song, put her in her crib, and she snuggles to sleep.  She is a little angel, and I tell her so every night and day.

 Speaking of sleep, Reagan loves it.  She's just like her mama was/is.  She take 2 naps a day, each 2 hours long most days. Then she sleeps her good 11-13 hours a night.  I mean seriously - girlfriend loves her beauty rest. :)

 I can't even take how my heart bursts when she smiles at me.

Some things Reagan Kate loves: playing with her sister.  Playing ANYTHING with her sister.  They sit in her room and scream back and forth, Reilly walks down the hallway and says, "C'mon Rea!" and she follows after her, laughing the whole time.  This goes on, up and down the hallway.  They sit in the playroom together and empty our toy bins, happy as clams.  Reilly brushes her hair.  Reilly bring her her favorite toys.  Listening to them together when they are playing "by themselves" is the sweetest thing ever.

She loves little lighting up toys, or anything that sings or makes music of any kind.  This includes remotes and telephones.  But nothing goes in the mouth - so different from our Reilly!

She loves sucking her little thumb, and being rocked and sang to.  She is a little snugglebug.

She loves when Daddy comes home.  She giggles and flaps her arms around in excitement, right alongside her screeching sister.  All that, and a hot meal?  Quite the homecoming this guy gets. ;)

She LOVES bathtime and the water.  Especially because it means time with Reilly and Daddy.

 Little chicken is literally so happy.  She is the most content baby, and will sit quietly in a restaurant, grocery store, pretty much anywhere.  The only times she makes any noise, is when it is time for a meal, time for her nap, or she sees Mama and realizes that Mama is doing something fun and exciting (like making lunch!) without Reagan on her hip.  The nerve!

Another fun Reagan fact - she has adult hair.  Honestly, look at that gorgeous head of hair!  I've never heard of an 11 month old getting so many compliments on her hair.  Strangers and constantly commenting on how beautiful it is.  Its so shiny and wavy, but she has had adult hair since birth!  It's so funny.  It's going to be so fun to see how it grows.

She started shaking her head back and forth (like "no"), but only when she it trying to be silly and play.  It's the funniest thing. She gets this smirk and lowers her head down, and shakes it, waiting to you to do it back to her. 

It is actually a challenge to not pick up this little muffin and squeeze her and kiss her all the day long.  We love you in the moon, Reagan Kate.  You are the cherry on top of our family.  You, Reagan Kate, are an angel.  And don't you every forget it.

We Heart NY!

Recently, the girls and I went to New York for a little mid-week vacay!  It was my birthday week, Daddy had a wicked coaching and working week, and my mama had off from work for the whole week!  God was basically forcing us to go.  ;) And boy were we glad we listened!  We had SO much fun.  Here is our trip to the aquarium!

Reilly loves her Mimi!  I wonder where her fascination with long hair comes from?  Meems, you are her idol.  It actually makes me smile to think that one day Reilly and Reagan will call Mimi for help with a problem, because she is the only one who will understand, and because she knows the perfect balance between listening and offering advice.  It will make me smile, even if they go to her instead of me.  Because I get it.  My girls have a blind, all-encompassing admiration for her...and they get it from me.

 So back to our day at the aquarium with Mima!  It was a day Reilly will not soon forget.  She got to pet a penguin!  And she pissed it off, because she pet it with a mitten on and apparently penguins don't prefer mittens. Oopsie. 

Here she is, walking like a penguin.  I mean, really.  Is anything cuter.

But THESE guys were her favorite.  They were the sea lions.  They had an underground viewing area, and then we went outside and could see them POP out of the water.  These guys were the friendliest, most playful little animals ever.  They would swim up to where she was standing, and then pop out of the water and dive their heads at Reilly to splash her!  They did it over and over, and we were all cracking up.  She is still talking about it, saying "Remember when those guys splashed me?!"

This was when we first arrived.  She was just in awe of the whole place, it was so sweet.  I couldn't get enough of her reactions. 

Beans.  I mean, she's just such a little beans.  I would be happy if she sucked her thumb until she was 6, because it is just the cutest thing in this world.

Mima and Reilly admiring all the fishies!

Me and my girl.  I love this little chicken. 

Thank you Mima for our day of aquatic fun!  We made some wonderful memories!

And yes, I am quite aware that Reilly looks much more like she should be my mama's daughter rather than mine. :)  I am also aware that this scenario leaves me being the nanny, or the babysitter, or maybe an auntie to passersby who make this assumption.  It still, 2.5 years later, makes me laugh that she is a blondie and has been since birth. 

Oh hey pretty! There's where all our Italian genes ended up! ;)

You Put Your Arms Around Me and I'm Home

Hold on, to me as we go.
As we  roll down this unfamiliar road.

And although this wave is stringing us along,
Just know you're not alone.
Cause I'm gonna make this place your home.

Settle down, it'll all be clear.  Don't pay no mind to the demons, they fill you fear.


 
The trouble it might drag you down.  If you get lost, you can always be found.

 Just know you're not alone.

 I'm gunna make this place your home.

(This song was very special during our home-hunting process.  It was a crazy time, and this song was very similar to how we heard God answering our prayers to Him.  We settled down, it became clear, He never left us alone. And he made this place our home.  And we are so grateful to grow here.)

(P.S. That first picture, I took the first time we ever saw the house.  Gives me chills.)

Good Morning, Rea Rea!

We say "Good Morning" to our babygirl many times a day!  Man, is she a little sleeper.  She settles right down, sucking her thumb.  It wasn't always so easy, she used to cry and cry when being put down to sleep, so this has been such a dream.

Reilly LOVES when her sissy wake up.  She hears the first little sound that she makes, and goes busting in her room.  I have to remind her to be quiet so we don't scare her with out excitement. :)

 She dances and sings while Reagan laughs, and says "Good MORNING big girl!"  just like she hears her Mama say.

 

Reagan is a little perplexed by her silly dancing sister.

  

But it never takes long till we see her sweet smile.

 She's our little snuggle angel.

 

Speaking of bed time, someone has been loving her big girl bed!  It's like a new toy she can't get enough of.  It's so fun tucking her in, all cozy.