Her Praying Face

 Lately, Reagan has been making what we call her "angry praying face".  It's the most amazing face...she closes her eyes and bows her head all serious, and her eyebrows get VERY angry looking, and it's so hard for us not to all laugh.  Daddy grabbed the camera and tried to capture it (the real face is much angrier looking haha), but we did get a glimpse of it.  Girlfriend kept cracking up because she saw that she was the center of attention, and knew she was being so funny.



 Wondering what's going on, and why Daddy has the camera out during prayers...




 Oh, sorry Mama...I bein' serious now.

Until Mama started laughing at her serious praying face. :)

 

Sissy is imitating the angry face.  :)

A little bit more about Reagan lately:
1. She loves Elmo, Cinderella (Rella), and Ariel (AH-Rell!) She points them out wherever she sees them with the utmost of enthusiasm.
2. She can only barely tell the princesses apart, so she pretty much freaks out when she sees any of them and calls them Rella or Ariel.
3. She loves reading lately, and will constantly bring books over saying "BOOK! BOOK! BOOK!" She has her favorites, a board books called "Bambi's Big Surprise", and one about penguins called "Without You".  We read each of these like 5 times a day at least.
4. She waves at pictures of Reilly around the house and says "Hi Sissy! Hi Sissy! Hi Sissy!" over and over.  This started when Reilly started school and she missed her, but now she just does it all the time.  She was doing it the other day when Reilly was sitting at the kitchen table right across from her, and Reilly was getting so mad saying "Reagan! I'm right HERE!  The real talking Sissy is right here!!"  It was so cute.
5. She loves her Buddy (her blankie, which I spoke about in yesterday's post, which we had to buy a duplicate of on Ebay).  Buddy never leaves her side.  When she eats, we have a "Buddy Stool" where Buddy has to sit when we eat since we can't have toys at the table.  She pretty much tells me when she is ready for nap, by pick up Buddy and sucking her thumb walking around the house until I notice and put her down.
6. Yes, she still naps twice a day most days. And sleeps from 7pm-7am.  So jealous of her healthy sleeping habits. 
7.She and Reilly sit up singing and playing and chattering every night before bed, sometimes for an hour.  I secretly love it, and am pretty positive I would have them share a room even if we lived in a 7 bedroom mansion.
8. She has an obsession with apples and fruit, which she has pretty much had since birth.
9. She made up this hysterical game where she uses a little pretend needle from a doctor kit they have, and gives me shots in my arm.  I pretend to cry and she laughs hysterically.  Then she holds out her arm, she pretends to cry, and I laugh.  :)
10. She started saying "No" in a hilarious way, and we all  still laugh whenever she says it.

Football and Fall Things

 We recently went to Long Island to visit our family, do some fun fall things, and see Papa's undefeated team play at my Homecoming game!  We had such a fun weekend, and it was super relaxing with so many extra hands around to chase around the girlies.  They are in heaven at "the New York house".  I always love our annual fall visit, because we get to go to a football game and watch my Dad coach (which we love), and it always feels like a different season than here in the mountains!  By October here, all the leaves are changed, on the ground, trees are almost all bare, and the weather is borderline cold (let's forget about "chilly") all the time.  Suddenly we travel there, and most leaves are still green, starting to turn.  Hardly any leaves have fallen, no one has taken our their boots yet or even thought about hats...it's like going back in time a few months!  It's so funny to see the differences in climate. 

One activity we do every fall now with the girls is go to a nursery that we went to growing up every year, for every holiday.  Here is our trip from last year, I just love to see how they have grown!  Hair is a little longer, faces exactly the same. :)  This was my favorite tradition as a child, and continues to be as an adult. 

 

Reilly went in, with her cell phone of course.  (Notice the bare legs!  Am I right, with the weather??)

Here is Reagan's reaction to the walk-through story about Otto the ghost. :)  Somewhere right between terrified and mesmerized.

Mima reading Reillt the story, and Reilly looking through the 3D glasses.  It really is the cutest thing.

Girlfriends on the pretend hayride. :)

And I just die over these flower faces...

Reagan got a little sleepy toward the end, and there was no more pictures to be had without her Buddy and her thumb. :)  I don't even mind that she's not smiling, because this is so her, that her thumb-in-mouth face is just as sweet to me.

Mimi had to work that day, but on her way to work (at 6am, while we were all still sleeping) she dropped off a bag on Mima and Papa's doorstep with these matching shirts, and munchkins for the girls.  I mean, do you wish she was your aunt, or what?!  We called her at work and said "Reilly, leave a message for Mimi saying thank you!" That is all I said.  Here was her message:
"Hiiii Mimiii!  Thank you SO MUCH for the pumpkin shirts and the sprinkle munckins!  I just don't know what I'm gunna do with you Mimi, but...you sure are so nice! I love you BYE!" 

She had her hand on her hip as she spoke.  Where does she get this from! Ha.  Is it me?  Did I create her and her phrases and her funny little way, or is it in her personality innately? Either way, she cracks us up daily.

Family picture with the pumpkins. Sleepy Reagan.  34 weeks baby bump. Handsome Daddy.  Daddy's little big girl.  Reagan wants to be a newborn again.  Wish me luck in a few weeks. Ha.

Then we were walking back to the parking lot, and Reilly was VERY sleepy.  She asked Mima to hold her, to which she obliged of course.  And then I saw this beautiful shot in my mind, and scrambled for my camera as I walked.  I didn't want to miss it, didn't want anyone to move, and didn't want anyone to know I was taking it till the last second so that their beautiful expressions wouldn't change. I waited until there weren't any SUVs behind them as we walked, and snapped one of favorite pictures of 2 of my favorite people.

My baby looks like a baby.  And, for that matter, my mama looks like a teenager. :) 

After we went home and everyone under the age of 4 passed our for a few hours, we went to Papa's field to run around their practice! Here is Reagan vs. Medicine Ball.  She didn't understand why she couldn't lift it. 
Notice Buddy on the ground.  We have 2 (she doesn't know it!), and one is constantly in the wash, while the other is in her hand. 

Reilly will definitely either be a cheerleader, or the first female football player for her school.  At this point, it really could go either way. ;)

Papa showing her how to throw a spiral.  My spiral might be better than my Hubby's. (His words, not mine!)  What can I say. ;)

Reilly got to blow the whistle for the team!

And Reagan ran around chasing footballs saying "BALL! BALL! BALL!"  There was a bag of about 6 of them, and yet she kept running toward the one that the giant boys were tackling each other over.  Cool. 

She thought Papa needed an extra, so she brought him one. :)

Reagan, in case you couldn't tell, is a really miserable child who is never laughs or smiles, doesn't like being tickled, and is rarely content.

Or, you know, the complete opposite.  All the time, every day of her life.

Dear New Baby, You are going to be surrounded by SO MUCH love every day of your life with these two chickens running around you.  I can't even imagine how many times a day I'm going to have to ask them to stop hugging and touching you so you can sleep...and what an amazing problem to have. :)

Part 2 coming next!  Too many pictures to load up on one. :)

Playing Outside!

Now that Daddy comes home when the sun is still up (HURRAY!), and Mama is staying in a horizontal position in order to keep babylove in the belly for a few more weeks, when Daddy comes home it is instantly PLAY TIME!

The beautiful fall days are perfect for fake-raking and jumping in the leaf piles. :)

Reagan's cheetah hat still fits her from last year!!  And we couldn't be more excited about it.

Out of focus, but too cute not to include. :)  My front door is in focus though!  I love that I finally have a little front area to dress up for fall and decorate with corn stalks!!

Cheetah hat. British coat. Reagan laugh. If you can imagine, she's even more squeezable in person. ;)

This is her saying "Cheese!"  (She says "Che!")

Reilly loves her beautiful colored leaves!

Check out the level of giggle that Reagan is in...

Reilly being a silly goose, and Reagan being obsessed with everything she does...

Dear Hubby, Amazing foresight keeping a hidden hand behind Reagan's back. :)

Reagan's favorite game when they play outside is walking around the lawn with Daddy, while he holds the front part of the rake, and she holds the pole.  They just...walk around together.   She loves it.  And it's hilarious.

I love watching and listening to them play outside with their Daddy. 
p.s. I might have gotten off the couch to take these pictures. Worth it. :)

34 weeks!

This week, I am 34 weeks pregnant!  Just last week I started transitioning to that "uncomfortable" stage.  I've been very lucky this time - other than a little morning sickness in the beginning, I have felt extremely good and healthy this entire pregnancy.  But suddenly and almost overnight, I hit that "9 month" feeling.  Except this time it happened around 32 weeks.  Just very big and full (like the baby I'm carrying is already 6 pounds and has no more room!), and a lot more difficult to move around.  I can barely pick up little Reagan without feeling like I'm really straining myself, so I've stopped.  My Braxton Hicks contractions have increased dramatically - like I started getting at least one an hour.  Which is concerning, obviously.  But my doctor said that it is actually normal in the way that my pregnancies progress, and that I wasn't dilating yet (thank God).

So I have been laying really low, not doing anything extra (which is hard, when there is so much to be done), and have been crock potting instead of spending every night on my feet cooking.  Also, the biggest change I've made has been drinking a gallon of fluid a day (not including my coffee).  It is actually a chore to drink that much water!  I mean, a gallon.  I am barely hungry because of the amount that I am drinking - but the doctor said that the more I drink, the more hydrated my uterus will be (being a muscle after all), and therefore the less it will contract.  I fill my drink up as early as possible, and start chugging.  The nurse also told me to chug if I feel a contraction coming, and it will help it release.  I have always drank a huge amount throughout my pregnancies and while nursing, but I have now stepped it up to my main job each day.  Keep this baby in!


Reagan was born at 36 weeks, and was 7 pounds 5 ounces with no health concerns at all.  So in theory, I could have this baby in 2 weeks!! WHAT.  So exciting/crazy.  But I feel the end is close, I know how my body feels at the end by now, and it's definitely soon.

I have 21 meals in my freezer right now, and my goal was to have a month of meals ready for baby's first month home.  I might not get all the way to 30, but most of those meals will carry us over to a second night in leftovers, so I think we are looking good!

I'm packing my baby bag tonight!  EEK.  This makes me excited every time.

Reagan has a new game lately that she loves.  She says "Baby! Baby!" and runs over to my belly and pulls me down to the ground so I sit on the floor.  Then she lift up my shirt, because she HAS to see my bare belly all the time.  Then she goes over to her pretend kitchen, and puts her hand under the faucet, then comes over and rubs my belly all over (like she is putting lotion on it, which she sees me do many many times a day).  Then she takes all different foods and brings them from her kitchen to the "baby" and makes eating sounds.  It's pretty hilarious, especially because she made it up all by herself!

 



Reilly is very into asking all different questions about the baby.  She loves seeing it's tiny clothes, tiny hats, tiny car seat.  She asks "Can I rub the baby's arm?  Can I tickle the baby's belly? Can I smell the baby's head?" 

 (Can you EVEN handle the cuteness of my Rei Rei in this picture?!)

Hubby is taking over food shopping, laundry carrying, baby lifting, and tasks involving bending. :)  I am so grateful for not only his help, but also his attitude throughout doing so.  He has had an outlook that we all need to work together to keep this baby in and healthy, and he is doing more than his share in order to make sure that happens. It's to the point where if I am standing for too long or moving around too quickly, I really feel my body start reacting and need to sit down right away.  It's very different than the end of my past pregnancies...and I am very thankful that I have been able to rest as much as I have.

Any prayers are appreciated for a healthy baby and safe delivery :)