Reagan's 3rd Birthday Party

Reagan birthday party could not have turned out any better. We had PERFECT weather. There was a nice breeze all day so it wasnt overly hot. The ponies were perfect. They brough two... a little one (think the size of a really big dog) and a medium sized one. They had asked what age they would be and suggested that some of them might be affraid of a larger pony so thats why we decided on a small and medium one. Every kid got to ride as many times as they wanted and it worked out perfectly because right as our hour was up, the kids had gotten there fill. Reagan probably rode 15-20 times. The ladies that brought the ponies were great! The kids played on the trampoline and swingset while they were waiting their turn and had snacks in between. My talented mom painted the kids faces (which would be why Reagan has a bunny nose in most of the pictures) Reagan had so much fun which is what makes the stress of all of it well worth it. We had cupcakes with horses and cowboy boots on top of them and we gave each child a cowboy hat, bandana, and a little stuffed horse for their party favor. Thanks to everyone who came and made this day so special for Reagan!!!!

No cowgirl birthday party would be complete without Red cowgirl boots and a matching belt...both rediculously overpriced but well worth the "cute" factor.
Waiting for the ponies

Grandma did face painting.

The ponies are here!!!! The birthday girl got the first ride.

Reagan would have stayed on a pony the whole time I think.

It worked out perfectly because we have an empty lot next to our house that made for a perfect pony area. She doesnt look to enthusiastic in this picture because I was making her take a picture instead of letting her walk.

Brody LOVED the ponies. I was really surprised as to how much he liked them... he didnt want to get off.

Reagan saying goodbye to the ponies.

Reagan pretending to blow out her candals. It was so windy that I couldnt get the candles to light so we just had to pretend.

I did cupcakes for all the kids... it is easier than trying to cut cake and pass it out. The blue icing maybe wasnt the best idea though....

Reagan opening her presents

Happy Birthday Reagan!!!!

Hairbows and Sparkly Shoes

" The moment your child takes its first breath is the very same moment you realize you can never breath again without them." -A.B.



Three years ago today I walked into a hospital room and prepared myself to give birth to my first child. It was a long and difficult delivery, one that ended in a C-section, a 10 day stay in the hospital, a second surgery, and lots and lots of IV antibiotics. It was one of those things that you cant prepare yourself for. No book tells you about it, there is no class for it, its just one of those freak things that happens. Its actually kind of funny the kind of reactions I get when I share my "labor and delivery story" at mommy groups or baby showers or just in general conversation. The most common response I get from it is "Oh you poor thing." but the funny thing is, I dont feel like a "poor thing" at all. In fact it is quite the opposite.....

If I never went through what I did then I would have never felt that deep undying love that only a mother feels for her child. I would have never know what it was like to hold my little girl in my arms and know that she was a part of me. I would have never known what it was like to work side by side with God in creating something wonderful, something so unique that there is no one or nothing in this world like her. I would have never had those "scary" first time mom moments where you never really know if what you are doing is the right thing. I would have never had sleepless nights, or late night visits to the emergency room for silly things like the hiccups (and yes that really happened). I would have never watched my husband become the most amazing father I have ever seen and fall in love with him all over again. I would have never had tea parties, or dress up parties or baked heart shaped muffins. I would have never bought anything and everything that I could get my hands on that was PINK. I would have never spent a small fortune on hairbows and sparkly shoes. I would have never been brought to tears by the simplist thing as a stroke across my face from a little hand at bedtime or the muttering of the words " I luf you mommy." I would never have the chance to make up silly songs about princesses and ladybugs and I certainly would not have searched the world over to find that perfect tutu for that perfect picture.

If I had never gone through what I went through then I would not have Reagan... and it is because of that, that I would do it all over again... because there isn't anything I wouldn't do to have Reagan as my daughter.

Happy 3rd Birthday Reagan!

I love you more than you will ever know.

My conversation with Reagan this morning

Me: "Reagan come and eat your breakfast"

Reagan: "Why?"

Me: "So you will grow and be strong"

Reagan: "Why?"

Me: "So you can run fast and be smart"

Reagan: "Why?"

Me: " Because if you are smart than you will do good in school and then you can go to a good college and be anything you want to be one day (I was grasping at all straws at this point)"

Reagan: Blank stare.... and just when I thought it was over "WHY?"

Me: "Because I said so... "

She then proceeded to eat her breakfast. Maybe tomorrow I will just skip all the nonsence and go with that answer.

There is a reason I didnt have an outdoor wedding

The main reason would be because I was married in December, but had I decided to get married in the spring or summer I could have NEVER had an outdoor wedding. What if it rains??? I know you always have a back up plan for things like that but I would have made myself sick worrying for 6 months before the wedding.... as if brides dont have enough to worry about...

Now what does any of this have to do with anything... well it is 11:00 on Sunday night and I am awake worrying that it is going to rain on next Saturday for Reagan 3rd birthday party. No big deal except that the whole party is based around 2 PONIES that I have coming to my house for kids to ride. Reagan wanted a pony party and so I got ponies... now I just dont know what I am going to do with everyone if it rains and the ponies cant come. Reagan will be so upset... she has been talking about it for a month. It is pooring rain tonight and while I know it will not poor rain for the next week straight I just cant help but think about what if....

Right now there is a 40% chance of scattered showers for Saturday, I guess we are ok if that 40% doesnt happen from 10am-12pm right?

Brody's bathroom in his bedroom got a little makeover a few days ago. I couldn't resist this monkey stuff I found at Target. It's kind of funny that I even bothered with his bathroom because he doesn't take a bath in there but it was to cute to pass up.

Attention Publix Shoppers....

Snow White is shopping with us today....

This is how Reagan insisted on going to the grocery store the other night. She thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Chillaxin'

Chillaxin': verb- To both chill and relax at the same time.

Brody has definitely gotten the hang of it...

seriously though, Brody has finally gotten to where he will sit and watch about 30 minutes of a movie or a cartoon... its great!!!!!

Fourth Festivities

We had a great 4th of July weekend. It started on Friday when my mom and family got into town. We went to my neighborhood pool and played all day long. Then on Saturday we went back to the pool and played some more, ate lots of good food and shot off a TON of fireworks. We were going non-stop all weekend but it was so fun to have all my family here. Reagan and Damian are finally getting to the age that they can play well together and so it is fun to sit back and watch their imaginations go to work. Sorry these pictures are in reverse order.... for some reason it always does that. Also somehow Stephen managed to avoid getting in any pictures this weekend but he was there. It was a great weekend and I love creating these memories with my kids.

Can you say fireworks anyone? My mom brought all these with her and then the guys put on a show in the cul de sac. They were great!! Thanks mom and Don.

Savannah Reagan and Zoey (those are two of her cousins on Stephens side that came to watch fireworks)

Pyromaniac Damian.... he wouldnt just sit and watch the fireworks he wanted to light them with all the big boys.

Reagan with her sparkler... that was about the only part of the fireworks that she liked... she was scared of the loud ones. She did like the "pretty ones" but if they were loud she went running into the garage. Ultimately I put her to bed before the big fireworks started because I got tired of hearing her wine about being scared and it was already like 2 hours past her bed time.

Me and my beautiful mom


Me and Megan (she is beautiful too =)

Reagan and Damian with their flags

Some of us at the pool (Stephen volunteered to take Brody home for his nap while we stayed at the pool. Thanks babe!)

Jordan playing with Reagan at our pool. He is great with the kids and they love him!!!

Ryan Brindi and Aiden were able to come up for the day. Aiden just started crawling so it was fun to watch him scoot around.

Yes that is wild man Damian way up at the top of the picture... he is crazy and loved every second of being thrown around.

Me and Reagan going down the water slide.

Megan and Damian going down the water slide.... he liked going down the waterslide himself but had to go with Megan for a while because he was trying to surf down the waterslide while standing up (and he is only 3....)

Brody looking a little goofy at the pool. Our pool tends to be a little on the cold side because of the waterslide and other water features so the water never has a chance to sit and get warm so he has spent a lot of time walking around the pool this summer as opposed to getting in.

Happy 4th of July!!!!

More pictures to come of the weekends events =)

Busy

When Reagan was little be bought this:

Mostly for the table... not so much for the train. In fact up until a few days ago the train was put up and Reagans dollhouse was on the table. But we recently went somewhere that had a train table and Brody loved it so I decided it was time to figure out how to get the train set out but still keep Reagans dollhouse accessible to her. I was on a mission... an organization mission.

Reagans closet has pretty much been a disaster since she moved into her big girl room. We had an old bookshelf in there that was just taking up space. It had a few toys in it and some books but it just didnt fit well with her toys. I got rid of the bookshelf and found this great table at Target that fits perfectly in her closet, if it were a centimeter bigger her closet doors wouldnt close. I found a bookshelf that was better suited for her books and got rid of any of the extra clutter that was in there. I am really happy with the result and it is good because now Reagan can play in her room and not just the playroom. And Brody gets to have the train table... which he LOVES!!!!

While I was at it I did Brody's closet as well. Brody's closet had tons of baby clothes in the floor and things like burp pads and swaddling blankets so I cleaned all that out and made it better for toy storage because... well, lets face it, my kids have to many toys.

I'd say it was a successful week .

Early Birthday Present

For Brody's 1st birthday my mom got Brody this adorable monkey chair that he LOVES. The problem is so does Reagan. So I told my mom that Reagan wanted one and have been telling Reagan that she is getting a chair for her birthday, we have been having this conversation at least once a day since then. She requested a pink one (soft pink) which means light pink.

So the other day we got home from an outing to find a big box from Pottery Barn Kids on the doorstep. Reagan didnt miss a beat and said "It's my chair". How she knew that was her chair in the box I dont know, but at that point I knew I had to give it to her early. So we opened the box and I put it together (meaning I put the slipcover on the insert) and as I finished up she said "Ohhhhh it's perfect!!!" It was so cute.

So now they each have one. They sit next to eachother in the playroom and watch cartoons. Thanks Grandma for the early birthday present! It's "perfect".