Eleven and Eight

Today marks eleven months since Reagan entered this world and eight years since my maternal grandfather left it.  I miss Grandpa and wish he would have been able to meet his four great grandsons who have since joined our family, and that they could have been led by his great godly example.  I pray that Reagan will one day aspire to lead his family in such a way that he would make Grandpa proud; that he will qualify and desire to become an elder and shepherd over a congregation somewhere, as Grandpa did... or, maybe he'll desire to preach as his Papa Smotherman did.  Whatever he chooses, I pray that he do it all to God's glory.

All parents have hopes and dreams for their children's success in life.  What is used as this measure of success, though?  Is it financial wealth?  Popularity?  Education?  While I'd never wish to see my children destitute, financial wealth is not what I hope they dream to achieve.  I do not wish to hear that others disdain them, but popularity is not my hope for them either.  And while having knowledge can be powerful, it can also be a catalyst for losing one's faith in the "unknown" because faith lacks the reason that knowledge necessitates.  My dream for my children is that they learn to love God and do what He asks of them, to marry spouses who will help them accomplish this, and to raise their children to do the same. 

Since Reagan's our first child, he's the "experiment".  Fortunately for us, he's the sweetest, most well-natured "experiment" we could have asked for!  Every day, I hug him and kiss him and thank God for one of the best blessings I could have ever received.  Eleven months have gone by entirely too fast.  My little helpless baby has become an independent toddler overnight.  He's able to go farther and do more for himself every day!  He leaves me awe-struck by his intellect, and I can't help but marvel that this little person was once inside of me... he is a little bit of me and a little bit of Richard, rolled into one!

Over the past month, Reagan has accomplished much. 

• He started walking roughly one week after his 10 month birthday, and he doesn't stop!  He's probably only crawling 5-10% of the time, now... and practically running the rest of the time!  He's our little "bruiser" (and has a few to prove it--ha!)... after falling down, he looks around, gets back up, and keeps on going, without even a fuss (unless he's tired).  
• He can now climb onto our chairs in the living room (and he loves to lie down on them, with his leg on the armrest).
• He is now eating anything and everything he can get his little teeth on.  He has 7 teeth now, and I'm positive the 8th one will be through the gums in the next week or so.  The kid eats non-stop all day long, and rarely passes over any food item put in front of him!
• At a weight and height check-up a few weeks ago, he was just over 21 lbs., putting him in the 45th percentile for weight, but he measured 31 inches, putting him in the 99th percentile for height.  Looks like he may be taking after my mom's side of the family with the height measurement!
•  Just this week, he showed us that he can "talk" on the phone just like Momma and Daddy.  While pacing around the room, he carries a toy, my phone, or just presses his own hand up to his ear and jabbers away.  I'll post a video of it as soon as I can!
• He has a weird fascination with a corner to the left of our fireplace.  He sets toys on the fireplace hearth in that corner and tries to balance them upright against the side of the mantle.  He especially likes to do this with these electronic drum sticks he has.  Do we have a savant in training???  
• Words he can say: "Dadda" "Uh-oh" and "Unh, Unh, Unh"... The latter, he mimics after I say it when he's into something he shouldn't be into.  "Momma" has long since been forgotten, but I guess I should enjoy these days when he calls "Dadda" because I know there will be a day I wish for that instead of a constant stream of "MOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" coming from his mouth.
• We've been kind of inconsistent with signing with Reagan, so his signing vocabulary is a bit limited.  He can sign "All Done" (which is required for him to leave his high chair after meals--otherwise, he throws food on the floor or pulls the top of his tray off and dumps everything on himself),  and sometimes he'll sign "Dog".  "More" isn't used much anymore because everything he wants is on his tray, as he is feeding himself now.
• We visit the library once a week, selecting 10-12 books for Reagan to enjoy, then return the next week for him to pore over new books.  His favorite thing to do at the library is walk up and touch the older kids in the children's section.  He smiles and charges at them, just to say, "Hi!"  He also enjoys pulling the board books and DVDs down and looking through them.  His love of books is obvious in the amount of time he chooses to look at them on his own.  I hope this is a love he will continue to have in the future, and plan to foster it as much as possible by taking him to the library often and reading with him at bedtime and throughout the day.

Father's Day, after Reagan's bath.

I've always loved children, but until I had Reagan, never truly understood what being a mom was all about.  I am so thankful for this sweet little person whose raising has been entrusted to myself and Richard.  He brings so much joy to our lives, and I see so much of Richard in him every day.  I can't help but love a miniature version of my quirky, lovable husband!

Counting My Blessings

Life is full of its ups and downs, but I am quite happy when I look back on what has happened over the past few years... and really have nothing to complain about.

When Richard and I got engaged, it seems like people came out of the woodwork to tell us how "hard" the first year of marriage would be, and that we really needed to make sure we were absolutely certain because it was a very serious decision we were making.  I don't mean to discredit their advice.  In a world where marriage is no longer held in honor and divorce is prevalent, it is important to make sure you choose your spouse carefully.  In our pre-marriage counseling, we talked about different issues that might come up over time... finances, children, spiritual leadership, etc.  It was clear we were "on the same page".  Even though our personalities are different, we both balance each other out.  Sometimes I'm a little too uptight and Richard's a little too relaxed.  Sometimes I'm a little too serious and Richard's a little too flippant.  The great thing is... we agree on the big things, and don't fret too much when we disagree about the little things (like whether or not it's okay to throw food wrappers and soda cans away in the bathroom trash can).  We've never really had a "fight".  Simple disagreements that always end in apologies (and GENUINE apologies) because neither one of us likes to see the other one hurting.

With all that being said, we've made it through nearly 3 years of marriage with no trouble.  Whew.  And guess what?  All those things people told us about how much our lives were going to change (for the worse) after having a child... DIDN'T HAPPEN!  It seems like those same people who told us how hard marriage was going to be were just as pessimistic about having children.  I'm not saying life with a child is always rainbows, unicorns, lollipops and gumdrops.  There have been a few sleep-deprived nights, yucky diapers, and scream-filled car rides... but I can't imagine life without my sweet little man in it.  And when he started crawling... life didn't stop.  Sure, I couldn't leave him on the carpet, run to the bathroom, and come back to find him in the same spot... but I sure have enjoyed watching him learn about the world around him (and getting himself from place to place, so I didn't have to change his location for him).  Now that Reagan's walking, we're enjoying seeing the joy on his face (and the awkwardness in his movements).  Life is good. :)