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. :)

Happy 9... errr 10 Months!

I failed to post a nine month update.  However, I had this one started.  So, you'll get my nine/ten month update at once.

Nine.  A number that we love...


We dated nine months before getting engaged.
There were nine people standing on the stage during our wedding.
Rubix was nine months old when we adopted her in 2009.
I began my pregnancy in the year 2009 and carried Reagan for nine months.
Our first night in our new house was the ninth day of last May.
Reagan is now nine months old!

Technically, his 9 month birthday came and went without much ado a week month ago today.  Richard's family was in town, so we were busy entertaining and being entertained.  We spent the morning at the aquarium, came home for lunch, and then went to have our picture taken as a family (and others of Reagan with his cousin Samuel).  The rest of the week we... drove to Orlando to spend time with my family on Easter Sunday, spent the night and went to the Magic Kingdom on Monday, spent Tuesday resting and then went to the beach that evening, ate lunch with Richard on Wednesday, and then Reagan had his 9 month check up and we spent time with the family on Thursday.

Now, for the 10 month post:

Reagan is now proficient at...
- saying "Momma" and "Dada"
- clapping
- super-fast crawling
- walking next to the furniture while just barely holding on
- standing with large toys in his hands
- squatting and standing back up without anything to pull up on
- climbing over his tunnel we were using as a barrier to keep him in the living room (He thinks this is especially funny.)
- moving and climbing on top of the empty Atari box to reach things higher up on our entertainment center
- pushing objects while walking behind them
- feeding himself using his hands (The spoon usually ends up on the floor.)
- reading (Haha! Not really, but it sure sounds like he thinks he can read!)

Reagan LOVES...
- playing with his big sister Rubix
- crawling all over the living room
- reading books
- people watching
- when his daddy gets home from work
- playing peek-a-boo
- eating
- finding snacks in his music table's hidden compartment
- EASTER EGGS!
- empty cardboard boxes
- grocery shopping (mostly to people watch)
- playing at the mall playground
- Bible class (especially when he gets to hold the plastic toys)
- LIFE

So... I guess that's my big update.  Can't believe our little guy is only 2 months away from his first birthday!  Where did the time go??  I'm more in love with him every day!  He is so well behaved and laid back.  God has truly blessed us with an excellent child.

Ocho.

My baby is now 2/3 of the way through his first year!  EEK!  He changes so much and I love him even more every day.   Chasing him exhausts me, but he's a busy boy who needs to burn off some energy (and I need the exercise, anyway)!  I enjoy making things for him. (Cooking and sewing are two of my favorite things to do anyway and the fact that I'm preparing things for my son's enjoyment makes it even BETTER!)

Rockin' the fisherman hat and nerd shirt.

Pulling up the bathroom rug.

Telling me it's time to get off the computer.

Accomplishments this past month:

• Crawling quickly.
• Crawling up a single step/onto the fireplace hearth.
• Standing on his own for about 5 seconds.
• Growing 3 new teeth.  (He's got 5 teeth at 8 months!)
• Signing "more".
• Sleeping 12 hours at a time. (WOOHOO!)

Obsessions this past month:

• Socks.
• Shoe laces.
• Montel Williams in THIS commerical! (He'll still stop whatever he's doing to watch it... and lean to the side to see around my big head when he's eating, too!)
• Pulling up the corners of rugs (particularly the one in the kitchen).
• Rubix (her tail, her feet, her face, her everything)!
• Pushing an empty box over to the chair to stand on it.
• Puffs.
• Food.
• Signing "more"... even when it's not appropriate.
• Fake coughing for attention (especially in church services).
• Drinking out of my water glass.
• Climbing on the hearth.
• Bath time (and the bath tub in general).

A Month to Remember

Today marks 7 months since Reagan entered this world, and boy are we thankful we had him this past month!  As my brother-in-law, Shawn put it (while Reagan was crawling around in the funeral home this past Saturday), "It must be nice to think this is just another room to crawl in."  God sure has blessed us with a little one to cheer us up when we all needed it the most.

Here are some pics of Reagan with his Papa.  I have 3 videos, too.  I will make sure he knows all about his wonderful Papa!  I am so thankful to have had the privilege to meet this wonderful, God-fearing man (and to be married to the son he helped raise)!  He will be missed dearly.

Reagan meets Papa and Grandma for the first time, September 2010

Papa with his two Grandboys, September 2010

Reagan plays with Papa's hands, Thanksgiving 2010

Here are some of the little guy's stats:

Weight: 20+ lbs. (will know the exact amount next Monday)
Mobility: Crawling (learned this in the 2.5 weeks we were in Michigan), pulling up on things
Obsessions: Cell phones, buttons, jewelry, zippers, computer cords and shoe laces (he'll untie your shoes while you're sitting on the couch)
Diet: Nursing 3-4 times a day (mostly right before falling asleep), eating solids 3 times a day (rice/oatmeal cereal, apples, bananas, avocado, sweet potatoes, green beans, butternut squash) and snacking between meals on Gerber's puffs (sweet potato and banana flavors).  We'll be adding pears, carrots, acorn squash, and peas to the mix this month!
Teeth: No new ones this month... just the two bottom ones he got in just before turning 6 months.

Celebrating 7 months by riding in his new big-boy seat (still backward, of course)!

First time riding upright in the basket at Wal-mart.  He spent the whole trip grabbing my sunglasses and flirting with old women. :)  I love my little boy!