Christmas 2008

Despite having a nasty ear infection and vomiting over Christmas, I think Reagan was able to enjoy himself. He was definitely spoiled enough by Santa, Mommy and Daddy, and his grandparents. He is one lucky boy to have so many people who love him!

Got to meet Santa in early December (not really a fan this year).

Reagan woke up to lots of presents from Santa and Mommy and Daddy.

Likes the ball pit from Mamoo (even though it takes up the entire living room). Notice his favorite toy, the broom?

Dancing videos

Reagan loves to dance, to any music. Here are a couple of videos of his "talent."

Reagan is 18 months!!

Time has flown by so quickly. I can't believe he is already a year and a half. What's even harder to imagine is him being a big brother, but I know that he will be a good one. He loves babies...always very interested and giving hugs and kisses. He is saying so many new words and is willing to try just about any word you ask him to (not always so clearly, but at least he is trying). Someone told us that at 18 months, we would magically start to understand him, and they were right! His newest and cutest thing is saying his bedtime prayer. We have been saying a prayer with him since he was a baby, but now he will repeat what we say and is so proud of himself. It's awesome! Here are some of his 18-month pictures:

Halloween "Moo Cow"

Reagan had a great time trick or treating for his first time. This was actually his second Halloween, but he was pretty young last year, so we just dressed him in his Halloween jammies and answered the door for the neighborhood kids. He was a cow (his favorite animal), so we would have him make his cow noise "boo cow" instead of "trick or treat." He was even polite and thanked them for his candy. We had a good time at church for trunk or treat too.

Here he is getting ready to head out.

He wasn't sure of what we were doing at first.

Then, I think he got the hang of it when he realized he was getting candy for his efforts.

Gotta love the tail

With the two Princesses, Miller girls, and the pirate, Maddy

Hangin with Maddy eating candy

Tag, I'm it!

Even though I specifically told Brittany not to tag me, I knew it would get back to me somehow when she tagged Jen. She has now tagged me on her blog, and I am supposed to list 7 quirky things about myself. I am not sure that anyone would specifically label me as "quirky," but I am pretty weird.

1. I sometimes (not all the time) count my steps, especially on stairways. I know the specific number of stairs I climb to reach the 2nd floor at work to my desk/lab...borderline obsessive compulsive some would say.

2. I will not drink the bottom of any drink in a can or bottle...I can't stand the thought of backwash, even my own. On that same thought, I have a lot of trouble sharing a drink with a straw with Reagan because 1-year-olds are notorious for backwash.

3. I have an order of how I get ready for bed and for the routine after I get out of the shower in the mornings. I even say the bedtime order in my head when I am done to make sure I didn't miss anything.

4. After cleaning the kitchen or the bathroom, I must dry everything because I hate waterspots and streaks.

5. I get teary-eyed very easily, like if I even see a cute child or think of a sweet moment. I also usually bawl with sad movies (like quivering lips and everything).

6. When I eat something like Chex Mix, I have to have the same combination in every bite (2 corn chex and a pretzel...the rest either gets thrown away or Nick eats it).

7. I have to check my alarm clock at least 4 times after I set it to make sure it's set right with the am/pm selection correct.

So, now that I made myself sound like a whacko obsessive compulsive by telling you just some of my quirks, I am supposed to tag my blogging friends. I only have 2 since many of my blogging friends have already been tagged.

1. Tara and

2. Debbie

Finally...fall updates

Sorry it has taken me so long to update the blog, but I have been VERY exhausted since starting work. I know, bad excuse. This past weekend, we took Reagan (along with Grandma Huffer) to the pumpkin patch. Reagan had a blast. He was trying to pick up every pumpkin he saw, tripping over everything, and just running around like a wild man. We took a hayride (really a straw ride) too, but I don't think he really cared about it too much. I think he liked playing with the straw more than the actual ride itself. Here are a few pictures from the day.

Testing his strength on a big pumpkin, probably grunting while trying to lift it.

Taking a break in the middle of the pumpkin patch...he took many breaks.

He finally found one he could lift, but as you can see from the look on his face, he was still struggling.

And last, but not least, here is Reagan's little brother/sister's first picture. This was taken at my first appointment around 9 weeks. I am now 11 weeks today, with an official due date of May 12, 2009. Everything is going well.

Last post before back to work...

Yes, that's right. The fun is over. I must return to work, but at least I got the summer off anyway. Actually, it's a blessing that I have gotten a new job, and one that I think I am going to really like at that. I will be doing molecular biology transgenic plant research at Dow AgroSciences. We went to the zoo today with the Myers...one last hoorah, I guess you could say. I start work Monday, so I thought I would post.

Here is Reagan last night snuggling up with "his Jack" as a pillow. It was so cute, so I thought I would take a picture of him for Nick (and all of you) to see. If you look closely, you can see that he got his first really big boy haircut with clippers. It's short, but we like it!

Here are Deagan, Trevon, and Reagan holding hands at the zoo. Trevon was a good big brother and kept the little ones on track. Aren't they cute?


Reagan and mommy at the zoo (he's trying not to smile)

Reagan peeking through the slats to see the animals. I think this was taken at the very same spot as in a previous post.

Have a good weekend!

Our shortened trip to Tennessee

We left Friday afternoon for the long weekend to head to Pigeon Forge and stay in a cabin with my sister and family. Reagan started getting the sniffles on Friday, but nothing major. We managed to spend the day in Gatlinburg at the Ripley's aquarium before Reagan made a turn for the worst Saturday evening, starting wheezing and coughing. So...since we were bad and didn't even think to bring his nebulizer, we decided to make the trip home through the night on Saturday/Sunday. Sunday, he was not doing any better and working to breathe, even after breathing treatments, so we called the doctor and ending up taking him to the ER. They were able to help his breathing with steroids that we didn't have at home, but his oxygen saturation was still low, so he ended up spending the night in the hospital Sunday night. He is home now doing better, but with 3 different inhaled steroids in his breathing treatments around the clock, as well as an oral steroid. Poor guy! We are going to see a pulmonologist to see about why Reagan has so many reactive airway problems. We did still have a good time down there while it lasted. Here are some pictures... (I also posted 3 more posts tonight, catching up from the downed computer.)

Daddy and Reagan on the "ski lift" up the mountain

Our view from the top

Pointing to the fishies at the aquarium

It looks like Reagan's reflection is going to eat the big shark.

Reagan in his underwater suit

Reagan and I in the water

A Day at the Zoo with the Rogers Girls

We went to the zoo last week with Kim and Maddy. We had great weather and a lot of fun. Reagan really enjoyed it, and he understood what he was looking for a lot better than the last time we were there.

He's squatting between the railing to see the animals (again sporting the hat).

Maddy and Kim are about to feed the giraffes some sweet potato.

Reagan loved looking at the fishies!

Can you tell how ornery this guy is?

Naked Reagan escaped with his Jack after his bath one night, and he ran all over the house. Here he is in the kitchen trying to avoid being captured.

The shirt says it all.

He wasn't too happy when he got stuck trying to get back out.

Hanging on the couch with Daddy acting so old with his cell phone

Trip to the State Fair with the Myers

I finally got my computer fixed, so now I have a lot of catching up to do from the past few weeks. There will be many posts because we have been busy! We went to the State Fair with the Myers one evening. We had a lot of fun and all of the kids were very good. We saw animals, rode some rides, and looked at other exhibits. Of course, you can't forget the pork tent and elephant ears (apple dumpling for me this year, which was quite yummy)!

Reagan loves to cheese for the camera, and of course, the fair wouldn't be complete without his John Deere hat.

Deagan and Reagan hanging out in the strollers.

Baby Baylor...what a cutie!

Trevon hitching a ride in Baylor's seat.

Brittany and I took the boys on the "merry-go-round" as I call it.

Summer's almost over...bluh

The best season of the year (in many people's opinion, not really mine) is almost over. Or at least what we consider summer, anyway. We watched the kids get on the school bus this morning, so that kind of made it seem real. This summer has been one of the best I can remember, but it has flown by. Reagan turned one (and he is so much fun at this stage). We took an awesome vacation to Florida. And unfortunately, but kind of good too, I am not working, so I have been able to be home with Reagan for the last part of it. It has been a lot of fun. We have had lots of park trips to play and watch Daddy play church softball. We have gone to the lake (Waveland and Raccoon) with my sister, Matt, and her 2 kids. Pig shows and county fairs to attend. Just a lot to do, but so much fun anyway. My computer is not working, so I am stuck using our old laptop, which is VERY slow and has no picture editing software; therefore, I don't have many pictures to post (can't stand red-eye, so I won't post those pictures until I can edit them).

Here is a picture of the 3 of us from the lake. This was Reagan's first experience in lake water. He was kind of shocked at first, but he got the hang of it eventually and enjoyed it, I think.

Last Thursday was Willow's (Michele's, Reagan's babysitter, daughter) 4th birthday, so Reagan and I joined Willow, Fiona, and Michele for lunch at the Mayberry Cafe and a trip to the Avon park. We had lots of fun.

Here are the kids at the Mayberry Cafe. The birthday girl got to wear a special hat.

Fiona and Reagan enjoying the swings at the park.

It was a beautiful day, but kind of hot. Reagan was so thirsty, he had to take lots of drink breaks. It looks like he was about to fall out of his swing, but don't worry, he wasn't.

We tried to do a group picture, but unfortunately, we waited until the end of the trip when Reagan was overheated and just plain exhausted. He didn't cooperate too well. His friends look so worried about him.

We hope everyone else has had as great a summer as we have!