Christmas Birthdays

Well, Raegan and I share our birthdays with the Christmas season.  This year we had 2 parties!  We shared a party at my parents house while we were there and then we each celebrated at home on our own day.

Raegan's birthday came first on the 22nd.  She got another cake (made by Daddy!)

 She loved the cake, she didn't like that she said all done and I was taking pictures instead of getting her out!

 Mommy and her 1 year old girl.

 Daddy and his 1 year old girl (after a bath)

 Aunt Deana and her 1 year old niece.  Deana drove back with me from IL so she got to celebrate Raegan's birthday twice. 

 Then right after Christmas, my birthday came on the 28th.  And I got my own cake, beautifully made by my husband.

 I got to enjoy it with my family.  It was a great day and I'm looking forward to my last year before I turn...well, enough said!

Here's to Christmas birthdays.  They aren't so bad and they still are their own day and celebration!  (At least at our house!)

Christmas

So, one of my New Year's resolutions is to catch up on blogging!  Good thing I have the whole year...now to work on last year!

Christmas Eve ended with a wonderful dinner, made by Jeff of turkey and all the fixings!  Then the kids took a bath and some big man in a red suit got in our house and left the Christmas eve pajamas.  Everyone is always excited to get new pajamas.

Then it was off to bed for Santa to work his magic and we got the kids to bed early so Santa could have enough time to work on the big present he left for the kids.

 The Christmas morning shot before everyone sees what Santa brought.

 Checking out the stocking.

 Santa worked hard on the swing set he left for the kids and the kids are loving it.  It is a year round toy in TX!

Santa brought the parents their own toy.  And we have entered a whole new fun zone! 

 (I still haven't gotten out to shoot yet, but Jeff has managed to go with some friends.  I hope my turn is coming soon!)

The kids took turns opening presents and got lots of cool stuff.  I think Raegan liked the boxes and wrapping paper as much as the toys.

We had a great Christmas and feel truly blessed!  We spent the rest of the day talking with family, working on a puzzle, playing on the swing set and eating food!  We also took some time to remember the reason for the season and we are so grateful to our brother, Jesus Christ, and to celebrate his birth and reflect on our relationship with him.  Merry Christmas!

Raegan-1 year!

 Well, we made it to a year!  Our little Raegan is a lot of fun and so full of personality.  We took her in for her 1 year check up and although she is totally healthy and hitting all the normal milestones developmentally, she is on the small side.  Still not quite 20 lbs and just over 28 in. long, putting her in the 14th and 17th percentiles.  Not quite sure where this little one came from but we love her.  Jeff likes to say that the only big thing about her is her attitude...which if you spend much time with her, you can quickly see!

 She got her first 2 teeth just shy of her first birthday.  She continues to be a good eater and her favorites include yogurt, cheese, oranges (fruit in general), bananas, pasta, mac and cheese, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes and black beans.  She has slowed way down in the baby food eating and really eats mostly table food all day.  She has transitioned from nursing to whole milk, but hates it out of a sippy cup so it is usually in a bottle for her (I know, I know-I'll fight that battle later!)  She is a great night time sleeper (usually 12-13 hours a night), but not a great napper (usually 1-3 hours total).  She always has her bear, blanket and a sound machine to help her sleep.
She loves to babble and scream, dance (bounce) and smile.  She stands by herself and took her first official step on her birthday.  She has taken several more since, but crawling or walking along furniture is still how we get around.  She loves her mommy, but will go to whoever if I leave the room.  When others want to hold or play with her, I literally have to leave or she will almost never go to other adults.  She loves her brother and loves to play with other kids.  She already knows how to drive her brother crazy and just how to mess up his stuff so that he gets mad.  We are working on it and I know they love each other so someday we will get past that.  I remember that happening with my siblings when we started to move out:)

Overall, Raegan is a content little girl who loves to explore and make messes.  We love her to pieces and can't wait to see what she comes up with over the next year!

 Proof she is standing on her own.

December Road Trip Part 2-Chicago, IL

We spent about a week in Chicago and managed to cram in a lot!  Raegan loved all the presents under the Christmas tree. 

Harrison loved the time with family and cousins.

 It was cold for our little TX bodies!

 We went to another Christmas party.  Harrison bombed the kids choir.

But the party was fun.

Until I put Raegan on Mrs. Clause's lap...I thought we would have better luck with the Mrs.

She liked it better being held by me I guess.  This was all my family who was there for the party.

And we were there when my sister, Diana, got her mission call.  Ukraine!  I can't believe it and I'm so excited for her!  She leaves in March.

My Dad had a birthday.

 I got to visit some friends that I grew up with and get our kiddos together to play!

 We spent a lot of time hanging out with family.

 And we ended the trip with a birthday party for Raegan and myself. 

 

 And the night before we were supposed to leave, it finally snowed.  That was what we all really wanted so that we could enjoy some of the fun winter activities that don't happen for us in TX.  And enjoy we did.  Harrison went out that night and built a snowman with Grandpa and the next day we decorated it.

And we also went sledding.

 Harrison's first trip down the hill, he bit it and got snow all over his face and down his jacket.  He stood up and said "that was awesome!".  Then the reality of the cold hit him and he was ready to go home.  I talked him into a few more runs and he had a good time.  It was only about 22 degrees and really windy so with the wind chill it was close to 0!  Probably the coldest weather this boy has ever been out in!

 Raegan joined us on the little hill by my parents house, but wasn't impressed so she stayed home with Grandma while we found a big hill.

 We had a great trip and after a fun morning enjoying the snow, we took off with my awesome sister Deana, who did most of the driving to get us home.  This time we went straight through the afternoon, night and got home about 8 am on Saturday (Raegan's real birthday), just in time to see Daddy!  The kids were troopers, my sister was awesome and we were happy to be home!  Thanks everyone for such an awesome trip!