Day 3 - Sea World

Today we took Dylan & Reagan (well really just Dylan, Reagan had no idea where she was) to Sea World! Darrin got off early so we decided to see what the Sea World here was like. It was OK, not as exciting as I remember, not to mention super crowded! Dylan LOVED watching the Shamu show, he was mesmerized. You can see his facial expression in the pictures below, that's how he was the entire show. He kept saying..."there he is," and point to him. Absolutely adorable! We had fun but by the end of the day our dogs were barking. That place is huge and there is so much walking to do! Lucky kids, I wish I could have been pushed around in a stroller!

Day 2 - Clouds, Please Go Away

This morning we woke up, looked out the window and....NOOOOOO!!! The sun is still not out!! It was cloudy and windy and not exactly the weather we had hoped for! We wanted to take Dylan to the beach, get some sun and enjoy the wonderful San Diego weather but instead we got clouds, grey skies, wind and 60 degree weather!

We just staying in, relaxed a little and let the kiddos play. We tried to get Dylan & Reagan to take pictures together for Honey, but it didn't work out so well! Trying to get 2 kids to be happy at the same time, not even to smile, just to be happy and still for a picture is completely out of the question! So we gave up and just went to the park to play. Dylan was unsure about the sand and did NOT like it on his feet!!

Day 1 -The Little Monster Arrives!

They're here!! Dylan's first trip to California!! Aunt Tricia was really worried about how a 2 1/2 year old would do on the plane and he did great!! Poor thing, she had been collecting things and packing for him for months, but it was worth it! He had his TV (or PB) markers, mini magnadoodle, books, trains, juice, snacks everything to keep him happy during the flight! However, when they got here they were exhausted. Try entertaining a kid for about 6 hrs including a lay over and waking up at 5a.m.! Phew...hard work!

After we picked them up they came home and played for a bit, had lunch and took a nap. Somehow we managed to get them to sleep at the same time, which was probably due to Aunt Tricia's skills on sleeping techniques! Later that day we took them to the mall to shop around a bit before Darrin came home for dinner. I mean seriously, there was no time to waste, I HAD to take them to a mall the first day! Come on, we're in California!!!

As you can see Dylan is trying to give Reagan a passy. She does not like them and has never taken one, it was out because she plays with it, but Dylan thought she needed it! They all played around and jumped on the bed with Darrin and then Dylan opened his new Cars book and DVD. Later they took a bath and Darrin read his favorite book, My Truck is Stuck! Below is a video of them listening to Darrin reading about the truck that was stucked! (as Dylan says it)

Off To The Airport!!

We're on our way to pick up Aunt Tricia and my favorite cousin, the Dylan Monster!! I can't wait to play with them, its been way to long! Hopefully they had a great flight and everything went smoothly!
Love,
Reaganation

She's On The Move!!

Reagan almost has this crawling thing down! She is crawling and scooting all over the place now. I always find her in a different spot or position than what I left her in when I come back! She is also pulling up on her own and doing a lot of standing. She is definitely a busy body and my days of leaving her alone are coming to an end! Like Carrie said...Uh-oh, she's MOBILE! Here is a video of her on the move!

Coupon Save...Who Me?

Ok so I am usually a huge bargain shopper, I love to dig and dig through racks, just to come home and brag about my HUGE sale! Darrin used to say..."your sales are going to make us broke!" I mean finding a deal is nothing but pure excitement for me! Since Reagan however, I find myself buying whatever I want, no matter the price. I don't have the time, nor does she ever allow me to do the digging anymore, so I just get it and go!

I have never really found excitment in finding sales at the grocery store. Save 99 cents when you buy 2 of something is a terrible deal to me and honestly just not worth it. But I wanted to try to find a way to cut our grocrery bill down, we spend so much money weekly on groceries and I don't know where it all goes!! We always say..."well this will last us a while," and it never does. I am back next week buying the same things.

After talking to Tricia about it, I decided I would try to make a list of what we needed, which meant alot of PRE-planning.

A. I would have to decide what I was going to have for breakfast, lunches and dinner that week.
B. I would have to check out recipes and see what I had vs. what I needed to get at the store.
C. I would need to make a list of all things I needed to get to last us through the week.

So I did just that. I made my list and off to the store we (us 3) went. Darrin is the reason we spend so much money at the store, when I leave him at home and I go alone, the bill is always lower. He is the one who throws everything in the cart and I have to take them out. As we were going down the list I would tell Darrin things he needed to get and I would get other things. I would occasionally see him wondering off reading labels of other things, but eventally we got all that we went for (with the exception of a few things that weren't on the list....one being a knife sharpener, guess who threw that in the cart) Finally we get to the check out and....our bill was lower than ever!!! By like 50 bucks!! HOLY COW! We got everything that we needed and managed to get outta there spending less.

This is definetly the start to something good, we have needed a way to reduce our outrageous grocery bill. Could it be that my next step would be to actually cut coupons?? I don't know...maybe next time I head to the store I will have my coupon book!!!

Weeeeeee!!!

This weekend we just relaxed and stayed in most of the time. Darrin & Reagan are both starting to get a little sick, so we just decided to take it easy. Saturday night we planned on going out for dinner but we would tell that it might not be a very enjoyable evening. We called it in for pick up and just came back to the house and watched a movie. We watched Changeling with Angelina Jolie and it was a great movie! I am not really a movie watcher, I tend to fall asleep in EVERY movie, but this one was really good. I highly recommend it!

Today we took Reagan to the park so she could swing for the first time. There are tons of beautiful parks around us and we were all just ready to get out and do something. However, once we got out we realized we were ready to go home, it was like 90 degrees outside!! We have been spoiled with this high 70 degree weather that 90 is just unbearable now. You poor poor Texans, I don't think we are ever going to move back to that HOT Texas sun!! (just kidding Pops, Honey, Nonna, Grandpa, Aunt Mae Mae, Uncle Forrest, Aunt Tricia, Uncle Dustin, Uncle Lance and all of our friends, it was a joke!!)

Best Thing Ever!

One of the greatest things in my life is DVR!! I do not know how I ever lived without it! I mean who has time these days to sit down and watch a show or maybe even two? Not only that, but what if you wanted to watch two shows that were on at the same time? What did people use to do, choose one? That's terrible! Being home and available to watch an hour long show with commercials would be horrible. DVR definitely spoils me!

Reagan & I love Olivia. If you don't know what show that is, she is a pig on the Nickelodeon channel that is adorable! Her shows teach something to the kids: sharing, being nice to siblings, manners, responsibility, etc. It is only on for 30 minutes in the morning and the rest of the day is filled with stupid Sponge Bob. With DVR we can watch Olivia whenever we want and however many times we want to during the day!

In the evenings Darrin & I are usually busy with dinner, cleaning up, playing & bath time with Reagan or puting her to sleep. Since we don't have to worry about being done with all that in time to watch a show (which we rather DVR anyways to skip the commercials) we aren't rushing around to watch Americal Idol. haha! That's my show, Darrin's is Heros. I have a few others during the day I might record, The View, Oprah, All My Children, but what a difference DVR makes!

Here is Reagan watching Olivia at 4:00 in the afternoon because she loves it and we have every episode DVR'd!!

4 1/2 Months and Nothing!

So today I realized I am WAY behind on last years resolution. I decided I wanted to learn to sew and that was my goal for 2009. I have always wanted to sew and now that I have Reagan, I REALLY want to learn. I'm sure I will continue to dress her in complete holiday outfits (well as long as she has no say in what she wears) and then when number 2 comes along they will have to wear them too. So how fun will it be when I can make them myself, or do Halloween costumes, or things for friends or just anything I come across! I know I am getting a little ahead of myself, I need to learn how to work the sewing machine first, but like I said it was my 2009 goal. I still have 7 1/2 months left!

Last night Darrin was making fun of me about sewing, just joking about how I wanted to do it and so far...nothing. Then when I checked out other blogs today I saw that Lindsay was making cute wipe case covers and being crafty. She has two kids and was making no excuse! (I'm not sure if she is selling them, I haven't asked her about them yet, but they are really cute and make perfect gifts!) So I decided it was time to kick it in gear and start working towards my goal.

I started off good. I ordered 3 books from Amazon: Sewing 101, Sewing for Dummies and The Complete Book of Sewing. But lets face it, reading about bobbins, threaders, switches and all the materials needed, I practically put myself to sleep. If I can't finish Twilight, the number one reader right now, I don't stand a chance with my sewing books! I also bought some fabric, a few necessities to put in my new cute sewing basket and then stopped. They are nicely stored in a closet until I am ready to begin.

I just need some help getting started, its SO overwhelming. If we were home, my mom could help me get started. She knows how to sew and could definitely help me or maybe I could take a class. I will have to see if there are any classes available around here. It would have to be on a Sunday, and then Darrin and Reagan could have some quality time and I could actually learn a thing or two. I need to see what I can come up with. However, I am back on track working towards my goal!

I will keep you updated on my progress! Wish me luck!

p.s. Sun, could you please come out? It has been 3 days since we've seen you and we are ready to play. We are tired of making grocery store, mall and other trips, we want to have some fun in the sun!

Love,

Mommy & Reagan

Toofers Update!

Here is a picture I took today (post doctor's visit) so you can see how much her teeth have grown in. The doctor also told me that she looks like she is working on the top ones as well! So maybe we will see a few more soon!

Our Lil Tooter

Today was a very emotional day for me. For those who know me you already know I am a worrier. Ok, scratch that, I am probably borderline extreme worrier. I find that now that I have Reagan my worrying definitely hasn't gotten any better. The past few days Reagan has had her moments, but the WORST is trying to find out what the problem is. I just want her to tell me what it is so I can fix it! This morning she was in the worst mood, just screaming and crying on and off and I did all I could to try to fix it. Food...no....nap....no...diaper change...no...just hold her....no....play with every toy she owns...no...bottle....no AHHH what is it?? Were her teeth hurthing her? Were her ears hurting her? Does she have gas? Was she just throwing a tantrum? I have no clue!! But there was something different about the way she was crying this morning that made me really upset and worried. I could tell she was in pain.

Now Reagan has ALWAYS been a screamer, she has never been "normal" when it comes to crying, but today it was worse. It was like I couldn't soothe her. I was so upset, I called Darrin and told him I wanted him to come home. Then I called my friend and asked her to come over to witness what was going on. I needed someone to be there with me while all these ridiculous thoughts ran through my mind. (is it me or at times like these does everyone always think the worst?) She agreed that Reagan was acting different, so I made a call to her doctor. Her doctor told us to come on in and about an hour later, we headed to the doctors office. After hours of on and off crying (both Reagan & I) we went to see what was wrong.

It was in those moments where you realize how much love you have for you child. There was not one thing that I would not have done to make her happy. I kept thinking...what if something is really wrong? Is this the first sign of something terrible? All while I am just full of emotion, tears and completely heartbroken. I do not know how I am going to deal with moments like these for the next 18 years! Wait more than that! I'm sure my mom is the same way to this day when it comes to things I am upset about. There is no one that can ever make you feel better than your Momma. Just hearing my moms voice on the phone makes me feel better and there really is no greater feeling than between a Mom and their baby.

So back to the story. Of course Reagan fell asleep in the hour before I took her in and she woke up completely happy. By the time we left the house and arrived at the doctor's office she had tooted 5 times! Ok farted, these were not little toots! She was completely fine the entire time at the office, just laughing and smiling with everyone. She was back to the Reagan I love so much. She was checked out and looked absolutely perfect. The nurse said it was probably just really painful gas. I know it may sound funny now, but I know she was in some serious pain.

So all that over some gas!!! Geez! Is there some kind of Mommy pill out there I can take in moments like these?? I guess her doctor is going to get to know us REAL well!!

Roxanne!

Yesterday was a very hard day for me. I'm not sure if it's a phase Reagan is going through or it is the ever so known "teething" that is causing her to be difficult, but I am ready for ROXANNE to go away!! ( remember from previous blogs Reagan became Roxanne when she was screaming and being bad!) Anyways, this is what I walked into yesterday......she was supposed to be napping, it was nap time, and she VERY CLEARLY did not want to. I let her cry or scream it out for about 10 min and when I went in there to check on her this is what I saw!! She was standing in her crib! She pulled herself up on her own and was making sure I could hear that she DID NOT want to take a nap!

If anyone would have taken my picture yesterday chances are you would have gotten me doing the same thing Reagan was doing. However, today when I looked at the picture I was cracking up! I had to post this picture so that one day when Reagan is looking at her blog she realizes she wasn't ALWAYS a sweet little princess! You are a princess sweet girl, but sometimes you are a little Roxy! I love you either way!

p.s. Last night Darrin immediately lowered her crib mattress. Her crib doesnt even look the same, I dont like it!!! She is getting to big!! :(

Dada

One of the greatest things about this past weekend was Reagan started saying dada!! First thing Reagan said this morning when I got her out of her crib was dada, which reminded me that I forgot to mention it!! She's saying Dada!! The first time we heard it was Thursday night the second Darrin got home from work. He was SO excited! We weren't sure if she was just blabbing and it came out or if it was the start to saying dada. But this past weekend she was definitely saying dada. I will have to try to get it on video this week!! Reagan loves her dada!