Away From My Little Girl . . . (And John Too)

What better way to spend a lonely night in a hotel room in Bentonville Arkansas than to update our blog? Two weeks ago, John and I spent our first night away from Reagan and this weekend I'm spending two nights away from her. I've missed her all day. What I didn't expect though, was how difficult it was to fall asleep last night. It felt like the nights that I go to bed before John gets home from school. I'm so close to sleeping, but I'm just waiting for the garage door to open. No garage door at the hotel though!

John had Reagan all day today since Tuesdays are usually my days at home. Last night John was in charge of taking Reagan to ECFE and today, John got to experience Reagan's Kindermusik class for himself. From what I heard, he was having a tough time with her because she has a cold and was having difficulty napping. I hope Sadie, who is watching Reagan while John is at class, (thank you so much for watching her!) is having an easier time. He gets another day with her tomorrow, so I hope she starts to feel better!

I don't have a camera with me, so no glamorous pictures of Arkansas. My biggest adventure was last night when I forgot to look at my map before I left the airport only to discover that I couldn't see it on the dark drive. I eventually made it to the hotel through instincts and following a couple of signs that said Bentonville and had arrows to follow. I got aquainted with the important landmarks that I needed to know (Mainly, the Starbucks across the street). The conference I attended was right in the hotel, so I haven't gone anywhere today. We began the day with a rousing rendition of the WalMart cheer and ate our lunch listening to the WalMart choir. I learned a lot, so the trip was definitely worth it, but I can't wait to get home tomorrow!

LaLa's Overalls

Believe it or not, these overalls are 11 years old! They belonged to Alexis (LaLa) when she was Reagan's age and they still look brand new! When I first pulled them out, John didn't think they would fit. They fit perfectly. Reagan looked like such a little toddler in them ~ it really made me realize how big she's getting.

Tote Class

Since John and Reagan both started school at the beginning of September, I was looking for something for me to do too. Kelly and I signed up for the Sew-A-Tote Class at Crafty Planet and took sewing classes for two weeks. Here is the creation that came out of the class. I now use it as a diaper bag.

10 Months Old

Reagan turned 10 months old yesterday! Double digits! I can't believe how fast this year is going and yet some days seem so slow. Again, we tried a new strategy for taking the 10 month pictures . . . we caught them while she was sleeping. We got the pictures and my sign is still in tact. She never knew we were in there!

At 10 months old Reagan:

• Says "Mamamamama" and "NighNighNighNigh" and "Dadadadada" and a bunch of other gibberish syllables, but no words are directed at anyone in particular. It's fun to hear her talking to herself.
• Loves Marley (monkey), Bob (dog) and Minnie Mouse.
• Loves to open and close everything: doors, cupboards, her garden door and mailbox, boxes, books, etc.
• Has some signs of separation anxiety, but isn't too bad about it. I'm glad she's a momma's girl for now.
• Has four teeth. Two on the bottom that came in last April and as of yesterday, two on the top that finally poked through.
• Needs to work on sharing. It's easy for her to grab toys from the other kids at ECFE because she can move and most of them can't get away from her.
• "Dances" when music is playing by bouncing up and down.
• "Sings" in her crib ususally around 4am.
• Feeds herself a lot of finger foods. In the last month we've included turkey from the deli, cheese, mac and cheese, diced peaches, mashed potatoes and sliced banana.
• And the most important milestone for last: At 10 months, Reagan is WALKING!
  

Redemption

For those of you who remember my pancake post from April, you will see that my pancake making skills have improved in the last 5 months. It's a good thing because pancakes and waffles seem to be one of Reagan's favorite foods!

April 2008

September 2008

Happy 60th Birthday!

My dad celebrated his 60th birthday last Tuesday! I thought Reagan and I would surprise him by stopping by his office. We came at a great time because they were just breaking out the cake and ice cream. Since it was his birthday, I allowed my dad to feed Reagan some cake and ice cream. Needless to say, Grandpa Etter is now Reagan's new favorite person!

His team decorated his office with streamers from ceiling to floor. They had extra time to do it too because he was out of town the day before.

The IMI group

Feeding Reagan cake and ice cream. I think she like it!

First Signs of Fall

This is probably my favorite time of year. For some reason, the cooler weather and the beginning of a new school year are always refreshing. This year, the cooler weather, especially in the morning, reminds me of last fall when I was pregnant with Reagan and anxiously awaiting her arrival. It felt like the day would never come and here we are almost a year later. The first days of school gives you a fresh start and a chance to catch up with friends you haven't seen all summer. I was so happy to be able to share in the excitement of beginning school again with Reagan this year as we began our fall semester of ECFE classes and Kindermusik last week. Though I do have to say, that if our lives are already this busy, I can't imagine what it will be like when she really goes to school! Here's are the cliff notes of our last two weeks.

Reagan has had a couple of play dates in the last two weeks. Reagan's friend Sophia came over to play and take a walk with us one day in August.

We also spent a day with Sophia when her daycare was closed. It was fun having the two girls but I didn't expect Reagan to have jealousy issues at such a young age. Poor Sophia was afraid of Reagan by the end of the day because she kept swiping Sophia's toys.

I didn't want to be that mom who put one funny ponytail on the top of their baby's head, but Reagan's hair keeps getting in her eyes and John won't let me cut it. I tried the pony one day just to see what it would look like and it was just too funny to take it out!

My friend Sarah and her husband Mike came over for dinner with their little guy, William. Again, Reagan needs to work on sharing her toys, but our ECFE teacher assured me that her behavior now definitely does not reflect future behavior. The most humorous part of the evening was when the two kids got stuck going through the door of the garden. One wanted in and the other wanted to get out.

John's friend Jim got married last weekend, so we spent a good part of the weekend doing wedding things. We went on a boat cruise around Lake Minnetonka on Friday night and the wedding on Saturday. Reagan stayed at my parents house Saturday night so John and I were able to recover (a little) from the weekend!

John, Jim and Jason

The wedding party

Me, Michelle, Sarah and Steph at the reception

Prayer Request

Please pray for our friends, Julie and Matt as they say goodbye to their sweet little boy, Caden today and as they begin the long healing process that follows the loss of a child.

Caden Matthew Herr 4.1.08 - 8.28.08

Caden died suddenly of SIDS on Thursday, August 28th while he was at daycare. We always think something like this happens to other people and our hearts are just aching for Julie and Matt.

If you have a baby or are going to be having a baby, please take time to learn about SIDS. Although, there is nothing that predicts whether a child will die from SIDS, we can all take precautions. Matt and Julie are wonderful parents and have so much love for their sweet little guy. Caden was an angel in his life and will remain so watching over Matt and Julie from heaven.

http://www.firstcandle.org/

Reagan checking out Caden