Paging Doctor Mommy

It's NOT All Good

2011-07-15T22:53:00.000-07:00

Like many moms who blog, I enjoy posting about all of my kids' accomplishments, milestones and achievements. And I love to post about all the fun and exciting activities we do and trips we make.

But I also want to be a blogger who keeps it real, so that means that I have to make this post...

This vacation back home to Carolina hasn't been all "rainbows and butterflies" of happiness. There have been parts of it that have been pure hell. And it's not because we are away from our Canadian home... the weeks (and months) leading up to this trip were much of the same.

You may recall from this post that our entire family had been sick with a crazy respiratory infection a few weeks before we left for vacation. Well, only a few days after I had published that post, Myers was also diagnosed with double ear infections. Reagan was then diagnosed with yet another ear infection a few days after Myers. JUST GREAT! Thankfully, one week before we left to come to the waterway, both Myers and Reagan were given a clean bill of health to travel. No colds and no ear infections! Our doctor did warn me that it was possible that a flare up could occur in either of our children, and that I would need to get them to a doctor at the first signs of any illness to make sure that we weren't dealing with additional ear infections. I filed that piece of information away in my brain with the hope that I wouldn't need it. Yeah, right...

You may also remember that I posted in both his six month update and seven month update that Myers isn't the world's greatest sleeper. That hasn't gotten any better either. His sleeping habits worsened with all of his illnesses, and then the pattern just seemed to stick for him even after he was well. He was waking up almost every hour on the hour before we left for Carolina, so needless to say this Mommy was hoping to get some much needed rest while on vacation. Yeah, right...

The first night that we were at the beach house, Myers had an absolute freak-out meltdown when I put him in the playpen to sleep in. It was like something out of a horror movie! Sound travels VERY freely throughout our beach house, and I didn't want to keep the entire household awake with his screaming. (Of course, at the sound level he was reaching, he was probably keeping people awake even 4 houses away!) After only a few seconds, I went back in the room to him and took him out of the playpen. I then put him in my and Ryan's bed, nursed him until he fell asleep, and then crept out of the room. Within 40 minutes he was screaming again. This continued ALL NIGHT LONG, even after Ryan and I had crawled into bed to snuggle with him. The same pattern continued the next day for all of his naps, and then again the next night. And then again the next day. And then again the next night. You get the picture...

Ryan decided to sleep on the couch in the living room in the hope that maybe Myers needed a little more room in the bed to sleep comfortably. At least that is the reason he gave me... truthfully I'm sure it was because he was thankful for the opportunity to leave the "bed of no-sleep"! It didn't help Myers any, but at least Ryan was able to get some sleep. I continued to keep Myers in the bed with me so that I could immediately nurse him when he would wake up every 30-40 minutes so that he wouldn't wake up everyone else. We have now been here for 16 days, and nothing has changed.

No, wait. That isn't true.

On day 6, things went from bad to worse as both Reagan and Myers suddenly had thick green snot pouring from their noses again, and both of them sounded raspy and wheezy. I waited a full 48 hours to see if they would show any signs of improvement before I started making phone calls to our Canadian Insurance company to see what clinic in North Carolina would accept our insurance. It turned out that no clinic or office physician would... our only option was to go to the local hospital's Emergency Room to be seen.

Seriously!?!

Neither kid was sick enough in my opinion to warrant a trip to the hospital. But I didn't want to mess around with any more ear infections either, so I knew that they had to both see a doctor. I am pretty sure that I muttered the words, "Can you just go ahead and shoot me now?" to Ryan as we walked into the waiting room at the Brunswick County Hospital ER. Thankfully, it was a slow day in the ER, and we were in and out within only a couple of hours. And thankfully, neither Reagan or Myers had an ear infection... but they did both have another upper respiratory infection. But most thankfully, our Canadian insurance company footed the bill for the visit that otherwise would have cost us $1728.

Reagan got over her cold pretty quickly, which was a really good thing considering all of the cousins that are here at the waterway that she has to play with! Myers on the other hand is still a very sick little boy to this day. We are now having to do up to six breathing treatments a day (Hooray for Mommy planning ahead for all possibilities and I packed the nebulizer machine to bring with us!) and he no longer likes doing them at all. My only comfort is that I know he is getting lots of medicine into his lungs with all of the screaming that is taking place during the treatments!

He also still HATES to ride in his car seat. Without fail, within 10 minutes of being in the car, the screaming begins. We've tried singing, clapping, nursing, comforting and ignoring. None of it works. This baby is just miserable.

Except for when he's not, because then he is the happiest baby on the planet! As long as he is not riding in his car seat or trying to sleep or having to do a nebulizer mask to help with his breathing, he is a VERY happy boy. Thank God for that small miracle... I seriously think that I would have lost my mind completely if it weren't for that.

Prime example for you of my current state of mind... the night of our anniversary dinner boat ride, Reagan and Pops decided to have a dance-a-thon on the end of the pier as soon as we got home. It was quickly becoming dark out as it was already past Myers's bedtime and would soon be Reagan's bedtime as well. I went inside to attempt to put Myers to bed while everyone else stayed out on the pier to enjoy the shagging performance that was taking place. Pops had the beach music blaring from the boat as he and Reagan danced the night away. By the time I finally got Myers to sleep, it was well past Reagan's bedtime. Being overly tired has also made me overly grumpy, so I was the party pooper that stomped out onto the end of the pier and forced Reagan to come inside to put on her nightgown and get ready for bed. It wasn't pretty, but I finally managed to get her to go to sleep. Of course, this whole process took about 40 minutes, which meant that it was time for Myers to wake up for his first screaming-fest of the night.

I think Ryan could tell that I was on the verge of a meltdown myself, and he didn't want to witness it. He took Myers outside to scream on the end of the pier, while I sat on the couch and tried my best not to cry. I was doing pretty good at my attempt until my parents began to tell me that I ruined the perfectly fun night that everyone was having watching Reagan dance with her Pops by making her come inside to go to bed.

(And the poor camel's back was broken by just a tiny little straw.)

That was it. I started crying. My dad looked at me and asked what was I crying for. In a voice just above a whisper, I said, "Because I can't stand it that I both love and hate my child with every fiber of my body right now." I was referring to Myers.

Seriously, what mother in her right mind would even think that, much less say it out loud?

I know, I know... I am tired. It has now been almost 4 months since Myers slept for more than a few hours at a time, if even that much. And it is only getting worse. But what kind of an excuse is that? Don't get me wrong, I do love my son. I love him and Reagan both with all that I've got. There is no question about it. But I don't know how much more I can take! At least here at the beach house, I've got lots of extra hands to help me bounce this baby boy that is struggling to figure it all out himself. I guess I am just scared that things won't even get better once we head back home to Canada in a few more days. Or, what if they just continue to get worse?

Plus, I NEVER EVER EVER do well when it comes to saying goodbye to my family, leaving the beach, and returning to Canada. And like I just said... that day is fast approaching.

But again, it's no excuse.

So, there you have it. A no-holds-barred honest post about the struggles of being a sleep deprived mother with sick kids. I've talked to lots of friends recently who have been through the same struggles, so at least I know that I am not alone.

And at least I know that they lived through it to share their stories with me!

Update: Seeing as how it is now February 2012 when I am finally publishing this post, I can tell you that it does eventually all get better! And now you all have a better understanding as to why I have been missing from the bloggy-world for so so long!

Teach Me How To Kayak

2011-07-14T16:32:00.000-07:00

My parents have been kayaking since they first started spending their winters in Florida back in January of 2009. After a few months of lessons and guided adventures, they decided that they were hooked and bought kayaks of their own. They have been kayaking like pros ever since.

Ryan and I on the other hand have never even thought about taking up the sport. Or at least I hadn't given it any thought... apparently my husband had been considering it because this is what I discovered when I walked out onto the deck of our beach house this morning...

Yep, Pops was giving Ryan his first dry-land lesson in kayaking. Too a novice such as myself, this looked quite ridiculous to see. But apparently this is step one in the learning process!

It wasn't too long after that they moved the lesson to the water...

I nervously held my breath as they paddled out into the middle of the Intracoastal Waterway, thankful that Ryan and I have really good life insurance coverage on each other as I could envision him falling out of the thing while still somehow being attached/trapped/stuck in it and drowning to death!

I never should have doubted the skills of the instructor or the student, as Ryan had a fabulous time out on the water with my Dad. They did "the loop" around the waterway... up to the backside of Long Beach and back around to Blue Water Point, and then back home. Ryan said that it was no easy task to accomplish, but that he absolutely loved doing it and being out on the water that way. He was DRENCHED in sweat by the time that they made it home, and he said it wasn't because it was hot out... it was because he was working every muscle in his body!

Hrmph... maybe I should consider taking up kayaking to lose the last of my Myers baby weight!

Myers Chillaxin' in the Pool

2011-07-13T09:54:00.001-07:00

While his sister enjoys life in the fast lane at the waterway, Myers is more inclined to just chill out and relax the day away. (This may have something to do with the fact that he spends his nights screaming his bloody head off instead of sleeping, but that is a discussion for another post...)

We set up the perfect little baby pool for him to enjoy, and that is exactly what he has been doing!

On a hot summer day, there really is no better way than to cool off than by splashing around in the pool. Of course, running through the sprinklers is a pretty good idea as well!

Isn't he just the most adorable little man you've ever seen?!?!

Let's Ride the Jet Ski Daddy!

2011-07-13T09:47:00.002-07:00

Reagan is such a little dare devil on the water! She absolutely LOVES jet skiing with her Daddy. And she only has one speed that she wants to use... SUPER FAST!

You may want to click on each of these pictures so that you can get a closer look of the pure joy and excitement that is on her face. Like I said... she LOVES it!

Let's Go For a Boat Ride Pops!

2011-07-12T21:25:00.001-07:00

My children LOVE going for boat rides!

Reagan, of course, had been boating with Pops numerous times before. But this was a new experience for Myers. When we first put him in his life jacket, he was a little unsure as to what we were planning to do with him. However once he discovered the fun of licking the salt off of his life jacket, he was all smiles! Speaking of life jackets... Reagan is sporting the exact same jacket that I wore when I was her age!

Once we were moving, Myers was in love and was all smiles. Again just like her Mommy used to do, Reagan perched herself at the very front of the boat for the best view and most fun ride of all.

Myers enjoyed just relaxing and taking in the views of the waterway. Reagan loved going over the waves, and then she loved getting up and dancing around the boat when we would enter into any of the no-wake zones. (Again, she is her mother made over as I used to do the EXACT same things!)

Tonight, Ryan and I celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary, and we did so with a boat ride to a fabulous restaurant called The Inlet View. Pops and Momsey had been to this restaurant before and encouraged us that we would enjoy not only our dinner, but also the fabulous views of the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean from the upper deck. I think they were expecting us to go on our own to enjoy a romantic dinner, but we had a different plan! We wanted to spend our anniversary with the whole family, so we ALL loaded up into the boat. My parents were correct... the dinner and the views were both amazing. But it was the fact that we were able to enjoy it with them and our kids all together that made it even better... especially the boat ride!

Pier Jumping

2011-07-12T09:04:00.001-07:00

Not only do my kids like to fish, I am beginning to think that they are turning into fish!

You may remember from last year, that Reagan loves the game of pier jumping. She must have jumped off the end of the pier over 50 times the other night just as the sun was starting to set, and I think that she would have done it 50 more times if Daddy hadn't started to get tired from treading water the entire time. Of course, Mommy screaming that she had just seen a jelly fish in the waterway probably didn't help matters much either!

Even Myers jumped in on the fun for his first official dip in the warm waters of the Atlantic! He was instantly in love with this gigantic new bathtub to splash around in.

Needless to say, I've got two little beach bums on my hands!

"Here, Fishy Fishy"

2011-07-11T08:52:00.001-07:00

Both of my kids have turned into little fishers!

Myers went fishing for the first time ever, and he absolutely loved it from the very first moment. It's obvious even in pictures that he is having tons of fun. He's so curious and excited by the process, and he is simply AMAZED when Daddy reels in the line and there is a fish on his hook!

Reagan decided that this is the summer that she turns into a pro. She's caught more fish off of the pier than the rest of all of us combined I think! We used to joke and say that it was something about her purple fishing rod, but this year she is catching them left and right no matter what pole she uses. Everyday, without fail, she heads out onto the end of the pier to see what her catch of the day will be. And everyday, she succeeds!

She's one tough and determined little fishing lady! Can't you tell?

I'm BACK! Or at least I plan to be...

2011-07-10T23:22:00.003-07:00

Don't fall out of your chairs! Yes, you are seeing correctly... I'm finally making a new post after over a 6 months hiatus from this blog!

I have been debating on how to make my return to the bloggy world... should I back-track to create and date posts from 6 months ago, or should I just pick up with current time and start anew? I finally decided to back-date the posts because there has just been TOO much going on to skip right over it! How could I not go back and post about Reagan starting Kindergarten, Myers turning one, Myers starting to walk, and of course all of our holiday activities like Halloween and Christmas!?!?

So, even though today is really January 23, 2012, this post and my next few posts will be posted as if it is still July of 2011! Thankfully, I had already created a few "draft" posts from back in July and August, so it shouldn't be too hard to catch up on the long ago months. And thankfully, even though I haven't been blogging, I've done a great job of taking pictures and keeping the kid's calendars up to date so that I can refer back to them!

Give me some time, but I hope to back up to date and posting on current life within the next couple of weeks!

STAY TUNED!

Summertime Sprinkler Fun

2011-07-10T07:31:00.001-07:00

What could be more fun than running though the sprinkler on a hot summer day? Why, running through the sprinkler on a hot summer day AT THE BEACH of course!

Declaration Dash

2011-07-09T06:33:00.000-07:00

We are AT THE BEACH! We left the June-uary temps of Canada the day after Reagan finished with preschool to head back to our favorite place in the world... the family beach house at Sunset Harbor in North Carolina where the sun seems to be always shining! We arrived early in the morning on June 29th after flying through the night. Thankfully both children slept on the plane... Myers slept better on the plane than he does at home. Maybe we just need to be international jet-setters all the time!

After a few days of adjusting to the jet lag, time change, heat and humidity, it was time to head to Wilmington, NC for the Declaration Dash race. Reagan ran in this same 2K race last year with her Daddy and her Pops. This year, she decided that she wanted me to run the 2K with her so her Daddy could run the 10K race by himself.

Ryan trained for his race... I, on the other hand, decided to just suck it up and run the day of the race with no training at all. Reagan probably wishes that I had put forth a little more effort because I'm pretty sure that I slowed her down tremendously while we were running. I even asked her to slow down a couple of times early on. She only stopped to walk one time... at the water station right at the midway point.

Once we had made the turn to return to the Start/Finish line, I told Reagan to feel free to run ahead and to leave me if she thought that I was going too slow. She stayed with me for a short while longer, but once she realized that the Finish line was in sight, she took off sprinting on her own and left me in her dust!

The crowd went wild cheering once they saw her coming. She, of course, was eating it up and running faster and faster!

After the race, the only thing left to do was to cool off with a fresh fruit smoothie and a slice of watermelon. Oh, and of course she had to tease mommy for getting beat by a 5 year old! I was just relieved to have finished the race and to still be able to stand on my own after it was over since it had been more than 18 months since I had done ANY form of running!

She finished the 2K with at a time of 12:58, and she placed second in her age group. She was the youngest runner in the entire race, thus also the youngest runner in her age group of over a dozen 5-8 year olds. All of the children that participated received a medal and an opportunity to stand on the podium!

Ryan finished the 10K with a time of 42:49! That's a pace of 6:54 per mile! Way to go, honey! I think he's got the running bug now and I'm going to need to find a few races for him to run in once we get back home! And who knows, maybe I'll get back into the running groove myself...

Graduation Day

2011-07-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

The day before Reagan's preschool graduation, as I was ironing her favorite dress for her to wear, she was humming a song that I couldn't quite place. Every once in a while, I would hear a note or two strung together that I knew I knew from somewhere, but then she would go on and hum a little more and I would be clueless once again. I finally asked her what she was humming, and she told me that it was the song that would be playing the next day when she walked into the auditorium while she wore her graduation hat. Of course! Pomp and Circumstance! And of course, I had to fight back the tears as I realized that my little girl was suddenly all grown up!

All of the kids in her preschool class had been working hard to learn their parts for a series of short plays that they performed for us on Graduation Day. Reagan was the littlest billy goat from the fable The Three Billy Goats Gruff. She was the cutest littlest billy goat I had ever seen!

After the plays were completed, it was time for graduation. Just as Reagan had informed me the day before, they all marched into the auditorium to Pomp and Circumstance wearing their graduation caps. Just as I had expected, I was quite choked up!

Teachers Bev and Anne presented each child with their diploma and shared with all of the parents what each child wants to be when they grow up. It was no surprise to us to hear that Reagan wants to be a veterinarian!

I'm not sure who was the most proud of the diplomas... the kids or the parents!

The kids ended the day with a farewell to preschool song:

Kindergarten here we come!
Kindergarten here we come!
So long preschool, it's been fun!
Kindergarten here we come!

Reagan is now counting down the sleeps until summer is over and the first day of kindergarten arrives. Me, I'm trying to hold on to the last lingering moments of my pre-kindergarten girl as long as I can!

7 Month Old Chatterbox

2011-06-19T08:36:00.000-07:00

Myers is SEVEN MONTHS OLD today!

He has always been a very vocal baby, but lately he has been chatting up a storm. Of course, everything is still in his own little jibberish language, but it is adorable to listen to even without having a clue of what he is saying.

He has also turned into a little lover boy! He loves to cuddle and snuggle, and has recently started to truly reach out to be picked up, to be held, and to give hugs. And he is a FLIRT! One second he'll pour on the charm, all smiles and laughing, then he'll turn his head and play coy and shy. It's adorable, and I eat it up every single time.

You probably remember from this post that we had to lower the crib and remove the bassinet from the playpen since he has started pulling himself up whenever he can reach onto something. He is such an active little boy! He still isn't officially crawling, but he can get where he wants to go by either rolling, scooting, or sliding across the floor.

Two more teeth have FINALLY popped through... his top two front and center teeth are now gleaming, giving him a total of 4 teeth! His top teeth have been giving him a horrible time, so we are very relieved to finally have them completely in.

Speaking of a horrible time, Myers has been sick for over 3 weeks now. At first we (we meaning me and our family physician) just thought that it was from teething; then we thought maybe it was allergies; then we decided it was a mild cold; then we were worried that he possibly had pneumonia. Thankfully the chest x-rays came back with no signs of pneumonia, so we began the process of treating him for croup and bronchitis with a sinus infection. Three days later we discovered that he had an ear infection in BOTH ears. Antibiotics were added to the regimen, and I'm hoping that the end is in sight!

Needless to say, Myers' sleeping habits have NOT improved from waking up every 1-2 hours during all of his teething and illnesses. Truth be told, his sleeping habits have gotten even worse! I'm still holding out hope that once he is completely well, and now that he has finished with this current round of teething, that maybe just maybe, he and I both will be able to get a full night's sleep! Hopefully I will be able to report that fabulous accomplishment in a post with all of his 8 month updates!

Sick, Sick, Sick and Sick

2011-06-12T13:41:00.000-07:00

That describes my family right now. Every last one of us is sick, and it sucks!

Ryan started with a nasty cough on my birthday... that was over a month ago on May 4th, and he is still coughing today! Thankfully, we think that his "cold" is almost over. Our family physician warned us that this cough/cold that is going around lasts for over a month, so at least we know that Ryan is par for the course!

Myers started coughing on May 27th, and he has progressively gotten worse since then. Our doctor ordered a chest x-ray for him just a couple of days ago to rule out pneumonia, and thankfully it came back negative. So we are currently treating Myers for croup/bronchitis. He is doing GREAT with the breathing masks/nebulizer treatments, so that makes the healing process at least a little easier on Mommy! We had purchased a nebulizer for Reagan back during her early days with RSV... that little machine has definitely been put to good use over the last few years! The hardest part for Myers, and it really ended up not being that bad at all, was getting him to take the concentrated steroid syrup. Getting a 6 month old baby to "chug" down 80 mls/3 ounces of medicine all at once is no easy task. But with Reagan and Ryan dancing around in the background to keep him distracted, drop by drop he drank it all in about 25 minutes time.

Reagan and I started coughing on May 29th. The medicines and inhalers have at least prevented she and I from becoming too terribly sick, although you wouldn't believe me if you heard us coughing. I swear our neighbors must think that our house is infected with tuberculosis or something!

The main problem with Reagan's health right now is her ears. She is battling recurrent severe ear infections... she had just gotten over an ear infection in her right ear when it suddenly came back stronger than ever, accompanied by a matching infection in her left ear.

These ear infections are only making our current worry of partial hearing loss for Reagan that much worse. Our family doctor has confirmed that she has significant scar tissue damage on her right ear drum, and that the scar tissue is probably the cause of her hearing loss. At first we just thought that she had "selective" hearing like most 5 year olds, and we were constantly telling her that she needed to listen more. When we realized that she was actually missing entire sentences that we were saying, we discovered that we had a HEARING problem on our hands... not a LISTENING problem. Once Ryan and I sat down together and really started analyzing the situation, we realized that it had been going on for quite some time and had been progressively getting worse. Her hearing issues have also started to take a toll on her speech, to the point that people who aren't around her on a daily basis to "know her language" can't always understand anymore. We have an appointment with an audiologist on August 15th to decide what our next steps need to be, so for now we wait and hope for no more ear infections! (August 15th is considered an urgent appointment time... otherwise we would have to wait until November or December to see the audiologist. Government Health Care isn't always the greatest...)

The good news about all of this... Apparently, stress combined with lack of sleep mixed in with a nasty cough is the latest diet trend! I had just about decided that I was not going to lose the last 6 pounds of baby weight without doing some form of serious exercise. No need to worry... I have finally broken the barrier and now only have 1 pound left of "Myers weight" to lose. So, once we are all healthy, hopefully I will be able to do that serious exercising to lose 15 extra pounds as well!

I Think It's Time...

2011-06-07T13:56:00.000-07:00

I think it's time to lower the crib and remove the bassinet from the playpen! What do you think?

6 Months of Myers

2011-05-30T18:03:00.000-07:00

This post can be alternately titled any of the following...

"One Long Post"

"Yes, I Have A Son"

"No, I Haven't Forgotten About My Son"

"Second Child Syndrome"

"A Long Time Coming"

"Bad Mommy"

"Myers, Myers, and More Myers"

"It's Been Awhile"

"Baby Brain"

"A Whole Lot of Updates"

"Baby Overload"

This blog originally started off as a blog about Reagan. Then it kind-of transformed into my blog about Reagan and everything else in my life. So naturally that would include Myers. And I have mentioned him and added a few pictures of him here and there to many of my posts. But I haven't done a true Myers update since he was ONE MONTH OLD! Yes, one of the alternate titles was "Bad Mommy" and I think maybe I should have gone with that one instead of "6 Months of Myers!"

Oh well, better late than never right?! Just be prepared for a WHOLE LOT of Myers in this post to get us all caught back up to date with our little man! Thankfully, I have been taking lots of pictures and writing little notes in his baby calendar everyday so that I can easily keep track of what he's been up to. Without that, I'd be lost... I can barely seem to remember my own name these days much less how old he was at each little milestone!

So, we last left off with Myers at one month old. If you can't remember all the details from that far back, click here! And here's a quick photo reminder so you can easily see how much he has grown by the end of this post!

Not long after he turned one month old, his horrible diaper rash FINALLY cleared up. We moved him out of the bassinet in our bedroom and into his crib in the nursery when he was 6 weeks old. He loves his crib, and it wasn't long after we moved him into his own room that he started sleeping for 6-8 hour stretches at night. (If only he would still do that now...) By the time he was two months old, he was a pro at sleeping!

2 Months Old...

At his 2 Month check-up, he weighed 12 pounds and 7 ounces, and he was 24 inches long.

As you can tell from the photo collage above, this is when his amazing little personality started to develop. He was/is ALWAYS smiling! During this second month, he became very vocal. He started laughing out loud and squealing LOTS. You may even remember this video of him "chatting" with his Daddy.

He also became extremely active... spinning around 180 degrees in his crib while he was sleeping, and he rolled over for the first time going from his tummy to his back. He discovered his hands this month, and he found them to be fascinating little objects to play with and stare at. He started using those little hands for grasping and playing with his toys as well. He also started playing in his exersaucer for extended periods of time.

3 Months Old...

At 3 Months, he weighed 13 pounds and 13 ounces, and he was 26 inches long.

He rolled over for the first time from his back to his tummy a few days after he turned three months old. Whereas the previous month he was playing with his hands, this month he was playing with his feet!

The main focus of this month seemed to be his mouth... from the drool coming out of it, to the cereal going into it! Ryan and I quickly learned that we were just going to have to get used to the fact that we were going to be constantly drooled on. From his Sophie the Giraffe teething toy, to frozen teething rings, to his own little fists, there seemed to always need to be something for his gums to be rubbing on.

I started feeding him cereal at 15 weeks old, and he really loved it from the very first time. He eagerly ate it once a day, everyday, for 2 weeks, but then I decided to go back to only nursing him because he seemed to be very fussy and gassy from it.

4 Months Old...

At his 4 Month check-up, he weighed 15 pounds and 2 ounces and he was 26.5 inches long.

He stared propping himself up on his elbows the day he turned 4 months old, and you can tell from the pictures above that I loved taking pictures of him doing it! You can also tell from the video above that he was really trying hard to talk at this point too. Everything still came out as squeaks and squeals, but he was certainly able to communicate the fact that he was/is a VERY happy baby.

He started jumping in his jumperoo this month, and loved it from the very first bounce. It is actually still one of his favorite toys! Speaking of toys, he started really playing with all of his toys this month. He was no longer just batting at his toys, but actually pushing buttons, picking them up, and playing with them all.

I re-started cereal feeding towards the end of this month, and he was very happy for me to re-introduce it into his diet!

Now for the bad news... 4 months old is when he decided that he no longer liked his car seat, and he no longer slept well at night. He would (and still does) start crying and fussing for any car ride longer than 20 minutes, and he went back (and still continues now) to only sleeping for 2-3 hour stretches at night.

5 Months Old...

We didn't have to go to the doctor for a 5 month check-up, so I don't have any weight or height stats.

My handsome little boy said "mama" for the first time the day after he turned 5 months old! Exactly one week later he said "dada." Now I know that he has no clue what he is saying, but that doesn't change the fact that we love hearing him say it just the same!

I added several new foods to his diet this month... all foods that I roasted and pureed myself for him. Yep, I'm making my own baby food this time around. I started him off with bananas, and by the end of this month he had also had avocados, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, squash, and blueberries.

If the picture collage above wasn't prove enough, let me just tell you that he is one happy baby! During his 5th month, he smiled all the time, he loved to stick out his tongue, he would blow bubbles at us, and he started giving us great big open-mouth kisses. He still does all of those things!

Half way through the 5th month, he flipped/crawled out of his Bumbo seat. Thankfully, Ryan was right there beside him to catch him or else he either would have ended up in a plate full of chili or he would have rolled right off the dining room table. Yes, he was the centerpiece for dinner that evening! This must have just been his way of telling us that he was soon not going to need the Bumbo seat anymore... exactly one week later he was sitting up like a big boy all by himself. He started doing this on Mother's Day!

His other big accomplishment (as if everything else wasn't enough) for this month was that he got his FIRST TOOTH! His front left tooth on the bottom came through, and boy did it give him a fit in the process. The teething process continues as more teeth are on the way...

6 Months Old...

At his 6 month check-up he weighed 17 pounds and 2 ounces and he was 28.35 inches long.

His second tooth came through a couple of days after he turned 6 months old. He now has 2 pearly whites on the bottom, and I can see signs of his top two teeth coming soon. One of his favorite things to do these days is to show off his teeth and stick out his tongue!

His other favorite thing to do is to show off how well he can sit by himself now. He no longer wants to lay in his playpen or lay on his playmat... he wants to be sitting!

He can now get up on all four's and rock like he is ready to crawl, and I have a feeling that I will be reporting this accomplishment sooner rather than later.

As you can tell from all the most recent pictures, he is still a very happy baby by day, but he's not sleeping well at night. He now averages only 1-2 hours of sleep per spell, which is starting to take a toll on me to say the least. I guess I should just be thankful that when he does wake up at the end of each spell, I can usually get him back to sleep within 15-20 minutes.

So there you have it! Six months of pure cuteness, all jammed packed into one blog post. Hopefully I'll stay on top of the updates from now on if my poor sleep-deprived brain can remember to do so!

Pops & Momsey

2011-05-15T15:36:00.000-07:00

We were finally able to convince my parents to leave sunny Florida to come back up to what they refer to as the "Frozen North" for a visit. They spend their winters in Florida in their motor home, and they were quite content to stay in the 90 degree temps for a little while longer. But a phone call from Reagan begging them to come visit, and a few pictures of Myers in an email from me got them motivated to leave the sunshine to come back to the rain even though we are having what has been reported to be the "coldest and wettest Spring in over 50 years!"

We did our best to keep them warm... there were many long soaks in the hot tub. Myers even joined in on the fun for his first hot tub dip....

Reagan made them exercise/play enough to almost break a sweat...

We drank hot tea at a tea party...

We let them have endless amounts of warm and cozy snuggles...

And we let them feel the heat of the intense pressure of watching the Canucks in playoff hockey! As you can see, Myers is already "one of the boys" when it comes to hockey...

They were here with us to celebrate a bundle of occasions... Reagan's birthday, Easter, Reagan's gym meet, my birthday, and Mother's Day. But of course they know that there need not be any special occasion for us to want to have them come for a visit. Just having them here makes it a special occasion for us!

Mother's Day Extravaganza

2011-05-08T14:45:00.001-07:00

I can honestly say that this Mother's Day was the BEST MOTHER'S DAY EVER! Of course, something tells me that I will say that year after year... but so far this one takes the cake!

The Friday before Mother's Day, Reagan's preschool hosted a tea for all of the moms. Since my parents were here visiting with us, we got prior approval for Momsey to come join us as well.

When my mom and I arrived at the school, we were escorted into the classroom by Reagan. Each child brought their mother into the room one by one and told us where to take a seat. All of the moms (and Momsey) were then pampered with a FABULOUS pedicure. First, Reagan washed our feet. Then she gave us a fantastic foot massage with some sweet smelling lotion, and then finished off the pampering with a spritz of perfume. All of the moms were a bit relieved to know that this pedicure did NOT include any polish!

Then the real fun began. Reagan's teachers instructed us on how to play a little game called "The Mom Connection" much like the old TV show "The Love Connection." Each child had previously given the answer to a question, and the teachers wrote down those amazing answers. The kids were split into groups of five, and each group received a different question. Some kids were asked how old their moms are... the answers ranged from "7" to "50 or something." Another group was asked what their moms do best... those answers included everything from "giving hugs" to "working on the computer." Hmmm... I bet that computer mommy is a blogger! One group was asked what mommy's favorite tv show is... those answers were actually pretty acurate! Reagan's group was asked "Where was your mommy born?" The answers from her group were hilarious! One kid said that his mommy was never born, that she has just always been big, but she used to live in England! Reagan's answer was priceless... "My mommy was born in the place with the stars and stripes on the flag!" I wrote down South Carolina for my answer, so even though it wasn't a perfect match, it was the PERFECT ANSWER!

After the game, Teacher Anne read us all a super sweet story that I have read myself many times before. For some reason, hearing it read to us all in that setting, with Reagan curled up in my lap, I couldn't stop myself from becoming a blubbering mess! You've probably heard it before... "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch. It's the super sweet story of a young woman holding her newborn son and softly singing to him:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The story continues throughout the stages of the little boy's childhood until he becomes a man. There is one part of the story that is, let's be honest here, just a little bit creepy. After the man moves out on his own, the mother would drive across town in the middle of the night and climb through his bedroom window to still sing the song to him. Ummm, no. That is weird on all kinds of levels! Munsch could have just left that part out of the story if you ask me.

Anyway, I wasn't the only one that got choked up listening to the story. Even Teacher Anne had to take a moment to catch her voice and wipe her eyes by the end of the book.

Once we had all recomposed ourselves, the children escorted us into another room for tea and cake. It was a lovely little service, and it was obvious that the kids had put A LOT of work into decorating and making everything special for the moms.

After we had finished our tea, the kids serenaded us with a super sweet song and then presented us each with a gift...

The quote on Reagan's picture frame says "My mommy loves me with all of her heart. I love her as much as the whole wide world!"

Seriously, the entire afternoon was adorable, loving, sweet, and perfect! It was like a gigantic overloaded mommy love-fest!

For Mother's Day Sunday, Reagan and Myers presented me with a beautiful necklace that I had been wanting ever since Myers was born. If you haven't ever heard of Lisa Leonard and her amazing original hand-stamped designs, you really need to go check her out. Go ahead and click on her name, but be sure to come back to finish reading here too!

Myers gave me an extra surprise that day as well... he started sitting ALL BY HIMSELF! I will always remember that he reached that milestone on Mother's Day!

Reagan and Myers helped me to create the perfect picture to give to Momsey, Great-Gran, and Grandma to make their Mother's Day special as well. I was extremely happy to get such a great shot of both of them actually looking at the camera AND with smiles on both of their faces... that in itself was like another gift to me!

So, like I said at the very beginning, this was the best Mother's Day ever. I was pampered with love and affection from my children, AND I got to share the day with my own Mom too. It just doesn't get any better than that!

PS... We decided to play the "Connection" game at home later the same night as the Mother's Day so that Ryan and Pops could see how cute the answers could be. I took Reagan into another room and asked her all four of the questions that were asked of the kids at preschool, and I had her give me an answer to each question for Momsey, Pops, and her Daddy. The best answer of all... "What does Pops do best?" Her answer... "Go to the bathroom!" Hmmmm, someone spends a lot of time reading in his office!

Happy Birthday To Me

2011-05-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

You know you are spoiled when you get not just one, but TWO cakes for your birthday! Seriously, the bakery that we use is so amazing that I just couldn't decide between the white chocolate strawberry mouse cake or the tiramisu, so I got both.

I was also spoiled with presents. My parents gave me some new Lululemon cropped pants, and Reagan added to my Lululemon headband collection. If you haven't ever heard of this brand of athletic wear, you seriously don't know what you are missing.

I introduced my mom to this wonderful clothing line, and she now loves their stuff just as much as I do. In return, she introduced me to the line of jeans called Not Your Daughter's Jeans.

Ryan gave me two pairs of these amazing jeans for my birthday. Ladies, trust me when I tell you that modern technology mixed in with your clothes can work miracles. Both Lululemon and Not Your Daughter's Jeans have mastered the art of lifting and tucking in all the right places! Click either of the logos above to find out more for yourself...

When I modeled my new clothes for Ryan, he declared them to be "False Advertising" because he knows things don't look the same without the magic pants! Now if that doesn't make you want to run out and buy a pair of your own, I don't know what will.

The best present of all was when Reagan decided to make up a song on the spot and sing it to me while rocking out with her Barbie guitar. I was sitting there with tears running down my face as she sang about how much she loves me... all the way to outer space, and how I am the best mom ever. No amount of money in the world can buy a gift like that!

Aviva Cup Gymnastics Competition

2011-05-01T14:40:00.001-07:00

Reagan's second gymnastics competition was the first weekend in May, and just like her first competition, she ROCKED it!

She started the event on bars, and then moved on to beam. She did great on both events, but had a slight bobble on the beam that caused her to step off. (We found out the next day that she was suffering from a severe ear infection, so we'll blame the balance issue on faulty equilibrium!)

She next moved on to floor and then vault. As proud as I was of her on all events, I was the most impressed with her floor routine. She did the best back extension that I have EVER seen her do... actually extending into a handstand at mid-flip! You can see for yourself in the pictures below... The large picture in the bottom left corner is her starting position. The pictures then progress throughout the rotation of the extension starting in the top left corner working your way across and then down to the bottom left corner for the finish.

She had been struggling in practice to do her arch-back to bridge without having a spot, so I was THRILLED when she did it all by herself in the competition!

She even managed a near-perfect cartwheel. The progression of the pictures starts at the top left to right, then moves to the bottom left to right.

Her scores had definitely improved from her previous meet back in January. She earned silver on vault and floor, bronze on beam and bars, and SILVER FOR THE OVERALL!

Way to go Reagan! We are all super proud of our little gymnast!

Easter

2011-04-26T12:05:00.000-07:00

The following pictures prove that it was impossible to decide who had the most fun dying Easter eggs this year...

Reagan did a fabulous job of creating some beautiful masterpieces...

But she did an even better job of sharing the experience with her baby brother...

Happy Easter Everyone!

The 5 Year Old Party Girl

2011-04-25T13:35:00.001-07:00

Wow! For three days straight, it has been non-stop partying for our Reagan. Being the diva princess that she is, she wouldn't have it any other way!

On Friday, her preschool class celebrated the April birthday's during the end-of-month party. Reagan got to share this special celebration with the only other April birthday, and it just happened to be her sweet little boyfriend Matthew! The kids performed all of the latest songs that they learned over the last month, they impressed us with their knowledge of coral reefs and sea life as well as all that they learned about the artist Claude Monet. Then it was time for the birthdays! Reagan was so proud to wear her party crown and to blow out the candles on the classroom cake.

On Saturday, Reagan hosted her birthday party at the gymnastics center where she trains. The kids all had a blast playing on the equipment and following the directions of the coaches. They played in the gym for an hour before heading upstairs for pizza and cake. Reagan got to blow out five candles once again, this time on the Barbie cake that she picked out. Then she was ready to open up her presents! All I can say is that we have some of the best friends and family in the world... our little girl was spoiled rotten by everyone!

Sunday was her actual birthday, and we had our own little birthday celebration for her after lunch. She waited patiently all morning, and then she got down to business of opening even more presents. She was thrilled to receive her first ever REAL tea set from Pops and Momsey. She was quick to thank them for shopping at her and mommy's favorite store... Pottery Barn Kids!

She had to do a little work for her final present from us. We sent her on a scavenger hunt through the house to locate clues for the big surprise. We all had lots of fun watching her search from room to room. The first clue sent her upstairs to Pops and Momsey's room, and from there she found a clue in the bathtub. She then had to pull a clue out of the freezer and then the washing machine. She wasn't too impressed about getting her hair all wet when she had to go searching outside, but she quickly got over it when the final clue took her to the back of Mommy's Denali where she discovered a TRAMPOLINE!

Ryan and my Dad spent the rest of the afternoon outside in the rain assembling the monstrosity, but I'm pretty sure that they didn't mind once they saw the huge smile on Reagan's face as she was jumping for the first time.

We've all had a blast taking turns jumping with Reagan, but I think Ryan may be having the most fun of all. I was shocked to learn that he had never jumped on a trampoline before... but he is making up for lost time now!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY REAGAN!

Five Years Old

2011-04-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

I can not believe that five years have already flown by. It truly seems like it was just the other day that our sweet princess Reagan was born. She changed our lives forever, and she continues to amaze us day after day.

She still is and always will be my baby, but there are many days that she seems so much older than just five years old. She is an AMAZING big sister, and because of this I know that one day she will be an amazing mother. I often tease Myers that he is lucky to have two mothers... me and Reagan! She has such a natural instinct with him.

She astonishes me with how smart she is. Oh my goodness, the things that come out of her mouth! Ryan and I have discussed the fact that we think that she is already smarter at five years old than we were at ten years old. She even answered a final Jeopardy question about Vincent Van Gogh all on her own the other day!

She is a natural athlete with non-stop energy. She has already proven herself to be a superstar gymnast, and I have no doubt that she is going to excel in any sport that she chooses. She can swim like fish, she's almost mastered ice skating, she can run for miles, she's a poised dancer, and her daddy is most proud of her slap shot!

She's sweet and loving, well-mannered (most of the time!) and full of life. She's sensitive and caring, curious and determined. She's our beautiful five year old little girl.

When she was only a few days old, I wrote a song for her that I still sing to her to this day. It sums her up perfectly...

Reagan Marie, my precious baby,
You fill my heart with love.

Reagan Marie, my precious baby,
You are a gift from above.

You are my world, my sun, moon and stars.
You are an angel, that's what you are.

All of my life, you'll be my little girl.
The sweetest baby in this whole wide world.

Reagan Marie, my precious baby,
You fill my heart with love.

Reagan Maire, my precious baby,
You are a gift from above.

Hockey Night In Canada

2011-04-22T10:46:00.002-07:00

We are a hockey family. Always have been, always will be. Good grief, it was hockey that brought my husband and I together all the way from Vancouver, BC to South Carolina. So it is only natural that our kids are hockey fans as well!

Ryan took Reagan to her first NHL game last month, and she was as proud as could be to go watch her Canucks in person. Thanks to Ryan's boss, they had fantastic seats only a few rows off the ice. I helped Reagan to make an awesome sign to take with her to the game to help her catch the cameraman's eye to assure her a chance to make her television debut.

I didn't get to see an up close shot of her while I was watching the game at home with Myers, but since I knew where she and Ryan were sitting I was easily able to spot her in the crowd, cheering her little head off! She did make it onto the jumbo-tron at the arena, and Ryan told me that you would have thought she had just walked the red carpet as the starring role for a movie premiere after she saw herself on the big screen!

They made it home around 10:30 that night... 3 hours past Reagan's normal bedtime. She was still WIDE awake and wired up to tell me all about the game. Fin, the Canuck's mascot, spent the majority of the second period hanging out with Reagan. She couldn't stop talking about how he tried to steal her seat, how he did steal her popcorn, and how he let her bang on his drum. He even gave her a big stuffed replica of himself to bring home as the perfect memory from her first ever game. It really was a magical night!

And now, the Canucks need a little of that magic. Vancouver has never won the Stanley Cup, and we believe that this could be our year. But first, we have to get past the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, the Chicago Blackhawks. Right now, the Canucks are leading the series, 3 games to 2. Just one more win for the Canucks, and we'll advance to the next round! If Myers could talk, he would be joining Reagan in chanting: "GO CANUCKS GO!"

She Married Her Daddy

2011-03-17T12:06:00.000-07:00

Reagan is OBSESSED with weddings.

She has already decided that when she grows up, she is going to be a wedding planner and bridal fair coordinator just like mommy. She doesn't realize it, but she is already just like mommy in that she wants to marry her daddy... I used to say the exact same thing about my Dad when I was a little girl.

But here's the difference... I never dressed up as a Bride and had my Daddy dress up in a suit to go through a mock ceremony! But this is a regular occurrence in our household. Once every few months, Reagan will call her Daddy at work and tell him to check the mailbox for his special wedding invitation when he gets home. He then showers and shaves once he arrives at home, and puts on his suit and tie. I serve as the Bride's Assistant, naturally, and make sure that the Bride is stunning on her special day. I also have to serve as the officiant for the ceremony, where I marry off my husband to my daughter! It's the sweetest thing in the world to see!

Here's a few pics from the latest ceremony... And yes, that is my wedding veil that she is wearing!

Just after the Groom has seen his Bride for the first time after she comes down the aisle...

Exchanging of rings...

The kiss...

The happy couple...

Myers Chatting Away

2011-03-15T14:30:00.001-07:00

He may be young, but this little man is already chatting up a storm! This 33 second video of pure sweetness was created on February 17th, just 2 days before he turned 2 months old. As you can imagine, he has become even more "verbal" now!

Valentine's Day

2011-03-14T13:00:00.003-07:00

Reagan celebrated Valentine's Day this year All. Day. Long! She woke up that morning, and asked me to help fix her hair for her big day. It took just over an hour to accomplish, but her head full of topsy-turvy tails was a masterpiece if I do say so myself. Once she was dressed and ready, it was time to go to preschool for an extra special day of celebrating. You may remember that Reagan participated in a Dance-A-Thon last year at preschool, and the same big event fell on February 14th this year. Her preschool strongly enforces the phrase, "Give to a child and you change their life. Teach a child to give, and they will change the world." The boys and girls put that phrase into action (literally) as they raised money by jumping, jiving, grooving, and moving throughout the entire class!

Be sure to notice Reagan's super cool hair-do in the pictures above! And you can't help but to notice that adorable face as she poses with one of her teachers and a couple of her best-buddies below...

Later that evening, her Daddy spoiled me with a big box of chocolates and then we spoiled the kids with personalized puppy sleeping bags from Pottery Barn Kids. Trust me when I tell you that Pottery Barn Kids has become my new favorite store and that Ryan is afraid that he is NEVER going to be able to retire because of it!

It truly was a very Happy Valentine's Day!

Her First Gymnastics Competition

2011-03-12T15:30:00.001-08:00

Reagan's first gymnastics competition was the last weekend of January, and she absolutely ROCKED IT! She was so excited for the event to finally arrive, and I must say that I was a basket full of nerves for her. It didn't hit me really until we walked into the gym, but all of the memories from back in the day came flooding back for me!

Way back when I was competing in the mid to late 80's and early 90's, this level of gymnastics was called "The Profile System" and it was created by Gary Goodson. I actually had the opportunity to train under the direction of Coach Gary Goodson on several occasions myself!!! USA Gymnastics now calls this training level TOPs... Talent Opportunity Program. In British Columbia, Canada, it is called GYMSTART. Regardless of what you call it, the basic principles are all the same!

"The program is designed to put the young gymnast on a solid path toward competitive gymnastics by focusing on drills and basic skills with greater emphasis on physical preparation than the traditional competition. The gymnasts are tested on very basic skills or stages of skills and are challenged to work hard toward good physical preparation that will ultimately determine their long-term success. The program provides a method of testing and measuring improvements in two main components: Skills and Physical Abilities. It also provides clear goals for coaches and athletes to work toward with measurable and achievable targets. The philosophy includes an award system that encourages hard work, recognizes quality and rewards all efforts."

Reagan's meet was a 2-day competition... Friday evening and Saturday morning. She competed in Physical Abilities first, which was a testing of rope climbs, leg lifts, chin ups, bar hangs, bar swings, bar casts, long jump, sprinting, splits, etc. She was as pleased as punch to come home that evening with a BRONZE MEDAL! Her Daddy and I were pretty proud as well. Day 2 was designed to resemble a more traditional gymnastics competition in that she performed combined Skills on each of the 4 apparatuses of women's gymnastics...

Vault...

Bars...

Beam...

and Floor...

We were more than impressed that afternoon with the final results... Bronze on Bars, and SILVER on Vault, Beam AND Floor!

The entire weekend was an amazing experience for Reagan and all of the girls on her team. The best part of the event was seeing all of the girls having so much fun and enjoying each other as they performed in a sport that they all truly love!

Her next competition is coming up in a few weeks, and she's ready! She can't wait to strut her stuff once again!

Captured Memories

2011-03-08T21:05:00.000-08:00

First and foremost, I need to send out a HUGE thank you to all of my faithful followers... especially those of you who are not a member of my immediate family and therefore have no obligation to read this blog! I know that I have neglected my blogging responsibilities lately, but I promise that I am trying to get back on track. I have 8 more posts almost ready to go to get us all caught up to the current date and time... all of the pictures are loaded; I just have to add my wonderful words of wisdom before I hit the publish button. So bear with me for another week or so while I continue to play catch up, and by then I should also be back in the ol' blogging groove!

This will be the last post that will be full of pictures from 2010, but trust me when I tell you that this is a post you are not going to want to miss.

I don't need to say much, because this post will be proof that pictures are worth a thousand words. When Myers was 10 days old, we went to go see my dear friend Rima Dickson. Rima was our wedding photographer, and she also did portraits of Reagan when she was born. I was extremely excited to watch her work her magic behind the camera once again, and she most certainly did not disappoint. Go ahead and see for yourself...

The whole family...

Myers Tyson Knopp...

With Daddy...

With Mommy...

Fingers and Toes...

Brother and Sister...

Thank you again Rima for capturing our sweet memories! And thank you for never once complaining about the endless amounts of poop and pee that our precious little boy spread all over us, you and your studio that evening!

Front Row at Disney on Ice

2011-02-10T16:12:00.002-08:00

The first weekend in December, Ryan and I had a big surprise planned for everyone else in our house. We woke up that Sunday morning and told Reagan, Momsey and Pops that they needed to get dressed WARMLY to go see Disney on Ice. Why dress warmly? Because we had front row seats that were literally on the ice!

We arrived plenty early so that Reagan could take her time wandering around the concourse, batting her eyelashes at her Pops for him to buy her multiple souvenirs. Trust me when I tell you that it works on him every single time! We made our way down to the ice and found our seats. The performance was amazing, and I can honestly say that I don't know who had the most fun in our group. We all enjoyed the show, plus we all enjoyed watching Reagan enjoy the show!

Reagan is obsessed with all things Princess, so she loved that the main attraction of this show was all of the different Disney Princesses.

And who doesn't love Mickey and Minnie?

Or even better, Minnie as a princess with her own Fairy Godmother?

Just before the intermission, all of the princesses and their princes were on the ice for the pre-intermission finale. Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog skated right up to Reagan and presented her with a beautiful rose. Reagan was speechless! It was a priceless moment, and definitely made the cost of those front row seats worthwhile!!!

After the show was over, we went back upstairs to the main concourse to collect the stroller that we had used for Myers. (Myers was an angel throughout the entire performance, and stayed snuggled up nice and tight to his Daddy for most of the show.) The stroller check area was located upstairs directly above what would be considered behind the main stage of the show, and one of the characters just happened to be upstairs getting a Gatorade to refuel before the evening performance... PRINCE ERIC from The Little Mermaid! Eric just happens to be my favorite prince of them all, so I was pretty excited to get to meet him with Reagan.

It was a perfect day, and I was so happy to have been able to share it with my parents!

Pinkalicious

2011-02-07T15:53:00.000-08:00

My sweet Reagan loves all things pink. So it came as no surprise to me when she decided that she wanted to have pink hair!

I let her "stain" her hair pink for the first time in March of 2010. I took her to the same FABULOUS salon that I use, Mystique Hair Design, and Stephanie (or Miss Stephy according to Reagan) gave her a few pinks highlights on the underneath layers of hair behind her ears. It was cute as could be, and it washed out in less than 2 weeks.

Momsey, Reagan, and I had a girls night out at the salon a few days before my parents left to go back home to South Carolina in December. (Myers tagged along too since we knew that it would take a while for his "milk supply" to get her roots done!) As soon as Reagan was in the chair, she asked Stephy for pink highlights again. It had been almost 10 months since she'd had it done before, so I decided to let her do it again. And this time, we decided to put LOTS of pink highlights all over. Reagan was over the moon excited with the results!

The highlights lasted a bit longer this time, and you can even still see a faint trace of them if you look closely at Reagan's hair today. So if you are wondering to yourself, "Does that child have pink hair?" as you browse through any of the Christmas pics that I have posted or any of the upcoming pictures that you may see... the answer is yes! She's our very own PINKALICIOUS!

Christmas in February???

2011-02-05T21:54:00.001-08:00

Yes, it is February, and I am just now finally getting around to posting about our Christmas holidays. Oh well, better late than never right? So, Merry Christmas from the Knopps!

I am a Christmas nut. I love EVERYTHING about it, and I decorate like a madwoman. Except for this year! This year, I went as minimalistic as possible seeing as how Myers was only 1 week old when I decided to decorate. Thankfully, my parents were still here with us so my Dad did all of the outside decorating for me. Reagan and I put up the two Christmas trees in the house, hung a wreath on the front door, and called it done! Ryan put the final touch on both of the trees by helping Reagan to place the stars. Honestly, I may consider a more simple Christmas every year from now on!

Reagan brought home two new Christmas decorations from preschool this year, one of which we will be able to enjoy year after year from now. We placed the new wreath picture frame ornament directly below the pine cone ornament that she brought home last year. I have a feeling that her tree will one day be filled with items that she has made. However, the gingerbread house that she made out of a milk carton will not be around next Christmas... it slowly lost it's edible decorations until there wasn't much left to the house!

Before my parents left back in early December, we all bundled up to go have our annual visit with Santa. My favorite Santa can be found at the home of a local family who decorates their entire front acre of land with millions of Christmas lights. In the center of the grand display is a giant blue fairy-tale type castle where the most magnificent Santa sits on his giant throne to welcome the kids. Trust me when I tell you that he is fabulous! This year's visit to Santa was even more special and exciting as Santa got to meet our new little man Myers!

Not long after Thanksgiving, Nokee made his first appearance of the season. "Who is Nokee?" you ask... he's our Elf on the Shelf! My parents gave us the book called "The Elf on the Shelf" for Christmas two years ago, and we were very excited to use it again this year. The book explains how Santa can't manage all of the Christmas magic by himself, so he has elves who help him. Santa sends a magical elf to all of his most special boys and girls to watch over them and to report back to Santa each night. The book even came with an elf! Reagan named her elf Nokee (short for Pinocchio) the first morning that she discovered him last year. She was a seasoned pro about Nokee this year, as she knew that she could not touch him or else he would lose his magical elf powers. She also knew that he would watch over her throughout the day and report back to Santa each night when he flew home to the North Pole. Nokee returned to our house every morning again this year, and every morning he landed in a new spot. Reagan would race down the stairs to find him each day! We were sad to see our little elf fly home on Christmas Eve, but we know that he will be back next year to spread more Christmas cheer in our house. (Plus that gives me and Ryan another whole year to come up with some new and fun elf hiding/landing spots!!!)

Reagan Marie was one busy little girl on Christmas Eve. She started the evening by putting out the bag of reindeer food that we had made earlier in the week for Santa's reindeer. Everyone leaves out goodies for Santa, but the reindeer are the ones who do all the hard work of pulling that sleigh across the sky. This year we spread reindeer food across our front lawn so that the reindeer could snack while Santa went down our chimney. Within only a few minutes, our yard was COVERED with oats, glitter, sprinkles, and sequins. The oats were for the reindeer to eat... the rest was to make the yard bright and shiny to make sure the reindeer could find our house! Reagan loved running through the yard spreading a little extra Christmas magic that night...

Not to worry, we still put out goodies for Santa as well. Reagan and Ryan had made a delicious plate of gingerbread men earlier in the week, and we chose an extra special one for Santa. The rest of the snacks, the big man chose himself. When we were visiting with Santa with my parents, Santa specifically told Reagan to leave him several pieces of small oranges along with a cup of water. He said his tummy often felt sick from eating so much milk and cookies on Christmas Eve, and he would really appreciate a healthy snack from Reagan. She made sure to follow his request precisely!

The first thing Reagan does on Christmas morning is to look and see if Santa came the night before. She makes sure that she has a pile of presents, and then she runs into the kitchen to see if he drank and ate the goodies that she left for him. This year was no different, except for one thing... it was VERY cold downstairs. Santa enjoyed his goodies, and he left a big pile of presents for Reagan and Myers, but he must have left our house through our chimney in a hurry because he left the door to our wood burning stove standing wide open. We all had a good laugh at how silly Santa can be!

The Santa Bag is a tradition that we started two years ago, and it is one that we will continue for years to come. All of Reagan's toys from Santa (that will fit) are placed in the Santa sack and left in the middle of the living room for her to unpack. She was a little nervous this Christmas morning as there was only one item that she had asked Santa for... THE WALKING PUPPY. She was very worried that Santa wouldn't be able to find it or that he wouldn't remember what she had asked for. As she opened up her presents (and presents for Myers) out of the bag, I could tell that she was becoming more and more anxious. Of course, the last present at the bottom of the bag would be THE present for her! And of course she did the same thing this year as she did last year when she got to the bottom of the pile... she went into the bag just to make sure there wasn't anymore gifts! Myers on the other hand slept through most of Christmas morning and was content to let Reagan handle all of the action for him. He did finally wake up enough for me to get a cute pic of the two of them in their matching pajamas!

I got an extra special surprise from Santa Christmas morning... a new camera! The picture of the two kids in their matching pj's above is one of the first pictures that I took using it. Rest assured that there will be a post on this blog in the very near future completely devoted to nothing but my new rig!

We spent the rest of Christmas day playing with all of our new toys and enjoying being at home. The next day, Boxing Day, we did a little shopping with all of the other crazies out there, and then we joined all of Ryan's family for a huge feast. Christmas dinner with the Knopps was as entertaining as always, and Reagan loved spending some time with all of her cousins. Myers even got in on the action with the rest of the kids!

By noon the day after boxing day, the 27th, I had completely UN-decorated our house and had stored all of the decorations away for next year. Yep, Christmas had come to an end!

Be prepared to see a few more back-dated posts over the next few days. I think I have about 10 or so posts that I need to do to get caught up to the present. Stick with me... I will get there! Myers has now settled into a daily routine with a 3 hour nap right smack dab in the middle of the day, so I hope to get back to blogging on a more regular schedule as well!

The Christmas Play

2010-12-23T09:47:00.001-08:00

Reagan came home from preschool a few weeks ago, even more excited than normal to tell me about her day. She was over the moon excited to let me know that she had been chosen to be Mary in the Christmas play!

Her teachers told me that it was an easy decision to make since all Reagan can talk about anymore is her baby brother and how she helps to take care of him. It was only natural that she use those maternal instincts to play the mother of Jesus.

The day of the play, she could hardly contain herself. She, and all of the other kids as well, were so proud to show us what they had been working on for the past few weeks. Speaking of the other kids, Reagan also informed us that the young boy who would be playing the role of Joseph is named Matthew and that while he was her husband in the play, her was also her boyfriend in real life!

Her teachers were correct... Reagan has a natural maternal instinct! In the video below, you will see that when the other kids began the loud celebrations of the birth of Jesus, Reagan/Mary places her hands over the baby's ears to protect him. And once she and Matthew/Joseph place the baby in the cradle, Reagan keeps scooting closer and closer to the cradle so that she can keep touching her baby! I apologize for the quality of the video... it was shot from my husband's phone and then we had to transfer it through 2 different editing programs before it actually made it to the blog!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

We were very impressed with how hard the kids had been working to learn all of their roles in the play. We were even more impressed with the program itself and the Christmas story of the birth of Christ that our children very passionately reenacted.

I'm also including a couple of videos of the kids performing a few of the songs. As you can see, they really had a lot of fun!

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

After the play was over and the kids had all changed out of their costumes, Matthew held Reagan's hand and walked her over to the snack table for the Christmas party. They sat side by side the rest of the afternoon! Ryan and I laughed with Matthew's mom about how cute they looked and about how we were going to have our hands full in the future, but I didn't realize just how much trouble we may have on our hands until it was time to leave at the very end of class. Reagan gave her teachers a hug goodbye, and then she turned to Matthew and gave him a hug. And then... she cried her little eyes out saying that she was going to miss him so much over the Christmas break and that she couldn't wait to go back to school in January. Good grief! We are DEFINITELY in trouble!

It's So Hard To Say Goodbye

2010-12-22T16:13:00.005-08:00

I am currently fighting a horrible case of mastitis, an infection that develops from plugged milk ducts when breastfeeding. My fever has finally gone down, but it had gotten up to 102.7 at one point. It hurts like the devil to nurse Myers on my right side, but nursing him combined with taking oral antibiotics is about the only thing that is going to make it go away. I had mastitis twice while nursing Reagan, and the second time that I had it with her I ended up having to go to the hospital daily as an outpatient to receive IV antibiotics. So far, this time around, I have been able to avoid that hassle. Ironically enough, the first time that I had it with Reagan started one day after her one month birthday... the EXACT same day that it started with Myers. Too bad that if I was going to get it I couldn't have gotten it about a week and a half sooner... then my parents would have still been here to pamper me back to good health!

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you know by now that saying goodbye to my parents after our visits is NEVER an easy thing for me to do. Over time, the goodbyes had gotten a little less painful, but I honestly think that this last one was just as hard as the very first one when I originally moved to Canada over eight years ago.

I am blessed to have such a wonderful relationship with my parents. My mom is my best friend in the world, and there is rarely a day that we don't talk numerous times on the phone. My dad has always been my hero, the man that I turn to for fixing things or solving problems. As I said, I am lucky. But I feel even luckier to know that my husband feels the same way about my parents. The goodbyes are often just as emotional for him as they are for my parents and me! I know that is not often the case between a spouse and their in-laws, and I will never take that fact for granted!

My parents flew up to be with us to help during the transition phase from one child to two, and I don't know how we would have done it without them. They were with us for almost 6 weeks, and we could have had them here for 6 more weeks if we could have convinced them to stay. Most people would think that is way too long of a visit... not us. We never felt like they were in our way or that we had to entertain them as guests. Maybe it's because other than the small act of giving birth and then breastfeeding a newborn, I didn't have to lift a finger from November 4th through December 13th! They took care of Reagan, shuttling her from home to gymnastics and to school and back. And when they weren't going from activity to activity, they were playing at home literally from the moment that Reagan woke up until her head hit the pillow again at night. She has become so accustomed to having a constant playmate, usually Momsey, that she thinks that anyone who comes to our house now is supposed to get down in the floor and play with her non-stop... I think that she would now invite the mailman inside to play with her if I would let her! I made the comment to my mom one afternon that I knew she must be exhausted from playing... she said it didn't matter because she loved playing with Reagan. I then told her that I was sorry that she wasn't getting to have tons of snuggle time with baby Myers since she was spending so much time playing, and she responded by telling me that Myers wouldn't have a clue if she was holding him or not, but that Reagan would know and remember that Momsey played with her endlessly. What can I say... my mom is wise beyond her years!

What else did my parents do for 6 weeks?

They cooked all our meals; they spotlessly cleaned my house every day; while Momsey played, Pops would fix things in our house; while Pops played, Momsey would do the endless loads of laundry; they decorated inside and out for Christmas; Pops even installed new lighting and electrical outlets in Ryan's shed; they did all of our grocery shopping... heck, they even footed the bill for all of our groceries! But most importantly... they gave us all their LOVE!

They snuggled with their new grandson...

They spoiled our dog Dixie...

Pops shoveled snow...

They all played in the snow, pulling Reagan on the sled and helping to build a monster sized snowman...

Pops lost his computer to Reagan and Momsey during this visit...

And he became a jungle gym apparatus for Reagan to climb on...

They even cooked a full sized Thanksgiving dinner for us to enjoy at home with Ryan's boss and his family as well! This picture is of Reagan helping to get the turkey ready for the deep fryer!

So as you can tell, the past week without them here has been quite the adjustment for us all. We ALL miss them like crazy, and can't wait for April to hurry up and get here. The next four months are going to seem like an eternity until we can finally see each other again!

One Month Old

2010-12-19T16:03:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that a month has already passed since the birth of sweet baby Myers. It's been a busy month for him!

He spends a lot of time sleeping... even giving me 3 hour stretches of sleep during the night!

And he spends a LOT of time eating... he's working on perfecting his large belly!

He has played in the snow with his sister...

He posed for our Christmas card...

He spends time just hanging out with his big sister Reagan...

And on today, his one month birthday, he got all dressed up in big boy clothes for a few pics... he's normally dressed in a sleeper!

Just to document the growth of that belly, I took a few shots of it today too!

He is certainly growing... he already weighs over 10 pounds (he was 8.5 when he was born) and he has grown over an inch. He is just like his sister in that he is a very good baby... he rarely fusses and sleeps very well considering that he is only a month old. Our only problem has been a battle with a severe diaper rash... and that battle continues! He has started to become more alert during the day, and he's even watched a couple of episodes of Baby Einstein already. I love all of the new little cooing noises that he has started to make this past week, and I can't wait to hear even more. Actually, yes I can wait... he's growing up too fast already!

Our Baby Boy

2010-11-22T17:46:00.000-08:00

Here come the details of our precious new addition, Mr. Myers Tyson Knopp!

We arrived at the hospital on Thursday morning, November 18th, at 7:00am. We were admitted, and by 10:00 that morning I had received my insertion of the prostaglandin gel. At 11:00, the nurses asked me to go for a walk, and at noon they checked my progress. I was still only 1.5 cm dilated, and I was only having mild contractions. So, the waiting began. I was convinced that I would be waiting for at least another full day at this point... I WAS WRONG!

My obstetrician came back to check on me at 8:00 that evening, and I was having some pretty serious contractions at this point. I had only dilated .5 of a cm more, so she decided that it would be a good idea to add a pitocin IV drip to get things moving faster. My contractions decided right about this time that they had a mind of their own, and that they did NOT want to have any pitocin added. Thankfully, the printout reading of the intensity of my contractions caused both my doctor and nurse to agree that the pitocin was indeed not needed! Instead, the nurse decided that I needed to get into a hot shower to try to SLOW things down a little bit. After my shower, a bag of penicillin was added to my IV since I had tested as Group B Strep positive. This was also the point in the evening that I asked for some medical intervention for the pain. I very quickly became best friends with the nitrous oxide mask! Ryan kept teasing me and calling me Darth Vador because of the raspy voice that the mask gave me. I didn't care... I wasn't about to put that mask down!

This is when things got really interesting. It was sometime around 10:00 pm, and I wasn't sure what had just happened. I knew it was one of two things... I was either so high off of the nitrous mask that I didn't realize that I was peeing in the bed OR my water had just broken. It was the second option! I was still no further dilated, so I returned to the shower to try once again to gain control of the pain on my own. It was a useless attempt. Once I made it back to the newly cleaned birthing bed, I could only manage to get one word out of my mouth to the nurse between breaths of sucking on the mask. EPIDURAL!

Thankfully, within only a few minutes, the anesthesiologist was walking through my door. At precisely 11:00pm, the epidural was in place and I was ready for my break. With Reagan, once I received the epidural, I was able to sleep for almost 4 hours before it was time for me to push. Not this time. Once the anesthesiologist left, the nurse said she was going to do a quick check of my progress. All I remember is hearing her say in a very loud and shocking voice, "WOW! You are at 9cm and ready to push this baby out." I replied with an expletive that I won't repeat here! So much for taking a nap!

By 11:30pm, my OB was back in the room and was ready to help me deliver. The epidural had not had enough time to take a full numbing effect on me, so I was still able to use my legs. My doctor asked me to stand up on the bed, hold onto the birthing bar, and then to squat over the bed. Easier said than done lady! I held my squat position while pushing for over half an hour before I finally told her that I could NOT do it anymore... my legs had turned to jello!

Once I was again laid back on the bed, all I wanted to do was rest. I was exhausted! But, as my doctor pointed out to me, there was still work to be done. Myers's head had crowned by this point, and, again as my doctor very pointedly told me, it wasn't like I could just leave him there. I very pointedly told her to just get him out of me! I was begging for her to use a local anesthetic and for her to perform an episiotomy. She kept telling me to do it on my own, but my body would not cooperate. After about 15 minutes of pushing with no further reward, she finally made the cut. Moments later, Myers was born!

The next four and a half minutes were the longest minutes of mine and Ryan's lives. Myers was not breathing. He was blue when the doctor placed him on the bed between my legs. Within seconds, she had cut the cord and whisked him away to the other side of the room. Ryan and I could hear both the doctor and nurse working on him, but what we really wanted to hear was the screams of a baby. They went through a series of procedures to try to get him to breathe on his own, and all the while they were bagging him with oxygen. At exactly four minutes and 23 seconds after he was born, they gave him a shot of narcan and within 20 seconds after that he was breathing on his own and screaming like a champion. It was music to our ears!

My obstetrician explained to Ryan and I that the cord had been wrapped around Myers's neck. Also, when I was given the epidural, I had also been given a shot (or possibly two) of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opiate analgesic similar to but more potent than morphine. It had caused Myers to not be able to breath on his own, and the narcan was administered to remove all traces of the drug from Myers bloodstream.

The doctor handed Myers to Ryan, and after those first few seconds of taking him all in, Ryan announced that we definitely chose the perfect name for him... he looks EXACTLY like my dad!

Finally, Myers was placed in my arms and I was able to hold onto our newest bundle of joy. He immediately began nursing, and has not stopped nursing since! He is a non-stop eater! Born at 12:54am Friday morning, November 19th, 2010, weighing 8 pounds 8 ounces and measuring 21.5 inches long, he is absolutely perfect in every way.

My parents brought Reagan up to the hospital to see us first thing Friday morning, and she is just as proud as can be. She is going to be the best big sister in the world! She wants to hold him constantly, and she is very gentle and protective of him. She came into our room just this very morning and told me, "Go back to sleep Mommy. I've got this. I'll take care of Myers for you."

I'm doing as well as can be expected. I'm very tired and extremely sore, but I'm soaring! Myers and I were released from the hospital on Saturday morning, and we've been settling in at home ever since. I must admit that I had forgotten how often newborns nurse... like every hour on the hour! So I may not be doing a lot of blogging in the next few weeks, but I'll try to stay in touch!

Myers Tyson Knopp

2010-11-21T17:10:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update to let you know that the wait is finally over!

Myers Tyson Knopp was born at 12:54am on Friday morning, November 19, 2010 weighing 8 pounds 8 ounces and measuring 21.5 inches long.

Mommy and baby were both released from the hospital yesterday, and we have spent the last 24 hours settling in at home and doing LOTS of snuggling! I'm very sore and very tired, but couldn't possibly be any happier.

I hope to post all the details and a few pictures by tomorrow...

Induction Day

2010-11-18T17:18:00.001-08:00

Currently, we are in the hospital, in the midst of being induced to deliver baby Myers. We arrived at the hospital this morning at 7:30, and by 10:00 I had received my injection of the prostaglandin gel. Nothing major is happening thus far... It is now 5:00pm and we are waiting to see the doc again to find out if she wants to do another dose of the gel, or if she wants to move onto the pitocin IV drip. I'll try to keep you posted!!!

-- Post From My iPhone

39 Week Update STILL PREGNANT

2010-11-15T10:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the first day of week 39 of this pregnancy, and I honestly thought for a few moments there that it could also be the last day of this pregnancy! I'll get to that in a minute...

Last week, week 38, was busy with just about any and every attempt to get this baby moving on out. On Tuesday, I had acupuncture to prepare me for labor. On Wednesday, my OB did a "sweep" of my membranes. A membrane sweep, also known as membrane stripping, or stretch and sweep, is done during an internal examination. The doctor moves her finger around the cervix to stimulate and/or separate the membranes around the baby from the cervix. This causes a release of prostaglandins which can help to kick-start labor. On Wednesday I also mopped my hardwood floors to a sparkling clean shine while rocking out and dancing to all of my favorite Glee hits! On Thursday, I drank a labor cocktail that had been given to me by a midwife. On Friday, I must have walked close to three miles and bounced on my birthing ball for over an hour. Friday was also the day that I lost my mucus plug. On Saturday, I had another round of acupuncture to promote labor. A few of you had suggested spicy foods... we've been spicing it up all week. I even became desperate enough to partake in some "relations" with my husband a couple of times this past week in the hope that it would speed things along.

Yesterday, Sunday, I ended up being admitted into the hospital with contractions! When I arrived, my contractions were coming in waves of about 4 contractions every 10 minutes, and sometimes even faster than that. The nurses monitored me for almost an hour and then decided that I was definitely in labor and should be admitted. Ryan and I got settled into our room and the waiting began. I was certainly feeling the contractions, but it wasn't anything that was so bad that I was breathless or ready to start asking for the meds. The nurses went ahead and started an IV drip so that when I was ready, it would be easy to administer any pain medications or the antibiotic that I would need for being Group B Strep positive.

Within only a couple of hours, my contractions started to slow down. I eventually fell asleep (thanks to the whopping dose of Ativan that they gave me) and when I woke up this morning my contractions had slowed to only one every 10 minutes or so. I was still only 1.5 cm dilated and 50% effaced, so the decision was made to remove my IV and to let me come home and play the waiting game here.

So, who knows! It may start back up as soon as tonight, or it may be another few days. I do have another appointment for acupuncture tomorrow, so I'm hoping that will help if things are still stalled out!

Regardless, rest assured that I will keep you posted. HOPEFULLY MUCH SOONER RATHER THAN LATER!!!

37 Weeks and READY!

2010-11-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

Holy Hallelujah! My parents are here, which means I can finally relax about going into labor! I was beginning to worry that Reagan was going to get a very early lesson in exactly how babies are born, but I can now rest assured that she will be taken care of at HOME while we are at the hospital. My neighbors across the street had offered to keep her, and I secretly think that they were hoping that I was going to go into labor before my parents got here. We would have gladly sent her to them, but felt like that was a lot to ask of them as well!

I am now at the end of my 37th week, and I am READY for Myers to get here. For the longest time, I kept saying that I wasn't ready for his arrival because I wasn't ready to NOT be pregnant any more. You see, this could quite possibly be my last pregnancy, and I am one of those women who love being pregnant. But I have reached my breaking point. I'm done. I'm ready. Bring on the labor and get what feels like a 20 pound baby that is already 3 feet long out of me!!! My bags are packed for the hospital, and they are already loaded into the truck. I've finished all of my nesting projects, and the nursery is done. I'm READY!

At last week's Doctor's appointment, I was half a centimeter dilated. This week I was at a full centimeter. I am hoping that means that labor is not too far away! For Reagan, I didn't dilate until I went into labor, so hopefully this is a sign of a smoother delivery than hers. For that story, click here!

For now, we are just playing the waiting game. Have any tips on how to naturally bring on labor? If so, send them my way! Did I mention that I am ready? Ryan is ready too! And Reagan... she's ready to hug her baby brother for REAL instead of through my belly!

We are all ready!

My Little Reader

2010-11-03T10:04:00.003-07:00

Reagan LOVES to read!

She's learning to read at preschool by sounding out her words as she sees the letters, but she can also "read" from memory. After only a couple of times of listening to me read this Barbie book to her, she was able to "read" it back to me on her own!

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Show Days at Preschool

2010-11-02T15:58:00.000-07:00

The last class of each month is considered to be "show day" at Reagan's preschool, and the families of the children are invited to come see a short production of all the kids have learned that month. September 29 was the first show day of the new school year, and the kids were all VERY excited to show off for us all. As it was the "transition back into school" month, September's curriculum was a bit more relaxed than the rest of the year will be... the main focus was Winnie the Pooh! The kids also perfected writing and using the letters A and B in both upper and lower case.

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The letters for the month of October were C, D and E, and the science curriculum was all about Tropical Rainforests and Jungles. The artist of the month was Emily Carr. I am always amazed at the things that Reagan comes home and TEACHES ME from preschool. These kids are learning things that I don't remember learning until middle school, if at all!

Needless to say, the boys and girls loved showing off their Halloween costumes for all of us on show day as they performed!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Trick or Treat... It's BARBIE!

2010-11-01T20:26:00.001-07:00

Reagan, aka Barbie, had a fabulous Halloween this year!

We spent most of the day at the neighbor's house across the street for a Halloween party complete with games, haunted gingerbread houses, and a cotton candy machine. More than a couple of people commented on Reagan's OCD tendencies as she was helping to decorate the haunted house... every candy corn and gum drop had to be strategically placed and in alternating color fashion. What can I say, she's just like her Mommy!
(Thank you again Stephanie for an awesome afternoon, and for taking care of Reagan so I could rest while watching and taking pictures of all of the fun!)

Of course, Barbie did some trick or treating with her Daddy. Mommy was quite impressed with the big bag of goodies that they came home with... and from the way baby Myers was kicking later that night, I would say that he enjoyed a few of those sweets as well!

Needless to say, we were a pair of proud parents of our pretty Barbie princess!

Ice Skating

2010-10-30T16:45:00.001-07:00

As I type this, Reagan and Ryan are on the ice at the recreation center. Me? I'm laid up relaxing on the couch! I went with them last weekend, and decided that the bleachers are just not made for a very pregnant me to sit comfortably by any means. So I let them go enjoy themselves without me today. Now, if they come home and tell me that she skated all by herself, without the aid of the pushy thing, then I will be VERY upset with myself. She was determined that she was going to skate all by herself last weekend, and she did get to a point where she could hold her balance and slide her feet without holding on... but she never really "skated" on her own. I guess I'll just have to wait to hear all about today's adventures when they get home. In the meantime, here's a few of the pics that I took last weekend!

A Little Fall Fun

2010-10-25T11:36:00.000-07:00

For the past three years, we have gone to Meadows Maze to enjoy a little Fall Fun and this year was no different. Well, it was different in that I more or less just sat off to the sidelines taking pictures while Ryan and Reagan wandered around and enjoyed all of the activities. I'm pretty much to the point where I can barely stand, much less walk around for any long period of time! But other than that, it was the same fun as always. We decided to go on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend... also known as Columbus Day to all of my American friends.

Each year, Reagan picks out a baby goat that she claims as "her" goat. This year, she had several of them eating out of the palm of her hand... literally! If she didn't hold her hand out for them, then they would prop their front paws, er... hooves, um... feet, whatever, up on her chest to get at the food. She loved it!

She rode the barrel train over and over and over again. I think she was trying to get as muddy as possible since the driver would pull the kids through what had to be the muddiest section of the entire acreage each and every time!

And of course, she rode the pony rides. It was the same pony, Cheyenne, as from last year. Ryan and I seriously began to think that we would never get her off of the thing, and the trainer even told us at one point that it was time to get her a horse of her own. Um, sure thing lady. We'll get right on that as soon as we win the lottery!

On the way home from Meadows Maze, we stopped at a pumpkin patch not far from our house. After Reagan and Ryan searched through the fields for what seemed like an eternity, they made their way back to where I was waiting at the entrance area with a wheelbarrow full of pumpkins.

Once we were home, Reagan helped me to organize where all of the pumpkins should go to decorate the house. We are now officially ready for Fall!

A Month Ago/A Month To Go (From Reagan's Perspective)

2010-10-21T16:00:00.002-07:00

One month ago today, my sister Anna left for her trip across country to move back to South Carolina. One month to go from today is the official due date of Myers Tyson Knopp to join our family. I'm going to let Reagan fill you in on all the details of both of these events!

Hi everyone. My name is Reagan and I am almost 4 and a half years old. I love my Mommy, I love my Daddy, I love my dog named Dixie, and I love my Auntie Anna. Auntie Anna used to live with me, and she would do arts and crafts with me. Auntie Anna used to take me to school, but now my Mommy takes me to school and my Daddy sometimes picks me up when Mommy is resting. Auntie Anna lived with me for one year, but now she lives in South Carolina. My Momsey and Pops live in South Carolina too. Auntie Anna drove her blue car across the border to go home. It took her a long time to drive to South Carolina. My Auntie Anna missed her friends when she was here, but now she misses me. Auntie Anna is going to go back to school to be a nurse. I feel sad sometimes because I miss her. I like to call her on the phone. I hope she comes back to see me soon. My Momsey and Pops are coming to see me very soon. They are going to help take care of all of us when my baby brother Myers is born. They will be here in 14 sleeps, and they are going to stay for a long time. My Mommy is pregnant. I talk to Myers in my Mommy's belly, and he kicks for me. Mommy doesn't feel so good anymore. She is tired. She feels like my little brother is going to crawl out of her. Mommy's belly is huge. The Doctor will help get baby Myers out, and I will get to visit Mommy at the hospital when he is born. I can't wait to be a big sister. I am going to play with him and teach him all the things he should do. I will help change his diapers, but not if there is poo. I will love him very much.

I promise that I only typed these words as Reagan quoted them to me! This post came straight from her!

Me & Brian Austin Green Go WAY Back!

2010-10-03T17:30:00.001-07:00

Who else was super excited to see that Brian Austin Green has joined the ladies of Wisteria Lane on Desperate Housewives? I was thrilled! You see, me and Brian, we go WAY back. Let me explain...

You may remember from this post from this summer that I mentioned I was South Carolina's Junior Miss in 1994.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Junior Miss program, it is...

"a national scholarship program that inspires high school girls to develop their full, individual potential through a fun, transformative experience that culminates in a celebratory showcase of their accomplishments by encouraging continued education and providing college scholarship; by developing self-confidence and the abilities to interview effectively, to speak in public, to perform on stage and to build interpersonal relationships; by encouraging and showcasing excellence in academic achievement, physical fitness, on-stage performance skills, and the ability to think and communicate clearly; by creating opportunities to beneficially inspire the lives of others."

I entered my local program for the main purpose of getting extra credit in my 11th grade English class so that I was sure to have an A instead of a B for my final mark... my English teacher that year was also the coordinator of our local Junior Miss program. Little did I know that I would win that local program, and that I would then go on to win the State program, allowing me to represent the State of South Carolina in the 1994 National America's Junior Miss competition. 1994 was the last year that the National event was televised, and NBC carried the coverage. Leanza Cornett was one of the co-hosts that year. BRIAN AUSTIN GREEN WAS THE OTHER HOST!

Keep in mind this was back in 1994... during the prime hype and drama of 90210. I was already a "David Silver" fan, but I think I became his biggest fan after that summer!

I remember it as clearly as if it were yesterday. It was the Friday before the live televised finals on Saturday. We had already been through three nights of preliminary competitions, and the Friday was being used as a dress rehearsal. We had been through the performance twice already with the stand-in hosts, and the producers told us (the 50 contestants) that we could break for lunch and meet back on stage in 90 minutes. I finished my lunch, and went back into the auditorium to wait instead of going up to the dressing room. I was tired, and I was really wanting to just lay down across a few of the chairs to take a nap. I figured the auditorium would be a quiet place... WRONG! The crew was in the middle of sound and light checks, so it was kind of crazy in there. I sat down to watch the chaos, and before I knew it I was being asked to come up on stage for a sound check. The producer and the choreographer were standing off to the left of the stage talking with someone that I couldn't see in the shadows. I was asked to take a seat on one of the interview boxes to test how everything would look the next night during the final on-stage question. Seconds after I took a seat, the person in the shadows stepped forward to come take a seat beside me... it was Brian!

I was super star-struck, but I tried to play it cool. For almost 45 minutes, we sat there while the crew changed the lighting, played with the overhead mics, and kept busy around us. We had to do the occasional fake conversation of a mock-interview, but we mostly sat there and talked like two normal everyday people. I remember that he made a comment about the fact that his girlfriend was also named Tiffany (he was dating Tiffani-Amber Thiessen at the time) and I replied with, "Oh yes, I know!" Then I asked him if it was weird knowing that everyone knew his personal life, and he remarked with how he had finally started to get used to it. We talked about a few of the other cast members of 90210... I can officially tell you that NONE of the cast was disappointed to see Sharon Doherty leave the show! But mostly, we just talked about normal stuff... growing up, high school, me going away to college, etc. He teased me endlessly about my Southern accent, and I teased him right back about being famous. My teasing was made much easier when he casually mentioned that he was hungry and within mere seconds, there was a crew member at his side asking what he would like to eat. "A plain burger with A1 sauce and extra pickles, and whatever she wants" was he reply as he pointed to me. I declined since I had just finished my own lunch, but was flattered that he included me. Like I said before, I was star struck! By this time, many of the other girls had made their way into the auditorium, and some of my closest friends from the two weeks of competition were giving me the thumbs-up! Someone had the foresight to go get my camera, but obviously from the picture above, she wasn't the best with a camera! Thankfully later that night, after the final dress rehearsal, I was able to get a decent picture with him...

So, like I said, I was very excited to find out that Brian was going to be on Desperate Housewives this season. The show needed a kick, and he has certainly been able to provide it as Bree's new handyman.

I have to say that this is one gentleman who just gets better with age!!

30-32 Week Update with 3D Ultrasound

2010-09-26T08:54:00.001-07:00

Just over 2 weeks ago (at 30 weeks pregnant), the entire family went to see baby Myers again via 3D Ultrasound.   We were all very excited to get to see his precious face in more detail, as the last 3D Ultrasound was done back at 18 weeks pregnant when there wasn't much detail to see other than if he was a boy or a girl!

At first, he didn't want to play along with us or the ultrasound technician. He was hiding his face behind his hands AND his feet, and he refused to move. I got up to walk around; I ate a handful of Hershey's kisses; I did a few high kicks; I even did a hand stand in the ladies washroom just to try to get him to move for us. Nope, none of it worked! It wasn't until his big sister Reagan crawled up on the table with me, placed her head on my belly and started talking to him like she does every morning when we wake up, that he started to move. He pulled his feet back down, he moved his hands from his face, and he SMILED when he heard her voice! It was the sweetest thing in the world, and she was one proud big sister when the technician looked at her and said, "Wow! You are the only one who could get him to move and to smile!"
Everything about Myers was absolutely perfect except for one small detail... he was breech! I had a Dr.'s appointment the next day, and my OB confirmed what I had already discovered the day before... this little boy was not in his proper position for a natural delivery. Being that I was only 30 weeks, we knew that I still had time to try to get him to flip. For days, this was ALL I could think about. I did some research, and I decided to see if I could get him to move on his own.

First, I spent about 15 minutes in our hot tub to get me and him both nice and relaxed. I have started keeping the temperature right at 100 degrees (instead of the normal 104 that we usually keep it at) so that I can still enjoy it without having to worry about getting too hot.   After the hot tub, I came inside to continue my experiment. I had everything set up and ready, and with a little help from my sister I was ready to go.
I had placed our ironing board strategically up against the couch, and I positioned myself so that I was lying inverted on the ironing board with my head and shoulders on the floor, and the rest of me going UP the ironing board. I had read that acupuncture applied to the pinkie toe will cause uterine movement, so we clipped clothes pins onto both of my pinkie toes. It wasn't painful, but it wasn't pleasant either. Next we wrapped a gel ice pack in a cloth and placed it directly at the very top of my uterus. Babies don't like for their heads to be cold, so this was done to get him to move his head to a warmer, lower place!

I remained in this position with all the extra stuff for about 20 minutes. The only thing that I didn't do, that I later found out would have also helped in this activity, was to place headphones playing classical music very close to my pubic bone to encourage him to flip to better hear the music. This trick on its own worked for my neighbor after 3 nights of repetitive music playing.

Myers was definitely squirming all around while I was on the ironing board, but it wasn't until about 5 minutes after I had managed to get back onto the couch like a normal person (without the ironing board) that I felt my entire belly roll. I was sure that he had to have flipped as there was no other explanation for that feeling. I also couldn't feel his hard little head up at the top of my uterus any more. But I wouldn't know for sure until my next Dr.'s appointment two weeks later if he had really made the turn or not. Little did I know, I was going to find out sooner than expected!

One week ago, on Sunday evening, I was convinced that I was in labor. It was 4:30 in the afternoon, and I had just woken up from a nap. I had quite a bit of back pain when I got out of the bed, but I just assumed that maybe I had slept funny. Like any very pregnant woman who wakes up after a 2 hour spell of sleeping, I had a full bladder and needed to go to the bathroom. Only I couldn't. For almost 2 hours I tried to empty what felt like an extremely full bladder, but I could only get a few "tinkles" here and there. I decided to phone the maternity ward at the hospital to get their opinion, and while I was on the phone with the nurse, the pain began to intensify in my back and wrap around to the front. It felt identical to a contraction. The nurse and I both decided that it would be a safe idea for me to go to the hospital to be monitored, just in case. I very calmly called Ryan upstairs and told him to take me to the hospital while I also told Anna that she and Reagan needed to have a slumber party and that it needed to start immediately!

The pain kept getting worse, and by the time we made the short 5 minute drive to the hospital, I could hardly stand up on my own. The nurses had me hooked up to the monitors within only a few minutes, and thankfully, I was not in labor. That was good news, along with the confirmation that Myers had indeed flipped and was no longer in the breech position! But it was clear that I was in a great deal of pain, and that something was wrong. After about half an hour had passed, I began to vomit from the pain. Being that I was not in labor, there was really nothing that the maternity ward could do for me, so we decided to go home for me to tough it out through the night. The maternity Dr.'s and nurses all agreed that it was one of two things: 1. A really bad stomach bug or 2. Kidney stones.   Based on all of the "plumbing" issues that I was having in the bathroom, we were all leaning towards diagnosis number 2.

Ryan and I made it back home shortly before 8pm, just in time to tell Reagan good night. I tried to go back to bed myself, but had no such luck! I was up all night in pain, throwing up, and trying unsuccessfully to go pee. Finally, around 4:00 in the morning when the pain was at it's absolute worst, I was able to go the bathroom! It hurt like hell and felt oh so good all at the same time. And then, that was it. The pain was gone, the nausea was gone... it was all over immediately after I had finally been able to empty my bladder!

The next day, my Dr. confirmed what we all suspected the night before, that she was 99% sure that I had passed a kidney stone during the night. I still had some minor "plumbing" issues for a couple of days, but I am MUCH better now!

Which brings us to today... the first day of week 32! By my due date, I have 8 weeks to go, but we all have a feeling that Myers will be a lot like Reagan and come early. If that is the case, then I have only 6 more weeks to go! I'm torn because I am one of those women who absolutely LOVE being pregnant. I love feeling all of his movements and knowing that I am giving him life inside of me. But on the other hand, I am ready to be done! This pregnancy has been far more painful, and not just because of the kidney stone. This little boy has a habit of causing Mommy to be uncomfortable almost ALL OF THE TIME. He stretches and pushes in ways that Reagan never did, almost to the point of where I think I might pop if he pushes any further. And the scary thing is that his weight still needs to double what it currently is before he is considered full grown!

I am obviously getting bigger... I had forgotten what it was like for my size 36H boobs to actually look small because my belly is so big! And it is only going to get bigger!
I guess in the grand scheme of things, even the full 8 weeks until my due date is really not that far away. It won't be long now until I can hold this little boy in my arms!

The New Chaotic Routine

2010-09-14T15:20:00.001-07:00

Last week was "back to school" week for us, but we are no longer functioning on an as easy of a schedule as last year. Reagan is attending the same preschool as last year, but the 4-year old program runs three days a week instead of the two day a week 3-year old schedule. We were all set and ready for her to go Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, until her gymnastics coach caused a bit of chaos for us.

Reagan has been placed on the competitive gymnastics team this year, and she is the youngest on the team! We are very proud and super excited to begin this journey with her, but it came with conflict... her new training schedule was almost identical to her preschool schedule. At first, we weren't sure what to do because as much as I wanted her in this gymnastics program, her preschool lessons were, and are, my first priority and I didn't want her to have to switch schools. Thankfully, we were able to move from the morning preschool program to the afternoon preschool program, which enables her to be able to do her gymnastics training in the morning.

This is all new, uncharted waters for me. I'm used to sports, competitive or recreational, being more of an "after" school program. From what I have been told, if we continue with her gymnastics training, then Reagan will be missing at least one afternoon of school per week each year once she is in full day school.... which starts next year. For now, we are just taking it one year at a time, and we will see what happens from there!

She was so excited to start her new training at gymnastics, and I was excited to go with her that first day to see what all she would be doing. It surely brought back some memories for me! I was impressed with what all the coaches had her doing at this young age, and I'm anxious to see what new skills she will learn this year.
IMMEDIATELY following her 2 hours at the gym, we went straight to her school. We did a quick change of clothes in the parking lot at the gym, she ate a sandwich on the drive across town, and then ran inside to line up for her first day of 4 year preschool! All this was done with less than 5 minutes to spare! Of course, I did make sure that we had enough time to snap a quick first day of school picture...
It's going to be a crazy year, especially once newborn Myers is added to the mix, but it is what she wants to do!

PS... After only the second day of her new training at gymnastics, Reagan was sporting her first "rip" on her hands. I must say that I was extremely proud when I went to pick her up on day two and she showed me her hand. Rips are an expected part of gymnastics... they happen as a result of using the uneven bars. The friction between the bars and your hands produces a build up of skin, and eventually, this buildup will "rip" off. It's painful, but as a gymnast, she will have to get used to it. She handled her first like a pro... no tears, and I think she was pretty proud of it herself!

28 Weeks Pregnant Post

2010-08-30T11:43:00.006-07:00

It's been awhile since I posted any details of my pregnancy with this little boy in my belly, so I figured I would get you caught back up to date!

We came home from our summer vacation at the beginning of my 22nd week, and by the end of that week I was put on partial bed rest. My normal blood pressure is 110/60... at that appointment my blood pressure was 140/80, and I had gained 15 pounds in the three weeks since my last appointment. My OB gave me strict orders to stop work immediately and to begin resting during the day as much as possible. She also ordered what seemed like 1000 tests to be done over the course of the following week. I had developed preeclampsia/toxemia during my pregnancy with Reagan, so we were prepared to keep a close eye on things for this pregnancy... we just didn't expect to see the symptoms so soon!

Since then, my blood pressure has pretty much remained the same. All of the blood work and other lab work came back within the normal ranges, so I have managed to remain on only partial bed rest thus far. This means that I am resting either in bed or on the couch more than anything else while still being allowed to take the occasional walk around the block or to run an important errand. More than anything though, I'm being lazy! It's tough though because my nesting instinct has kicked in, and I can't really do any cleaning while laying on the couch. There was one day that I decided that all of the shoes in our house were dirty, so I put ALL of them in the washing machine. I figured that was the best way to cure my itch to clean and yet not do any physical labor in the process! And now we all have clean shoes! So far, I haven't had any other crazy cleaning urges thank goodness!

My blood pressure may be staying down, but my weight is still going up like crazy. I'm averaging about 5 pounds per week which means that at the rate I am going, if I carry to full term I could weigh over 250 pounds. It has become harder to move around or to roll over in bed or to get off the couch without feeling like I need a crane to lift me, and I know a lot of it has to do with the water that I am retaining. Just the same as with Reagan, I'm swelling in my face, hands, and feet. Oh who am I kidding... I'm swelling all over! My face, hands and feet just seem to be getting the worst of it so far!

Thankfully, I passed the Glucose Tolerance Test on the first try. I felt HORRIBLE the rest of the day that day, and I was terrified that I would have to take the extended test to rule out gestational diabetes. What a relief to know that I at least don't have to worry about that!

If the old wives tale about heartburn has any truth to it, then this baby boy is going to be born with a full head of hair. I didn't think that heartburn could get any worse than it was with Reagan (and she had a full head of hair at birth!), but this little boy has got her beat for sure. I'm eating Tums like crazy, but they only help a little bit.

Let's see, what else can I complain about in this post? How about some serious sciatica pain?! At least this ailment tends to come and go, so I am blaming it on whatever position Myers works himself into that puts extra pressure on the sciatic nerve. He must have already figured my breaking point and is testing me because every time that it seems I have had all that I can take of the pain, he thankfully gives me a few days of relief before maneuvering himself into the painful spot again!

My family would surely complain about my pregnancy hormones! Lately, I have been all over the map with dramatic and crazy and emotional ups and downs and highs and lows. I remember being hormonal when I was pregnant with Reagan, and there were a few days that I remember being "grumpy", but NOTHING like what I have been going through with Myers. This past week has been extremely emotional, and it took a toll on me for a couple of days. The worst part has been the crazy surges of raging emotions that I have had. I've taken to throwing things at people - a can of ginger ale at my sister, and a tub of butter at my husband (the ginger ale was full... the butter tub was empty!) and on more than one occasion I have felt like punching a wall. THIS IS TOTALLY NOT LIKE ME AT ALL. I am going to blame these "neanderthal" like symptoms on of all of the testosterone in my body that I am not used to. Thank you very much little boy for causing havoc on my body in so many ways! I have always known that boys can be much more of a handful than girls, but good grief I wasn't expecting to have to start dealing with it before he is even born!!!!

Speaking of this little boy, he is now the size of an eggplant at approximately 14 inches in length and just over 2 pounds. (How is that possible when I have gained almost 40 pounds already?!?!?!?!) Despite all of the craziness that is going on with my body, he is growing just as he should be. He can now blink his eyes, and he even has eye lashes. His eyesight has developed enough that he can now see light that filters through the womb. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, his brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now. However, I have no plans of this baby boy being born any time soon! Right now, I'm enjoying feeling all of his kicks and punches and hiccups (except for the ones that center around the sciatic nerve of course!) from the inside.

Silly Bandz

2010-08-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

Many of you already know the craze of Silly Bandz, those little rubber bands that have been created into most any shape imaginable and are worn and traded by the kids like crazy. Well, the phenomenon has not hit our part of Canada yet. Not to worry, because when we were down in the Carolinas on vacation, Reagan discovered first hand what the hype is all about.

Our cousin, Kim, and her boys sent a package to Reagan that was STUFFED full of Silly Bandz! Reagan was at first just excited to get mail of her own while at the beach, but she really got excited when she opened up the bag to see what was inside. She spent the first little while sorting them out on the floor, and then she began to sort which ones she was going to wear first.
We acquired several more packs over the rest of our trip... enough to almost fill a gallon sized ziploc bag! Now that we are home, she thinks she is the coolest kid in Canada because of all of her bracelets. She shows them off to anyone who will pay her attention, and she has introduced several of her friends to the latest fashion trend.
I'm in the process of trying to convince our neighbor who owns a salon right on the beach in White Rock that we need to invest in these little babies and sell them out of her store front. Honestly though, I just wish that I had been the creative genius to come up with the original idea of Silly Bandz in the first place!!

Who's Thirsty for Some Lemonade?

2010-08-10T07:01:00.000-07:00

The next-to-last morning at the beach, Reagan woke up in tears. She was upset because we had forgotten to have a lemonade stand!

Weeks before we ever even went on vacation, Reagan decided that she wanted to have a lemonade stand. She also decided that the best place to have one would be at Pops & Momsey's beach house where it is hot, hot, hot!

This little girl has a way of getting whatever she wants out of her Pops and her Daddy, so she immediately started working on them to build her a lemonade stand so that she could "make some money" on her last morning at the beach. All she had to do was ask, and the two of them set out on the mission of building the perfect stand.

The next morning, our last day at the beach, Reagan and I got busy slicing up the lemons and mixing up her special drink. She was ready and waiting for all of the world to become thirsty!
Reagan was convinced that every person, golf cart, car or bike that went by her stand was supposed to buy a drink. Thankfully, Mr. David from across the street was out cutting his grass and decided that a glass of tasty lemonade would be the perfect treat. He was her first customer, and he kept coming back for more!
She stood on her stool, behind her stand for almost an hour. She served up 2 pitchers of lemonade that morning to friends, family, and strangers for 25 cents per cup. When the lemonade ran out, she was $13.30 richer... she had even made a few tips!
And yes, she has already asked her Daddy if she can have a lemonade stand here at home... She's quite the little entrepreneur!

Waterslides With Bathing Suit Baby Bump Pics!

2010-08-09T09:40:00.000-07:00

WARNING! THIS POST CONTAINS PREGNANT LADY IN A BATHING SUIT PICTURES!!!

Towards the end of our vacation in North Carolina, we spent a morning at the Magic Mountain Waterslides on Holden Beach. We had taken Reagan to these same slides last summer, and she loved it. We automatically assumed that she would love them again.

NOT AT FIRST!

Blame it on pregnancy brain, or just call me a space cadet, but I have no idea what I was thinking. I sent Reagan up to the top of the slide with her Daddy, and just expected her to slide on down by herself while I took tons of pictures. I completely forgot the little detail of someone needing to be at the bottom of the slides to "catch" her. Of course, this is more just for her comfort than for her safety, but I should have thought about that before we sent her up to the top of the hill. No wonder she was a little timid of the slides at first!

But once I got a clue as to where I was and what I needed to be doing, it was literally all downhill from there... down the hill and straight into the water!
Over and over and over again. She eventually got to a point where I didn't even have to really catch her... I was more or less just standing there on life guard duty!
The only way that we were able to convince her to stop sliding, after almost 2 hours worth of sliding, was with the promise of an ice cream cone. We ALL enjoyed an ice cream cone before heading to the house!

By the way, you can consider these pictures to be my 21 week baby bump pictures!

Cousins

2010-08-08T10:42:00.001-07:00

One of the best things about being at the beach for the first two weeks of July (other than just being at the beach for that long) is that we got to see TONS of family! Our beach house is nestled amongst 5 other houses that are in our family, so the beach during the summer is like a steady family reunion of sorts. Reagan got to spend time with over 40 cousins and aunts and uncles, many that she had never met before, and she had a ball playing with all of the kids.

She and her cousin Taylor put on a fashion show for us all one afternoon. The ironic part of this fashion show was that the girls had matching bathing suits that had been purchased the previous summer by each of their grandmothers without the other even knowing it!
Reagan also enjoyed playing in the sandbox with Taylor's brother Davis, and watching Caleb, her other Davis cousin, swinging on the baby swing.

Cousins Jordan and William kept Reagan entertained for days! The three of them together were constantly rotating between our two houses. Of course, this was when they weren't begging Kris, Jordan and William's mom, to ride the tube with them again!
Cousins Cassidy and Brice came down for a weekend, and watching Reagan play with the two of them REALLY reminded me of when I used to play with their mom, Melissa and her brother Frank, when we were all much younger. There is nothing like seeing the next generation carrying on some of the same traditions!
Cousin Bailey and her Grandpa Bobby flew in all the way from Nevada, and they made sure that their trip coincided with our trip. It was great to see them, and Reagan tried to spend as much time with beautiful Bailey as possible.
We are hoping that we will be able to make this same kind of trip to see family and friends again and again over the years to come!

Summer Water Sports

2010-08-07T08:50:00.001-07:00

Yes, it has been over 3 weeks since I made a post. Yes, we have been home now for almost 3 weeks...

We've been a little busy!

The last few days at the beach were jammed packed full of fun, and I just couldn't stop long enough to make a post. The first few days home were full of trying to get back into the swing of things, and I just didn't feel like making a post.

A lot has happened since we got home from vacation, including me being put on bed rest, and I will hopefully catch you up on all of that news in a few more days. For now, I need to catch you up on the last few days of our vacation!

Reagan absolutely loves the beach... who doesn't! She's turned into quite the swimmer this summer, and she has also taken a love to some other water sports as well.

A little pier jumping anyone?
She also fell in love with the jet ski. The first time she rode this summer, she was sandwiched between her Daddy and her Pops, and she felt safe and secure!
She had a ball riding around, so we decided to let her try to give driving a try the next time she hopped on. She was a bit hesitant at first, but then she turned into a little stunt-girl! All she wanted to do was to go faster. She and Ryan came to a stop right in front of the pier, and I assumed that she was ready to get off. WRONG! All I heard was, "Hey Mom, watch me do some tricks!" and then they were off again, spinning in circles and jumping the waves. I have always said that this girl is fearless...
And finally, what water sports extravaganza would be complete without a little tubing? Reagan and Auntie Anna rode up and down the waterway again this year, bouncing along and having a grand ole time...
I'll be back either later today or again tomorrow with more delayed posts from the waterway!

Over the River and Through the Woods

2010-07-16T06:54:00.003-07:00

Or in this case, the song maybe should go something like "Away from the Ocean and Across Miles of Highway, to Grandmother's house we go!"

Last weekend, the girls took off to go visit my Grandmother for a couple of days. Auntie Anna, Momsey, Reagan and I loaded into the car and headed off for the almost 7-hour journey to get there. We had planned to stop along the way to have dinner at Shuler's BBQ, but we didn't plan on driving through a torrential downpour of a thunderstorm! The storm hit when we were only about 10 miles away from the restaurant, and it was the longest 10 mile stretch I have ever driven in my life! The storm had affected Shuler's as well, as they had no power due to the lightening that had struck and created a fire just a few blocks down the road. We still enjoyed a fabulous dinner, by candle light, and left with full bellies once the storm had passed.

We had planned the long ride for after dinner in the hope that Reagan would fall asleep soon after we got back on the road. WRONG! The child was wide awake, chatting non-stop while playing her DS, until we were only about 20 minutes from Great-Grans. It was at this point that she started asking,

"How much longer?"

"Only about 20 more minutes" I replied.

"I'm too tired. Can we just go back to Momsey & Pop's beach house, Mom?"

"No baby. That would take way longer. We just have a little further to go and we will be there."

"Well, can we please just stop right here and find a hotel?"

I couldn't help but laughing at that last comment from her, and then within only a couple of seconds, she had passed out sound asleep!

She woke up the next morning, and immediately went to find her Great-Gran and to get some cuddles and snuggles.
Around lunch time, Grandmother took us all up to the Senior's Center that is less than a football field's length from her house. We played a round of BINGO and enjoyed some delicious home made ice cream before we decided to head across the street to the new Veteran's Memorial in the downtown square. While we were admiring the new memorial, Reagan ventured over to the large water fountain. I wish I had had my camera with me, as what happened next was priceless.

She stood beside the fountain, then she decided to climb up and stand on the ledge. She turned to see if we were watching, and when none of us told her she had to get down, she decided to take a seat and let her feet dangle into the water. I decided "what the heck" at this point, and told her that if she wanted to get wet that it was fine by me. Well, that was all that it took! She jumped right into the fountain as if it were a swimming pool and started wading, swimming, and splashing around. Needless to say, we all had some good laughs while watching her have so much fun!

That evening, my mom's brother and his wife and youngest son, Uncle Wayne, Aunt Evelyn, and Joseph, all came down to Grandmother's house for a visit. We ate a delicious dinner of beef stew while catching up and just enjoying each other's company.

We had to get back on the road the next morning to get back to our boys at the beach, and we thankfully did not encounter any more thunderstorms on the trip back home!

It was a wonderful visit with Grandmother/Great-Gran that was LONG overdue. Hopefully we won't let as much time pass before the next visit!

Seven Year Wedding Anniversary

2010-07-12T04:30:00.000-07:00

Seven years ago today, I married my best friend. Last year on this day, I made a blog post all about our wedding… today I want to tell you about how that day came to be.

There have been many times since then that I have been asked how did I meet my husband Ryan, with me being a Carolina Girl, and he being a Canuck from Vancouver. The short answer is that it was all due to HOCKEY. The full story is below...

It was a Friday night, February 18, 2000, and I was running late. I was on my way to a Pee Dee Pride Hockey game, an ECHL team that Ryan’s brother played for. I had once dated another of the guys on the team, and I still remained close to all of the other wives and girlfriends… I still even sat in the player’s family section at the games. This night, as I said, I was running late.

When I arrived at the rink, the National Anthem was already playing and the arena was dark. I made my way to my seat, but mistakenly sat one row behind my normal seat. When the lights came up, I realized my error, and also realized that I was sitting beside a guy that I had never met before. I immediately knew who he was, as he looked just like his brother! We introduced ourselves, and began chatting throughout the first period. I think I drove him crazy with my lack of hockey knowledge, plus I kept leaning over to socialize with the gals sitting in front of me, as he moved to the top of the bleachers for the final two periods of the game!

Two days later, on Sunday afternoon, we all gathered at the rink again for another game. This time, Ryan sat pretty close by throughout the entire game. I will admit that I may have started to flirt with him just a bit!

Later that evening, after a little bit of liquid courage at the neighborhood bar, Ryan began to flirt back. He even went as far at one point to use a really cheesy line on me about how he could get lost in my eyes. Yes, there had been a lot of liquid courage by this point!

The rest of the week that he was in town visiting his brother, he caught a ride with me to all of the games, both home and away. He flew back home to Vancouver the following weekend, and I figured that was it. Little did I know that this was only the beginning.

My phone rang that night, and I was a bit perplexed by the 604 area code on my caller id. I was shocked when I discovered that it was Ryan, especially since I had not given him my number! We talked for over an hour that night, and then we started talking a couple of nights a week. Before we knew it, we were talking for hours on the phone every single night.

A couple of months had gone by, and Ryan told me that he was coming back into town for the hockey playoffs. There was a game the night that he was flying in, so there was no way his brother could pick him up from the airport. I, of course, volunteered to pick him up and drive him to the game. I mentioned this to his brother a few days later when I saw him at a social function, and his brother looked at me like I was crazy… he didn’t even know that Ryan was coming back into town. Well, that was my first clue that Ryan was not coming to see his brother this visit… he was coming to see me!

After that visit, the phone calls increased drastically. We also started planning our visits with each other to become more frequent… about every 6 weeks. Looking back now, we would love to have the money that we spent back then on phone bills and plane tickets! But it was all worth it.

The long distance relationship continued for over two years, and then on April 30, 2002, Ryan proposed. He asked my parents for my hand in marriage before taking me to the park we would always go to when he was visiting. It was in that park that he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I immediately said yes, and less than 3 months later I had packed up my car and my life and moved across and then into another country to live with him. A year after that, on July 12, 2003, we were married!

There are days when I can’t believe that my fairy tale wedding occurred seven years ago. Some days it feels like it was just yesterday, and yet some days it feels like I have been with Ryan a lifetime already. I love him even more today than I did seven years ago. I adore both the husband and father that he has become.

Today, I can only look forward to the lifetime we now have ahead of us together!

With My Heart In My Throat

2010-07-11T04:53:00.003-07:00

Reagan has developed a new favorite game while we are at the waterway in NC... it's called the "I Wanna Launch" game, and my heart is in my throat as I watch her with her Daddy and her Pops each time they play.

Back when Ryan and I were dating, he went to Mexico for a boy's weekend with his brother and a couple of other friends. He brought back presents for me and my parents, one of which was a hammock to sit in. That hammock has now turned into a swing for the small children in our family that come to enjoy the beach house.

However, I'm not quite sure that any of the other kids are quite as crazy in the swing as Reagan is!

A few times each day, Reagan will go up to her Pops in her sweetest little voice possible, bat her eyelashes, and ask if he will make her launch. Trust me when I tell you that the word launch is correct as there are times I think she is going to go into orbit!

Pops and Ryan stand strategically at opposite ends, and begin pushing Reagan back and forth between the two of them...
At first the swings are fairly gentle, but it doesn't take long for them to build momentum...
After only a few swings, Reagan is flying high above her Daddy's reach...
I still haven't decided what is my favorite part of this game... listening to Reagan's squeals of delight, or watching Pops as he makes crazy facial expressions and launching noises each time she swings back to him...
After about half an hour's worth of launching, Pops has been known to just run out of energy. Reagan has her own special fuel that she uses to get him going again... HUGS AND KISSES!
I've yet to decide if he really does get tired, or if he has just found a good excuse to get some Reagan loving!

Freedom Fun Run

2010-07-05T11:14:00.005-07:00

We woke up Saturday morning and were out of the house by 5:45am. Why, you ask? For Reagan to run in her very first race, accompanied by her Daddy and her Pops.

We arrived at Landfall Country Club for the Fourth of July Freedom Run, and picked up the registration packages. Reagan declined to wear the t-shirt that was provided since she was already dressed in style in her running shorts/skirt!

Without even being prompted, Reagan began to do her warm-up routine so that she would be good and loose for the run. Of course, this may have had something to do with the hundreds of other people that were doing their own stretches!
The 10KM runners started first, then the 5KMers, and then it was time for the 2KM race. Pops, Ryan and Reagan were ready!
Momsey, Auntie Anna and I stood on the sidelines, cheering “GO REAGAN GO!” while waving the glitter sign that I had made the night before as we watched them run away.
About 18 minutes later, we could see them in sight as they rounded the corner to cross the finish line.
Reagan kicked it into high gear, and crossed the finish line with a big smile on her face. Little did we know at that time, but she had a good reason to be smiling… She won first place for her age division with a time of 18:39, and she also won an award for being the youngest runner in all three of the races that day!
Needless to say, I was and still am one very proud Momma! But I think her Pops may have been the proudest of all!

A Name for Baby Boy Knopp

2010-07-02T06:20:00.009-07:00

We landed in Fayetteville, NC yesterday morning, excited to see Momsey & Pops and to tell them our big news. We had planned it out perfectly… we were all dressed in blue!
Well, in the picture above, we were all looking a little fresher than I am sure we looked when we landed after flying all night long! We took the picture above once we found out about our new little boy as a belated Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gift for my parents.

Reagan, Anna & I all even had our toenails painted bright blue, and I had bright blue fingernails! Now you would think that with all that blue, my parent’s would have immediately clued in that something was going on. Or that they would have asked if we needed “special” help identifying each other while traveling as a group! Nope, in all the excitement of just seeing us, they didn’t pay much attention to what we were wearing.

After a few minutes of hugs and kisses, we collected our luggage and then we made our announcement.

Reagan asked Momsey if she liked her blue dress. Then she asked Momsey if she liked all the blue that everyone else was wearing. We all just stood there, waiting for the moment…

Reagan then said, “We are all wearing blue because Mommy has a boy in her belly.”

My mom stood there speechless, almost dropping Reagan, and she asked Reagan to repeat herself.

“We are all wearing blue because Mommy has a boy in her belly, Momsey!”

Momsey started screaming while hugging Reagan and me, and Pops was fighting back tears as he shook Ryan’s hand. Needless to say, we surprised them for sure! Anna even started crying all over again too!

We had one more surprise to announce, so I then asked Reagan to tell Pops and Momsey what her baby brother’s name is going to be, and she proudly told them…

MYERS TYSON KNOPP

Myers is my maiden name, and Ryan and I made the decision 7 years ago when we got married that since I was giving up my maiden name, our first-born son would be named Myers. This was also the only way that I would be able to carry on the Myers name for our family since I don’t have any brothers myself to take care of that job! Tyson is my husband's middle name, so we thought it would be the perfect middle name for our son as well. We will call him Myers... unless he gets into typical boy kinds of trouble when I am sure his full name will be used!

My mom immediately said that she wished Poppy and Maw Dot, my daddy’s parents, were still alive to hear the news… something tells me they already know and are smiling above!

What We've All Been Waiting For...

2010-07-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday afternoon, we FINALLY found out the precious information that we have been longing to know... the gender of this little baby inside my belly!

I couldn't tell y'all about it until now, because we wanted to surprise my parents with the news face-to-face first before sharing it with all the world.

(This post is scheduled as an auto-post to go live while we are traveling from the airport to my family's beach house with my parents. We are planning to tell them as soon as we land, so I will have to do a post about the big announcement to them... how we told them and how they reacted... for Friday!)

We were worried that we wouldn't know before time to leave for our trip to NC/SC because the health-care laws in our area are super strict about releasing this information until the mother has reached at least the 20th week of her pregnancy. This is due to the high rate of terminations if the gender of the baby is not what the parent's had desired. (The Vancouver area is a VERY multi-cultural area.)

I am not officially 20 weeks until this coming Sunday, July 4th.

We got lucky in that we found out the sex of this little bundle of joy when I was only at the end of my 18th week.

We've been keeping it a secret for the last 5 days! Trust me when I tell you that this was no easy thing for anyone in my family to do!

We arrived at the ultrasound clinic excited and anxious. This was a private ultrasound clinic that has no ties to the government health care of British Columbia. Of course, this meant that we had to pay to have this ultrasound done, but we didn't mind.

There was still a chance that the technician would not tell us the gender, even if she saw it clearly herself, if she realized that I was fibbing my dates by a little over a week. Luckily, she didn't pay much attention to my dates versus the size of the baby!

Reagan, Ryan, and Anna were all with me in the exam room. Reagan was the most excited of any of us I think... although I'm not sure if she was most excited about seeing her sibling for the first time, or if it was to watch the lady squirt the jelly all over my belly. Reagan couldn't stop laughing when I told her the night before that this was going to happen, so she was quite tickled to see it happen for real.

We were immediately able to see the baby...
And within only a few seconds, it was very easy to see the gender. We let the ultrasound technician make the official announcement as a whisper in Reagan's ear, and then Reagan made the announcement to us that...

WE ARE HAVING A BOY!

Needless to say, we were all a bit shocked! We were all convinced that this baby was a girl... even the silly IntelliGender test thought so. But it was clear to see, plain as day, that this baby is most definitely not a girl!
It only took a matter of moments for my brain to switch from pink to blue... I had already picked out the new nursery theme by the end of that afternoon! I'll be doing quite a bit of shopping over the next few months as we have no little boy clothes to pass down to this little munchkin... and I don't think Ryan would appreciate his son wearing cutie-pie little pink dresses!

I wonder how long it will take before Ryan puts a hockey stick or my dad puts a football in this boy's hands?!?!

PS... I plan to announce this baby boy's name in the post about my parent's reaction... we've known what our first little boy's name would be since before we even considered getting pregnant with Miss Reagan!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2010-06-30T10:11:00.000-07:00

We're leaving tonight to head to North and South Carolina for the next couple of weeks! I'll try to keep blogging while we are gone... that is if I'm not too busy soaking up the sun, relaxing in the surf, eating my favorite Southern foods, or just being plain lazy!

Tiffany's Top Twelve Tips For Disneyland

2010-06-28T06:50:00.000-07:00

It just dawned on me that as I am preparing to go to North and South Carolina for our summer vacation, I never created a post that I meant to create back in April after we returned home from Disneyland. Many of you have asked questions about the package that we chose and how we managed the trip, so I have created my TOP TWELVE Disneyland tips for you here!

Make your husband wear cargo shorts with lots of large pockets to carry all of your items in. This way, you will have no bags to be searched when you enter the park, which means you can bypass that line! Also, men's cargo shorts are far more fashionable than a fanny pack! Ryan held all our tickets and passes, park maps, 3 ponchos just in case, 2 autograph books and some sunscreen.
We discovered that there were less lines earlier in the day and that the parks became noticeably busier on the weekend. If you are able to get your hands on an early park entrance pass, take full advantage of it!
If you do have to wait in a longer line for a particular ride, have one person stand in line and the other go ride a "short wait" ride with your kids. Reagan and I would ride the carousel, Mickey's train around park, or the monorail while Ryan would stand in line for her to meet the princesses each day. Also, the princess rotate every day throughout the day, so it is beneficial to make repeat stops to this attraction if you have little girls!
Bring your own dress up princess dresses for little girls rather than purchasing them once you are there. We bought our Disney princess dresses at Toys R Us for a fourth of the price of what they were selling for in the parks. No one could tell the difference either... I had one lady stop and ask me which of the boutiques did I find Reagan's Cinderella dress in!
Get the autograph book and pen for character signings. Do this the first chance you get at the first store you come to. The authentic Disney autograph books are great because they have a photo page beside each page that the character signs so that you can put a precious picture of your little one with that character in the book!
Purchase one of the dining plans. You can plan your meals in advance and make your reservations for each meal 60 days ahead of your arrival. I suggest that you book as many character meals as possible. Reagan absolutely loved knowing that she was going to have breakfast each morning with her favorite characters before we went into the parks. Make a note that restaurants in the Downtown Disney District do NOT accept the meal vouchers... only the restaurants located INSIDE the parks will take these golden tickets!
You don't have to stay at a hotel IN the parks to still be a part of the action. Many of the "Good Neighbor" hotels to Disney offer some of the same special amenities as the official Disney hotels. A little research about the hotels within short walking distance to the entrance to the parks can save you quite a bit of money! We stayed at the Anabella, and it was very nice. There were more kid friendly hotels to choose from, but we figured that Reagan was getting all the "kid friendly" she needed at the parks, so Mommy and Daddy got to have the nicer hotel for us!
Wear comfortable shoes that have good grip on the soles. I wore my most favorite, comfortable pair of flip flops the entire time I was there. The only problem is that they had/have hardly any tread left on the bottom because I wear them all the time, and I found that I was slipping and sliding in areas where the roads and sidewalks are super smooth, especially if my shoes were a little wet from any of the water rides.
Plan your flights around the kids sleep times if at all possible. Otherwise, you will just have overly excited children on your hands on the plane that ask you every 2-3 minutes, "Are we there yet?"
For us, there was no need to rent a car. We purchased shuttle passes for very little cost, and took the shuttle from the airport to the hotel. We also used the shuttle bus to go from Disneyland to Sea World, and we loved the trip. Our shuttle driver was super amazing, and made the drive lots of fun for both the adults and the kids. We also made use of the local transit buses a couple of evenings to get back to our hotel instead of walking. All of these shuttle and transit passes cost us far less than it would have cost to rent a car for the week.
If you are celebrating an event (birthday, anniversary, etc...) let Disney know. They will give you a button to wear for everyone to know, and free desserts at every meal... even breakfast! Reagan wore her birthday button everyday, and literally 100's of people were wishing her happy birthday everywhere we went. It just made it all the more special for her!
Plan to have fun fun fun while you are there, but also plan for PVD when you return... Post Vacation Depression!

I hope this helps with any planning that you are doing. If you have any other specific questions, feel free to comment or send me an email. I will do my best to be your "unofficial" tour guide!

Southern Cravings

2010-06-25T06:25:00.000-07:00

School's out for summer for Reagan, so it's time for a family summer vacation! It has been 339 days (literally, I counted) since we were last at our family beach house on the waterway in NC, so this trip feels like it is LONG overdue for us! Only 6 more sleeps and we will be there, relaxing on the end of this pier. Of course, if "Pregnant Tiff" can't handle the heat and the humidity, then it will be 6 more sleeps until I am relaxing inside by the air conditioner!
I'm so very ready to see my parents... they missed seeing me in all of my pregnant glory when we were expecting Reagan, so I am excited to get to spend almost three weeks with them right smack dab during the middle of this pregnancy. (I also plan for them to be up here in Canada with us a week or so before the baby is due so that they can help out during those first few hectic days after baby is born!)

But it is not just the waterway and my parents that I miss... I miss me some good 'ole Southern food! Here's just a few items that are on my "must have" list for while we are visiting down South...

Cracker Barrel Biscuits...

I am hoping that this item can be marked off of the list almost immediately after landing in NC. Anna & I have already hatched a plan to somehow hijack the car or re-program the navigation system so that it leads straight to the nearest Cracker Barrel from the airport. We're thinking that convincing our folks to stop for breakfast shouldn't be too hard of a task since we do land bright and early in the morning that day!

Provision Company Chili Cheese Burger...

The Yacht Basin Provision Company, just called Provision by regulars such as my parents, was established in 1993. This restaurant may look like a little hole in the wall, but they have the BEST food around, and it is served in a wonderful beachfront atmosphere while literally sitting over the water. The views of the Southport Yacht Basin, the Intracoastal Waterway and the mouth of the Cape Fear river are incredible, and the sunsets are magnificent. It is rare that I don't order the Chili Cheeseburger with onion rings and a crab cake, but I have also been known to order their blackened tuna with the best potato salad in this world!

Boiled Peanuts...

This is an item that is more on Anna's list than mine, but I can't wait to get my hands on some of this salty goodness as well!

Shrimp 'n Grits...

I love grits. And I love shrimp. So it's only natural that I would love shrimp 'n grits! This recipe is best when the grits are really cheesy, and the shrimp are really spicy. I am hoping that I can convince my parents to babysit Reagan for us (shouldn't be too hard to do) so that Ryan and I can go out for dinner on our anniversary while we are on vacation. Rumor has it that the restaurant that is owned by a former boss of mine has the best shrimp 'n grits in all of North Carolina, so I think I may just need to see if that rumor is really true!

Shuler's BBQ...

Located only about 10 minutes from where I grew up, this place has the best BBQ, the best homemade sweet potato casserole, the best liver hash, the best macaroni and cheese, and the best banana pudding that you will ever put in your mouth! The fact that it is owned by a family that is near and dear to my heart, my former Junior Miss coordinators, makes it even more special of a place for me. (Wait, I've never told you that I was South Carolina's Junior Miss in 1994... yep, I was! I'll tell that story another time... promise!)

Chic Fil A Chicken Sandwich and Waffle Fries...

Oh man, this is my fast-food lunch of choice while back at home in the South. I've tried other chicken sandwiches, but nobody can do it quite like Chic Fil A! Add in the side of yummy waffle fries and a tall glass of sweet tea, and you've got one very happy Tiffany!

Sweet Tea...

There is nothing quite like a glass of iced cold sweet tea on a super hot summer day. (Well, maybe an iced cold beer, but I'm pregnant this summer, so there will be none of that!) I will never forget the first time my husband tasted sweet tea... he spit it out instantly all over the dashboard of my car. "It's cold!" he exclaimed. "And it's sweet!" Yes my dear, that is how we drink it in the South... iced cold and super sweet! (For some reason, it tastes even better when you drink it out of a mason jar)

Chicken Bog...

I'm not 100% sure of where I am going to find this item while we are visiting as it is usually prepared for fund raisers and sporting events. I am hoping that there will be a booth somewhere at the NC 4th of July Festival in Southport that will fulfill this craving for me. It's a meal that may not be much to look at, but yummy chicken and sausage mixed with all the right spices and rice makes for a delicious one pot meal for me!

Fried Oysters & Hush Puppies...

C'mon y'all. You know I am from the South, and we love all things deep fried. (You've long known about my love for deep fried turkey!) Fried oysters are another of my favorite things. Don't get me wrong... I'll eat oysters in any form or fashion. But I love ordering a small seafood combination platter of fried oysters, fried shrimp, cold boiled shrimp, and hush puppies. What is a hush puppy you ask? Well it is a delightful little ball of goodness made from cornmeal and buttermilk that is fried up and served with butter. These little babies are so good that I could eat a dozen of them easily!

Daddy's Steak...

My Daddy cooks the best steak of anyone that I know. Well, other than me of course, but his are usually even better than mine! He always chooses ribeyes that are about 1 to 1 1/5 inches thick, and he seasons and grills them to perfection. DELICIOUS!

Daddy's Shrimp Boil...

Much like his steaks, Daddy can never go wrong when he serves up a Shrimp Boil. I posted the recipe for this super fun dinner last summer. For our family, the spicier the better!

So, who's hungry?

From the looks of things, I am going to be doing a LOT of eating while we are down South this visit. It's a good thing that I have managed to only gain about 15 pounds so far this pregnancy, because I may just be putting on another 15 pounds during our trip!

Application to Date My Daughter

2010-06-24T05:28:00.000-07:00

In consideration of my previous post, I did some digging and found the old application that my dad used when I was first starting to date. I think Ryan and I will need to bring it back into effect for Miss Reagan one of these days...

OFFICIAL APPLICATION TO DATE MY DAUGHTER

*Please note this application will be rejected unless filled out in its entirety and accompanied by a photograph, complete financial statement, job history, lineage and complete medical statement.

Name:
Date of Birth:
Home Address:
Height:
Weight:
IQ:
GPA:
Social Security Number:
Drivers License Number:
Highest Boy Scout Rank and Badges Earned:
Do you have one MALE parent and one FEMALE parent? If no, explain:
Number of years your parents have been married? If less than your age, explain:
Have you ever kissed a man?
Have you ever kissed an animal?
Have you ever kissed anything else? If yes, explain:
Do you own a van?
Do you own a truck with over-sized tires?
Do you own a waterbed?
Do you own a pick up with a mattress in the back?
Do you have an ear ring or a nose ring?
Do you have any body piercings? If yes, explain:
Do you have a tattoo?

If the answer to any of the above questions was yes, discontinue this application and LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. Otherwise, continue below...

In 10 words or less, what does the word "LATE" mean to you?
In 10 words or less, what does "DO NOT TOUCH MY DAUGHTER" mean to you?
What church do you attend?
How often do you attend?
When would be the best time to interview your father, mother, and pastor?

Answer the following questions by filling in the blanks. Please answer freely. Answers will be kept confidential.

If I were shot, the last place I would want to be shot is:
If I were beaten, the last bone I would want broken is:
A woman's place is in the:
The only thing I feel this application does not ask is:
When I first meet a girl, the first thing I notice is her:

(Note: If the answer to the previous question begins with "T" or "A", discontinue this application and leave the premises immediately, keeping your head low and running in a serpentine fashion)

What do you want to do when you grow up?

Please sign below after reading the following statement:

I swear that all information supplied above is true and correct to the best of my knowledge under the penalty of death, dismemberment, Native American ant torture, castration, Chinese water torture, electrocution, and red hot pokers.

Thank you for your interest. Please allow a minimum of six years for processing. And remember, don't ever call us... we will call you!

***For the record, to my knowledge, my Dad never actually used this application... he just always threatened me that he was going to!

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

2010-06-23T07:29:00.001-07:00

After only a couple of months of preschool this past year, Reagan announced to us that she had a boyfriend.

GASP!

She was three at the time.

I nearly had a heart attack, yet I thought it was incredibly cute.

Ryan just nearly had a heart attack!

Reagan told us that her boyfriend's name was Vaughn, and we made sure to pay special attention at the next show day so that we would know just who this Vaughn was. He was pretty easy to pick out of the crowd... he was the one that was all over our daughter!
We had a good laugh with Vaughn's parents after show day that day... apparently Vaughn was doing a lot of talking about this little girl named Reagan at his house too!

The conversations of Vaughn continued in our house for quite some time, and then recently we began to notice that Reagan seemed to have removed the word "Vaughn" from her vocabulary. We finally asked Reagan one day if Vaughn was still her boyfriend, and all we got out of her was a flat sounding, "No" with a bit of a pouty face.

We didn't press the issue.

I am just going to assume that these two kids are very smart for their young age and that they realized that it would be difficult to keep up their "relationship" during the summer break from pre-school.

What advice did I give my sweet little girl? I could have told her a number of things...

Breaking up is hard to do
Sometimes love ain't enough
The heart was made to be broken
There's other fish in the sea
You're better off without him

Instead, I chose not say much of anything at all. Other than the pouty face, she didn't seem bothered by any of it. Plus, I figure there will be plenty of times in the future that will be far more significant to her that I will have to worry about what I am supposed to say to help heal a broken heart!

Of course, if she is anything like her momma, she will be the one doing the breaking up... I found that it tends to hurt less that way!

Her First Dance Recital

2010-06-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was awards day at Reagan's dance academy, and we were thrilled to find out that we needed to be in attendance to see Reagan accept her very first trophy. We weren't sure what the trophy was going to be for... we were expecting something along the lines of "Most Enthusiastic" for our little wild child! Surprise for us, Reagan was awarded the "Most Promising Preschooler" award out of all the other kids age 5 and under that dance at this studio!!! Her tap class also won a group award for "Most Outstanding Preschool Group". Needless to say, we were very proud parents... but no where near as proud as Reagan was for herself. We seriously thought that she was going to sleep with her trophy!
The end-of-year recital was this Saturday, a day that we have been anxiously awaiting in our household. We couldn't wait to see our little superstar perform on stage! There was a bit of a conflict in that her end-of-year gymnastics performance was the exact same day at the exact same time, so we had to choose which one that she would participate in. Being as that we had already forked out some big bucks for her dance costumes, and that we had already purchased tickets to attend the dance recital, the decision was fairly easy to make!

I was amazed at the transformation that occurred in my baby girl after I had done her hair and make up. (I must also say that I was pretty amazed with myself for being able to get the hair piece in and tied up into a bun that could then be taken down for a funky ponytail later! Yeah Mommy!) She didn't look like my baby anymore... suddenly she was a diva princess ballerina! She looked beautiful... and she knew it!
We arrived at the Bell Performing Arts Centre, and I suddenly remembered that I had left the tickets at home! I am blaming it on pregnancy brain... Reagan and Auntie Anna went inside for the short dress rehearsal, Ryan saved us a place up front in the line for admittance that was growing longer by the second, and I channeled my inner Dale Earnhardt and drove like a mad woman to race home for the tickets! Less than half an hour later, I was back with tickets in hand in time to help with getting Reagan dressed and to then wait in line with Ryan. WHEW!

Her first performance was for ballet, and she and all the other little ballerinas in her class looked simply adorable! Their dance was from the Cave of Wonders scene from Aladdin, and each of the girls represented one of the many gems in the cave.
Auntie Anna volunteered to run backstage after the ballet performance ended to get Reagan ready for her tap routine so that the pregnant lady wouldn't have to be running around. Thank you Anna! We were all very excited when the tappers took the stage to dance their Hot Hot Hot carnival themed routine! Sorry for the quality of the pictures... no flash photography allowed, and I've been having lots of issues with my camera lately.
Reagan was then able to come out into the audience with us to watch the rest of the performances (over three more hours worth) before she had to go backstage again to get ready for the big finale. I think she was most excited about the fact that I had to then take her hair down, and she had long locks to play with! (This was the same hair piece that her fairy godmother put into her hair when she transformed Reagan into Cinderella for her birthday at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Disneyland)
We were so very proud of Reagan... she did an amazing job and danced her heart out! We took her out to eat for a fancy dinner after the recital had ended to celebrate her big accomplishments for the year!
We don't know yet what the plans are for next year... between three days of preschool and possibly up to 6 hours a week of gymnastics training, there may not be enough time for dance again next year. We've already asked Reagan what she wants to do, and she of course has said that she wants to do it ALL. Only time will tell, but something tells me that there will be more dance recitals in our future!

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T11:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day!

Reagan has been counting down the sleeps until Father's Day all week long. She couldn't wait to give her Daddy all of the surprises that she had been working on. Just as with Mother's Day, her preschool did not disappoint in their choices of crafts and gifts for the kids to make. Ryan received a basket full of hand-dipped chocolate pretzels, a card full of stickers, and a tribute card all about her Dad. The tribute card was his favorite...
I think that if you click on the picture, it should be big enough for you to read all the hilarious thoughts that she has about her Daddy!

She also purchased the "Father and Daughter" figurine from the Willow Tree Collection that it is the perfect replica of the two of them in that they are almost always sitting in the floor playing together. ... Reagan is finishing off her Father's Day surprises for Ryan with family passes to go see the new Toy Story 3 movie this afternoon. Needless to say, she has spoiled him rotten today... almost as much as he spoils her every other day of the year!

He deserves it because he is a FABULOUS Daddy! Reagan and the baby on the way are both very lucky to have him as a Father... just like I am very lucky to have my Daddy!

FUN or FACT?

2010-06-15T21:02:00.001-07:00

For FUN last night, the family drove across the border to the States to have dinner at Sonic Drive-In, (mmmmm... chili cheese coney and cherry limeade) and for me to purchase this little item...I had discovered IntelliGender online, and HAD to go get a test for myself to see what the results would tell us. This test claims to be 90% accurate, so I knew before we even purchased it that I wasn't going to put 100% of faith into the results. Still, I decided it would be something FUN to do while we wait the two more weeks before we have our ultrasounds done to hopefully give us a definite answer as to the gender of this baby.

I got up this morning at 4:30 when Ryan got up to go to work to take my hokey little test. Anna even woke up to see the results! And the results said that this baby is a GIRL! Between this test, the 170 beats per minute heart rate, and the fact that everyone who knows me claims that I am carrying EXACTLY the same way as I did with Reagan, we are starting to think that maybe, just maybe, this baby is a girl. It will be interesting to see if that is actually the case! What do you think? Have any of you ever used this test... was it accurate?

What I do know for a FACT is that I am now 17 weeks pregnant. I've added a pregnancy calendar in my right side bar located just under the Paging Doctor Mommy button (do you have my button yet?!) so that you can easily keep track of our pregnancy progress.

I had an appointment with my OB last week, and I now know why I was having the feelings of "pressure" on my cervix and the occasional spotting. I had a polyp the size of a large cherry growing off of my cervix! No wonder I kept feeling like something was about to "fall out"! My OB was able to remove it during my appointment, and I am now feeling MUCH better. Don't get me wrong... it hurt like the devil when the procedure was being done... but I'm all good now! For me, finally knowing that I wasn't crazy for the way that I was feeling and knowing that there was a true legitimate reason for my feelings made all the difference in the world. Of course, knowing that it was all taken care of helped too!

I am already starting to have a little bit of swelling... I had to remove my wedding rings for fear that if I didn't we would have to cut them off in the very near future. I think it was the combination of the slight swelling, my cervix, and a slight raise in my blood pressure that had my OB and I already discussing when is going to be the best time for me to stop working in this pregnancy. As of right now, it looks like my end-of-work date will be August 20... the start of my third trimester. Of course, if I am still feeling well and I don't develop any more signs of preeclampsia, then I will be able to hopefully work longer. But we have a feeling that is not going to be the case! However, if I continue to feel as good as I do right now, I could see myself working right up until my due date. I don't know if it is from having the polyp removed or if it just the "high" of the 2nd trimester, but I am feeling great! I'm no where near as tired, I'm sleeping well again, I've been going for 2 mile walks on my lunch breaks... I feel great!

I also feel a lot more movements than I did a couple of weeks ago. I'm already starting to feel a daily pattern with the movements, and I know that it will only increase and become stronger in the next couple of weeks. I can't wait!

There is a big growth spurt happening for baby now... in the next two to three weeks, his or her weight will double! He or she now has one-of-a-kind fingerprints and his or her bones are beginning to harden. The first few layers of fat are also developing at this time. The ability to grasp has now developed, and the umbilical cord is probably now serving as a toy as well as life-line!

Baby is now the size of a turnip, or a large onion.
So... that's it for updates for now. Hopefully the next baby update that I give will include an OFFICIAL gender announcement!

The Little Mermaid

2010-06-11T18:53:00.003-07:00

We started swim lessons for Reagan last week, and it has been well worth it! SHE CAN SWIM!

We are lucky that we live only a few blocks from the outdoor pool, so it is an easy walk down the street for lessons. That is, unless it is raining...
Yep, the kids swim in the pool in the rain (they are already wet anyway, right?!) while the parents stand and watch under the cover of umbrellas. Or, if you are Ryan, you give up your umbrella for your sweet daughter and walk home in the rain regardless!

The first lesson was all about getting comfortable in the water. Reagan learned how to do an assisted float, she blew some bubbles, and worked on her kicking skills.
A few classes later, they had her "swimming" with the help of a noodle. We figured that was probably the most that we would get out of this first round of lessons...
Boy were we wrong! At the start of this week, Reagan shocked us all... even teacher Aly. She jumped in the water and literally started swimming! 80% of her class time is now spent underwater since she has turned into a mermaid right before our very eyes!
Teacher Aly decided that Reagan needed to skip the next level of classes, so that means that she will join the Sun Fish class starting on Monday next week. I swear I'm beginning to think I need to check behind her ears to make sure she hasn't grown a pair of gills!!!
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Otter Lake Family Weekend

2010-06-08T13:02:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the third annual weekend getaway trip for the Knopp brothers and their cousin. Thankfully, they let the wives and children come along as well!

You may remember from my posts for each of the previous trips that these trips are not your normal "camping" trips. The first year we stayed at Roche Lake Resort and enjoyed the fun of lodging, and last year is when we discovered Otter Lake. Otter Lake has become our location of choice to say the least!

This was Anna's first trip to Otter Lake, and I think we may have confused her about the type of place that we were staying in. The 3.5 hour drive to Otter Lake is spent mainly along long winding roads in the middle of nowhere with no signs of modern civilization anywhere in sight. However, we did see plenty of wildlife along the way...
Even once you enter into the town of Tulameen, BC where the Cabins of Otter Lake are located, you can't help but feeling like you have slipped back a few decades in time. There is no grocery store... only the general trading post. There are no stop lights. The only place that you can even buy fresh bait is from an old man who sells it out of his trailer home, and that is only during the peak summer months of July and August.

It wasn't until we pulled up at our cabin that I heard Anna let out a sigh of relief, and she finally stopped humming the banjo song from "Deliverance"!

Otter Lake may be located in the middle of nowhere, but we had all the modern conveniences that we could ever need inside our cabin. Accommodations for 11 people, 3 washrooms, a full sized state of the art kitchen, satellite TV, Wi Fi and digital telephones. All of that located just a few steps away from the lake makes for a very beautiful and peaceful spot to go "camping" for the weekend!
We arrived late Thursday night, and Reagan was up shortly after sunrise on Friday morning. She was ready to explore and play! It was a bit chilly and overcast on Friday, but it didn't stop Ryan and Reagan from heading out onto the paddle boat for a trip across the lake.
Thankfully, by Saturday morning when every one was there, the weather had decided to cooperate and we spent most of the day playing outside on the water. I took a turn with Reagan on the paddle boat, and after only about 5 minutes of paddling she decided that she would rather lay back and work on her tan while Mommy did all of the work. Thanks Reagan!
The kids fished off of the dock, and they actually caught a few fish this year! Reagan was quite proud of her little fish... look closely just above Anna's right foot in the 3rd picture below to see the catch of the day!
I think all of the kids' most favorite part of the afternoon was when Cousin Gordie took them all out on his boat, the "S.S. Surefish", for a spin around the lake. Trust me when I tell you that the lake water was VERY VERY VERY cold, but it didn't seem to bother the kids. They were leaning over the edge of the boat sticking their entire arms into the lake, thus sending a stream of water shooting back up their arms into the boat to soak them completely. Thank goodness the Daddy's were holding on tight to all of that precious cargo!
The weekend passed by too quickly as always, and we all said our goodbyes on Sunday morning.

BUT, before sunset on Saturday, I had already spoken with the owner of the property and the caretaker of the cabin, and I had booked our weekend getaway for next summer! I even managed to get us the great deal of 4 nights for the price of 2, so next year the fun can last even longer!!! Look out Otter Lake... we'll be back again next year!

Baby Update - 15 Weeks

2010-05-30T13:09:00.005-07:00

It's been awhile since I have shared much about this pregnancy, so I figured today was a good day to get you up to date...

As of today, I am now 15 weeks pregnant with our second child. I am officially in the second trimester, so I can finally relax a little bit! Between weeks 6 and 10, I had spotting on four different occasions. It was never enough to be alarming, but it was enough to make me anxious every time that I went to the bathroom. Our doctor assured us each time that it was nothing, but I was still very happy to enter into the second trimester knowing that the risk of a miscarriage dropped drastically by doing so.

I have actually been feeling pretty well... only a little bit of nausea here and there, and I have yet to actually get sick from the nausea. I have found that (the same as it was with Reagan) as long as I eat lots of small meals or snacks throughout the day, the nausea is kept to a minimum. I haven't had any crazy cravings, but I have been craving hot and spicy foods. My sister nearly gagged just this afternoon when she saw me pouring hot sauce onto a piece of pizza! I'm also craving cheesy items... maybe I need to spend the rest of my pregnancy a little closer to Mexico to help satisfy my two major cravings! I also have a slight craving for pancakes (imagine that since I had to eat them morning, noon & night with Reagan) and I can't get enough fruit.

I have been tired, but nothing that hasn't been manageable. I honestly think that I was more tired with Reagan... I can remember several occasions that I came home from work while pregnant with her and skipped dinner to go straight to bed. That hasn't happened with this baby!

I was diagnosed with a UTI during week 11. Honestly, I think that I possibly had the infection from the very beginning of this pregnancy. Thankfully, a week of antibiotics (Keflex - the safest of any antibiotics to take while pregnant according to our doctor) cured that ailment and I am now feeling much better in that department!

I don't remember Reagan feeling as heavy as this baby already feels. There are days when I feel like he/she could possibly "fall out" from the amount of pressure that I have in my pelvic region. I can only imagine that this feeling will get worse before it gets better!

I am not sleeping very well, but I know that is to be expected with being pregnant. Between the umpteen dozen trips to the bathroom each night, and then the fact that I can't always fall back asleep once I have gotten up, I don't always get the full night's sleep that I so desire. It's okay though... I know that it is just my body getting back into the practice of the many sleepless nights to come with a newborn!

We heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time at 12 weeks, and it was clear and loud and strong at 170 beats per minute. According to an old wive's tale, that means that this baby is a girl. By that rule, a heartbeat over 140 is a girl, and a heartbeat under 139 is a boy. We have 2 ultrasounds coming up at the end of June, so we will hopefully know by the beginning of July as to if this baby is a boy or a girl!

The really good news is that I haven't gained as much weight this time around as I had already gained with Reagan. At 15 weeks pregnant with Reagan, I had already gained 20 pounds. With this baby, I have gained 12 pounds so far. Of course, I started this pregnancy 12 pounds heavier than I started with Reagan, so I'm still ahead weight-wise of where I was with her. As long as I don't gain close to 80 pounds like I did with Reagan, I will be happy! Most of that weight was from becoming toxic with preeclampsia... we hope and pray that I can make it through this pregnancy without that happening again!

Here's a baby bump photo that Ryan took of me just this morning...

For baby, there has been A LOT of work going on!

He/she currently measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of a large orange). The baby is busy moving amniotic fluid through it's nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in the lungs begin to develop. His/her legs are growing longer than it's arms now, and it can move all of it's joints and limbs. It can also grasp, squint, frown, grimace and maybe suck it's thumb! Although the eyelids are fused shut, he/she can sense light. There's not much for baby to taste at this point, but it is forming taste buds. The fingernails and toenails are growing, and the eyebrows and hair on it's head are also beginning to grow.

Here's a glimpse at what our little bundle could possibly look like right now...
So far, I have only felt the faintest of flutters of movement. I can't wait to start feeling the steady movement of this little one. That is my favorite part of pregnancy! I have a feeling that it will only be a couple of more weeks before I get that wish.

And then I will just be waiting for the day that I can hold this precious child in my arms!

Weekend in Vernon

2010-05-27T12:20:00.007-07:00

We made a quick visit up to Vernon a couple of weekends ago to go see Ryan's family. We left the house around 4:00 Friday afternoon, and after several bathroom breaks along the way and a stop for dinner in Kamloops with Ryan's best friend Jeremy, we arrived in Vernon at Grandma and Grandpa's house around 9:30 that evening. Reagan had been fussy and whiny throughout most of the drive, which is VERY unusual for her. She tried to stay awake, but by 8:30 she just couldn't hold her eyes open anymore. She woke up long enough to get a couple of hugs from Grandma before she and I both went to bed.

The next morning, I knew something wasn't quite right when Reagan woke up at 5:00AM! She's an early riser, but never that early. She said that she just couldn't sleep anymore and that she felt funny. She was a little warm to me, but nothing that set off any of my "Doctor Mommy" alarms. We played quietly until Grandma and Grandpa woke up, and then had breakfast before walking up the hill to see Ryan's brother Reece and his wife and kids. Reagan was so excited to see her cousins Riley and Julia.
Julia had a horse show/competition that afternoon, so our visit with them was very short since they had to get on the road with the horse trailer to Kelowna. Regardless, it was a very special morning since it had been a very long time since we had all been together.

We sauntered back down the hill to Grandma & Grandpa's house, and I proceeded to spend the rest of the day (almost 6 hours total) laying out in the sun, working on my tan, and enjoying the view of the lake down below.
Ryan spent the day working on small projects that were in need of repair around his parents house, and his Dad took over the job of supervisor. Reagan and Grandma alternated between playing inside and playing outside! We all joined in on the fun of watching Reagan feed her cousin Julia's horses that had come down the hill for a visit... and for some carrots!
Around 2:00, I realized that it had become super quiet, and I decided to go inside to see what kind of mischief my little munchkin was getting into. I found her and Grandma snoozing in bed for an afternoon nap! That is when I knew that something was definitely wrong with Reagan because she NEVER naps.
Not only was she napping, she was wrapped up under numerous blankets. When I finally got her to wake up shortly before dinner, she was burning up with a fever. She had refused to eat all day (which is not all that unusual for Reagan) and she again didn't want to eat anything for dinner. All she wanted to do was to sleep, and to be wrapped up in blankets. I put her back in bed for the night only a few minutes after we had finished our dinner.

Cousin Riley and his girlfriend came down to join us all for dinner, and they stayed to play a few games of Rook after I got Reagan to bed. The ladies gave a strong whooping to the boys as we beat them with a score of 525 to -45!!! Sorry boys!

Reagan tossed and turned all night long with her fever until it finally broke around 4:00 in the morning. She was still not completely herself the next morning, but she was definitely feeling better! We had to get on the road for the long ride home that morning, but we couldn't leave without getting a picture of Reagan with her Grandparents.
We stopped on the way home to have a picnic lunch that Grandma had packed for us. We literally pulled off of the highway and spread out a blanket for our lunch. Reagan loved it! We made it home shortly before 4:00 Sunday afternoon.

It was a short weekend, but it was a very nice weekend. And even though Reagan wasn't feeling completely herself, she still kept us entertained as only she can with some of her crazy one-liners...

• As we are coming across the summit of the Coquihalla Highway:

"Wow Mommy! Is that the Grand Canyon?" I must say I was pretty impressed to know that she still remembers the Grand Canyon from the trip we made when she was only 2 years old! Of course, as spectacular as it is, it does leave quite the impression!

• After we had been riding for almost 3 hours straight:

"Can we please stop riding now? My bum hurts from sitting for so long!"

• After I had just read to her a sign that was hanging above the toilet at the rest area that said "Do Not Drink Water."

"Well why would anybody drink toilet water anyway?" Good question my dear. I didn't really understand the purpose of that sign either!

• As she is trying to get her Grandpa to walk a little faster as he is in front of her and blocking her path:

"Come on Wilf." said with a loud exasperated sigh that sounded A LOT like Grandma!

• As I am trying to get her to get out of bed Sunday morning after her restless night of sleep the night before:

"I can't get up Mommy. I really think that I am glued to the bed."

Hmmm, I wonder if I could use that last one as a good excuse to get out of going in to work one day?

Mother's Day and Birthday Wrap Ups

2010-05-12T12:21:00.004-07:00

WOW! The first few weeks of May have been crazy busy with birthday celebrations and Mother's Day. You may recall the Taurus Party that we had the first weekend in May to celebrate my, Reagan's, Anna's and Denise's birthdays.

This past weekend Reagan, Anna & I had a girls morning out to again celebrate all of our birthdays, and we went for pedicures. This was Reagan's first pedicure, and something tells me that this was the first of MANY pedicures for her! She absolutely loved it and still hasn't stopped talking about it.
After being pampered, we went for a delicious sushi lunch. I was quite proud of Reagan with all of the new things that she tried! It really was a super fun day spent with my two favorite girls.

Reagan surprised me with a few homemade gifts on Mother's Day, and she also remembered the Mother & Daughter figurine I had said that I liked the last time we were in Hallmark. Ryan said that when they went to the mall, she made a beeline to the counter in the Hallmark store and said, "This one Daddy. This is what I want to give Mommy." I love it...
It was the homemade gifts that really touched my heart on Mother's Day... Reagan's preschool teachers helped her to make a beautiful book mark that has her picture laminated on the front and a beautiful poem on the back. The poem reads...

Mommy, I love you for all that you do.
I'll kiss you and hug you 'cause you love me too.
You feed me and need me to teach you to play, so smile
'cause I love you on this Mother's Day!

I will cherish it always! She also made a yummy hand dipped chocolate covered strawberry, and it was the biggest strawberry that I have ever seen in my life! As if that wasn't enough, she also made a keepsake of her precious little hand print.

Last night we celebrated Anna's birthday by going out for dinner at the Japanese Steakhouse. I think Reagan had the most fun of all of us as she was mesmerized by the chef as he cooked and performed for us. Anna may have been a little embarrassed, but she was grinning from ear to ear as the staff of the restaurant brought out a flaming pineapple while banging on the drums singing happy birthday to her throughout the restaurant. It really was a fun evening!

So now, all of our May celebrations have come to an end, and life will start to return to normal in our household. I guess that means that I need to get back to creating my monthly meal menu, or else we just might starve! Or we could just keep eating out all the time...

Birthday Celebrations

2010-05-04T12:31:00.005-07:00

Reagan's preschool class celebrated her birthday at the end-of-the-month party day last week. Reagan was so very very proud as her classmates wished her a happy birthday, and her classmates were very excited that she brought each of them a Mickey Mouse sucker home from Disneyland!
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This weekend, we celebrated with a birthday party for all of the Taurus girls in our family, but especially for Princess Reagan. Reagan, Auntie Anna, Auntie Denise and I are all Taurus babies, so we all got to take a turn blowing out a candle on the cake.
We even had a tower of cupcakes for all of the kids to devour, and that is exactly what they did!
The birthday celebrations will continue, as today is my birthday! We're going out tonight for a birthday dinner, and we'll get to do it all again next week for Auntie Anna's official birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAURUS GIRLS!

The Mayonnaise Jar and Two Cups of Coffee

2010-04-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

Life has been a little overwhelming upon returning home from Disney! It has been an adjustment to get back into the swing of things, and being that this week is insanely busy hasn't helped matters any. I felt like I was at wits end last night as I was finishing all of our laundry after getting home from work while also working on the details for the wedding I am coordinating this weekend and the details for Reagan's birthday party this weekend. WHEW!

As I was driving to work this morning, I heard a very interesting story on the radio. My normal morning radio station is "The Beat 94.5" in that they play the right kind of music to wake me up and get me moving each morning. Rarely do they get very philosophical about much of anything! But this morning was a different story. I was able to find a copy of the script that the announcer was reading, and I have posted it here below...

When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions--and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else--the small stuff. .

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first--the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Listening to that story put it all into perspective for me this morning. I am going to try to remember the mayonnaise jar and two cups of coffee when it seems like I can't get it all done. I mean... is it really all that important that our clothes are perfectly ironed and non-wrinkled this week????