Some better news...

All is not lost! Our wonderful friends the Healys informed us that there is another 10k race in Morro Bay the weekend of July 17th so now I can still compete in the race (hopefully with Megan, hint hint:) and I won't be interrupting Nathan's school work! Yea- I love when things work out.

P.S.- A big apology to Nate Healy who had already taken off of work to go to the race on Apr. 17th, I will forever be sorry for that but maybe we can convince the Berretts to go to out on the boat that weekend!!

Some bad news...

So I had grand plans to be in Morro Bay on the weekend of April 17th to run a 10k. Unfortunately, nobody explained that to Fresno State University and they scheduled Nathan's comprehensive exams (7 very long papers) from April 5- 30. So I can't exactly ask my very kind, loving, and patient husband to skip out of town with me for a weekend so that I can run in a race while he has hours and hours of writing to do. So we are postponing the race for a little while...I guess we will see what comes up this summer.

8 months old already

My favorite picture of Reagan- notice all the fat rolls and the awesome hair!

I was really good at writing about Lincoln's life every month during his first year but, as is always the case, I have two children now and Reagan has been neglected. So today she turns 8 months old and I thought I would finally get around to writing about her many talents and new discoveries. Reagan...

...can now roll over both ways

...will go from a sitting position to her stomach, but she screams when she realizes she is on her stomach

...hates being on her stomach so much that she will probably never crawl

...has two teeth on the bottom and is currently getting her two top ones

...loves her solid foods, as long as it is fruit- she makes a funny face and spits out any vegetables we try to feed her

...wants us to do everything for her, anytime we try to get her to hold her own bottle she puts her hands behind her back and looks at us like, "no- that's your job"

...LOVES paper- especially her brother's coloring books and her dad's textbooks

...is very happy and smiley as long as there is someone paying attention to her

...is the best snuggler

...is so great about letting me play with her hair and she doesn't even rip her bows out (although I am sure that is coming)

...weighs a whopping 22lbs

...is so much fun to be with everyday!

I just can't tell you how much we love our little girl. It is so much fun to watch her grow and learn. Love you baby!!

DISNEYLAND!!

We took Lincoln to Disneyland this weekend and it was such an awesome experience! I didn't know if Lincoln would even like the park but he loved almost every second of our time there and it was so much fun to see how excited he was. None of it would have been possible without my wonderful Aunt Marcia who not only housed our family and our friends the Berretts for two nights, but also watched Reagan ALL day so that we could enjoy Disneyland without a baby in tow. A million thank yous would not be enough to explain how grateful we are to her.

Anyone who knows me knows how crazy I get with planning things, and our trip to Disneyland was no exception. I think I spent three weeks online looking for tips and suggestions for taking toddlers to Disneyland. I even found a software that will plan out your entire day so that you don't have to wait for longer than 20 minutes in any ride (totally worth it, if you are going to Disneyland any time soon think about getting RIDEMAX). So everyone thought I was a little psycho when I dragged all seven of us out of bed at 6:30am so we could be at the park by 7:20am and walking through the gates as soon as they opened. I'm sure people thought we had lost it when they saw Carroll and I running down mainstreet with two giant strollers but we were at Dumbo by 8:05am and we walked right on (the rest of the day, the line for Dumbo was at least 45min.) The rest of the day went so smoothly- we rode everything we wanted to ride, had good seats for the parade, and even had an hour and half to go back to Marcia's for lunch and relaxing. The kids hung in there with us and stayed up late enough to watch fireworks (my personal favorite). At the end of the day, we just couldn't stop talking about how wonderful everything was, definately my best day at Disney ever!

Riding Dumbo- he wouldn't let us go down at all, he only wanted to fly as high as it would go

Meeting Mickey for the first time

Had to stop and climb on the firetruck at ToonTown

On the caroussel- his favorite ride

At Tarzan's Treehouse

Jungle Cruise

Autopia- his second favorite ride. Nate said the whole time he kept saying, "Daddy, I driving"

The teacups- Nate was getting sick but Lincoln kept wanting to go faster

It was such a great day, we had so much fun with the Berretts, it would not have been the same without them there. Now to plan our next family trip together, I'm pushing for Hawaii...

Bowling

We decided to take Lincoln bowling for the first time at Fresno State's bowling alley. He was a little scared when we first walked in but after seeing Daddy and Mommy do it a couple times, Linc was ready to go. He bowled his own 10 frames and half of mom's and ended up with an 83, not bad for a two year old! He didn't want to leave but we promised we would come back soon, Grandma and Grandpa Bond are so excited to take him when they come to visit in March! Maybe he will pay for our retirement with his PBA tournament winnings!

He was a little nervous at first...

I LOVED the shoes!!

He loved pushing his ball down the ramp

His favorite ball (only 6lbs!). I made him hold it for the picture and

when he handed it back to me he said, "Mama- that heavy!"

He thought it was so fun to pull the ramp out of the way so Mom and Dad could bowl

Reagan enjoyed the show


On an unrelated note, after we finished bowling- Lincoln requested Chicken Nuggets so we went to McD's for dinner and...

Reagan had her first French Fry! YUM!

Our Week in the Hospital

So by now I'm sure everyone has heard that our little Reagan was in the hospital last week with a bad case of RSV. Here's the details about our crazy week...

Reagan started wheezing on and off last Monday after having a cold for most of the previous weekend. On Tuesday she was wheezing pretty constantly and I thought it sounded like she was breathing hard. Our good friends stopped by on their way to dinner so that THE P.A. (his new superhero title) could check her out and tell me if we needed to get her checked out. He listened to her breath and sent us packing to the urgent care. So Reagan and I headed out to the doctor.

We finally got in to see someone at the Urgent Care. After two breathing treatments, a steroid, and a chest xray still didn't stop her wheezing the doctor came in and told me he was calling the paramedics to transfer her to Valley Children's Hospital. I had been trying to hold it together up to that point but when the paramedics strapped her into her carseat and put her on the stretcher I very nearly lost it.

That night in the ER seemed never ending. Nate and his dad had come to give Reagan a blessing and then Nate and I just sat there with our poor wheezing daughter. We were finally admitted to the hospital around 5am and after Reagan got used to the breathing tube up her nose, she got some much needed sleep.

The next five days were a blur... we had great nurses and doctors who took care of our daughter and we are so thankful that we have such a wonderful pediatric hospital close by. Everyone who took care of her commented on how cute and chubby she was- I think every nurse on the floor had to squeeze her chubby thighs!

Enjoying her toys after a very long night

She hated her breathing tube, I don't really blame her

Our home away from home for five days, notice

the SUPER comfy sofa bed by the window (my neck is still recovering)

the annoying foot monitor that came off about every 10 seconds

Feeling a little better

She would only sleep sideways in her crib

A very big THANK YOU to all of our friends and family who took care of Lincoln, made us meals, and called. Although I was physically exhausted I always felt bouyed up by the outpouring of love and support from so many people. A thousand THANK YOUS!!

Reagan at 6 months (and a couple weeks)

Photo courtesy of Jordan Juarez Photography :)

I haven't written much about Reagan, mainly because we haven't had internet for most of her short life, so I wanted to write about how much we love our sweet little girl...

At her most recent checkup Reagan weighed in at 20lb 8oz and 27.5 inches long so she is keeping pace with her big brother.

She has now had three ear infections in six months and if this most recent round of antibiotics doesn't work we may be looking at getting tubes put in her ears (it pains me to even think about it)

She is sleeping through the night and taking naps during the day- definately loves sleep WAY more than Lincoln ever did

She is a semi-picky eater. She loves her fruit and cereal but we haven't really found a vegetable that she likes yet

Reagan is a VERY happy baby- as long as she is being held, talked to, or simply looked at. She will literally scream her head off until she sees you looking in her direction and then she is all smiles. Where did I get these kids that always have to be the center of attention? (I blame my mother)

We have decided that Reagan looks just like her Grandma Sandy, I have the baby pictures to prove it

We do love our little girl and really can't remember what life was like without her. It has been fun to watch her grow up but I'm starting to think it is going by too quickly, I need her to slow down a bit so I can enjoy the ride a little more