Photography provided by Tammy Evans.

With permission from Tammy Evans Photography, I have posted a collage from Raegan's one year photo shoot. For more information regarding photography by Tammy Evans please contact her at tammyevansphotography@gmail.com or you can view her blog which is linked under Blogging Around the Block.

Tammy did a wonderful job capturing the spontaneity and vitality of our little one. She worked patiently with Raegan to get some excellent photographs. She organized the photos in a beautiful photoshow which just makes you want to cry when you watch it. Tammy clearly met and exceeded our expectations as a photographer and is highly recommended as a someone who provides quality work at an affordable price.

Picnic on Green Mountain

Yesterday we went on a picnic on Green Mountain. My husband and I have spent a lot of time there over the years and it was great to make new memories with our own little girl. We reminisced about all the fun we had there when we were dating. It is amazing to see how far we have come. Green mountain was always a retreat for us. We could just escape the world, pack a lunch, enjoy nature, hike all day, and just be together. This time we took turns pulling our child in the little red wagon. Needless to say, we are in worse shape than we were then. It took a little longer to walk the short trail. He he he! We used to see a cloud coming and hike anyway, trying to get back before being caught in the rain. Either way we were happy because we had each other and it was fun, rain or shine.

I talked to Tammy and our pictures are ready so I am going to pick them up this afternoon. I am so excited about getting them. I am just addicted to photographs. However, I am a little behind organizing them.

Friday is the first day of school for me. I guess I'm ready to go back but I know that I am going to miss precious time with my Raegan and that hurts my heart. I am a more productive person when I work though. I make myself manage my time better. In the summer, I just play with her and do as little work as I can get by with. ;o)

gETTING bACK IN THE gROOVE

Can't you tell it has been a little rough getting back in the groove with our usual routine. This week I have been doing in-service an hour and a half away. I have been at school some days before 6:00 am. It has been a little rough getting up in the morning when I'm used to sleeping in and going to bed late. My little angel will sleep until 9:30 some days. Yeah! Daddy has been taking her in the morning and she is adjusting to our schedule pretty well. Next Friday will be my first official day back at school. Can you believe it? The summer is almost over. :o(

Raegan is now giving hugs regularly, also called squeezes. She brings me the snacks she wants if she can't get them herself. ( like the Gerber puffs) She is becoming more verbal and points to stuff when she is talking about it. Momma and Daddy are becoming more frequent also with dog, that, hey, hi, and bye. Although she says somethings, she still prefers to just jabber and point or grunt. She fed herself mashed potatoes last night with a spoon. Well not the entire
time.... she finally just dug in to the bowl with her hands but we are making progress. She will shake her head no and sometimes say na na when she is finished with her food and you offer her more. More often than not she is refusing to eat toddler meals or "baby" foods. Instead, she wants real food that we eat. Besides her many babies that she loves she is still in to any toy that makes music, books, and Mickey Mouse. She has taken a special interest in Dora and Elmo. Hmmmm. Her favorite toy that's not really a toy is the phone. She even brings the cordless to me when it is ringing. I just have to make sure she doesn't call overseas by accident. Whew can you imagine the bill that would follow an international jabber session of a one year old!!!!

Wish we were going to NY.

Guess who has tickets to see Rachael Ray in NY. I am looking for plane tickets right now. Any suggestions? Only a dream I guess but hey a girl's gotta try. The ticket dates are for dates in August. Wouldn't that be a fun date. :o}

Grandaddy's Rocking Chair

Grandaddy's little chair is so special to me. Worn in the scratches and dents are many years of family history, memories I will cherish forever. That little red chair has been handed down for 5 generations and now it is Raegan's turn. I am a sentimentalist and I can't imagine a gift that will be more treasured. This little chair was given to my Grandaddy by his Daddy and then used by my Daddy and then by myself and my brother and now Raegan. I have always expressed my love and admiration for the chair so my Grandaddy told me I could have it for my children one day. Well Raegan was born and he said one day it would belong to her. Nothing was ever spoken about it much afterwards and I didn't insist thinking that when the time was right he would let us know. Today he just out of the blue asked why I hadn't taken it home for Raegan and I said that I didn't know except that I really didn't know I could. He said take it today if you want. After much debate and deliberation I decided for the time being I would just leave it. I wanted them to experience all over again one last time what it was like to see one of their own enjoy it so much. They are in their seventies now and I don't know if they will live to see another generation enjoy it. We visit them weekly and it makes their day to see Raegan enjoying their home as we did and as my father did. The chair is materialistic in the eyes of most but to me it is really more than that. It is a symbol of humble upbringings, loving relationships, heartfelt kindness, and beautiful memories. I am so thankful that my little girl will get to experience all of these things. Who would have known that one little, red chair and all of the stories it entails would influence the lives of so many people.

What a weekend!

Well, this weekend was nothing short of exciting or exhausting. Friday Scott and I went fishing and we had a great time. I actually caught something! A turtle and a small brim. It was fun and relaxing and we just enjoyed being together. Saturday my superman of a husband let me sleep in while he got up with Raegan and fed her breakfast. Then he took her with him to unload the trash at the city dump. ( We don't have trash pick up.) Afterwards he put her down for a nap and then cut the grass and weeded the flower beds and trimmed up the rest of the yard. Whew!!!! Then if that wasn't enough he was a baby wrangler the rest of the afternoon while we tried to get Raegan to smile during our photo session. Although she was a slightly uncooperative subject to photograph I think there will be some really good pics. Tammy really took her time with us and she was so patient with Raegan.

Today, we went to Haston's birthday party and we had a blast!!!! The kids and the adults had so much fun in the pool. Raegan was such a water baby. She loved it! She shrilled in excitement when we splashed her and she jumped in the pool off of the side. She is even going under now. She literally wore herself out playing. Ironically she never cried or fussed a bit. Well, maybe a little when she had to get out of the water but that's all.

Haston is growing up so fast and he is so smart. He can say and do so many things. He melts my heart when he calls my name. It is just precious. Scott is crazy about him too, but then again who isn't. We feel very blessed to have him in our lives and also to be a part of his life.

Peek-a-boo....I see you!

Busy, Busy, Little Girl....

Raegan has been so busy lately. She has been literally running around playing with everything even the things she is not supposed to be playing with. It is so funny to see her get excited over simple things like.... new shoes and brushing her teeth. She absolutely loves brushing her own teeth. She becomes very impatient waiting on me to get the toothpaste on the brush. It is so cute! I have never seen a kid so young that loves clothes so much. She gets in the clothes basket while I am putting up laundry and digs out her clothes and oooohs and ahhhhs over them. Then she tries to wear shorts on her arms and head or dress her babies. Scott says she is truly a girly girl. I never dreamed she would be. I love having a girl so much that I wouldn't mind having another one some day. Scott on the other hand says it can't get any better and I better not push my luck. I think he would like more children eventually but he's like me and wants them spaced out in age a little more.

I start grad school in a month and will be doing that for about a year and a half so we will definitely be really busy. I feel like this is really the best time though and we have been fortunate to get involved in a program where they bring the classes locally and on weekends just to meet the schedules of working mother teachers. This is an opportunity that seems impossible to pass up. I was about to start a summer program and then found out about this and feel like it is a God sent opportunity. I have been praying for something like this to come along for quite some time. I know my Grandaddy will be proud because this has always been a desire of his own heart as it has been of my own. Scott is really supportive which helps so much. I really could not do this without him. He is a wonderful father and husband and I am so proud of him. We really are best friends.

Raegan is saying "dog" now and unfortunately more often than momma or daddy. She gets on to them in baby jibberish when they bark, lick to much, or misbehave. Every morning when she wakes up she goes to the window in her room and waves to the dogs in the backyard and talks to them. Precious! Now if we could just get her to quit feeding them her food. Parenting can be so contradictory. We try to teach them to share and treat everyone the same but then we won't let them share with their best pal...... the dog.

Happy Birthday to a very special little boy.

Today Haston is 2 years old. He is such a sweetheart and we are so glad that he and Raegan are able to play and spend time together. I remember going to the hospital when he was born. What a cutie! We can't wait to celebrate with him at his party on Sunday. Happy Birthday Little Man! We love you.

Rain, Rain, Go away!

We have been in a drought for how long now? Of course it would be my luck that in a drought season it would rain on the two weekends that I needed it to be sunny and beautiful. Last weekend it rained for Raegan's birthday and now this weekend for her one year pictures. God has great humor, huh? We have rescheduled the pictures for next weekend so wish us luck.

My grandmother says that my cousin Michael is doing much better and they took the tube out of his throat. He has had a couple of chemo treatments and blood transfusions for the leukemia. They have tested his blood and bone marrow and see no more signs of cancer. Praise God. We are so thankful that the prognosis is good and that he is doing much better.

1 Year Check-up

This was the worst doctor's experience we've ever had. We got there 15 minutes before our appointment and an hour and 15 minutes later we were taken back. After we finally saw her... she informed us that she was moving due to her husband's job moving and she is expecting her child in Dec. and will need help from their family who lives close to where they are moving. :( We really like her so this is sad for us. Then they had to take blood to test for lead and anemia. The girl clearly did not know what she was doing. Raegan was bleeding all over the place and she couldn't get the blood in the tube. We were all three a mess and Raegan was screaming terribly. I was very frustrated and I'm sure she could tell by the look on my face. It was not pleasant. She apologized profusely. The doc even came in b/c it caused such a commotion. We cleaned up and they got another person to take the blood. She was older, more experienced, and got it in just a few seconds. The first girl tried talking to Raegan but every time she did Raegan would shake her head no and say "na na na na". To top it all off.... they were out of one of the vaccines so she will have to get another shot of her 15 months. Yuck!

On a more positive note she is above average in height, below average to average in weight, and below average in head circumference. She weighed 19lbs. 13 oz. and was 29 1/2 inches in length with a head circ. of 44 1/2 cm. The doctor says that she has met all of her milestones and is developing well.The doctor noted her walking and said she was doing well for her age and was very busy and inquisitive. She also said she was a fast learner which would be a handful for us but beneficial for her. Her communication skills are advanced even though she doesn't say much at a time. We are working on baby signs right now. Some we just make up. He he he! We will keep working on more words but she says she will talk a lot more later. We are really going to miss our pediatrician but we wish her well.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

We love you so much sweet Raegan and we are so proud to be your mommy and daddy. Every day is an adventure with you. You are a wonderful blessing to those who know you, especially your family. I hope you always know that you are loved very much! You are a beautiful child inside and out and I hope to spend my whole life uplifting you and teaching you so many new things. You are teaching me, too. I am learning to see things through the eyes of a child again. What a wonderful experience..... to live life with child-like enthusiasm. Happy First Birthday Baby Girl.

Raegan's First July 4th

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

Thank you God for the freedom and privileges that we have here in the United States of America. Thank you to the men and women who fight for our freedom everyday. Freedom really isn't "free" at all. Everything really has a price tag whether we know it or not and sometimes we learn it the hard way. May God Bless You All. Have a very Happy Fourth!

Update on my cousin.

They have moved Michael to the ICU at Chicago Cancer Hospital. They are filtering his blood and giving him plasma. He had to be moved to the ICU because his oxygen level dropped so they had to put a tube in for breathing. Today will be his first chemo treatment and they are anticipating his stay in the hospital to be no less than 4 weeks. We haven't been able to talk to him but his immediate family has called with updates and they left this morning to go be with him.

Grandaddy is much better. I saw him yesterday and he seemed to be okay. We are thankful and again we just praise God and count our many blessings.