a little bit hippy

Reagan's Birthday Recap: Part II

2009-06-29T21:48:00.005-04:00

Saturday, Reagan celebrated her 4th birthday with her friends at the zoo.

Reagan's buddies: Addison, birthday girl, Adeline, & Elijah. Her two other pals, Hayden & Carson, were too busy playing to pose for a picture.

Addison & Reagan share a giant giraffe pillow.

Animal Presentation

The zoo provides an employee to be your guide throughout the party. She, along with several volunteers, did a little animal education presentation.

The kids sitting on the carpet listening. As they brought out each animal, the kids listened to information about the animal and then had the opportunity to pet it. If you didn't want to pet it, you got to say "pass".

Check out these animals....

Madagascar Hissing Cockroach

Reagan: pass
(Do you blame her?! lol)

Happy, the Blue-Tongued Lizard

Reagan: pass

Hedgehog

Reagan: pass

Will she ever pet any of them?! I wondered.

Chinchilla

Reagan: Pet it! Although very briefly and with one finger :)

Reagan, being Reagan, didn't even answer any of the questions. She did whisper one I'm told, but I didn't hear it. Later, I asked her why she didn't answer any questions because I know she knew some of them. She answered "Well, I am a bit shy".

Train Ride

The kids boarded the train and we were off around the Good Zoo.

Reagan got to feed this bird a seed. I was surprised she let it get close to her hand.

Quinn enjoyed his first train ride (and trip to the zoo!) with Aunt Laney & Uncle Jim.

The birthday girl got a sunhat and new glasses for the beach

(Only one more week! YIPPEE!!!)

After Reagan's party, we explored the zoo.

The next morning, after her party, Reagan informed me she got to make a wish when she blew out her candles and that she wished for a 4-wheeler (because her Dora one is too small now she informed me) and that she could recycle everything all the time, not just plastic bags (lol). What a wish for a 4-year-old!!

There has also been talk about trying to save all the trees in the world as well planting more. Today, while at McDonalds with Bill, she asked for change. When Bill asked what she needed it for, she said "to help the sick kids". Bill called her our Tree-hugger Humanitarian. I hope that never changes about her.

Reagan's B-day Recap: Part I

2009-06-29T15:27:00.002-04:00

Last week Reagan turned 4! I'm still in shock! Where has the time gone?! I vividly remember the day she was born. Daddy & his little girl

Birthday present!!

Since Bill worked til close, we went out for lunch. The bday girl chose Chinese b/c

1). We don't have Japanese nearby---YET, but soon (yippee)

and

2). She wanted crab legs (YUCK!)

With Bill off to work, we headed to the park!

A birthday just isn't complete without DQ!

2009-06-22T22:15:00.004-04:00

The pictures are all out of order! I get so irritated when I forget to do things backwards on here. Bare with me...

Tonight, we had Reagan a little birthday party for her grandparents. Saturday she's having a birthday party with her friends. She was so excited all day. She was ready to hide from everyone at 8:00 this morning. (She likes to hide and "surprise" people when they come in the door.) She kept calling it her "Grandma Party". (we have more grandmas than paps).

She got a new CD player. Guess what I won't have to listen to all the way to the beach!! A break from children's music. Hip, hip horray!

Dora Saves the Mermaid is her favorite movie, and, lately, she's been intrigued by mermaids. SO this Dora Mermaid doll for the bath was great.

My grandma with Quinn and Reagan

Our first family picture. Can you believe it?! It only took five months! Actually, there is only one other picture of Quinn and me besides pictures from the hospital.

In other news....

Reagan is my future tree-hugger. She's all about nature, recycling, etc. She has a green thumb that certainly didn't come from me, but can be blamed on my dad. :) My dad is a gardener/nature lover and Reagan is always helping him plant/water something. Her newest "project" is a bean bush on our deck. I know, unconventional, but she's happy! At school, we did a unit on things that grow, which of course, included seeds. We grew green bean seedlings in baggies in the window. Reagan wanted the leftover seeds to plant at home. We don't have a garden. Although, I pledge, once everything is more in order at our house, we will have a garden. By that time, Reagan will be older and my dad will be retired, which equals I won't have to do so much of the gardening, I'm hoping :) So, we decided to do a little experiment. We planted the seeds in a large pot and put it on our deck. Here's the results thusfar....

Reagan and her green bean plant.

Back to the birthday party....

Speaking of my dad....

Dad & Quinn

Bill's grandma and Reagan

Reagan wanted a care bear cake this year. She helped me decorate the cake, which something else she loves! Baking! I am so NOT a decorator, hopefully, she'll turn out better than me! Reagan was really happy with the results, so I guess that's all that really matters.

Reagan sitting on her new jungle-theme park bench

Random stuff...

Reagan and Quinn

Quinn has been practicing his sitting. He's getting really good!

Last week, we met friends at the park. This is Quinn's buddy, Gage, born two weeks after him.

OUR NEWEST PROJECT

There's always a project at the Dorsey house! This time it's the laundry room. Bill completely gutted it. Reagan has been helping alot and getting in some Daddy bonding time. It's making progress. My washer/dryer are hooked up again, so tomorrow calls for LOTS of laundry! UGH!!!

Reagan's First "Concert" & a Day at the Park

2009-06-12T22:34:00.004-04:00

Reagan and I headed to Best Buy tonight where our favorite band was playing acoustic for their new CD release. We were so excited! The Clarks are a Pittsburgh band that Reagan and I both enjoy jamming to in the car. Their over 18 gig is tonight at Generations (*sigh* I didn't get to go *sigh*) but it was great to see them up close and personal with Reagan. In the usual Reagan way, she stood staring the entire 30 minutes. She did get in a few good moves at one time, but told me she couldn't really dance because of her "pinky boo-boo". (A battle wound from the park trip earlier today). They did music from their new CD, but closed with an old song :) After playing, the guys signed CDs....

Reagan was the first in line!

One of the guys told Reagan he noticed her singing all the words to Shimmy Lo that must be her favorite song. And, she replied "no, God Save the Snowman". lol The guys got a kick out of that comment, and I'm sure was quite surprised by not only her comment, but her choice in song fave :)

Proudly displaying her autographed copy of Reckless Days

She carried it around all evening!

Heritage Port Playdate

Reagan, Addison, and Elijah

My Little Man enjoying himself too!

Can you believe he's going to be 5-months tomorrow ?!

Peek-a-boo!

Catch Up

2009-06-09T22:51:00.005-04:00

It's official....school's out for summer!! Today was my last day working until August. YIPPEE!!!!Now we can focus on a summer filled with fun and lots of house remodeling (the not-so-exciting part). Yesterday, Reagan and I celebrated the end of this school year with our annual Dairy Queen trip. This year we were joined by Daddy and Quinn and Maw-Maw and Pappy!

Tonight, our friend Adeline kicked off the summer birthdays with a party at Michael's.

Reagan, of course, decided to be a selective mute and didn't talk to anyone. She still gets quiet in crowds until she warms up. Tonight, she didn't really even warm up. In true Reagan fashion, she was pretty emotion-less during the party (until she tripped and hit her knees, and crying followed). As soon as we left though, she talked non-stop about how much fun she had and told Bill all about it when we got home.

At the birthday party, the children do a craft. The craft was coloring a t-shirt, which she is very proud of.

Reagan coloring her t-shirt

Ta-da! Good job Reag!

Addie the birthday girl opening her presents. Reagan did get up enough nerve to stand next to her buddy, Addison, to watch present opening.

The girls of the party.

(In Reagan's short stature defense, the birthday girl turned six, so the girls to the left of Reagan are a bit older. Her friend, Addison, on the right is the same age, but is just a tall girl. Her parents were kind enough to share tall genes with her :)

The kids!

Okay, so I have three pictures of this same pose. In every one of them, Reagan only had eyes for Hayden who is the cute blonde next to her (and the birthday girl's brother). Reagan was in love with Hayden for the longest time, then we hadn't seen much of them. Looks like the old flame may still be flickering :)

I can't believe how fast Quinn's growing! Even though he's still small in comparison to other babies his age, he looks chubbier everyday. He is weighing in at 11 pounds 13 oz. and 28 inches long. (He may just end up being the tallest Dorsey in our house lol) He recently discovered that he has a voice and he uses it! He "talks" quite loudly at times and squeals away. He is such a pleasant baby and so laidback. At almost 5 months, his favorite past time is still sleeping. A growing boy certainly needs his beauty rest :) You should see the mohawk he's sporting these days! Hilarious! It lays down the first few seconds after a bath, then springs right back up. Oh well.

My Handsome Man!

Check this gorgeous girl out...

Can you say wowser! She dressed herself this weekend. Thank goodness we didn't go anywhere.

2009-05-25T18:43:00.003-04:00

Reagan and I decided to bake this weekend. SHe got a Paula Deen cookbook for Christmas and from time to time, we try out a recipe. She's been after me to try another one. This time, we made a homemade cake and chocolate icing. Half the cake we left plain so we could eat it with yummy strawberries we bought. Reagan said "Paula Deen sure does make good chocolate icing". lol

It is pretty tasty!
Bill took shelter from the downpour under our beach umbrella while cooking us dinner.

Reagan's First Sleepover

Last weekend, while my in-laws were sunbathing in Naples, my niece and nephews came over for a sleepover. If your doing the math, yes, that means we had five children ranging in age from 12 to 4 months. The number of children was not difficult at all. I do, afterall, wrangle 18 four-year-olds on a daily basis for a living :)

Reagan was so excited to have her first sleepover at her house.

After the girls went to sleep, Isaac, Josh, Bill and I took in a game of Pictionary Man, which was very fun. Isaac and I made a great team and kicked butt!!

As soon as Audrey arrived, I was bypassed without even a hello and off to the bedroom girls went to begin playing.

Birthday party was the first thing on the agenda.

No party is complete without makeovers! However, they are no pictures of the makeover because I was the "victim". :) You'll just have to take my word that I was beautiful ;)

We could pretend this was a trip to the jacuzzi, but my bath tub isn't really all that exciting.
They had plenty of fun though.

The girls put themselves to bed. It didn't turn out quite as easy as it looks. Around 11:00, Bill found Audrey with the lights on playing while Reagan was still sound asleep in bed. I was able to get Audrey back to sleep after a while. Eventually, she ended up in my bed while I ended up on the floor. Around 3:00, Reagan woke up wondering where Audrey was. Needless to say, she joined the party and crashed with me on the floor. Quinn's crib was looking kind of inviting after a while :)

My Little Man is 4-months-old

2009-05-16T12:30:00.002-04:00

Where does time go?! I can't believe Quinn's already 4-months-old! He's getting so big! Of course, when put with other babies his age, he's still smaller. What can we say, great things come in small packages! His favorite past time is still sleep, but he does manage to get in a few new skills despite the large amounts of sleep he seems to require.

Belly time is still not his favorite, but we manage to squeeze in a few minutes (okay, sometimes seconds) before the complaining ensues.

Can't you just see him floating lazily on a raft (lol)

What a sweet smile!

Toes!! He loves to grab his toes and roll from side to side. He's trying so hard to get them to his mouth but it's not quite working out for him yet.

just imagine the belly laugh that was going on at that moment!

YUM!

2009-05-10T17:11:00.002-04:00

Just shy of being 4-months-old (where has the time gone??!), we tried cereal today. I didn't give Reagan cereal from a spoon when she was this age, but his spitting up is seriously projectile. He already has thickened bottles, but today I decided to just try some extra cereal. I'm not sure how, but he knew what the spoon was for! He opened his mouth as soon as he saw it and the legs were on the move with glee! Needless to say, he LOVED it and did pretty good. I'll have to continue testing the theory because I feel like one day does not provide enough "data", but he's not spitting up as much.

Happy boy just couldn't wait for the next bite!

Mmm, Yummy!

Of course big sister was on hand to help.

2009-04-25T14:26:00.003-04:00

I've been told countless times about how terrible I am about keeping my blog updated. I just have some time management issues. Now that I'm back to work, things are crazy! We won't even get into work itself, which is just insanely busy.

Here's a few random pictures to please you, hopefully...

This week, some switch has flipped for Reagan. She has been very into being a big sister. That's not saying it will last, but it's nice to see her actually acknowledge Quinn's existance. THis morning, I found her reading to him...

How sweet is that?!

Sorry you can't really see Quinn, but he is there hiding behind the caterpillar. I wanted to sneak the picture so not to "disturb" the moment.

I also had two monsters in my bed this morning. She wanted to hold him and give him his bottle.

A visit with Great-Grandma Izzie

That's my Grandma. It's shocking for me to see with white hair. My grandma had hair as red as Reagan's for years. When it started to go white, she dyed it red. She recently stopped dying it. I guess that's permissable when you're 84.

I almost forgot to mention...Reagan and Quinn got their pictures taken at daycare. They are SO good!! I'm very pleased with them. I couldn't have gotten better pictures done if I would have taken them to Walmart. I"ll share as soon as we get them back.

Did I share with you that Reagan signed up for PreK for next year? She will be going to my school, which means which means no daycare except for Fridays. She's excited about that! She did her screening last week. She did great!! I was so proud of her. I just never know if Reagan is going to cooperate and actually talk to people or not. It just depends on her mood. It was a cooperative day and, not to brag or anything (But I'm going to b/c I can :)... the speech therapist told me she was the highest scorer of all the kids she screened. She was also one of the highest scorers on the preschool screening too. The hopping on one foot and skipping got her.

Woops! A Few Forgotten Easter pictures....

2009-04-25T14:02:00.004-04:00

This picture somehow got included. For the record, that's water down the front of her. When you can't find Reag and things are unusally quiet, she can probably be found playing in the sink.

Easter bunny stopped by MawMaw & Pappy's!

My babies

BASKETS!

Quinn's First Easter

Daddy & Reagan colored Easter eggs...

Coloring easter eggs is never complete without a tiara!

Potty break for Reagan so Daddy takes over!

Reagan decided to make a face on an egg.

HAPPY on side...

SAD on the other

It's sort of like Two-Face from Batman.

Reagan's colorful egg family

2009-04-11T11:31:00.004-04:00

So, yesterday was my birthday. And, yes, I happen to have turned 24. We won't reveal my real age. Just know I stopped aging at 24 ;)

Reagan got herself ready....
Can you say "wow!". Needless to say, I encouraged her to change into something else. She definitely has her own sense of style (if that's what you want to call it). I think she gets it from her dad (lol). She even did her own hair...

Fabulous!

To celebrate, we went to Cheddar's for dinner and birthday cake. Birthday cake being Hot Fudge Cake aka Sinfully Delicious. YUMMY!! Although it certainly didn't help those baby pounds I'm trying to get rid of, it was well worth the bellyache and calories! I'm not sure how Reagan didn't walk away puking. The girl can definitely hold her sweets. (that she gets from her Grandma--love you mom:)

I got an interesting music variety for my birthday gifts ...Brad Paisley, Kid Rock, and Gavin DeGraw. That sort of sums up my taste in music. The only thing missing is an 80's hair band CD :)

My Babies

BIrthday Girl and her babies

While we ate, Quinn hung out with his buddy, Pooh. He was such a good boy!! No crying baby during dinner, now that's a birthday gift!

If only you could have heard the belly laugh accompanying this heart melting smile. He kind of sounds like Ernie from Sesame Street when he laughs, which is comical.

Easter Bunny came early to Quinn & Reagan via mail from Uncle Jim and Aunt Laney.

Quinn's new duck which happens to be a tad bigger than him.

Reagan was super excited to open the box and find candy!

Smile: Reagan's First Trip to the Dentist

2009-03-31T17:13:00.002-04:00

A Monumental Moment Reagan actually took a nap yesterday after school!! This one needs marked on the calendar! Reagan NEVER takes naps! It's a good thing she did though because then she was all rested up for her very first dentist visit.

Reagan was very nervous about going to the dentist. We discussed everything that would happen before hand and she even saw a video about it on Reading Rainbow in preparation. She's such a trooper though. She climbed up in the big chair a little reluctantly, but did it without complaint. Cool thing number one: The bib-thing was PINK! One of her favorite colors. (She certainly doesn't get her color choice from me. Pink? Ugh!)

Cool thing number two: The dentist was wearing purple scrubs. Her other favorite color! I think he won her over with that alone. She did a super job! She's happy to report--no cavities Yay!! Afterwards, she told me "I guess it didn't hurt afterall".

Reagan also started in a new room at daycare yesterday and is loving it! I have to say I'm pretty impressed too. They had tons of two-year-olds moving up to Reagan's preschool room b/c of turning three. So, the daycare hired another worker and opened a second preschool room. Reagan is now in a room with older three's and four-year-olds. They did alot of exciting things and she is so excited about going. So much so that I think she may start going more often. Yesterday she was the calendar helper, which she thought was way cool. The teacher told me today that Reagan is doing great and loves to participate in everything and is "a great helper". Hopefully, her helping isn't trying to take over the teacher's job, which Reagan would love to do as she tells us frequently she wants to be a preschool teacher when she grows up.

As for Quinn, I have no new pictures. He had a little chest congestion and wasn't quite his usually smiley self. He's feeling better now so pictures should be forthcoming.

2009-03-21T19:30:00.001-04:00

My first week back to work proved to be an eventful one! Some of the highlights...
My car broke down, Quinn had to get his first set of shots :( , my car was involved in a hit and run at school, Reagan became sick and has pneumonia (again!). Need I go on?

Instead of a lengthy blog of complaining, here are some pictures of my babies from last week...(which is the real reason any of you tune in anyway ;)

Big sister Reagie Roo

Poor thing has been totally zapped with this pneumonia. Yesterday she slept from 5pm until 7 this morning!! I thought I was in for a "treat" when I couldn't wake her up yesterday evening. I was prepared for a long night ahead of me, but she surprised me and stayed asleep until morning! While sitting on my lap yesterday, she pathetically said "I just don't feel like myself". How old is she?

Quinn has been so interested in Reagan and follows her around the room. She's been trying to help out with floor time. That is just not his favorite past time. My boy is quite the slug. He's quite content sitting and talking or just snuggling. His personality is so laid back compared to Reagan who has been high-maintenance from day one!

Chatting it up with Pooh Bear.
He loves to talk to his Pooh while sitting in his bouncy seat. That's my I-need-to-wash-dishes activity.

Chillin' out with Dad. "Am I cool or what?"

Quinn was two-months-old on the 13th. Time just flies!! I can't believe it! I didn't have time to post the pictures then to celebrate (or weep, in my case).

I have little, if not no time, to keep up with posts now that I'm back at work. Hopefully, I'll be able to post some pictures. Stay tuned...

2009-03-11T12:58:00.002-04:00

Check out the stylin' girl!!

I could take pictures daily of Reagan's stylish ensembles. She puts together some interesting pieces. The other day she walked out wearing only a pink tutu, hot pink snow boots, and a mardi gras hat.

70 degree weather warrants a trip to Oglebay Park!!

Friday, with such gorgeous weather, Reagan & I decided we need some fresh air and sunshine!

Quinn enjoyed riding in the stroller. Although, the sun was a little too bright for him, even with the canapy shade.

2009-03-08T16:55:00.003-04:00

I started growing my hair long nearly two years ago with the intention of cutting and donating it to Locks of Love. The day finally arrived!

Pre-cut!

What have I done?!

Ta-da!

She cut off nearly 12 inches of hair. I'm not that upset about the length. But, not the style. It's just kind of blah. Oh well. Until Bill sends me off to New York for a personal make over, I'll settle for this :)

Where a Kid Can Be a Kid

2009-03-04T09:56:00.005-05:00

Yesterday we headed out to Chuck E. Cheese's with my nephew, Isaac, in tow. It was a weekday, which meant it was not crowded. Nice!

After gobbling up the average tasting pizza (we were hungry!) we were off to play.

After Quinn ate, he hung out and "chatted" with us while we finished eating :)

First stop for Reagan... Merry-Go-Round!

Isaac raced for free several times until Bill tried it. Then, the game decided we should be using our tokens. Bummer!

The Wheels on the Bus

Reagan raced in the Kentucky Derby with some help from Daddy for steering. The poor horse probably suffered a concussion. She ended up in the wall an awful lot.

Quinn spent his entire trip enjoying a free ride in his new sling. As you can see, he seemed to like it. He slept the whole time we were there.

Reagan was rockin' around the clock

while....

Isaac concentrated on Deal or No Deal. He won 6 tickets.

Reagan rode a virtual roller coaster. The seat jumps, shakes, and rocks. I wasn't so sure how she would like it, but she did.

Dance party and starring in her own video

Isaac riding on a crazy bike

Reagan's new accomplishment at Chuck E. Cheese's was climbing. Last year, she was just too short to make it. Plus, Bill and I were a little afraid to let her in the tubes in case she got lost or stuck. We certainly wouldn't have fit! This year, not only is she older, but we had Isaac with us should an emergency situation arise :)

This would be Kate. A little girl also enjoying the tubes. They appear to be enjoying themselves right? Well, it lasted for about as long as that smile on Reagan's face. Kate was a little more touchy-feely than Reagan enjoys. As she tugged on Reagan's arm and shirt, I could see the breakdown brewing. I yelled up to Reagan to just finish climbing through and go down the slide. However, the little girl wouldn't let Reagan through. She blocked the path and held on to Reagan. I have to say, Reagan did use her words and told the little girl to let go, but Kate wasn't the kind of girl who liked to listen. You teach your kids not to hit, but if that was me, I probably would have given the girl a good push and ran for the opening. Not Reagan. Enter...full-blown meltdown. So, here I am, down on the floor yelling up directions and there's Reagan at the ceiling (having a panic attack) with a child stalker.

But, wait! I brought my emergency back-up!

Enter...

Isaac to the rescue!!

Isaac climbed up and recued Reagan. She was so happy to see him!

Our Hero!!

Super-hero wasn't finished yet though! The little girl, Kate, had been up there for a good 45 minutes. Her grandma and pregnant mom had been trying to tempt her down without much luck. Isaac went up tubes for a second rescue. This time for Kate's poor mom. Both missions were a success. Thanks Isaac!!

Just as we were about to leave, Quinn woke up. So,

he posed with Stewart Little before we left.

Xia (my niece) & Quinn chillin' back at the house.

2009-03-02T13:20:00.002-05:00

Art Therapy--don't even ask

Accessory of the past three days

My handsome little man. He's almost 8 pounds now!

Cutest kids ever! (Not that I'm biased or anything!)

A Day Full of Smiles

2009-02-19T17:46:00.002-05:00

So, even though Quinn has been smiling for a couple of weeks now, I can never capture it on camera. As soon as he sees the camera, he's enthralled by it. Today, however, we were able to get a few pictures. The pictures still don't do his smile justice. It melts your heart. His whole face just lights up. ok, so this one's not a smile, but a) his eyes are open and b) he was looking at me.

Check out that handsome fella!

A Couple of Firsts

2009-02-15T18:54:00.002-05:00

First visit with Uncle Jim and Aunt Laney

My brother tends to be terrified of infants. I'm not sure if it's his tall stature that has him second guessing himself or what. After a long evening of convincing himself, he did hold Quinn. And, he did great!

Aunt Laney & Quinn cuddled most of the day. She probably has a sore arm today.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Quinn's first Valentine's

One-month old!

Quinn was one-month-0ld the 13th. This is how he spent the majority of his day. What can we say, it's hard work turning 1 month!

2009-02-12T12:24:00.002-05:00

Reagan has always loved to play dress up. She has a trunk of old Halloween costumes and other dress-up stuff she plays with all the time. This week, she has chosen a new "get-up" to wear each day, the entire day! The Snow Princess with a lei. Quinn wasn't all that happy to have his picture taken with the snow princess. Although, perhaps it has something to do with the grudge he'll hold over her since she had earlier dressed him up with a purple feather boa and pink princess crown.

Then, we had Snow White for two days running. Snow White with a knitted hat Aunt Carrie made last year that doesn't really fit anymore.

The second day, Snow White had her little cape-thing as a hat.

Then, we had a fairy. The costume is way to short for her. She wore it last year for Halloween.

Today, Reagan has ballerina tutu on and other accessories which frequently change.

It's really difficult to get good pictures of Quinn. He's either crying or sleeping. I'll continue to keep trying, I promise.

Steelers Fans

2009-02-02T13:02:00.002-05:00

Getting ready to watch the big game with Daddy.

I Forgot to M ention

2009-01-31T19:36:00.002-05:00

While we were at the dr's., The nurse had Quinn on the examining table where she had been measuring him. We started talking, and the next thing we knew, he rolled over!! From back to belly!! We were both shocked! I joked throughout my entire pregnancy that he was going to be a slug b/c he rarely moved. Apparently, he was just saving it up. He rolls frequently and cannot be trusted.

A Visit to the Doctor's

2009-01-30T11:10:00.003-05:00

Quinn's appt. was yesterday...he gained 8 oz!!!! in 3 days!!!! The dr. was very happy w/ his weight gain and was pleasantly shocked. The secret?? I started him on formula. Every mother has to make the decision bottle or breast? I made the decision for both the kids to breast feed. As circumstances would have it, it just hasn't worked out for Quinn. He lost almost a pound since birth in less than 2 weeks. He seems much more satisfied w/ the bottle. We go back next week to make sure he at least gets back to his birth weight. Tons of other kids out there are fed formula from birth and are just fine. I'm sure Quinn will be too. The way I look at it...he's much healthier now gaining weight and not starving.

And what's w/ the snow?! We are getting bombarded w/ snow. The down side...Reagan has major cabin fever and is driving me insane. The plus side...I do not have to use personal time for my maternity leave on snow days. That means I'm saving lots of days and could probably extend my leave. Woo-hoo!!

2009-01-28T13:37:00.002-05:00

Reagan woke up this morning feeling the need to get a shower and put on a dress. Of course, with all this yucky weather we're getting...we're going NO WHERE! All dressed up and no where to go.

This is Reagan's "pet" horse she has named Pudge. She uses the dogs leash to drag the horse around and tie him up. Last night she was grooming him. The funny thing is that my brother and SIL bought her that horse over 2 yrs ago and she was terrified of it. Now it's her best friend.

She loves working in her garage too.

As for Quinn... I'm still adjusting to life w/o sleep. We went this week for a weight check and he's lost more weight. He's now down to 6 lb. 5 oz. We started formula yesterday to see if he gains any that way. It wasn't in my plans, but I'd much rather him be healthy. We go tomorrow for another wt.check. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

2009-01-23T12:42:00.003-05:00

Things are slowly coming in to place. Reagan is a GREAT big sister and loves to help. Although, she informed me yesterday that he wasn't my baby, but her's. She also informed me I was patting his back too hard when I was burping him. My little mother hen.

I have no pictures of her to post as she made faces or hid from the camera. Hopefully, soon she'll cooperate.
Quinn tried out the swing. He was okay with it, but wasn't all that interested in staying in it for longer than 2 minutes.

Game Day! Daddy and Quinn cuddled on the couch to cheer for the Steeler's.

One of the first things we noticed about Quinn the moment he was born...was his toes!! Yes, he had all 10 after a quick count, but they were the longest things we had ever seen! He has monkey toes. Take a look...

He can grip your finger with his toes! He's got a second set of hands, which could prove to be useful for him, I guess.

Check out that big toe.

Introducing the Newest Dorsey...

2009-01-18T16:47:00.003-05:00

Quinn Alexander Dorsey

January 13, 2008

2:59 p.m.

7 lb. 1 oz.

20 inches

Here's a glimpse of my little man's first big day with us. I'm sure there will be more to come.

He found his thumb!

Reagan's first look at her baby brother

Not that I want pictures of me from the delivery room, but this is the only picture of the four of us.

Moments after being born, Quinn posed for his first picture.

Taking a snooze in our room

Big sister Reagan and Quinn

Pappy and MawMaw Ennis with Quinn

More birthday fun

2009-01-12T10:33:00.003-05:00

This is how Reagan greeted Bill and I the other morning.... All decked out and ready to roll, wedding bouquet and all!

My brother made a short trip in this past weekend.

Me (w/ my whale of a belly), Dad, and Jim

We celebrated my dad's b'day a few days a early since Jim was in town. And where there's an Ennis celebration, there's Dairy Queen cake!!!! YUM!!!

Reagan helped Pap blow out his candles (and not because he's not windy enough) :)

In other news...still no baby!! He's already a Dorsey and classicly late! My maternity leave started last week b/c I really thought we'd have a baby. With Bill working afternoons, that leaves just Reagan and I. How to fill the time? Well, lots of crafts, playing games, pretend play, and baking. Yesterday, we tried a new peanut butter cookie recipe that only called for three ingredients. Not bad. We then tried out a chocolate icing to put on the cookie. We decided we didn't care much for it. I think I'm spoiled with the choc. icing the Cookie place at the mall uses. Nothing could replace that! If only I could crack that recipe! I'd be a happy girl.

Hope to have some baby news soon!!!

Easy Bake Oven Adventure

2009-01-08T18:26:00.002-05:00

Okay, so the pictures are out of order AGAIN!!! This is seriously driving me crazy!

Marching to the beat of her own drum

Since I'm at home, not working, and it was snowing, Reagan and I broke out the Easy Bake Oven today that Santa brought her. She kept saying "I"m having so much fun". Although, I have to tell you, I do not recommend sugar cookies as your first experience. The cake would have been much easier! The cookies are a little difficult to work with, then only bakes one at a time. So, 7 minutes to bake per cookie, then 10 minutes in the cooling chamber equals too long for a three-year-old! I ended up finishing by myself. So how about a backwards look at Reagan making her cookies?

TA-DA! Reagan's finished product that required immediate sampling.

Using the cookie cutter to cut out the heart shape.

A cookie dough ball before smashing it for the cookie cutter

Mixing up the dough

Easy Bake Oven lesson.... stick with the cakes. I think making an actual batch of real sugar cookies would have been much easier!

Okay, off to enjoy my DQ cake and keep my legs crossed. My OB is out of town til Monday. Aaahh!!! I'm very nervous about going in to labor since he's not here!

Happy Birthday Bill!

2009-01-03T12:10:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was Bill's birthday. He turned the big 3-5. Shh, don't tell him know I told. He's getting a little sensitive about his age.

Nothing to do with his birthday, but she looked so cute. She's very in to wearing hats all the time around the house.

Daddy & Reagan

Dinner at our favorite restuarant....Ichiban's. Yum-o, we LOVE Japanese.

DQ cake to finish the evening. Even more YUM!!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-28T11:51:00.003-05:00

Reagan and I DID make it home for Christmas. The tree was put up Saturday just in time for the jolly ol' elf to find his way to West Liberty for a special little redhead girl. Oh, okay, I guess for Reagan too. (lol) We are now officially back home. The house is coming together more each day, but it is driving me CRAZY in the meantime.

Christmas with the Bennett's

Uncle Matt, Reagan and Audrey have a little jam session before gifts.

Audrey got a play dough table for Christmas, which the girls enjoyed together.

Gift time! Audrey and Reagan teamed up.

Christmas w/ MawMaw and Pappy

All summer Reagan talked about playing soccer. Santa must have been listening.

Christmas at home

This is Reagan's reaction after she understood the Easy Bake Oven. Once she realized it was a "real" oven, she was very excited. She LOVES to bake!

These next two pictures meant to be switched. ...

All Reagan asked for Christmas was a "real" camera. After opening a couple of gifts Christmas morning, she became very upset thinking she didn't get it.

This is Reagan's reaction to finally opening the camera...

This was Reagan pre-meltdown prior to opening the camera...

Christmas w/ Uncle Jim and Aunt Laney

My brother made a surprise trip in for Christmas. They couldn't stay long, but everyone was very happy to see him and Laney!

Jim, Reagan, and Laney

Look how giddy Bill is with his Steeler's gnome!

I, however, not so giddy seeing that it is now decorating my mantel! Can I just tell you that Amish Country decor and gnomes just do NOT mix!

I'm in Love....

2008-12-15T15:34:00.003-05:00

...with my new crocs! Santa came a little early this year. My parents bought me a new pair of crocs (w/ the lining). They are the BEST things ever!!! With only a few more weeks to go before my little man makes his big debut, my feet have decided to start swelling. Not to mention the horrendous cramps in my legs. They were heavenly on my tired little feet today at school!

In other news....

House..."I'll be home for Christmas" has brought on a whole new meaning for me. And yes, it may only be in my dreams. Bill swears we will be there. Let's hope!! This weekend, my wonderful, awesome mother helped me clean up the white dust scattered throughout my house due to drywall. Now, he needs to finish the closet and lay the carpet in our bedroom. After that, we can move our furniture out of Reagan's room so we can clean hers next. Did I mention that the baby has nothing ready?! It's pretty pointless to drag it all out and clean it when there's so much remodeling dust floating around.

Baby... He hasn't come yet, but it's only a matter of time. Let's hope after Christmas!! I'm not dilated yet, but he's in position and his head is right there! He will probably remain nameless. Well, we have a first name, just not a middle. My SIL suggested just throwing in a letter for an initial. Who knows, it may come to that! ;)

Reagan... Poor Reagie hasn't been well, since like, September when she was in the hospital. It's been one thing after another. First, the hospital stay w/ her tummy problems. (She's still on a dairy-free diet and it's going pretty well). Then, she developed allergy/cold-like symptoms while in the hospital, which hasn't gone away. Two weeks ago she was at the doctor's since she wasn't getting any better. She has a sinus infection and double ear infection. While still on the antibiotics, she keeps getting fevers and the runny nose and cough still there! The cough got much worse over the weekend, so my mom took her to the dr. today for me. Now, she has pneumonia. Does it ever stop?!

2008-11-08T13:37:00.002-05:00

Look how awesome Reagan's doing writing her name.... The picture turned out a little dark, but you can still make it out. She did it all by herself!!

Today, Reagie and I made peanut butter/chocolate covered pretzels. They're so yummy!!

Reagan decorated her pretzels with mini-M&Ms and sprinkles.

She was very proud of her creation!

House news...

We're continuing to make progress. Well, I shouldn't say we, since I'm not actually doing any of the work. The roofers are starting Monday. Bill continues to work hard on getting our bedroom finished. Drywall is being hung this weekend, I think.

Baby news...

Still cookin'!! I failed my first sugar test and had to go for the three hour test. I passed that one! Yay!! I had another ultrasound Tuesday to check on a few things, only to get called back Wednesday for more pictures. I should get the results Tuesday when I go to my dr. appt. The only thing I do know for sure....definitely BOY! No mistake. I think we have pretty much decided on a name now. We had a narrowed down list, but hadn't decided. Reagan has made the decision for us. Although, she still likes the name Buster for the middle name. I hate to break the news to her, I think we'll be passing :) Did I mention that I got an awesome Vera Bradley diaper bag from my brother and SIL? Filled with the cutest clothes! Now, we to just have a place to actually put the baby things! Can't wait til the house is finished to get baby ready!!

2008-11-03T13:02:00.003-05:00

So, where have we been? To make a very long story short...

We're having some remodeling done to our house. As you can only imagine, we had the snowball effect. When one bad thing happened, it just kept rolling. Our semi-uncomplicated project turned into a major remodeling nightmare. Since things are quite messy and dusty (have you ever hung drywall and insulation?), Reagan and I have been staying at my parent's house. Reagan has made the transition mush easier than I thought, but we miss Daddy terribly!! We talk to him everyday and try to see him when we can, but he's a busy man trying to get everything done so we can come home!!!

Here's a few pictures of Reagan..(a little out of order, but at least there here)....

Helping Pappy rake leaves

Then, she helped MawMaw make a Daddy a special apple pie that we're delivering to him today at work as a surprise!

Daddy was able to make Trick-or-Treat this year! This is the first year!!

Reagan's daycare had a pumpkin patch set up in the field where they got to pick out their own pumpkin. She was so very proud of her's and claims it was the biggest one there!

Besides her own class party in the morning, she joined my Pre-K class in the afternoon for another party. Two Disney princesses, Snow White and Belle.

Dance class had a little party too! Reagan and her friend, Addison (who was Stephanie from Lazytown, but lost her wig while dancing.)

Reagan during the Hokey Pokey

My Little Snow White princess

Oglebay Fest

2008-10-05T10:34:00.003-04:00

Saturday we made our annual trip to Oglebay Fest. It's kind of a mix of October Fest, the Ohio County Fair, and crafters (my personal favorite part) spread throughout Oglebay. It was a beautiful day for it. Not too cold, not too hot. A good sweatshirt day.

Reagan petting a cow at the fair. She also got to pet an alpacka, but there are no good pictures to show of the skittish animal.

Reagan and I got to munch on some pickles at the October Fest part. Yum!

She posed several times asking me to take her picture. She's so modest about her good looks ;)

The bus trip around the park! It was her first trip on a school bus, which was exciting. Last year, she rode on the trolley, or charley as she calls it. We didn't end up on one this year though. It's kind of nice that they offer buses to shuttle you around the park, especially for a fat pregnant girl and a preschooler with short legs :)

Reagie and Mama

Daddy & Reagan sporting their colors.

Just Where Have We Been?!

2008-09-28T11:31:00.004-04:00

So, I've been getting a lot of flack for not posting lately. Just why haven't I? By now, most of you know Reagan was in the hospital two weeks ago. We were in there for four days and still trying to catch up on housework, laundry, school work (for me), and did I mention SLEEP?!!? Sleeping in that recliner just didn't get it for big mama. Because, yes, I now officially have a pumpkin hiding under my shirt.

So, besides me catching up on the aforementioned things, Bill has been working on the house. After all, the countdown to the little bambino arrival is getting closer. What will become the baby's room (upstairs), eventually, is completely gutted and insulation is getting hung. This weekend Bill and his dad has been working on the roof. They are adding the addition (a walk-in closet) to what will become Reagan's new bedroom upstairs. I'll be so happy when this remodeling is all finished.

So, now for some pictures...

How do you entertain a 3-yr.old in the hospital?

We spent many hours coloring and using stickers. The rest of the time was spent driving mommy crazy!! :)

Reagan showing everyone her IV. They gave it to her in the ER the first night. She was so brave the first time they stuck her, not a peep or tear! However, the vain didn't work (surprise, surprise red-head's are known for trouble). The second arm gave them trouble and I don't blame her for crying. The two ER nurses felt so horrible they were offering to take her on a shopping trip to Walmart. The big, burly guy nurse came back with stickers and Popsicles.

Visitors

Uncle Jim and Aunt Laney came to town. The original plan had been a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. With an unplanned hospital stay, the trip was cancelled and some snuggle time was substituted.
Uncle Jim and Reagan

Aunt Laney and Reagie

Uncle Jim and Aunt Laney brought balloons!

Maw-Maw came to visit everyday before work and even got to sneak in during rounds. (my mom works at the same hospital). She brought Reagan a new leopard webkindz.

Renaissance Festival

Last weekend we hit the Renaissance Festival. It was pretty cool to see, but my favorite part of the trip was the shopping trip on the way home :) I would much rather go to craft festivals where I can spend money on the things I use. I don't really need costumes or daggers.

We had lunch at Red Robin, which as Bill said 'why have we waited so long to try this?' It was surprisingly good. For those of you who haven't been there... they specialize in burgers of all kinds. All three of us thought it was yummy.

Posing with a knight

The butterfly ride!

Queen Reagan

Our First Dance Class

2008-09-08T20:11:00.006-04:00

Tonight was our first dance class at The Stifle Center in Wheeling. It's an eight week Dance Sampler for 2&3's ( a mix of ballet, tap and tumbling). My friend Tracy's little girl, Addison, is also going. So, I was glad Reagan had a buddy along.

It's a little different than what I was expecting. The teacher is a bit hard I think. They're babies for crying outloud, not professional dancers! First, the parent's aren't allowed in, but that I understand. The expecting them to walk on a straight line (my 4 yr olds don't know what a line is most of the time) or staying in one place and listening b/c you said so, not so much. Um, hello, 2's and 3's!!

Needless to say, I'm very disappointed and was hoping for a patient and fun-loving dance teacher. As long as Reagan likes it, I'm okay enduring her pathetic excuse of a method for teaching dance to babies.

Reagan and Addison walking into to dance class together. What a support system! Although, Addison doesn't much need it, she's very outgoing. Maybe some will rub off onto Reagan!

I snuck some pictures through the door window!

Miss Cheryl giving Reagan a little push to participate. She mostly just stood observing everyone.

A little group activity

Addison's big brother, Elijah, being very patient while waiting for the girls.

Marching on the line. Of course, Reagan was barely marching and holding up the entire line.

Doing her side steps

Showing she had good listening ears.

Performing their first song they learned. Something about dinosaurs.

Marching by...she was finally starting to get into it a little.

Waiting for a stamp for good behavior...and "standing on the line".

Look Mama! Proud as could be about her stamp!

A group shot before we headed home for baths and bed.

All in all she did much better than I thought she may. I think the teacher was a little overwhelming, because well, she was a bit overwhelming for me. I'm just so glad she actually participated a bit at the end. And, this is only the first week! who knows by week eight!

Reunion

2008-09-07T11:55:00.005-04:00

Saturday, we headed out to the West Alex fair to meet up with one of Bill's friends, Will, and his family. They were in town for the weekend and the boys hadn't seen each other in eight years!
There is a book of stories to chronicle their "mischievous" friendship through high school and college. It's amazing how much family life has changed the two of them.

Reagan and her baby buckled in for the ride to the fair.

Daddy & Reagan (She was too cute in her new Levi's jacket!)

Will's little girl, Lilly, is five. Another friend was there and his little girl, Sophia, is also five. After some warm-up time, Reagan came out of her shell and loved hanging with the girls. (who she calls her "new friends").

The girls take a spin!

The Petting Zoo

Reagan tried to pet some baby chickens, but she was just a little too short to reach.

She was able to reach the sheep.

She was not too fond of the goats (I can say she gets that from me.), but her ultimate goal was to catch a pig to pet. That, however, was never going to happen. Those pigs were running everywhere!

It was next to impossible to get all three girls to look at the same time, especially Sophia who appears to have an IV of Red Bull hidden under her jacket (lol) She was an energetic one!

Sophia, Reagan and Lilly

Reagan on the merry-go-round
Her second trip, she decided to ride a chariot. We had to laugh. she sat all prim-and-proper the entire ride.

Tomorrow starts dance class. Hopefully, we'll have some pictures to share!

2008-08-31T21:15:00.002-04:00

Now that I'm back to work, I feel like I have no time! By time we get home, fix and eat dinner, do dishes, and a bath, it's bedtime. For both Reagan and me!! So I have only a couple of new pics.

With so very little time left in the evenings to play, Reagan went crazy playing with her toys today. She ended up with a trunk full of dress-up clothes on at one time!

Glam girl!

Today we went to her little friend Addison's bday party at the park.

Reagan and her buddy Carson watch Addison open her presents.

Reagan and Carson

Bill has also been a very busy boy. Saturday he reshingled part of our roof. While we still have quite a ways to go, it at least feels we're on our way!

First Day of School

2008-08-23T15:47:00.002-04:00

Thursday was our first day back to school. There were some tears the first day, but she tells me not on the second and was very proud of herself. This year, Reagan's in the PreK room, which I hope means less tears. She loves the idea of school and loves school-like activities (circle time, art, ABCs...). I'm hoping there's some more structured activities this year to keep her busy and happy.

And look at Miss Sassy showing up at the dinner table. She was all decked out!

Oh Boy...or Girl??

2008-08-21T06:46:00.003-04:00

I am now 20 weeks. (halfway there!) Yesterday was my ultrasound, which went pretty well. We found out we're having a boy! I told Reagan she was having a brother to which she responded by stomping her foot on the ground with hands on her hips, "Well, we'll have to talk to the doctor about this. I want a sister! Not a brother!". So, we have some sweet talking to do. I pointed out that Audrey (my 2 yr old niece) would be like having a sister, but she only replied "But she's not itty bitty and live at my house". Got me there kid.
So, the name war is on. Why does naming a baby have to be so difficult? If it's not difficult enough just trying to find a name you like, then you actually have to agree on it with your spouse! Aah!

A Playdate at Oglebay

2008-08-12T10:47:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we headed to Oglebay to meet up with our friends.

A picnic lunch

From left: Carson, Crystal, Elijah, Addison, Tracy, & Reagan

The girls are becoming pretty good pals. Reagan loves Addison & they play very well together which is always a plus.

Idlewild Adventures

2008-08-12T10:04:00.008-04:00

Sunday we headed to Idlewild with Bill's sister and her family. The weather was a bit too cool for swimming, so we nixed Soak Zone. But, it did make nice weather while waiting in line. This year Reagan was tall enough to go on most of the rides with an adult. Not knowing what was in store for her, she went willingly with Bill.

First stop...

Log Jammer was Reagan's first big girl ride. (She's sitting behind Bill so you really can't see her well). The verdict---

She loved it!!

Big Foot's Mud Slide
Carrie & Audrey are on the left and Bill & Reagan on the left.

Audrey decided it was naptime. The wagon made a nice little bed. I wish I could have climbed in :)

The girls partnered up for the kiddy park...

The Turtle ride with Aunt Carrie & Audrey

Taking a spin in the car

Motorcycles were a favorite for the girls!

Driving Miss Audrey

Reagan was very excited about the dinosaurs. They reminded her of "Dragon Tales", which is one of her favorite shows.

The weather held out until, literally, the parking lot on the way to the car, when it started raining. We had a great day!

A Balancing Act & Some Snippin' and Gluin'

2008-08-08T21:35:00.002-04:00

Reagan using her homemade balance beam courtesy of dad. She was able to make it all the way to the end! Way to go Reagie!

As everyone should know by now, Reagan loves artsy stuff. For her b'day, I bought her a cut and paste book for 2-3 yr. olds, in hopes that the pile of cut-up construction paper would minimize :) It has!

The point of the book, is for the parents to cut-out the materials and the child can paste them on the pictures. It's leveled, so it starts at stickers then gets a little harder. I let her do the cutting tonight. It was just straight lines, then I cut out any curvy parts. She was rockin'!!! She was able to cut better than most of my preschoolers.

Work in progress...gluing on the pieces. She even used just a dab of glue! She's my dream student!!

The finished product!

(She had to glue the toys in the cubbies)

Since I didn't get a picture of her cutting the other picture, here's an action shot of her dynamic scissor skills. And, she's a lefty at that!

Did I mention that Bill and I had a date night last weekend? My parents both had the weekend off and requested a sleepover with Reagan. Since we were childless, we decided to go the dinner and a movie route. We went to see the The Dark Knight which lives up to its name. It's so dark! It was an AWESOME movie, but as soon as we left, I told Billy I needed a good, wholesome, uplifting movie now just to counteract the after effects of Batman. It was probably, hands down, the best Batman movie yet. It was a little sad for me, though, with Heath Ledger, whom I adore. (He is, after all, the star in my favorite cheesy movie Ten Things I Hate About You).

You may want to scroll to the bottom of the blog for a moment. Go ahead.... Did you notice the new ticker? Reagan designed it, hence the hearts and elephant. Not really what I would have chosen, but.... Reagan is going to be a big sister after Christmas. January 8th, officially. Most of you already know, but I'm shocked at the number of people who don't. I'm 18+ weeks, but feel much more pregnant than that. Things are so far going smoothly. The first three months were horrendous, thanks to 24 hr. nausea. It's not so bad now. I decided then that it must be a boy, as only a male could cause that much misery ;) Actually, we don't know what we're having yet. We find out in 1 1/2 weeks. Yikes! So, the three of us are super excited!

A Visit with Audrey & the Gang

2008-08-06T18:52:00.004-04:00

Today we visited the Bennett clan. Ok, so we didn't see so much of Isaac and Josh, but the girls visited.

Reagan and Audrey hanging in the sandbox.

Audrey taking Reagan a ride on the push toy.

Some art work!

All that painting can make a girl tired!

Reagan took Audrey's trike for a spin.

Josh played me some tunes on the guitar. He's just learning, but did a rockin' job!

PI: Saturday

2008-07-28T11:06:00.002-04:00

By Saturday, Bill was feeling horrible. The forecast was calling for scattered rainstorms. Since Bill was our ride all weekend and he was sick in bed, we opted for some swimming, which was Reagan's idea. We swam all morning and afternoon at the hotel, which by that point, Bill was slowly coming out of his coma :) That evening, we headed to the local mall for some shopping and dinner. The mall isn't exactly what I consider a mall. It was more of a shopping plaza with not that many stores. But after dinner, we headed to the beach for an evening stroll.

Me, Reagan, and Bill at the lagoons.

Miss Reagan out for her stroll

This is the old Lighthouse. It was built in 1842. You're not allowed too close to it now. There were several information plaques, which stated how lonely the lighthouse keepers were because it would be months before they would ever see anyone. I couldn't imagine that lifestyle. There are days, however, I would jump at the chance for some peace and quiet :)

My mom and dad

Bill, Reagan and I

Despite the illnesses, Reagan and I had a good time. I'm not so sure about Bill who spent most of his time in bed moaning. I would love to go back, and hopefully, get in some more beach time.

PI: Friday

2008-07-28T10:38:00.003-04:00

Friday, we headed to the beach! Presque Isle has seven beaches, in addition to lagoons, a fishing pier, a pavilion, and a ball field. There are hiking and bike trails everywhere. It's really a world all of it's own. If you didn't know any better, you would really think you were at the ocean instead of a lake. However, the water is FRIGID!!!!, which meant, we didn't go swimming, but plenty of others were. Reagan and I were brave enough to go in knee deep. Reagan's main goal was just to dig, so she was fine with not swimming in the lake.

Reagan and Pap gather some water and wet sand for sand castles and "sand cakes".

Reagan filling up her pail for the hundredth time :)

Beach babe!

Reagan and Daddy took a short stroll looking for seashells. There aren't many, but Reagan was determined to find some, and she did!

They were having a craft show at the pavilion, which had my eyes light up like Christmas. It ended up being more of a variety of business vendors handing out information, some selling things, and no crafts :( It was still nice to walk around, though, and get some lunch. I had a very messy, but yummy veggie pita. Reagan still wasn't feeling well, but managed to eat some strawberry ice cream. That's my girl!

Presque Isle: Thursday

2008-07-28T10:16:00.005-04:00

We're fresh back from Presque Isle...I'm a little sad about returning, not to mention about the laundry that awaits me. Reagan ended up being for the duration of vacation and I see a doctor's visit in our future. She was joined by Bill. Want to talk about NOT fun! A three-year-old who suddenly develops ADHD as a side effect from cold medicine and well, a grown man...do I really need to go any further?

Our hotel had an outside pool, which I think Reagan enjoyed more than anything. Thursday evening after settling in, my dad and Reagan went in for a dip.

Pap and Reagan

Reagan enjoyed a piggy back ride in the water.

Look at that jump!

By the end of that evening and every evening after, Reagan had become very independent in the pool with her floaties. She was able to get around the pool all by herself by doggy paddling. I even had her holding her breath and going under. She loved it!

And We're Off.....

2008-07-24T09:02:00.003-04:00

We're just minutes away from jet-setting off to the tropics....

Okay, maybe some wishful thinking. We're really headed to Presque Isle at Lake Erie for some fun in the sun.

Of course, what would a vacation be like without a sick kid. Reagan started with a fever yesterday and still has one. Not what I had in mind prior to leaving. Maybe some sun will fix her up. I'm hoping.

Be back with some pictures in a few days....

2008-07-18T10:45:00.004-04:00

Reagan and I enjoyed many hours outside yesterday. I thought I may possibly melt, so we moved it to the front porch where we could at least get some relief in the shade. Reagan spent the vast majority of the time playing in her sand and water table. I spent most of my time trying to clean up a little. Is it really normal to simple green your grill? I couldn't help it though. All that water play makes a girl hungry! We had a picnic lunch outside.
Reagan shares my love for necterines

We eventually had to go inside and get cleaned up because we had plans to meet Bill to have an anniversary dinner. It's our 4th wedding anniversary. ( 14 years since our first date) Believe me, I know what your're thinking...it took him LONG enough! :) We headed to Generations, one of our favorite local eateries.

Daddy & Reagan patiently wait for their food by drawing.

After 14 years, the romantic gifts go out the window. Bill bought me my own shop vac. I've been complaining because his is too big to lug around and always somewhere hiding. Mine is now small and I can carry it as I work...just the right size. I bought Bill a new Tripod chair for fishing. I told you it was romantic ;)

Reagan enjoys some last minute time in her playhouse before bedtime.

Reagie & Mama

2008-07-16T18:01:00.003-04:00

Saturday we attended a birthday celebration for my nephew, Isaac, who turned 11 and niece, Audrey, who turned 2. Here are the girls who are quickly becoming buds. Maybe now that Reagan's out of the two stage, but uh-oh, now Audrey's there, so we could be in for another stormy year. We'll have to wait and see ;)

Sunday's plans were to go to Idlewild. I chickened out Saturday night with an 80% chance of t-storms in the forecast. I, personally, didn't want to spend all that money to only dodge bolts of lightening with my darling daughter in tow. Much to our dismay, Sunday ended up being a decent day. We have rescheduled our trip so here's hoping the weather holds out this time!

Sunday did not go wasted though! We headed to Robinson with my SIL, Carrie, Audrey, Reagan and a friend Katie. We did a girly day! Girly is not really my thing, but shopping is!!! Surprisingly, I restrained myself and did not buy anything. Carrie, on the otherhand, who is not much of a shopper did enough for the both of us :) After an afternoon of hauling children and bags, we headed to lunch at my favorite..Panera Bread! and then pedicures! Ironically, I was the one who was not going to get a pedicure, but got talked into it, and ended up with the most amazing foot and calf massage the others did not get. Reagan sat on my lap and enjoyed a foot soak in the bubbles.
There are actually pictures of us but I cannot figure out how to "steal" them from Carrie's blog :)

Fourth of July Fun

2008-07-09T14:33:00.002-04:00

This year, Fourth of July was quiet. With my mom and dad out of town and Billy at work, Reagan and I had a quiet day at home which included a long afternoon nap :) I'm not sure how I managed that, but was I glad!!

We headed to Bill's dad's house for a little visit when he got home from work. With rainy weather clouding the day, Wheeling festivities were postponed. However, we managed to have some fun anyway!!

Reagan with her pap.

Reagan caught her first lightening bug with some help from Bill. She did end up holding it, which was shocking because she's terrified of bugs.

The neighbors set off some fireworks, which meant we weren't without after all!

Reagan enjoyed some sparklers too.

The next night we headed to Wheeling to the postponed fireworks. Reagan loved them! She clapped the entire time.

Here's a special picture for Uncle Jim...
My brother and SIL got Reagan a Snow White dress for her b-day, so here she is enjoying it.

Aloha!

2008-07-02T09:44:00.006-04:00

We celebrated Reagan's birthday Sunday with a Luau at the park. The rain held out for the party. Whew!! The monsoon hit after everyone left and we were cleaning up.

Uncle Jim was able to make the trip up to see his girl. Reagan was so excited to see him! If only we could sweet talk him into moving back. We really miss him :(

Reagan enjoying some yummy DiCarlos pizza!!

The wind made it quite difficult to keep the flame going. We managed to keep one long enough to blow it out.

Present time!! She got lots of cool presents.

Icing mustache!

Learn how to dance like a princess! As if she needs anymore encouragement :)

Reagan's buddies Elijah and Addison

Isn't this how you eat your afternoon snack ?

Birthday Celebration

2008-06-25T15:25:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday Reagan!!!!

First, on the birthday agenda, was meeting daddy for lunch at Dairy Queen. She and Daddy shared a chocolate cone after eating lunch.

Then we headed to Toys 'R Us, or Toys 'n Us as Reagan called it all day. She got a birthday crown and balloon, which was just fabulous to her. I let her pick out a present from the store, which meant we went up and down every aisle. You can only imagine how her face lit up when she saw...

a school bus!!! She just had to have the pink one. As most of you know by now, Reagan is obsessed with playing school. She either plays with her baby dolls or her Little People school or us. So, now they have safe transportation. Although, I'm not sure how safe it is when she piles all 13 Little People on the bus meant for five. :)

While we waited for Bill to get done work and my parents to come up to celebrate, Reagan informed my brother over the phone that her birthday was "boring". Why? Because, her "mean" mom wouldn't give her cake or presents. I tried explaining we needed to wait for daddy or his feeling would be hurt, but you try explaining that to an impatient three-year-old. Chances are you would be called mean too.

Cake

Yum, yum.

Present Time!!

She got her own portable desk. She loves writing and drawing, and snacking ;), so it was obvious she needed a desk to carry around with her. She's already using it and loving it.

Maw-Maw and Pappy got her a playhouse, which she was super excited about. Daddy and Pappy put it together as soon as they gave it to her.
Look at the cute birthday girl waiting so patiently...
especially, since daddy just had to play in it first. ;)
Our gorgeous girl peeks out the window when she finally got to try it out. Check out those eyes!!!

So, as we wrapped up the night, I asked if she had a good birthday (especially given the "boring" comment earlier). She said to me "Just look at my face. You see this smile that means I'm happy". Then, "Mommy, I just can't believe it's my birthday!" Yea, me either.

2008-06-24T11:51:00.005-04:00

I have been fighting with the camera for days. I couldn't get them to upload. The problem is solved now. So, here's a little Reagan fix...

Father's Day

We headed to Pittsburgh for our annual Father's Day Zoo Trip. It was super hot!! We're still convinced that the snow leopard is stuffed. For the past four years, we have found it in the exact same place not moving.

Reagan and Billy headed through the Stingray tunnel. Reagan was not all impressed that the floor was wet and tried crawling without using her hands, which needless to say, didn't work out so well. She eventually gave up and just made a quick crawl through.
Every year, it is also the Renaissance festival while we're there.
See this bed of nails?...

One of the women from the festival is pictured lying on it, with Bill and some other guy sitting on top of her. She then preceded to eat fire from a blazing stick. Reagan was just very perplexed by the whole situation. Like, why is daddy sitting on that lady? Not to mention the fact she put fire in her mouth. A big safety no-no from the safety patrol.
It was quite difficult to get a good picture of Reagan and Bill together this year. Most had Reagan pouting (why, who knows) or not looking. This is the best I could do for a post.
Totally not zoo related, but cute....

Today is her birthday. I just can't believe she's three!! She's really not even a toddler anymore, she's more preschooler, which is just crushing. We're meeting daddy shortly for some DQ lunch! Yum! Good choice Reagan!! I've taught her well. Say tuned for some birthday pictures (hopefully she cooperates).

2008-06-12T12:51:00.002-04:00

Reagan decided to dress up as a princess and ask her dad for a dance. Apparently, princesses wear LOTS of jewelry. She makes Mr. T look underdressed. Yesterday, Reagan and I went on "summer vacation". I'm not really sure where we went, but Reagan was already with her shades, cell phone, and camera.
After our "summer vacation", we met our friends Elijah and Addison for lunch at McDonalds.

It was nearly impossible to get their picture, but I did manage to get this one.

Now, I'm getting reprimanded because I'm late for George's (as in Curious George) birthday party. She has about every purse she owns stuffed with toys as his packages. I better get there. I'm being threatened with time-out.

I"m Back!!

2008-06-06T17:08:00.003-04:00

So, I've taken a little hiatus. Things have been crazy!! I'm in the midst of finishing up the school year. We only have Monday and Tuesday left!! Yippee!!! The county I work in is "reconfiguring", which means alot of change and A LOT of packing!! I've moved a couple of times this school year, but within the building. They are currently remodeling our school, which means lots of dust and noise!! My current school is becoming the 3rd-5th grade location. Which means...moving AGAIN for next year but to another elementary school. It's so much fun ( I say dripping with sarcasm). But wait, there's more fun ahead. I'll only be at the next school for one year before they shut down that one and move us yet again to our final destination. (we hope).

Reagan continues to be busy being an almost three-year-old. She loves drawing and writing and playing with her babies. I think she runs an orphanage.

Reagie curled up in her chair with her baby to watch one of the Pens games.

Swim Party

We went to a swim party a few weeks ago. It's all Reagan talked about, until we got there. I think she was a little overwhelmed with the amount of people there, but she got in and ended up having a blast!

She stuck close to Bill at first, then..

she was all on her own (with some help with floaties) in the deep end.

The Bennett's Come for A Visit

Bill's sister and her family came over one night to cheer on the Pens. The girls played very well together the whole night. Reagan was much more motherly to Audrey than ever before. As they both started to become sleepy, I found them both cuddled up in Reagan's bed. Reagan hid as soon as she saw me, but she would be the mound of blankets to the right of Audrey.

PreK Graduation

My preschool graduation was last week. We had a Luau. My mom made the cake and I even made my first attempt at writing on cakes. It didn't turn out so bad! I had a great group of kids this year, and I'm going to miss them! The weekend plan is yardwork, which is so NOT my favorite activity(especially with 90+ degree weather). The weeds, however, are overtaking my plants.

Alien Invasion!!!

2008-05-14T18:58:00.002-04:00

Someone please tell me when the alien invasion took place today! My best guess is somewhere between 3:30 and 3:36 this afternoon. Because, that is when my darling daughter took on a different personality. I mean, that could be the only explanation for the explosive monster that had meltdown after meltdown. It certainly could not just be tired from no nap! ;) I kid you not, put all Reagan's bad days from the past almost three years, and they don't even come close to comparing to this one evening. The last straw led Reagan to bed, where I did the one thing I said I'd never and haven't yet (until tonight) done...let her cry herself to sleep. Granted, it was 2 minutes long but, in mom years, it's hours. Lifetimes, possibly. Let's hope the alien exorcism remedy is sleep. I'm pretty sure Dr. Spock would recommend it, although I'm sure he's not an expert on aliens.

Happy Mother's Day!!

2008-05-11T21:00:00.002-04:00

What more could a mommy ask for on Mother's Day than this sweet girl...
She even included some stickers with the package!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies!!

2008-05-08T17:21:00.002-04:00

Reagan was drawing last night and made a beautiful portrait of me :) She has really been adding detail to everything she draws or writes. You will notice what appears to be four eyes at the top of my head. She explained that the bottom circles are my eyes, but the top set are my eyelids! What kid includes eyelids? Maybe lashes or even brows but Reagan strives to vary from the norm ;) Of course I have some hair sprigs on top because my hair was pulled up. Notice the nose with nostrils, or as Reagan says "you know where you're snot comes from". (I just shake my head). Then, my mouth looks exceptionally full, but it's my "lots of teeth" because I'm smiling. The color marks on the sides are my cheeks and the circles are my ears.
She's also now writing all the straight letters of the alphabet. She just really enjoys writing. She's rarely without pen and paper in hand.

She amazes me.

2008-05-02T19:41:00.002-04:00

A couple of weeks ago was picture day at school for Reagan. We got back the proofs today to review and then we have the option of buying if you like them. I have to admit I was totally expecting Reagan's usual "who the heck do you think you are?" look with the crinkled eyebrows. Instead, I got this picture... I think it turned out great!! There are actually two other poses. One is pretty decent and the other not so smiley, but not scowly either ;) That's a plus!

Since I've been rather neglectful, here's an update of Reagan this week...

They have been learning about Stranger Danger this week at school. This has been her focus today since I picked her up. I asked her what she learned about stranger danger, and she said "Yell, scream really loud, and kick. And it's okay to be loud".

We've been talking birthday talk so we can start planning. She has mentioned both Cinderella and Ariel, which is rather surprising because she has never watched Cinderella and she likes Ariel because she has red hair. Who knows what her birthday party will end up being. I think we need to take a trip to the party store to peruse the aisles.

A Visiting We Go & Some Yardwork

2008-04-21T17:27:00.003-04:00

Saturday we checked out Bill's sister's new house. They officially moved in last week and I hadn't been there to see it yet. Although they're still unpacking the 100+ boxes, the girls managed to find some blocks to build with. Generally, Reagan is not so nice to poor little Audrey. She's typically bossy. This time instead of being the bossy older sister, she took on the role of mothering her. They did some swinging with Reagan being tall enough this year to push them.
Then, as we took the tour of the yard, Reagan held Audrey's hand because "she's just little and she might fall" in her words. Nevermind, Reagan is not the most graceful child herself.
After all the playing and touring, they shared a bowl of grapes.

Sunday, we attempted some yard work. The weather was yucky. Overcast and some sprinkling, but we worked anyway! Here's Reagan and Bill with our new trailer for hauling.

Reagan and I filled it with sticks from the yard while Billy worked on the pond that's been a 4 year work-in-progress. Maybe, it will get finished this year and actually include some fish :)

2008-04-19T17:24:00.002-04:00

A little update on what's been going on...

Reagan had a concert performance for her Daddy and me this week. You can't see all the bling really well, but every finger had a ring and notice the 'beautiful' clip-on earring. Gorgeous!! Yesterday, it was so beautiful (78 degrees), Reagan and I stopped by the park on our way home for a while. She was very upset that the ducks haven't made their way there yet.

Reagan waiting for daddy on the porch once we got home. She decided to blow some bubbles to pass the time.

Bill and I decided to have a date night last night. We went to Generations to watchone of my favorite singers perform. Scott Blazey from The Clarks was there performing solo along with a few other local talents (Poverty Neck Hillbillys anyone?) As we were getting ready to leave, I found Reagan with an altered outfit and a new hairstyle compliments of herself.
The hair was even better in person :)

2008-04-11T20:18:00.002-04:00

I love this shirt and thought I needed to share with you as cute girl strikes a pose.

Yesterday was my birthday. Billy brought home a DQ cake. Yum! My favorite!! He even remembered candles. Unfortunately, he couldn't find a 2 and had to substitute with a 3. Now, people are going to think I'm 31 instead of 21 (LOL). Who could be so old?! Not me.

My sister-in-law Carrie was in the neighborhood for Josh's (my nephew) game. So, she, Josh and Audrey stopped over to help celebrate and chow on DQ cake. By the way, Josh's team won 6-1 and he scored 3 of the goals! Yay Josh!

The girls help blow out the candles.

Here a couple of pictures from last weekend...

It can be dangerous work doing fridge phonics! Don't forget to wear your hard hat!
I found her curled up in her baby dolls' cradle. Of course, she looked like baby Huey. Her legs were dangling over the end.

Also...

Billy got a new job. Today was his last day working for the furniture company. He starts Monday at Lowe's in commercial sales (=working w/ the contractors). We are hoping this means more time at home, dinner as a family, more reliable schedule to make plans, and less money spent on gas.

2008-04-08T20:54:00.002-04:00

Sorry about the hiatus. I promise I will have some pictures soon, but thought I'd at least jot down a few words since I haven't posted in a while.

Reagan's two newest passions...

1) Brad Paisley, which is kind of funny. She even caught the firsts few notes of one of his songs on CMT while Bill was flipping channels, and she yelled "Brad Paiswey!". Bill didn't even catch that it was him. She was calling him "Brad Space-wee" for a while but has since corrected herself.

2) Yoga. She LOVES yoga!! I'll try to sneak in a picture while she's doing it. We have a Mommy and Me yoga dvd and she wants to do it morning and night.

Our sweet little redhaired girl has not been feeling well. Tomorrow I'm going to call the doctors and see what she has to say. So, throw some good karma Reagie's way so makes a speedy recovery from her mystery illness.

More soon, I promise.

2008-03-24T19:23:00.003-04:00

Our Easter was quite a chaotic one. Well, chaotic isn't really the right word, but it makes it seem a bit better. I'll spare you the horrid details and highlight the happy moments.

Saturday Reagan and I colored Easter eggs.

Baby's Day Out! When we headed to the library, Reagan just needed to take her baby with us. Baby's Day Out

Sunday morning

Easter bunny left a special basket at home and....

at Maw-Maw and Pappy's

which included dress-up clothes, jewelry, and shoes!! A girl's dream!

ROCK STAR!!!!

2008-03-17T18:16:00.002-04:00

Here's a little Reagan fix...

Check out this face!! It was actually staged. She was purposefully trying out her grumpy chef look. She was whipping up the most delicious cookies.

Her new favorite activity is dishwashing. Or so she thinks that's what's she doing. I give her a few things to play with in some water. I can only hope this trait keeps up when she's a teenager.

She also loves playing with her dollhouse. Even though the pieces are pretty small, she does great. She worked hard to arrange them for lunch...
She was in the process of gathering the cups and dishes when I took the picture.

Last night, we played school. She was the teacher--Miss Stella. (She got that name from the teacher at her tumbling class last summer. She fell in love with her and still talks about her! )We were having circle time on her little hopscotch carpet. As you can see, she was reading a book to me. She even turned the book around after reading it for me to see like a teacher really would.

In other news, potty wasn't so great at Aunt Carrie's yesterday. Poor Aunt Carrie. However, they continue to be super for us and grandma. If we can only get her to be comfortable telling other people we'll have it made. Let's keep our fingers crossed we are on our road to full potty training this time around!!

FOR UNCLE JIM...

2008-03-14T20:34:00.003-04:00

I have no pictures, because the model is on strike. She more often than not refuses to look at the camera. So, a verbal update will-ahem!-have to do, Uncle Jim.

School is still ok. She was a little whiney this week, but I think she doesn't feel well. Anytime she spends some time somewhere new, enter -sneezing, itchy eyes, and runny nose. It could be a cold, but probably not.

By now you've all heard about Grandpa and Grandma Rose (her pretend g'parents). A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of hearing all about Jake, our new friend. He works at the Highlands.

*Potty update* Most of you have heard about my stressing over the potty regression that has happened over the past several weeks. She gets very upset at daycare too when they take her to the potty or change her. In fact, she starting holding it all day. Which really can't be that good. At home, however, we have our good days and bad. Today was a good day. She's been in undies all day and even told me on the way home tonight she had to go, so we made a pit stop at Sheetz. What did I do before Sheetz?

2008-03-06T20:15:00.002-05:00

Well, we officially have two days of school under our belts and the verdict is....she LOVES it!! No tears. Just 'bye mom' and a kiss. I'm glad she likes it. The teachers told me what a good cleaner she was. I had to laugh. We all know Reagan's future as a Sanitation Engineer. The girl loves order and cleaning. So, things are so far, so good.

Our Visit to "School"

2008-03-04T18:30:00.002-05:00

Reagan went to visit her new "school" today. It's really daycare, but she thinks it's school, so that's what we're calling it! Anything for a smooth transition. I planned on preschool for next year, but she just shows more and more signs that she's ready for it now. She's bored now and craves interaction with "friends". I stayed with her for about 20 minutes while we observed, then I left her to take care of paperwork. She was fine. No tears! Not that that means there will be none tomorrow, which is when she officially starts. She actually cried when I went back to pick her up. She has talked about it all night and has recreated circle time with me over and over. Let's hope tomorrow goes as well!!

A Quiet Weekend

2008-03-02T18:41:00.002-05:00

Reagan and I enjoyed a quiet Saturday. Typically, that's our cleaning day but with our snow days this week, we were ahead of the game. So, we... Made blueberry muffins for Pappy. Cooking is Reagan's all time favorite activity, well, maybe next to writing. The girl loves pens and paper.

Then, we headed to my parent's because...
1) Reagan and my mom were having withdrawal. They hadn't seen each other in *gasp* a week.
2). guess who was in town...

We enjoyed an all too short visit with my brother and sister-in-law. They had plans so we saw them for only a very short time. :-P

Although, Reagan shouldn't really comnplain, because Easter Bunny made an early stop via Uncle Jim and Aunt Laney. The southern Easter Bunny sure does make the northern bunny look bad. You should see all the cool loot! I wonder how I get on his list?....

Brrr...

2008-02-28T15:51:00.003-05:00

With another snow day today, Reagan and I bundled up and hit the slopes. Okay, so maybe more like our slopey backyard. Have I shared my great dislike for cold weather?! I sucked it up though for the thirty minutes we were outside. Then, I had to make her come in before she turned into an ice cube.

She enjoyed me pulling her around the yard. I really wanted to see if we could switch. I would have much rather been the pullee vs. the puller. Does this mean I get out of working on the elliptical tonight for good behavior? not to mention the grueling workout of huffing it up hill hauling thirty pounds.

Here she is making "pawprints" in the snow. She was a lion at the time. Minutes later she transformed and became...

...a penguin. She informed that penguins go down hills on their bellies.

Now, we're back inside getting ready for a rousing game of "Lucky Ducks".

Future Pop Star

2008-02-19T19:07:00.007-05:00

Reagan has really been into singing. The quality of words tends to decrease while eating the microphone, but it's still pretty darn cute. I had two, this one(which is Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star if you can't pick up on it) and "Mary Had A Little Lamb". Since she's the artist, she had last production say-so.

Yesterday, we went to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time. Wouldn't you know it, we forgot the camera!! I took pictures with my cell, but now can't find a data cable to work with my phone. She loved it!! If you haven't been there, they have the toddler version of "Dance Dance Revolution" with spider stomping, which she LOVED! She's already making plans to go back!

A Toddler's Perspective

2008-02-13T20:58:00.002-05:00

Reagie and I were snuggled under our favorite blanket getting ready to watch an episode of one of our fave's "Blues Clues". As some of you may know, several years ago, the show had a transformation of "human" characters that proved to be tramatizing. It went from the original Steve to his "brother" Joe when he went to "college". At the time, I didn't have my own children but worked with toddlers on a daily basis in their homes. I think it was truly more tramatizing to the moms than the kids, b/c that's who I heard the most complaining coming from. Anyway, as Reagan and I got ready to watch and, thanks to re-runs, those tramatized mothers still get to catch a glimpse of Steve, an old episode with Steve came on. Reagan looked up at me and said "Looks like Joe needed a break today. It's Steve's turn". If only we could all be a little more adaptive like our kids.

A Surprise Visitor

2008-02-04T20:02:00.000-05:00

We had a surprise visit this weekend from my brother. We were super excited to see him, especially Reagan.

Reagan and Jim cuddle up for the evening, or so we thought. Jim ended up crashing, but Reagan kept going strong. Surprise, surprise.

So, she and MawMaw made some play dough creations instead.
Reagan's "balloon"

Reagan and her favorite Saturday activity...art!

She's been making drawings of people too. This one is a man with curly hair. Usually, there are legs and arms included from the head. I have to say I am very impressed with her ability to draw people. She includes eyes, ears, nose, mouth and hair, which most of my preschoolers couldn't do that when I started the year with them. She loves to draw and write. She has more notepads and pens than anyone I know.

We Almost Forgot...

2008-01-27T17:52:00.000-05:00

We almost forgot to add the finale from today's sledding...

Reagan warmed up and relaxed with a nice warm, lavender bubble bath.
Then, put on her brand new fleece monkey pajamas. She seems to be quickly outgrowing her other ones. These are one of two new pair. The other pair is fleece duckies.

This has nothing to do with our sledriding adventures, but she seen it and wanted me to add it.

My brother has a new addition to his family. One of his cow's had a baby. We can't wait to see it.

Sledriding Fun

2008-01-27T17:32:00.000-05:00

Since it wasn't too cold today, the three of us headed outside before all of our snow melts tomorrow. Reagan loved sledding!! Reagan sports her snowsuit she picked out for herself this year.

Reagan and Daddy before heading down the hill. I have a very similar picture from last year. She was much smaller looking.

Then, she headed down the hill solo. It's too hard to see her face. It was very happy the whole way down.

Reagan Picasso

2008-01-19T19:49:00.000-05:00

While I cleaned today, Reagan was very busy creating masterpieces. First, there were endless sticker pictures, then she moved on to painting. I am not even kidding, she spent at least 1 1/2 hours painting, and, then, I had to drag her away to eat lunch.

The masterpiece in the works!

Ta-da!! The finished product. She has informed me that it is "a cloud forest".

After all that hard work painting, she took Pooh for a stroll.

2008-01-14T21:18:00.000-05:00

Where do we start?

How about some good news.... I have a job next year!!!! Yay!!

Friday, we visited our friends for a bit. I, of, course, didn't have a camera. The kids got along great, and actually played together (versus beside one another). Reagan really liked playing with Elijah who's 5. When it was time to go, picture Elijah attempting to block the door with his little body, Addison (2) holding my hand not very willing to come with me and Reagan having a bit of a fit because she didn't want to leave. When I finally just grabbed her up and put her in the car, she was grabbing at the car door screaming "let me out of here". She's also informed me that Tracy could be her new mommy.

We fed Baby Alive for the first time. Reagan thought this was great fun. She calls all of her baby dolls her brothers and sisters. I find this kind of funny. I know I always pretended to be the mommy, not the sister. When I point this out to her, she says "I'm not a mommy! I'm a sister". Who knows how her mind thinks. Saturday while playing with her cars, I find her like this....and found it hysterical
because.....

Same basket on my nephew, Isaac's, head at our wedding. Great minds think alike, I guess.

2008-01-02T14:07:00.000-05:00

I've been quite neglectful of posting blogs this past week. So, here are some highlights...

Reagan continues to "read" books to her babies. It's completely amazing to watch her. She is also "reading" the Baby Bear, Baby Bear", which has simple pictures and repetitive lines, but it's a great start for literacy skills.

She been enjoying her dress-up trunk! She got alot of new dress-up clothes for Christmas, including Cinderella shoes. Poor thing, though, her little feet are so thick that she can barely get them in.

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!

We went to my parents' for New Years again this year to spend some extra time with Uncle JIm and Aunt Laney before they headed back home. My dad filled our tummy's with yummy cheese and lots of other goodies. Unfortunetely, my mom spent her New Year's in the hospital. She has been very sick all month. She started to get better then got worse Christmas Day. Now, she's been in the hospital since the weekend, hopefully, being fixed. Not a great way to start out the new year. Please keep her in your thoughts.

Aunt Laney helped Reagan get her fill of Cheesy Puffs.
Jim (my bro), Laney (SIL), and Bill eating the goody spread and playing cards. I lost BIG time!!!

Woops! Apparently, I didn't fix the red-eye in this picture before posting. What a cute girl, but those demon eyes :0

Forgotten Christmas pictures...

Reagan got a new fishing rod from Pap and MawMaw. She and Pap have great plans coming up.

My little baker has some accessories to wear now while cooking/baking.

The highlight of Reagan's Christmas....(besides new books)....

A SCOOTER!! She loves it and caught on rather quick.

Today was supposed to be the first day back to school, but I was blessed with a snow day!!!!!!!!!!! I love snow days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is Billy's birthday, hopefully, he gets home from work in time to enjoy dinner out. Happy Birthday!!!

Christmas Morning

2007-12-28T14:13:00.000-05:00

With just Bill and I home on Christmas morning, Reagan took much quicker unwrapping than anyone would have thought. In fact, she barely even looked at what she opened, she was just ready to move on unwrapping.

Reagan frequently "teaches the kids". She goes to work as a teacher just about everyday. Santa found Fisher Price's Preschool for her this year so she actually has something else to pretend with besides air.

Pap Dorsey stopped by that morning. Reagan got a fairy tent and sleeping bag which she was pretty excited about.

ART!! LOTS OF ART STUFF!!

Allie thoroughly enjoyed her Christmas present and even let us open up our gifts without being obnoxious (meaning trying to sit on our laps as we opened presents as well as sneaking bites of wrapping paper, which we envisioned happening...hence, the bone.)

We had a super Christmas this year. In leui of exchanging presents, Billy and I bought a TV. a 50" DLP, which is nothing short of awesome!!!

Stay tuned for Christmas afternoon with Pappy and MawMaw and Aunt Carrie's house the day after...

Holiday Parties 2 & 3

2007-12-24T13:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we were off to the next two christmas parties.

Check out this pouty face...

First stop was Christmas with my other Grandma and my dad's side of hte family. She had dinner catered this year by Diane's Catering. It's a local woman that does catering out of her house. She has AWESOME food. She's catered some school luncheon's too and my belly is always very satisfied. Reagan and MawMaw Izzy. She got Reagan a Rescue Pack with card games in it and a stroller and new baby.

Reagan, Bailee, and Lani decide to get in some holiday coloring.

Next stop was the Trent's...Bill's family.
Reagan still hasn't gotten in to the whole tearing open presents. She is just pained by the whole messy process. She instead has to, first, make sure no one is watching and then gently tear small piece by small piece. She looks all around for some trash receptical or hands it to me. Hopefully, Christmas morning doesn't take three days because, thinking it would be fun, Santa wrapped EVERYTHING, and individually.

While all the other kids tore into their presents, here's Reagan's gentle unwrapping approach. We don't have OCD or anything ;)

Reagan held the newest addition to the Trent clan...Ricky. He's 3-months-old.

Here are the other set of girls...Audrey, Aubree, and Reagan. How confusing can that get?!
The Bennett boys decide they could join for a group pic. My nephew Josh is on the left and nephew Isaac is next to Reagan holding baby Ricky (reluctantly).

Also, I met my SIL Carrie's new friends, Tiffany and Abby, who joined us. They recently moved to the area, and know no one. Carrie befriended them. Tiffany is our age and seems really nice. She is deaf, so, boy, let me tell you how much I need to brush up on my signs!! I haven't really used them much, so I can sign on a toddler and preschool level. But, she's super helpful with reminding or teaching new signs.

We haven't established a Christmas Eve tradition yet. When i was little, we always went to my Grandma's. She has it early now (that's the one we went to yesterday). So, this year anyway, we are having MawMaw and Pappy up to eat and probably take Reagan to see the lights.

Stay tuned for Christmas morning. Maybe we should start early :)

Guess Who Came to Town...

2007-12-23T09:07:00.000-05:00

UNCLE JIM!!!

Jim wasn't here for his bday, so Reagan helped him open his gift not long after he got to the house.

We celebrated Christmas with one of my grandma's last night. Reagan did the typical stay at her table until it was over than ran around like a crazy girl.

Pappy helps Reagan open the first gift of the season. Good thing there are a few warm up parties before the big morning. She opened at a snail's pace.

She got Sarah Lynn's camping adventure. from my grandma. She loved it!!

Coloring with Uncle Al.

Tonight is my other grandma's christmas plus Billy's side of the family. We'll see how social she is tonight.

HO HO HO

2007-12-17T22:02:00.000-05:00

We attempted to take Reagan to see Santa tonight. Reagan took her usual no-nonsense, this-is-serious-stuff approach. She wouldn't even crack a smile. This Santa was even a nice one, unlike some of the Santa's you come across in a shopping mall. The quality of the picture isn't that great. Apparently, the setting was screwed up on the photographer's
computer. They offered to take her picture again once they fixed it, but we were pushing it just sitting there once. They even said we didn't have to buy the picture if we didn't want it. It's my Reagan though, and I wouldn't have expected much smiling and laughing anyway. It is progress from last Christmas. She "cried" last year at Breakfast with Santa in Reagan's own I-refuse-to-cry-in-front-of-people-so-I'll-just- pucker-my-lip-and-lose-it-once-it's-all-over way. Everything is so dramatic and serious with her. So, here it is the 2007 Santa picture...

2007-12-11T19:38:00.000-05:00

Ok, yes, I have been neglecting those of you who check in regularly to see pictures of Reagan. I've been told about this from several of you.

Bill FINALLY got his Jeep back tonight. Yay!!! It's been torture trying to figure out rides to/from work and not being able to just pick up and go. Thank goodness for my mom and dad who have been my chauffeur most days.

Saturday, while we were trapped in West Liberty, Reagan and I put up the tree. Yea, I know, we're slow. Wow, was she a "help". When I came up short several pieces from the tree, I discovered Reagan had shoved them in the tree just wherever along the bottom. They, of course, blended in and I didn't know until she showed me, and wa-la the missing pieces.

Isn't this how everyone dresses to decorate the tree? :)

She loved to put on the decorations. I tried to do this in an organized fashion. Meaning, let mommy hand you non-fragile items to put on. That didn't work out so well. She was way too quick. Toddlers have octopus arms.

Last night we attempted to take pictures for greeting cards. We did some in front of the tree and some in front of the fireplace. Again, that was a no-go. She made silly faces, jumped around, or just chose not to smile. This is one of the not so bad pictures, but just not card material.

And I swear, the image you are about to see, is not what it appears...

As I was cleaning up the kitchen, I heard Reagan giggling hysterically. She and Allie had been playing in the front room. When I checked on them, Reagan had closed herself in Allie's crate with Allie and they were playing. I took her out once, and she put herself back in there two more times. They have been come very good buds, but they are both very moody girls, so it depends on the day as to what their relationship status is like.

Recently, Reagan is in to being a "cheerleader". I'm not even sure where she learned of this, but it's her new favorite activity. She took ribbons from my wrapping paper tote and is using them for pom-poms. I have pom-poms I need to dig out of my school box to give her, so she no longer needs to use the ribbons.

A few of the elementary schools in the district where I work are closing and we are doing a reconfiguration. We will have one school pre-k through 2nd and another will be 3rd through 5th. 6th grade is moving to the junior high. This means a great deal of us are, what the county is calling, "displaced". Does that not even sound bad? Anyway, to us it means we do not have a job to go to next year. They are posting all of the available positions in the new elementary schools and we have to go bid, or apply, for our jobs back and whatever other jobs we are qualified for in hopes we got something. Today, they put the jobs up and I went to bid on my job back. Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best!

SNOW DAY!!

2007-12-05T16:36:00.000-05:00

It's the first snow day of the school year, and we decided to make cookies.We chose to make snickerdoodles, yoummy! Mix it up!
Roll it!
Sample some dough!

We were going to go outside to play in the snow, but what a day! Billy wrecked his Jeep on the way to work this morning. He's okay! But, the Jeep had some underneath damage. After the tow truck, pulled him out of the ditch, he had to take it to a garage. So, we spent most of the day making plans. Like, how do we pick up daddy? And, now how do we get all of us to work while it's being worked on? The saga never ends. Anyway, I'm sure there will be plenty of time to play in the snow another day. We have a good 7 inches outside our house now. So much for the forecasted 1-3"

HELP! SUGGESTIONS NEEDED!!!!

2007-12-04T19:52:00.000-05:00

The sleeping thing has not gotten any better with Reagan. And I'm desperate for sleep! This weekend wasn't so bad because we were running around all weekend, so she fell asleep in the car. Short of spending the next three years driving her around, what else can I do?
I certainly don't want to begin any "accidental parenting" at this age. Bedtime has always been way too easy, well not always, but after she hit about 8 months old and the reflux was much better.

Last night she cried nonstop. In fact, she even threw up from crying. She has decided I should sleep with her in bed. I don't think so! I don't even like sharing a bed with my husband. With her little arms wrapped tightly around me, she said "But you are my best friend and I love you". What did I do, but crawl in bed with her. I snuck back to my bed eventually. This is not a habit I want to start.

Why, oh why, can't we locate blankie?! Maybe I should go on the news for a public plea. I could pass around fliers with blankies picture. Something...

2007-12-03T18:18:00.000-05:00

Is this girl cute or what?!My SIL Carrie made Reagan this hat last year. (Audrey has a matching one). It still fits this year and she wore it around the house most of Saturday morning. According to her, "My hair is all messed up. That why I need a hat". Boy, what a vision of college days that brought.

Yesterday, while I worked I worked in Weirton, Bill and Reagan headed over to my friend Erica's to restuff her couch. Erica was kind enough to watch Reagan until I showed up later.

James (20 months), Sabrina (5yrs) and Reagan. Reagan and James were quite the pair. They actually played pretty well together, but boy, what a duo. There was a lot of squealing toddler talk in that house!

The kids decided to make a castle out of the old foam.

Here are the dynamic duo again, drawing on the chalkboard together.
Right before we left, Reagan requested Erica read her a story on the newly stuffed couch. She, apparently, made herself very much at home yesterday.

I think Reagan has finally outgrown the shy stage. It still depends on her mood, but I think the Dorsey genes are taking over. Which, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad. For those who don't know my lovable in-laws and husband, they have the gift of gab and have not a shy bone in their bodies. I, on the other hand, spent most of my life, super shy. Hard to believe, I know.

2007-11-30T19:50:00.000-05:00

We have turned up no leads on blankie. Reagan and I took a trip to the HIghlands the next day to, again, walk up and down the aisles and drive around the parking lot. Still no sign. We then made a shopping adventure for looking for a new blankie. She "test-drove" every blankie Walmart and Target had to offer. They were either "too fick (thick)" or "too soft" (at what point could something ever be too soft??!!)
The first night without blankie we were up until 4 ish, which meant we ended up with roughly 1 1/2 hrs. of sleep since I had to work the next morning **UGH*
It hasn't been that bad since, but bedtime is VERY rough. She was always so easy to put to bed. I do feel so bad for her though.
However, the bright side to it, she hasn't sucked her thumb since the day we lost blankie. Hopefully, things will turn around soon.
Since I've been very negligent about pictures (as I've been told), here are a couple...

Ms. Reagan-Potato Head

Sporting Daddy's colors

2007-11-27T20:15:00.000-05:00

A sad tragedy has struck the Dorsey clan. Tonight, we lost blankie. For those who don't know, Reagan has had "blankie" since she was just a couple of months old. Being a thumbsucker since only hours old, it was inevitable that a blankie would grace our family. "The Blankie" is a small security blanket, that despite washing after washing, has a dirty gray appearance from lots of lovin'. Tonight, we did a few errands after work. We only made two stops, but what a life altering two stops it was. We discovered that blankie was missing when I was buckling her in her carseat in the Walmart parking lot. So, in we trekked. First stop...Customer Service...No blankie. We retraced our steps through aisles...no blankie. Back in the car and headed over to stop number 1...Customer Service...no blankie...retrace steps...no blankie. It is now 45 minutes past Reagan's bedtime and she's still awake, waiting for blankie to magically appear.

As for Billy's recovery...
He is doing better. Slowly but surely. He is still on a liquid diet. Yesterday was his post-op check up. Doc says he's healing and things are looking good. Although, he has thrush and now has a nasty gargle stuff to use. He'll be off work this week again to heal a little more.

2007-11-19T17:29:00.000-05:00

We've been a bit busy around here lately. Bill had surgery on Friday to fix some problems in his nose and throat. So, Reagan had been spending a lot of time at MawMaw's house while Mommy was with Daddy at the hospital. He's home now and doing pretty well. Although, he's on a liquid diet because it hurts too bad to swallow.

Reagan was being very quiet this evening and when I checked on her, she was sitting on my old school desk reading a pile of books. She is very in to using the illustrations to read books aloud. Then, she decided we should play "library", which consisted of her lining up several books and me picking one to "check out". She was the librarian, and I must say much friendlier than any of the librarians I've come in to contact with.

2007-11-13T19:40:00.000-05:00

Here are a few recent pictures that I haven't posted.

We met Bill's sister, Carrie, and her family for some Japenese.

Reagan and Audrey -- it's next to impossible for me to get these girls' picture.
Reagan tried out chopsticks for the first time. Typically, I just give her a fork, but the waitress fixed some chopsticks up for her.
She was awesome!

This was how I was greeted Monday morning after I got out of the shower...

fancy, huh?

Tonight, as soon as we got home from school, Reagan went straight to her bedroom. When I looked in, she had her babies laid out on the floor reading to them. She is really in to "reading" books by describing the pictures on the page.

My Very Own Girls' Day Out

2007-11-11T15:36:00.000-05:00

Typcially, a Girls' Day is Reagan and I. However, this weekend Reagan spent the night at MawMaw's and I went to Amish Country with a couple of friends. It was almost like the "good ol' days", you know, before husbands and children came into the picture. We were able to gossip and spend money. I had a super time. Now, it's time to go pick up my sweet little girl and shower her with lots of kisses...

The Case of the Missing Money

2007-11-06T21:20:00.000-05:00

We had a bit of a scare yesterday. On the way home from work, I hear some choking sounds coming from the backseat. I turn to look, and there's Reagan with pure terror in her eyes clutching her throat. I pull over to run around to her. Just as I got to her and started undoing her seatbelt, she put her hands in her mouth and gagged herself. (which of course means projectile vomiting everywhere including in to my cupped hands). She has never been sick up to this point and was very disgusted by the whole thing, which I think is why the vomiting continued for a few more rounds. Anyway, after all this, I discover she had been choking on nickels!! She apparently had gotten nickels out of the door handle of the car and put them in her mouth (which she rarely does). Thankfully, she's okay,but it scared both of us. She tells me she "swallowed three monies". I found two, but if there is/was a third, we are now checking at bathroom time. Looking back, it was something out of a Lifetime Movie. It was pouring rain on country roads, Reagan's not breathing (seconds sure can feel like an eternity), no cell phone coverage...
A movie I hope is never a repeat!!

Part III: FINALLY!!

2007-11-06T20:32:00.000-05:00

The long awaited finale of the weekend to my brother's.

Uncle Jimmy had a farm, EIEIO. And on that farm he had some...

Chickens!...

Feeding the chickens was probably Reagan's favorite animal-involved activity. Perhaps she felt less threatened by the chickens than the other monsterous animals. She gets so excited to see the animals, but when it comes time to touch them, forget it! Jim has a slew of chickens and a few roosters. His eggs are organic. The chickens are free-range, vegetarian fed.

And Cows!...

Reagan feeds a cow with some encouragement . Jimmy has four "pet" cows. (aka- not dinner)

a dog!...

Cooter the lovable bloodhound. He's really a horse in person.

The bull ! He will be the daddy for all future little cows on the farm. This year Jim has two cows for butchering. It will be organic pure-Angus meat. He also gives the cows extra minerals.

And pigs!...
One of four pigs. They are HUGE!! Not to mention very smelly!

This is a local farm near Jim's called
"Top of the World"

because...
it just looks out to mountain upon mountain and valleys.

Jim and Reagan playing peek-a-boo around a tree.

Jim's farm is AWESOME! He takes super good care of his animals. We're always happy to visit him.

Halloween Fun

2007-11-02T18:14:00.000-04:00

Reagan enjoyed trick-or-treating at MawMaw and Pappy's this year. I took her to some houses just on my mom and dad's street. It was enough for her. She had fun. Although, ticked at a few people because they called her a princess and not a fairy. geez, people! :)

After trick-or-treating, Reagan helped Pappy pass out candy.

Part II: New River Gorge

2007-10-30T20:54:00.000-04:00

This is the New River Gorge. It's amazing! We were able to drive down a kinda windy, one lane road to the bottom and then back up again. There are tons of waterfalls and trails for hiking down at the bottom. This shot doesn't even begin to draw an accurate picture of how far the distance is between the bottom and the bridge. And to think people actually jump off this thing every year. CRAZY!!
This is taken from the top of the bridge. That is actually showing where the above picture was taken from.

Reagan strikes a cheezy pose.

Stay tuned tomorrow for some farm fun.

Girl's Weekend: Part I

2007-10-30T20:35:00.000-04:00

Since we have a good many pictures, here's a breakdown of our stay with Jim and Laney.

This is the Grist Mill at Babcock State Park. This is the famous Mill you typically see in the art pictures during fall and winter. On the day we were there, it was working. There was a guy inside feeding the machine to make cornmeal. It was actually neat to watch the whole thing.

Reagan & me strike a pose by one of the waterfalls.

Reagan actually more enjoyed the falls further down stream. She threw in leaves to watch them be swept up and take a 90 degree plunge straight down.

This slide was super tall. Jim almost had heart failure letting Reagan climb up and go down, so he climbed up with her. I have to admit, my heart fluttered a bit too. Let's face it, my little girl is not the most coordinated soul.

An old-school teeter-totter.

Reagan decided it was her turn to push Uncle Jim, so they switched.

Stay tuned for Part II: New River Gorge

Halloween Cookies

2007-10-30T20:20:00.000-04:00

Reagan and I made some Halloween cookies tonight. I've been promising, and as always, I waited until the last minute. Which also means, we didn't finish, but got enough done to satisfy her. Reagan absolutely loves to bake.

She helps measure ingredients
She had her very own dough to roll and cut out. She calls the rolling pin a roller coaster (?)
Her very own little knife to spread icing.
Yum! Taste-testing. Our favorite part.

Happy Halloween!!

28-month check up

2007-10-29T21:36:00.000-04:00

For some reason, pictures are not uploading tonight, so I promise to try again tomorrow. We have lots of pictures from my brother's. We had a great time!

Today, Reagan went to the drs. for some shots and a little check-up. Daddy took her since I had to work. She has grown so much! It took over a year for Reagan to finally make the growth charts and now she's at the 50% percentile!! She weighed in at 29 lbs. (!) and 34 in. She is above and beyond her age when it came time for her developmental screening. She's really like a little adult. Well, more like teenager. The moods, the head-strong personality, the non-stop gabbing...My brother's mother-in-law actually asked me if Reagan ever stopped talking. No!, she doesn't.

Let's hope the pictures will work tomorrow.

And We're Off!

2007-10-25T22:09:00.000-04:00

Reagan and I are about to embark on a weekend girl's adventure. The two of us are leaving tomorrow when I finish up work to head to my brother's for the weekend. It's a much needed getaway! I'm sure there will be tons of pretty pictures to post. My brother lives outside of Summersville, WV, in Mt. Nebo. The trees are gorgeous this time of year down there. For those of you who do not know, my brother has a farm. He has cows, chickens, roosters, pigs, a Bloundhound, and a barn cat. Reagan loves to talk about the animals, but when it comes time to touch them or get remotely close, she flips. So, we'll see.

And another thing...
Can I just vent for minute? Of course I can, this is my blog! Recently, my profession has been under attack at my county of employment. I am not a person who expresses her opinion often, or loudly, and typically avoid confrontation at all cost (unless your my mom or husband :) ). However, the first time, was the beginning of the week by a fellow teacher complaining about three-year-old's being in the public school system. She had said just enough, and caught me at just the wrong minute, to really tick me off. I let her know it and we got in a very heated "discussion" during lunch. One of the comments made, was that I was not a "public school teacher" because I do not have an elementary school certification. No, I may not, but I still have certification for the public schools, just in a different area (preschool handicap). Needless to say, she has not made it back in the lunchroom the rest of the week. I think I scared her. I am quite ferocious you know!

The second time was today by the great spec. ed. director, who shall remain nameless. Now, I'm a firm believer everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, but sometimes, why can't you just keep it to yourself? He went on a little rant about birth to three and univeral preschools in WV. He pretty much thinks both programs are a waste of time and money. This time, I did have the sense to keep my mouth shut. Afterall, he is my boss and I do need healthcare :) Not to mention my summer's off. lol

This is probably one of my personal soapboxes. I do not have strong opinions about much and tend to go with whatever, but my job(s) is one thing I feel very passionate about. I take great pride in what I do. I think that people who do not believe in the programs have not personally experienced that "warm fuzzy" feeling (for lack of better wording).... Helping a family adapt to life with a profoundly impaired infant; seeing babies take their first steps, speak or sign their first words; teaching a 4-yr.old the letters of the alphabet when they couldn't even recognize their name in print when you first met them... all of this and much, much more, and knowing somehow, you had a small part in helping them achieve it.