reganne turns two

Reganne turned two on Tuesday October 28th. Yippee! She was pretty excited about it. Since Marryn just had her birthday, Reganne kinda knew what was going on and ever since Marryn's birthday, every commercial for a toy was "Mom, can I get that for my next birthday?" and it wasn't long before Reganne was piping up "For my birthday?" (although birthday sounded more like "earthday").

Talking to Grandma Jean (in Christian's swing)

And can we say Dora? Dora Dora Dora the Explorer. Yes, that was the theme of the day. I am not real big on Dora, but I am trying not to put aside my daughter's likes for mine, so for the day I embraced the cartoon figure. Dora balloons, Dora plates, Dora wrapping paper and yes, Dora themed presents. (You know, toothbrush, band aids, underwear, puzzles, books...)

And her "big present", a dress up My Little Pony set. One from us and one from Grandma Georgia and Papa. Grandma Jean got her a Dora game set and Pj's (the one she's smelling...?) and Grandpa Dave sent good old cash for her savings. Marryn's special present was a Pony and Christian's was a pair of Sketchers. No picture for him though, he was sleeping after a fun filled dinner at Red Robin.

And just before her bedtime, I finally finished her cake. I made, from scratch, a carrot cake with homemade cream cheese frosting. That part turned out great. The fondant part didn't. Half the colors in the package I bought were as hard as a rock so instead of bright "Dora" colors, I ended up with pink and purple...more like "Princess" colors. And I was in such a hurry to finish it, that it wasn't real smooth.... Reganne didn't care though. She devoured the frosting part. Her and Marryn both, leaving the cake behind....

And finally, her 2 year checkup. 80th for length (35 inch) and 45th for weight (26 lb, 12 oz). Pretty much what her percentiles have been in the past. I just hope they continue that way, tall and thin....

some halloween humor

chicks dig me

grandpa dave

Grandpa Dave [Joey's Dad] finally made it out, from Sheridan Wyoming, to see his new grandson.

Christian's shirt says "My Grandpa Rides a Harley" (and he does!)

Although he got to spend some time holding Christian, most his time was taken up by the girls. They sure love their grandpa! They colored, played with water balloons (it was actually in the 70s this past weekend), read books, reread books... Reganne had come down with another cold just days before; Christian caught it too. So the weekend was also full of runny noses and coughs. As for Joey and I, well, we ate really well, had a fun trip to Cosco and Joey had a great excuse to watch football all weekend long. The sad part was Monday morning when Reganne woke up. Dave had already left, but she went right to his room, "Grandpa?"

it's puzzle time

Reganne pulled out some 12 piece wooden puzzles we have the other day. She needed a little help at first but then was soon on her way to doing them herself.

I do want to point one thing out...

See the ages on it, 3+. Reganne will just be turning 2 in a couple weeks.
No, I don't think she's a child prodigy or anything, for Marryn did these puzzles about the same time. No, I just think that you should challenge your kids, in whatever way, you never know what they might be able to do. Marryn can put together 100 piece puzzles, the 5+ ones, and she just turned 4.

motorcycles and bottles

Marryn is such a girly-girl, all things Princess and dress-up and dancing. But every once in awhile, she surprises us...

She's racing her motorcycles, the first three are Sonic toys (the only toys I have ever kept -or probably will keep- from a wacky pak meal) and the forth is a Harley-Davidson toy her grandpa gave her. She'd line them up and then one by one would "race" them across the floor into the kitchen. The winner, anyone who finished. She would have to throw a little girl into the mix though, and do a little dance at the end. In the last picture she was asking me to "quick taking pictures so [she could] just race."

The other night, Christian was constantly wanting to nurse and getting frustrated that well, after a few hours, wasn't getting anything. So I thought it might be a good time to introduce a bottle, for "just in case" times. I defrosted some milk and had Joey do the honors. He did not like it one bit. After a couple tries, he just started to cry. I even tried the next day. It was a no go. Oh well.

man rules

The other day I called up Joey (yes, I called him up, while he was at work, working...), complaining that I just can't find the right crib bedding for Christian. I know what I want, but it just doesn't exist. (My life is just so rough.) I'm going on and on and finally he stops me, "Why don't you go blog about this. Or call Kim." Not long later, I got a forwarded email from him, containing 'The Man Rules.'

And no, he did not write these. Although he might as well have.

The Man Rules

Finally , the guys' side of the story.
( I must admit, it's pretty good.)
We always hear 'the rules'
From the female side.
Now here are the rules from the male side.

Please note.. These are all numbered '1'
ON PURPOSE!

1. Men are NOT mind readers.

1. Learn to work the toilet seat.
You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down.
We need it up, you need it down.
You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports. It's like the full moon
Or the changing of the tides.
Let it be.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want.
Let us be clear on this one:
Subtle hints do not work!
Strong hints do not work!
Obvious hints do not work!
Just say it!

1. 'Yes' and 'No' are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it.
That's what we do.
Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument.
In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are.
Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one .

1. You can either ask us to do something
Or tell us how you want it done.
Not both.
If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings.
Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color.
Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched.
We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say 'nothing,' we will act like nothing's wrong
We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to,
Expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere,
absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really .

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball
Or golf.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

1. Thank you for reading this.
Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight;

But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

I was dying laughing. THIS IS JOEY! (Except the camping part; he wouldn't mind sleeping on the couch, but does not enjoy camping....) And for the record. I was not offended when he asked me to go somewhere else with my trivial problem. I complain to him all the time about stuff that really doesn't matter. He's heard (as I'm guessing you have too Kim) me complain about my carpet so many times that he automatically tunes me out. I think he finally feels that the time I spend blogging is actually worthwhile (and my phone conversations to Kim)!

a deal with myself

I hesitate to put this on the blog, you know, it's an 'I'm embarrassed to admit it but even more embarrassed if I fail' kind of thing.

Well, I joined a gym.

No, that's not the embarrassing part.... It's just a small workout place in a strip mall about 5 minutes from our house. Ten bucks a month. And, I signed up with a personal trainer (that was a little extra...). I see her twice a week for half an hour. And so far that's all I've done (see the trainer twice a week, although I am super sore from yesterday's lunge and squat workout). But, I am happy to admit that I have lost 5 pounds these past 3 weeks. I know that I need not only more time at the gym, or doing any type of strenuous workout, but that I also have got to change my eating habits.

I LOVE FOOD. I LOVE TO EAT.

This is a challenge for me.

For some odd reason, after having Reganne, I dropped all 45 pounds AND some fairly quickly. And all without any exercise. But this go round has been a little tougher on me. I lost the initial 25 pounds (of the 50 gained, just like I mentioned in my labor story) and thought that the rest of the weight, although slowly, would just come off. Well no. I just now (after this recent weight loss) have been able to pack away the maternity clothes in exchange for my "big" clothes (and I just barely fit in them). And these are clothes I wore weeks after having Reganne (Christian is now 11 weeks-almost 3 months). But every time I see those peanut butter M&Ms or those double stuffed Oreos, all thoughts of eating better and loosing weight go out the window (and I studied nutrition?!?). So I have made a deal with myself. Many people reward themselves with, well, food (not such a great idea) or by buying themselves stuff (don't really have the money for a spending spree). So I came up with my reward. When I lose 10 more pounds, I'll get my hair cut. My hair has been bugging me lately. Seems as soon as it's long enough to be pulled back, it doesn't look good down, so I am ALWAYS pulling it back, which doesn't look good either. So this is something I really REALLY want and it's not going to cost anything (well it is, it's just not going to cost anything extra, I'd have to cut my hair sometime anyhow). I'll have to come up with another incentive for the last 10 pounds. Maybe then, just the thought of unpacking the rest of my clothes will do it....

But so far it's working, and things are going better. I was able to walk past the Halloween Oreos yesterday and get just the peanut butter M&Ms. (I can't completely deprive myself, otherwise I just loose it.)

So if you see pictures of me with longer hair (ie, hair pulled back) in the upcoming months, you'll know that I'm not doing so well.

And I guess now this blog entry is another incentive to put away the brownie mix....