Funny Kid Stories...

Yesterday I decided it was time to venture down into the basement and start going through all of Reagan's old baby clothes and toys- to get ready for baby Cara. We had four huge boxes to go through and seperate. Reagan "helped" or rather bothered :) but she had a blast doing so. I would hold up an outfit and say- "Oh Reagan, this outfit is nice, remember it?" Of course she didn't but she said, "Oh! It's just so cute!" She had to try on all of the infant socks- as much of the sock she could get halfway on her foot. She ended up taking her nap wearing one pink and one white baby sock! By the time we were through, we were both wearing stretchy baby head bands too! They were the ones Morgen sent Reagan when she was first born. Later that day I went through our avent bottles and Reagan had to have her after-nap milk in a bottle! It is going to be interesting when the baby gets here! Reagan is going to have to do everything the baby does!

I have a cousin who has a 3 yr. old and a 5 yr. old. Her 3 yr. old wanted to say the blessing at the dinner table the other evening. So, when she prayed she asked God to help her Dad because he was not perfect. After the prayer, the dad said to his little girl, "Well, I am perfect to you!" Then the 5 yr. old son piped up and said, "No, your not Daddy!" "You cough, sneeze, burp, poo-poo in the potty and you have a big butt!" I thought that was so funny! Kid's really do say some funny things!!!

Well, Reagan is officially potty-trained! Finally!!!! But, she still has a few issues with doing #2. She isn't really thrilled when it's time to do the deed. She covers her eyes. Sometimes she'll wait a day or two to go. Yesterday I knew she needed to go. She kept telling me that her belly hurt. So, I told her if she poo-pooed in the potty I would give her some M&M's. Well, that worked! After she went she said, "Whoa! That was a big Poop!" :)

A little undate on us... Things are going well. I am in my 26th week of my pregnancy! At my next appt. I have to do a glucose screening test. Yipee :( My belly is getting bigger and it is getting more difficult to sleep. And I still have a ways to go! Oh well.. Reagan says Mommy has a BIG belly and gets excited whenever she can touch it. But, things are good. Austin is staying busy with work and I am getting busy trying to get the nursery ready.

Our visit with the Phillips

Here are some pics of our visit with Austin's parents Tim and Charmaine and his brother Mark. While they were here, Mark and Tim helped Austin put together Reagan's new play fort. It turned out to be quite a job! It was very hot outside the day they put it together so they were all tired that evening. Reagan is thrilled with her new play set and we spend a lot ot time outside now on the swings- her favorite! Everyday I push her on the swings for about 30 minutes and then we go and check on the garden and pick ripe tomatoes and green beans. Our tomato plant is producing so many tomatoes all at once- I've had to give some away! It has been a very dry summer this year, but we finally got some rain on Friday. Minnie is afraid of thunderstorms! She starts shaking and panting and stays right under my feet!

We had so much fun with Austin's family and wish we could see them more often! We are looking forward to their visit in November when they will come out to meet our newest addition- Cara Grace!!

The Belly

Here is a pic of my belly around 20 weeks. I think it has gotten a little bigger since this picture was taken. I am officially six months pregnant now. The time is going by rather quickly. We still have so much to do to fix up the nursery. It's different with you second- it seems like with Reagan we had so much more accomplished by this time. But, since we're having girl #2, we won't need to buy a whole lot. I've saved most of Reagan's clothes and toys. I am still feeling good, although I get tired pretty easy. I guess it's b/c I'm keeping up with a three year old as well!

Austin's parents were able to come out and visit over the 4th. We had a really fun time. Reagan enjoyed seeing Grandma and Grandpa. We will see them again soon- in November, after the baby's born. I have lots of pics of there visit. I will post them soon.

Mommy, Eat Your Corn!

Reagan is a major corn lover! Especially corn on the cob. She likes to eat it on the cob and gets upset when you cut it off for her. I've learned my lesson with that! :) The other night I decided to buy some fresh corn on the cob at the grocery store and cooked it up for dinner. Well, Reagan only ate her corn, nothing else on her plate. But, she ate the whole ear- it was pretty large. And she wanted me to eat my corn at the same time as her. It was cute- she'd say, "Mommy, eat your corn!" When I started to eat something else on my plate. I had to make a trip to the bathroom being as the baby feels like she's sitting right on my bladder at all times!! Reagan said, "Where are you going Mommy? Sit down and eat your corn!" It was a fun dinner night, one to remember!

Last Saturday night we had a nice summer vegetable dinner- homegrown from our garden! Yummy! We picked enough green beans to make a big pot full and we had tomatoes. Garden tomatoes are SO much better than store bought! It was great! Our tomato plants are huge and loaded down with tomatoes. We will have a ton in a couple of weeks. I love gardening! Next year, we've decided to buy a tiller and have a big garden. I am dreaming of home grown cucumbers, corn, lettuce, squash, watermelon..... we'll what can I say, I'm loving food right now! I'm pregnant- it's goes with the territory! Reagan loves to help in the garden as well. She would make such a cute little farm girl!

Reagan's 3rd B-Day!

Reagan and Austin- the two cake lovers of the family! I don't know which one enjoys it more!



We got Reagan a Madagascar birthday cake. It was really neat! She especially liked the animal figurines and palm trees on the cake. She is still playing with the animals. She is such an animal lover! Her cousin Katie offered to lick all the icing off the figurines. - and she had fun doing it! Thanks Katie! :) Reagan enjoyed blowing out her candles. She is really into the "Happy Birthday" song since her birthday. We were out to eat the other day and it was someone's b-day and the waiters sang the song and Reagan was thrilled! I often catch her singing it around the house too. So cute!

Beach Pics

My 20 Week Ultrasound

Well, this morning I went for my ultrasound. Reagan and Austin were able to join me. I was lying down on the table while the ultrasound tech was doing her work and Reagan asked Austin, "Is Mommy sick?" I don't think she knew what to think of all of it. I saw her covering her eyes a few times... Everything looked good and normal on the ultrasound. All the baby's organs look good and it's size is just plain normal. Which my doctor said is very good. And, I've only gained 3lbs. since my last visit! That puts me at 11lbs. total.

And---- it's a GIRL!!! Another girl! I kind of had a feeling the baby was a girl, but I wasn't quite sure. I don't think Austin is too disappointed, or he's hiding it really well. He said, "Well, we can always adopt!" I told him one thing at a time mister! While I am thrilled to be having another girl, I am a little sad that we won't be having a boy of our own. - I am finished after this pregnancy! So, Reagan and I went out today and celebrated. We went to lunch and a movie. I told Reagan she was going to have a baby sister and she said, "Yeah!"

So, we should have enough baby clothes for the second round. I saved just about everything of Reagan's. (That was worth saving.) I want to decorate the baby's room in pink and white. Reagan's room is done in green and purple. As far as names go, we're still thinking. We like the name Cara Grace but that is not set in stone yet. So, today was a fun and eventful day. It's so good to know, now I can start planning and decorating!

Summer Fun!!

We just got back from our beach trip! It was a lot of fun and the weather was wonderful! I will post pics of our trip sometime this week. Oh, and we got a new digital camera finally! It's a Nikon and very easy to use. So, I had a blast taking lots of pics at the beach! Reagan was of course a little timid of the ocean at first but was wading right in up to her knees by the time we left! She always gets used to things as it's time to go...:) She also enjoyed building sand castles and splashing in the little water pools that are left behind after the tide receedes. She would splash in them and whisper, "Oh Wow!" Next to our hotel was a mini water park with slides and a lazy river. Reagan liked the lazy river very much but I had to force her down the water slide. But, once she went, she loved it! We made some good memories on this trip! We went with my parents and my sister and her family. So, Reagan got plenty of hang time with her cousins Katie and Kendal. Katie is like a little mama herself so she helped me out quite a bit! Reagan always takes the best naps at the beach b/c she plays so hard- or maybe it's the salty ocean air. Who knows, but I enjoyed the down time.

We also celebrated her third birthday at the beach. This year we got her a Madagascar cake. It was really cool. I have a picture of it that I'll post later. Nobody wanted to eat the far side of the cake b/c it was so thick with the "ocean" icing. But, Reagan was thrilled. She gets VER Y excited about cake. It think it's her most favorite thing in the world. We went to Cold Stone Creamery one night while we were there and Reagan said she wanted the "pinx" icecream with sprinkles. She only ended up eating two bites. Good thing it cost only $1.50. She is not much of an icecream fan.

I did not feel very beach pretty this year. I had no tan whatsoever and a preggo belly. Oh well, there's always next year. We get to find out what the baby is this Thursday! Yipeee! I honestly have no idea what it is. I thought Reagan was a boy before her ultrasound, so I'm not guessing this year. We will be happy with either! I think Austin really wants a boy, so hopefully so. So, then we'll be through with the baby making!!! :) My biggest complaint with this pregnancy is all the headaches I get. AHHHH! And tylenol does nothing for them. Does anyone have any suggestions on what might help? Sometimes I get them for two days straight! Oh well, I need to close. This blog is getting rather long... Look for pics coming soon! Miss you all!

Disney Pixar's new movie "Cars"

Wow! I haven't been able to catch my breath here lately! We've been going non-stop for the past couple of weekends. Memorial Day weekend Austin and I got to go to the world premier of the Disney Pixar movie "Cars." It was at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. I've never been inside the speedway before but WOW! It is so huge! The Coca-Cola 600 was that same weekend, so when a race is happening, the speedway is transformed into a small city. I have never seen so many RVs in all my life. - And license plates from everywhere. So, anyway, we got to see several movie stars including Bonnie Hunt, ("Cheaper by the Dozen" mom) Owen Wilson, and Larry the Cable Guy- "Git R Done!!" When Larry the Cable Guy stepped on stage and said- "Git R Done" the crowd went wild! It was hilarious! He plays the voice of the pick-up truck "Mater" in the movie. We also got to watch a just for fun 12 lap race- of course the "Cars" car won! :) I can see how people like to go to races. Hearing the cars roar around the track is pretty cool. It made me think about how my Papaw would lay beside the radio on Sunday afternoons and listen to the races and end up falling asleep. So, I felt truly southern this Memorial Day weekend. We got to watch a stock car race and listen to country music! There was a country music band that played before the movie. The movie was shown on four 11 story screens. Pretty awesome! I wanted to take some pics inside the speedway, but no cameras were allowed. Well, I might even consider going to a race now, who knows? We didn't get home until 2 a.m. but we had a great time! Charlotte is such a fun city! Oh by the way, the movie was really good!

Dora Live

This weekend Reagan and I went to go see Dora's Pirate Adventure in Charlotte. We went with my friend Angie and her little girl Hannah. This little outing has been planned for quite some time- so we were very excited to go! This was a live performance. It was like a real-live Dora episode on stage. Reagan sat very still and didn't move a muscle during the show. I think she really enjoyed it! When the show was over she said, "Bye Dora, bye Boots, bye video!" I guess she thought she was watching a Dora video! We had a great time and enjoyed walking around downtown Charlotte. It is so pretty! We ate lunch at a cool place called Fuel Pizza. I think they make the biggest slices of pizza I've ever seen!

Things here are busy but good! I go back to the doctor tomorrow for a check-up. I am now sixteen weeks along and feeling pretty good. We will find out what the baby is sometime in June! And we are taking our family beach trip in a few weeks! We are looking forward to getting away!

Roses, Roses!

Here are some pics of the rose bushes Austin planted in a bed in our backyard. They are so beautiful this week. We have some peach, bright pink and pale pink ones. I believe these bushes were in the ground when we moved into our house. The previous owners had planted them. Austin has added a few to the bed to make a semi-circle ring of roses. This year they are just so vibrant and pretty! We just wanted to share these pics. We also have an herb garden this year. It is towards the back of the house. Austin has planted fennel, dill, rosemary, cilantro, spearment, chives, chamomile, and thyme. We also have some tomatoes and green beans coming up. Yummy! I can't wait to make my own homemade salsa with our cilantro in it! I need to make it soon! So, it's been fun watching all of the herbs grow. It has been so dry here lately, our yard is starting to look a little brown. Hopefully we'll get some rain soon. This year has been drier then normal.

We are also getting Reagan a redwood play fort with swingset for her third birthday. Austin is getting a really great deal on one from work! She will be sooo excited! She loves to play on the ones at the park. She likes to look at the catalog we have of the different play sets made by this company. She says, "Play toy? O.K!" So, she's excited!

Trixs are for kids, you silly Wabbit!

Last week, my mom brought up a few "treats" for Reagan... One of which included a box of Trix cereal. I can't believe my mom bought these being the health nut she is. I don't know if you all have seen the new Post's cereals that advertise "75% less sugar and made with whole grain." Well, I tasted this new and improved Trix and it tasted kind of like it had an artifical sweetner in it. So, we looked closer at the box and at the bottom in small print it states, "Contains Splenda." Ah-ha! I've heard mixed things about splenda. I don't know what to think about it. Is it bad or is it good? Who knows... anyway, we gave Reagan some Trix for breakfast Sunday morning before church. I told Austin before I gave it to her that she would soon be ruined from healthy cereals from here on out. She was laughing and giggling the whole time she was eating it. I asked her if she liked Trix and she said, "Yes, I like wabbit ceweal!" So, now every morning, she asks for her "Wabbit Ceweal." We are almost through the box and when it's gone- it's gone!

Last night I had to run out and finish cleaning my dad's office. We usually try and clean it over the weekend, but Austin had a company picnic we went to Sunday evening, so we didn't get it finished. The compnay picnic was a lot of fun! I was good to meet the people Austin works with and put a face to the names he is always talking about. With some of the stories he tells me, you'd think some of the people were ogres! :) But, they're pretty normal looking. Anyway, I had left Austin to heat up some tacos we had eaten earlier for his supper. When I got home, I was greeted with five black and crispy taco shells out on our front porch and I thought, oh no... The whole house smelled of burned taco shells. Austin thought most of the smell was out and it was starting to smell much better- wrong! So, needless to say, I was up most of the night with a headache from "the smell!" Pregnant women are very sensitive to smells. He had tried to air the house out while I was gone. He opened all the windows and doors. It's been pretty chilly here lately. So, Reagan was running around the house saying, "Daddy, it's cold and I have a headache!!

Birthday Pics!

The top picture is of my edible birthday card I received in the mail from Emily and Mandie! Thanks guys! I have never gotten an edible card. It tasted really good. Austin and I ate the whole thing after dinner Friday night! Yummy!!! Emily, I couldn't get a good close-up picture of it. You can't really make out what it says...But, I thought it was great! Were the three girls in the picture suppose to be us? Wow, we're skinny!! I don't even look pregnant! Ha! If anyone is interested in giving someone an edible greeting card, go to (Edibles, Inc.com) They have a card for every occasion.

The pictures below were taken at my birthday dinner celebration. We went to Makoto's. It's a Japanese steak house where your meal is cooked in front of you. The food is wonderful! For my birthday I got a brownie dessert and serenaded by some stranger. Very embarrasing! But, the guy had an amazing voice! Reagan was afraid of the chef and covered her eyes a lot! It was cute. The last picture is of my friend Kami and I. We just recently became friends. We were in our church Easter play together. I am really glad we've become friends... Love ya girl! :) Thanks for celebrating with me on my b-day!

So, I survived my 30th birthday! I didn't want a big celebration. I wanted it to come and go quietly! Things here are good. I am getting a break from school for the next couple of weeks. Starting May 23rd I will be taking a math class that lasts five weeks. I will then be taking the fall semester off b/c of the baby. I hope to resume classes in the Spring of '07, but we'll see... I am definately on my way to becoming an elementary school teacher! And I am very excited about that!! I have enjoyed my classes so much. School is different this time around. I'm older and more concentrated and teaching is really what I want to do- so it makes the classes fun.
Well enough of my ramblings... until next time!

Reagan's Curly Hair!

Here is our Reagan with curly hair. I wanted to put the pictures in order- first the rollers, then the curls- but oh well... you get the idea! We bought these cool soft rollers at Wal-Mart that she can sleep in. I put them in her hair when it's wet and the next morning it is sooo curly! I think she looks like that little black boy off The Little Rascals with her rollers in! :) She is pretty cooperative in letting me roll her hair. Just as long as she can look at herself in the bathroom mirror while I'm doing it. Reagan got her second hair cut last Tuesday. We decided to have a couple of inches taken off. It was starting to look "thin and stringy." So, I'll have to get some pics posted of her new do.

I'll share some funny stories with you about Reagan. Everytime we're outside and I have Minnie hooked up to her running leash, Reagan lets her go when I have my back turned for just a second! Then Austin or I have to go chasing after her. She runs very fast! We have told her it is not safe to let Minnie go in the backyard b/c she could run up to the road and get hit by a car. We live off a pretty busy road and cars don't really abide by the speed limit, so we're afraid Minnie will get hit. And Minnie likes to chase cars. So, we have spanked and scolded Reagan for letting Minnie loose, but no matter how much we punish her, she still does it! I guess she wants Minnie to be free.

Reagan has also been going into her room and shutting the door to "play" with Minnie. Friday night she had her door shut so I opened it and asked her what she was doing. She told me to shut the door and Minnie looked liked she wanted out very badly! Last night she shut her door again with Minnie in her room. Austin opened the door this time and saw Reagan holding a baby wipe saying, "Saying Minnie wipe?" And Minnie shot out of the room. We hope she wasn't trying to wipe Minnie's bottom! :)

Random thoughts and pics...

I'm not really sure what Reagan is doing in this top picture. I think she's pouting about something. And we thought you guys would like to see the inside of our dish washer! Next weekend is my b-day- The Big 30!!! AHHHH! No more twenties! How sad... Oh well life is good and I'm enjoying every stage and new adventure. Honestly, being twenty-something and single is over-rated! I think once you've been married for a while, life really starts getting good! Austin- I love you more now than I did when I married you!! XXXOOO!


This is Reagan playing in her sand box. She loves
it! We are hoping to get her a swingset for her
birthday this year. Lately, she been in the
habit of throwing sand out of the sand box!
The weather here has been very nice and
we've actually gotten some rain recently-
much needed!!! Our yard is looking better
and better thanks to the Landscaping King!
We can't keep him out of it on Saturdays.
But, I'm not complaining! :)



This is a picture of my parents taken at
Sandy and John's wedding. I thought they
both looked really nice! Love ya Mom and
Dad!

We watched Walk the Line this weekend. It is so Good! I would recommend it if you've not yet seen it. I didn't know much about the life of Johnny Cash. But, the movie doesn't go on to say that Johnny Cash became a strong Christian and he and his wife did a lot for the Lord later in their lives. Ha- just like Hollywood! It did show them going to church at the end though. I'm going to watch it again tonight b/c I missed the first half. I fell asleep and then woke up for the second half. I guess that's what being pregnant does to you. I've been sooo tired lately! Well, I hope this blog hasn't rambled on too much. Until next time...

I found this pic of Austin and I taken back in Tulsa. "Pre-Reagan days!" I will have to post some older pics for a while... Our digital camera bit the dust over the weekend! boo hoo! I was really hoping to get some pictures of the Easter play and of some of the actors in costume. Oh well. So, in the meantime, I hope you all will enjoy looking at some older pictures. Hopefully we can go this weekend and look for a new camera!

Well, the play was an absolute success last weekend! All I can say is WOW! At our Saturday night performance we had over 400 people to attend. The church was wall to wall people. I think that was our most emotional performace. In one scene, I played a mourner at Jesus' cruxifiction. During practice, I would have to pretend to cry. But, during all the performances I really wept. A lot of the children in the play had a really hard time with the cruxifiction scene. Some of them would cry before this scene and not want to participate. It was just so realistic! There was such an annointing during the performances. I can't explain it. Being in this production was so rewarding. I will remember this for as long as I live. I'm so glad I stuck it out even though I wasn't feeling my best. This Easter will be one to remember! By the time I got to eat our Easter lunch I was emotionally and physically drained! Many, many thanks to Josh and Gina Scott who directed the play and made it all possible- you guys are great!

I went for my second visit to the doctor. At this visit, I got to hear the babies heart beat! That is so cool! My doctor didn't tell me how many beats per minute and I didn't think to ask. I must say, this second pregnancy is just so different! It's so much more relaxed! But, sometime in June I will get another ultrasound and we will find out who's hiding in there! :) We have a few names picked out, just not certain on them. If we have a boy, we definately have a name. Still thinking of a girl name though...I was surprised to see that I had gained 4lbs. since my last visit. I need to stop eating so much ice cream. But, it's so good!!! Well, that's all for now. Hope everyone is doing well!!!

Not much new here...

Not much new to post this time... Things are good. Our church is putting on Easter play this weekend. I am playing a townsperson. My big acting debute! :) We are performing the play Saturday night and in both services on Sunday. The director of our play is a drama teacher at a local high school here in town. The play is very good, very realistic. So, I will be busy this weekend with dress reheasal and the performances. It will be a lot of fun!

My parents are officially moved out of their house. It is sad to see them in a rental home. But, they will be in their new house hopefully sometime next year. We are having a big yard sale Saturday to get rid of some stuff. Mom has a lot of "stuff" -a.k.a junk to sell and so do I! Hope fully I can make a little bit of money. Last week, I was helping my parents go through some papers and things in their attic. I came across some old yearbooks from high school and letters from college. It was like taking a trip down memory lane. All I can say is Thank God for Austin!

Well, I received a phone call from my sister yesterday.... she's pregnant!!! I can't believe it! There are so many people pregnant! My mom will have her hands full at the end of the year! I am excited to be pregnant with my sister. This will be fun! Her baby is due December 17th. So, we will both have our preggie bellies when we take our family beach trip in June.

That's all the news for now... I hope to post some pics of our play on Sunday. Don't worry, they'll be pics soon! Until next time...

Mommy and Reagan

Last night we went to Fuddrucker's. I was craving a big, juicy cheeseburger! It's funny how your digestion changes when your pregnant. I wasn't liking the cheeseburger very much a few hours later. Oh well... But, I am feeling better. I am in my tenth week and most of my morning and night sickness is gone! This pregnancy (so far...) has been much easier. I met my doctor a couple of weeks ago. She is really nice and down to earth. We have scheduled my c-section for November 1st. The baby is actually due Nov. 4th-but they will take it a little early. I told her I didn't want a Halloween baby. So, she said, "How about Nov. 1st?" It is going to be interesting to be pregnant throughout the summer. My hands are already swelling some when I get hot. It's been in the 80's here lately. But, I've found that fruit and lemon water helps me stay cool. I will get another ultrasound done sometime the last of May to find out what the little bean is. Austin is hoping for a boy-me too. But, I won't be too upset to have another little girl. So, Life Is Good! The weather is wonderful! I have Spring Fever!! Classes will be over soon for a little while. Everyone in my class is experiencing Spring Fever too. Only a couple more weeks to go... Until next time...

Austin- Our Landscaping Pro

Austin loves working in the yard! And we are very glad! Our yard is looking great. This first pic is a Bradford Pear tree he planted when we first moved. It has grown quite a bit. A couple weeks ago, we put a bird feeder in it. There is a pretty Cardinal that comes to visit it everyday. Reagan enjoys watching the birds come and go. The next pic is Reagan standing on a rock path that Austin built connecting two of our flower beds. She's finally getting to the age where she wants to pose for pictures, "Say Cheese!"
This is one of the beds Austin made. It is blooming right now with daffadils. And of course I had to take a picture of the landscaping king hard at work! Austin is glad the warm weather is finally here. (Me too!) I must admit, he has the green thumb in our family, but I am learning... You will find Austin in the yard just about every Saturday. I think it's a form of relaxation for him- getting a break from his sometimes stressful job at Clark Tire.

Austin is also working on putting a long flower bed in front of the house to kind of enclose that area. We want to make it into a porch or seating area. We've been looking at a Curb Appeal magazine and getting some ideas. There are so many things you can do to a house to change it's outside appearance- inexpensive ones. This week we are getting a new roof put on our house! Yea!!! It will look much better. I will take a pic of it when it's completed. The roofer said it would take about 4 or 5 days to finish it. So, hopefully when the Phillips come out in July, when will be finished with our projects! We are looking forward to seeing you all very soon!

Finally Pictures!!!

The weather has been so wonderful here the past few days. Reagan and I went walking at a park close to our house last Friday. It is a beautiful park with ducks and a pond. Right now everything is in full bloom! Although Reagan likes the ducks, she gets a little nervous when they get too close! We fed the ducks Goldfish.- They seemed to like them! :) The top picture is a bridge that is on the walking track. It is so pretty! I love living close to the mountains and trees!