Reagan Jean :: ONE YEAR OLD

She is sweet and soft. She is feisty and spunky. She is growing and learning. She is standing and falling. She is eating and drinking. She is "talking" and snuggling. She is sleeping and playing. She is teething and drooling. She is dancing and laughing. She is a gift and a treasure.

She is O N E.

I knew the feeling this time.

I was reflecting on Cooper's first birthday and how I anticipated it for so long.  Reagan's crept up on me.  Kind of sneaky. 2nd child problems.

But the feeling was the same.

It's a sort of mix of emotions. Thankfulness for a year gone by and a happy, healthy baby. A little anxiety that it went too fast. Anticipating a new year with new changes, ones I love, like less naps and conversations. Deep love, I mean so deep. The weight of responsibility in the training that is to come. All wrapped up with a little bit of hope. Ok a lot of hope.  Hope in her future and the lady she will become.  Hope that the Lord will draw her to Himself.  Hope that she will succeed and prosper, whatever that may look like for her.  Hope that she will love the Lord and his Word.  So much to hope for at the onset of a new year.

I'll admit. It's a struggle to handle all those emotions rightly.  Hand over the ones that are wrong thinking, like anxiety (wink wink). Allow the right thinking.  Honor the Lord for what He has done in her life. Pray for the unknown ahead. But through it all I just wanted to stop and savor and soak it all up in the days surrounding her birthday.  I think I did.

Oh how I love her. Can't get enough of her. Want to squeeze her. All. The. Time

Enjoy the pictures of the celebration in her honor!

August means hot..which means ice cream!

The Birthday Girl!

Praying for Reagan and these sweet girlfriends.  I hope they grow old together!

(Photos by the amazing Whitney B Lucas)

----***----

Reagan Jean. We have been graced by your presence and are forever changed. In just one short year you have managed to grip all of our hearts with your charm. The One who made you in His image formed a beautiful girl who will hopefully do great things in this world for His namesake and glory! We have a front row seat and consider ourselves blessed. We are here to cheer you on and pray for you every step of the way.  We love you girlfriend!

***Happy Birthday***

Reagan Jean :: ELEVEN MONTHS

Ahh! 11 Months! What?!? One more month before she is ONE! Not much has changed in the last month. A couple more teeth broke through, she still puts everything in her mouth, she wants to stand up always, she still gives her stink face and she still melts our hearts! She is getting more confident and just holding on with one hand.  She will stand on her own for as long as it takes for her to realize what she is doing! She is cruising around the furniture and is all over the house. 

The best part about the last month is that she clearly says Mama and Dada! WE LOVE IT!! Her little voice is just the best!

She had a busy month! She went up to Arrowhead twice. She celebrated her bother's and Dad's birthdays. She went to the beach. She rode the boat for the first time and celebrated her first 4th of July!

I'm really looking forward to celebrating this sweet girl's birthday next month! Praising the Lord for her life and the joy she brings to our family.

Enjoy the photos!

Reagan Jean :: TEN MONTHS

We are so close to ONE I can't hardly believe it. We just love our Reagan Jean so much and most of the time have to restrain ourselves from eating her up.  She has the sweetest little giggle and her smile is contagious. 

Girlfriend is all over the place these days.  She will crawl from room to room looking for someone to play with. When she gets to where she wants to go she immediately stands up, with ease. Sometimes she sneaks up on me and I'll look down to find her standing right next to me.  It's in those moments I am reminded of what I have been called to do. Stand alongside my littles and be someone they can look up to.  A tall order and one I definitely can't do on my own.  I trust that the Lord will give me all I need to lead them in the right direction.  When I try to lean on my own strength I fail and become overwhelmed.  When I trust in the Lord and allow Him to take over...well it just goes better for everyone!

She got 2 more teeth this month for a total of 3.  Two bottom and one on top! It's pretty cute to see her little tongue move around feeling these new things in her mouth. Speaking of her mouth - she is so quick! Everything goes straight in! I've pulled out numerous strings, scraps of paper, rocks, balls, leaves, grass, tissue, dog food and that's the short list.  Good thing she isn't very discrete about it and she has a watchful big brother who will shout "Mama! She has something in her mouth again!"

She took her first road trip to the Bay Area to attend the high school graduation of our sweet friend Katie, who I started babysitting when she was Reagan's age. She hit up Disneyland and the Huntington Garden. She had her first round of blood-work and we both survived. She boarded a plane to Colorado and was a champ until the last 5 minutes when she threw up all over me! She did much better on the ride home. 

She is the best. We love her like crazy. Looking forward to the next two months as we get closer to ONE!!

whoops!

and she's off again

we are mostly greeted with this sweet smile

and sometimes we get this stink face!

Another full and wonderful month! Thank you Lord!

Reagan Jean :: NINE MONTHS

Enter through our front door and you will likely hear one of the following sayings..

"She is the sweetest thing I've ever seen"

"She is just a little bit squishy"

"Can I eat those delicious legs?"

Reagan Jean has added so much to our family. She is lovely and smiley and funny and well..delicious. Her brother loves her and is learning how to be a big brother.  We are trying hard to teach him what a privilege it is to be a big brother. Sometimes he is sweet to her and sometimes mistakes her for a wrestling partner.   

She is on the move this month.  Her crawling has become a total crawl and less of a scoot.  She even began the process of pulling herself up! Girlfriend is strong and adventurous! She celebrated her first Easter and went on a hunt for eggs.  Her first tooth cut through on the bottom. She had an overnight in San Clemente, went to the Arboretum and the Zoo. She traveled with Mama on a work trip overnight to Claremont. And of course there were tons of smooches.

The events of the past month have been wonderful.  It has been fascinating to watch her grow. But mostly I am overwhelmed with gratitude and thankfulness that she is ours. I find myself just staring at her and then my heart feels like it might burst.  I'm sure you can relate. 

Thank you Lord for the gift of this sweet, squishy girl.

Family photo on Easter

Big Girl!

For her namesake!

Big Brother got in on the photo action this month!

Can't keep the bows in anymore! I put them in - she immediately takes them out.
I'll take suggestions on stopping the cycle.

These photos are getting so challenging! I get a lot of this.  Good thing she has a cute tush!

Eating her foot.  What talent!

This is what NINE months is all about.  Everything in the mouth!

I really don't think there are more delicious legs out there than these.  Yum!!

Girlfriend. Squish. RJ. Rea. Pretty Girl :: We can't get enough of you!