Monday, May 23, 2011

Girliest. Day. Ever.













Hats off to some very special men in my life (the hubby, the dad, the dad-in-law, the grandfather, and the two sons) for making it through the girliest day ever. Reagan's dance recital AND Reagan's birthday party. That's a lot of girly!

I was so proud of my little dancer for performing her tap and ballet routine in front of hundreds of people. She and her dancer friends did a beautiful job! After the recital, we headed home for a family birthday party in honor of the new 4-year-old.


Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Nine.


Nine years of marriage has meant....

laughing until I hurt
realizing how selfish I can be
learning to cook
three ridiculously cute children
waking up each day beside my best friend
still feeling the butterflies
loving even when it's hard
learning that it's hard to argue if you sing while doing it

Marriage is a lot of things. But boring it is not. Each day is an adventure. Each day is a chance to actively love my handsome man. It's hard. It's fun. It's frustrating. It's humbling. It's encouraging. It's hilarious. It's weird. It's awesome.

Nathan Trevett, you're the man. You're my man. You're a real man. Thank you for working hard for our family, for leading our family with a purposeful vision, and for loving the mess out of me. I love you all the way.

Happy Nine Years.





Sunday, May 15, 2011

I blinked.


I blinked and Reagan went from this:
to this:

She woke up this morning and said, "I'm four today! But my hair's not gray." Then she giggled a whole bunch and asked for a brownie. At 6:25am. And that just about sums up my sweetie pie of a daughter. Full of one-liners, giggly, and always in the mood for dessert.

In these four short years, I have seen Reagan grow into a beautiful, affectionate, fun-loving, outgoing, hilarious, bright little girl. She loves to dance and do gymnastics. She does not at all like soccer but plays for the snack at the end of the game. She loves preschool, her teachers, and her friends. She is a storyteller and a singer. She has a vivid imagination and is always in costume. She is a natural leader. She is opinionated. She loves Moe's, her thumb, Clara, princesses, and high heels. She loves to read, play hide-and-seek with her brothers, and hear stories about when I was a little girl.

Her personality is contagious. She is joyful. She is full of life. It is a privilege to be the mommy of Reagan Grace.

Reagan,
I love you so much my heart hurts. You make every single day really, really fun. I love your laugh and your smile. I love your fair skin, bright blue eyes, and petite frame. I love it when you get so excited your eyes close up and your fists come up to your cheeks. I love our snuggle time in the mornings. I love it when you ask me to tell you a story. I love how much you love your brothers and how excited you get when Landon gets off the school bus. I love it when you ask me when Jesus is coming back. I love how you say "fancy" and "yellow" and "never, ever, ever". I love how easily you make friends and how innately you love and nurture others. I love being your mommy. Having you as my daughter is a big time blessing!
Happy Birthday, sweetness. You are remarkably and wonderfully made!
Love,
Mommy

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Mom by Landon

an excerpt from Landon's latest authored book:

All day long, my mom...
watches t.v.

Awesome. Especially since it included an illustration of me laying down on a couch with the remote control in my hand.

Apparently, he was in the mood to write fiction.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

My Kids' Summer Goals

This week, I asked Landon and Reagan what their goals were for the summer and I made a list to hang in our kitchen. We're going to put a big, fat check next to the goals we reach. I like their brains a lot. A bit unrealistic? Yep. But still, some really good ideas.

Landon's Summer Goals:
1. Go to the pool.
2. Go to the Great Wolf Lodge.
3. Go to Disneyworld.
4. Play video games.
5. Play gladiators and flips with Daddy.
6. Jump on the trampoline.
7. Play on the monkey bars and learn new tricks.
8. Go to the beach.
9. Go to the beachhouse with Gammy and Papa.
10. Go to the library.
11. Visit the zoo.
12. Lay down on the grass and look up in the sky and see what shape the clouds are.
13. Ride bikes.
14. Have picnics at the park.
15. Invite friends over to play.
16. Make cards for Uncle Kevin.
17. Go to the White House to visit the president.
18. Make a sandwich.

Reagan's Summer Goals:
1. Play with Barbies.
2. Have the whole family play on the trampoline.
3. Have the whole family watch "Rapunzel" on Movie Night again.
4. Have the whole family play in a tent.
5. Go to Disneyworld.
6. Make pizza.
7. Invite Brayden and Spencer to play.
8. Eat in the dining room.
9. Read a lot of books.
10. Play putt-putt.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Reagan's Special Day

Reagan's preschool class celebrated her "special day" two weeks ago. Reagan's birthday is May 15th but that's her last week of school and her teacher, Mrs. Hope, just felt it would be too rushed to celebrate Reagan as much as she'd like that week. So, two weeks ago it was. I so appreciated Mrs. Hope's thoughtfulness to ensure Reagan felt honored and loved.

Reagan's excited face. :)


Reagan LOVES her assistant teacher, Mrs. M. They share a very special bond.


So glad Nate Dawg could take off work some and join us to celebrate Reagan's special day!

Mrs. Hope told Reagan she could bring her favorite book to school. Reagan brought Pinkalicious. Mrs. Hope started to read it but Reagan reminded her she had it memorized so she read the entire book to her classmates.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Highlights From My Week

1. Do you remember back in 2010 when my favorite hobby was having surgery? Well, this week I got to visit my urologist for a follow-up. And the great news is there are no kidney stones anywhere in sight! Hooray! If you want to feel young, visit a urologist. Just walk in and sit in the waiting room. You'll be about 50 years younger than everybody else. And it'll feel awesome. Until the nurse calls your name. Then you'll feel really old because you'll remember that you're there for the same reason as the old people.

2. This week I also visited my orthodontist. Here's another way to feel young: Get retainers, don't wear them as often as you should, and get fussed at by the orthodontist. I definitely felt about 14 years old. Then I was reminded that I'm not 14 because, while I was being fussed at, my 20-month-old was downing the Otis Spunkmeyer cookies in the waiting room and getting chocolate all over him and getting fussed at by the receptionist and when I left with my chocolate-covered-child, the receptionist looked at me and her eyes said, "You are a ridiculous mom."

3. I'm really into antique stores lately. This week I brought home a big, antique bird cage. I like it so much. When I brought it in the house Nathan said, "Wow. A bird cage." And Landon said, "Mommy! Hooray! We're getting a bird!" And I had to be like, "Nope. No bird. Yep, I bought a bird cage. To sit right there on that table." The men in my life did not get it. At all.

4. And now. For the BIGGEST news of our week. HUGE. Connor Man spoke his very first word. Any guesses? No, not "ma-ma". No, not "da-da". No, not "ball" or "baseball" or "basketball" or "football". Connor Man's very first word was "duck". Completely random. He said it after Nathan found some old plastic yellow duck toy at the very bottom of our toy box. A duck toy that I'm pretty sure Connor Man had never seen until that moment. And he pointed to it and said "duck". Goooooo Connor Man!