Christmas and Snow

We had a wonderful Christmas. As usual, Nick did a great job picking out presents for me (for all the Mom's out there- I have a reading recommendation. One of Nick's presents to me was a book: The Greatest Love, Being an Extraordinary Mom. It is definitely worth reading.) Reagan enjoyed the wrapping paper more than the actual gifts that were in the wrapping paper. And we definitely had a White Christmas! We had forgotten about how cold and snowy things can get in Utah (although we hear from our friends in Seattle that they have had to live through a pretty deep freeze lately too).
All of the snow finally helped me convince Nick that I need a 4-wheel drive vehicle sooner rather than later- so I suppose snow isn't all bad. As soon as we find an SUV that fits our criteria we will be purchasing it. Right now we are looking for an Acura MDX.
Here are some of our Christmas pictures. Reagan is getting so big.


Reagan, Uncle Jeff and Nick opening a Glow Worm Doll on Christmas morning (the Glow Worm was for Reagan, much to Nick & Jeff's disappointment, I am sure).


Reagan sitting in the snow.


Reagan and Nick.




Reagan in her puffy pink snow suit.

Fabulous Photos!

There will be a lot of pictures attached to this post, because I found an awesome photographer and have used her services twice in the past few weeks. I really want to rave about her skill, she is phenomenal! My friend Korie has started her own photography business, and she is a complete natural at taking amazing pictures. She is obviously very good at capturing the best moments during the shoot- she got the most professional pictures of Reagan and of our family. I highly recommend her to anyone who is looking for a good photographer. Just let me know and I will pass along her contact information. If you use her I promise you will be pleased!

See..... I told you they were "out of this world good"!

Nothing too new.

It's been a while since my last post. Most readers probably already know that my Mom almost died a few weeks ago, so my sister and me (well, mostly my sister) have been helping her out with the recovery. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers- my Mom is doing a lot better now.

Nick and I have started gearing up for the Holiday Season. Nick cooked the turkey for Thanksgiving and everyone said that it was the most moist, flavorful turkey they had ever tasted (but I don't expect anything less from Nick, than the best when it comes to culinary skills).


I dragged Reagan out on Black Friday for some shopping. On Saturday we went with my siblings to the Park City outlet stores for more Christmas shopping. It was pretty cold, but I was excited because it meant I could put Reagan in her little coat and matching hat. She looks so cute!

Halloween

I couldn't decide which costume to put Reagan in for Halloween. She had a little pink pig costume, or a Duke cheerleader costume. I decided to try them both on, to see which one was cuter.

As you can tell from this picture, Reagan was LESS THAN THRILLED about being a pig (but the picture is cute).

In the end we decided to have her be a Duke Cheerleader, and she was much happier about that.

Here's a picture of our little cheerleader at the end of the night. As you can see she had lost a little bit of her "pep".

Also, the day before Halloween Nick and I took Reagan to get her ears pierced. I had a lot of trepidation about it at first, but she did surprisingly well (only cried for 30 seconds); and they look really cute!

Lastly, Nick is mourning the temporary loss of his XBOX 360 Elite. It came down with a case of the "red ring of death". (Notice how I only mentioned Nick's name when I talked about the system being mourned???? That's because I am not as upset about it as he is. Go figure :)

Updates

We have officially been back in UT for a month now. We're slowly getting used to it, although I am still having a few regrets. Especially when I found out that Dr. Laura will be speaking in Washington in a few weeks, and that the broadway production of the Lion King will also be showing in Seattle in March. Both are activities I would have loved to attend!

All three of us are also trying to get used to the dry Utah weather. I feel like I spend most of my day either sucking boogers out of Reagan's nose with the ball suction thingy, or blowing my own nose. And Nick is constantly being frustrated with his battle with static cling on his clothes. On the upside however; we were able to attend the BYU football game on Saturday; and Heather and I get to hang out together all of the time. So, not everything about coming back to UT is bad.

When we first moved to Seattle I thought I would go crazy not having a Walmart nearby. I learned to live without it for 3+ years, and now that I am back it is the LAST store I want to venture in to. I am going to give the Macey's grocery store a try this week! Nick is happy to have Cafe Rio and Happy Sumo as options for dining again, and once we buy some propane he will be super-happy to finally have an outdoor grill to cook on.

Reagan has been happy to have her family around, and the only time she doesn't cry in the car is when we put her in the backseat with her cousin Lance (he is good to entertain her, but we have to keep an eye on him. The other day he wanted to share a red fruit loop with Reagan, and she isn't even close to being on solid foods yet :)

Obviously, we are getting settled. But it is really only temporary. We will be needing to find a new (and hopefully permanent) place to live in May.

Reagan with Grandma Kay

I was trying to get a good picture of Reagan, but she wasn't very cooperative. This was the best one.

Relocation Remorse

This will just be a quick post. We made the move from Seattle to South Ogden. Nothing went as planned, and Nick and I have wondered on a daily basis: "what were we thinking?!"

I know it is mostly my fault for pushing the move, but I never thought I would grow to love Washington State so much.

We're getting settled, and already have started to love (and hate) having family nearby.

This morning we woke up to the following sight:

And were once again reminded of the fact that we are indeed UT residents once again. sigh.

Reagan's First Word!!!

We were in the front seat of the car the other day, and all of the sudden we heard Reagan make a noise that sounded distinctly like the word "hey". She said it about four different times, and Nick and I were nearly peeing our pants from laughing so hard.

We managed to capture her saying when we had the camcorder turned on, and even after we see it a million different times we still think it is funny (can you tell we are new parents?)

Seattle Weekend

Brian and Jenny (Brooke's brother and his wife) drove to Seattle for the weekend. We had a great time introducing Jenny to the pleasures of the Pacific Northwest (she isn't much of a seafood fan, but she was a good sport and tried some fresh crab). We went to Pike Place Market, the Ballard Locks, the outlet stores in Marysville, and St. Edward's park. At Pike Place Market Nick noticed an Aston Martin (sp? - ie- a hot car) that had a repair job done on the front end done with duct tape. Nick really got a kick out of that, and we were sure to get a picture. On Saturday we went to the Cheesecake Factory in Bellevue. Nick and I were both wearing BYU shirts (Go Cougars!), and we definitely fit right in with the general population. The restaurant and shopping center were crawling with fellow BYU fans (since the BYU v. UW Football game had been that day). It was fun to have that sense of camaraderie with everyone (everywhere we looked we were receiving "knowing head-nods", and people were saying: "Go Cougars"). It was such a great weekend! Also, (probably the best thing about the weekend) was that Reagan started sleeping through the night! She has slept for 10-12 hours the past four nights in a row- and I could not be more elated! THANK YOU SO MUCH to Ruthann and Sheri for recommending Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child- that book made all of the difference!

Brian and Jenny at Pike's

Reagan's general state of activity while we were at the busy market.

The Aston Martin and it's awesome repair job!

Nick pushing the stroller at the Locks

Nick playing with Reagan. She is getting such a fun personality!

Reagan's Blessing

We had Reagan's baby blessing over the weekend. Since it was a holiday weekend we went to UT (rather than having all of our family incur the expense of coming to us). Reagan was blessed in the same church that Nick was blessed in, which was very special. Reagan was as good as gold all weekend (airplane flight included, much to her mother's relief!).

Also, as you can tell from the pictures, it is obvious that I took the plunge and cut my hair! Having long hair made my neck too hot, and the long hair was constantly getting in the way. I thought I might have a little remorse after the fact, but I actually love the new look and have zero regrets!

Reagan in her blessing dress with her Duke headband

Brooke, Nick and Reagan

Lance and Reagan

Reagan, Brooke, Jeanne, Preston & Lorelei

Our Seattle Family

Last weekend we got together with our friends for a BBQ. The four guys in the group are all in Pharmacy School together. Over the past three years the four couples have spent a lot of time together (and at least for my part) have really enjoyed it. It is like we have all been family for each other, since none of us have family nearby. Each couple has had their immediate family grow (all four girls have had one child while in Seattle)!

Nick and I have both enjoyed the company of these couples (rock band, anyone?!). The BBQ was probably the last time (for a long time) that all of us will be together, since everyone is going their separate ways for pharmacy rotations. These guys have been one of the bright spots of living in Seattle- for us, and we are grateful for their friendship.

Jason, Preston, Jeanne, Lorelei, Alex, Braden, Anna, Garrett, Lily, & Katie: you guys are the best pseudo-family we could have asked for!

Haircut Opinion

I need opinions, thoughts, regrets... when it comes to getting a haircut. As most girls know, cutting your hair can be a traumatic experience. It has taken me 4 years to get my hair to the length it is (my hair grows so slowly!). I have been really hesitant to part with it (no pun intended)- because it is a decision you can't easily alter once you have gone through with it. But now that my preparation time in the morning has been severely curtailed I have been re-thinking the whole haircut option. It takes a really long time to dry my hair; and it's time I don't have these days with new baby.

Nick won't give me an opinion one way or another (probably to keep himself safe :)

So, I am hoping that all of my girlfriends who have been through similar experiences will be willing to share.

I've attached a picture of the haircut I like most, and would consider getting.

I look forward to seeing what people think.

Olan Mills Photography Studio is Yucky!

A week ago I made an appointment to have Reagan's pictures taken (for birth announcements) at Olan Mills Photography Studio. The appointment was scheduled for Saturday (8/9/08), at their Everett, WA location. Not only did I get an email confirmation for the appointment, but I also got a phone call reminding me about it, and especially encouraging us to be on time.

We drove all of the way to Everett, and made it to the appointment 5 minutes early!

We then proceeded to wait in the waiting area for 15 minutes. I was slightly annoyed, but my annoyance quickly turned to serious agitation when the Olan Mills employee told me that she was running behind by an hour +!

I told her I had an appointment, and that I was having a newborn photographed. That made no difference. Argh! Nick and I left without getting Reagan's pictures done. (You had better believe I will be filing a complaint with Olan Mills Customer Service Dept.).

On the way back to our apartment Nick and I were debating about taking Reagan over to the JC Penny Photo Studio (since she was already dressed). We stopped at home to get her a bottle. Still undecided about whether to try to get Reagan's picture taken.

Lovely baby that Reagan is... she decided for us. When Nick took her out of her carseat she started to make her "poopy-face", and proceeded to blow-out (yet another) diaper, all over her pretty photo-outfit. No JC Penny photos for her.

Also, a sidenote... something about Nick must cause Reagan to have messy diapers. Because a few days after my previous posting (that talked about this subject) Nick had a very similar incident with Reagan- AGAIN. Nick's Mom and I could hardly help Nick out, because we were laughing so hard. :)

In the end- we just decided to take Reagan's pictures at home (per a suggestion from my resourceful friend; Lindsay). Posted are some of the good ones that we were able to capture. I am going to upload them to birth announcements and call it good. At least until it is time to do her 3 month pictures.

Outdoor Pictures

Here are a few pictures that we took outside yesterday. I thought people would probably rather see these than pictures related to the prior post. :) (not that we took any pictures of Reagan's "messes" anyway). Stuff like that isn't subject matter I want to capture on my camera. I practically died when I watched the John and Kate Plus 8 episode where Kate took pictures of the kids next to the potty chair that held their first bowel movement. Gross!

What being a new parent "feels" like! Literally.

The other night Nick hurried home from work to play with Reagan. Within minutes, Nick was able to "feel" what having a baby is all about. First, he was holding Reagan on his shoulder, and the next thing I know he is telling me to bring a burp-cloth over QUICK! I thought it was one of her usual "little spit-ups", so I wasn't doing a lot of hurrying to get over to him. I figured he was freaking out, because he wasn't used to it yet. But when I got to him I realized he had every right to be upset. Reagan had thrown-up nearly her entire bottle, all down the front of Nick's dress shirt!

We got both Reagan and Nick cleaned up, and Nick (brave soul that he is), was sitting on our bed holding Reagan. Then I heard him say "There's something on my arm!", followed by: "now there's something on Reagan's blanket, and something on our comforter!". Reagan had totally "blew-out" her diaper, all over Nick.

Nick isn't to the point that he will only hold Reagan at arms length... Yet. I guess that is what unconditional love is all about. Loving and cuddling your baby, even after she vomits and poops on you.

Grammie's Visit

I need to send a BIG thanks out to my Mom, for coming to stay and help me take care of Reagan for the past week. It definitely allowed me to get far more sleep than I would have if she had not been here.

Next up... Nick's Mom will be arriving and staying for a week, and then my sister, Heather, will be up the following week. I am one lucky girl to have so much help!