Born From My Heart

I really, really, really need some good, creative ideas on how to stop a very annoying habit that my daughter has. Sometimes Reagan will wake in the morning or from a nap and not want to get out of bed right away or sometimes she wants to go in her crib before she is actually ready to go to sleep. Sounds great, right? We thought so too. And it was great. Until the habit started. And the laundry increased. If Reagan decides she wants awake time in her crib, and if you aren't in there checking on her every 5 seconds, she will remove her diaper most times lately. It started out occasionally and is now a regular event. We'd go in to find her with her pants and diaper off and (thankfully, usually only) wet spots in the crib. Out she'd come, sleeping or not, to be changed and have her crib sheets, pillow and pillow case changed. We started then putting her to bed in only one piece sleepers (unless she had a onesie on) thinking that would surely cure the problem. Yeah, um, not...

I've come to believe that most children are born with a primeval instinctive need for chicken nuggets and french fries. I've seen it in my nieces and nephews and first noticed it in my own child when she was around 10 months old. That baby could pick out a McDonald's bag anywhere and would demand to have what was inside. This "need" has now evolved into actual requests for meals. On Saturday I asked Reagan what she wanted for lunch and she told me "fries". I figured there was no harm in getting her a Happy Meal since she usually eats what we put in front of her and she loves green vegetables so nutritionally I knew she was well balanced. So I toss her in the car and we hit the drive thru. She was her sweet cute self saying "thank you Mommy" once the food was safely in the car. We get home and she joyfully eats her chicken nuggets and french fries. And Mommy is completely unaware that the force behind the request is trying to take over. Sund...

On Saturday we finally got out to the mall to see Santa Claus ! She wanted no part of sitting in his lap but the Santa's helpers of today are experts at getting a good picture. One had me sit her on my knees up next to Santa while the helpers distracted her with a Dora ball and little globe strobe. While she was distracted, Santa slipped his arm around her, I leaned as far out of the picture as possible and a couple snaps later we had a keeper. I wouldn't have been too upset with a screaming toddler picture (it is a rite of passage after all) but I was impressed at their ability to get most toddlers distracted enough to smile. Thanks Santa - it was good to see you again.

Any day now my CD will arrive that contains Reagan's 2 year old pictures .  I can't wait to see all of the awesome shots!  In the meantime, here is a sneak peak of my little darling's "imp" look.  That pre-devilish smirk she gets and gleam in her eye just before she does something she doesn't think she is supposed to do.  In this case, she was getting ready to make a break for it and run past me.  LOL  I love her imp look!

Yay!  I have a few minutes today to play!  If you want to play too, head over to Mama M's  and join in the fun! 1. Do you regift...and if so, do you have a regifting horror story? It depends.  I will regift something generic to a casual acquaintance in a heartbeat.  I don't regift to those closer to me though unless they see something I got and they want it and I don't particularly want it.  We reuse the heck out of gift bags though - it's kind of a running joke in our family.  2. Do you know what you are getting for Christmas this year? I am probably getting nothing because I usually insist that my DH not get me anything.  If I need or want something bad enough throughout the year I usually just get it so by Christmas there isn't really anything I absolutely want. 3. Who brings the most gifts in your family, you or Santa? Santa does.  I LOVE the magic that is Santa.  I even wrote about it recently - you can read it here! 4....

Yesterday we went to Reagan's pediatrician for her 2 year check-up.  Here are her 2 year stats: Weight - 23 pounds - 5th-10th% Height - 33 3/4 inches - 75th% HC - 48 1/4 centimeters - 50th% She is maintaining her regular growth curve and all measurments hit her target.  We get to switch to low-fat milk now and her next well visit won't be until her 3 year check-up.  She is on schedule with all her vaccines except the yearly flu shot so there weren't any shots yesterday since she is officially old enough for the flu mist.  Hooray!  She wasn't too sure about the first nostril mist but got the hang of it for the second one. As is typical for Reagan, Dr. E spent most of the exam laughing.  For some reason my daughter LOVES going to the doctor and has been fascinated by the exam process since she was a tiny infant.  This time though she decided to help Dr. E with the exam.  She gently took the stethoscope and put it to her own chest under her s...

Wasn't this just yesterday?!?!?! (Can you tell I still can't believe my baby is already 2?)

I have seen other folks discussing Santa and the controversy that can sometimes surround him so I figured I’d throw my two cents into the ring. I grew up in a Christian Methodist home complete with Sunday School and church on Sundays. We were made to go up until we were Confirmed wherein we were then considered responsible for our own faith and decisions involving our faith and could decide whether to attend regularly or not. In the United Methodist Church, Confirmation refers to the decision a person makes to respond to God's grace with intentional commitment, publicly reaffirming his or her baptismal vows before the congregation. It is offered in the early teen years and involves classes, studies, field trips, etc. which culminate in a ceremony during service to publicly affirm your faith. For the most part, after Confirmation I continued to attend on a semi-regular basis. I enjoyed going to church and youth group however as a teenager I didn’t always want to get up in time to be...

Yesterday we met up with a fabulous photographer (and friend) Andrea at Loch Haven Park in Orlando for Reagan's 2 year pictures.  I had her 1 year pictures done at a chain-store studio and while they turned out great, I spent wayyy too much money and both of us were cranky, exhausted and frustrated by the time it was over.  I was not looking forward to doing that again so I asked Andrea if she would take Reagan's pictures this year.  It was so much nicer being at the park, in a natural setting and where Reagan could run around and be herself.  No overly forced poses, no 8 million things laying about that are oh-so-enticing yet completely off limits to a toddler, no overheated room and no being rushed.  I was a little bit worried about how cooperative she would be (which would have been a studio concern as well) but Andrea is a natural for getting the little ones to engage and Reagan was going right along with it.  I was pleasantly surprised at how often ...