Reagan Turns ONE!

That's right, guys.

My baby girl is ONE.

Where did the time go??  

What have I been doing this last year to 

make it go by so quickly??

Oh yeah, I've been raising a small human.  

It all makes sense now! LOL

Here are some of the highlights from Reagan's 

eleventh and twelfth months of life...

-Temperament-

I have to say, Miss Priss' mood has turned the corner!  

Those teeth that were bothering her FINALLY came in 

(now she has 8 total!), 

and her little personality is starting to show 

more and more every day!  

She is very energetic, likes to look at every single toy 

before she really "plays" with anything, 

and she LOVES to read and listen to music.  

She has the sweetest little voice, and gives

 the best "sugars" in town. :)

-Weight-

We didn't have a doctor's appointment 

during her eleventh month, 

but Reagan weighed a solid 22 lbs at her one-year 

well-check a few weeks ago!  

She is about 30 inches long, 

which means she's actually thinning out a bit as she shoots up!  

Her wrist and ankles are a little less chunky 

(although still adorably plump),

 and her belly isn't quite as pouchy

 (unless she's just downed a big meal).  

I have a feeling she's going to really 

slim down when she figures out 

this walking thing!

-Milestones-

Speaking of walking...

we have a walker on our hands, y'all!  

Believe it or not, 

she took her first steps during her one-year photoshoot, 

which was around the middle of July!  

Her Daddy and I were SHOCKED when she suddenly took one, 

then two steps towards me---

and the photographer was able to get it all on film!  

Since then, Reagan's been gradually

 increasing the number of steps she'll take by herself.  

Now she can walk a good yard or so---yay!  

She will only walk towards someone though; 

she's not too keen on just walking across the room to her toys or 

something else that catches her fancy.  

She has figured out that it's quicker just to crawl there, 

so that's her main mode of transportation, lol.  

Her vocabulary is also increasing by the day, it seems.

 She says "mama", "dada", "bubba", bye", and "hi".  

And just in the last couple of days, 

"yeah" and "huh?" 

seem to be making their way up 

to the top of her faves.  

Like I said before, 

her voice is just the sweetest, 

and I could just listen to her babble and "huh?" 

me all day long!  

(I know, I'll regret saying that later 

when those turn into "But why??" and "What??" lol)

Food-wise, 

Baby Girl is now eating pretty much whatever I eat, 

which is a lot of clean, wholesome foods.  

She has tried just about everything,

 and her favorite menu items seem to be 

avocado, oatmeal, 

chicken, fish, brown rice, sweet potatoes, 

beans (any kind), cheese, and bread.  

Oh, and bananas and applesauce.  

And yogurt. 

 Okay, so you get the picture--

the kid pretty much will eat ANYTHING.  

She's like a garbage disposal. 

Praise the Lord she's not a picky eater though!

-Clothes-

Miss Fashionista has finally managed to 

outgrow the 9 month clothing and make her way 

into the 12 months (Carter's)

 and 12-18 months (Gymboree). 

 Shopping is still soooo much fun with a little girl---

I love it! 

 I'm just hoping she doesn't start wanting to pick her

 clothes out or refusing bows any time soon! 

-Pictures-

Here are a few pictures from last few months...

#bikinibabestatus

Eleven months photoshoot.

Elvis hair, don't care. 

My mini-me and I in New Mexico a few weeks ago.

She loves her "Bubba"!  

On to go...

All. The. Time. 

I believe this was the picture that was snapped 

right before she walked to me! 

EEK!

This makes me "lol" and have 

baby fever all at the same time...

I like to call it 

"The Many Expressions of Reagan". :)

Twelve months old and loving life! 

And clapping! 

---

That's it, guys! 

That's the latest update on the McNugget---

our IVF miracle!  

I thank you all from the bottom

 of my heart for following our journey, 

showering up with your prayers, 

and sharing these blessed moments with us!  

We love each and every one of you, 

and we pray God's blessings for you all.  

Remember to stay strong, 

stay faithful, 

and God WILL bless you! 

"Whatever you have learned or 

received or heard from me, 

or seen in me---

put it into practice.  

And the peace of God will be with you."

-Philippians 4:9

Reagan's Eight, Nine, and Ten Month Birthdays!

Yeah, I'm a little behind.  

But that's life as a Mommy, right? ;)

As I go along this journey, I am learning to let the little things go...

the house doesn't have to be spotless every second, 

the toys don't always have to be picked up, 

and sometimes my extracurricular activities have to 

take a backseat for a bit.  

But as crazy as things may seem at times, 

I wouldn't trade this season of my life for anything!

Alrighty, so how about a little update on Miss Priss?  

Then I have some exciting news--

and NO, I'm NOT pregnant! lol

-Temperament-

Hmm...well, this depends on what day it is, lol.  

Between having a couple of colds, teething, growth spurts, and vacations

 (we went to D.C. for a few days in May), 

her moods are all over the place!  

But when she's not going through a rough patch, she is honestly 

THE sweetest little girl in the world.  

She loves to laugh, smile, and be ticked, and play with her toys 

(usually with a friend...AKA Mommy or Daddy).  

She is CONSTANTLY going from sun up to sun down, 

which I can thank her Daddy for, 

since he was a hyper little booger when he was a child, too.  

But I tell him all the time that I can't wait to watch her grow up 

and see what her personality is going to be like!  

-Weight-

She's been keeping right up with the growth curve.  

At her nine month appointment, 

she weighed in at 19 lbs, 13 oz, 

and was about 28.5 inches long 

(both right above the 50th percentile).  

Her noggin is a little large, 

but the doc doesn't seem to be too concerned about that at this point.  

(We believe she just has a lot of brains in there, lol.)

-Milestones-

Well, ladies and gentlemen, 

we have a crawler on our hands!  

She took her first, um..."steps" 

(is that what you would call it when they crawl??) 

the day before her nine month appointment 

(so about a week after she turned nine months).  

Before that, she would pull up on things and liked to 

"walk" with us holding her hands.  

I swear, she was just bring stubborn about crawling and 

wanted to do it all in her own time!  

Now, she chases Tucker the Cat (AKA "Bubba") 

around either on her knees or in her walker.  

He's a pretty good sport about it all, 

and lets her get close enough to alllllmost 

touch him before running away. 

 I think he secretly enjoys all the attention. ;)

She also LOVES to babble, 

with her favorite words being "ba-ba" 

(which is what we call her bottle) and "ma-ma".  

She will occasionally say "da-da", 

but that's usually when she's mad about something 

(I guess she thinks Daddy 

will come take her side, lol).  

As far as food exploration goes, 

Reagan has graduated to mechanical soft foods 

(i.e. ground turkey, chicken, and mashed--but not pureed--veggies).  

Some of her faves are beets, yogurt, 

avocados, quinoa, and yogurt.  

Oh, and did I mention yogurt?  

Good gracious, this kid LOVES the stuff! lol

-Clothes-

Miss Chunky Thighs is still fitting into most of her 

nine month outfits, depending on the brand.  

We're finally getting into the summer attire, 

which means itty bitty baby bikinis and rompers---

Eeek!!!  I love it!  

-Pictures-

Because I'm doing three months of updates at once, 

I figured I'd just post Baby Girl's monthly pics 

from the last three months 

(as opposed to the 1,000 pictures 

I have taken of her in that time period LOL). 

Eight months.  Those cheeks.  I can't.  I just can't. :)

Miss Inquisitive at nine months.

Ten months.  

"Do I HAVE to take more pictures?? Can't I just play with my toy??"  

This is what I deal with on a daily basis.  She is the epitome of a "hot mess"! :)

---------------

Already, y'all!  That's about it for Reagan's update! 

Now for MY update...and my exciting news!!

I have made an official decision about where God 

is leading me on my career path.  

I am currently in the process of obtaining my 

Personal Trainer and Fitness Nutrition Specialist certifications--

whoop whoop!

My goal with this is to combine my love for 

fitness/nutrition and helping people be the healthiest they can be.  

My focus will be more on the nutrition aspect, 

since a clean, healthy diet is about 90% of a clean, healthy body.  

I would love to menu plan, grocery shop, 

and food prep with other Mommies 

who need the knowledge and motivation 

to get them in the best shape of their lives.  

Gah!  

I'm getting even more excited just talking about it!!! 

So, I'm asking all my readers to please be 

praying for me as I pursue this new journey.  

I am so anxious (in a good way) to see where God will 

lead me on this path and to see how many lives 

He will allow me to touch with the

 knowledge and passion He's given me!  

I will still post updates on here, 

both on Miss Thing and on when/if (that's a big "if") 

we decide to expand our family again.  

I will have another blog site dedicated to my fitness and 

nutrition business, with tips, recipes, workouts, 

and other motivational posts.  

I hope you all keep following this blog, 

but also that you check out the new blog 

(it'll be up and running in a few months), too!  

Before I go, I want to (as always) 

leave you with a verse for the day.  

I've used this one before, 

but it's one of my absolute favorites, 

so I'll share it again!  

"For I know the plans I have for you", 

says the Lord.  

"Plans to prosper you and not to harm you; 

plans to give you a hope and a future."  

-Jeremiah 29:11

I hope you all have a BLESSED week! :)

Peek-A-Boo!

Here I am!

I know.  I'm waaaaaaay late posting.  Please forgive me!

Our lives are a tad crazy right now, to say the least.  I tell you what---this parenting gig is a full-time job!  I haven't a CLUE how Michelle Duggar does it with 19 kids!  Sheesh!

I plan on posting Reagan's eight and nine month updates as soon as I have more than fifteen minutes to sit down and gather my thoughts.  There have been so many changes---not just with Baby Girl, but also with our lives!  Exciting stuff is happening!  (And NO, I'm NOT pregnant! Hahaha!)

I'll be back on here soon, but until then I hope you all have a blessed weekend and an AWESOME Mother's Day!

Reagan's Seven Month Birthday (+ a Prayer Request)

Hey, hey, hey!

It's that time again.  

Time to see how Baby Girl, and thus our lives, 

have changed!

-Temperament-

Overall, she is a happy baby!  

That is, unless you 

a) take her bottle from her before the last drop is drained, 

b) you stand in the way of the TV when her Mickey is on, 

or c) she is teething or in the middle of a growth spurt.  

But she spends most of her days bouncing in the exersaucer 

(can you say "lifesaver"?!), 

smiling and laughing at her hilarious parents 

(okay, I might have gone a little far with that one, lol), 

or attempting to pick up anything within her reach.  

She's a busy little bee!

-Weight-

At her 6 month appointment, 

Reagan was 17 lbs, 5 oz and 26 3/4 inches long.  

Yeah, she's a chunk, lol.  

That's roughly in the 75th percentile for both weight and height.  

Not too shabby, right? ;)

-Milestones-

While we're still not crawling, 

Miss Thing has mastered the art of sitting up and likes to bend at the 

waist until she's almost on her stomach to reach her toys.  

Sometimes she'll flop on over and then get mad 

because she can't figure out how to get where she wants to go.  

Oh well, she'll learn soon enough! 

She can, however, 

stand up while holding onto furniture, 

and attempts to walk in the mobile walker.  

Perhaps she'll do what her Daddy did and completely

 skip crawling and go straight to pulling up and walking??  

You never know with these kiddos!

Food wise, 

Reagan's been quite adventurous 

and is trying a wide array of yummy foods.  

So far she has tried (and enjoys) sweet potatoes, carrots, 

sweet peas, avocados, apples, bananas, pears, and mango.  

Tonight we're trying out the ole' kidney beans---

yummo!  

She is currently the proud owner of 

two pearly white hamster teeth, 

and is working on a third!  

Just when I thought that smile couldn't get any cuter, 

I see two tiny chompers peeking out 

and I just have to giggle!  

-Clothes-

She's still fitting into her 6-month stuff, 

which the occasional 9-month jacket or onesie.  

She loves her footie jammies, which is strange, 

because she really doesn't like to wear socks or shoes 

(she pulls them off or kicks her legs till they fall off, lol).  

But put her in a pair of footie jammies 

and she's happy as a clam!  

-Pictures-

My favorite part of the updates! :)

She's eyeing my left hand...the one that contains the bowl of bananas and oatmeal, lol.

This was the face I got before leaving for my single day of work one week.  

It was sooo hard to leave her! 

Love. This. Tiny. Diva.

One word: carrots.  Bahaha!  (This was her first taste.  

She learned to like them shortly after.)

Post-bath curls :)

Chillin' with Mommy.

She's such a big girl--sitting up in the buggy all by herself! 

Before her Dedication Ceremony at church!

First attempt at a sippy cup...

this is definitely going to take more practice, lol.

She was going for the "domestic goddess" look that day. 

And she totally ROCKED it! 

;)

Mommy's first time painting the piggies...

yeah, I should have waited till she was asleep. 

Mid-thigh rolls are my fave. 

:)

Holding her bottle like a pro!

Sporting her "Grandpa's Sweetheart" onesie on her Grandpa Dick's birthday.  

I sure do wish he could have met this little sweetie!

Morning play time is always fun.  She "speed dates" her toys and then decides

 she wants to watch Mickey instead.  

Nutso.

There is no place I'd rather be than here, with you. 

Seven month photo shoot! I love how she's leaning in to see her 

Daddy while he takes her picture. 

:)

Seven month progression.  

It's amazing to see how she's changed!  

Wow!

Isn't she a doll??

Gah. 

I'm so in love with this munchkin!

<3

Ok, now that our little update is done, 

let's talk prayer requests!

I've enjoyed sharing my

infertility journey with you

all, and I feel so blessed to be able to

share God's love and faithfulness

with others through this trial in my life. 

But... 

I can't shake the feeling that God is

 trying to show me a new area 

He wants to use me in, and I've been 

praying for Him to point me in the direction

He wants my blog and I to go.

What is this "new area", you ask?

I believe it is fitness, 

nutrition, and how to juggle 

healthy living 

while being a full-time Mommy.  

I know, you're probably like, 

"Where in the world did this come from?!"

Let me explain a little more...

I have been unhappy in my body

for years now, which (as you can imagine)

was only worsened postpartum.  

I hated the way I looked and I 

didn't even want my husband to look 

at me because I felt like a nasty troll 

(yes, I may have used those 

exact words at one point).

As you can imagine, this 

puts stress on the intimacy-side 

of marriage,

as well as my overall well-being.

Something had to give!

After praying and asking God to forgive me for 

not loving myself

the way He loves me or seeing the beauty 

in the body He gave me, 

I realized that I was the one who,

with prayer and dedication, 

could make the necessary

changes in order to be happy in my own

skin.

I had to make my body the 

temple it was designed 

to be so that God 

can use me to my full potential.

Profound, right?

I had to put these 

conclusions to action!

So, I have recently been making

alterations in my lifestyle: 

eating "clean" (no processed or refined foods),

no wheat/dairy (due to intolerances),

and incorporating weight

training into my workout routine

to gain strength.

I changed my diet almost four weeks

ago, and I have to say

that I haven't felt this good in...

well, I don't even

remember the last time I felt this good!

I have energy, despite 

being a full-time Mommy and part-time nurse.

My body has changed in

the most amazing ways in such a 

short period of time.

(I have abs again, y'all! 

Gasp!)

My constant physical ailments 

have all but subsided, including reflux, 

bloating, headaches, abdominal

pain, and chronic constipation

(TMI, I know, lol).  

I'm sleeping better at night, 

and I only drink one cup of coffee in the morning

(to help get me going ;) ).

See what I mean?? 

It's amaze-balls, folks!

So amaze-balls that I have to share

this with others

who are struggling with

loving their own God-given bodies!

Whatcha think??

Am I crazy for wanting to make this move?

Please be praying for 

God's guidance, 

and also please leave me a comment

with your thoughts!

I love you all and I can't thank you enough 

for sticking with me on this crazy 

path to Mommyhood. 

Of course, the journey has only begun,

so don't think I'll stop

updating you guys on our miracle!

I hope that as 

my blog evolves into 

something different, 

you guys will continue to follow

me as I go where God is leading me.

You never know--

God may have a blessing waiting 

for you there, too! 

:)

Reagan's Half-Year Birthday!

Man, it feels like for-ev-er 

(insert kid's voice from "The Sandlot")

since I've posted!  

I've really missed you guys!  

Let's see what's happened since I've been away,

shall we?

---

Well, for starters...

I have dealt with some tough emotional issues

over the past few months.  

Issues with handling

the changes that having a baby brings about

(as well as those pesky hormonal

ups and downs).

In a nutshell, 

I was trying to compare myself 

to all the other mothers 

I know,

as well as comparing Reagan to

their babies.

I know, shame on me. 

:(

I would get upset at myself if I couldn't 

accomplish all my 

daily chores of the day,

or if I didn't have time to thaw

meat out to make dinner for 

my husband.

I felt like I was letting he and Reagan 

down by not 

being a "good" wife and Mommy.

I also was getting frustrated when

Miss Thing wouldn't

nap longer than thirty minutes,

or when a friend's baby 

who was the same age

hit a milestone and she didn't.  

After praying about and struggling 

with this for weeks,

I finally felt the need to message an old

friend of mine from back home

about my concerns and

asked her to keep me in her prayers.

Her response was definitely

God-sent,

and it totally changed the way

I view my days.

She said she also had been

dealing with the sin of "comparing" her life,

which allowed bitterness to build

in her heart,

both towards herself and her son.

She had to ask forgiveness

from God

and then thank Him 

for the blessings thru the trials.

Even though her son

doesn't sleep the best,

he's healthy.

Even though he is clingy/needy, 

he's happy.

That's all that matters.

It doesn't matter if you

put a meal made from scratch 

on the table,

or if you heated

up a Stouffer's meal.

It doesn't matter if you 

completed every task on your 

To-Do list

while your child took

a two-hour nap,

or if you managed to

accomplish just the bare minimum

in between their cat-naps.

We have to continue to 

see the blessings in everything.

Even in the mundane, 

little things that we sometimes take for 

granted. 

After my conversation with her,

I chose to view life differently.

Instead of looking at everyday

like a version of Groundhog Day 

(yes, I'm embarrassed to 

say this is exactly how I described

it to my husband),

I now look at each day 

as an opportunity to teach my

daughter something.

To shower her with unconditional 

love.

To show her what a blessing 

she is to us,

and how much she

has changed our lives for the better.

And to show her how to 

live for God.

Every. Single. Day.

Whew.  

What a relief it was 

to figure out what was bothering me

and give it to God!  

It's amazing how, when we do that,

He supplies us with renewed

peace and patience,

and helps us to see The Big Picture

again!

---

Hmm...what else?

I started back at my old job 

(home health)

doing only one day a week.

So far, it's going great!

It sure is a blessing to be

able to work that one day and then spend 

the rest of my time with my

little munchkin!

Alright, now that you know

how I have changed 

in the last month,

let's look at how Peanut

has changed, too!

-Temperament-

She started putting herself 

to sleep the week after Christmas,

and (for the most part)

continues to do so!  

This is a SERIOUS blessing---

no more bouncing

till my legs hurt! lol

We had a slight regression

that lasted a good two weeks or so

(waking early from her naps 

and throughout the night),

but now Baby Girl 

is back on track.

Woohoo!

Reagan smiles at people

she recognizes now,

which sure does melt your heart!

She likes to squeal and 

make noises, 

but doesn't quite "babble" yet.

I'm waiting for the 

day when I hear "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma"

coming from her nursery monitor.

I'm sure it'll be

any day now! 

She likes to grab EVERYTHING now,

especially our phones.

She has figured out she can

actually bounce in

her Exersaucer,

so that occupies at least a few 

minutes of her day.

Nothing really keeps her attention

for more than ten minutes at a time, though.

Apparently, I can thank her Daddy

for this, because he was

just like that as a child.  

Grrrrrreat, lol.

-Weight-

The last time I weighed her,

Miss Piggy was somewhere around 16 lbs.

Yeah, I know.  

Homegirl likes to eat.

;)

Her 6-month well-check is this Thursday,

so we shall see what she's 

at then!  

-Milestones-

Reagan is officially sitting up

on her own!  

She loves to sit up and 

place her toys in front of her and

then kick them till they're 

out of reach.

Then she will grab them 

(or make us give them back)

and it starts all over again.

Silly puppy, lol.

We started her on baby food about two

weeks shy of her sixth month

birthday due to the doctor's recommendation.

Her reflux wasn't getting any better 

with the medications,

so we decided to stop them all and

start baby food, which 

would allow us to decrease the 

amount of formula she was getting.

Believe it or not, 

this has made a world of difference!

Her spit-up episodes have

decreased at least 75%,

and now when she does spit-up,

it's usually because 

we've jostled her a little too much.

PTL for this,

because everything was getting 

creamed with formula

puke on a daily basis! 

(Which feels even more gross

than it sounds, lol.)

So, you may be asking how

she liked the baby food.

It's food, ain't it?? 

This chick LOVES to eat!

It doesn't really matter

what it is I'm feeding her 

(although she definitely prefers 

bananas to apples

and sweet potatoes to avocados),

she opens her mouth

and cleans up that spoon

like a pro! 

That's my girl! ;)

Side Note:

I'm making all of her baby food

right now,

so if you have any pointers

or "go-to" recipes,

please leave a comment 

or message me and fill me in! 

Thanks!

In addition to sitting up 

and starting 

baby food, Baby Girl also

cut her first tooth!  

Eek!!!

It's the bottom, front, right one, 

and it's teeny tiny and 

oh-so cute.  

Her Daddy and I were soooo

happy to see that little guy

poking through,

because she was constantly fussy,

not wanting to finish her bottles,

and not sleeping well 

(this was the regression I mentioned earlier).

Let's just hope she handles

it a little better next time one starts to 

come in.

(Yeah, right.)

-Clothes-

For the most part, 

Miss Thunder-Thighs is wearing

6-month attire,

with the occasional 3-month

onesie or 9-month outfit

that fits (depending on the brand).

-Pictures-

(Warning: prepare to be bombarded 

with cuteness!)

Bath time photoshoot! 

Miss Priss has mastered the art of 

splashing water 

with her legs, which 

makes baths way more fun!

Showing Mommy her spiffy socks.

Her first snow day!

She was less than impressed

with the cold, white stuff,

lol. 

Sitting up like a big girl!

(And VERY into Mickey,

if you can't tell from 

the expression, lol.)

"I said no more pics, Mom! Now go 

to your room.  I said go!"

Diggin' her new ride (which she only 

knows how to operate in 

reverse).

Big bow = big smile!

You are my sunshine...my only sunshine...

:)

Wagon ride with Mickey!

I think the sun was a little bright. 

Poor Baby Girl couldn't see, lol.

Constructing her next masterpiece...

Fingers in the mouth.

Always.

She knows she's cool...

Snuggle time with Mommy!

(And yes, I chopped off all my hair! 

BIG mistake! Haha.)

Six month photoshoot!

My fave.

<3

Love. This. Tiny. Human. 

---

That's all, folks!

I can't wait to update y'all again 

next month, 

because at the rate this kid

changes, I'm sure 

there will be tons of new milestones

to report by then!

I pray you all have a fab February!

Until we meet again...

:)

Verse/Thought of the Day:

"I will sing of your strength, 

in the morning I will sing of your love; 

for you are my fortress, 

my refuge in times of trouble." 

Psalm 59:16

No matter the obstacle 

you're facing,

no matter how busy your 

day may be...

you're never too busy 

to stop and praise the King!

(Hey, that rhymed...sort of, lol.)