An update........FINALLY

I have about 1,000 reasons for why I haven't updated the blog in so long, but here is my Top Six (not in any particular order):
5) House building - Things have really been moving along and we are about ready to move in!! Just waiting on countertops. After everything is completed I plan to do a big blog post about our construction project! Though I'm not able to help Jackson out in the house much, I fixing supper, cleaning up, doing laundry, playing, etc. That doesn't leave much time for blogging. :)
4) Earlier Bed time - Ever since I started getting up at 5am to get ready for work I am usually so tired by 8:30 that I can barely keep my eyes open. As soon as the kids get to sleep, I quickly clean up things that need to be cleaned then head to bed!
3) Internet issues - Jackson was using the backhoe to run the gas line from our propane tank to the house and cut the phone/internet line. He fixed it and the internet worked intermittently, but eventually we had no connection. It took a couple weeks for it to get fixed!
2) Internship - If I am able to keep my eyes open past 9pm, I have SO much work to do for my internship that I try to work on things in the evenings. One of my supervisors is going on maternity leave next month so we are extra busy trying to get things caught up before she leaves.
1) Cheerleading - We have cheerleading practice every evening, so I drive home from work and go to practice. Mom usually brings the girls to me so that I don't have to get home even later, but we still don't get home until 6 or so.

The biggest reason I have not been updating is that I'm trying to enjoy life, even though things are super busy!!!!!


Trick or Treat!

Raelyn LOVED LOVED LOVED her wig from her costume. She went as Rapunzel from the Disney movie Tangled. She would put the wig on and dance around, do cheers, and stand in from of the mirror and swing her hair from side to side. It was the best $5 I've ever spent! Here are the girls before going to school on Halloween on Monday. All the kids got dressed up and walked around town on Friday and then had their parties on Monday.
Reghan had 2 costumes. Here is our sweet little cupcake!
Rapunzel and Snow White really enjoyed trick or treating. I couldn't believe how much stuff we brought home after so few stops!!
I've still been taking Reghan's monthly pic, even though I haven't posted them. Here she is at 9 months. I've decided its almost impossible to take pictures of a 9 month old by yourself. By the time I sat her down, ran to get my camera, got down on my belly and focused, she had already crawled all the way to me! We took pics for over an hour and this is seriously the ONLY pic that turned out! Good thing she looks so stinkin cute!

Reghan is such a sweetheart. She started crawling September 16th, which was the day before my cousin's wedding (more on that below). She began clapping about a month ago and has started waving at us now. For a few weeks she has been pulling up to furniture and walking along while holding on. She sometimes says "woof" (or something similar) when you ask her what a doggie says, and she really enjoys watching our dogs run around. She feeds her self small pieces of food pretty well now, but she is still not a big eater. At her 9 month well check, she weighed 18lbs 1oz (56th percentile) and was 27 inches (40th percentile).

Silly Reghan! I was testing out a new light I got for my photography studio and she got to be my guinea pig....she kept laying her head down, but I'm not sure why :)
She told me she plans on going to medical school, which is why she is playing with Raelyn's doctor kit.

Miss Reghan at 8 months!
So sweet!


Awwwww! During Reghan's 8 month pics, Raelyn said she wanted to have her picture taken also. I thought this was really cute, but was NOT representative of how the session went as a whole. It ended in both girls crying and me yelling at Jackson.....ahhh memories.

One Saturday in October we enjoyed the beautiful weather at a local park. Raelyn took her tricycle and rode the path, we played on the equipment, and enjoyed a walk.........that is until we go on the other side of the park (as far away from the car as possible). Raelyn decided that she did not want to ride her bike. She had a total melt down and would NOT walk back to the car. I had to carry Raelyn, the tricycle, and push the stroller back to the car.

During Homecoming week in September, the kids had dress up days at school and one day was Crazy Hair Day. This was my version of crazy hair, but it actually looked more cute than crazy :)



OK - now for the wedding. My cousin DJ got married in September and DJ and Bethany asked Raelyn to be the flower girl. I was excited, but I can not describe how stressed out I was about this whole ordeal. Anyone that knows Raelyn knows that she does what she wants when she wants to do it. If you force her to do something she usually has a massive melt down that involves crying and her screaming "That I not nice! That makes me sad!" (As a psychologist, I feel that it is important for kids to be able to identify their emotions so I've talked alot about that. She's good at identifying her emotions, but it's kinda funny when she is screaming THAT MAKES ME SAD!!!!) Anyway, I could not fathom that the day would go well, and if I were a betting woman I would've put a great deal of money that she would definitely shed some tears at the wedding!

HOWEVER....Overall the day went really well. She LOVED LOVED LOVED getting her hair and nails done. Jackson watched Reghan for the day so I could focus on Raelyn. We were at the salon for quite awhile doing hair and nails, then walked to Harmons for lunch, then walked to the church so we could get dressed for pictures. The photographer got a couple of pictures with her in them, but she wasn't smiling in any of them. The picture below of Raelyn with DJ was a miracle! To my disbelief, when it came time for her to walk down the aisle, she did it! I crouched down at the front of the church and Jackson pointed at me. Once she spotted me she walked/ran down the aisle with a super serious face....no tears, no crying.....just one relieved mommy! Jackson said she was on the verge of a major melt down right before coming upstairs. After she came and sat by me, I looked at my grandma and she said "God answers prayers!" That's for sure!!

Here is Raelyn during her practice session. Raelyn's hair is getting really long now, but it is still very thin. Plus, she has never had a haircut, so I wasn't sure how she would do with sitting and having someone mess with her hair. She did really well and we just kept her occupied with suckers.
Amber did a great job!
This was the first time Raelyn had her nails done. She really like this too.


Sweet picture!
Hallelujah!!!!!!! I got a picture of DJ with Raelyn AND she was smiling!
I LOVE THIS ONE!!!!
There was a LOT of dancing and rolling around on the floor and wallowing around while waiting for the wedding to start.....I was about to have a nervous breakdown because I could just see her hair coming out or her ripping her dress.
We did a lot of practice runs during the pictures. At the rehearsal she refused to walk down the aisle without me.



Sisters

Raelyn and Reghan are so fun to watch together! Raelyn is a good big sister and plays well with Reghan (sometimes). Reghan is so mobile now that Raelyn gets made she Reghan takes her toys or grabs something, but in general they get along well. Raelyn tells me often that she loves Reghan or that Reghan is my baby sister....it just melts my heart. Reghan LOVES to watch Rae jump up and down and dance. She just giggles and giggles and giggles.
Raelyn insisted on feeding Reghan her cereal one morning. I love Reghan's face in this picture...."Really mom? You are letting HER feed me?"