What I've Been UP to...

I've had an itch lately to decorate my house... and let's be honest, it's been over a year, so it's about time!  I still haven't figured out paint colors for my walls, but the furniture is getting some much needed love.  :) 

My cabinet.   

Painted and antiqued.  It was my first attempt at this, I am happy with the way it turned out, it's not perfect but I'll take it.

 The table... it has taken a beating.

 I'm not done yet, it's also going to get some paint.  I'm super excited.

 And these are my next victims.  :)  The tables, I have 2... not the cute blocks!   

 I have also finally put some vinyl up on my walls!  Yeah!  :) 

And Saturday I finished these!  I am LOVING them!  They are HUGE!  And they are going to go up in the space above my cabinets in my kitchen!  SO excited! I'll have to post an update when everything is done!  Right now, I'm just really excited!  :) 

PS.  I would LOVE some paint color suggestions!  PLEASE!  I'm running low on ideas. 

SqUiSh-A-FaCe!

We think we are pretty funny at our house... I'm not going to lie, we crack ourselves up on a regular basis! ...Somehow this started with Harrison... who has the very best squishy face ever! haha. So naturally we all do it a lot and they think it is HILARIOUS! (We also like to do it to each other!) Even Reagan loves it, she cracks up every time we say it! 'Cause you have to say it while you do it! "Squish-a-Face!"

Moments...

Woke up to some weird bite on my foot... then realized Patrick had 3... not on his feet! Something was eating us alive while we were sleeping... Yeah!

Reagan has had major allergies the last couple of days, which = yucky runny nose. Which also means miserable sleeping! She threw up ...snot... twice during the night! Awesome!

Jackson got to ride the bus home from school... and then back to school... because we forgot to meet him at the bus stop and they won't let Kindergartners off the bus without a parent! It was early day! (Both of us were home too!) Sweet!

I made a dish tonight for dinner that supposedly everyone loves... no one ate! Not even Harrison... I am trying not to let it hurt my feelings! ...And I'm not cooking again this week! That's right, I'm on strike! Woot woot!

It was Patrick's day off... and I feel like we didn't even spend 10 minutes together! He cleaned though... mopped and vacuumed and did the dishes... he hated every minute of it, I'm sure! (He might have even been a little bit irritated that it needed to be done - as in irritated with me!) But I love him more for doing it... SO much more than he knows!

Had Reagan's first evaluation with the OT and the case worker for the state. They were amazing! ...I was sad! To us she is Reagan, she does what she does, and we are excited about everything she does! Watching was painful... she is behind... a lot more than I realized... reality check, one of many I am sure... Bummer!

I hate days when I feel like I'm failing as a mom and wife! ...And my foot hurts! Rrrrr.... Tomorrow is a new day... Right?!

Family

While we were in Utah we had some family pictures taken with the Salisburys. Here are a few.(Jackson's smile might look a little crooked, these were taken the day after he was attacked by a trampoline spring. But thanks to photo-shop, all of the bruising and scabbing is gone.) :)I knew that with 3 kids it was going to be hard to get a good picture of all of us. These last two kind of sum it up! Jackson - smiling and ready, he loves the camera. Harrison - being shy and not too happy to force a smile. And Reagan - was blowing bubbles and looking at the grass. :) But they turned out cute.

6 Months

Technically, she is almost 7 months now. But I thought I would write a little about how she is doing and what she is doing... and include her 6 month stats. :)

She is GROWING & STRONG! She went from barely being on the growth chart at her 4 month visit to being in the 50th percentile for both her height and weight!!! At 6 months she was 25.5 inches tall and 14 lbs. 14 oz. I can't even express how excited I was! ...The pic is kind of blurry, but she is standing with only the help of my finger! With her brace on no less! She is very determined!

She loves to EAT! I swear, all I do is feed this girl! She has had no problems transitioning to food. And she LOVES her food. It's actually gotten harder to get her to drink her bottle! haha. She loves to PLAY & LAUGH! It has become a pastime at our house to crack-up Reagan. She has the funniest belly laugh... and no shortage of entertainment! She thinks her dad is hilarious, he looks at her and she starts to giggle! And she could sit and watch Jackson all day! (They are bonded, those too!) It's so fun! And she also loves to give KISSES! :)
She is still in her brace, but she is getting a better - more comfortable - one in about a week! (Yeah!) She hates it, and I don't blame her, but hopefully it's just for a couple more months. She is pushing up on her arms more (Yeah!) and she can even sit up and tripod for a few seconds! :) And she is going to start Occupational Therapy (OT) next week, which I am SUPER excited about! (OT is therapy of the motor skills that occupy your time - so we will work on different things at different stages - but for now it will be rolling, sitting, playing, using her hands, etc.) I'm including a pic of her hair, that is now officially to her back! :)

She is doing so well, and changing so fast! She is the princess at our house ...but that's ok... we needed a princess!

Where'd everybody go?

Our house at 5:00 pm on Wednesday.... Patrick and I were in the kitchen talking while the boys were doing their thing, we could see and hear them from where we were. And then they were gone... and quiet! After a few minutes of absolute quiet, we though we should investigate. (Too quiet is not usually a good thing!) They hadn't moved, just sort of tipped over! haha.

Harrison...

Jackson...It's been a big week for both of them! :) Sweet boys!

...And Reagan too! I knew why she was being quiet! Cute girl, eating her hand and playing with her hair in her sleep! :) I love my kids!

"It Was The Best Day EVER!"

Those were his words as he got off the bus! Quickly followed by an explanation of how sweaty he was! :) He LOVES his teacher! Yeah! His favorite part... recess! haha. And he is just as excited about tomorrow as he was about today! Which is good, because he gets to get up in the morning and do it all over again! I'm so proud of him! He is proud of himself too! (He told me!) :) And he should be! When did he get to be so big?!Harrison went with me to pick him up, he was so excited to have Jackson back! (Although in this picture they both look beat! It was the 104 temp. We'd been waiting for 20 min. in it and Jackson had been on the bus with no AC for even longer!) He picked out a Hot Wheel for Jackson at the store today, which Jackson loved! They didn't stop playing until bedtime! They are too funny together!

Harrison did really well too. He didn't even cry! I know he missed him, but I think he kind of loved having the attention too! :) And to reward them both for their bravery, they got some new books! (The DK Eye Wonder books are a favorite at our house!) I found this book a couple of weeks ago, it came just in time for school! It is super cute! And it made him laugh! I would totally recommend it! I'm so relieved he had a good first day experience! It's a big deal! ...He got to make a picture with finger paint, eat snacks, play on the playground with his friends and ride the bus! haha. Yep, that sounds like his dream day!

1st Day of ScHOoL!

Today is Jackson's first day of Kindergarten! He was SO excited to go this morning! When I went in to wake him up, he started smiling before he even opened his eyes! :) We have to get up at about 6 am to be on time for the bus, it's SO early. But he is a cheerful Dude bright and early, he talked my ear off the whole time we were getting him ready. And he looked sharp! I know he is my kid, but he is the most handsome kid EVER! He said this was his "Cool" picture, so I have to inlcude it! :)

Sporting his new red backpack.

He held my hand and continued to talk my ear off as we walked around the corner to the bus stop. :) (He is so big and with 2 younger siblings, hand holding is a rarity! I sort of loved it!) We got there a few minutes early and waited... (I think he was trying not to be nervous!)and waited...Finally!

Getting on the bus! (And nope, I wasn't the only parent with a camera!)

He wasn't sure where to sit, so he went toward the back. He found a seat where he could see me and started waving! He was still waving as they drove away!... With the biggest smile on his face! Big and brave! He is going to LOVE it!I was so excited/nervous for him, I think I barely slept! I didn't want him to be scared, and now I'm just hoping he doesn't get lost or scared once he's there, and that he has the time of his life! This is the weirdest feeling in the whole world! haha. Yes, I did choke up a little walking home all by myself! I'm not ashamed! :) I love him so much! And I am super proud of him!

...And now, to cheer up Bubba! Harrison has been a little lost this morning! :) I told him Jackson was at school this morning, we talked and he was fine. But because he was asleep when he left, it must not have registered! Because a few minutes later I found him at the top of the bunk bed ladder on the verge of tears yelling "Where Jackson go?". I told him again that he was at school and that he would be back, all he would say was "I want Jackson". Break my heart! He's doing better now, so we'll see what the day brings! :) Hopefully lots of smiles from both my boys!

Guess What?....

Patrick is 30! He deemed it the worst birthday ever! Nope, not because he's upset about the milestone. Because of what he got... or rather what he didn't get! :) For some reason I can't help but think of Ralphie dreaming of that Red Ryder BB gun, it's all he can think about. That would be Patrick for the last year. Only his dream gun is a little bigger. No letters to Santa have been written, he's just been bookmarking every 300 Win Ultra Mag rifle he can find online. And sadly, unlike Ralphie's Christmas surprise, it was not hiding anywhere for him to find! ...He wasn't too surprised about that either... because of what he did get.... He got to buy a whole new set of tires, he bought two brand new fillings (that are now in Jackson's mouth), he also got to donate to our Reagan MD fund. ...The presents he got to actually open where a little more fun... PB M&M's Clash of the Titans and an iTunes card. :) (Nothing like a little sad music, a guy-flick and some comfort food to soften the blow!) I think, even though it wasn't what he really wanted, he was still pretty happy! :)

Dad and Jackson sharing some love.... Harrison planning his escape! :) (Funny: At the store Jackson kept telling me "we can't get him that, he wants a gun! That's not a gun!" He was very concerned! haha.)

And since we had a surprise party in UT, we decided to just do dinner with some friends. The Elam's came to party! :) We had his food of choice, Chinese. We played games and then had cake and ice-cream. Red velvet. Mmmmm...Jackson actually blew out his candles before we sang the last note of the song. "Man, isn't that just icing on the cake! I get gipped out of a wish too! Geeze!" (I'm guessing, but I'm pretty sure that's what he was thinking!) haha. To the man I love and adore... Someday! I know you hate it when I say it, but it's true, I promise. Someday it will be yours, in all of it's shiny, metal, deadly glory! I will work my coupon-clipping butt off to make it happen! Just be patient! Really! :)

Love of my life, best friend forever, super hot man of mine! :) I hope you know how much I love you! (How much we ALL love you!) You are the craziest, funniest, strongest, sweetest, VERY BESTEST! I'm SO excited for the next 30! Really, really! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!