Reagan's First Trip to the Dentist

Most parents probably dread taking their child to the dentist. I am not one of those parents! I couldn't wait to take Reagan in for her first official check-up. I wasn't that excited to watch her cry or try to run away like most children do.... I was excited to see the girls (and guy) that have helped me raise Reagan! I worked for 5 years for the dentists. I only worked in the office for a short time, but I learned a lot. The rest of the time I watched their 4 boys. I spent a lot of time in the dental office, which also meant Reagan did too! Everyone there would help watch her, talk to her, and take of her while I worked with them. They do not know how much they helped me out.
When we got there today Reagan was very excited to see everyone. She ran all around. When I took her back to get started with her exam she laid right down. By the time Donna started checking her teeth, she was done! She did not want to lay down any more. Donna got a quick look and went back to get the doctor. While we waited Reagan ran and ran and ran and ran around the office. I normally would not let me child do this, but no one seemed to mind and I guess I am still quite comfortable there. Dr. Debbie came in to check Regan's teeth. I held Reagan while she laid on mine and Dr. Debbie's lap. She fussed and tried to push everyones hands away. She tried to get away once, but was unsuccessful. After a few short minutes she was done! All looked GREAT!! She has a few teeth poking through right now but most of them are in. Beautiful teeth!! I was glad to hear that. We spent some more time running around the office and chatting with everyone. Here is what I want Reagan to remember from this trip:

• Going to the dentist is not scary
• Running in the dentist office is not normally OK
• After getting your teeth looked at you shouldn't eat an almond bar out of the dental assistants hand
• Getting a prize from a drawer might be the coolest thing ever (especially when it makes noise)
• When mommy says it is time to go, she means it the 3rd time she says it.
• YOU HAVE BEAUTIFUL TEETH!!!!

Peek-a-boo Uncle Kyle...

Reagan had fun playing with her Uncle Kyle. I don't think she has seen him since March of last year. It took her a little while to warm up to him, but once she did, she was all over him. Making him take her to see the puppies, watching children's songs on his laptop and playing peek-a boo. She wakes up in the morning and asks for Kyle and Devin. She LOVES her Uncle Kyle!!

Thank you Kyle and Devin for visiting us this week. We loved playing games and visiting with you. Can't wait to see you again soon...

Devin Time!!

We had a very busy week. It started last Sunday when Uncle Kyle, Devin and Reggie (the dog) arrived. Unfortunately Aunt Angela and Dalton had to stay back in Missouri :(. They got in last Saturday night and stayed all week. We first saw them on Sunday. We went out to eat at the Country House. (Which is a restaurant in Colo, IA.. I STRONGLY suggest you try it sometime. Yummy home cooked food!) We met Great Grandma Tjelmeland, Kyle and Devin, Grandpa and Grandma, and Grandma Becki. It took Reagan a while to warm up to Kyle, but she warmed right up to Devin! After lunch we headed back to Ames. Mom, Becki and I did a little shopping while Reagan napped. When we got back, we headed to the park (I am hoping to get pictures from my mom).

At the park Reagan did a lot of things:

• Ran around calling Devin's name every 2 minutes
• Chased Devin on the equipment
• Pretended to go down the slide, but just really wanted to play on the steps.
• Tried to take a strangers cell phone while she was playing football
• Ran from Uncle Kyle
• Crawled through the tunnel and watched mommy get stuck in the tunnel
• Played basketball with Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle Kyle
• Learned to dribble the basketball (Reagan would bounce the ball up and down and then just move her shoulders!)
• Shot baskets through Uncle Kyle, Daddy, and Grandpa's arms
• Played on the swings
• Have a FUN time with family.

At grandma and grandpa's house Reagan was surprised to see a puppy with Tess (mom and dads dog) Reggie is my brothers Chocolate Lab. He is a certified search and rescue dog and one of the most well behaved dogs I have ever seen. Reagan loved petting him!

Here are just a few pictures of Reagan and Devin. She LOVES her big cousin!!

More Park Pictures

Swinging with mommy! Mommy needs to get her hair done!
Getting ready to go down the slide.

Throwing a pouty because it is time to go home.

Swinging with Grandma Becki!

Reagan & Addy... Best Friends

Our friends Chad and Leslie have a little girl named Adalynn. Leslie and I experienced a lot of things together. We found out we were both pregnant within a week of each other, then we both miscarried within a week of each other, then found out the same day we were pregnant again and our girls were born 9 days apart. Reagan and Addy have been friends since before they were born. They have grown up together and it is fun to watch them interact with each other. Although we don't always get to see Addy (or her parents), we always have fun when we get together. Since our last outing was without the girls, this time it was all about them! We took them to the park down by our house and let them play. I think they would have stayed there all day...

Best Friends don't shake hands, they hug and hold hands!!

A day outside...

Monday was a BEAUTIFUL day outside. Reagan took a good nap and when she got up I took her straight outside! Here are some of the things we did outside: Reagan LOVES the dogs. She would go over to the fence and yell Butters and then she would run the other way laughing while Butters wined because he could not chase her.

Here she is stretching her legs! She was getting ready to run away from me!

She rode on her little pink and purple car that Santa brought her! She would go about 5 inches then get off and push it into the rocks and say uh-oh!

"I can't believe you won't let me play in the street! I am daddy's little princess! I should get to do whatever I want!!!!" (this fit lasted about 10 minutes all because I wouldn't let her go in the street)

Baby Blues! Gotta love those eyes!!

Tu-Tu Cute!

My friend Jen made Reagan this tu-tu for Christmas. At first Reagan didn't know what to think of it. I would put it on her and she would want it off right away. Now, I can't get it off of her! She likes to twirl in it and spin around in circles. She also like to pair it with Jon's Nike hat.
Just because she has her tu-tu on doesn't mean she can't shoot some hoops!

She can walk and drink her sippy while wearing her tu-tu and hat.

She LOVES her tu-tu. Thank you Jen for making this special gift for Reagan. Maybe next time she won't insist on wearing the hat!!

Fun at the Park...

Finally a nice day to get out. Saturday morning my friend Abbie came over with her son Austin. We let the kids play inside for a while and then decided it was time to get outside. It was a little chilly, but nothing a few coats and hats couldn't fix. We walked to one of the parks by our house and let the kids loose. Abbie just got a new camera and I wanted to test out my new lense so we thought a trip to the park would be perfect! I felt like I was a member of the paparazzi and just kept following Reagan everywhere she went.

Reagan and Austin take a time out for a hug!

So cute...

We had a good time at the park. When it came time to leave Reagan ran away, kicked and screamed, and fought me to get in her stroller. Apparently she was not done playing. It was a fun day and felt nice to get outside!

I GIVE UP

It seems I can't win lately. Reagan has made it one month and 6 days with no ear infection. Today- ear infection. I would love to spend $20 on a date night or new shirt- not a doctor co-pay!! She had a small fever yesterday, we thought it was teeth. I brought her home from work early to try and get her better. She took a 20 minute nap and woke up screaming. I got her up and then she fell asleep on me for another 20 minutes. That's it! Then today Jon went to get her up for the day and 103.1 fever!! She has little red spots on her legs and her eyes were swollen. I took her to the doctor and said the left ear is infected and the spots are from the fever. So here are the things I have learned in the last 3 months:

• We like to support our local clinic- when I call to make an appointment they say "Poor Reagan, what is wrong now!" They don't even have to ask my name.
• We do not want Jon to be bored at work. I am not sure if this is Reagan's way of getting to see daddy at work or not. She does like to spend a lot of time at the pharmacy pulling things off the shelf and taking them behind the counter to Jon. (Her favorite things to grab are snickers, deodorant, and some type of lotion)
• I am not meant to work a full week in 2009
• Reagan HATES taking medicine. She was so quick to dodge Jon this morning that he accidentally shot it all over her face, which was followed by a bath.
• Tubes in the ears do not equal no ear infections!!!!!!!!!
• When asked what medication works best for Reagan I responded- "Obviously nothing, because we are back here again!" Then I follow up with "Talk to the pharmacist!"
• I feel bad for my poor little girl and want to cry because I don't know how to make it better for her!!

Maybe next week will be better... but this week I GIVE UP!!!

Way to go BOMBERS!!!

Reagan had her second trip to the Girls State Basketball Tournament! She doesn't remember last years trip- she was 7 months old and wore her purple pajamas. This year she got into it a little more! The Ballard girls basketball team has made it to the state tournaments that last 4 years. This year was the year! They won the 3A Championship Title. It was a good game. They played Sioux City Bishop Heelan. The Ballard Bombers won 47 to 22! It was a great night to be a Bomber!

Before the game I tried to let her run and get tired, but she just wanted to look around at everything. Once the game started she was ready to go. She would clap and yell "basketball". She danced all night and entertained a few people around us during the time outs. She gave out a lot of high- fives and hugs. She shared a bowl of ice-cream with me and attempted to drink Jon's pop. She had lots of fun and made it through the entire game with no fits. This made me and Jon very happy. She managed to stay awake the entire ride home. She went to bed without any problems. I think all of the dancing and clapping wore her out! She had a lot of fun and I think that Jon is secretly hoping we will be watching her play basketball at Wells Fargo Arena in the future!!

A Beautiful Day in March

Future Senior Picture

I am out of here!

Yummy!

What a beautiful day in March. We played outside, ate rocks, ran all around, and went for a walk!

No more ear infections!

Reagan has battled ear infections since she was 5 weeks old. We went up and down with getting tubes when she was 4 months old, but then the ear infections stopped. In October of 2008 they started back up again. We tried to ignore them. That didn't work. She wouldn't eat, would cry every time you laid her down, and wouldn't sleep. So, we tried medicine. Then more medicine. Then more medicine. The medicine didn't work. So we met with and ENT specialist and he said it was time for tubes. I thought I would have time to prepare myself for this. Nope! We met with him on a Wednesday, and they scheduled her surgery for the following Wedneday, February 4.

I thought I would have more time to prepare myself for this. I talked to a lot of people during the week I did have to prepare. Everyone told me it was no big deal (which most of them had been through this with their own child). Deep down I wanted to believe them, but I was having a hard time with it.

There were only a few rules we had to follow the night before the surgery. The main one was Reagan could have nothing to eat or drink 12 hours before. NOTHING- not even water. Normally that wouldn't matter. But the night before (or should I say morning), Reagan was up from 11pm to 3:30am. All she wanted was a drink. So after many failed attempts of trying to get a drink, she fell asleep.

We got the hospital at 6:15am. (It was a short night for us!) We checked in and they took us back into our room. There was a stuffed puppy from the hospital waiting in there for Reagan. We had an hour to waste before it was her turn. We walked up and down the halls, Reagan said "Hi" to everyone she met, she liked getting on and off the scale,we watched cartoons, and chased her down the hall. Finally it was her turn!

They put hospital bracelets on her wrist-which she did not like. Jon attempted to hide them under her pajamas, but she caught on. Jon took her back with the nurses when it was time to put her under. (The nurse suggested that I not go back because I cried the entire time I talked to her on the phone! I agreed.) Jon said she did fine and didn't even cry. The gave her a mask to play with and then slipped a mask on her.

The entire procedure took about 15 minutes. She had to sit in recovery with a nurse for 15 minutes, then we could have her. I could hear her crying down the hall. I finally got to hold her. She cried for the next 30 minutes. She did stop once to take a drink and tell us that the water was cold, then she started crying again. We made it home and she spent the rest of the day watching Nemo with daddy, playing, and sleeping. She was back to normal in no time.

All in all it was harder on me than her. I cried more than she did, I worried more than she did, and I will remember more than she will. I am hoping this is the end of ear infections!!

One big picture

Ok. So I have been so worried about trying to make this blog perfect and I am getting really frustrated that the picture I have with the title is HUGE and I can not figure out how to make it smaller. So for now Reagan's yogurt covered face is all you can see!! Not that I am complaining, she is pretty cute! Any pointers on how to shrink this picture would be lovely!

Here we go....

Welcome to my blog! I am not sure what I am doing, but hopefully I will figure it out. I have been debating on whether or not I wanted to start a blog. After a lot of thinking here we are. I love reading the blogs of my friends and family and think it is a great way to stay up-to-date with the people you don't see or talk to everyday. So I am going to do my best to keep you all informed of what happens in the Remsburg house! I also am excited to start something that can keep growing with my family.