Weekend Whirlwind

Last Thursday, Chuck, Raegan, De De, and I headed to Wilmington, NC for one of my best friends' (Stephanie's) wedding.

Beyond a weekend full of fun with my girlfriends from college, the super cool town, the incredible food, the air conditioning not working in our first hotel room, the move to another hotel room after 2 days, the credit to our account post hotel room move, the strolls down the riverwalk, the rain, the hanging out in the hotel like it was Spring Break '95 in PCB (due to the rain), and last but not least--the INCREDIBLE wedding where Stephanie looked UH-AMAZING, the trip also included a few firsts for little Miss Raegan:

First Plane Ride:

Ready to board

And....we're off!

I have to say, she did great. Zero meltdowns.

If you would have asked us (especially Chuck) how we thought the flights were going to go, we would have predicted that every passenger would request a full refund for such a disruption from our loud (but sweet) 5.5 month old. Shame on us for having such little faith. Raegan barely made a peep. We are so proud of her! (Although, the "blow out" on on our connecting flight to Charlotte coming back was a bit of a challenge...)

The lovely bride picking us up in Wilmington

(Which, by the way, has my new favorite airport. "Baggage Claim? That would be two steps to your left ma'am". Awesome...)

Another first for Rae-Seeing her first boat:

While I was attending a Bridal Luncheon, Chuck, Raegan, and De De went for some walks. Raegan apparently loves to "people watch". Finally! Something she gets from her mommy. :) We'll have to be careful and teach her soon that "it's not nice to stare". You must do it discreetly...

First Hotel Stay:

Learning to adapt to whatever environment she's in. Good girl!

And, last but not least-Cutting her first tooth:

That's right. Raegan cut her first tooth while we were on this trip. Now, there are no pictures of this ultra fun experience or the pearly white itself. In their place, a note from Raegan to De De:

"De De, I am so sorry that I kept everyone up all night every single night. I was trying to tell you all what was wrong, but no one would listen. It even took mommy several nights to figure it out. Thank goodness when she got in Friday night, she decided to feel of my swollen little gums. Ahhhh...that felt good....

Even though the Orajel didn't help me to really sleep, I was happy that everyone was home paying full attention to me. I hope you will consider coming back on future trips with us. I love when you take care of me. I promise to try to do better. I love you."

SUCH A FUN TRIP!

Here are some more shots:

Luncheon

I love this picture. It's indicative of the entire weekend. Casey, no doubt, telling some crazy story while Lauren and I wait to pose for the pic. Ahhh....the "Mayor of Fun"

Rain? We'll have oysters...

Our hotel had no air conditioning but it had a Ruth's Chris in the lobby.

How does that quite work out?

Post the Cupid Shuffle...

Congratulations, Steph and Dave! We had a great time.

I heart Wilmington...

HAPPY GRANDPARENTS' DAY

Raegan wants to wish a Happy Grandparents' Day to her De De, Pop Pop, Nan Nan, and B-O-B!

She also did a new special trick for the first time today just for you:

It's Football Time in Tennessee

Raegan watched her first UT game at Ali and Justin's house today.

5 hours, no nap, but still smiling :)

Gamedays at the Davis' are always fun. Even with several other couples, five other kids, a theater room with Rocky Top in full force, lots of food, cheering, and even ping pong tournaments-Raegan was quite the trooper.

Even though the Vols suffered a loss today, Raegan is still happy to be a new UT Supporter. Mommy and Daddy can't wait to take her tailgating "UT style".

Until then, she will settle on cheering them on here in Nashville.

Veeeeeee......OOOOOOO........LLLLLLLL......SSSSSSSS......

V

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V! O! L! S!

GO! VOLS! GO!

Happy 5 Months, Raegan!

Raegan is 5 months old!

All of those people who used what I thought at the time was just a chiche' phrase, "Enjoy the your baby as a newborn because the time goes by so quickly" were not kidding around.Time has flown!

Raegan will be 6 months in no time! 6 months! Half of a year! That just seems crazy!!!!

Lots of new and fun stuff this past month!

For one, Raegan is loving her feet. I have always thought that it was the cutest thing when babies would lie on their backs, lift up their legs, and play with their feet and toes. It's even cuter when that little baby is yours. Raegan does this every time I change her diaper and often when she's lying down playing. The cutest is when I unzip her sleepsack from a nap--she immediately brings her legs to her face, grabs onto those toes, looks at me, and smiles really big. Precious...

She has also started grabbing our faces. It is soooo sweet. When she reaches up and puts one chubby hand on one side of my face and the other chubby hand on the other side, I melt...every single time.

The rolling over continues. She is so good at it now. She is only rolling over from her tummy to her back-but she can go both ways and she does it super fast. We make a huge deal about it each time she does it. While we have our own little mini celebration, she literally looks at us like we are crazy. We are a little bit, I guess.

Along with rolling over, she also doesn't mind being on her tummy anymore. She can reach for toys, grab them, and put them in her mouth all while lying on her little belly. This makes for a much more enjoyable Tummy Time. :)

This is funny-she has developed somewhat of a tongue fixation. She sticks it out constantly! Most of the time, it's just barely out of her mouth. But there are some times that she sticks it out all the way and just leaves it there. And, can I just say that for a little bitty girl, she seems to have a really long tongue! I have not been quick enough to snap many tongue shots. Here's a little teaser:

This past month was the first time I had the opportunity to celebrate my birthday with Raegan. She made the day so much more special than it has ever been before.

My mommy is 31!

Loving to fly!

Some of the interests that developed last month but have continued to progress into month 5.

She still loves to stand up:

She still loves pulling hair and jewelry...sometimes, even at the same time:

Still loves holding onto her toys....

and putting everything into her mouth...

 

and crossing her little feet...

A few new little interests

She wants to hold her own bottle:

And, she laughs while watching Daddy do his push-ups:

On the milestone front, Raegan has definitely conquered that of "objecting when someone attempts to an object away" (not fun); as well as that of being interested in "cause and effect"-example: pushing things off of her bumbo tray onto the floor (also not fun); the ability to "transfer an object from one hand to another" (fun); and many, many others. She's right on track for anything "important". She still remains in the lower percentile in overall size; She hovers around the 26th percentile. That's fine with us. The Dr says that she's perfectly healthy and that she's just smaller framed. I'm great with not having a giant baby! :)

Here is my mere attempt at trying to keep the toys on the tray.

Why aren't there more toys with suctions?!? There is a huge market out there for these little treasures.

Raegan...right before she outsmarted me and tore the toy off the tray. She may be little, but she sure is strong.

This past month has brought more bouts of sickness. Each new little bug, rash, etc (undoubtedly deriving from Daycare) results in sleepless nights. Maybe all sick babies are like this...probably so...but, Raegan wants to be held the whole time that she doesn't feel well. So...the only sleep that anyone gets looks like this:

 

I know what you're thinking, I should model. It's a crying shame that I just have no interest in doing so.

I'm happy to report that Raegan is laughing out loud more and more. She has a unique little giggle. I think she is going to be like her daddy (shocking) :) in having a great sense of humor but requiring a lot to make her laugh out loud. I was able to capture a few giggles this month. Here's a small sample:

Last but not least, one of my fondest memories of this past month is of Raegan and I just doing "nothing" together. I really feel that going back to work has caused me to be a much more productive mother. If there was any chance that I was taking for granted my time with her, it's gone. I know how it feels on those days I'm in the office and I go hours without seeing her. So, now when we are together, I soak it all in. There are plenty of days when I don't even turn on the TV or answer my phone. We are in the floor playing, in the chair reading a book, upstairs bouncing in the exersaucer, looking at and talking to ourselves in the mirror, walking around the house or outside narrating what is going on around us, etc.

Having the ability to work part-time has allowed me the opportunity to have that void filled that I mentioned several blogs back. Not only has allowed for me to still feel "connected" to the corporate/adult world, but it has also made me a better mommy. I thank God for this every night.

There continue to be feel small bouts of guilt at times...and from what I understand from other working mothers, that may never change. However, I continue to remind myself of how blessed we are as a family every single day....even when Raegan comes home from Daycare with a new runny nose.

Oh, our little Bitsy. We love her more and more each day...if that is even possible. It keeps getting better and better.

Bring on Month 6!