Happy One Year, Raegan!

Raegan is ONE YEAR old!!!!

How late am I on this post?  Wow. 

Explanations and emotional reasoning will have to come later…or never. I’m not one to repress; I just can’t allow myself to get weepy right now.

Instead, let’s talk about all of the fun and new stuff from this past month!

Personality is oozing. I am LOVING this stage!

• Can stand on her own…usually lasts about 20 seconds.

• Is now interested in walking, and still loving to cruise. Enjoying her walker and holding onto our hands while stomping through the house. Takes a few steps. Started this around mid-March. 2 steps, starts her third, then leans forward, and falls into us.

• Has conquered the sippy cup. Has also conquered throwing it in the floor to get our attention. Fun stuff.

• Laughs immediately when we put her on our shoulders or sing “Hokey Pokey” to her. Loves both.

• Can do these things when we ask: get a book, follow us, "pat pat" something, give high five, turn page in book, wave, hand us something, clap, give kiss on cheek, and say “bye bye”.

• Favorite toy at school is a dry washcloth. Teacher says she is happiest when she is crawling around the room and wiping things off. The girl loves a clean space. Mommy (and Daddy’s) girl. :)

• Repeats back at us...especially Chuck. Loves the grunt.  They have competitions.

• Is a cuddle muffin. Still. I love. With us, her stuffed animals, and even her friends. Funny story: I pick her up from school one day and her teacher said that while roman (this little boy in her class) was lying on the floor playing, raegan crawled to him, laid her little head on him, and started patting his leg. So sweet.

• Signs "milk"...and sometimes “more”.

• Is a happy, happy baby

Headed to church on Easter Sunday

"Thanks for my dress, Maggie and Hannah Ryan!"

• Odds are, she’s going to be a lefty. (Failed to mention this last month but really started noticing then.) Does all things with her left hand. This is a Jefferson Gene. Nan Nan will likely have some tips on overcoming the challenges of what she says is a ‘right-handed’ world. :) oh! Aunt Andrea probably will too! I feel like we are well-equipped to take it on! ;)

Eats, drinks, does most everything with her left hand

• Holds phones and remotes up to her ear to talk on phone.

"My turn, daddy.  I think it's for me."

• IS. A. HAM. Most babies are? Probably. But, you know it’s extreme when you are at your baby’s 12 mo checkup, and the Pediatrician is going through very important information, and she stops, looks you square in the eyes, and says: “I don’t know if you know this, but you are going to have your hands FULL. She is a doll but she knows how to work it. She has sat here and ‘flirted’ with me the entire time I’ve been talking to you.” 

I guess I don’t even notice anymore how often she does her little tricks…more on those tricks later…

Me: “I mean, we know she is a little bit of a mess, but we just figured that she is normal and all babies are like this. Should we be worried? What advice do you have for disciplining?”

Dr: “Oh. I haven’t seen anything that requires discipline. She is precious. But, she knows it. And, she is going to work that to her advantage. I fear for you when she is 2.”

Can’t wait.

• Raises her arm up when you ask her "where is up?"

• Loves balloons... "booooo"

Has discovered the stairs.

• Has moved to the “Toddler Room” at school. Did AWESOME through the transition! Biggest challenge? Having to wear shoes. Even if she wanted to (which, she doesn’t), she can’t keep them on. Can’t say she had much of a chance. Narrow feet that require certain shoes to fit are dominant in the Reaves/Hasty and Bennett/Miller families. Again, well-equipped to deal with this small dilemma.

• Clingy.  More than ever. 

 My view most mornings while trying to get ready :)

• Has finally learned how to cluck her tongue. Nan Nan has been teaching her this since she was born!

• Jabbers and seems to really be talking in her own language All. The. Time. I catch her talking to her toys in this little sing-song language of hers while tilting her head from right-to-left-to-right-to-left. So cute.  Says mama, dada, bye bye, and hi...has her own versions of other words.  And, the rest is Raegan jibberish.  Love it.

• Makes it virtually impossible to work from home these days.  I have had to get super creative on ways to occupy her while on conference calls.

I'm confident that this one will come back to bite me

• If she loves something that we've done in the past, she requests it in her own way. I find myself in the bunny ears making a bunny face (that for some reason I did at some point to make her laugh) about 10 times a day now.

• Loves cheese. Could eat it all day every day

Makes what we call her “O Face” all the time. Not sure where it’s from but it’s hilarious. And, she knows that we think so. Starting to add this wide eyed look too. It’s typically when disobedience is in store.

• Has learned what makes people laugh so often does them all (her "tricks", if you will) in a row---within 10 seconds, you can literally get the head tilt, the “O Face”, the clapping hands, and the fake chew all back-to-back.  We couldn't help laughing at first.  Rest assured that now we are in full authority mode when situations like this occur...only laughing when we turn our backs. ;)

• Loves playing in the kitchen while I cook. Has her own cabinets where she has “free range”. Darts to the fridge when I open the door. Loves turning the light on and off. That goes a little something like this:

Little finger reaches light switch

Head turns to mommy

Sweet grin

"Raegan, No. No.”

Cue Head tilt and another smile

Defiance ensues

More “no nos”, more defiance…you know the drill

• Her daddy started this thing with her when she wakes—he crawls into her room, hides from her, and then starts moving around her crib while poking his hand under the bumper. Now, she has figured it out and as soon as she wakes up, she starts looking under the bumper and sticking her hands through. So funny.

Stat and milestone-wise, she is right on target.

Is definitely more advanced with language and fine motor skills than she is with gross motor (walking, etc)-but they say that babies tend to be more ahead in one area than others most of the time.

-19.9 lbs (up to 26th percentile-whoa!)

-27 ¾ inches long

-7 teeth, with several on deck

-Wearing 12 month clothes and size 2 diapers (ok, we could easily upgrade to size 3…but 2’s are bought…and they ain’t cheap.)

-Still consistently sleeping 11-12 hours at night with two 1.5 hour naps a day

I can't believe she is 1.  I can't believe it. It seems like yesterday that we were on our way to the hospital with contractions 7 minutes apart.

One day (likely sooner than later) we will surely look back at these memories and think, "What I wouldn't give to go back and enjoy her as a baby again."  It's been everything we could have ever imagined. 

We are beyond blessed.  We are so grateful. 

Every single night, while I'm rocking Raegan to sleep-I say my prayers.  And, every single night, I say to God, "Lord, thank you for all of our many blessings...."  I continue to talk about this and almost always end up with tears in my eyes while I thank Him profusely for Raegan.  Our little baby girl.  A gift.  A true blessing.  A healthy baby girl.

While our nightly prayer changes depending upon what is heavy on our hearts and what is going on with our loved ones, and while you always want the absolute best for your child, I try to focus on the most important things... So while the above is the beginning of my prayer, the end is always some version of the below:

"Lord, I pray that you keep Raegan safe...in the palm of your hand...I pray for her constant health and safety.  I ask that you help Chuck and I to be strong examples and the best parents we can, keeping us safe and healthy allowing us to be in her life for as long as it's in Your Will.  I pray for Raegan, Lord, to be a kind person, with a good heart, who knows right from wrong and acts on it; I pray that she never doubt how much we love her; And, most importantly, God, I pray for her to be grow into a strong Christian person." Amen.   

And, I promised not to get weepy...
Pulling it together.

What a wonderful year.  Sad to be leaving the baby year behind but looking forward to the first of the toddler years! 

Here's to soaking it all in!