Reagan's First Ice Skating Lesson

One of Reagan's gifts from Auntie Court was a pair of ice skates. My family has been almost always involved in ice skating in some way. My Mother ice skated in Ice Follies as a kid and my Sister and I grew up skating. Court still does, I had to stop once I got hips and could no longer get off the ground. I was never that graceful anyway.

So, Reagan got a bunch of ice skating themed gifts- a couple of ice skating outfits, her own set of skates, a skating bag and a Pottery Barn Kids doll named "Merry" who came equipped with her own skating gear. Lots of fun!

Since Court was only visiting for a short while, we decided to take Roo to a local rink so we could all see her first attempt on the ice. What fun we had! First of all we dressed Roo in her Gap skinny jeans, ice skating themed sweater and her furry winter boots (which she never wants to take off). Then we headed to the outdoor rink in Westport at the Longshore Country Club. This rink goes up every Winter and is near the beach, so much fun for an afternoon of skating and people watching.

Once we got situated, Court and I put on our skates, then Court got Reagan ready. I have to say that she was pretty good at walking in her skates, especially considering she has only been walking for 5 months. We got her out on the ice and Court took over (she gives lessons to kids and I have no idea where to start). Roo tried and did pretty well. She had a decent center of balance, but couldn't seem to understand why her feet kept moving out from underneath her. Needless to say, we didn't get very far. So Roo wouldn't get bored, Court and I would pick her up and skate around the rink saying "let's go zoom!" She was laughing and having a great time going fast and passing by everyone.

Then we decided to take a hot chocolate break while the Zamboni cleaned the ice. Roo did great standing in her skates and being patient. Of course Daddy had a basket of curly fries, so that kept her occupied. Food take priority with this kid. We also gave her a first taste of hot chocolate, no interest. Instead she wanted the clementine the woman next to us was eating. Luckily she had an extra and offered to share.

Once the Zamboni was done, we went back out on the ice (Daddy was taking pictures and video on the sidelines without skates), but not for long. It was Roo's nap time and the ice skating adventure was wearing her out. She started to figure out how to "march" in her skates and could even stand by herself, but it was time to call it a day.

I don't think that I would ever have considered getting her ice skates this young, but I am glad Court did. It helps to carry on the Dunne-Hodock-McCoy skating tradition in our family, at least for now.

Our Christmas

Christmas this year was busy as usual, but at least we didn't have to travel. So much has been going on we spent much of Christmas Eve fighting the crowds. Then we went to mass (with a very active child I might add) and finally collapsed at home. Before putting Roo to bed in her Christmas themed jammies, we went down stairs and set out cookies, milk and a note for Santa along with some carrots for the reindeer, then finally called it a day.

Christmas morning Reagan woke up at her usual time around 7 and we all went downstairs to see if Santa had arrived, which of course he did, much to her delight. We investigated some of Roo's loot then went into the kitchen to make pancakes for breakfast. After breakfast we opened our gifts and after the excitement we were all ready for a nap.

That evening Auntie Courtney arrived with her usual ridiculous amount of gifts (she really is a great shopper, I think I might need some lessons) and she let Reagan open her gifts. I think Roo was completely overwhelmed and not quite sure what to do next, but regardless had a great time.

Then finally she was off to bed and we could all enjoy dinner. As usual Kerry and I celebrated in true New England tradition with lobster. We were so full we didn't even have dessert. Lots of activity, but a fun couple of days was had by all and we were all grateful that Court came to visit.

The Christmas Spirit

Kerry, Reagan and I tried one final holiday shopping push on Sunday morning. Well, let's be honest it is probably not final. Still more to do....

We decided to go to this local discount store and as we pulled into the parking lot noticed that it was going out of business. The parking lot was packed and we were dreading what we would find inside. Actually it was not too bad, long lines, but you are going to find that anywhere this time of year. We hit up the departments where we knew there were items we wanted and then wandered the rest of the store. Since Reagan is a girl on the go these days, she really likes to walk through the store rather sit in the cart. She must have picked up every gross item possible on the floor. I cringed but just kept cleaning her hands off, with all the action, this was a battle not worth fighting.

As we got to the center of the store, they had rows and rows of these dolls. They were called "Kinder Garden Babies". They had tons of them. Reagan spotted one just at her level and ran towards it. The boxes have a little handle on the top like a suitcase, she picked it up and hugged it to her chest saying "mine, mine". To be honest the doll was a little tacky and we had bought her more than enough Xmas gifts so I just waited until she was distracted, stashed it on another shelf and we moved on.

As we were leaving the store, we paused on the sidewalk to come up with a truck loading attack plan. As we stood there a woman walked by and stopped to say hi to Roo. She said to us "Did you see these dolls in there, they are only $2.99!" as she pulled the same exact Kinder Garden Baby out of her bag that Roo had wanted so badly. "You should get her one." I thanked her for letting us know and said "Not today. Maybe we will come back another time. She seemed to really like them." Figuring that the woman would understand and be on her way. Instead she reached out to Reagan with the doll and said "Do you like this?" Reagan smiled and started poking at the box. Then the woman said, "Well you know what, you can have this one." I have to say that both Kerry and I were extremely touched and we couldn't say no. What a sweet gesture. This woman did not know us, did not know our situation and had obviously made the purchase with someone else in mind. Out of the goodness of her heart and what I can only assume is some good old fashioned Christmas Spirit she selflessly gave a little blonde girl she didn't know the one thing she had really wanted all day. I was floored.

As she walked away and Kerry walked to get the truck (leaving Roo and I to ooh and ahh over her new doll) the woman looked and Kerry and said "Merry Christmas." He said "Well, now you know you will really have a very Merry Christmas because of what you just did, right?" She just smiled.

So, I guess there are still some good people out there that really believe in giving. I think I have to remember that more often and remind myself that is what this time of year is supposed to represent. Treating people (the ones you know and the ones you don't) with patience, kindness and respect. And giving back whenever you can. As frustrated as I get this with the holiday season, I am so thankful that someone reminded me to to just stop and realize that there is kindness everywhere, sometimes you just need to recognize it.

Baby Hippo

Reagan is just learning to talk. For the most part she just mimics what is said to her, but she also learning that by mimicking she gets a reaction out of us. We get so excited about the noises she makes that sound like words. Today she said "ow", "bagel" and "please". But I don't think she completely understands what the words mean. Except "please" (which by the way sounded like "peas"). She was holding the book "Corduroy's Snow Day" and whining. I was completely ignoring her as I tried to clean up the remnants of the stomach bug she caught off her changing table. She just stopped, held the book up to me and said "peas". I was so excited I forgot what she was asking me about. I scooped her up carried her downstairs and announced to Daddy that our smart little girl just said "please". Then nothing. She never said it again (at least not today).

Our doctor said that speech and the understanding of speech develops in three phases. First, babies understand that they can make vocal noise. Secondly, they understand that their noises actually get attention and as they get more and more verbal they think that the sounds that they are actually making are words that everyone else understands, regardless of the fact that we don't. At that point it is every parent's job to play the role of translator. Every little sound might just be that word you have been waiting to hear. For instance Reagan's word for "dog" was "gog". Thirdly, the words, the meaning and the vocalization all come together.

This week she did possibly two of the cutest things I have seen her do. During her bath she pointed towards the shelves in the shower and started whining. On the shelves are two stuffed puppets that look like hippos, one "mommy" and one "baby". I said, "Which one do you want? The Mommy or the baby." She paused, smiled and very thoughtfully said "bay-bee". So stinkin' cute! Then as I handed her the puppet, she put it on her hand and I put the mommy hippo on my hand she started waving her hippo in the air as I waved mine. We had our own little puppet show.

So for now most days the words we hear are "dog", "no" (our favorite, which just started last week), "uh-oh" and "ca" (cat). I am hoping that "please" becomes a part of her everyday vocabulary, but I guess we will have to wait and see. Oh yeah, then there is her "uh-uh-huh" (kind of like a raspy cough), this means her throat is dry and she'd like a drink. Not quite a word, but we understand. For now, that is all that matters.

The Toddler Transistion Meeting

Who knew that at 14 months parent-teacher meetings were required? All of these unexpected parenting responsibilities are happening a little faster than I expected. The toddler transition meeting took place on a Tuesday night (very convenient for babysitting...not), and only a few of the parents attended. All I can say was that it was interesting.

First of all, every parents makes a similar comment about my kid. They all say "my child and Reagan, what a twosome. They are trouble!" Which only makes me think that my kid is trouble and she is just bringing out the "trouble" in everyone else's kid. Maybe the teachers are exaggerating on Reagan's daily comments sheet when they say "Reagan had a good day."

Secondly, one of the parents asked specifically about potty training, ex planing that her daughter was ready. Seriously? She is only a year old. Be patient. I know you hate changing diapers. It sucks. No one likes it, but your kid is not ready. Deal with it.

Thirdly, Reagan and Daddy stopped by the meeting to say "hi", at which point the center director invited them in. They were good for about 10 minutes until Reagan started eating colored pasta off the floor (obviously left over from a previous art project), using the building blocks to build a tower that kept crashing loudly, picking up a book and placing it on the table during the meeting while taking a seat and pretending she was actually part of the discussion. The final moment when Kerry decided to leave was when Reagan proceeded to growl at a monkey puppet that she apparently didn't trust (don't ask she picked up the growling from our dog Reilly, it is how he greets us every morning). We couldn't stop giggling so he decided it was time to go home.

Overall the meeting was good and I am glad that our school makes the time to have these types of conversations with us. It shows that they care. I just think it confirmed that next time Reagan is better off not attending.

Toddler Rules

Yep, for those of you who don't know it, there are toddler rules. And as a parent you don't really have any say in what those rules are, especially when your child decides to throw a temper tantrum with as much gusto as she can muster in the middle of Walmart. Good times.

But here's the thing, I thought "toddler" meant "age 2" aka "the terrible two's". I was wrong. My doctor (who I have to say is great and at times disturbingly honest) told me at Reagan's year check up, "Your child is about to start expressing herself more. You might not be able to take her shopping for a while." I didn't believe her. My child is so sweet, she loves spending time with Mommy and she loves going to the store, what could happen? Well, I have now come to the conclusion that I should have believed her.

Case #1: Grocery store trip. While shopping on Saturday morning (with every other Mom in the state of CT), I paused in the pasta aisle to look at prices. My child loves to chew on the top of my closed diet soda bottle and as I turned back towards my cart, I saw her take the bottle and shake it as hard as she could. Let's just say that the top was not on very well. Soda everywhere. There was nothing I could do, but yell "clean up aisle 4!", apologize to the people around me and get the hell out of dodge. I of course stopped by customer service to make sure that someone was on
their way with a mop.

Case #2: Shopping at Costco. You know how they have those huge piles of products all throughout the store. My kid loves to chew on tags. Do you know how many tags stick out of those piles? And that one quick tug by a small hand can be the bring the whole thing down? Enough said.

Just for the record, I was one of those people that looked at these situations and said "why doesn't that parent discipline their child?" Well, now I know the answer. They don't do it because most times the child doesn't understand them or it only makes things worse. I am now issuing a public apology to every single parent I have ever judged. Sorry. I get it.

So, in summary, the two rules of toddlerhood that I have discovered are as follows:

1. Mine. Everything is mine. And I want it NOW. Don't bother trying to explain to me that this is not actually the case. Go with the flow and don't fight me on it. You are better off.

2. There are no rules.

Our First Real Snow (sort of)

OK, so I am a little late with this post considering our first notable snow (a whole 2") happened a couple of weekends ago, but better late than never. Give me a break it is the holiday season, quite possibly the worst time of the year for work and I am having a hard enough time dragging my ass out of bed in the morning to get to where I need to be, let alone updating a blog. Which, BTW, my dear friend Amy predicted would happen when I started this whole thing. She called my blog "ambitious". Well, she is right, but I'll be damned if I don't stick with it and someday actually catch up on my Roo stories. Maybe that is why my company closes for the holidays? Just so I can update Reagan's blog.

Reagan is almost 15 months old now, going on 3. The kid is incredible. She accepts each new day with a smile and challenge. Nothing holds her back, well almost nothing. After we got back from visiting my family in NJ and seeing Auntie Courtney's ice show we arrived to discover the front yard covered with just enough snow for a toddler (and two very excited golden retrievers). I unloaded the car and Reagan was THRILLED to be out of her seat and moving around. As I set her in the driveway, she looked around at all the snow and kind of paused with a look on her face like, "hmmm, what is going on here". She slowly walked up our front walk looking at this funny white stuff. I picked some up and licked it and she immediately started laughing.

We rushed inside and got out all our newly purchased snow gear. On with the pants, coat, hat and mittens (which she likes to pretend are puppets as she waves them in the air and quacks like a duck, not sure why, but that is another blog entry I will have to write later). We let the dogs out first so they could run around like maniacs and then picked up Roo and plopped her in the middle of the front yard to explore. I am not sure who had more fun, us watching her figure it all out or her figuring it all out.

First she tried to walk over the snow, then sinking, realized she had to shuffle through it. She is stuffed into a huge snowsuit shuffling through the snow and whining all the way until all of a sudden she falls face first into a pile and discovers that snow is edible. Game over! All she wanted to do was lay on her stomach and eat snow. When she finally got up after a few minutes, she would lean down in a downward dog-like yoga position and lick the snow. All I could think of was that she just might be that kid that gets her tongue stuck to a flagpole when triple dog dared. Oh well. I guess we will decide how to handle that phone call when it comes. For now we have purchased a sled and will continue to let her eat as much snow as she wants. As long as it isn't yellow, which in our yard can be sometimes difficult to find.

Our Aspiring Pianist At Thanksgiving

Every parent wants their kid to be good at something or good at everything. Sports, music, math, the competition to have a kid who is "smart" can be fierce. My attitude is that, my kid is who she is and all I can do is love her, teach her and discipline her. The rest is up to her. I will do my best to support her in the things she wants to pursue, within reason of course. One thing I know for sure, my kid likes to make noise, of just about any kind. She is at her happiest running around in the middle of chaos, laughing as loud as she can. To her that is heaven. Sit her in a quiet room and she will beg to be allowed to go somewhere else, anywhere else, as long as there are more people and more things to do.

While visiting my family over Thanksgiving we discovered that Reagan likes the piano. Keep in mind, if you are not a parent, most kids like pianos, this is not a new discovery, except of course it is different when it is YOUR kid. Pianos are big, cool, potentially off limits and make great noises. My parents have lived in the same house for over 32 years and they are not good purgers. With that said I am trying to coach them into cleaning up the place and getting rid of the vast amount of items they no longer need. My father is hard pressed to throw out his market research reports from the 70's because he is convinced there is still useful information in them, regardless of the fact that I have tried to explain that surely, someone, somewhere has probably funded new research some time over the last 30 years.

Now back to my story. While helping my Dad clean up the living room, Reagan was going nuts, she could not be contained. So, as a joke, I sat her on the piano bench and let her investigate. I thought my Mom would freak when she heard the piano played for the first time in 20 years (her house if typically considered a "don't mess with my stuff" zone). To my surprise and delight, Reagan was completely immersed in her piano playing and my Mother was thrilled to see someone playing the piano at all. By the end of the weekend we became the identified part of the family who would inherit the instrument along with some nagging from Grandma about looking into piano lessons for my 14 month old, which by the way ain't gonna happen anytime soon.

While also visiting home, we attended the annual lighting of the Christmas tree in Palmer Square. We went with my Sister and met a couple of friends there. To say that I was unprepared for the amount of time we would be there is an understatement. Reagan tore through two granola bars and wanted more food. Our friend Steph was kind enough to share some cheerios which held Reagan over, but barely. I haven't attended the tree lighting in several years so it was really nice. We'll have to consider attending again some time in the future, with of course more snack supplies than we had this time.

Overall a decent Thanksgiving weekend, not long enough of a break from work, but nice. Now we are counting down the days until the Christmas holiday break and hope to really relax then. Maybe even play a few tunes on a piano.

Who Knew Roo Was A Fan of Rush?

My kid loves to dance. Not just to music, to anything. It is part of her. And she has the funniest dance moves. She will sometimes stick her elbows out like a chicken and bend down just a little bit and then start swinging her hips. Sometimes she just shakes her head back and forth with such vigor I think it is going to fall off.

Tonight as I was putting her laundry away and getting her ready for her bath, I turned on the iPod in her room and the first song to come on was something by John Mayer. The second song started with a very recognizable (at least to me) guitar sound and as I turned around from facing the closet, looked to see my 14 month old daughter totally jamming out to Limelight by Rush. Not only was she bopping up and down as she bent her knees but she was also tipping her head from side to side as she held her Touch and Feel Farm book her her right hand. A great moment for me during what has been a challenging work week. Thanks for the chuckle Roo!

Missing Roo

So this post is a bit more about me than Reagan. I am away from home all week on business and so I am a bit baby deprived. On one hand it is great to have a break (although I don't really get me time on these trips), on the other I find myself constantly missing the Roo. I miss her happy morning greetings from her crib--where she tends to jump up and down like a roo, her impromptu hugs as we get ready for our day, her "help" while I dry my hair--holding the hairbrush in the bathroom and chewing on the handle while I use the dryer, then handing the brush to me for a few swipes and whining until I give it back to her, all while staring at the whole process in complete fascination. And then there is my all time favorite part of the day--the toddler waddle-run across the classroom when she sees me peek in and the big smile and hug I get when I pick her up at school. Ahh, the little things that mean so much, and mean even more when I am 1700 miles away. I am looking forward to big baby hugs Friday morning.

A Short Roo Tale

There are some days I still can't understand how I was lucky enough to be blessed with such a wonderful little girl. There are other days when I wonder how I am going to make it through our tantrum filled day. I thought they called it the terrible two's?

But Saturday was one of the good days. Roo and I went to my new gym and I put her in the babysitting services while I worked out. When I came to get her an hour later one of the sitters greeted me with a big smile and a story. A little girl had gotten really upset and was crying with her head down on a table. Reagan went up to her and patted her on the back and started rubbing her arm as if to console her. They said it really was one of those "awww" moments. What a sweet girl to try to comfort someone she doesn't even really know. She's the best.

The Happiest Girl

Another busy week. Right now it is almost 8 AM and dead silent in our house, very rare. Reagan is exhausted from yesterday. She finally seemed to kick the cold she has been carrying around for about 7 weeks and I took the day off so she could get vaccinations. We both hate vaccinations. She had to get two shots in both legs and I have NEVER heard her cry like she did. I cried. A lot. I don't think the nurse knew what to do with me. Reagan recovered faster than I did. The whole vaccination thing is so scary and I am not sure we made the right choice yesterday, but sometimes you just have to do the best you can and have faith. I think I will be praying a lot this weekend.

We are hosting a shin dig tonight so after that we ran errands all day. Tedious, but totally entertaining. I think Roo's favorite store is Home Depot. She loves the people and noise. As we cruised around she just smiled and waved at everyone like a prom queen. We are apparently all on this earth just to play and entertain her.

When we finally got home Roo took a long nap and I hopped onto a conference call. Then she ate dinner and got a second wind. She ran from the kitchen with her sippy cup of milk (big accomplishment that she is even considering drinking milk from a cup) and into the living room. While I was doing dishes I could hear Kerry laughing and as I peeked into the room there was Roo right in the middle just spinning in a circle laughing. She has been doing this lately when she is happy or dancing. She just stands up and starts spinning. She can only do it for a little bit until she gets so dizzy she falls down. I think we watched her for about 20 minutes just laughing. Such a simple thing, that I love so much and am so grateful to have.

We've Created A Monster...The Good Kind.

We have discovered that Reagan is a playground-aholic. Slides are her favorite new thing, and she wants to climb anything and everything. Even today her daily school status came back with the comment "the best part of Reagan's day today was exploring the playground. She climbed up the stairs and went down the slide." They have no idea the they are contributing to creating a playground monster. In a good way of course.

On Sunday we took the dogs to the park. Those poor retrievers never get enough exercise these days. When we got to the park, it was empty. According to the rules kids under the age of 5 are not allowed inside, but Roo and I went in anyway since there was no one there. Reilly was going nuts playing fetch and he would run up to us at full speed, Reagan laughed out loud watching him barrel towards us with such energy. After a while, Roo decided that she wanted to eat dirt, so that quickly changed my agenda. Kerry stayed in the dog park and we went for a ride on her beloved tricycle. It was funny, as I pushed her around the perimeter Nugget followed us along the fence line. It was like he wanted to keep his eye on his little friend.

On the way home Kerry drove us past a new park and playground close to our house. Since he hadn't seen Roo on the slide the day before we took her out. We ended up playing there for almost an hour and then Reagan threw a true toddler fit because she didn't want to leave. Back arched, head thrown and legs kicking. She did not want to go. I guess I can't complain, at least she really likes to be outside. I see lots and lots of playground visits in our future...

Saturday in the City

Halloween weekend was a busy one and Saturday was no exception. Friends of ours, Jen and Paul Enderson, from Knoxville were in town for the NYC marathon and we decided to go visit with them on Saturday. Kerry and Paul hung out while Jen and I took the kids to Central Park. Reagan has so much fun playing and watching the other kids, she didn't want to leave. She got to go down a slide for the first time, but her favorite part was trying to climb back up it. She could not stop grinning. After a while we decided to go on the swings. After the swings Reagan wanted to play in the sand and kept trying to give handfuls to me and of course eventually eat it. After we had a discussion about how "sand is not for eating" we went to find our friends and went to lunch.

After lunch we decided to go to FAO Schwartz. What were we thinking on a busy Saturday? It was hot, crowded and complete chaos...Reagan LOVED it! As we approached the store I tried to get her to take a picture with the "toy soldier" outside, but no luck. She didn't seem to really trust him and kept her distance. Once we were inside and came up with a game plan, she kept wandering up to a doll display and grabbing the dolls and hugging them, while tearing the entire display apart (I should know better than to let her out of the stroller). And of course Mommy the sucker had to buy her one. Every little kid needs a treat from their first trip to FAO Schwartz, don't they?

While in the toy store, Reagan finally collapsed asleep in her stroller and we headed back to the car. What a great day, it was good to see friends and watch Reagan have so much fun.

Trick-or-Treat

What a beautiful Fall weekend, from start to finish the sky was clear, the air was New England crisp and the Fall leaves provided the most beautiful background. Just perfect and as usual, very busy.

Friday was busy at work and I rushed home a bit early to get Reagan from school so we could go trick-or-treating at a somewhat normal hour (at least normal for a 1 year old). On the way home I had to stop and buy beer and wine (we like to make sure our favorite adult neighbors get some of their own treats on their Halloween travels). As usual it was rush, rush, rush. I wanted to leave work at 3:30 and of course got stuck and then at the last minute a conference call was scheduled for 4:30 (just my luck on a Halloween Friday), which I joined from my car. I finally got to Roo around 5 and immediately got her in the car and home for dinner. Kerry didn't have to work, but man was he busy all day- carving pumpkins and getting out the decorations so we at least looked like we wanted kids to stop by.

Roo ate, got dressed and we hit the trick-or-treat trail around 6. She didn't have any idea what was going on, but boy did she not want to let go of her pumpkin treat bag or the battery operated pumpkin that we gave her to hold. We put her on her tricycle (thanks Auntie Court) and off we went. We had delusions of hitting every house, but quickly realized that A) we left the candy on our front porch and it would be gone quickly and B) Reagan was not going to last long. We settled on visiting the houses we knew would want to see Roo dressed as Roo.

Reagan had a great time and wanted to go inside every house we stopped at. She would look at us with this expression like, "wait, aren't we going to stay a while?" We started at The Kennedys and went all the way up the street to Fifi's house (Fifi is a little terrier that we often see walking in the neighborhood). Fifi was dressed as a bee and Reagan had the best time giving her little pets. The night ended with a very tired little girl, but one that was thrilled to see all the other kids out and about. I would say that our first trick-or treating adventure as a family was a success. I think from now on we will take turns. :)

The Company Halloween Party

Today was the TracyLocke Halloween party. I have worked here for over 8 years and Kerry worked here and is currently freelancing so EVERYONE knows us from before we were even married. Plus Reagan has stopped by the office several times since her birth, she even knows where to go in the diner to get her favorite balls to play with.

Almost everyone knows that we call her Roo, so it was not really a surprise when Miss. Reagan showed up trick or treating in her Roo costume. She looked so cute and kept giving everyone the biggest smiles. Her ponytail was hidden under her "hat" so a couple of people thought she was a boy, but who cares?

There are several people who decorate their desks and the kids "trick or treat" throughout the building. It was really sweet. Then there are refreshments in the diner and movies playing in the big conference room. It is always so much fun to see the kids, but even more fun when you have one.

Her first stop was group of desks decorated like a street corner, where she stopped for a little dancing. It was cracking people up. Then we made our way around the building, where she greeted everyone with a smile and even gave a few hugs. There was one area where a guy was sitting and had a "scary" costume with a lot of makeup. She didn't like that much, but eventually walked past him to play with a fake leg. For some reason, she thought that a fake leg was fine, guy with makeup, not so much. She walked almost the whole building with us and kept grabbing handfuls of candy when it was offered to her, stealing an occasional plastic pumpkin and laughing the whole way. She would chew on the candy through the wrappers, thankfully not getting to any of it, because I can not imaging the sugar high that would result.

At the end she was so tired she was sucking her thumb, but needed to make one more stop, to the grouping of desks everyone kept calling "the circus". A bunch of kids were there running around and grabbing balloons (one of Roo's favorites). All of a sudden she went into overdrive, grabbing at balloons, jumping up and down and laughing so hard it was contagious. Then it was officially over, she crashed from all of the excitement and it was time to go home. A good time was had by all and Kerry got to eat all of her candy on his way home (seriously, he ate it all). I put her in my car, she grabbed at my wrap and pulled it over her car seat like a blanket, stuck her thumb in her mouth and napped most of the way home. She is such a happy, sweet girl that brings a smile to everyone she meets. We are so lucky to have her.

Our First Posting

So I have to thank my friend and co-worker Amanda for inspiring me to begin writing and posting more about our adventures with little Reagan. Amanda's blog for her newborn little girl, Eva Beth was starting to make me feel like a bad mom! She has done such a wonderful job of documenting little Eva's life from the time she found out she was pregnant and I realized I had so many stories about Reagan to share and not enough time to do it. So, here we go, Reagan "Roo" O'Rourke McCoy's own blog. Wish me luck. I can only hope I am as good about updating this as Amanda has been. Thanks Amanda!