Christmas Day {2010}

~Christmas Morning!~

This morning was completely not what I was expecting.

Christmas Eve, same as last year, Santa decorated the inside of the house with lights on everything possible while he was here dropping off presents.  Ashton nailed it when she said it looked like Santa puked all over the house.  You know, tacky but fun : ) 

Last year, Reagan LOVED it and was full of the "WOW-WEE"s and tons of excitement.  So we got up early to get ready for the 'Big Reveal.'  Armed with the camera and video running, we started calling for her from the living room to come see what Santa brought her.  She wouldn't budge.  I had to go in there a couple times trying to convince her but it didn't work.  She would pick her head up, look at the lights leading her to the door, shake her head no, pop her thumb back in her mouth and lay back down.  I finally had to drag her in the living room and she held my leg the whole way.  I know what her little mind was thinking...

"Okay, who came to our house last night while we were sleeping?!  And why did he put something under my tree?  No THANK YOU!"

Okay so it was fun after all.  Once she opened the first Elmo book she was thrilled. 

Notice she's wearing my socks? 

Mine are "warm now" and apparently her socks are sometimes "told now"...!?

She likes to finish statements with the word 'now'- not that she is demanding anything, it just makes sense to her.  I thought about it, and it is how I tell her things:

"Okay, we're going to eat now"

"It's time to go now"

"Time to get in the tub now"

So naturally she ends everything in 'now.'  I mean EVERYTHING. 

She also likes to finish words with a -y, -s (mostly on names) and -a.

example.

"Whet's a-doe now!" 

(Let's go now)

"Meh-mets"

(Megan)

"Watch Too-Witzy now... peeez!"

(Watch Snow White now... please!)

I wish I could get better video of her talking.  The instant she spots the video her attention is gone and she has to hold the camera to watch videos.  We just have to get more creative I guess.  

We finished our Christmas morning at home quickly to get over to the Hawkes house with all the kids.
In our jammies all day of course.

Sharing her cell phone with Aubrey, it has been her favorite toy since Alden gave it to her : )

Presents here go one at a time and in order of age.  So Reagan opened the first present.  I love doing it that way so we all get to enjoy each others gifts.  You would think the kids would just want to dig in and get it over with sometimes but they really enjoy sharing the excitement with each other. 

Mason and his Daddy : )

Okay now this was just pathetic...
Dawn and Troy slept the whole morning, and Kristina... not looking too thrilled there girl!

Well they got up for this! 

The big present this year was for Troy and Kristina.  A wedding portrait.

Pete's Mom was SOOO excited to do this for them, and we really put some love into this one.  From choosing and preparing the portrait, several trips to pick out a frame, and more trips... it seemed like the ONLY present we spent time on!  Thankfully I was POSITIVE that this was the right image choice, and Kristina loved it.  It's hard picking out something big like that as a surprise!?

They were so surprised!
Yesssss!

Aaaand Reagan loved her dollhouse from Nana and Poppy : )
Can you tell?

Okay my 2nd favorite gift.  Leddie's drivers license. 
The smile on her face was priceless.  I got her a new wallet and made her own license with everything made up... "Uncle Junior" was the Governor, I was the commissioner, and on the bottom it read:

RESTRICTIONS:
FOR USE IN OPERATING HEAVY MACHINERY
MADE OF PLASTIC AND UNDER 3 FEET TALL. 
ISSUED BY AUNT TANNER : )
You couldn't wipe the smile off that face.

Completely made my day.

~Christmas Day Dinner at our house!~

The lights on the wall are what Santa hung, hence the pukage.

Junior made some AWESOME wings in the fryer for dinner.
Some with his hot sauce stuff and I rolled mine in soy and brown sugar... SOOO good.
I think Leddie ate more than anyone.

This is Reagan's "cheese" smile... big no no.  But cracks me up.

Alden called me a few days after Christmas to tell me how much he enjoyed opening presents with The Muffin.  She had so much fun, Uncle Alden really has become one of her favorites by far.

Aaron, Lisa and the kids left the day after Christmas.
We really hate saying bye to them, but enjoy the hugs...

Reagan Samich!

Oh so sweet, she adores her cousins.

I love this picture...
We miss them already.

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We've been waiting all year : ) {Christmas Eve 2010}

Christmas Eve!

Our favorite time of year...  Christmas.

Half of my attic is engulfed with Christmas decorations and I have more holiday dishes than I know what to do with.  We love it.  Everyone together, and for the first time in a while for Junior's entire family, grand kids and all. 

First stop for Christmas was Dad's house. 

(Reagan's first 'Dewey ride' was earlier that afternoon, before her nap- definite highlight!)

My favorite gift this year, hands down, was for my Dad.

I made albums last year for my Mom and Pete's Mom that were composited from Reagan's first year. 

I really had NO IDEA that my Dad would like it so much. 

So for his gift this year... "Reagan's first two years."

I made sure to focus on 'Paw-Paw' pictures when designing the pages, and printed a Coffee Table Book with my lab- I was thrilled. : )  

He loved it. 

Our cousin Bonnie (Uncle Benny's daughter) just moved down recently and lives right around the corner from Dad's house.  She gave Reagan a little plastic snow globe that never left her side for about a week.

Oh Aunt Ashton.

She got Reagan a bunch of cute stuff...  Best of all was the dress up clothes.  And guess who's on the box!?  Too-Witz!  (aka: Snow White) 

Reagan has fallen madly in love with Too-Witz.  She even has a beloved watercolor picture in her room that my Mom gave us for Christmas a couple years ago.  It hung in my Mom's room as a child and I never imagined it being so special to Reagan.  Whenever we turn the movie on, she drags me in her room to point out

"Too-witzy now!  Two Too-Witzys now! Wow-wee!"

Uncle Alden, simply dashing in pink earrings.

After dinner at Dad's, we go to the Hawkes house for dinner with the crew (Mom and Dave included.)  Aaron with his family, Dawn and the girls, Troy and Kristina.

And a muffin with her Mommy and Daddy : ) 

Becca and her boyfriend Kyle- he teaches dance, ballroom and such, at his parents dance studio and I hear he's pretty talented.  I am SOOO close to going up there for lessons.  Kyle has Becca taking ballroom dance, and I am looking forward to watching them practice this weekend. MAYBE I could get Junior to take it with me?!


My years of experience dancing might just make everyone there look bad...
HA HA!  Um... 'free-style' in the kitchen with Reagan is as good as it gets.  It's embarrassing, really.

I think in my next life I will become a dancer, this may just give me a head start.

Buddies : )

She loves Mason so much! I love the way she's looking at him is these pictures...

One of my favorites

Christmas morning post coming tomorrow : )
xoxo

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First "PONY" ride! {Christmas Eve, 2010}

A couple months ago, Mom and I were at the zoo and she wanted to take Reagan for her first pony ride SO bad.  For my Mom growing up, horses were her life.  She rode every single day all through high school, no matter the weather, even bareback through the desert back in Arizona.  I know a tiny part of my Mom really wants her to love riding, to enjoy that part of her life again.  She always wished I had the opportunity growing up.   

I told her I had something better than "some pony at the zoo" in mind for Reagan's first ride.

Her first ride will be with my Step-Mom Tracy and her horse Dewey.  

Mom IMMEDIATELY agreed how awesome that would be, and MUCH more memorable.

: )

Tracy had offered once before, which floored me- given that it's Dewey the Champ.  Tracy is the most laid back person I think I've ever met, and the fact that MY CHILD would get to ride the
 TOP ARAB in the COUNTRY
.
long pause...

: o

was something in my opinion to be excited about.

I had to turn her down that day, since Junior wasn't there (or my camera.)
Well. We went by to say hi on Christmas Eve a couple months later, and the stars were all aligned perfectly. 
I have never asked her if she could ride, NEVER wanting to impose, but Dewey and Tracy were up for it and asked us if Reagan wanted to....!!!
Reagan was in a good mood and thankfully interested in ponies instead of rocks that day. 

Junior, check. 

Camera, check. 

Sunshine, always a plus ; ) 

I cannot express how excited we all were.

Reagan was a perfect angel, smiling and petting Dewey the whole time. Tracy was pretty impressed she rode for so long, we thought 1 minute maybe, but she was up there long enough for a few laps around the ring. I was just beaming with pride, and SO excited and privileged that she got to do this with Tracy and Dewey. All Dad could say was "Oh crap... now she won't want to ride anything but he best. Her first pony will be expensive!"  ; )

Yeah, I know of a few places for Reagan to have a summer job one day. She could always start cleaning stalls for an eternity to earn a horse! Trust me, I want her to have a taste of different things growing up to know what her interests are, but we want her to earn things she wants.   My first "want" like most kids was a car, so I started working in the kennel after school when I was 14. My Mom told me she would match what I saved to put towards a car and would handle my own payments and insurance. I saved $1500 myself and bought my Firebird a few months before my birthday. I would never change the lesson I learned, the responsibility and pride knowing that I made it happen.

I hope Reagan will try out different sports, music lessons, HORSE RIDING, and maybe even gymnastics. She will at least have the opportunity to try, and oh how I would love it if she were a little gymnast like I was. Soccer was also one of my fav's, and Junior as well. I can just image my parents smiling- watching her in little competitions... a flash back to when I was little.

It's so exciting to think of the little person she will become. : )

 

She has already been on her 2nd ride since then.  We went by on New Years Eve, and Reagan watched Tracy ride while she played with rocks, of course.  Every time Tracy came around the ring, she would ask Reagan if she wanted to ride, and she would scrunch up her face and say "no, no tay-too" (no thank you.) 
I just laughed. 
I thought it was hysterical that she would be turning down THIS OFFER.  Hello!?
Tracy would just lap around again, ask with the same response, and so we told her we shouldn't hurt Dewey's feelings, "poor Dewey!"  She eventually rode,  it just took a little coaxing- I guess she forgot how much fun she had before.  : )   Oh it was fun all over again.

Good day.

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