Neighbor Christmas Gifts

I probably should've posted this, you know, before Christmas, but sometimes time just slips away from you and blogging slips to the bottom of the to do list. But better late than never!

It took forever for me to decide what to give my neighbors this year. The last couple of years I made some kind of homemade treat to pass out, but this year I took so long deciding what I wanted to do that the window for making something homemade without being stressed out started to close!

So I spent a little time scouring Pinterest for some other cute ideas and found this one!!

A mason jar filled with Christmas colored m&m's with a little Christmas poem about Jesus!

Okay, Okay, not my best work. But I still thought it turned out pretty cute! I already had the mason jar and a couple of coupons for holiday m&m's so it was an easy way to let our neighbors know we were thinking of them as well as offer a little reminder about the true meaning of the season. 

Merry Christmas 2014

....and just like that Christmas has come and gone! Christmas was extra special this year; not just because we had a little one to buy for and be excited with, but because I had a baby that reminded me through out the season just how powerful it is that our Savior came as a baby.

The Lord of all creation was once just like my little baby. He needed to be nursed, changed, clothed, and swaddled. He needed to be burped, rocked to sleep, and soothed when he cried. Our King relied on his mother to keep him alive, when he had come from Heaven where he needed and wanted for nothing.  It is nothing less than shocking that our Redeemer chose the most vulnerable way to become man and having a baby in my care this Christmas season gave me new insight into the humility that Christ had coming to earth in that form. (Not to mention a new appreciation for Mary - it is sometimes nerve wracking and stressful caring for a baby, wondering if you're doing the right things - imagine knowing you were caring for the Son of God!) I'm so thankful for this Christmas season because in many ways I was able to focus more on the true meaning of the season than I ever have before.

An addition to the reflection on the birth of Christ, we also enjoyed 2 days packed full of family time, gift giving, gift receiving, and food devouring fun! Reaghan did add a new sparkle of exciting to all of the festivities. Including adorable clothes! I had so many Christmas outfits for Reaghan to wear that she had 5 wardrobe changes on Christmas Eve!

Finally ready to go over to Mark's Parents!

Sticking with our tradition we spent Christmas Eve with Mark's family at his parents house where Reaghan changed her outfit again so she could match her cousin Brooklyn.

And then one final change into her jammies!

Christmas morning we opened our stockings and a few gifts under the tree and helped Reaghan open her gifts! We even video taped me carrying her out to her stockings. It was a sweet morning friends. She didn't know what was going on; setting up her stocking and wrapping her presents was definitely more for me and Mark than it was for her - but I hope she'll treasure the videos when she is older.

After our morning home, we headed over to Mark's granny's for lunch and a few present exchanges. I was surprised at how many bought presents for Reaghan.

We were only there briefly before heading to my parents where we stayed for the rest of the night. We got there just in time to sit down for dinner with them. Growing up my parents always had stockings and a big gift for us setting out in the morning and then we would wait until the evening to open up the wrapped presents under the tree. This continues to work out well for us, so my married sister and I get a chance to see our siblings and parents open their presents and share in the gifting!

Reaghan was completely spoiled by her Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles!

Her most favorite gift was the Exersaucer from my parents!

After presents we ended up migrating to the kitchen to make caramel corn and other sweet treats! 

And then Reaghan endured one final outfit change into another set of Christmas pajamas!

We hope your Christmas was also filled with loved ones and sweet moments!

Merry Christmas from the Poindexters!

{A picture from our Christmas mini session that I forgot to share!}

See Reaghan Grow! {3 Months}

Reaghan's 3rd month of life has largely been spent celebrating and getting ready to celebrate the biggest holidays of the year. She enjoyed her very first Thanksgiving, made her mommy's birthday super fun and has been smiling and cooing her way through the Christmas season so far. I'm only 5 days late posting this, but here are some specifics on what she's been up to:

• She has chunked up a little bit and definitely gotten longer! No appointment this month, so we aren't sure on the specifics, but we can tell she's grown! She's wearing a range of clothes sizes 0-3 months, 3 months and even some 3-6 month outfits are starting to fit her.
• She is consistently sleeping through the night! She will go to bed around 10-10:30 and sleep until about 8am. Every once in a while she will sleep until 9 or 10 in the morning! Since she is starting to creep towards the 12 straight hours of sleep at night, we are going to start backing up her bed time with a goal of putting her to bed around 8:30ish. (I'll just add though, that I've come to realize even the most perfectly thought out plans/goals may need to be completely rethought when working with a baby!)
• Speaking of sleeping, she is still in her Rock N Play next to our bed, but I know the time is coming to transition her to her crib. She is sleeping so good at night I'm afraid to mess with it! But she is getting to be a big girl and soon needs to be in her own room. Maybe the start of the New Year!
• She is smiling and cooing all of the time! Especially when she wakes up in the morning. She can showcase her lung power when she wants to with a few excited squeals as well!
• She always seems like she is on the verge of laughing but hasn't quite figured it out yet. She has let out a random chuckle here and there - the first one being the day before Thanksgiving.
• Mark said she rolled over for him Thanksgiving morning from tummy to back! I quickly ran and got the camera and tried to get her to do it again, but without success. She hasn't done it since so I'm beginning to wonder if the whole thing was made up. ; )
• She prefers to sit up and be able to look around, she has enough head control to sit in her Bumbo Seat! She loves watching movement and activity! 
• Tummy time is her least favorite. She only lasts 5 or 6 minutes at a time before a total meltdown ensues. She also doesn't prefer to lay on her back on her floor mat, but we are working on getting used to independent play so mommy can get things done! 
• Her favorite toy is a baby Einstein light up music toy and rattle. She is fascinated by it.
• She is starting to grab things with her hands and pull them towards her mouth. I've noticed she uses her left hand quite a bit... I wonder if we'll end up with a lefty!?!
• I started back to work on December 8th, so she is now taking pumped milk from a bottle a few times a week. She spends Monday afternoons with daddy and Wednesday afternoons with her Aunt Erin. She likes to make daddy work for her affection and also made her first afternoon home with him quite memorable with a diaper blowout and refusing to nap. It's gotten better. :)
• She seems to recognize familiar faces but really is a social butterfly and will smile at just about anyone. She is almost always okay when other people hold her or pass her around but every once in a while mommy is the only one that can make her happy, and I'm totally okay with that.
• She is starting to lose her hair on the top and on the back where her head rubs back and forth - but so far she has kept her beautiful blue eyes!
• She fits all of the classic signs of a baby beginning to teethe. Her hands are always in her mouth and I have to make sure I put bibs on her to keep the constant drooling from ruining her outfits.

She keeps us smiling with her ever developing personality. 

She is the most fashionable 3 month old I know. 

Her Grandma bought her this Christmas outfit, made complete with dressy boots.

She thinks her hands are just the yummiest.

And she thinks its funny when you blow rasberries.

A friend of mine just had a baby 2 weeks ago and when I met her precious daughter I couldn't believe how all of a sudden my baby seemed big! Reaghan is definitely out of the newborn/infant stage and into a growing baby. I know it seems silly to differentiate the two - but believe me, there's a difference. The other day I let her take her morning nap with me, all snuggled up on my bed instead of in her crib, because these days are going by way too quickly. 

I've promised myself to seize precious moments with my baby and not rush her.

Homemade Ornaments

I am slightly obsessed with making sure I do as many cute and lasting "Baby's First Christmas" activities as possible so that when Reaghan is grown and gone we can look back and reminisce about all of the precious things we did with her during her first holiday season. At that future time, 50 year old me will most likely get a lump in her throat and tears in her eyes and blubber on and on about our wonderful first Christmas as parents! But in order for that to happen - activities like today have to happen!

Enter homemade handprint ornaments!

I looked up different recipes {on Pinterest of course} and decided on this one because it looked from the pictures to come out the most smooth and white of all of the choices.

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups Water

1 cup Corn starch

2 cups Baking Soda

The How To:

Mix all of the ingredients in a pot and heat on medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture has the consistency of mashed potatoes.

It took about 10-12 minutes before my mixture really started to change consistencies and towards the end I turned up the heat because I was getting a bit impatient. But it eventually started thickening so just keep stirring!

After it thickens to the desired consistency, remove it from the heat and just let it cool in the pot until it's cool enough to touch. Once you can get it out, form it into a "dough" ball, place it on some wax or parchment paper and then cover it with a damp cloth to allow it too cool further until it is comfortable enough to roll out/mold/shape etc.

The dough isn't too sticky but you can sprinkle some cornstarch on it if it's too sticky to roll out. It should be about 1/4 inch thick, but if you're going to do a handprint just make sure it's not too thin! We used some round biscuit cutters to make our circles for the handprints and then made a few with cookie cutter shapes as well.

We had to have a couple of do-overs when doing Reaghan's. It's not too easy to get an almost 3 month old to press their hand flat down on a surface with their fingers spread! 

As you can see, she wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea! And it took my mom and me to get the job done!

Quick Tip - transfer the ornament to the pan before doing the handprints so you don't mess up the handprint! 

The little girl my sister watches is 1 years old and it was much easier to get her sweet chubby hand print on the dough!

After you've made your shapes, {and poked a hole in the top to thread a string through} stick them in the oven at 175* and let them bake for about 2 hours. I know. It's a long time... But you want to make sure they are fully dry.

In the meantime, you can keep yourself occupied by taking pictures of a cute baby in a Santa hat! 

Once they are out of the oven and cooled it's time to start decorating! 

These are great for painting but I wanted to keep it super simple and keep all of the focus on Reaghan's tiny little hand and footprint. 

And since my mom has way better handwriting than myself, I asked her to do the honors :)

Thanks for letting us invade your kitchen today mom! 

Back to Work

It's 11:15 at night and all I can think about is the fact that I have to go back to work tomorrow. Can you believe that? I can't. I can't wrap my mind around the fact that this Wednesday my baby will be 12 weeks old. I've been on maternity leave for 12 weeks! People always say time goes by really fast once you have a baby - that your kids grow so fast - they aren't kidding around. It really truly does.

Tomorrow when I go into work at 2pm, I'll  only be gone a few hours. I get off at 7pm and should be home by 7:30 at the latest. I'll only be apart from Reaghan for about 5 hours but I am certain it will feel like an eternity.  

Mark works from home tomorrow so she will be spending the afternoon with her daddy. I am so grateful I don't have to drop her off at a daycare (truth be told - I wouldn't be going back to work if that were the case) and I know her and Mark will be great together! But I still can't help but make checklists and leave little "help daddy" notes all around. :) {Mark probably doesn't even need them, but they make me feel better!}

 As I lay in bed trying to fall asleep I wonder if I've done everything needed to make their afternoon go smoothly tomorrow. I'm wondering if I'll cry as I drive into work. I'm praying she will nap good for her daddy tomorrow. I'm praying she will not have unusual fussiness from teething. I'm reminding myself that we are grateful that God made the way for this new schedule of only working 2 afternoons a week. I'm reminding myself that we are blessed Mark can stay home with her on Mindays and my sister can watch her on Wednesdays. 

I knew this day was coming. I just can't believe it came so fast. These last 12 weeks have been the sweetest of my life. I enjoy full time stay at home mommyhood so much more than I ever dreamed. It's such a good thing. I believe there is no career that is as challenging or fulfilling and I am so grateful that I will still be home the majority of the week with my sweet baby. Because how could you not want to spend your days with this preciousness???

Thanksgiving 2014

There were so many things for me to be thankful for as we celebrated this past Thanksgiving Holiday, but of course number one at the top of my thankful list is this little Turkey Bum cutie...

We started off the long holiday weekend by attending our church's Thanksgiving Eve service and Pie Fellowship. I had been anticipating this event at church since I was pregnant! I remember wanting Reaghan to stay inside of me long enough that my maternity leave would extend past Thanksgiving. I have worked Wednesday evenings for the past several years and haven't been able to attend the Thanksgiving Eve service since I was in college, so I was very excited to go! It's a great way to reset your perspective and cultivate an attitude of gratitude before celebrating the day. I hope to make this church service a priority now that we have a family.

 After church we came home and I put Reaghan in her adorable "My First Thanksgiving" pajamas. I think she liked them.

Thanksgiving morning we watched the parade, per tradition, and enjoyed some waffles and eggs for breakfast. I couldn't get enough of her in her pajamas!

 {Also - I know I'm being a proud first time mommy, but take a look at this kids tummy time skills!}

I finally convinced myself her Thanksgiving Day outfit would be just as cute as her PJ's and got her dressed.

We headed over to Mark's Granny's house first to celebrate with his family...

Love celebrating holidays with these sweet cousins. They don't notice each other too much just yet but we like getting them on the mat together and playing with them.

We left Mark's family around 3:30 to make it to my parent's dinner table by 4. You know, the usual "split the holiday in half when you're married and both families live in the same area" routine... :)

Reaghan is pretty much the center of attention at all of our family gatherings these days...

{Reaghan getting some love from my 3 sisters!}

{Aunt Erin is holding Reaghan about 50% of the time}

{My momma holds her the other 50%}

{And then my dad and everyone else try and get their hands on her as soon as Aunt Erin and Grandma aren't looking!}

After dinner and dessert we pull out the ads and make our shopping plans and lists. Unfortunately with the stores opening ON Thanksgiving day, Black Friday shopping just isn't the same. We've decided not to give up our Thanksgiving day just for sales, but we still love going out shopping and just spending time together as girls! We always make fun memories!

Don't judge me, but I totally took my 2 month old out shopping at midnight. Am I crazy? Maybe. But I fed her and gave her a bath at my parents at about 11:30pm - her usual bedtime - and she fell asleep in her carseat and stayed asleep the entire time we were shopping! Until 6:30am people! Even going in and out of the car and stores and hearing us talking the whole time {we weren't exactly whispering}. She stayed warm and snuggly and asleep all night. I love this baby.

We are so thankful for this beautiful little girl that has graced our family this year. She is healthy and growing and she is teaching us so much about love. We are grateful that she has made us parents. 

We are grateful to the Lord for the abundance of blessings that are evident in all area's of our life -  in our families, our friends, and our jobs. Blessings that we do not deserve. Above all, we are most grateful for the blood of Jesus that covers our sin and gives us the hope of eternal life. Without that, this life would be without meaning.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Poindexters!