Reaghan's Birthday Day!

Reaghan's 1 year old birthday has become a whole blog post series! Haha I'm on post 3/4 already and still trying to get the posts up over a week after her actual birthday. I'm loving it, but you might be getting all "Reaghan's 1 - we get it already, move on!" But too bad. My blog ;) So....sorry, not sorry for all of the Reaghan birthday posts. :)

On Reaghan's ACTUAL birthday, as I mentioned before, Mark took the day off and we set out to the beach to spend the afternoon - after she took a nice long morning birthday nap. :)

Reaghan was a little timid when it came to seeing some of the big tanks at first...

 Its hard taking good pictures with your phone in an aquarium : /

She started to get a little braver as we went on...

....until we got to the statue of a dolphin - she wasn't a big fan of that!...

...but the shark statue was awesome...

A dolphin scarier than a shark?! I'm not really sure what this girl is thinking!

She really liked looking at the shark's swimming in the tank as well.

I think her favorite was when we got to put our hands in the Sting Ray pool.

As soon as her hands hit the water she started making little splashes and I think the Rays were attracted to the movement because they started swarming towards us!

 

(I'm not sure how her bow got twisted behind her ear?!)

She loved it though! 

The Blue Angels were practicing for the Air Show so we got a little peak at their shenanigans as we walked between the two buildings at the aquarium.

Checking out the otter playing. I love watching this girl get excited about things!

The aquarium has these fun little kid play areas that we took her in. Since her birthday was on a Thursday and school is back in session, there weren't very many kids at the aquarium. And none at all in these little play areas, so we let her crawl around a bit. 

She really enjoyed it, but the mom in me had to squash down all my germaphobe notions. Honestly, I'm what you would call an anti-germaphobe - until it comes to Reaghan! But I let her play because she loved it and then we just wiped our hands down afterwards. ; )

"You want to play daddy?!"

Family selfie before leaving the aquarium!

She was starting to get sleepy by that point and fell asleep when we put her in the car. She was so worn out that she stayed asleep when we put her in the stroller and as we pushed her along the boardwalk until we got to the restaurant! 

We ate at Rock Fish - a small seafood place attached the the back of a hotel, with outside seating that overlooks the boardwalk. Reag finally woke up right before we got our food.

Birthday conversations...

Birthday Kisses!

After dinner we walked out on to the beach and played in the sand and water.

Blowing kisses to daddy!

She always has her tongue out :)

We had the best birthday day with her and enjoyed being just us.

We'll always remember sitting on the beach and playing in the sand with our little birthday girl!

A Letter to My Daughter on Her First Birthday

A week ago today Reaghan turned one. ONE people! One. Mark took the day off and we had a fantastic day just the three of us. We went to the aquarium, out to an early dinner on the boardwalk and played in the sand and ocean with our sweet baby who is, actually, less and less a baby, every day. This past weekend we had a little party for her with our families here at the house.

It was a busy weekend and each of those events deserve their own posts, but today I thought I'd share the letter that I wrote to her to stick in her baby book:

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My Sweet Reag,

Today you turned a year old. You have been a part of your mommy and daddy's life for a whole year now. These last 24 hours have been a roller coaster ride for me as I am trying to wrap my head around the fact that you are one! I am so sad that your tiny baby days are over because, my sweet girl, I loved them so much. I loved your little whimpers in the night asking to be fed and I loved the smell of your sweet milky breath after falling into a nurse induced coma. But I am so happy that you are growing strong and healthy and we are already overjoyed with all that you can do.

I remember like it was yesterday the day I found out I was pregnant with you. I wanted to think of a cute way to tell your daddy if I was pregnant so I anxiously waited for him to leave for work before finding out. As soon as he walked out of the door I jumped up to take the test. It didn't take long for it to show me that you were already growing inside of me and I sat back down quietly in my bed and cried and prayed with thanksgiving unto the Lord. I loved you instantly. When I told daddy that night with a special dessert and a "my daddy is a superhero" onesie - he instantly loved you too.

The next 9 months were full of a lot of loving, (puking), crying and praying. You kept my stomach empty for the first 4 1/2 months but it was okay. I loved you more than anything. So did daddy. We fell in love with you over and over again - when we heard your heart beat, when we felt you kick, when we found out you were a girl, and when we decorated your nursery. I was nervous about being a mommy, but mostly I just couldn't wait to meet you, and I dreamed every day of what you would be like.

We did so much to prepare for your arrival. We read books and attended birthing classes. Daddy even went to a "daddy boot camp" class. But nothing truly prepared us for the day we met you. You stayed in 6 days past your due date but once you decided to come, you only took 5 hours to get here. Once you were in my arms I suddenly knew love like I had never known before. You were perfect and beautiful in every way. That was the best day of my life - after marrying your daddy of course. 

The next few months were full of even more loving and crying and praying (and sleepless nights!). So many times I was unsure of myself as I tried to learn your wants and needs. I just wanted to be the best mommy I could be for you and many times I felt like I was failing - especially the days when you wouldn't nap or the nights you wouldn't sleep in your crib. Your daddy was always so supportive and encouraging and loved you hard when mommy would start crying because you had woken up crying again - even when he had to be at work early the next day. I was never upset at you for being awake my love, but always frustrated with myself that I couldn't help you sleep. Eventually you learned to sleep and we made it through those early days. In so many ways I miss them so much. Even on those hard nights, through my tears I could see how fast you were growing and I tried to soak up every moment - the good and the hard.

As you've grown, so has mommy. I've learned how unconditional love can be, how much patience I didn't have but desperately needed, and what it meant to pray earnestly for your salvation. And you were learning so much more! You've learned how to roll over, sit up, eat, talk, stand and now you are on the verge of walking. You've grown from being an average size newborn to a petite little one year old who can still wear some 9 month size clothes. You are sweet but sassy and keep me on my knees praying for wisdom on how to to be your mommy. You love swinging outside, dancing to music, playing "drums" and clapping your hands to "If you're happy and you know it." You love seeing your family but you're shy when you meet new people or if theres a lot going on. You're scared of a fish tank but will stick your hands right into a pool of sting rays! You get excited and crawl as fast as you can when mommy or daddy come through the front door. You give wide, open mouth kisses and pat my back when you give me a hug. You fold your hands to pray at dinner time and get very giggly in the evenings just before bed. You love our Piper Pup and always want to share your food. You're a picky eater. You love to brush your hair and use mommy's make up brushes to pretend to put on your "pretties."You love to play with the big kids at Aunt Erin's. You adore your baby dolls and hold them tight and give them kisses. I could go on, you do so much! But most of all you light up my every day.

I wake up every morning and I can't believe how much you're growing. I can't believe how beautiful you are and I sure can't believe how blessed I am to be your mommy.

I am so excited for new babies to come in to our family, but I want you to know what a special place you will always hold in my heart because you were the first baby to come in to our family. Nothing will compare to that excitement of welcoming our first little one home. You were the one that made me a mommy and the one that bursted my heart wide open. There will never be another first. God has chosen you to be our first born and we know He has big plans for your stubborn and sassy personality.

Your daddy and I pray every night that you will come to know the Lord at an early age and that you will love Him with all of your heart. We pray that you will always know you are a daughter of the One True King and that you will be a bright and shining star in your generation. We pray you stay curious and become brave. There is so much more you will learn and experience and your mommy and daddy will be here every step of the way to guide you.

Thank you baby girl for all the love and laughter and for giving us the best year we've ever had. We love watching you grow, but we are treasuring each milestone and making it last as long as we can. We love you so much sweet Reag!

Happy 1st birthday!

Love,
Your Mommy

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My sisters took Reaghan's 1 year old photos last week as well and here are some more of my favorites - I think they capture her personality perfectly:

See Reaghan Grow! {1 Year}

Welp, it happened. A year has come and gone since I gave birth to the little girl that made me a mommy. The second best day of my life (my wedding day being the first best day) but definitely the 1st best year of my life! It went by fast, but I think we did a good job of soaking up every big and small moment that we could and taking as many picture and videos as possible to capture her personality as she grew. (I think we're at well over 1,000 pictures! My computer's memory has practically reached its capacity so its time to start moving pictures over to a hard drive to make room for more ;))

We had a great day today with our sweet baby Reag. Mark took the day off and we spent time as just a family of 3 going to the aquarium, out to an early dinner, walking along the boardwalk and playing in the sand and ocean with a nice cool evening breeze! There will definitely be another post with pictures for all of that! But for now...

This.

This is my last monthly "See Reaghan Grow" post! What a sad thought. I loved writing down her milestones here so I would have something to refer to if I fell behind in filling out her baby book. Hopefully I continue to document her milestones there!

So before I drift into further sappiness.... here is what Reaghan did during her last month of the first year of her life!

• She has a Dr's appointment on the 23rd so I can update her "stats" then, but I know she weighs about 18 pounds {tiny!} and stands around 26 inches tall as measured next to her wooden height chart
• 9 month clothes are finally getting too small! We've moved on to mostly 12 months and some 12-18 months.
• She's continuing her good sleep habits of 10-11 hours at night. She moves all over her crib when she sleeps! Still 2 naps during the day. She can get away with only taking 1, but it usually means an earlier bedtime and more fussy moments.
• She fully feeds herself now and has started practicing feeding herself with a spoon - though it normally turns in to her just pushing her food all around her tray and dumping it out before it gets to her mouth.
• She's gotten a lot pickier this last month when it comes to food choices! She will flat out refuse food if she's not in the mood for it, even if its something she just ate yesterday. Not sure where this is coming from! Sometimes she'll try something and then decide she doesn't like it and spit it out. I'm still trying to figure out how to handle this. I want her to eat so she doesn't starve - though I've been told not to worry about this - but I also don't want to to keep wasting food by offering 5 different things only to have her refuse every one. She's even picky about the food I offer her off of my plate! One thing I can count on - she always eats broccoli! lol 
• We are down to breast feeding only 3-4 times a day. This was my last week of pumping at work! Bittersweet, but I'm not super sad about not having to carry all of that in and then clean it all when I get home.
•  Her 2 top teeth finally poked through within just a few days of each other. I love her gap toothed grin!
• She went to visit family in Charlottesville for Labor day and met even more new cousins for the first time.
• She has taken 1-2 steps a couple of times! She'll briefly let go of the coffee table or a hand and try to come towards me, but it usually ends in her lunging forward just trusting I'll catch her! She does very well walking if you're holding 1 or both of her hands. She loves to walk around everywhere like this!
• She's learned how to point to her belly, head and teeth when asked. 
• She loves to open up cabinets and pull things out of them.
• She can point with her index finger for things she sees, and sometimes to say she's "1"!
• She only says mama and dada but knows who she wants when she says them!
• She has a habit of screeching to get my attention so we are working on saying "mama" in those moments instead. She is getting better at it and I love watching her understand and learn and obey.
• Mark says when 7:30 rolls around on the days I work, she will crawl towards the front door anticipating my arrival. She can't crawl to me fast enough when I walk through the door!
• She loves to take one of my make up brushes and "put on her pretties" when I'm getting ready. 
• She loves to play in her sand box outside - it's the birthday present we got for her and we let her play in it a little early ; )

Pointing with her index finger to say she's 1 now!

Her favorite Molly Polly Dolly

Pointing for a snack - yes - I may have bribed her with puffs.

"Mommy, are you sure I can have this chalk?!"

She offered the chalk back to me and then immediately regretted her decision when I took it. 

So I gave it back!

"Let me draw you a pretty picture mommy!"

Wiping away her art! Guess what Reag? No more monthly photoshoots! You've humored your mama long enough. You're free to grow without formal documentation. ;)

"Hmm... chalk leaves white dust on my hands when I wipe the board."

You can see the curiosity in her face - the look of figuring out something new - its my favorite!

We are all ready for her birthday party this Sunday! We just have a few more things to clean up in our backyard and another grocery trip to make. We are looking forward to having our families over to celebrate and play and enjoy time together!