Kumquats and such

For her birthday, Reagan got some awesome toys to play with in the sand from Great Aunt Sheri and Great Uncle Scott. She's not a huge fan of the beach, but she adores Play-Doh, so while I was out running, Uncle Geoffrey and Papa broke out the new toys along with a few tubs of Play-Doh. She had a blast "cooking" with her new toys and played for almost an hour! So grateful to have such a wonderful family that will watch Reagan while I'm out running! She didn't even notice me when I came in the door:)

As you saw in the previous post, Reagan got a glider bike from Grandma & Grandpa for her birthday. Here's the story behind the bike for a 2-year old: Several months ago, I was running on base and I passed the tiniest little boy riding a 2-wheeler without training wheels. My interest was peaked, so I asked his grandma how old he was. She told me he was almost 3! I was absolutely astonished that such a young kid could be riding a bike already. She explained to me that in Germany, kids start with these glider bikes that don't have pedals. They have a place to rest your feet eventually, but the idea is that kids start out by just resting on the seat and using their feet on the ground to propel them forward. Once they get used to that feeling, they can prop their feet up and glide. Eventually, you just transition them to a bike with pedals and they already understand balance. Neat, huh?! So back to Reagan and her new bike. The day after her real birthday, Grandpa (or Papa as...

On July 23rd, Reagan's real birthday, we celebrated as a family with Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Geoffrey. We started with our regular gymnastics class where they sang "Happy Birthday" to Reagan twice! She loved showing off her new skills for everyone. After that, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese for some pizza and games. Jason surprised Reagan by showing up early and he surprised the rest of us by telling us he was done for the day! We all headed home and relaxed for a bit while Reagan napped. Then we started dinner and let Reagan open some presents. She had a blast tearing into the paper and seeing all her new toys! Aunt Sheri and Uncle Scott - Reagan LOVES her new sand toys!! She actually spent the following morning playing with them using Play-Doh:) New outfit from Grandma & Grandpa Daddy had the biggest hit with Chuggington toys! What on earth could be in this big bag?!  Reagan's very first bike! Reagan also got a new step stool s...

Reagan absolutely loves to "cook" with us. About once or twice a week, I let her pull a kitchen chair over to the counter and we break out a bowl, cup measures, spoons, and lots of random ingredients for her to play with. On Sunday, we did some "cooking" for Grandma and Grandpa. Here's a look at how it typically goes: She's not using sour cream, just the container! Yeah, that's Ginger Ale:)

MIL and FIL are down in Jacksonville to celebrate Reagan's birthday and visit for a bit. Naturally, before they even arrived, we had a "to do" list for FIL. The primary project on the list was to pack his pressure washer and then clean our deck and fence. I had no idea what the results would be, but I was floored when I saw the difference!! It's like we have a brand new fence! Check it out for yourselves: BEFORE MID-WASHING AFTER I don't think I even realized just how grey our fence had gotten over time. I did a few of the fence panels just to see what it was all about. At first it was kind of fun. After 5 minutes, I was ready to pass the hose back to FIL:) The mix of smells (water, gasoline, mildew, etc) makes you think you're on a boat in the lake...sadly, that was definitely NOT the case. And here's the guy who did ALL the work: Thanks FIL!!!

To our dearest Reagan -  Happy 2nd Birthday! You have truly been the light of our lives for the last two years. Watching you grow into such a smart, fun, vibrant little girl has been a joy.  During the last year, you've learned to run, jump, talk, use the potty, and so many other things. Your favorite color (and word) is blue. You love to eat noodles, hotdogs, fruit, avocados, cucumbers, and popsicles! In June, you started gymnastics class and you still like riding in the stroller while Mommy runs.  You love your Frankenstein doll and sleep with him at nap time and every night. You have added a pillow, baby doll, and plastic phone to your nighttime collection. You have been using a beautiful handmade quilt (from your Aunt Amy) since you were born. You love to "cook" and do art projects, especially with paint. These are just a few of the things I want you to remember someday.  As I looked back over your last two years in pictures, I selected a few of my...

Most mornings, we start off with a run and then play around the house before nap time. Last week, I took some pictures while Reagan played. We began by attempting to make necklaces with our dried, colored pasta. Unfortunately, the pasta pieces were too small for Reagan to actually thread onto the hemp, but she sure enjoyed trying: Once she figured out that making necklaces wasn't really an option, she dumped the pasta and rice and just played. One of her favorite things is to have me fill the bowl and then dump it over her feet. I guess it feels good:) And without fail, we absolutely MUST play in the "cave" at least three times a day. In fact, every time Reagan comes in contact with a blanket, she wants to play "cave." Here she is in our makeshift cave in the living room: All in all, we usually have great morning full of playtime. The afternoons are always a little tougher as I attempt to make dinner and keep her happy through her fussy p...

On Saturday morning, while I was taking pictures in Surf City, I received this text: "You can't get kimchee at Walmart, right?!" Needless to say, I was confused. But when I arrived home and saw this: out on the kitchen table, I started to understand:) When we were living in Northern VA, I took Jason to Yechon, one of my favorite Korean restaurants. He is a very "daring" eater, and was game to try anything. For years, I had seen my father enjoy a giant steaming bowl of kimchee soup. I suggested that Jason order it and he did. He fell in love. So on this Saturday morning, he was going to attempt to make it! We headed to the commissary in search of the ingredients. They have a decent Asian section (I think this is due to how many military personnel marry overseas!) and we were able to find MOST of the ingredients. Unfortunately, despite a trip to another store after the commissary trip, we still couldn't find a few things. Did this stop Jason? Of c...