Kumquats and such

On one of Jessica's last days in Virginia, she was kind enough to watch Reagan while I went to work. I had left the car for them on that particular day, and when they came to pick me up, they had supplies to make bouncy balls! This is something Jessica and I did in grade school, and it's a lot of fun. You need one box of Borax laundry detergent, a bottle of Elmer's glue, and some food coloring. Step 1: Pour about 1/2 cup of Borax into a cup or bowl. Step 2: Add a few droplets of food coloring into each container. Step 3: With a small amount of the Borax in your hand, squirt some glue onto the pile and cover it with laundry powder. Start to roll it into a ball.  Step 4: Continue adding glue and Borax until the ball becomes the size you would like. Step 5: Play with the bouncy balls!  This is a fun project that you can do with little ones. They like to mix the colors into the Borax and play with the balls. The part with the glue is a little tri...

Pajama party time!!! For the second year in a row, we've celebrated New Year's Eve in style...everyone in their PJs hanging out at Colleen and Keith's house! We even got Reagan and Max involved this year: Of course, they went to bed (eventually) and then the real party started. Reagan actually sat on the couch while the party was going on, watching one of her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes on my phone. She was being so good, that I let her go upstairs to the "big bed" with the phone. I went to check on her 15 minutes later and she was sound asleep, still gripping the phone:)  All in all, I think I took about 100 pictures that night. Here are the ones that are family-friendly:) Tiffany and Colleen  Colleen and the giants! Hey, nothing says "Happy New Year" like a party hat, right?! Uncle Adam, Max and Auntie Tiffany (just before the kiddos went to bed) It took awhile before Colleen & Keith had any friends show up...

 As I wrote earlier, Jason surprised Jessica and I with a trip to Raleigh to celebrate the new year. We were thrilled! We packed up the car, drove to Grandma & Papa's to drop Tommy off, and headed down to NC. We got there just after lunch time, and met the crew at one of their favorite spots to watch football...The Luxury Box. Sadly, Colleen wasn't one bit surprised:( The joke was on us, as Colleen had known since the beginning! Oh well, it was still great to be there!!! Our old friend, Leon, came out to Raleigh from Chapel Hill to hang out too! It was so good to see him. After eating, hanging out, and watching way more football than I ever like to in one sitting, the girls decided to go home. We let the kids open their Christmas gifts and they had fun playing with Reagan's makeup kit that Colleen got her! Even Auntie Tiffany got in on the action! Probably my favorite series of pictures to date. I love this kid!!! Here's little miss "sassy...

Christmas morning arrived and Reagan slept until about 6:30 (normal wake up time for her). We were all up and waiting for her, so that I could take pictures as she walked down the stairs to see that Santa came to visit! Reagan didn't have quite the reaction I was expecting, but she sure was one happy girl! Once the coffee was made, we started opening presents. Reagan tried on some of the clothes that she got from GG (the vest on the right) and her pajamas from Aunt Lisa & Uncle Kevin (on the left). The pajamas were originally Aunt Lisa's when she was a little girl. She did a little mending of some buttons, but they are perfect for Reagan and so cute! It was such a beautiful present, enhanced by the card which included a picture of Aunt Lisa actually wearing the pjs when she was tiny! Santa brought Reagan a whole bunch of princess dress up clothes! She had Daddy open them immediately so she could try them on. Every present she opened required direct attenti...