The Toddler Years

Two little eyes discovering what's new


Two little hands touching everything in view


A sweet little voice asking you why


A mischievous smile and a whimpering cry


Two little feet jumping on the floor


A toddler's mission is to explore



As tiring as it can be keeping up with a toddler, I absolutely love the stage we are in right now with Reagan and would not trade it for the world. She wakes up as happy as can be and she never stops going until we can convince her it is time for bed. Her personality and speech have really exploded over the last two months. She has become extremely outgoing in social situations and is much more sure of herself and her surroundings. Her language skills now consist of three and four word sentences which is major progress, considering where we were in September. I know speech therapy really helped, but I think sending her to daycare has had a tremendous impact with the socialization side of things. Time is flying and things seem to be changing so rapidly. It seems like yesterday I stepped off that plane with a helpless little baby in my arms, yet a year and a half has passed us by and today, that helpless little baby has turned into an independent toddler.

I am in San Antonio this week on business and I am already missing all three of my babies.
Luckily, this is a quick trip and by Thursday, I will be smooching their adorable little faces:)
Have a great week everyone!

Favorite Photo Friday - "Confirmation"

Tuesday afternoon, Nick received the Sacrament of Confirmation.
It was a hectic day and we were rushing to get him to school by 4pm, but I managed to get a quick shot of him with the girls just before he walked in to meet his classmates.


I was hoping to get a good seat in church where I would be able to take pictures easily with no obstructions, but we were not that lucky. The church was so very crowded, and in the end, I guess I should be thankful that we actually had a pace to sit. Many were left in the back, standing room only.


The mass was absolutely beautiful. After the kids answered all of their confirmation questions, the Bishop delivered a fantastic message to the congregation about the sacrament of confirmation and what it means to our children. At the conclusion, each confirmand stepped forward with their sponsor and the Bishop anointed them with chrism(an aromatic oil that has been consecrated by the bishop) accompanied by the words "Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit".


Two and a half hours after entering the church, the mass concluded and we could finally wrap our arms around Nick to congratulate him. We were all so very proud.
This photo totally melts my heart!

After we left the church, we headed out with my parents for a celebratory dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. It was the perfect end to a very special day for our family.

It has been super busy around here. After missing an entire week of work due to illness last week, I had a lot of catching up to do. Hoping to post more in the upcoming week. I have a great recipe in draft that I can't wait to share.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Sunday Snapshot - "Fresh Air With Friends"

Thankfully, by Friday afternoon, the last of us "sickies" in the house, started to feel better and by Saturday morning we were feeling well enough to get up and out. We had plans with my friend Michelle and her two beautiful girls to go see The Lorax, but after the week we had I thought we were going to have to cancel..... I am so happy it all worked out.

The movie was cute...all the girls really enjoyed it and even Reagan, who was attending her very first movie, sat through the entire thing without getting antsy or causing a commotion.
YAY REAGS!!

After the movie ended, we headed outside to let the girls get some fresh air and burn off some of their energy! These four cutie-pies caused quite a stir as walked the shops hand in hand. It was such an adorable sight.


Reags did her best to keep up with the big girls. At times her little legs didn't seem to move fast enough, but she was determined to keep up.


Ten minutes after entering "The Children's Place" our four cuties came out sportin some glam pink glasses!


I don't think Sarah ever stopped giggling.... well, until I said it was time to go home.
We had such a wonderful afternoon with some very special friends and it was just what the doctor ordered on so many levels.

It is supposed to be another beautiful day here in PA so we will definitely take advantage of that and head outdoors this afternoon.

Enjoy you Sunday.


To see more Sunday Snapshots, head on over to my friend Stefanie's blog

Quarantined

The past seven days have been anything but fun for this family......
We have had something terrible going through our house and it has knocked us down one by one.
It started last Friday night when I felt like I was getting a terrible sore throat. I ended up in bed through Monday. That night, we all woke up to the sounds of poor Sarah getting sick. By Tuesday night it hit my husband, and by Wednesday night, the flu hit Nick and me too.
Little Reags is still standing.... she has not come down with it yet, but we are waiting because whatever it is, it seems to be highly contagious.

Needless to say, I am sick and tired....of being sick and tired. I was in tears yesterday because I just cannot take anymore of this. It has been the worst winter we have ever experienced in terms of illness and germs. Hoping to get every window in this house open this weekend so that we can air it out and kiss these germs goodbye once and for all.

I wish I had something more exciting to share today, but I do not. I have not even picked up my camera in 12 days. We are still quarantined here at home in our PJs with Gatorade, Ginger-ale, Chicken Soup, and Saltines. Hoping the end of this madness is very near and we can actually enjoy our weekend.

Feel free to link your Favorite Friday post below, unfortunately, I will be sitting this one out:(