Growing and Changing

I think she looked like me the day she was born, and for a few short weeks after. But now, I think there is no mistaking...she's a Lamb. She's gone in shifts, back and forth, looking like me, looking like Jim, but now, I think she most closely resembles Julie. And every time someone new meets her, there's a comment about how they think her hair might be red. RED? Really? Yes...
I took some pictures today, and she looks like she has red(dish) hair. Jim denies it, saying no, she'll be blonde...and I don't disagree...but I think there will be a bit of strawberry to go along with that blonde.

But...whoever she looks like, I think today's shirt says it all.

I am the Lorax...

Two nights ago we had quite the thunderstorm. All the heat (it ended up being about 93 that day) brought a big thunderstorm. Some places got golf ball sized hail! I took the camera out and tried to get some pictures of lightning, but my timing was off. I did get some cool night pictures though.

That same night, Julie (Jim's sister) gave me some books she had bought for Reagan awhile ago. She gave us Green Eggs and Ham and The Lorax. Jim said that The Lorax used to be his favorite book, and that his mom would read it to them all the time. I didn't remember ever having read it, but once he sat down and started reading it to Reagan I remembered it. Dr. Seuss truly was a great writer. He always found such creative ways to teach kids good lessons in his books. Reagan liked hearing her Dad read, as it seemed to calm her right down!

I put an ad on Craigs List awhile back for cheap photography, just trying to see what would happen. I got two emails, both from gals getting married in October. It looks like it may work out, but I don't want to jinx myself. I'm very excited, but also a little nervous.

I went to my orientation for the new teaching job yeterday...and it's so amazing to me that God always seems to have a plan. It's easy to be irritated by the phrase "When God closes a door He always opens a window" when the one has closed and the other has yet to be opened. But it is SO true! I now have a whole slew of benefits that I didn't have before, for example, FREE health care, FREE life insurance, and FREE disability insurance. WOW! Not to mention a 10% pay raise, a pre-tax savings plan for childcare, and only being 3 credits away from a horizontal move on the pay scale. It won't ever be easy to leave Reagan for work in the morning, but these little perks will help. Things are certainly looking up.

PS: If you're reading this, and you like it, or even if you don't, why not leave a comment? It's easy to do, and you don't have to be a member of blogger to do it. Just click on the comments link at the bottom of this post. :) Thanks! It's lonely out here in "bloggerville".

Jogging Time...

The Baby Jogger has arrived! It's not nearly as heavy as I thought it would be. It also doesn't fold up quite like I thought it would, but we figured out a way to make it work. She's probably not supposed to ride in it until she can hold herself up straight, but I figured with the 180 or so receiving blankets I have lying around, we could make something work.

We went for our first family jog last night! Jim pushed...we squabbled a bit about who would get to push her. Jim thought we'd be pretty evenly matched if he were to push and I were to just run...sadly he still kicked my butt. I guess I need to give it some time.

I took pictures to document the event, but it was an afterthought. So, don't worry grandmas, we did not take the baby jogging in the evening with the bugs in just a onesie. She had a warm wearable blanket on over her onesie, and she stayed quite snug and bug-free.

Surprisingly, she was awake the ENTIRE TIME we were running. I thought she'd fall asleep for sure. She seems to be able to see quite a bit more, which keeps her awake quite a bit longer.

We got air conditioning installed on Saturday, and not a moment too soon; it's supposed to be 88 here today! We decided it was time, due to repeated days of the INDOOR temperature reaching as high as 84 degrees, and we had to start waking Reagan up to eat. You can tell by looking at the girl that eating is one of her favorite pastimes, so that was really unusual.

Bath Time!

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Crazy? Or just foolish??

Today was the 29th Annual Sailing Shoes "Run for fun" in downtown Colorado Springs.Last weekend, Jim and Julie were headed to the running store to register for the race. I went with Jim, and on the way there, I found out Mikey was going to be running too, which left me as the odd person out. I decided that couldn't happen, 10 weeks postpartum or not. So, in an impulsive moment, I decided that I would run the 5k (3.1 mile) race.

So, this morning came. I hadn't been training. It's hard to train when you can't take the baby with you. We bought a jogging stroller, but it's not here yet. I suppose once it is here I'll have no excuse. The course is long and flat, all on roads, and snakes through downtown. I like it because once you get into the course a little, you can see all the people ahead of you running the other way, which usually means I get to see part of Jim's race, and he gets to see part of mine. Jim ran the 10k, which is partly trail.

When the alarm went off I was reminded of what I was in for. I nearly chickened out and took advantage of having the house to myself and sleeping in, uninterrupted, until Jim got back with Reagan. Almost. But, I was too curious to see if I could do it. Never in my life have I been more tempted to cheat and turn around early. But I didn't. I finished the entire 5 kilometers, only 8 minutes slower than I ran it last year, when I was in considerably better shape. Sure, I didn't run the WHOLE way, and I didn't finish as strong as I'd like to, but I DID finish.

So, admittedly, the decision to run a 5k and have it be the "beginning of my training" probably wasn't the smartest, especially considering I was on bed rest for about a month before I had Reagan. But I did it. And I didn't think I'd be able to. I'm feeling fairly accomplished. But, I will say, nothing seems as hard as it was before I had a baby. I think maybe I needed to learn what true, excruciating, but totally worthwhile pain really was. Reagan was there, but she was sleeping. If it hadn't been her nap time I know she would have been cooing for me, because I think she knew I was running for her. It felt SO great to know that I was back at it, and that I can, and will, be in shape again.

First Post

Well, if you've found this then that means it works! A friend suggested starting a blog so that friends and family can keep up with all the adventures of Jim, Reagan, and me. So, here it is. Hopefully you all enjoy it, and this way you can check back as you see fit, and I don't have to keep bothering everyone with emails.

I'm putting some of my favorite pictures of Reagan so far in this first blog so that those who need to can get caught up. :)