Monday, December 28, 2009
Reagan's First Christmas
I don't think I can quite explain how much I love Christmas time! I love the season, the weather, spending time with friends and family, Christmas music...I love it all! This Christmas has been the most exciting and special yet! Our family has had three very exciting Christmas' together. During our first Christmas as a married couple, Justin and I were on our honeymoon in Australia, our second was last year and I was 5 months pregnant, and this year we have Reagan! She has done exceptionally well with the tree, ornaments, and presents. For the first few days, she just explored around the presents. Then she discovered how to push some of the lighter boxes around so she could pull herself up. She would then reach for all the ornaments at the bottom of the tree. Thank goodness we didn't put any breakable where she could reach. We spent Christmas morning with Justin's family at his brother and sister-in-law's house. We had a great time together and exchanged lots of great presents. Nancy cooked an amazing Christmas dinner and we couldn't have had a better time. Then we went to my friend Gentry's house to see her and her parents on Sunday afternoon. We usually go and visit them once a week. We love them! They are pretty much family, too! :) Because my dad was flying to South Africa over Christmas we are going over to their house tomorrow night to celebrate with them. We have had an awesome year and look forward to starting this new year with our sweet little girl, family, and friends! :) We'll have more soon...
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Living Nativity
We had so much fun on Thursday night at the Denton Tree Lighting Festival! For about twenty years now my parents have put on a living nativity scene in Denton. In the beginning we had it at TWU, then we moved to the mall, and now for the past 5+ years we've been at the Denton Courthouse for the Lighting Festival. Justin and I were so excited to be able to be Mary, Joseph, and have Reagan be baby Jesus this year. I love seeing all the little kids come up and say hi to baby Jesus! It was also fun to hear them say, "See ya next year!" I love that they know to look for the nativity. What an amazing witness to those who came out! Reagan did very well throughout our hour long time slot. Even though the temperature was in the l0w 40's or so, we were actually quite warm in our layers and costumes. My dad has put extra bails of hay stacked on the sides of the stable to help block the wind. It was actually much warmer in the little area we were than out where the people were walking by and standing! Reagan loved watching all the people taking pictures, come up close to her and talk to her. It was great to see friends from church and school there too. We even ran in to some friends we hadn't seen in over ten years! All in all, it was a wonderful evening!
Friday, November 27, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving!
We are currently here in Deming, New Mexico, visiting with Justin's grandparents. We've had a great time with his grandma and grandpa. Thom and June, Brandon, Nancy, Kristian and Noah also all came out to spend the holiday together! Justin and I will be heading back to Denton this weekend. Reagan's first Thanksgiving was a success! :)
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Our Little Ladybug!
Halloween has come and gone and I'm just now putting up Reagan's pictures! I can't get over how cute she looks in her costume! She was such a trooper on Halloween night. With Justin out of town, we started our evening off at the church for their fall carnival. We had some pictures taken of Reagan with two of her other little friends. The girls were so cute in their costumes! One was a little bumble bee and one was a pirate! How precious is that!?!?! We then went over to Justin's brother and sister-in-law's (Brandon and Nancy) to go trick or treating with Kristian and Noah. Kristian was dressed as a ladybug as well so we were able to get some very sweet pictures of the two of them together. My friend Anna, also lives in the same neighborhood as Brandon and Nancy was also out with her husband and niece. We stopped by there and her little dog was also dressed up as a ladybug! Reagan loves dogs so we put some pictures of her with little Pepper in their matching costumes. We concluded the night by stopping by Justin's parents house to show her off to them. My parents were also out of town so they missed seeing her. We just went over to their house this past week to show them her costume. :)
Tomorrow is Justin's 29th birthday! We are super excited to celebrate by going to the Mav's/Spurs game tomorrow night. It's so crazy to think about the fact that Justin and I have been together for 10 years! We have had up and downs but we are in a really good place right now! Reagan has been such a blessing and continues to teach Justin and I things about ourselves and each other. We are working on becoming a stronger family unit each day.
We will have more soon... :)
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Reagan is Six Months!!!
Reagan just turned six months this past Monday. She is such a precious little girl and really has begun to develop her own little personality. She has learned how to growl wand does it most often when she's frustrated! The first few times she did it, I thought "where in the world is that coming from..." Then last night when I was fighting with the vacuum cleaner cord, I growled in frustration! I stopped my self and said "OH NO!!!" she gets that from me! YIKES! Mommy will have to work on harnessing her frustration especially in front of Reagan! She is rolling all over the place...from front to back, back to front, she's even really good and balancing herself on her side, now! She has just begun to push herself up on her hands and knees. We still have seen her crawl although she is a master scooter! I don't know how she does it, but she can scoot herself anywhere she wants to go. We have been eating rice cereal and oatmeal for about a month now. She still thrusts her tongue forward to push the food out, but sooner or later we get to the bottom of the bowl, so we know she's swallowing it at some point. We also started Squash and Sweet Potatoes this past week. Now that she's doing well with those, we will begin some green veggies. I think that green beans and peas are next on our list. We added a video of her eating her squash for the first time. She's super funny with all her crazy faces. It's sure to give you a little laugh! We'll add more about Reagan next weekend. She has her little costume all ready to go. You'll have to wait to see what little critter she will be... :)
Friday, August 28, 2009
Quick Catch Up...
Starting school this week was very exciting but super exhausting! I have been so busy at school and during my conference times that I haven't even really had time to worry about Reagan. Justin has been doing an amazing job of getting Reagan up and going in the morning. She is still sleeping when I leave, so I don't see her until I get home around 4:30-5:00. I have a very sweet class and am looking forward to the year! We did lose one of our Kindergarten sections, so that means that they had to split up a class amongst the five remaining kinder classes. I went from having 19 students to now having 21! We are all a little stressed about having such big classes, but we've come together and are ready to bite the bullet and start fresh on Monday! :)
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Cake, Clean-Up, and Kidney Stones, oh my!
The Rana household as been quite crazy since last Saturday morning. Justin has been so wonderful watching Reagan when he's home so I can have a little "me" time. However, last weekend our sweet little Reagan decided she no longer wanted a bottle...only ME! Not good! Justin had to call me home from running errands all over town because she totally refused taking bottle! This continued all week. We tried different bottle brands, different nipples, different nipple flows...and so on. I was a bit relieved when Justin found a blog with tons of posts from other moms also stating their child had gone on "bottle strike"! As of Friday afternoon she has been taking bottles off and on so I think we're at least making progress in that area.
For the past two weeks now I've been taking cake decorating classes at Hobby Lobby. I love it! It's so much fun and gives me a little break from life on the home front with the baby. Here is a picture of the first cake I've decorated for class. We had to make the icing from scratch and frost the cake. Then in class we learned several techniques for filling in shapes, designs, writing messages, and we learned about the different types of decorating tips. Because the All-Star game was on Tuesday night I was inspired to create my hubby his very own baseball cake. :) Thursday night Justin called and told me that he and his friend Chad wanted to completely revamp the sound booth at our church. I think this was going to be a very tedious project, but encouraged to do it. Needless to say, they pulled an all-nighter working from about 8:30 Thursday night until 9:00 Friday morning. Justin slept for three hours and went back up to finish everything before our conference started at 6:00 Friday night. Everything in the sound booth looks amazing! It's super clean, organized, and getting to all the equipment is so much easier now! Good job boys!
To complete our crazy weekend, Justin started having these horrible pains in his lower back on Saturday night. Justin has a very high pain tolerance so when saw how much he was hurting I was kinda freaked out! We have a doctor friend that recommended we go to the ER to have him checked out. We were pretty sure he might have kidney stones but wanted to know. So after 5 hours at Denton Regional and a CatScan, the results showed a small stone in his left side. He's been drinking lots of water and taking it easy. The meds they gave him totally wipe him out, so he's been pretty out of it the last 24 hours. We are praying that it passes quickly! I can't imagine having to push something like that out of a small hole in the body....oh wait...yes I can! I just had a 7 pound baby! I can't really compare though seeing as how I had an epidural. I'm totally kidding and know that kidney stones are way different than having a baby :)
So that's been our past 5 days...above is a pic of the cake I made. I know it's not super detailed or anything, but I must say, I'm very proud of myself! :) Reagan also turned three months today! We didn't get to take any pics since Justin was asleep most of the day, but we'll work on it this week and have those soon! :)
Friday, July 10, 2009
Fourth of July Fun!
We had a wonderful Fourth of July holiday! It was Reagan's first and oh so perfect! We started out the morning visiting Justin's parents house. We cooked out, swam, and played our annual water polo game. We had so much fun with the Rana clan, B & N and Kristian and Noah, and our friend Chad! :) After we spent the day at Thom and June's we made a pit stop at the firework stand. As I'm sitting in the car waiting for Justin and Chad to come out, I'm observing all the other people coming out with a small bag here and a couple bags there. As Justin and Chad emerge from the door, they both are carrying a huge box on their shoulders full of fireworks, sparklers, and many other types of explosives! I just sat in the car laughing! We made our way over to my parents house about 5:00 for the annual Janssen 4th of July cookout. We had about 40 people over for food, games, fishing, and fireworks. We had a blast there as well! As night fell, the boys took all the boxes of fireworks to the backyard. My parents and their friends all set up their chairs on the back porch and the young crowd gathered down by the lake to shoot our fireworks. We had so much fun! :) One of my favorite parts of the day was seeing everyone's reaction to Reagan's precious outfit! We found this adorable onesie at Old Navy that says "Daddy's Little Sparkler." Ohhh she is so cute! :)
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Cutie Pie's... a hungry father's saga
Today, my family and I (Jessica, Reagan, and myself) were out and about visiting some stores in the Southlake area. We finished up our business and were going to head home. Somehow, we ended up by Grapevine Mills mall which wasn't necessarily our intention. The baby was crying and I was trying to drive to quiet her - but then realized she was hungry. So we got off of 121 and pulled into the Bass Pro parking lot so Jessica could feed Reagan in the car (with a bottle mind you)... Reagan sucked down her feed and as I was listening to "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" by the great Michael Jackson (RIP), I suddenly realized I was rather hungry myself.
We meandered around in the Bass Pro parking lot (which by the way is the most ridiculous way to try to get over to Grapevine Mills - it borders on impossible). Once I realized that I would not make it to Grapevine Mills via the parking lot of the ADJACENT STORE - I got out of there and intended on heading towards highway 26 to get to Grapevine Mills and find some grub for dear old dad. As we were about to turn right onto 26, I spotted a place that I knew nothing about and had not seen before - a quaint little restaurant (roadhouse actually) called Cutie Pie's. I asked my wife Jessica if she would like to try it - her response: "Sure! Sounds good!" We parked our Ford Explorer - whose air conditioning was doing quite an admirable job in the 100 degree heat - got out of the car, got the stroller geared up and headed for the front door of what was sure to be a great eating experience.
Well we got inside and THIS is what we found:
Yea - I know. Questions abound from my readers at this point. Geez, Justin. When you realized that this was a cowgirl hooters, why didn't you get your family out of there? Answer: I was in shock - and my wife was leading the charge! We sat down and I looked at her and said; "Oops."
"Oh, no. It's ok. The food looks good and the atmosphere seems ok," Jessica said.
I looked down at my 2 month old daughter.
"Wow. Those uniforms look like something I would want to wear when I'm 18," said my daughters silent eyes.
I quickly spoke silently and sternly back to her and we began to parouse the menu.
The food looked quite good. I ordered some Fried Pickles. Review: pretty good - on par with other good Fried Pickles from other restaurants. Jessica had the Brisket Sandwich and Mac and Cheese. She says that the Brisket Sandwich was a 9 out of 10. For my meal, I ordered the 2 meat plate with sweet potatoes and baked beans, all of which were VERY good. The best thing about this place (including the girls) was the Bar-B-Que sauce. Some of the best I've ever had.
Now you may be asking yourself why I'm sharing all of this with you...my point is this. We found ourselves in a place we would normally not go into (especially with our 2 month old) and we decided to stick it out and see what came of it. Turned out to be one of the best meals I have had in quite some time. And here's another tidbit of information - if you like places like Hooters, Twin Peaks, etc. - you need to try Cutie Pie's. Although the girls were dressed in attire that didn't necessarily make you think they were morally sound in all areas of life, they were some of the nicest waitresses we have had...and guys, they have $6 pitchers every day. So skip Hooters and all the others, and try Cutie Pie's...but just remember to get a babysitter!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Happy Father's Day!
The Rana's had an amazing weekend! To start things off, Reagan turned two months old on Friday! I can not believe how quickly the time has passed. I still feel like it was just yesterday that Justin and I brought her home from the hospital. Everyone knows that along with the celebration comes a trip to the pediatrician for the dreaded vaccination shots. Reagan had three different shots. She did very well and after the initial screaming she was back to her cheery self. We were so thankful that she did not have any side effects! Praise the Lord! Dr. Jones was very impressed with how well she is growing and developing. Reagan can hold her head up very well while on her tummy and has even rolled herself from her tummy to her back! She's only done it once so far, but we know she'll be doing more often in the days to come. Reagan now weighs 11 pounds and 1 ounce and is 22 1/2 inches long. She is growing perfectly!
Saturday was a very chill day around here. Justin watched Reagan for a few hours while I went out shopping for a few Father's Day gifts. Saturday evening we had our friend Chad over to watch our church's First Fruits service on the web.
Sunday was one of the most special days we've had with Reagan. Not only did we celebrate Justin's first Father's Day, but we also were able to dedicate Reagan at church. My mom and brother were there along with Justin's parents and his brother, sister-in-law and their two children. Unfortunately my dad was out of town on a trip, but he was able to watch the service through the church's webcast. Chuck, Robert and Justin all made the dedication so special and something we will always cherish and remember. We hope you all enjoy the video clip from the service.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
7 weeks & 7 hours
We have made it! We have completed seven weeks with our sweet little Reagan. Justin and I are thrilled to announce that she is now sleeping 7 hours through the night! WooHoo! She has been doing this now consistently for about a week and a half. We actually discovered her new sleeping talent by complete accident. One night my alarm didn't go off for her middle of the night feeding. I think I woke up around 5 o'clock and she was still sleeping! From that point on we have let her sleep as long as she wants during the night hours.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Happy One Month!
Reagan has now completed her first month of life! Today begins five weeks! :) She is doing very well and I am finally feeling adjusted! It took a few weeks but I feel totally comfortable and confident taking her out and about all on my own. We've gone shopping, walking, and have visited friends and family. Yesterday, she even got to spend the afternoon with her cousins and aunt and uncle all by herself! We will have some new pictures to post very soon. My grandma is in town from New Jersey! She has been here for two weeks and still has one more with us! Reagan is her very first great-grandchild! She has loved every minute with her. This afternoon we are going to take pictures of the four generations! What a special memory for all of us! :)
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
My First Mother's Day
Thursday, April 30, 2009
One Week Later...
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Welcome Reagan Ashley Rana to the World!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Final Shopping Day
Sunday, March 29, 2009
4 weeks and counting!!!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Our first baby shower!
This past Saturday night several of our friends threw us our first baby shower! It was so amazing. I can't believe what a wonderful job they did! We had about 50 of our friends there to celebrate with us. They had a huge assortment of food including veggie trays, fruit skewers, grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, sausage balls, chips and dips! Our friend John Mark made four different desserts including cheesecake bites, cupcakes, brownies, and a cake! We played hysterical games and were very blessed by all the gifts we received! I've been really excited lately by the fact that Justin and I will be bringing in our first child into the same family of friends that I have been so blessed by the past 20 years of my own life! As the time draws closer, I continue to become more and more excited for Reagan's arrival!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Spring Break
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Birthing Class
Friday, February 27, 2009
Reagan's Room
VIDEO: PAINTING FUN WITH BRITNEY