We're having a lazy Sunday afternoon, so I thought it made sense to put up a little recap of the week that was.  It was a fairly routine week, which was a nice break from living on Hoth the previous week.  With one exception, the changes in Reagan this week have been incremental.

Reagan continues to grow stronger, and can really push up so her entire chest and head are up in the air.  She often lifts her feet at the same time and kind of rocks on her tummy.  The front-to-back rollover happens pretty regularly now, but she can't quite figure out how to go back-to-front.  She'll make it to her side and just stop there.

We keep adding new baby food to her diet every few days, and she has now experienced carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, and green beans in addition to the rice cereal and the oatmeal (her favorite).  So far she hasn't had any indication of any allergies, but it's clear the addition of food to her diet has an effect on her digestive system.  Let's just leave it at that.

We also brought out the old door jumper for Reagan, and she seems to really like it (notwithstanding the expression in the above photo).  But, like most things she really likes, she still only tolerates it for about ten minutes before we have to move her to a different activity.

The biggest change this week has been Reagan's discovery of a new vocal range.  Out of the blue on about Wednesday, she just squealed really loudly, and she's been doing it regularly ever since.  It's adorable since she's usually smiling when she does it, but if I'm holding her on my hip, the screech goes right into my ear.  Along with the squeal, we've noticed her making a lot more multi-syllabic sounds, too.  Our concerns that Reagan wouldn't talk much because her sister talks all the time appear to be unfounded.  Instead, it's shaping up that both girls will be chatterboxes.  Can't wait for those long car trips.

Snow Day!

Reagan officially got her first exposure to snow today, after almost eight inches fell overnight.  Don't ask how I measured that.  The worst part of it for Reagan was getting into the super-warm fleece outfit -- she really hated that for some reason.

After Reagan and Susan went inside, Amanda and I went tubing in the front yard (with Jackson & Robert) and walked the neighborhood.  Amanda didn't much care for the uncertain footing, but overall she did great.

We have added the delightful-smelling carrot baby food to Reagan's diet the past two evenings, and she seems to like them.  Last night, she had maybe 1/4 of the little container, and we tossed the rest.  That seemed like a big waste to me -- why does Gerber insist on using these relatively giant containers for their so-called "First Foods"?  What kind of baby just starting to eat is going to eat all of this goop, even if they actually like it?  Well, the answer to my question is:  the Reagan kind of baby.  Tonight, she killed the whole thing.  Sure, there was a fair amount of it on her face and (mixed with drool) in the little pouch on her bib, but we're counting it as a finished container.  Is it possible those Gerber folks know a little more about the eating habits of babies than I do?

And just in case that little bit of minutia wasn't insignificant enough for you, she also rolled over again during her afternoon nap today.  And again, Susan and I missed it.  Also, it is snowing here for the second time this season.  When did we move to Buffalo?

Finally!

Reagan rolled over today, tummy to back.  She did it not once, but twice, during her morning nap.  We couldn't be prouder.  Thus, it was a good day, despite the fact she had a "Code Brown" after she was already bathed, in her jammies, and ready for bed tonight.  Jammie change ensued.

What's New

I can't believe it has been over two months since I updated this blog.  But with the new year comes my resolution to update more often so I don't need to write massive entries like the one your about to read (or lightly skim).  First, a warning -- if you're one of those people who hate when parents go on and on about how great their kids are, you may as well leave now.  Otherwise, enjoy!

October

I believe I left off last time right before Halloween, so I guess I'll start there.  Our neighborhood put on its annual Fall Festival, which is always a good time.  A lot of the neighbors hadn't seen Reagan yet, so we had plenty of help in looking after her, holding her, etc.

After the festival, Susan took Amanda trick-or-treating while I volunteered to man the front door and look after Reagan.  Turns out I got the better of the deal because taking a three-year-old trick-or-treating is not as easy as it sounds.  Even though they didn't go to too many houses, Amanda got way more candy than she could ever eat.  Fortunately, she basically forgot about the Halloween candy after a few days.


November

We visited my parents in Hilton Head over Thanksgiving, which marked Reagan's first trip away from home.  She did really well for the most part, but she got a little fussy at the end of the drive.  Reagan's fussiness, however, wasn't the problem.  Rather, it was Amanda's reaction to Reagan's fussiness that gave us grief.  Basically, Amanda was in a phase where she got extremely upset whenever Reagan started crying a little bit.  So when Reagan got a little cranky when we were five minutes from my parents' house, Amanda started acting like we had set her (Amanda) on fire.  It got so bad that we had to pull over and try to help her get herself under control.  And I learned a valuable lesson -- crying children won't stop crying if you yell at them.  Good to know.

Anyway, Amanda ultimately settled down, but it has been an occasional problem with her since then.  She may have thought that she was responsible for Reagan crying, and it took some talking to (not yelling at) for her to understand that babies simply cry sometimes and that Reagan was not crying because of anything her big sister had done.

The remainder of the Hilton Head Thanksgiving trip was uneventful.  We had a good visit, saw some family and friends, and ate too much.  We took the girls to Harbour Town and to the beach.  We also went to a children's museum, which Amanda enjoyed immensely.  I ate cotton candy for the first time in about 30 years, and I thought my teeth would explode.  Good times.

December

Early-December brought Reagan's four month pediatrician appointment, and she did great as usual.  She was up to 13 lbs. 10 oz. (50th percentile); 24-3/4 inches (75th); and a head size of 16 inches (25th -- still astounding).  We had thought she was starting to teethe because she had been drooling a lot more, but the doctor felt around and didn't think she was there yet.  I was skeptical that her years of education and medical experience would prevail over our uninformed gut instinct, but the doctor was right -- still no teeth yet.

On December 5th, we went to a Christmas party at Atlanta Athletic Club, which was the site of Amanda's traumatic encounter with Santa last year.  This year, she did marginally better -- whereas last year, I had to hold a crying Amanda and stand between her and Santa, this year I got to hold Amanda next to Santa while she merely looked scared.  She also managed to mumble to Santa that she wanted a scooter and a Barbie Jeep for Christmas.  Progress!  (Santa held Reagan, and she did fine, not yet knowing how terrifying the right jolly old elf can be.)

Amanda had her first dentist appointment on December 8th, which was an experience.  Though the pediatric dentist office was really well set up for kids (lots of toys, whimsical paintings, etc.), Amanda was still a little overwhelmed by it all.  She still ended up doing great, all things considered, and we've been flossing and brushing every night since then.  All is well with her teeth, according to the dentist.  And I agree.

Amanda's preschool had their Christmas Music Program on December 14th, which was really cute.  The place was packed with parents pointing cameras at children displaying varying degrees of interest in what they had been practicing for weeks.  Amanda was adorable (of course), smiling and waving at us and occasionally singing.  I won't offer a review of the concert, but it looks like there is a tremendous increase in focus (and volume) between age three and age four, so next year's program should be even better.

Our church puts on a live nativity every year, and we went again this year.  Amanda was watching the show from my shoulders when she saw the three kings (far to the rear, awaiting their cue) and said, "I see kings!  I see the three kings!"  I love that she's already learning the story of Christmas, and I credit her preschool (at church) for helping that along.  Speaking of preschool, Amanda just loves it, and it's great to hear her talk about her day and her friends.  We're enjoying this now because in no time, she'll be a teenager and refuse to talk to us about school or friends.

Just before Christmas, we figured it was finally time to get Amanda her first haircut.  We love her long curly hair, but it was just looking rattier and rattier.  I had feared another dentist-like reaction, but she had no problem at all.  The kids-only haircut place did a great job making her feel comfortable and making it a special occasion.  We only took a couple of inches off, but it looks a lot better.  It can still get knotty, but it's better than it was.  Perhaps most importantly, the curls are still there!

For Christmas, my whole family got together in Atlanta, including my sisters who live out of state and who had not yet met Reagan.  Naturally, everyone loved her, thought she was adorable, etc. etc. etc.  Yawn.  Regarding Amanda, Santa proved to be a complete pushover and got her both the scooter and the Jeep.  She was thrilled with both, but the cold weather and our traveling have meant she has only been able to drive the Jeep once (on Christmas).  And those two-seater Jeeps aren't light, so every time I have to haul it up and down the driveway, I'll be silently cursing Santa.

As an added bonus, we actually had snow on Christmas day for the first time since 1882.  It forced us to cut Christmas dinner at my brother's house short so we could get home before everything froze, but Amanda, Susan, and I were able to get out and make a snowman in the dark.  (Reagan was inside being monitored by relatives.)  We then made another snowman, which promptly fell over.  Apparently I'm a little out of practice at building snowmen.

My family left on December 26th, and the next day, we drove to Merritt Island, Florida to visit some of Susan's family.  It took about 8 1/2 hours, but the drive went really well.  Both girls were great and really easy this time.  And traffic wasn't as bad as it tends to be in south Georgia, which was an unexpected boon.  In Florida, we got to see lots of family, including the girls' second cousin, Landon Ramirez, who will turn one in March.  He's adorable and is totally fearless, just like all boys.

When we visited the Florida family last year, we had gone fishing but failed to catch anything.  We didn't even get a bite.  This time, I promised Amanda we'd catch something, so I was starting to sweat a little bit when we were shut out for the first hour.  But then Susan's brother Hank found where the fish were hiding, so we ended up hauling in about a half dozen redfish, all of which were far too small to keep.  Still, Amanda didn't care -- she thought it was great to catch the fish, but she wouldn't finish reeling them in, and she sure wouldn't touch the fish once landed.

Also last year, we visited the Brevard Zoo, and Amanda was absolutely terrified of the monkeys, of all things.  After that experience, we explained to her that when she turns three, she won't be afraid of monkeys anymore.  Eager to put that little bit of seat-of-the-pants parenting to the test, we returned to the same zoo this year.  And this time it was a completely different experience -- Amanda loved the monkeys, saying afterward they were her favorite animals!  This parenting thing is a piece of cake, I tells ya!

New Year's Eve began with the lousy UGA team playing lousy in a lousy bowl and losing to a team from a lousy conference.  Worse yet, some of our Florida family actually went to UCF, so we expected to get an earful when we saw them later at a New Year's Eve party.  Fortunately, Billy and Robin were very gracious in victory and were proud of their team's first ever bowl win.  We Dawg fans can just try to pick up the pieces.

Developmental Milestones

While in Florida, we started Reagan on rice cereal, and the results were predictable -- lots going in the mouth, almost as much coming out.  She has been getting better at it each day, though, and we'll be introducing carrots and sweet potatoes soon.  Oh, goody . . . now the mess will be ORANGE!

Reagan still hasn't rolled over, but we expect that to happen any day now.  She used to get fussy after being on her back for about five minutes, and she absolutely hated "tummy time," probably because she usually face-planted whenever she tried to pick her head up.  Gradually, however, she has gotten stronger and stronger and can now hold her head up with no problem.  I think we did her a disservice by swaddling her for naps and bedtime for as long as we did (we didn't stop until just after Thanksgiving), but we're sure she'll catch up in no time.

In fact, by the time I post a new update, she'll probably be walking!