Oh, alright. You talked me into it...

Well, Emily and Ali are both participating in the National Blog Posting Month starting in two days. I decided to jump on the bandwagon and join them. Wanna come, too?

All you have to do is post EVERY day in November. How hard is that, right? Em is being adventurous and posting a poem of her own every day. Ali is thinking about finishing a song that she has wanted to do since her daughter was born (ahem, 3 years ago). I haven't decided if I'm going to be that creative or if I'm just going to do my normal "Look at our cute kid" post daily.

Stay tuned...

Not what I expected...

My two boys are in their beds asleep. The cat is with one of the boys, and the two dogs are with me in the living room snoring while I watch tv. I took a break from my Tivo'd show (how did parents function before Tivo???) and looked around the room:

I never, ever thought I would see a roll of dental floss sticking out from under my sofa. (don't ask)

I certainly never imagined 5 [toy] monkeys hanging out on my fire place.

I never dreamed that my home decor would include a plastic bin of Bob the Builder trucks.

And who would have guessed that I would think my living room would feel "empty" without the one who placed all of the above...

I wouldn't trade my living room for anything!

It's the Great Pumpkin, Reagan Babbitt!

This past Saturday we went to the Elgin Christmas Tree Farm to visit their "pumpkin patch". Although we had a terrific time, I think the Elgin Christmas Tree Farm is doing a bit of false advertising...

David, Reagan and I picked up Grant, our nephew/cousin (depending on who you are talking to) from David's brother's house. The four of us set out on the 30 minute drive to Elgin where we met up with Kristen (David's coworker) and her daughter, McKenzie, at the farm. There was so much to do, and I think we did almost all of it.

All three kids fed hay to some goats, and they all got to pet one. There were also pigs, chickens, roosters, bunnies, ducks, a llama, and a turkey. Yeah, I thought it was a Christmas Tree farm, too. :)

Reagan and McKenzie both rode a horse. While McKenzie chose to ride the pony, Reagan was the brave one and decided to hop on a very, very tall horse. I did my best at capturing this First-Horse-Ride on film, but I was also having to watch where I stepped!! I didn't want to walk away from the horse rides smelling like a stinky mess.

Yee Haw!!!!!

There was a huge playground area with swings and a slide that kids enjoyed. We also took a hay ride through the Christmas Trees to another play area. There was a nice play scape and sandbox, as well as a boat to play in! There was a craft area, too. (We are a bit too young for the crafts, though.)

Reagan and Grant in the sandbox.

Grant playing in the boat.

Once we rode back to the main area we had lunch. It was yummy~~famous Elgin sausage wraps!!

Have you noticed that I haven't once mentioned PUMPKINS?? Yep, no pumpkins. There was a small set up where you could choose a pumpkin to paint, but apparently there is a pumpkin shortage due to all the rain we had earlier this summer. Oh well. We had a great time even without the pumpkins.

Reagan's Birthday Party

For those who were unable to attend Reagan's birthday party, consider yourselves, um, lucky. Reagan was not the happiest person there...in fact, he was the UNhappiest person. I truly believe that he was overly excited. However, about an hour into the party he started to have a good time~~much thanks to Grandaddy and Uncle Mitchell who pushed Reagan in the swing for a good 20 minutes. (Yes, Dad. I do owe you!!)

Reagan's good friend, Kennedy, shares the exact same birthday, and they were supposed to celebrate together. Poor little Kennedy was sick the night before so she was unable to make it to the party. I was a tad worried that we wouldn't have enough cupcakes, so David called his brother the night before the party to request a cake. Wow!!!! Thank you, Uncle Ricc for the unbelievable birthday cake. (He made and decorated it at about 4am the day of the party.)

Reagan loves all of his birthday gifts. Some of his new gifts have led to even more things. Thank you, Lauren, for Little Foot. We now have Chomper to go with him. Thank you, Jack, for the Backyardigans book and movie. We now have three new Backyardigans books and another Backyardigans movie that came from birthday money (Thanks, Great Granny Betty!!!).

Reagan's friends enjoyed opening the gifts almost more than he did!!!

Thank you to everyone for making Reagan's third birthday a very special one!!

Reagan's Birthday Morning

Yeah, I know. Reagan's birthday was 18 days ago. Better late than never...

Here are some pictures and video from the morning of Reagan's birthday. Daddy and Mommy gave him two magnetic animals (Thank you, Em, for the idea.) and a Click Start computer that he wanted.

Opening his gifts and playing with his new computer.

All of this occurred BEFORE the first meltdown of many....

My Man

I have been tagged by Emily...

The Game of Tag about your MAN:

1. Who is your man? David Alexander Babbitt
2. How long have you been together? Since December 1990, so almost 17 years
3. How long did you date? 11 1/2 years before we were married. We have been married for 5 1/2 years.
4. How old is your man? 32
5. Who eats more? He eats more of his meals, but I think I snack more.
6. Who said "I love you" first? I really don't remember. He probably did.
7. Who is taller? David
8. Who sings better? David
9. Who is smarter? Hmmm. Depends on what topic.
10. Whose temper is worse? David's
11. Who does the laundry? I do.
12. Who takes out the garbage? We both do, although I would rather leave that job for him.
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Looking at the bed...I do.
14. Who pays the bills? David
15. Who is better with the computer? David
16. Who mows the lawn? It is "his" job, but I have been known to mow.
17. Who cooks dinner? I do.
18. Who drives when you are together? David
19. Who pays when you go out? We use David's card, but it is our money.
20. Who is more stubborn? David
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Must be David, since I am right most of the time.
22. Whose parents do you see the most? David's. They live really close.
23. Who kissed who first? David kissed me first...three little kisses while watching a movie.
24. Who asked who out? I did.
25. Who proposed? David did...about 6 feet from where I am typing this.
26. Who is more sensitive? Ha! I am, by far.
27. Who has more friends? David
28. Who has more siblings? I do.
29. Who wears the pants in the family? David, I think.

I tag Suzi, Gina, and Tina--whenever she starts her blog!!!

Happy Birthday, Baby!!

To my sweet boy,

Happy Birthday, Little Guy! Wow...3 years old already! Every year I am amazed that another year has gone by, yet it always seems like it was just a few months ago that you were the new addition to our family. I can not tell you how blessed I am knowing that God chose me (me!!!) to be your mom. I often wonder what I ever did that made me worthy of being Reagan Babbitt's mommy (and David Babbitt's wife).

October 6, 2004

You have had such an amazing 3rd year. You started out this year not having a huge vocabulary...just a few short phrases or so. My-oh-my! How that has changed. There used to be days where I felt deprived not having "adult conversation". I now realize that I wasn't missing the "adult" part...I have very meaningful conversations with you all day long! We talk about silly things mostly, and I love that about you. We laugh and giggle our way through the days. And I don't think there is a better way to spend a day than to be laughing.

You spent most of your 3rd year going to Treasure Patch Kids. Last school year your teacher was Miss Patti, and you loved her. You had a blast while at school, yet you couldn't always tell me what you did during the day. That has changed this new school year. Your teacher this year is named Miss Kelli, and you are in the "TIGER" classroom. Every Tuesday and Thursday when I pick you up you tell me ALL about your day. Thank you for sharing your experiences with me. And although I do enjoy my 4 hours while you're at school I can honestly say that I look forward to 1:30 so that I can see you again.

October 6, 2005~~The morning of your 1st Birthday.

One of the biggest changes in this year was your bed. In January you and Daddy turned your crib into a "Big Boy Bed". It was still your crib, but we removed one of sides. I was worried that you would be getting out of bed and therefore making your naps and sleeps shorter. Boy was I wrong. You always do what we have told you to do~~Stay in bed until Mommy or Daddy comes to get you. Just a couple of months ago you graduated to your "Great Big Enormous Bed". You now sleep in a regular full size bed. And you have yet to get out of bed on your own~~not one time since January!!

You have really started to get close to other family members lately. You enjoy going over to Tita's and Grandpa's house, Aunt Colleen's and Uncle John's house, and Uncle Ricc's and Victoria's house. You also love getting visits from Grandmother and Daddy Bowen, and Grandaddy, Granny Linda, Aunt Carly, and Uncle Mitchell. You love to talk about everyone even when we're not with them. And you just can not wait to go see Daddy Bowen's Cabela's to see the deer butt!!!! (You are so silly!!)

October 6, 2006~~The morning of your 2nd Birthday.

One of my favorite times of the day is at night. Mommy and Daddy take turns putting you to bed, and I love it when it is my night. I love lying in bed with you reading books, charging the stars, and talking to God. You are such a cuddle-bug at this time. We rub each other's backs. We tickle each other's nose. And we sometimes even play "Hi!" where we turn to look at each other really quickly. This really gives you the giggles...and it does me, too.

Thank you, Reagan, for coming into our lives. You have made our family complete, and you are such a joy to be around. I have truly enjoyed every minute of the past 3 years, and I am looking forward to watching you grow older (just don't do it too quickly!!). You are so smart, so loving, and so funny. I treasure all of our moments together.

October 6, 2007~~The morning of your 3rd Birthday.

With ALL of my love,

Mommy

Thank you: Em, Jen, Anne

Almost 3

This age is fantastic! There is so much I want to share, but I just don't think I can include it all in this post. Reagan has been in such a fun mood the past two weeks, and I am in love with the time that we are spending together. The conversations that we are having are so much fun!! (Daddy is experiencing these talks, too.) He is absorbing everything he sees and hears like a sponge! I do love the baby age, but "almost 3" is really fun~~he astonishes me with what he knows on a daily basis.

For example, we were resting in his bed together before nap today. We were talking about random things when he looks at me and says, "Today is Thursday. And it will be Sunday." I said, "Yes, and on Sunday we go to church. And on Saturday it is your birthday and your party." He said, "On Tuesday and Thursday I go to school. Tomorrow is Friday." This is amazing to me and David because we have not been teaching him the days of the week. He is obviously learning this in school. And he has only been going to school for 5 days this year!!!! How quickly he picks things up!

He is so chit-chatty at this age. I love picking him up from school partly because he talks the entire way home about what he did at school. And the best part is that I totally understand what he did! You know, just last year he was saying 20 words. Now he can fully explain what he did and with who he played with and what songs they sang.

So 'Almost 3' is almost over. I look forward to seeing what '3' brings. I just hope it doesn't go by as quickly as '2' did...

Three years ago...

...tonight, David and I were getting things ready to go to the hospital the next morning. I was scheduled to be induced at 7am on October 5th. We took a family picture (minus Meela and Mav) in the morning before we left. We went to Round Rock Donuts so that we would have treats to hand out to the nurses. I think the treats did their job because my nurses were spectacular!!!

Our incomplete family~~taken at around 6am on 10-5-04.

Looking at this picture shows me how much has changed in the past 3 years. David is tons thinner from all of his running. We don't have that coffee table. We don't have that carpet. We don't have those blinds. We don't have those curtains. We don't have those speakers hanging above the windows. There are different pictures hanging above the piano. And I don't have that belly. Ha! (I also don't have that bad hair.)