Letters from Reagan

 

 

 

 

This week went by super fast and slow all at the same time. Switching up Amelia and Everett's beds was not so fun Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Amelia had no qualms about the move mostly because she still has her room for private time. She loves to be alone to read, draw, and play imaginary friend games. Once Everett adjusted to sleeping in his crib for naps and all night he really adjusted. Twice this week I got 6-7 hours of sleep! Hooray! He was not so happy for the first half of the week, nothing is more tiring than a grumpy and tired baby. Phillip developed another nasty rash around Thursday. I noticed he gets pretty cranky when the rashes break out. Not sure what causes the rashes or why he gets grumpy at the same time.
My peas are all about an inch or more tall! I am getting hungry for fresh garden peas. About two weeks ago I started eating better to get rid of my winter weight. I've been the same weight for about 7 years now, over the past 9 months I slowly gained 10 pounds. Bummer. I am eating a ton of veggies to reduce the urge for stressful snacking. Honestly, Phillip stresses me out a bit, a good cookie makes life seem a bit more bearable. I just need to substitute a veggie instead of cookie into that equation. The good news is that the extra pounds are slowly coming off. It helps that the weather is awesome and conducive for walks, yard work, and playing outside. My goal is to get back to where my body was happy for 7 years. Totally achievable.

Thursday was a rainy day. Miss Reagan James brightened our weather with a packet of lovely drawings for Amelia and Phillip. Phillip was impressed with his "pic-ure" featuring a dino, robot, and chameleon. Amelia was literally swooning over her princess monkey and pizza drawing. Reagan, girl, you rock! Amelia often sighs and drifts over to me, "Mom, guess what?...I miss Reagan...can we go tomorrow?" We do miss our family very much.

Every time I go down the basement stairs Phillip wants a back pack. He stands on the landing yelling, "pack-pack, mommy!" He wants a piggy back ride. This evening he asked me to scratch his "pack-pack" Amelia earned an entire quarter from Justin to pet the cutest little puppy ever. She was cowering in the "two stroller"  (aka double stroller) with her limbs safely hidden. Sometimes I want a dog just so my kids won't be so afraid of animals. Then I remember how much work my own kids are and how much I hate cleaning up poop. Done deal. Phillip is a "BIT" bull-headed. Every night he asks for strawberry milk in a sippy cup once placed in his crib. Every night I reply, "no strawberry milk, water?!" It must be a fun game for him. He also has potatoes growing out of his ears. He is immune to my voice. Little stinker. I will try sticking to one-letter commands like: down, stop, timeout, pants, room, etc. He cannot take sentences! Men! Most guys do better with simple commands too.

Saturday we worked on emptying the rocks and some dirt from the space around the side-yard tree. It looked so nice when we moved in but as the tree grew the roots started pushing the pavers all wonky. The kids were hurting themselves walking around the tree pavers when the pavers would suddenly pitch off the side. Justin glued the stones together and put back some of the filler rocks. It looks a bit more sturdy now.

Saturday afternoon Justin, Amelia and I went to the church for a baptismal service. Brayden Haley, and SIX other people were baptized. Five of the seven baptisms were convert baptisms! It was amazing! The missionaries found a guy living in Sidney who was baptized at 8 then fell away for many, many years. This father recently reactivated and received the Aaronic priesthood. He baptized his five teenagers. The last baptism was father baptizing son. The pair maintained eye contact during the baptismal prayer, that simple act was absolutely amazing to witness. Sidney is a pretty amazing town to live in. The ward we live in makes this town feel like home.