Spirit and Leader Day - 112/365

It was a big day at school for Reagan today! It was spirit day and it was her leader day. She was so excited! She got all decked out in her spirit wear. She looked so precious! She loved her bright colored UPSK shirt!
For "show and tell" she brought two Palace Pets in her little Frozen purse. She has been so into Palace Pets lately and couldn't wait to show off the new ones the Easter Bunny brought her.
Mrs. Scanlon is always so nice and is willing to take pictures for me.
This afternoon, Reagan had ballet and I was still trying to win my step challenge, so I walked the pot hole infested parking lot for the 35 minutes she had class. It was interesting.
Reagan and Mrs. Sebastiani during Reagan's show and tell.

Palace Pet showing!

Pot hole parking lot!

 

Play Day - 106/365

Reagan was going to spend the day with Nana today!

Jim was off to work and I was working around the house.

They had a fun day playing toys, games and talking with the cats. Reagan was so thrilled that Bonnie wanted to have lunch with her. She thought it was the best!

This evening, Nana, Papa and Reagan hit their traditional Wednesday dinner at Tippy!

They had fun!

Bonnie lunch!

Toy time!

Ready for Tippy!

 

Play Time with Nana - 35/365

Reagan spent day at Nana's today, so I could start brainstorming for the party and attempt to finish getting my new laptop set up like the old one was. I forgot about getting Lightroom installed again and all my presets. What a chore this has been, but I'm just thankful that I didn't lose anything important. Thank God I learned my lesson in backing things up!

Reagan had a great day at Nana's. They played with dolls, legos, games. They even played in PJs. Nana put Reagan in a pair of Reagan's that she had at her house, so they could be comfy. When Papa got home, they went to Davidson's for dinner. After Davidson's they went to the Dairy Queen for some dessert. They even brought Jim and I home blizzards. YUM!

It was a good day!

 

Dress Up Princess - 33/365

Jim was heading back to work today. He left early because he knew he would be facing a huge pile of work on his desk.

Reagan and I were off to start getting some stuff ready for her Frozen party.

She INSISTED on being dressed up today, even though it was still pretty snowy from the winter storm. We didn't get as much snow as thy had initially thought, but it was still yucky and cold.

Anyway, she got all dolled up in her little Valentine outfit from Gymboree. She looked absolutely adorable! We went to a couple party stores where she had a great time playing with some of the props.

This afternoon, she was playing with her Disney "Barbi" dolls in her playroom. I went in to check on her and she said "Mama look! I put Elsa in this chair looking outside because she loves the snow!" It was so cute! Sure enough there she was gazing out the window. She is such a HOOT!

This evening, Jim, Reagan and I played a few board games and Reagan continued her dress-up. She decided to be Ariel tonight! She looked FAB!

 Making sure she looks perfect! She loves looking at her pigtails!

 Playing at the party store!

 Our little Ariel!

 Elsa enjoying the snow!

 

 

Bye Santa & Zoo Day! - 3/365

Today was kick Santa out day! FINALLY!

Jim and Reagan decided to hit the Cleveland Zoo, while I worked around the house. 

Jim never gets too many one on one days with her, so he was pretty excited. They decided to do Cleveland since they have more indoor stuff, than Akron. 

They started their day in the rain forest. Reagan was really getting into learning about the animals. She made Jim read all the informational signs around the zoo. 

After the rain forest, they decided to have a little lunch, before they started their journey around the zoo. They had some pizza at the little cafe in the rain forest. Jim said his favorite part of the day was when Reagan leaned over at lunch and said "Hey dad, I love going to the zoo with you." She is such a little sweetie!

After lunch they hit some outdoor stuff. They saw the elephants and the flamingos in their "indoor" but outdoor habitat. 

Next, they took the tram up to the primate building and aquarium. She loved that and they had the place all to themselves! She loved this little squirrel up there. 

Finally, Reagan made Jim go over and see the sealions. They took the tram over, but then it left them there. It happened to start raining, so Jim had to carry her all the way down the hill in the rain. Luckily they did take an umbrella, so they didn't get too wet!

They had a great day together!

Meanwhile, I was on a roll and got all of Christmas put away and sprinkled some Valentine's Day stuff. It's so nice to have the house back to normal! The Christmas stuff was starting to make me feel like I was drowning!

The living room was in need of a little organization, too. Reagan has her awesome playroom, but we like to have a few toys in the living room for her, also. The living room toys were starting to take over, so I got a little cube system at Target to try to help organize them. It looks fantastic and I feel like our living room is twice the size now! YAY!

Productive day for all!

Reagan ready to head off to the zoo!

 They made it!

 Reagan's favorite, the flamingos!

 Our new toy corner for Reagan!

 Christmas out, Valentine's day in!

New Year, New Stuff - 2/365

Jim had to go off to work today. It kind of stunk he had to go back for one day, but oh well. 

Reagan and I spent the morning building her Ferris Wheel that she got for Christmas for her Lalaloopsies. She was so excited and filled it up right away with all her friends! They went round and round! This evening we got the new swimming pool built for them, too! She's just so excited for all her new stuff!

This afternoon, we went to Steamers for lunch and did a little shopping. At Steamers she wanted to stand by the tree. They were working on taking them down today, so she wanted to stand by it before it went away. It was too cute!

Next we were off to PetsMart... there, we found some awesome Mickey head cat bowls and had to get them for Bailey and Brandy! They are super cool!

This afternoon, I finally got the hangers to hang up the two pictures Matt drew for Reagan. He had done Cinderella for her birthday last year and we just loved it. I ended up finding the perfect spot in her playroom for it, BUT, realized I would need two of his pictures two balance it out. I'm am beyond weird about symmetry and balance. We asked (or begged) for another one when he had time, but then summer happened and everyone gets busy. Well, lucky us, he had time this early winter and did a Frozen one for her for Christmas! YAY! They are both amazing and look so awesome over her book shelves! We are so exited! The colors match perfectly, too! He has such amazing talent!

Productive day!

Reagan's Lalaloopsies playing with their new stuff!

Just thought this picture was adorable from lunch! 

 Mickey bowls!

 Finally, the pictures in their forever home!

Butterfly Friend - 314/365

Today, Reagan and I were off to shop for the "Class Act" baskets for the Ursuline Preschool Craft Show.  Christy, Beth and I met at the school at 9:00 and headed out. We hit Toys R US, Bed, Bath and Beyond and Big Lots. 

Reagan was such a good girl during our shopping adventure. She really took to the Little Live Pets butterfly. She carried it all around the store with her. I could not make her part with her new "drink" his nectar and flap his wings. 

After the shopping adventure. We met Nana and went to have some lunch at Steamers. 

Jim said he had a good first day back to work after our trip. Nothing too out of the ordinary. 

Here is Reagan's new little friend. We're still waiting on a name...LOL!

Reagan Turns THREE! - 42/365

Today is Reagan's 3rd Birthday! 

Where on earth does the time go!? I feel like we just brought her home! She has been such a blessing to us. We just love her! She is growing up to be such a sweet, kind, smart and FUNNY little girl. She keeps us laughing, that's for sure. We're just so proud of her! 

I saw awhile back, that starting at three, you should ask your child the same questions every year on their birthday. Then, take the answers and keep them in a photo album to look at how they change. I decided I'm going to try to keep up that tradition with Reagan. I think it will be great to see how she changes. 

Here are the questions....(I couldn't narrow it down to 20...lol) 

1. How old are you? "Free" Three 

2. Where do you live? "Ah-hi-oh" Ohio 

3. What is your favorite food? Eggs & Cheerios with Milk 

4. What makes you happy? When I poop. That makes big people happy. Toys 

5. What makes you sad? When I can't get the bread off the table. (She wanted bread before her pasta one night and stole a whole loaf of bread off the table. She ran around the house not giving up the bread, resulting in a time out.) 

6. Who is your best friend? Mr. Fuzzy 

7. What is something mommy always says to you? Make a poop 

 8. What is something daddy always says to you? Pee pee 

9. What is your favorite book? Jasmine 

10. What do you like to do with daddy? Go to the bouncy place 

11. What do you like to do with mommy? Play 

12. What is your favorite color? Blue 

13. What is your favorite candy? Chocolate 

14. What is your favorite drink? Milk 

15. What is your favorite TV Show? Sing-a-long (her princess sing-a-long DVD) 

16. What is your favorite movie? Frozen 

7. What is your favorite song? Aurora, Sleeping Beauty. (Eventually I got, "Let it Go") 

18. What is your favorite Toy? Sofia Castle 

19. What is your favorite animal? Pig 

20. Where is your favorite place to go? Giant Eagle. That's where the food is. 

21. Where do you want to live when you grow up? No, I live here. I want to live here. 

22. What do you want to be when you grow up? A pumpkin 

Oh boy, we just howled! I can't wait to see the answers next year! 

This evening to celebrate, we took her to Chuck E. Cheese. Reagan herself, had never been there. We just never think of it. She seemed to have a good time even though some of the games were a little big for her. She really loved this big horse you could sit on and run a race. You had to shake the reins and pull them left or right to avoid hitting walls on the track. She did great! 

After playing there for awhile, we had dinner at Cheddars. Reagan LOVES going to Cheddars to see the huge fish tank they have. We had a great meal! 

When we got home, we had our traditional ice cream cake for her. We do ice cream cake on her actual birthday, since we do regular cake for her party. She loves it! 

After that, we opened presents! We got her a Dora Big Wheel, Lalaloopsy Roller Skates, a couple new train cars for her train table, a Leap Pad game, and a bunch of mini Lalaloopsies! She was thrilled! We had a great day with our little baby. 

Happy Birthday 3rd Birthday, Reagan! We love you! 

Reagan and her presents!

Enjoying the horse at Chuck E. Cheese

Blowing out her candles....

Limo to Lockkeepers and Herman the Hamster - 284/365

It was going to be a busy day today! 

Reagan started with Gymnsatics. All the little ones were wound up today. I think every single one got "middle named". LOL! 

After gymnastics, Nana, Reagan and I decided to have lunch at the Cracker Barrel. We haven't eaten there in ages. The food was great, we really enjoyed it. 

After our lunch, we spent some time wandering around the store. There was a section with kids toys, so Reagan was checking things out. There was one of the Wacky Weasel balls - where the ball rolls and the weasel looks like it's chasing it - along with a plastic ball with a stuffed moving hamster in it. Both were on and running around in this little basket. Reagan had a fit, because she thought the weasel was chasing the hamster, which meant the hamster was sad. She just kept saying, "I have to save him." Finally, she reached in and grabbed the hamster. She just got the biggest smile and said, "I saved him from the 'waggy weasel'!" She clenched that plastic ball and would NOT let him go. We ended up buying the display hamster and away we went. She carried him around the rest of the day, in out of two more stores and our 3.8 mile walk. Of course, the battery died while in the car. She said, "Oh no! His battery died! We need to fix it. He needs battery chicken!" She is such a great little mom to her friend Herman. He even had to nap next to her crib in a blanket. She is too funny!

This evening, we were supposed to go up to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway for the Spooktacular Wine Train. Due to the government shutdown, the train was cancelled because it uses the tracks in the National Park. We had rented a limo to take up to the train, so we just made alternate plans to have dinner at Lockkeepers in Independence, to still be able to use it. We had quite the crew! Nana, Papa, Ed, Pam, Ron, Rachel, Karen, Bob, and Jim and I, all piled in the Limo for our fun little evening. Raymond and Jennifer were supposed to come, too, but Raymond had a slight cough, so he decide to stay home. 

The train was Halloween themed, and they encouraged costumes, so the girls were all going to dress as witches. Well, since we had our outfits, we decided to still dress up! We looked hilarious! Pam and Nana even had funky tights to wear! 

We loaded in the limo for our fun ride up! It was so nice to sit with everyone, chit chat, have a few laughs, and of course, beverages, on the way up. Our driver, Jim, got us up there right on time. People were looking at us pretty funny when we all spilled out of the limo. We didn't care though! We had a great table, on our own where we could just be silly. Ed brought a pair of those funny glasses with the noses attached, so we all had a good time with those. 

The food was excellent and everyone enjoyed their meals! We just had the BEST time! We laughed and laughed! 

Jim's mom was nice enough to spend the evening with Reagan. They went over to her house to have dinner and play with Papa Greg for a little bit, then came back home for bath time. They had a good time, too!

One other kind of cool thing today was, we got our Magic Bands for our upcoming Disney trip. We still don't know how we feel about them, but seeing that fun little box and a Mickey head, it's hard not to be excited! LOL!

The photo of the day is all of us ready to pile in the limo!

 Next, is Reagan and Herman after she saved him and riding in the car. 

Finally, our Magic Bands! 

 

Brinkley and the Frog - 225/365

Reagan and I started our day at music class. 

She just loves it so much there. It's getting really sad, because suddenly, she's the biggest and oldest one there. She used to be the youngest. It's crazy how time flies!

After class, we picked up Nana and ran to Target, Bath & Body Works, and had lunch at LaRocca's. Reagan walked right over to the booth we sit at and asked for her highchair. I think we frequent there quite a bit. Ha ha!

 Anyway, we went to Target first. I needed a few things for the trip, plus, they just happen to have a certain dog toy we needed. 

Back in March, it was Brinkley's fifth birthday. We happened to be in Target that day, so I let Reagan pick out Brinkley's birthday present. She picked out this skinny, yellow duck, that had super long arms and legs. He has really taken to that duck and plays with it all the time. He always brings a toy to the door when we come home from somewhere. His go to "present," is always the duck. 

Well last night, he ripped the arm off the duck and Reagan was quite distressed. She was just heartbroken for him that his toy was broken. She kept asking us to fix it for him. I told her that we could get him another one and he would love that one just as much as this one. Neither Jim or I are sewers, nor duck surgeons, so we couldn't help. Sadly.

Luckily today at Target, they happened to still have them. They had the duck and 3 other similar styles; a pig, cow and frog. I let Reagan choose and she chose the frog for him. She was so excited to give it to him. As soon as we walked through the door, Brinkley happened to bring the "broken" duck to us and she said, "Brinkley, we got you a new one! We got you a fwog!" He was pretty excited and played with it a lot! 

What a great, big sister she is! 

This evening, Jim, Reagan, Brinkley and I did the Kirk to Herbert walk and had a little cookout. It was such a nice evening. 

 The photo of the day is Brinkley and his new "Fwog" friend.....

Here is the broken duck...

 

Golf, Planes and a Little Friend - 213/365

August first, oh my!! Where did the summer go!? 

Today, Jim, Greg and Frank were off to Akron to check out the Bridgestone Invitational. They left around 7:30 and didn't get home until 7:00. Full day! 

The weather report for today, was making them a little nervous the past couple days, because it called for storms. Turns out, they didn't have a drop of rain. Actually, it was blue sky and sun all day. Jim even got a little red! They got to see all their favorites "reach out and touch them close", so they were happy. They traveled around the course checking out groups, but spent a lot of time on hole four, just watching different groups come through. They ended up having a great time! 

While they were doing that, Nana and I hit the trail. We were walking along when I looked down and saw the tiniest salamander. He was smaller than a finger! I scooped him up and we were just checking him out. I had never seen one like him before. He was so cool! 

 After the trail, we worked up an appetite, so we had lunch at Bob Evans. At lunch, Reagan wanted to play with her "Airplane Toob" that Uncle Ed brought her last week. We were sitting at lunch, when Reagan started saying that certain family members were taking different planes to Alaska. I think she's starting to get pretty excited! LOL! 

Raymond and Jennifer got to ride together in the fighter jet. Nana and Papa also got to ride together in the orange commercial jet. Aunt Pam rode in the chopper. Uncle Ed was brave and took the parachute. Jim shuttled off in the shuttle and I got to take the concord. I suppose I beat everyone there! LOL! It was too funny! 

After lunch, I went up to get my hair done at Casals. It was MUCH NEEDED! Whew! 

While I was there, Reagan hung out at Nana's and played games. She was going to stay for dinner, too. Nana and Papa wanted to take her over to Tippy. 

Great day for everyone! 

The first photo is Jim, Greg and Frank at the golf tournament. 

The next is our family airport...

And finally, our little salamander friend....

Memorial Day! - 147/365

Happy Memorial Day! 

Thank you to all those who have fought, and continue to fight, to keep our country safe and free. You are all amazing!

I started my day, by uncovering my plants YET AGAIN! I also put all my pots back out to where they will live this summer. Hopefully, last night was the END of the frost! I'm not covering them again, nor, am I dragging all those pots back in the garage. DONE! LOL!

We started our day at the Boardman Memorial Day Parade. We went last year and really enjoyed it, so we decided to try it again this year. It was A LOT chillier this year, than last, but we still had fun! Reagan just loved collecting all the candy and suckers that people tossed out from the parade! She had quite the pile at the end! It was a long parade, too, lasting about 45 minutes. 

After the parade, we stopped home for a little bit to visit with Brinkley, then we went over to Jim's mom and dad's for a little cookout. They cooked up a yummy lunch for us! We had chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, grilled pineapple, and crusty bread. It was all super yummy! After we ate, we sat and watched some of their videos from their recent Italy trip. It was so interesting to see how different Italy is from the USA. They get along, and are so happy, with MUCH less than we are. It's amazing. They were nice enough to bring us some fun souvenirs home, along with some stuff that Guarino, sent for us, too! We got calenders, books, aprons, shirt, a mail holder and a clock. It was quite the haul! Thank you so much, we love all our treasures. 

We had a really nice visit and Reagan of course, enjoyed playing with Timmy. 

This evening, we were playing with some of Reagan's toys when she said, "Dolly has to go to a baf-room!" She got up and took her doll into the bathroom and held her over the potty and then wiped her with toilet paper! It was hilarious! She'll be a good mom some day! 

Overall, it was a really nice, relaxing day! Perfect way to spend the holiday. 

 I have three photos for today, too... 

The first is Reagan at the parade... 

The next is Reagan with grandma and papa....

The last is Reagan taking Dolly to the potty...

 

Princess Muffins - 115/365

Jim, Reagan and I were playing in the playroom after dinner. Reagan started pushing her doll stroller around the house like 100mph. Somehow, we ended up back in the living room. I sat down on the couch, and the next thing I know, she was bringing all her stuffed animals from the playroom and piling them up next to me on the couch. She ran back to the playroom one more time and came back with her play muffin tin from her kitchen. She took it over to her Little People Disney Princess Castle and she filled the muffin tin with princesses and princes. It was hilarious because they fit perfectly in there, too! LOL! We enjoyed that for a few minutes, then she went and grabbed some cars for the princesses. Luckily it was bath time so we were able to stop the migration of toys from the playroom to the livingroom...LOL! 

Overall, she was a little bit of a pistol today. Knock on wood, 99% of the time she is extremely easy going and happy. For some reason, today, everything upset her no matter how minor...LOL. She cried over cheerios, water, going potty, getting dressed, putting a bib on, having to eat dinner at all.... It was all too much for her today...LOL! I guess we all have those days. 

 We took Brinkley to the groomer and she started crying when we left him there. It was pitiful! We ran to the mall and grocery store and she must have asked nearly 1000 times, "Brinkley get-tin a baff? We go get Brinkley now?" She was thrilled when daddy delivered him home safe and sound! She was glued to him the rest of the day. Everywhere she went you would here "Come on Brinkley!" Too cute! 

The photo of the day is the muffin princesses....