Our Other "Daughter"

To be fair to our other "daughter", Kona, I figured I should post her stats and info about her check up. Kona went in for her annual physical exam and shots. The dr said she is doing good although she has gained some weight. She now weighs 58.4# and when we got her 1 year and 1/2 ago she weighed 50# ( and she was full grown). We are contributing her weight gain to her new food supplier (Raegan). But the doctor wasn't concerned, she said she looks healthy. She will probably need a teeth cleaning but we will probably wait until the summer to do that. Kona was a trooper even though she hates going to the vet. I think she was relieved when it was over that she got to come home b/c most times when we take her to the vet we are taking her to stay at the kennel. We are proud of our oldest "daughter" and how brave she was! We take Raegan to the doctor next week for her 1 year check up so we'll let you know how she does at her appointment.

We Survived!

Well Raegan and I both survived our first day of going back to work! Raegan went to the babysitters last week for part of the day while I did orientation but yesterday was her first full day. She doesn't seem to mind being left when we leave her ( which is good because i don't think i could handle her crying!). She seems happy as long as there are people around ( i.e: she doesn't like going to sleep at naptime or at night b/c she has to be alone). So she is happy going to the sitters. They have kids, toys and a friendly dog so Raegan is fine! She apparently doesn't take the best naps there but that really isn't a surprise. I am sure she will get used to napping there though and will get better about that. And my work day was good. The people where I work are really nice so I think it will work out good. I am still hoping to work on my private practice b/c that is really what I want to do but I think this is a good opportunity to get back to work for a couple of days and make some extra money for our savings account! So we survived!

In other news Raegan is getting closer and closer to walking. She is starting to show a desire to want to walk. For a while we would try to walk with her holding her hands and she would sit down. Now she actually likes to walk with us holding her hands. And she is starting to stand up on her own a lot more. She claps sometimes when she is standing and doesn't even seem to realize she is standing on her own. We are not really in a rush for her to walk since we know that means she will be into even more stuff! But it is fun to watch her grow and change!

Who Says Babies Don't Like Spinach?

From January 2009

Raegan has become more and more fond of people food but especially fond of vegetables. The other night I offered her some spinach since Josh and I were having it with our dinner. I didn't think she would like it because most babies/kids don't like the taste since it's kind of bitter. Well not our baby! I couldn't feed it to her fast enough. She also had a fun time playing with it but she ate her fair share too! A couple nights before this I offered her brussel sprouts and I had to cut her off from them! I was afraid she was going to eat so many it would make her tummy hurt! She continues to make her mommy pround! Let's hope she keeps up these good eating habits as she grows older!

From January 2009

From January 2009

From January 2009

Little Drummer Girl

From January 2009

This is what I found Raegan doing this morning before church. Usually Raegan doesn't go and get her toys out by herself. Usually she is trying to get into everything she is not supposed to have ( i.e. remotes, phone, cabinet door, Kona's toys,etc). But this morning this is what she found to play with! I had to take some pictures becuase I knew it would maker her daddy so proud! I see daddy/daughter trips to the music store in the future!

From January 2009

From January 2009

Watching and Waiting

Raegan has recently developed a new pasttime, watching out the window. Kona ( our dog) has enjoyed this pasttime for quite a while but know Raegan has discovered this activity as well. The other day Raegan was looking out the window right about the time Josh was due home from work. Then when he pulled in the driveway Raegan starting putting her hand on the glass and I looked out and said "daddy's home" at which point Kona came running over and started woofing and whining ( like she always does when Josh gets home). Raegan thought Kona was hilarious and Josh enjoyed seeing his girls greeting him from the window. This afternoon when I came home from going to Target Raegan was in the window watching for me. That of course made me smile.

Back To Work

So it looks like mommy is going to be heading back to work! I wasn't planning on working or at least not out of the house. My plan all along was to start a private practice for nutrition but it just never happened. I kept thinkng it would get easier as Raegan got older but it didn't. I can only work on the computer during her naptimes and evenings after she goes to bed because she really likes to "blog" when I am using the computer. I even gave her our old broken lap top to bang on and play with and she still comes over to me to "use" my computer. So I hope to eventually do the private practice but right now it's just not happening. Anyway, I happened to come across a posting for a consulting job for someone who I used to work for at a different location which is really closeby. It's at a nursing home so I would be doing the same work I was doing before and it's only 2 days a week ( probably less than 8 hours/day). So I just couldn't pass it up. It will be a good opportunity to make some extra money to build our savings up again and also to pay for the next adoption. And I think it will be good for Raegan to get some time away from me. As much as I want to keep her with me all of the time, I think it will be good for her to get a chance for some interation with other people and other kids. I found a young lady who I think will work out great for watching Raegan. She lives really close to where I will work and she used to run a full home daycare but right now she is just staying home with her own 2 children and would like to watch another child part time. We went over and met her and her children and was very knowledgeable, professional and kind. Raegan is pretty adaptable, as least it seems that way, so I think she will do fine 2 days a week! So as of right now I am supposed to start Jan 20th. Part of me doesn't want to go back to work but I think it's an opportunity that I shouldn't pass up!

Also here are a couple of new pictures of Raegan that Josh took the other day when I was out at the grocery store. ( Kona and Raegan both love to go behind the curtain in our kitchen)

Time to Celebrate!

Tonight we took Raegan out to her favorite restaurant, the Lebanese Taverna. I know it sounds like a strange place to take a baby but she loves it! We wanted to go out as a family to celebrate the finalization of her adoption and also her 11 month birthday so we decided to go there. Raegan enjoyed everything we gave her. We even ordered off the kids meal for her! She had bread, hummus, kibbeh, Lebanese sausage and she really enjoyed her water because i put ice in her sippy cup and she thought that was really special! We had a nice evening out as a family and it was nice to celebrate the finalization and 11 months!