25 Weeks!

I can't believe I posted this picture, but this is real life and this is what is worn after school :)  (This picture was taken in the office, which will be the new nursery...I think the bedding will look great with it and we're going to do red accents...I can't wait to get started!)  Today I am 25 weeks pregnant, that means 15ish left to go...HOLY!!  We are so excited for the little man, but really haven't done a THING to prepare!!  We will get on that SOON!

He is such an active little man...I love it!  He is moving around all the time and constantly telling me hello with a kick here, a jab there, and hiccups.  I thought I would always remember what it felt like to have a baby in my belly, but once Reagan was out, I forgot...I just LOVE this feeling!

I am feeling great!  Really no complaints other than getting a HUGE belly!  Seriously, this belly is growing like a weed and there is still a LOT of growing left that the little boy has to do!  It's okay though...as long as I can still find a spot for Reaggie to snuggle on my lap, we're all good!

July is going to be here before we know it!  Reagan keeps talking about what all she is going to do to help with the baby...she is really practicing the diaper changing thing hard!  ha :)  I know she is going to be such a great Mommy's (and Daddy's) helper!

Reunion Weekend

This past weekend we had our 4th annual Danieley L 103 Reunion in Myrtle Beach, SC.  We had a great time, the weather wasn't the warmest, but it was still so fun! 

Doing a little shopping on Friday afternoon! :)  Keep in mind Elle and I already had done quite a bit of damage at the Smithfield outlets on the way!

There were 8 of us that lived together our sophmore year at Elon and it was an unforgettable year...we had a GREAT time...sometimes a little too much fun! :)  LOTS and LOTS of wonderful college memories come from that year living with 7 other wonderful friends!

Klein masked Bush's wedding gift by putting it in a baby boy bag...Bush knew about my shower and I knew about Bush's, but we didn't know about our own!!  What sweet girls!

Bush with her cute towels Elle made

Looking lovely, but celebrating the sweet little man!

Such a sweet outfit from Aunt Klein...there are matching overalls too!

Five of us were able to make it this year and we were able to use Emily's (Storms) parents condo at the beach, which was great!  We shopped, cooked a yummy dinner, hung out, watched a movie, went out to dinner, chatted, ate a lot, celebrated a wedding and the little man on the way, and just had a great time!  It is so fun to have this yearly get together...even though we don't always talk on the phone or see each other more than once a year, we pick up right where we left off...it's wonderful!

Elle and I in our precious, if I do say so myself, new matching jackets!

Group shot on the beach...VERY windy, but had to step foot on the beach while we were there!

Reagan Lately...

Reagan just cracks us up all the time...well most of the time anyway! :)  Tonight we had breakfast for dinner, no eggs for her though!, and she was talking away about going to "see Mickey Mouse."  Where on earth did that come from?  We were at the grocery store this afternoon and she saw Mickey Mouse on the back of the cheese that we bought, but I had NO idea where the rest came from.  So from there we talked at dinner about going to see Mickey when she gets to be a little bigger.  Too cute and I can't WAIT to take her to see Mickey and all the princesses!

Eating an apple...Daddy helped!

Spinning with Daddy in her new "bay-yea" (ballet) dress!

LOVED dressing up in her new dress, just to show it off to us!

Trying hard to get a smile before school

Wearing her cute new shirt from Aunt Ellen today!

And this is what it's like to get a picture of an almost 2 year old!!

She is just a chatty cathy and full of energy!  I need some of her energy these days :)

"Babymoon"

Keith and I escaped on Friday morning en route to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for our "babymoon!"  We wanted to go on a little getaway before the little man arrives and just wanted somewhere warm, with a nice hotel, and good restaurants near by.  We got all of those things on this trip!  I can't say I really wanted to go to Ft. Lauderdale, but it really was nice and we got a great deal on a very nice hotel!

Our only picture together the whole weekend!  Ooops! :)

Friday morning we arrived in FL by 9:15, so we had the whole day.  We walked around, which didn't last long with this 6 month preggo lady, ate some lunch, and then cooked ourselves at the pool.  It was devine!  We went out to dinner at this great place that was within walking distance of our hotel, Casablanca Cafe.  It was delicious and we were able to sit outside and overlook the ocean, and get lots of good people watching in.  It was so nice!!

Our hotel, The Atlantic

It is turtle egg hatching season, so they put these covers on the lamp posts so the light doesn't shine on the beach to scare the turtles.  How cute is that? :)

Saturday we cooked some more at the pool, but didn't last TOO long in the sun because we had done a little too much the day before.  (I know Gran, don't judge me...we did put on sunscreen too!)  We had another great dinner at a place called Truluck's.

Beautiful sunrise, which was the view from our room!

Sunday we decided we needed a break from the sun and went down to Las Olas Boulevard, which has a lot of cute shops and restaurants.  We shopped around, ate a yummy lunch, got ice cream, and then went back to the hotel.  We sat on our balcony, over looked the ocean, and decided we would just try a local pizza shop for dinner that night.  It was SO good!  There was a reason we had to wait 30 mintues for 3 slices of pizza. :)  After dinner we went to this cute little ice cream shop, yes more ice cream, and it was delicious too!

Looking at the beach and the ocean from our pool.

Love this sunrise, it was so pretty!!

Monday we were able to spend a couple hours at the pool in the morning before it was time to pack up and go.  We were ready though, we missed our Reagan.

We were not exciting at all...we were in bed by 9 every night, except on Sunday I did watch the ACM's until 11!!  ha :)  It was just what we wanted though a nice, relaxing, quiet getaway.  It was wonderful!  It's always nice to just getaway with the husband too without the parenting and hustle and bustle of everyday life.

One little scare came on our flight home...we flew Southwest and over the weekend they had a plane lose a piece of its roof mid-flight, affecting the cabin pressure and an emergency landing to take place.  Needless to say we were worried if we would get OUT of FL.  We did, just fine, until it came to landing in Raleigh.  We were decending and the plane was shaking like crazy, due to the high wind.  As we were approaching the runway the plane was rocking all over the place and we were just about to touch down when the pilot pulled the plane back up into the air right away because we weren't balanced I guess.  SLIGHTLY scary!  I have had this happen once before, but not because of wind, on a flight.  So we circled around again and as we were coming down the second time, it was just as shaky.  SO scary.  Keith's fingers were white from me gripping his hand so tightly and my palms were dripping with sweat.  I just kept saying "please don't go into pre-term labor, please don't go into pre-term labor."  Well we landed, but it wasn't a smooth landing and I swear we were on the left wheels only when we came down.  We quickly did balance out though and the whole plane errupted into applause.  At baggage claim someone that was sitting on the left side of the plane said that when they looked out the window the wing was within inches of touching the runway....let's just say I'm glad we were on the right side!!  ...and thankful to be on the ground and home safe and sound!

We had a great time!  We were home in time to see our Reags and have a wonderful dinner cooked by my mom and John.  I don't know who had more fun this past weekend, Mum-Mum and Pop-Pop or Reagan...probably a tie!  It is so nice to know that Reags is in such good hands while we are gone.  :)  Then just as quickly as our trip sprung up on us, it is over and it was back to work today...yuck!

22 Months!

Today Miss Reagan is 2 months away from turning 2!!  I remember last year thinking I couldn't believe her 1st birthday was so quickly approaching...here we are a year later and I'm thinking the same thing.  I have started to do some research on ideas for a Dora birthday party...she is the OBVIOUS choice, even though I think Cinderella, Beauty, and Belle are in a close 2nd these days! :)

What is Reagan up to?  Everything!!  She is talking more and more in sentences and really able to express anything she wants/needs...which has its pros and cons :)  She is SO into her babies right now...LOVES her baby dolls, loves to give them milk in a cup (pretend), put diapers on, rocks them, sings, and reads them books.  It's pretty cute!  She says hi to her brother in my belly all the time and gives my belly kisses...I am praying she loves him this much when he arrives and mommy's time has to be divided!  She is going to be such a great helper!

Another thing Reags has picked up on is singing...she loves to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and The Itsy Bitsy Spider.  She sways her whole body as she sings, it's so funny!  She has got some rythem as she shakes her booty!

What else?  She is counting and knows up to 12, with help, knows all of her colors, knows some letters of the alphabet, things that start with those letters, loves to play outside, slide, swing, color with chalk, run all over the place, play with puzzles, her tea set from Aunt Kristin with the "pin-cesses" on the plates and cups, and to read books in her rocking chair...she is just a very easy going, happy girl. 

We are so blessed!!  I saw that each month, but really we are.  We love our Reaggie SO much...even when we were away, we just kept saying how much we missed her!  She makes our day with her smile and melts our hearts with her hugs!

Jury Duty

Please allow me to fill you in on my week last week....also, please don't be too jealous!! :)

I was "summoned" for jury duty last Monday.  I was REALLY hoping to be dismissed since I am pregnant (legitimate reason right?), but if anything knew I would be there on Monday and that was it.  WELL I couldn't have been more off...

After sitting in the "juror lounge" at the courthouse for about 2 hours on Monday there was a group of 40 people called to report to a courtroom for a criminal case...as in a MURDER case.  (Those of you in the area, the Brad Cooper trial was adjacent to the courtroom we were in...)  So 12 random names were selected out of the 40, they were questioned by the lawyers, some stayed, some were dismissed, more were called to replace those that were dismissed, again they were questioned, some stayed, some left...this process continued on and on...I just KNEW my name would be called.  Just after lunch, I was asked to report as "juror #7."  I sat in the seat, answered my questions, and clearly had "sucker" written across my forehead because they kept me.  Once all 12 of us were chosen, along with 2 alternates, we were told a little more about the case.  I couldn't believe it!  At that time we were told to plan on being there for 3 or 4 days!  Just my luck!!

I won't go into all of the details of the case because I would be typing here forever.  It was a very interesting experience though and one that maybe I am thankful I had.  The deliberation is the hardest part.  The defendant was guilty of murder, we had to convict him of first degree, second degree, or voluntary manslaughter, plus he was charged with two accounts of child abuse for shooting a gun in his home where his children were.  In the end, manslaughter was the verdict and he was found guilty on two counts of child abuse.

Click here to read about The sentencing

I have to say what I was most upset about was that Friday was to be a day off of school, a random vacation day and where did I spend my day off?  In the courthouse!!!!  Ughh!  I am thankful it is over!  I do feel as though I gave my civic duty though and I had some very nice people on the jury with me as well...so it was certainly not as bad as it could have been!

Catch Up!

With jury duty last week, I am feeling behind on my blogging!  I wasn't getting home until later than usual and felt like the evenings were nothing but a blur.  Here is Reags on Thursday morning, I believe, reading books to Dora while I was getting ready.



Poor Bailey, he doesn't get a lot of peace and quiet these days! :)

On Saturday I went to Burlington to celebrate my friend, Erin, who is getting married in a couple weeks!  It was SOO fun to see a lot of the girls I used to work with, as they are such special friends of mine!  We had so much fun and the food was delicious...let's just say BBK (baby boy Kepplinger) wasn't deprived at all!!

Stef (Swies) and Sandy

Stef, Sandy, Kelly, me, and the Bride-to-Be

Erin, the bride, and I!

Heinz, Keith's dad, and Liz were here this past weekend visiting again on their way back from a trip in Georgia.  It was great to have them and Reagan couldn't get enough of Opa!  Liz and I hit up a great consignment sale on Saturday morning and again on Sunday, when it was 50% off day!  We had lots of fun scoping out the deals!!

Mermaid Dora just HAD to be in the picture!  RMK is also obsessed with purple socks...I don't know why, but she loves purple socks :)

Look at those eyes! 

Reags was also having fun putting on my sneakers and walking around the house in them...it was cracking us all up!

Overall, we had a great weekend!  The weather felt like winter, which wasn't fun, but other than that it was great.  We had a yummy dinner and delicious dessert last night and then today I am home with Reags, which I'm not complaining about at all, other than the fact that I wish she wasn't stuffy and coughing!

We are getting ready for my mom and John to come down on Wednesday night...Keith and I are leaving on Friday morning for our little "babymoon" and I am getting pretty excited!! :)  The forecast is 80's and sunny now, hopefully it stays that way...we are staying here...