5 years old

Where did this little baby girl go? I know I say it constantly on here but I just can't believe that Reagan is five years old! It really seems like just yesterday that she looked like this. She has grown up so fast and she is such a wonderful blessing. She is so creative and imaginative and would prefer to play made up games over playing with toys any day. She LOVES being outside and will look for bugs and all sorts of things. She is a little explorer. She loves to sing and dance too and Taylor Swift is her ultimate favorite. She is definitely ready for kindergarten but I am not sure that I am. Reagan is such a beautiful and sweet little girl and we love her to pieces. HAPPY 5th Birthday Reagan!!

Reagan

I have to admit that I have been having just a terrible time with the thought that Reagan will be going to kindergarten in September. Being a kindergarten teacher actually makes it worse. I prefer the unknown. Every day I go to work now, I think of my little Reagan in a class all on her own next year. Why did she have to grow up so fast and why am I so sad? I am really hoping that once she starts school I will realize that it is all okay and she is perfectly happy. Fingers crossed! Bringing Reagan into this world was quite the feat. We struggled for years to conceive a child and finally (FINALLY!!) we were blessed with our sweet Reagan Grace. And now I have a soon to be kindergartener. It is all just so crazy to me. Reagan is ready for kindergarten, so very ready and I know she will be just fine. It's me that is going to be the problem. I have a few months to gather myself and put on a brave face to send my little baby off to kindergarten. Wish me luck!

2 years old

How in the world did Reese get to be two years old. I thought time flew by with Reagan but this is just unreal. She is such a crazy little rascal. Reagan and Reese could not be any more different but I absolutely love it. In the midst of the craziness of being a working mom and taking care of a two and four year old, I still think about how much we longed for these little girls. I still to this day feel the pain that I once felt when someone announces that they are pregnant. I guess that feeling will never go away. These feeling creep up out of nowhere and I feel that same since of doom that I felt when I was trying to get pregnant. I still ask myself "why does everyone get pregnant so easily"? Why did it have to be so difficult for us? But then I look at these two beautiful little girls and I would not have wanted it any other way. The years of injections, blood work, tests, exams, and tears, oh the tears, it was all worth it. We have two beautiful, healthy, and happy little girls. I still can't believe it actually happened! Reese Virginia, we love you to the moon and back. Happy 2nd Birthday!

Christmas

I feel like Christmas came and went in the blink of an eye. The girls are at a such a great age well, Reagan is. Reese was great but she is in the midst of the terrible twos. I hope it's the terrible twos and not just her personality. HA! I guess we will see.

Cookies for Santa!

 

Leaving some lettuce for the Rudolph and the "others".

Making cookies for Santa

 

 

 

The girls

 

This picture just captures these two perfectly. Reagan is such a sweet little girl. She is so imaginative and can play for hours with random household things. She made up a game last week with a dog leash and she convinced Reese to play along. It entertained them for a while. Reese is another story. She is a wild child! I love seeing her little personality come to life. I wish time would slow down. I am so grateful for these two little ladies. Sometimes I still can't believe how blessed we are to have them in our lives.

What happened to November??

Time is flying by! I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner. We are getting excited over here. Here are a few pictures of what the girls have been up to recently.

 

Several attempts were made to take pictures for the Christmas card. You will not see any of these on the actual card.

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Weekends

I hate that I live for the weekends but I do. I count down the days of work until I can be at home with my girls. Reagan has been busy with soccer and Reese has been well, Reese is just BUSY.

Just making some masks.

 

Playing with daddy

 

Helping out with some chores. She is really excited about it!

 

Such a mess!

First Day of School

Last days of summer

Well, I knew it was coming but I was not prepared. Back to school. It makes me so sad every year. I love being at home with girls and having time to do all the fun things that we never seem to get to during the school year. Reagan was ready to go back to Miss Kate's and Mamaw's and asked me every day when she could go back. I on the other hand was not excited for my return to work. I guess I like the routine of things but the craziness of the week always leaves me exhausted. Plus teaching a classroom full of 21 five year olds can leave you feeling a little tired:) I know it will get better as the school year goes on but right now it's a little bit tough. We went to the zoo before I had to go back to work and the girls had a blast. Reagan loves animals so she had the most fun.

Can't contain her in the stroller for much longer!

 

 

Beach

We survived the beach! Before kids, Jason and I would go out on the beach at 9 am and stay all day long! I would read several books in one week and I took one single bag out to the beach. Oh how that has changed. We had fun and Reagan LOVES the beach. Reese, well....I would say she tolerated it for short spurts of time. We had a great week with awesome weather. The girls LOVE being with Mamaw and Pop Pop and we do too!

 

 

 

 

7.30.05

10 years. That's how long Jason and I have been married. I can't believe that ten years ago we were getting ready to walk down the aisle. When I look at pictures, I feel like we were so young. At the time, I didn't think our story was anything special but I now know differently. Jason and I grew up in basically the same neighborhood and knew a lot of the same people. I went to private school and he went to public but we would often bump into one another since we had mutual friends. It wasn't until we were married for a few years that we realized we actually went to Mother's Morning Out together back in 1983!! Jason's mom found the picture and gave it to us. It is so crazy because we are standing right next to each other and I have a huge smile on my face. My mom couldn't believe it because they had to pull me off her leg every time she dropped me off. When I look at that picture I still can't believe it. I look at those two innocent faces and realize that I wouldn't want to go through life with anyone else. Jason is an amazing husband and father. Our first few years of marriage were not easy. When my dream of becoming pregnant quickly did not come true, I was devastated and Jason was often the person I took it out on. We struggled with infertility for so many years and at the time it seemed like it was just wearing us down but I realize now that it only made us stronger. He has seen me at my worst and my best. We have been through moves, job changes, deaths in our family, infertility, babies being new parents, being a crazy new mom, and so much more. I can't imagine doing it all without him. Happy 10 years JP!

Chalkboard

I had an idea about six months ago to make a chalkboard for the girls to draw on outside. I saw all these elaborate examples online but I didn't have time for all of that. So, I painted one of the many pieces of wood that we have in the garage and the girls just love it. I wanted to try to make it look cute but I'm not sure how it will hold up in the weather and I am not dragging it in every time it rains, which seems like all the time. We are going to put it in the backyard but they started drawing on it before it even made it that far. Whatever will entertain them works for me!

 

 

 

 

 

Summer!!

We are finally into our summer routine! Reagan has done several camps and swim lessons and I have really just chased Reese around all day long. Being a teacher is great for many reasons but I love that I can get a taste of both worlds (stay at home mom and working mom).

Reese is such a mess!

Lots of pool time!

 

 

 

I love Reese's face. She did NOT want Reagan in her car.

 

 

 

I love the quiet moments with these two! This lasted probably 2 minutes but I will take it!

The wait

The longer you have to wait for something, the more you will appreciate it when it finally arrives. The harder you have to fight for something, the more priceless it will become once you achieve it. And the more pain you have to endure on your journey, the sweeter your arrival at your destination. All good things are worth waiting for and worth fighting for. –Susan Gale

I just happened to come across this quote and I thought I would share. I have two beautiful girls and I feel so blessed but not a day goes by that I don't relive the heartache of infertility. It changed my life. When someone announces that they are pregnant, I still get that sinking feeling because I know that there is someone somewhere that is unable to conceive. I remember when I was pregnant I was so excited but just dreaded telling people because I knew that someone was struggling with infertility. My heart aches for these people. It helped me knowing that I was not alone. It is such a sensitive subject and I never felt comfortable talking about it until recently. Please continue to pray for these couples that are unable to conceive, I know that I do.

Reagan Grace Pruden

June 20, 2011

Reese Virginia Pruden

February 25, 2014

And then there is Reesie

 

She is 16 months old! Such a big girl!

 

 

Petting Zoo Party