Reagan's December

As the year draws to a close, I've nothing profound to say.  I'm exhausted from the recent holidays, the year's many disheartening political turns, a steadily growing belly, & contemplating the best way to brace for the fiscal cliff over which our inept leaders are about to plunge us.

Absent words, I end the year with a montage of Reagan, comprised mainly of pictures from her second birthday party & recent Christmas merriment.  Many thanks to Reagan's Aunt Jessica, who took most of these photos.





This first set is from Jessica's visit earlier this fall:

These were taken on her actual birthday, December 13.  Her nose was all stopped up & she didn't feel well . . . so this was about as much cooperation as she could muster:

Her birthday nap:

At dinner to celebrate her birthday (& her Papa's birthday):

And here come the party pics . . . you may detect a theme emerging:

Reagan's Aunt Donna had this shirt made & mailed it from Virginia.  Take note, aunts.  Donna sets the bar high.

The cake:

Frolicking a bit with her photographer: 

You may be thinking, "Why, that table looks so small."  Indeed.  Due to circumstances about which I remain so livid that I am unable to blog about them, we didn't have a table for the party, so I borrowed my mother's card table.  

Inspecting the goods:

Reagan's stuffy nose was better by the day of the party, but mine was in full swing.  When you're pregnant & your sinuses are bothering you, you're basically a pregnant lady with bothersome sinuses, because there is little in the way of traditional sinus medicine recommended.  

Joy:

Reagan received her very own Dyson vacuum cleaner, which seems to be going a long way toward helping her overcome her fear of mine.    

A nice belly shot.  This was taken two weeks ago . . . I think I look thin compared to what's happened since, & please, I don't care what you say, I don't believe you when you tell me I don't even look pregnant.  I think I'm already starting to waddle.

Her first Barbie (it is, of course, a mermaid Barbie):

She grew impatient as we took pictures of the cake, & she dove in, literally:

Looking a bit precious in her new dress for church the following day:

When she's not busy with her photography hobby, Jessica enjoys attending law school, which officially came to an end for her the week before Christmas after submitting her final paper.  To celebrate, Reagan & I joined Jessa & my mother at Chick-fil-A for ice cream.  

The ice cream cone had stiff competition from the balloon the kind Chick-fil-A employee gave her:

Baking cookies with Nana . . . Reagan tried mightily to eat the dough, & while I admonished her, I was kind of proud.

The first of many Christmas presents, she received a drum from her great-grandparents.  But that's not all . . . inside the drum is an array of noise makers.

I took Reagan to visit her cousin Marykate, who brought all sorts of goodies with her from Dallas, including these antlers:

Attempts at pictures in her Christmas dress on Sunday:

This is what she did when I told her to "Smile":

A brief concert before her afternoon nap:

Feeding the ducks on Christmas Eve:

Contemplating mischief:

Stepping out to take the neighbors some fudge:

And finally, a few of the three (& a half) of us . . . again, thanks to Jessica.

Our Christmas was merry, & things in our corner of the world are bright.  I remain humbly flattered by every kind comment, whether made in person or in the cyber world, about this blog, & am perpetually astounded that people read what I write.  In the past, the only people who read my writing were paid to do so, &, after meeting their deadline, they bled all over my efforts with their red ink.  Coming soon . . . baby names, the search for an appropriate mom car for me, & likely a word about a book, specifically a book I've written.  I'm done.  I've been done since July-ish, & I was so satisfied that I finished that I reread it a few times this fall as time permitted, changing a word or phrase here & there, & let it marinate in my MacBook.  I'm looking into printing the entire thing out at Kinko's so my mom & Jessica can read it.  Ambitious, aren't I?  From the scanty research I've conducted online, I've learned that the publishing world is a daunting place, but one I may explore in the new year.  We shall see.  My plans to bend Trey's will to mine when it comes to a car purchase & then give birth to his child (a fact that likely will enter the car purchase negotiations) will keep me fairly busy.  

Happy cliff diving to you all.  See you in 2013.  

AZ