Where has the time gone?

Well... Raegan is one. I can hardly believe it.

We celebrated her first birthday bash a few weekends ago. She was really in a "hold-me" mood; thus, she didn't play with the MANY friends that showed up. She didn't enjoy the smash cake as much as I thought she would, but I suppose that's a good thing. Having a toddler hyped up on sugar right when it's time for bed would NOT have been fun.

She's still not walking. She's been cruising for the past four months. She HAS, however, taken a few steps, but she doesn't seem to have any interest in furthering that amount. All in due time, I guess.

She has learned to clap. I'm assuming she's learned this at daycare. She recently got moved up to the one-year-old room. While at the pediatrician's office yesterday, we started singing "If you're happy and you know it..." and she clapped her hands! If I tell her to clap, she claps. She also dances to ALL songs. Raegan dancing consists of swaying her body from side-to-side, much like the "Twist." She loves music, and she loves to read. Her FAVORITE thing to do, however, is to throw things. She loves to come in her room after mommy has cleaned it up and tear everything out of its original, neat position and throw it or toss it somewhere else. By the end of the day, all of the books are off the bookshelf, along with every toy in reach. All small parts that go with specific toys are no longer by those toys. They have been tossed across the room. She has also learned to put the circle in the circle hole in her shape sorter. Sometimes she gets it, sometimes she doesn't, but she knows where it goes and tries to get it in.

She's still not speaking any real words. I know she understands "Mama," "Daddy," "Mimi," "Poppa," "dog," "clap," and "kitty" because she'll direct her attention to them if asked where they are. She also knows that the socks go on her feet because if she sees the socks and I pick her up, she'll immediately stick her foot out and point her toes to put the sock on.
Currently, she has a terrible ear infection. Her fever spiked up to 103.2 yesterday so we obviously took her to the pediatrician. He said that he's shocked it hasn't ruptured yet. She got a shot (what fun!) and is now on antibiotics. Last night was rough. I'm hoping tonite will be a little better now that the antibiotics have had time to set in and get to work.

My mom sent me a slideshow of Raegan's first year. It's amazing how much little one's grow in the first year! She's gone from completely dependent to wanting to do everything by herself. I can only imagine what this year has in store for us, but I'm not rushing it. I'm clinging to every little moment I have with her.

My grandma has had two strokes since Christmas. It's been very rough on our family because we're all so close to them. Reality is that we all die, but what I've really learned through this hard time is that the things we do right NOW affect the rest of our lifes. My Mamaw has struggled with her weight for as long as I can remember. She's always been the yo-yo dieter that never really sticks to any one thing and never exercises. In the end, she's always gone back to her unhealthy way of eating. I know that the things I do right now can make or break me when I get older. Of course, we're all going to die. It happens. But I want to live my life right now in a way that will prolong my life a little bit longer. Anyway, enough of that. The first stroke wasn't that bad. At least, we didn't see that it had too much of an affect on her, besides a slight slur in her speech. THIS stroke has been worse. I've gone to the hospital three times, and she doesn't seem to get any better at any visit. She's not speaking or responding. She's not attentive. All she wants to do is sleep. Perhaps it's the meds they have her on. I don't worry about her. I know that it's her time to see Jesus, and I'm excited for that; however, my Papaw and my dad are both going to be heartbroken once she moves on. I worry for them.

That's about all that's gone on in the recent past. Here's some pictures to keep you updated!!!

Enjoying her birthday cake

Raegan's First Birthday Cake

Raegan in her birthday tutu!