Feliz Cumpleaños Renae . . .

The party begins . . .


We had a doll theme as you can tell.


The guests watching Renae open gifts.



Both sides of our family got to watch the action!


Renae gets her first REAL baby doll! For the theme of course . . .


"When are we eating the cake??"


Her friend helps.


"What's this?"


"Well that was fun. So really . . . when are we eating the cake?"


"FINALLY!!!!"


"Can we hurry this song along?"


"Whew . . that's sweet!"


"But soooooo good . . ."


Pin the body parts on the doll.


Renae and her buddy!


Well worth it . . .

First of Firsts . . . .

Yeah. Say that 10 times fast.



We just finished cleaning up from our first birthday party for our first child. We were celebrating her first birthday. I made my first doll birthday cake. We had our new friends over for the first time. We watched Renae play with the wrapping paper of her gifts for the second time. (Gotcha didn't I!!!) Then we watched the chaos of a first birthday party. We saw how Renae's friends were the first to help her unwrap her gifts. We let Renae eat her first chocolate cake covered in super sweet frosting. We cleaned up our first ridiculously messy baby . . . ugh . . . .oh wait. It gets better. We cleaned up after our first birthday party celebration in this place. We dismantled a high chair and hosed it down in the shower for the first time. Oh I forgot-we hosed down Renae too . . .

Needless to say, it was a great day of firsts. But I'm glad it's over and that our apartment is now clean and back to it's normal self. Check back later for pics of the partay!

The cake and it's inspiration.

We are the Proud Owners of a 1 year Old . . .

It was our turn to host a get together Wednesday morning, so I decided to use the zucchini that was going to waste in the fridge. It made for a nice (somewhat healthy) caterpillar cake.


Renae's 1st birthday present from her best buddy!


Renae opens her gift from Mommy and Daddy . . .


. . .And she's interested in the box.


But she got into the cool walk/ride toy soon enough.


See? She does like it!


Renae LOVES this bear from Aunt Heather and Uncle Michael. She keeps squeezing it to death with hugs and "kisses."


Nana and Grandpy, GGma and GGpa watch Renae open presents and eat her birthday muffin. It's almost as good as them being here . . .


"What do I do with this thing?"


She was mostly interested in the frosting on the banana muffin.


Later (as in 10:00 p.m. later) we went to a movie in the park! Our park has been having movies all summer and we finally made it to a showing. We are so bummed we didn't go sooner because it was so nice. We happened to go on the discount night so we paid less-always a bonus! The night air was perfect for a movie in the park. They also let you bring in your own food so we brought our own movie popcorn, candy and water. I don't think it could have been any better. Well, it would have been super cool if the movie was in English. But, alas it was in Spanish. Not to fear! I went to Wikipedia and printed off the plot summary for "Prince Caspian" so we knew enough background info to understand what was going on. It was a great way to celebrate Renae's 1st birthday . . .


. . . even though she did sleep through most of the movie. Here she is trying to stand in her stroller so she can see the movie better. Silly girl.


The birthday girl is tuckered out . . .

Thank you to all of our family and friends who sent Ecards, birthday presents and birthday wishes via Skype and email. Renae's birthday made me miss family and friends even more, but my bout of homesickness didn't last too long yesterday. :) We love you all and miss you!

Happy 1st Birthday Renae!!!!

One year ago today we went from a family of 2, to a family of 3.

First day home!


Then . . .


Now! (Not the same dress-just a bigger size!)


Every new mother's favorite shot . . .


Nana and Grandpy remember that day because they were there!


And so were Grandpa and Grandma!


Even Papa was there! Renae is so loved!


And many more family was there too for a peek at Miss Renae. Renae met all of the Reger side of the family, and some of the Masson side of the family that day she was born. She will soon meet her Uncle Trey and Aunt Kari for the first time! We are so grateful for all of the family and friends that came to meet Renae those first few days and weeks. So many of them helped us with food and free baby sitting! :) We miss all of that free baby sitting . . . .

Behind in Posting . . .

Renae and I at the park.


One of Renae's newest tricks . . .


Our shoes are her favorite things to play with.


And she's also discovered how to climb up on the things. And get stuck.


Renae in her new carseat! Now she can face forward!


"What Mom?"

I must explain the following pictures . . . On Saturday, Jesse asked me if he could do my hair and makeup. I don't know why. It was just something he felt like doing. Since I love to have my hair played with, I said yes. So the following pictures are what we did Saturday afternoon . .


What a way to watch the Olympics!


The typical awful before shot.


"What look should I go for today . . .?"


And the (slightly gaudy) after picture. It tamed a tad as the day wore on and I kept it ALL on when I went out with a friend to the movies.

To Train a Child . .

Renae is a sinner. No surprise there as both her parents are sinners. She has reached the age where she can understand that she is not supposed to do something if we have told her "No, no," or the more common phrase, "No, no touch." She learned quickly that she is not allowed to stick her fingers in the electrical sockets. It's a really big deal since the voltage is higher here. The first time she did it, we said "No no touch," and we slapped her hand. It only took a few of those for her to realize she was not going to touch the electrical outlets. Whew. First parenting discipline a success.

Well the more and more curious she gets the more things she finds that we've had to tell her she cannot touch. One such thing is the printer. Recently she has discovered that she can climb up on the couch and reach around the pillar (she's quite the acrobat) and bang her little hand on the printer. The first time she did it I told her in a firm voice, "Renae, that is a no no touch. If you touch it again, I will slap your hand." She looked at me as if, "Hmmm, Mommy's using that one tone of voice I don't really like." She climbed back down the sofa and continued in her baby imagination fun. A few minutes later, I looked back and saw Renae was standing on the couch again, and she was banging her hand up and down on the printer (which by the way is in a place that it could fall if it's bumped to hard. We have a small place so we're creative with our space.) I told her again that it was a no no touch, moved her away from the printer and slapper her hand twice. Being the girl that she is, she cried dramatically for about 30 seconds. I continued to talk to her about why I slapped her hand and that she needs to obey Mommy. (Yes we are aware she doesn't speak perfect English yet). I gave her a hug, told her I loved her and then prayed with her. I prayed that God would work in her heart and teach her how to obey, and that God would work in our hearts as well so that we will also learn to obey God.

Halfway through the prayer, I sense movement in my arms and open my eyes to see Renae smiling at herself in the mirror as she flaps her arms up and down. Oh the mind of an almost one year old.