Life is getting interesting...

Suddenly, I went from having a little baby boy to having a LITTLE BOY! My sweet natured, laid back, oh-so-calm baby boy turned one and said "WATCH OUT". I know I've said it before, but he is into absolutely everything. I can hardly turn my back for one minute on this kid before I find him in a new predicament. The day before yesterday, he got stuck backwards and bottom first UNDER his cozy coupe car, and unfortunately I didn't have time to grab the camera for fear that he might be injured. Yesterday, he got stuck in our GeoTrax train set. And today, I should have known better than to dress him in this Superman shirt, since he obviously wanted to fulfill his superpowers. I was sitting on the couch and suddenly was looking eye to eye with him. This was his first success at climbing. The funny thing with him... he is very sneaky and quiet when he is into something :) He is finally tall enough to reach things off our dining room table. NOTHING is safe!This was just too funny not to show you. He escaped from a diaper change early one morning BEFORE I got his new diaper back on. He is a quick little thing. His face and the fact that he is holding a pink "dry-hairer" (as Raegan calls it) and a pink purse were just too irresistible not to share. He was so proud of himself at the time, but he is gonna be so mad at me one day for putting this up...Then we have the Princess, as she refers to herself most days. She usually greets me in the morning with "Good morning princess Mama, Princess Raegan is awake". Such a formal little announcement for such a spunky little girl. Not sure why she needed to put her Dora couch on the real couch, but it must have felt more like a Throne :)

Even with her new Royalty status, she is still a little monkey.

Ah, yes life is never dull around here. And I say I still want more kids... I must be crazy :)

Playing in the snow

Last week ( I know I'm a little late) we had a pretty good snow that lasted a couple of days. Since we have had a handy-man doing some home improvements on our house, it was best that we got out of his way. We headed up to visit our friends Lisa and Ryan several times, but on this day I kept the kids while Lisa and Michael went to her Dr appointment. (By the way, Lisa is 36 weeks pregnant) They got back a lot sooner than they planned, so Michael took the kids to play out in the snow. We were a little worried that they would freeze since the high temp that day was 20 degrees, but they didn't seem to even notice it was cold. Here is Ryan and Raegan bundled up ready to go play. Since this wasn't a planned trip outdoors, Raegan had to borrow some of Ryan's snow clothes, thus the blue outfit.

Here is Michael with Ryan and Raegan going sleigh riding.

Raegan and Michael taking a turn down the hill.They really enjoyed going down the slide and ending up in a big pile of snow that Michael fixed up for them. Here they are patiently waiting for their turn. This was the funniest thing they did. They both wanted to swing, but it was a tight fit trying to squeeze them AND their snow suits in the swing. Notice in this one, they have their tongues stuck out trying to catch snow flakes. They are too cute!

Drew was a little sad that he couldn't come out and play.

He did enjoy eating some snow though. He sat on a towel and played in a little bowl of snow until it melted.
Here is the pink cheeked and pink nosed little girl before we finally made them come inside... 45 minutes later! I can't believe they both lasted that long with it being so cold. They did have to take one little potty break, but otherwise they stayed outside the whole time, and they had so much fun. I can't wait for it to snow again!

Silly kids

Now that our lives have settled down a bit, and the sickness that plagued us for so long is gone (for now), we are finally getting back into a routine . I finally have sense to grab the camera and take a picture of our silly kids in action once again. For this first little scene, I really wish I had my video camera, but you will just have to appreciate the description. Drew is into EVERYTHING these days. Mostly, whatever Raegan has... he wants. Anyway, he got one of Raegan's sippy cups and tried to finish off what little bit of milk was actually in there. Here he is trying to just drink it.Once he realized it was almost empty, it just became a toy. He was just holding the cup with his teeth and shaking his head back and forth wiggling the cup. He thought this was absolutely hilarious. I just wish you could have heard his little giggles. This entertained him for a good 15 minutes. This was just too irresistible after bath time the other night. My little duck and elephant sitting semi-sweetly together. Deep down they really do love each other. Of course this sweet picture was followed by Raegan trying to push Drew out of the chair. Go figure!

And last but not least, Raegan dressed herself to go outside and play. Her pants were the funniest. They are 24 months so they were too short, and WAY too big around the waist. She kept saying, "Mama, my bottom is so cold". She had a terrible time keeping them up, and finally got fed up and came inside. I still thought she looked pretty cute though.

2008 in Review

Okay, so I am a little late with this post, but it has taken me a lot longer than I expected to go through a years worth of photos. God has certainly blessed our house this year. So, here is what happened during 2008. Bear with me, this will probably be the longest post I've ever done.

January:

The new year brought with it a ENTIRE NEW WORLD! Here is Drew just lounging like the little man he was. Raegan had a hard time giving up her "Baby" status.

Drew continued to be the sweet second child who slept most of the time.

This is my and Sonya's rowdy crew. They were so little!Raegan worked on her sharing with this new baby. I can't believe she still had a paci.

February:

A visit with Tony's family. Raegan trying out her new skill of feeding herself.Drew working on some neck muscles.
Raegan still having a hard time giving up "Baby" status.Drew hanging out with Ms Lisa. March:

Our first trip as a family, to Gatlinburg TN. The highlight of our trip was the Aquarium.
Raegan's first piggy tails.

Drew's first grins.Raegan got to meet the Easter Bunny and go on a Easter egg hunt. (By the way, Drew is in the sling around me)Our first Easter as a family of four. April:

A quick getaway to the beach with my folks and brother's family.

Mom O's 94 birthday party. That woman doesn't look or act 94!!!Drew's baptism... now that's a big family!
Drew taking his first meal from a spoon.

May: Finally getting outside again. Notice Drew is sound asleep in the swing.

Baby giggles finally filled our house again. He would always give the biggest laughs for Raegan.

Our "girls only" weekend with Sonya and Macie to the Knoxville Zoo and the Little Engine that Could train ride. We had so much fun, but the camel ride was definitely Raegan's favorite part.

We spent Memorial Day putting flowers on my grandpa's grave. June:

Everybody loves the excersaucer! My proudest accomplishment to date... running (and surviving) my first 5K race. We LOVE getting to play outside. Makes me wish it was warmer again.
July:

Our mini party on Raegan's birthday. We rescheduled her REAL party since she had just gotten out of the hospital. (she had pneumonia on her birthday, what a memory)Drew finally learned how to sit up all by himself!

Raegan blowing out her candle at her big birthday party a few weeks late. Hey, better late than never.
Drew gets to take baths like a big boy now! He looks a little nervous :)
One of our last appointments with our beloved Dr B. I think this was Raegan's 2 year check and Drew's 6 month check. August:

Another visit with our dear Mom O.

We headed to the beach for our family vacation. Naturally, in true Roop fashion, our kids both got sick. We can't travel anywhere without someone getting a fever or throwing up!
Raegan just LOVES to "cook" in mama's kitchen. These were her first cupcakes.Here he is getting ready to doze in the swing. He is a sucker for that thing.
September:

Drew learned how to pull up and stand. He was VERY proud of this accomplishment!
Since Drew could stand, daddy got to lower his crib for safety reason. Here is Drew "assisting" his daddy.

Drew figured out how to crawl. My life REALLY changed from this point on!!!!

Mamaw took the kids to Burks Garden to ride camels (which never happened) and to see all these animals. Raegan's favorite were the baby goats.
Raegan found out how much fun it is to dress up.
Drew got his first tooth.
October:

Drew got his first haircut! I can't believe he got this shaggy at only 10 months. Here is the before. Here is the after.Raegan insisted on going outside to play in our first snow. She got all dressed up, but only lasted about 3 minutes before she headed back inside to get warm.
Drew checking out his first snow. He and I didn't brave the snow like his big sister did. Drew was a Cowboy Sheriff for his first Halloween. My little pumpkin.
November: Drew found out he liked real food, not just the pureed stuff.Raegan finally sleeping in a "big girl" bed. She has since gotten rid of the bumper, and says she would like one of those princess beds at Walmart. Maybe next year :) Drew got his first black eye.
Raegan really has found her true fashion sense this year.
Our first really big snow of the year. We ended up with over 8 inches!
One of our many fun trips to "Library school" with Mrs. Mosolgo. Raegan would use poor Mrs. Mosolgo as her scape goat, blaming lots of things on her (like telling us "Ms Sogo" taught her how to spit in the floor) She did love Mrs. Mosolgo, and looks forward to Library School starting up again.December: We started making our Christmas goodies just as soon as December came. I still can't believe that Christmas is over. Raegan got to decorate her own personal Christmas tree. Isn't she a beauty.Drew had his first birthday. I still can't believe my baby is ONE!Of course, Christmas morning at our house. And last but not least, our rockin New Year's Eve... I did make some mini open face tomato sammies and enjoy a tall glass of my favorite wine... but we were in bed around 11:00. Oh well, maybe next year I can see that ball drop :)

Well I hope you have enjoyed this little trip back over our last year as much as I have. I can't believe how much our family has changed. This has definetely not been a dull year, and I expect much of the same for this new year. There always seems to be a surprise around every corner...