So life is pretty busy as of right now. I have been trying to fit in school, work, working out, and mommy/loving wife time. I don't know how, but I think it's getting done. A lot of it is thanks to Weston. He's been picking up my slack big time, one of the many reasons I love him :) He has been keeping busy finishing his office in the basement. As of right now the drywall is up and the first coat of mud is on. Woohoo!
Grandma and Grandpa Berning, Dylan, and Tucker came to visit this past weekend. Reagan absolutely loved it. I wish they lived closer, especially so grandpa could be Reagan's full-time entertainment. Tucker was also pretty entertaining to her. The poor dog was a pretty good sport as she constantly chased him around with her stroller. And we're not quite sure why, but Reagan calls him Nonny. Mom, Reagan and I took a trip to the mall while the boys went shed hunting. It was fun except for Reagan being pretty naughty. Her nap was well overdue and she definitely let you know it. It brought out a violent side that I have never seen. We always play at the little "playground" in the middle of the mall and she is normally the one that is getting pushed down and bullied. Well, this time it was the opposite. For some reason she felt it necessary to smack every child that ran past her. She doesn't quite understand that she is most often the puniest child in the room and that about anyone can take her, but as Aunt Leah says, she must have a case of Littleman Syndrome. Needless to say, we did not spend much time at the "playground". We do miss all of our family though and hope we can see everyone again soon :(
Last Tuesday we had our 20 week ultrasound. Like I have said, we're waiting to find out the sex so the tech didn't even look. I think it's better that way because I have a feeling that if I knew someone else knew, I would have come up with a way to find out. However, I feel that while most people's biggest excitement is the sex, ours was to find out that there were no obvious health/development problems! Yay! My question when the tech looked at the umbilical cord was, "Are there any intestines floating around nearby?". Probably not the most often asked question, but in our case, relevant :) Anyway, so we are very happy and excited and hope that everything continues to go great!
Here are some new pictures of the bump, and I am really going to try to get better about taking more pictures of Reagan, so hopefully there will be more soon! Hope everyone is having a great year so far and enjoying the warmer weather!!

21 weeks

Not much too exciting going on in our life right now, and we really like it that way! I start back to school in a week, the same day Reagan gets tubes in her ears :) That should be a great day! We're hoping the tubes really really help with Reagan's ear infections and constant whining..but probably not the whining! Weston is, of course, staying busy with work. I have been working some, but definitely enjoying my break from school. I am 16 1/2 weeks along now so we have our 20 week ultrasound scheduled for February 3rd which is pretty exciting! We did decide we're not going to find out what we're having, but we're still excited to see the baby, and more than anything hopefully see that he/she is healthy.
We have decided there are a few things that need done to our house. 1) We need to finish the basement completely, but we're just going to start with.. 2) Finishing the bedroom in the basement so that Weston can move his office down there and leave us an extra bedroom upstairs which 3) needs to be made into Reagan's new room to leave Reagan's current room for the new baby...and finally 4) put laminate wood floors clear throughout the main level of the house because our carpet is in such bad shape. So we're now trying to prioritize what needs done first with the money that we have available, and we've decided to start by finishing the bedroom in the basement. We'll keep you updated on the progress!

Reagan and Daddy decorating the Christmas tree (sorry kind of old picture!)


Reagan's pony tail!


Reagan's pretty smile :)


16 weeks pregnant!


The growing belly!

Expecting Baby Number 2!!

Sorry for such a long break there, we've been pretty busy. Thanksgiving was great..we got to see all of my mom's side of the family, my dad, and Greg's family. We were home for 5 nights so Grandma and Grandpa Berning enjoyed that :) Also, the guys got to hunt the whole week, so they of course enjoyed that perk. We announced when we were home that we are expecting baby number 2! We had an ultrasound and got to see the heartbeat, so we felt pretty comfortable with telling everyone. My due date is June 24th, so I'll have the whole summer off of work and school which will be very nice! I just had my 12 week appointment today and everything went great. Reagan went with me and we got to hear the heartbeat, which is always fun!
I have finals this week and next week so I am definitely ready for those to be overwith. I'm kind of to the point where I don't care how I do on them, I just want to be done! j/k..kind of..
Weston got his "monster buck" of the year yesterday. Hallelujah!!!!!!! We don't have to hear him cry anymore about not getting a buck yet :) It's a pretty big one and he is VERY excited about it.
Reagan isn't really doing anything too new. She loves to give kisses now, and they have to be on the lips! No cheek kisses for her! She is very jibber jabbery, we just hope we'll be able to understand her someday soon.
Here are a few pictures that we've taken over the past few weeks, and I'll try to post again soon!




Regan and Weston excited about his buck!



Gremlin child putting on a headband in the new PJs Grandma Berning got her.



This is how she points to her nose..



Reagan and Daddy taking a nap :)

Reagan's First Halloween!

So yesterday was Reagan's first Halloween. It was quite the evening! We went trick-or-treating with our neighbors Kate and Bren, who have a daughter (Ada Mae) that is only 6 weeks older than Reagan. Interestingly enough, it turns out that they had the same costume! What are the chances? It was cute though and everyone thought it was planned. Her favorite candy was the suckers, so at each house when she got to pick her one piece of candy, it was always a sucker.
Weston left after trick-or-treating for a hunting trip with some friends. He will be back sometime Monday, so it's just me and Reagan for the weekend. It's so nice just to be able to relax and spend time with her. (not that I couldn't do that with Weston here, but it just so happens I have a pretty homework-free weekend!) I talked to Weston tonight and he said they're seeing bucks everywhere, so hopefully we'll have pictures coming soon of his "trophy buck". And just as a side note..Reagan's first favorite movie is "Bambi". Weston and her watched it the other day and she loves it. He taught her to say "deer", so now she is saying it constantly. Tonight she came up to me with the "Bambi" DVD case wanting to watch it, so we watched it again tonight. Now that she likes watching TV I'm thinking maybe it's time for one of those portable DVD players you can hang on the back of the front driver or passenger seats so that she'll stay content for drives! As of right now we only drive when it's time for her to be sleeping, so I think maybe this will be a way for us to drive when she's awake!
Well we have some busy weeks coming up, me with school, Weston with work and hunting, so we're VERY excited for Thanksgiving break. Reagan can't wait to see her Grandma and Grandpa Berning :) I've been showing her a picture of them holding her when she was a baby in hopes that she'll 1) remember them, and 2) maybe be able to say grandma and grandpa! She definitely has the Mimi and Papa down for her Grandma and Grandpa Hodge..I think she might like it at their house better than ours! Reagan will also get to meet a lot of family on my mom's side, so it should be a great time. Anyway, here are the Halloween pictures and some other randoms!

Life

So I've come to the conclusion that my life is crazy, but somehow always seems normal. I think you just always adjust to your new "normal". However, I can't help but fantasize about how my life could be so simple...I'll let you in on my fantasy...

Get done with class, go home and study. Get all my studying done and have some time to relax with my husband and daughter. Is that so much to ask?! haha...ok and now here is my real life..

Class starts at 8, or work starts at 7, whichever one comes that day. When it's done, I pick up Reagan from daycare, which is quite far from where we actually live. I run any errands that need to be done..groceries, diapers, etc. I come home, work out somewhere in there if I can, cook dinner, eat dinner, get Reagan showered and ready for bed, leave Reagan and Weston to fend for themselves for the night between 7 and 8 pm, then begin my studying. BEGIN at 8 pm..needless to say, my hours of sleep are numbered. Oh and I do laundry somewhere in the middle of the studying. Oh what a crazy life. I just have to remind myself of how great my life actually is, and that I wouldn't change it for the world. I decided the other day that while I'm a little behind school wise, I'm actually ahead in life in many other ways! That's my bright way of looking at it. And would you believe we want another baby? We must love this crazy life of ours. I just needed to vent. I'll update with info and pictures of Reagan soon!

We're Finally Bloggers!!! (thanks Leah :))

So we finally decided to join the blogging world, thanks to my sister Leah's constant nagging. That's why I love her! Hopefully this will help to keep everyone updated on our family life, especially Reagan's since she is growing so fast. I will post pictures very soon, but just to give everyone a little refresher...
Reagan was born May 20, 2007 and was 4 lbs. 14 oz and 19 1/2 in. long. She had a gastroschisis (small in in abdomen and intestines on the outside) that was surgically closed 8 hrs. after birth. She was in the NICU for only 2 weeks! This was the earliest the University Hospital had sent a baby home with her condition so we were pretty excited. She has a very small scar beside her belly button, and a small umbilical hernia that will be closed when she is 2.
Reagan is now 17 months old and a ball of fire who never, ever, stops going. She has quite the attitude, but is very sweet at the same time :) She loves her new words: "bebes" (babies), mommy, daddy, Mimi, Papa, Bebba (Becca), eye (which she loves to point to), nose (which she loves to stick her finger in), digaba (peek-a-boo), and finally, Aunt Leah's favorite, Lele.
Weston and I are keeping very busy. Weston has his own construction business, Hodge Carpentry, which is doing very well. He is currently framing a 4-Plex. I work part-time at the University Hospital as a nursing assistant on the Pediatric Cariology floor. I also am a full-time student in the University of Iowa nursing program. Our latest adventure has been painting the downstairs of our house (pictures to come!).
So there is our life in a nutshell, and I will continue to keep everyone posted!