IT'S MY PARTY!...
I had no reason to cry. I was so happy to see all my friends and family. I wasn't exactly sure what to make of all the comotion in the ocean. One thing is for sure, I love balloons and cake too. Thanks to everyone who shared my big day with me.

Birthday Boy!...
It is absolutely amazing; the miracle of life, change and a capacity for love that I would have never known otherwise. Reagan is one! A year ago I sat in the NICU, in tears, praying that Reagan would know how much I loved him (we all do) and that he could breathe and eat on his own. Look at him now. I have to admit I am still wondering if I should pad him with the bubble wrap and bring on a helmet, but I am amazed daily at the things he knows and all he can do. His smile is enough to melt any heart and his giggles will bring you to belly laughing. He is so observant. I think he is spending a bit too much time watching doctors--either that or we have a doctor in the making. He knows that a tongue depressor goes in your mouth and that a stethsascope goes around your neck. He holds the remote control in the air to "change the channel" and chatters away on the phone held to his ear. Reagan is still climbing everything he can and pulling up on things too. He points to things that he wants and says, "that, that!" He cheers for himself and others, shakes his head no and calls things by name too. Nana (banana), tat (cat), sh (fish), da (dog), dada and mama of course. This little man loves to be outside and will go to the front and back doors to try to get out. He will still choose a book over a toy and finds the simplist of things to play with. Any scrap or piece of trash on the floor is his favorite. He cleans it all up. Reagan knows the way things should be yet he is so laid back. If you rearrange something he will try to put it back the way he knows. If you put clothes in the chair, he will pull them down or a bandaid on your leg--he will pull it off. Just yesterday, I filled his basket with mega blocks. Reagan put them all back out on the floor. He is very protective of me too. We go to MD Anderson often for my appointments and Reagan has started to object to them drawing my blood or even trying to examine me. He trys to pull the needle out of my arm. I reassure him of course, but he knows that it should not be there. Even daddy gets a no, no sometimes. Reagan wants all the hugs for himself :) He trys to pull Preston away from me and has even been known to bite him if he does not let go of me. Little boys and their moms. I would not change a day!
Reagan now weighs 26.2 1/4 pounds and is 31.5 inches long. He is still in the 97th percentile and his head (big like mom and dad) is off the chart. So many brains I am sure! We are still working on the walking and standing independently, but I am sure it is just around the corner. Reagan sometimes forgets that he has not mastered those two yet. He just lets go, stands for a breif second then hits the floor. I think he should get an E for effort :)
As you can see from all the pictures, we had a busy birthday boy. He was so excited and happy all day. I can honestly say it was one of our best days yet. So many new things for a new year in life. Reagan started his day with whole wheat pancakes and banana slices. He loved it! Then we had a play session at home and story time before meeting all our friends at Gymboree for music. Reagan cheered for his birthday song. We shared the song with Landon and Julia. It is their birthday week too. When class was over we headed to the zoo with dad. We had lunch on a bench and visited all the animals and fishes too. It was nice to have dad there. He is so tall that Reagan got to see all the animals up close. Then, Grandma Hamm and the fam met us at the coffee shop to celebrate with cupcakes and presents too. What do you know...Reagan liked the sweets. Yum was the first sound out of his icing filled mouth. He actually bounced up and down with the first bite. He was so excited! He loved his gifts too. The ribbons were of course his favorite. Then, we drove back to meet Grandma Malone and the fam for a dinner at Luby's. Reagan made a HUGE mess, but enjoyed every bite of his meal. Blue jell-o was his special treat. A perfect day for Reagan and me.

Landon's BDAY...
Mom and I went to Landon's birthday party. He has the same birthday as me. I played with balloons and my friends. I even wore a silly balloon hat! I had a monkey too, but it popped. YIKES! The sound of balloons popping startled me at first. I made the sweetest frightened face. Mom thought I might cry, but I held it all in.
The special treat came when mom let me try a hotdog! I only had 2 bites, but I think I liked it.
















Big boys have lots of fun!

Birthday Boy Wish List...
Reagan has had his eye on a few good toys. We have been working hard on learning how to hold up the #1 finger (for 1 year of course) and how to blow out candles too. He is wearing his birthday hat a few times each week and loves it. We sing him "Happy Birthday" so he should know the tune by next week. How exciting! Our little baby is a little boy.

Many of you have been asking, so here is a list of a few things that Reagan would love to play with...obviously there are lots of price ranges and this list can carry over to Christmas too. We had lots of fun shopping and trying out the toys. I had to practice restraint. I wanted to take them all home and watch Reagan's reaction to new play toys and books.

Fisher Price Peek a Boo tent
Cars--there is a firetruck at Toys R Us that is soft
Imaginarium--basically beads that you move around on different colored wires
Musical Instruments--we are looking for 1 year old safe cymballs
Peek a Boo Books (like Bath and Play Peek A Boo), Touch and Feel books--now they make sounds too. He loved these. He also likes the Tails book
Baby Einstein farm video, world animals video
Drop and Roar Dinosaur
Little People Farm
Build and Spill turtle or Infantino Jumbo Shape Sorter
Jack in the Box, Spiral Spin Top
Sandbox with a lid :) (We don't want a litter box.)
bath toys, some spray or just do different things
bean bag chair or like it
Animal train by Fisher Price

Please know that we are so excited to have you coming to Reagan's party. Any of your gift ideas are greatly appreciated too. Calling on family--some of the gifts are a bit more expensive. Please do not hesitate to share a gift and its cost. Reagan will enjoy it all!

Messy Mouth!...
Reagan has decided that he can feed himself. He is not liking babyfood so we are doing all solids now. Here he is with his sweet potatoes--Yum or Yuck...I don't know which. He seems happy though. Needless to say we had another bath directly after dinner.

Get Me Out!
I've had enough of splishin' and splashin'. I've played with all the bubbles and my toys too. Get me out so I can soak you! :)





















51 weeks in the tub!

My First Halloween...
For my first Halloween, I was a lion. Mom and dad were my lion tamers. Sometimes they feel like they work at the zoo. We went trick-or-treating at Grandma's house. She got me a toy instead of candy. How thoughtful! We tried out a festival, but the games were a bit too much for me. I liked watching all the people walk by in their costumes though. I kept my costume on all night! I guess all the trial runs in the weeks before helped out. I think I like being a lion afterall.















A family night--BOO!

Playing at the Park...
We have a new place to play; the JV park. Mom grew up going to the same park. She loves taking me back there. We meet new people each time and swing until mom starts feeling dizzy. I usually cry when it is time to go, so mom gives me a few more minutes on the swing. I love the slides and watching all of the children play. Outside is my favorite place to be.






















Look at me at 50 weeks!

Me, Mom and Music...
I love my mom and my music. She calls me the music man. If I am upset, just turn on a song, bounce to a beat or dance around the yard like no one is watching you. We have fun together! Gymboree is one of my favorite places to be. I play the drum, shake my blocks, bounce the beat on a ball, play maracas and more. Each week brings new songs and more silly dancing for me and mom. Last week, we had a costume party. It got pretty warm in there though so all the little ones were stripping off the costumes for more breathable clothes.























Me with Ms. Sera and Gymbo

TOASTED O's...

Even a little man knows what he wants.




















YUM!

ZOO BOO!
Mom took me to the zoo! Zoo Boo! We had a blast! We saw lots of animals and good friends too. It was a chilly day so my lion costume kept me warm. Some of the animals at the zoo were pretty funny. I had lots of favorites--the mearcats and the elephants and the fishes too. I tried to moo like one of the longhorns and walked like an elephant with mom. I wasn't so sure about the giraffe. All I could see was his legs! I can't wait to go back soon.

ZOO BOO with mom!

PUNKIN PATCH...
Mom took me back to the same pumpkin patch that she took pictures in last year. Back then, I was the lil punkin in her belly. I think we had more fun this year. For October, it was hot. I didn't care too much for the jeans and long sleeves. Check out my stitches! Mom said I could be Frankenstein for Halloween if I want...or Jack from Jack and Jill. Dad suggested Scar from the Lion King. I think I'll stick with my original idea...just a lion. These pumpkins come in all shapes and sizes. The stems are pretty funny too. This little one is just my size. I took one home!




















Me and my mom in the punkin patch!

UT, OH...
Boys will be boys and mom's will stress all the while. Reagan had his first accident and ended up with 2 stitches in his eyebrow. Who would have thought that reading books could be so dangerous? Reagan and I read by his bookshelf several times a day. Reagan stands up and grabs the books he wants to read off of his shelf and then plops back down in my lap to look at them. We love this time together. This time was different though. Reagan stood up to grab a book and slipped hitting his eyebrow on the shelf. I really thought he was okay at first, hardly any tears. He is so brave, but then when I turned him around I saw the blood. My worst nightmare! It was obvious that it needed stitches. Grandma came to the rescue and the whole fam. went to the doctor. Reagan let the nurses and the doctor clean and examine his cut with no tears. He did not like being strapped down to the board thogh. That is when the screaming kicked in. Mom let me get away with anything I wanted for the next few days. Trauma and drama go well together.




Mom said no more accidents...she can only handle one of these experiences.

Sitting Still...
It is hard to capture MR. RGT sitting still these days. He is always moving, looking around, exploring and touching everything within his reach. We were having a family dinner in the last photo and Reagan thought he should sit at the table with the fam. No highchair needed. He did well, enjoyed his meal and thought he was so big at 11 months old.






















Bring on the carrots, bring on the peas...somebody feed this baby PLEASE!

CHASING REAGAN...
You know that feeling you get when your dog jumps the fence and you run after him only to find out that the more you run the further away he gets? Well, here we are with Reagan. My son does not want to wear a diaper. He likes being naked and for whatever reason he giggles and laughs, dances and plays more when he is missing his clothes. Pretty silly! So, Reagan played naked on his week birthday. Yes, we do celebrate each Wednesday. 49 weeks into our celebrating we were having lots of fun! When Reagan got a bit tired the diaper returned. No accidents on the carpet this time. Thank goodness.





















No clothes for me please!

WHAT A WAY TO RIDE...
Aunt Melissa is GT if you know what I mean. She comes up with all kinds of fun stuff to do around the house. Here I am riding around the kitchen in a strainer. Great fun! I was going really fast. BEEP, BEEP!




















Me and Aunt Melissa at 49 weeks!

ESCAPE ARTIST...
Just give me a few tries and I will find a way out of here. Mom is on her toes because I climb EVERYTHING! I can get around pretty well these days. I walk holding on to the couch or the chairs. I can climb the net in my pack and play and the bumpers in my crib too. It turns out wood taste pretty good too. I took a bite right out of the side of my crib. YUM! My favorite pass time these days is looking out the window at my dog. I actually stand in the window or on the chair to see. In fact, I said Bus this morning. I can say dog too, but Bus is my dog's name.




















A little more like a monkey each day. I am a great climber.

GOOD NEWS!...
I find all kinds of things to read these days. I still love my books, but newspapers and magazines are great too. A bit messy, but they make great sounds.




















Reagan reads the ads at 48 weeks