Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We’re missing all that can’t be here with us! We’re heading to Windsor to spend the holiday with Papa, Nonna, the Ferraris, Wayne and Moriartys. It’s going to be so much fun!!

Reagan is growing so fast. She says so many words now and sentences. We’re getting better at understanding her and it’s awesome communicating with her. She has figured out how to unlock our Iphones! At 19 months old! She has started to fight her bed time now, much to our dismay. We finally have started letting her cry it out now as she would try everything to extend her bed time (eat-eat, juice, book, Daddy) The other night she was up from 11pm until 2am. We were so tired the next day!

John and Jess are now engaged!! He proposed tonight and she said yes!  Welcome to the family Jess!

Reagan had her 18 month check up today and is doing really well.  She weighs 23 lbs 1 oz and is 32.25 inches long.  Her weight puts her in the 25ht percentile and height in the 75th percentile.  She got four shots today including the seasonal flu and the H1N1 vaccine.  Her smart father played Elmo on the Iphone to distract her and it worked pretty well.  She’s such a talker now.  She says so many words like Avocado, Aaron, Keira.  She knows her nose, ears, mouth and eyes and teeth.  She meows when you ask her what a kitty says.  She woofs like a dog.  She’s quite the ham for people at the store or any where.  She says hi to everyone and Bye Bye.  We get so many comments on her personality from strangers.  She really let’s it show when Skyping with family.  We talk to so much family, it’s so great to see everyone and let her see them.  She knows what the computer is and will say “Nana” or ‘Grandma” and point to it so to tell us she wants to talk to people.

As far as the house is concerned, we’re still in limbo.  It was set to auction on October 27th but we got a postponement and are still trying to negotiate.  The next auction date is December 2nd.  We could use a lot of prayers requesting the Lord encourages the bank to modify our loan in a way that works for us.  Or at least to continue to guide us in His plan as he has something figured out for us!  LOL  We booked our flights to San Diego for Christmas finally but there’s always a chance we may be moving and can’t go.  Thank goodness Southwest let’s us keep the credits for future flights.

Mike is getting back in to fishing although he’s going to stay more local and go back to the Pro-Ams and Team tournaments like years past.  His business has really taken off so he needs to be available more often for those calls.  It’s amazing how well it’s working out for him and us.  2009 was a very dark and gloomy year, not just for us but for many people.  We hear all over how people cannot wait for 2010.  Here’s hoping for a brighter future for everyone!!

So last week, Nana Sherrill came out for a visit starting on Monday.  She spoiled Reagan as usual and bought her a potty as we had been talking about the fact she sometimes says “poo poo” before she poops.  Tonight we tried it out before her bath and she pottied in it!  Every time I take her diaper off before her bath, unless I get her in to the tub within a couple minutes, she’ll potty on the floor.  So tonight we put her on the potty and had to make her sit a couple times before she finally pottied.  Hopefully after doing this for several nights and weeks, she’ll get the gist of it and be ready to train in a couple months!

While Nana was here, Parker and cousin Jackson flew in for a visit.  It was Jackson’s first visit to Ca. and he seemed to have fun.  Mike took him fishing on Thursday where he caught a fish.  It was his first time out on the boat.  He and Reagan had a great time playing and she really enjoyed his company it seemed.  On Friday we went to see Papa Mike and Nonna.  Papa Mike is really doing a lot better since his surgery several weeks ago.  He seemed more energetic and played with Reagan and two games of Pinochle with us.  Nonna and Reagan had fun talking and yelling and squealing.  On Saturday it was Madison’s baby shower and that little girl is so loved!  She received so many sweet and great gifts.

On Saturday afternoon we went to San Francisco to see the Contis.  We met them at Chili’s for dinner and then stayed the night in the same hotel room.  Poor Joey had a fever and wasn’t quite his happy self that night but was very sweet with Reagan as she kept kissing him!  He was happier the next day, playing and talking with her.  It was awesome to see our kids play together!  On Sunday Mike and John went to the 49er game while the rest of us hung out at the hotel and Golden Gate park.  We had lunch at a cliffside cafe with a fantastic view of the ocean, even though it was overcast.  On Sunday night we drove home, happy but tired.

Mike is at Clear lake now, he left Friday morning.  His tournament starts on the 21st, so keep your fingers crossed!

Reagan is quite the talker and so smart! She is pretty set in her routines now with daycare and bed time. At night she has bath, then brushes her teeth, story time and then night-night. She’ll remind me that she needs to brush her teeth because she’ll point to the bath room and say “Elmo?” Yes, I bought her an Elmo toothbrush that she uses and I have another one that I use on her. She’s usually very patient and opens her mouth for me. She then says night-night to Daddy and I put her to bed. She doesn’t want Daddy to do it (much to his disappointement.) She also climbs up and down the couch and recliner by herself. Oh and I taught her sign language! Well, one word … Eat! It’s so cute! We’ll have to try and video her sometime. Speaking of video, Nana Sherrill bought us a web cam so now we’re using Skype for Reagan to video chat with long distance family. Last night was the first night but she’s had so much fun with it!

Auntie Renee is in town to see Papa. We had lunch with her yesterday and then will see her again this weekend in Windsor as we head back over to see Papa Mike. He’s still slowly recovering with some minor set backs. We just need the doctors to figure out what the issues are. Saturday is our anniversary! Can you believe it’s been six years? So much has happened during that time!

Mike Sr came though surgery pretty good last week but then had some set backs that kept him in ICU longer than he liked. He got out today and into a regular room. He’ll hopefully be home later this week. Carol has been real great to him, spending numerous hours in ICU along his side. Mikee went over there a couple times with Reagan and I joining him last weekend. It was nice to see him doing better on Monday. He still has a long road to recovery but he’s working really hard to get better.

Reagan has settled down with the Elmo bit although she still likes to watch him. We let her watch one video a night and that seems to satisfy her need. Her newest word is “Uppie” which is actually “Up please” combined in the way only toddlers know how to do. She’s putting words together to make little sentences such as “more please,” “Hi Rebel,” “Rebel ball.” She picks up on words and actions so well now. It’s so nice to ask her to do something and she does it. She’s also quite the ham and loves to entertain. She says “Hi” to everyone she sees.

Our child is officially obsessed with Elmo!  It’s our fault … well, more her dad’s fault.  With our new Iphones, we can watch YouTube videos so we’ll locate Elmo and Sesame Street segments and let Reagan watch them.   Now when she sees our phones, she starts yelling “Elmo! Elmo!” and then has a tantrum if we don’t show her Elmo.  So we’re trying to break her of this addiction for the cute, little red furry guy.  She says Elmo all the time at daycare!  Her provider has looked for him On Demand for her.  She’s so spoiled!

The other tantrum inducing item is cookies.  We had bought this huge jar of vanilla flavored Alphabet cookies a while ago.  We would give her some here and there.  We had to put them on top of the fridge so she couldn’t see them, otherwise she would demand a cookie.  But with her smart little brain, she knows they’re on top of the fridge and proceeds to throw a crying fit if we don’t give her a cookie.  I’m getting better at ignoring the tears (although it absolutely tugs at my heartstrings and it is all I can do not to grab the jar and say “have all you want my poor baby!”)

She’s eating pretty well and has dinner with us every night.  She’s getting better at not throwing her plate or bowl on the floor as she used to.  She’s eating more meat and regular square meals.  Mike has been great at making dinners every night so we sit at the kitchen table as a family.  We’ve both been hitting the gym again and trying to get healthy.  It’s a slow battle with weight loss but we’ll get to our goals eventually.

Megan was recently in town for a quick visit.  I had a great time with her for a couple hours at lunch.  Robbie didn’t make it with her this time, but hopefully soon we’ll see him again.  I’ve been trying to get Alex and John to come visit us, I might have to bribe them (him) with 49er tickets or something.  Speaking of John, he’s now on the radio Thursday nights on the Anaheim radio network.  We’re pretty excited for him!

Mike Sr. heads into surgery on September 2nd for a valve replacement.  He gave everyone quite the scare a couple weeks ago when he landed in the hospital after an episode.  He didn’t have a heart-attack or stroke, it appears his valve was too strained.  He’s been laying low as he prepares for surgery next week.  Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers!

Miss Reagan is amazing us everyday!  She is so smart and quick to learn.  Yeah, every parent says that about their children but our daughter is special!  She had her 15 month check-up on the 30th and although she’s grown one inch, she hasn’t gained any weight in the last three months.  The doctor wasn’t too concerned so we’ll keep feeding her the good stuff and hopefully she’ll gain some weight before her 18 month check-up.  She says so many words now like book, door, cracker, cookie, milk, juice, yes, no, baby, Rebel, love you, thank you, please, welcome, Me (me-me-me) up, cat-cat, kitty, I dunno, oh no, shoe, night-night, banana, poo-poo, pee-pee.  She communicates with us and appears to understand us as we do her.  Today I asked her to close the front door and she did.  You ask her to hand you something and she does, unless it’s something she knows she is not supposed to have and will run away from you.  She loves to read and be read to.  She loves Elmo and can say his name and recognize him in everything and every where.

I’ve been meaning to update sooner but it’s taking me this long to get back into the swing of things.  Reagan and I went to Minnesota July 15th – 21st for my cousin Danika’s wedding.  We flew Frontier Airlines and met up with Grandma and Grandpa Crean in Denver, then the four of us flew to Minneapolis together.  We drove an hour and a half south to Mankato where we stayed for the trip.  On Thursday we went to the rehearsal dinner at Aunt Sheila’s house in Pemberton.  As usual it was quite the party/fun time with the Tierney clan.  Apparently the Sheriff was called out to turn down the noise.  Yeah, that would be my family!  On Thursday, the rest of the Creans came and Keira and Reagan just loved to play together.  It makes me wish we all lived closer but I just can’t seem to get them to move up to Sacramento!

On Friday we threw Danika a family shower and she got some nice gifts.  Afterwards we just hung around the hotel and played and enjoyed a delicious dinner.  Saturday was the wedding and it was beautiful.  The sun came out for a brief period during the ceremony so we knew Jaime was smiling down on the bride and groom.  The reception was fun and crazy, especially the lap dance given by my 18 year old cousin to his new brother-in-law.  I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard in such a long time!  What a sense of humor this family has!

On Sunday, we Creans drove around Southern MN and saw the old farm my Dad grew up on and the town where he was born.  It really is beautiful up there, so green and lush with nature.  The weather was the coldest on record!  They had record low tempetures for their highs.  None of us were prepared for that!  On Monday, the other Creans flew home while Grandma, Grandpa, Reagan and I went up to the cities and saw the Mall of America.  I also got to visit with an old friend and former co-worker.  On Tuesday we flew home!

On Wednesday the 22nd, Nana Sherill flew in for a few days and had fun playing with Reagan.  She and Mike did quite a bit around the house which was very appreciated by me.  She left early Sunday and is planning to come back soon.

On Wednesday we found out that we’re going to become an Uncle and Aunt again as Ryan and Lauren have announced they’re pregnant!!  And they’re due mid-September!  Yes, Lauren just found out and she’s already 30-32 weeks along!!  They’re coming up next weekend to get stuff from us that we’re not using right now since they have so little time to prepare.  We’re very excited for them!

We hope that you all had a blessed 4th of July!  We enjoyed family and friends at Nonna and Papa’s house in Windsor.  Reagan had so many friends and cousins to play with, she really enjoyed herself.  The Friday before we drove with Nonna and Papa to Point Reyes National Park to see them off on their horses.  Reagan even got on the horse with Nonna and then with Papa.  She was bouncing up and down on Gus!  (Nonna has those pictures on her camera.)

Today Reagan started swim lessons and she enjoyed herself!  She got into the pool on the 4ht but it was colder than expected for her and it took her a while to warm up.  Today it was warm and she had fun immediately!  She kept straightening on to her tummy and trying to swim.  She’s learning to kick and jump into Mommy’s arms.  She doesn’t quite know how to blow bubbles yet but we’re getting there.  She goes through Thursday this week and then Tuesday next week.  She’ll miss her last two days since we’re leaving on Wednesday for Minnesota!

We returned home today from camping at Loon Lake.  We had a great time!  We arrived late on Thursday night and Nonna and Papa were already there.  They had hot dogs waiting for us, which was nice to eat as we set up the tent.  Reagan had fallen asleep while we drove and woke up once we got there.  It was very cold that night, so she slept with us.  We forgot pillows so we were very uncomfortable.  The next day, we enjoyed a good breakfast before Nonna and Papa rode off on the horses.  Mike, Reagan and I hung out for a while as Reagan napped and then drove around to find places to fish for trout.  No bites from fish but the mosquitoes were quite active.  Reagan had fun playing in the dirt, much to Mommy’s dismay.  When we got back to camp, Nonna and Papa arrived and so Mary got to ride Gus for a little bit.  He’s a very sweet horse.  Maybe more so because he was pretty tired by that point.

We played Pinochle that night while drinking wine (champagne for Nonna.)  Papa had a bite on his left that started with two fang marks and then redness that went up a few inches (see picture.)  He still doesn’t know what bit him but it was weird to see.  It was a lot warmer that night so Reagan slept in her crib just fine and we borrowed throw pillows from Nonna and were able to sleep well.

The next day Nonna and Papa rode for only a couple hours as the horses tired quickly and it was hot.  Mike and Papa went off to fly fish (as they did the day before) and while they were gone, Nonna and Mary played Rummy while Reagan talked to us and ate her food.  That night was pretty exciting because while we were playing Pinochle, Nonna and Mike heard a bear trying to get into the camp site dumpster!  We went to the trailer while Mike grabbed the poor, sleeping Reagan out of the tent.  Papa and Mike then went to investigate with flashlights and Papa’s gun.  They didn’t see the bear but saw a bunch of prints/tracks around the dumpster.  We went back to playing cards but Mary was pretty freaked out the whole time.  I didn’t sleep very well that night.

Today we got up and broke down the site.  I went to look at the tracks and I could see the bear really only came in to the dumpster and around it.  It didn’t come near our site which was about 50 yards from the dumpster.  Everyone tried to tell me that the night before but I couldn’t calm down enough to believe them until I saw it for myself.

It’s the hottest day of the year so far and it’s awful.  The AC has been running all day and the house still feels warm.  We’ve been trying not to run many appliances and limit the light usage to conserve some energy.

Reagan is talking more.  She mostly still talks gibberish but she’s making more distinctive sounds, like “double”  She says Elmo, baby, thank you, please (puh) and this weekend, Nonna taught her “I dunno.”  It’s quite cute with the hand gestures!