First snow of 2008!

Today is the first sign of snow in 2008 at our house! It wasn't much, but it was something. Kennedy did not get to go out and play because she was not feeling well. However, she might get to enjoy it next time. She is ready to wear her new snow suit!

Thanksgiving with family!

We had a great Thanksgiving, and Kennedy was finally introduced to family members that have been longing to meet her. We spent our Thanksgiving in Little Rock and Warren. We ate lots of great food! Kennedy got to meet her aunts, uncles, and cousins. One person in particular that Kennedy was excited to meet was her cousin Leighton. Kennedy is two weeks older than her. It was fun taking pictures of the two of them together. It will be fun to watch them grow up together! They already have two things in common. They both love to play the piano and eat money. Great Grandma Watkins gave them their Christmas money early this year. Of course! It went straight to the mouth! Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving Day of the two girls.

Huge Milestone News!!!

Kennedy has her first tooth! The tooth buds popped through yesterday while at daycare, and a second tooth should be arriving any day now. We can see the second tooth right under her gums. Let's just say that Kennedy has not been in the best mood. She has been a little cranky, and she has been eating and drinking her bottles like she has been starved for days. She obviously is wanting her comfort food, and we are giving it to her. Last night, Trent stopped by Walgreen's to pick up some orajel. He bought the ointment and the swabs. We tried a swab on her last night, and it was like trying to hold down a screaming wild animal to get the ointment on her gums. Once we did, she was instantly calm. The stuff really works. However, I think that Trent numbed her entire mouth because she was having trouble holding on to her pacifier. It kept falling out, and she couldn't grasp her lips around it. Anyways, she was much happier and so were we. Now, we are just waiting on that second tooth to pop out!

Practicing Christmas Card Poses!

Today, we decided to stay inside and hang out around the house. It was a lazy and relaxing Sunday. The night before, Trent and I had a really late night taking full advantage of the evening out on the town. Luckily, my mom had volunteered to babysit. We are so grateful for Mimi letting us have a date night. Kennedy was in a playful mood, and we decided that we should practice taking pictures of her for our Christmas cards. Here a just a few!

Poo Slinger!!!

This past Saturday, I had the most humiliating and embarrassing experience of my life. Mimi (my mom) came into town this past weekend so that Trent and I could have a date night on Saturday evening. Trent had to work some during the day so my mom and I decided to do a little shopping. After grabbing lunch at McAlisters and visiting with Uncle Tony, our first stop was my mom's favorite store, Chico's. We decided to stop by before heading to the mall. My mom found a few things that she decided to purchase. While at the check out desk, I thought that it would be wise to check Kennedy's diaper before heading to the mall. If dirty, I could change it as soon as we arrived there. After placing her on the counter, I peered from the back as I always do for a quick peek. Little did I know that her poo had all been smashed up and to the back, and my hand went right into it. I was completely surprised and let go of the back of her diaper. Huge mistake! As I let go, I slung poo all on the counter at the store. I not only surprised myself, but also my mom and the lady who was checking us out. I stood there helpless with one arm around Kennedy and the other with poo on it. As my mom was cleaning their counter, the employees were trying to hustle me back to the restroom to get myself and Kennedy cleaned up. The second problem was that there was not a changing station in the bathroom. So, I had to lay her on a supply rack shelf along with toilet paper and bathroom supplies to get her cleaned up. I was completely embarrassed, and all that I wanted to do was quickly get out of the store. The third problem was that after the poo slinging incident, I lost my car keys. After my mom finally checked out and I found my keys 20 minutes later, we finally were able to leave. I don't think that I will be going back there for a while, and the employees were probably happy to see us leave.

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Kennedy and I were busy this afternoon decorating one of the Christmas trees in our house. We have one in the dining room and a second in the living room. The second tree we will be setting up and decorating later in the week. This year, I have invested in some shatterproof ornaments to put along the bottom of the tree. She is not crawling yet, but we think she will be very soon. We wanted to play it safe and eliminate the glass ornaments from the bottom of the tree. Trent took a quick picture to capture the moment of us busy decorating. I will post more pictures once the trees are completely decorated along with our beautiful Christmas light display on the exterior of our house. This is the first of many pictures that will be taken this holiday season to celebrate Kennedy's first Christmas!

First Razorback Basketball Game

This past Friday, we took Kennedy to her first Razorback basketball game, and she did great. She loved listening to the music and watching all of the fans cheer on the hogs. She fell asleep towards the end of the game and missed the most exciting part of the evening. We played Southeast Louisiana, and we ended up winning the game after going into overtime. Some time this season, we are going to try to get her picture taken with one of the mascots.

Since the day she was born, it has been relatively easy to take her places. At two weeks old, she attended her first Razorback baseball game. The weather was nice and warm, and it was fun for all of us to get out of the house for a while. She was so tiny back then which was only 7 1/2 months ago. The time has flown by fast. Here are some pictures taken from different Razorback sporting events since her birth. Kennedy is truly a Razorback fan since birth and a fashionable one as well! She is growing up so quickly!

Catch of the day!!!

Earlier this week, I came home from lunch. As I got out of the car in the garage, a furry little creature flew by right in front of me. I realized that I had just seen a mouse. Immediately, I called Trent, but he always gives me a hard time saying that I don't know what I am talking about. This evening, I bought some glue traps at Wal-Mart. Some may think that it is inhumane to use glue traps because the animal dies a slow death, but I really just wanted to get it out of my garage dead or alive. Also, I knew that Trent wouldn't help me. So, I had to take matters into my own hands. I have a special bait that I like to use on my traps, and it has seemed to work every time in the past. We really don't see too many mice running around our garage, but we had a big problem with it at our old house. The mice would find their way to our garage by the surrounding fields. With my special bait in place, I placed two traps in the garage before dinner. After about two hours, I decided to check on them. Sure enough! One of the traps had completely disappeared. The furry creature had taken the bait! After peering around every corner of my garage, I finally found him. My special bait always works. For those of you now wondering about the special bait, I guess that I will let you in on my little secret. It is a few pieces of Iams mini chunk dog food placed in the center of the trap. The mice love it, and it catches them every time!

Some new firsts!

Well, Kennedy has experienced some new firsts in her life. Tonight, she actually drank some water from a sippy cup all by herself. It wasn't much water, but she kept taking it to her mouth. I am so proud! It is crazy that she will hold a sippy cup, but she will not hold on to her bottle. However, she may think it is a new toy because kept slamming it over and over on the high chair tray laughing. We have only tried a sippy cup a couple of other times. Evidently, it was a really cheap one, and it leaked water all over her. I am testing out which sippy cups don't leak with water before we step up to some juice. This evening, I also gave her part of a Mum Mum which is a rice rusk. She looked a little confused at first on what to do with it, but she figured out quickly that it went into her mouth. She gave some funny facial expressions at first, but she seemed to really enjoy it. Before we know it, she will be eating all kinds of finger foods!

Kennedy Health Update:

This morning, Kennedy went to the doctor to get her first flu shot dosage. She has to go back in one month to get her second dosage. She was definitely not happy about it, and she was screaming like crazy until I plugged her up with her pacifier. This soothed her, and she forgot all about the shot. While we were there, the doctor checked her out because we have had this ongoing running nose now for 2 months that has started turning into a cold. I've had concerns about it all week because she is not drinking much formula in the evenings, and she is acting like she is not feeling well. However, she did not ever have a fever. I wanted to make sure that we knock out this illness quickly if she had one coming on. I was right! Kennedy has a sinus infection that we will now be treating with a prescription for the next ten days. I will be happy when she is all better because she will no longer scream and cry when I wipe her little nose. Also at our visit, we now have some new weight and height updates. She weighs 19 lbs., and she is 27 inches long.

Rub a dub dub! Kennedy loves her new tub!!!

Kennedy has officially graduated from her infant bath tub! She should have been out of it some time ago, but I couldn't decide on the exact transitions baby bath tub before she moves up to the grown up tub. I chose the inflatable cushion tub at One Step Ahead. It is great, and Kennedy now loves her bath time even more. There is now room for her and all her toys.

Busy and Tiresome Week

The Ragar household was busy this past week. I left on Tuesday to Minneapolis for work, and Trent and Kennedy held down the fort at home. I managed to have time to vote before I caught my flight, and I only had to stand in line for 45 minutes. It was difficult leaving Kennedy that morning at daycare, and I caught myself getting a little emotional when walking out of her classroom. The purpose of my trip to Minneapolis was to help set up our office showroom for an upcoming Target meeting. For those of you who do not know, the Target corporate offices are located here. Also, I visited the flagship 2-story Target store located downtown. I found some great buys at the store, and I enjoyed going up and down the escalator with my grocery cart. It is a great city with excellent restaurants downtown. It was neat walking from building to building through the indoor skyways. If you know your way through the skyways, then you never have to walk outdoors. My trip ended on Thursday when I headed home. However, it can never be simple when it comes to flying. My flight to Memphis was delayed due to mechanical problems where I was suppose to catch a connecting flight. I decided to get off of the plane to try to catch a later direct flight to the XNA airport. Successfully, I managed to get a seat only to discover that this flight was delayed as well. Luckily, we eventually took off. After arriving back in Northwest Arkansas, I left the airport at 11:30 p.m. with no bag and knowing that I would be back the next day to claim it. I was completely exhausted but happy to be home. The only other frustration was that Trent informed me that Kennedy had gotten bullied and beat up at daycare that day. Another baby had pushed her backwards on her back and bit her on the head. I was shocked! I knew that this would probably happen in the future but not as early as seven months. I am ready for her to learn to crawl and get some teeth. With these two things, maybe the next time the other baby tries to bite her then she can either bite back or crawl away. Even two days later, she still has the bite mark.

Downtown Minneapolis

cart carrier at 2-story Target

Christmas Decor in the News!!!

We are excited! The Northwest Arkansas Business Journal featured an article about our Christmas Decor franchise on their website. The article talks about our initiative to move from traditional incandescent bulbs to energy efficient LED lights. Check out the link below to learn more.

http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aID=109598.54928.121731

Somebody had to be the Homecoming Queen!!!

Saturday was a wonderful day! We all got out to the stadium around 11:00 a.m. to tailgate before the Arkansas Razorbacks homecoming game against Tulsa. There was high anticipation for this game with Gus Malzahn being the offensive coordinator coach of the undefeated Tulsa Golden Hurricane. The weather was great. Kennedy wore a special outfit in celebration of the homecoming festivities. She decided that she was going to be the queen this year, and she expressed herself with her outfit that read "Somebody had to be the Homecoming Queen." Isn't she a clever girl? She felt that she should share the throne with the real queen Paige Daniel who happens to be the Pork Chop mascot and a Tri Delt. Woo Hoo! Kennedy hopes to become a Delta one day since she happens to be a legacy. Lots of pictures were taken throughout the day, and Kennedy got to hang out in her Razorback blow up chair that she loves. Uncle Tony and our cousin Bill also stopped by for a visit at the tailgate. The game was a success with a win for the Razorbacks at 30 to 23.

Kennedy's First Halloween

To get into the spirit of Halloween, Mimi, Trent and I dressed up along with Kennedy this year. If you have read my previous blog 'Tis the Season, you would have learned that Trent and I own the Christmas Decor franchise for Northwest Arkansas. We decorate exterior residential and commercial properties with Christmas lights and decor for the holiday season. Being that we own the business, our house is always the first to be decorated. This year, they did it the week of Halloween, and the lights were turned on all week. I am sure that my neighbors think that we are crazy. However, it gave me a brilliant idea for Halloween costumes this year. Santa Claus actually came to our house this year to hand out candy to the trick or treaters, and I was Santa's helper along with Mimi who dressed up as a giant present. Kennedy was still a bunny since we already had her costume, and our Christmas theme costume idea was decided at the last minute. However, we called her the Easter Bunny In Training. Santa sat outside all night long in a rocking chair handing out candy, posing for pictures, and taking toy requests. The kids were so excited to see Santa. Some asked for transformers, a glitter lava lamp, a dirt bike, and a toy assault rifle. One kid even asked if the elf and Santa could come to his party. We had a great time until we ran out of candy around 8:00 p.m. Even two of Kennedy's teachers from daycare stopped by to visit. I think that everyone enjoyed stopping by our house, but some people actually thought that we had really decorated the house just for Halloween. We didn't tell them anything different. We did learn one thing this year during Halloween, and that is that Kennedy is not afraid of Santa Claus. This is great because our future trip to the mall this year to see Santa will not be a terrifying ordeal for her. We all had lots of fun this year, and Kennedy enjoyed trick or treating at some of our neighbors homes. She is already for next year!!!