Christmas countdown

12 days until Christmas! This is the best time of year. We are so excited about the holidays and to be celebrating our first Christmas with Raegan. Even though she doesn't get any of it, it's still lots of fun. She hasn't been too interested in any of the decorations, but we did find her rolled under the tree one day trying to get her hands on a present. We've been very busy with the normal holiday activities: shopping, baking, and partying. Our ward had their Christmas party yesterday. We had a ward breakfast with Santa Claus. We were so excited Santa came because that meant we didn't have to venture to the mall and face the crazy crowds. Raegan did okay with Santa. She really didn't care, but it's one of those necessary "first-time" events you have to do with your kids. Like I said we've been busy with the shopping and are proud to say we are officially done. Raegan was especially lucky and got to open one of her gifts early. She got a jumper that she already loves. We were going to wait until after Christmas to give it to her but thought she could use it now. More news about Raegan; her first tooth came in on Friday. We figured this was blog-worthy since Derek is in dental school. Speaking of school, Derek is almost done with the Fall semester and is ready for his two week break. We're heading to Fallon the day after school gets out and we're planning on staying for about 10 days. Hopefully we don't wear out our welcome. Today we took an afternoon drive up to Red Rock Canyon. It was so pretty with the snow and red mountains. It is funny to think that such pretty scenery exists just 15 minutes away from downtown Las Vegas. We're really looking forward to going home to Fallon and can't wait to spend time with family and friends. See ya soon!

Raegan with Santa Claus

Ward Christmas party

Our Christmas tree and stockings hung by the chimney with care using a hammer and nails Raegan's first Christmas ornament Happy girl in her new jumper Joy ride to Red Rock Canyon

Thanksgiving and New Firsts

Happy Thanksgiving! Yeah I know it was a week ago, but here are a few pictures of our trip to Fallon. I'm really starting to slack in the picture taking department; I promise to redeem myself at Christmas. The following are pictures with Derek's family; everyone was actually home this year. Raegan hanging out at Grandma J's house in her super cool shades. We really had a great trip and can't wait to go back for Christmas. HERE'S AN UPDATE ON 4-MONTH OLD RAEGAN

Raegan is growing up so fast. She is already four months old and doing so many fun new things. These are the only ones I can think of now, but there are probably more:

Raegan just started eating solid foods. She eats a little rice cereal twice a day. It's pretty messy, but also ridiculously cute. She seems to like it for now!Raegan is still sleeping through the night, though not quite as long (hence the rice cereal). She moves so much when she's sleeping that she always wakes herself up around 3 or 4. Every morning I find her at the opposite end of her crib turned around in the opposite direction. Now I just have to figure out how to get her to take a nap during the day that lasts longer that 20 minutes. Raegan puts everything in her mouth and appears to be getting her first tooth. She plays with her toes and just recently realized those too can fit in her mouth. Raegan now rolls over and over and over. I can't leave her alone on the floor for too long now or she makes it across the room. Time for mom to start baby proofing the house. Raegan is also pretty close to sitting up on her own. We're hoping she can by Christmas so she can better appreciate her presents. Raegan jibber jabbers constantly, no joke. She is always making a noise of some kind; she must love the sound of her own voice. For example: watch this video. Note: (I forgot I was standing right next to the TV. It's mostly commercials and a little Ellen. I love that show!).

Cutie pie

Raegan has been acting so silly lately. She loves to "jibber-jabber" all the time. We think she loves to hear her own voice. She's recently discovered her toes and loves to grab them. Pretty soon she'll be shoving them in her mouth. Speaking of shoving things in her mouth...anything Raegan can grab she puts in her mouth. She is such a cute little girl. Here are some random pictures we just took of her. I love her blue eyes.

Who do you think she looks more like? Mom, Dad, or neither?

Weekend Getaway

This past weekend we made a quick trip to Salt Lake to see my sister Whitney play in her last home volleyball match at Westminster College. I'd only seen her play once before and really wanted to be there to support her, considering everyone used to come and see me during my volleyball-playing days. We didn't leave Vegas until Friday evening because Derek had class until 5 pm. We made it into Salt Lake City at about one in the morning. When we finally got to where my parents were staying, we unloaded everything and tried to put Raegan to bed, but unfortunately she was suffering from some elevation pressure changes and it took about an hour to calm her down and put her to bed. Saturday began with a failed attempt at singing "Happy Birthday" to Derek. I tried my best, but was still a little off key. Either way, it was the thought that counts. It was Derek's 27th birthday. I like to remind him that he's closer to 30 than he is to 20. It seems like the older you get the more low-key birthdays become, but we had a good time seeing the family and hanging out with them.

We went to Whitney's game in the afternoon. They played Rocky Mountain College from Montana. Unfortunately they lost 3 games to 1. After the game we all went to dinner at Chili's and enjoyed the 2-for-$20 deal. YUM! YUM! We all went and hung out Saturday night and came home Sunday afternoon. All the driving made the weekend go by real fast. Raegan did such a good job sitting in her carseat for so many hours, which made the drive very manageable.

Pre-game ceremony to recognized all the senior players

Girls picture

Family picture

Trunk-or-Treat

Happy Halloween! Yesterday we celebrated by attending our ward's Trunk-or-Treat. We dressed Raegan up as a super cute Kitty Kat. Raegan wasn't a huge fan of the make-up. In fact it was darn near impossible to hold her still enough to paint her face. This was our fifth attempt! Raegan the Kitty Kat (before she fell asleep and smeared her whiskers). Raegan and Mommy at Trunk-or-Treat.

Picture of the entire kitten ensemble, tail and all.

Raegan and Daddy making scary faces. Check out those beautiful blue eyes.

Raegan and Mommy in Fallon Part II

Here's a recap of the second half of our fun trip to Fallon. Tuesday night Raegan rolled over for the first time (sorry Dad missed it). She rolled over twice on Tuesday and twice on Thursday, but since then she hasn't really been into it. Daddy is still waiting to see her roll over ...maybe tomorrow. Anyways Wednesday we went and visited Great Grandma and Grandpa Hendrix. We were at their house for over three hours listening to Grandpa tell us stories from the good ol' days. Raegan slept for over two hours with Grandpa. She must really like him! Thursday we tried to get some pictures taken of Raegan, but she wasn't too cooperative. Then we went to the high school volleyball game. Raegan loves the noise of the gym; hopefully that is a sign she loves sports as much as Mom and Dad do . Friday we went golfing with Grandma and Grandpa A; it was so nice outside. Raegan loved the bouncy golf cart and we had a great time. Friday night we stopped by the high school football game because it was homecoming and Saturday we finally made it home. It was quite the trip; a little exhausting, but entirely worth it. FYI - Raegan now sleeps through the night! YEAH! (Hopefully by writing that I didn't jinx it.)

Raegan rolling over from her stomach to her back. So far she's done it 4 times.

Great Grandpa Hendrix and Raegan waking up from their nap.

Golfing with Grandma and Grandpa Adams.

Raegan's sweet ride in the golf cart.

Raegan and Mommy.

Love the hat!

Raegan at her first football game.

Me and Miles.

Raegan on the flight home. We had the whole row to ourselves. Wonder why no one would sit with us?

Raegan finally getting to play with Daddy. We sure missed him while we were gone.

Raegan and Mommy in Fallon Part I

Lots has happened since we last blogged. Raegan and Mom were in Fallon from Thursday October 8th until Saturday October 17th. Unfortunately Daddy couldn't come (school). We missed him and are thrilled to finally be back home. Here's a brief recap of what we did during our trip to F town; we were very busy. On Thursday Raegan and Mommy flew to Reno. Raegan did very well on her first airplane ride. We didn't totally annoy any other passengers or cry too much. The reason for our trip home was to attend the wedding of my best friend. Carly Sorensen got married to Kyle Sipherd on Friday in the Reno Temple. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful sealing. Later that night we also attended the reception and had a great time meeting lots of family and friends for the very first time. Raegan was passed around quite a bit, but she didn't mind too much. Mom got a chance to see a lot of volleyball friends she hasn't seen in a while and catch up on what's going on in their lives. I hope to get a Facebook account soon to keep in contact with all my friends.

Carly and me at the reception. It was beautiful.

Me and Raegan, Terrin, Carly, and Scott.

Me and Karly Sipherd, one of my good friends from volleyball and Kyle's sister (and matchmaker).

Me, Karly, Carly, Lindsay Holda, and Brianne Hall.

Mommy and Raegan at the Reno Temple. Wow, it's bright! While we were in Reno on Friday we also got a change to stop by the hospital and see Raegan's cousin Caylee. Caylee has been diagnosed with diabetes and was in the hospital trying to get it under better control. She's doing such a great job adjusting. Caylee was very excited to see her cousin for the first time. She told Corinne "my cousin that Tristin made for me" is coming. How cute is that! Caylee also sang Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam to Raegan. Caylee is going to be such a great big sister when her brother or sister is born in April. We hope she continues to feel better!

Raegan and her cousin Caylee. Caylee is trying to make her stop crying. Good luck with that!

Monday was Aunt Ali's 14th birthday and we were invited to celebrate with her. Happy Birthday Ali! Tuesday Mommy got her hair cut and Raegan also attended her very first sporting event. We went to watch Ali's basketball game. It was lots of fun. Raegan spent most of the time in Aunt Emily's arms. Later that night we went to dinner with my friend Amanda.

Happy 14th Birthday #14!

I love this outfit! Dad picked it out.

Hanging out with Aunt Em at Aunt Al's basketball game.

This is my favorite picture from our entire trip. She's is just so pretty, I can't get over it. Love the shoes too; thanks Grandma A.

Trip to the park

Thursday was such a nice day that after Derek got home from school we decided to take Raegan to the park. The weather finally cooled down this week so we had to take advantage. Raegan loved being pushed in her stroller.

Raegan and mommy getting all dressed up to go to the park.

Raegan and daddy going down the twisty slide. If you could see the look on dad's face you would think it was an extreme ride.

On Friday Jamie and Sammy came over for a play date. Apparently Sammy took a liking to the couch and took a nap. Raegan on the other hand...not so much.

2 Month Update

Yesterday Raegan turned 2 months old. Today she had her 2 month check-up with her pediatrician Dr. Laura. Raegan is still growing like a weed. She now weighs 11 pounds 13 ounces (75th percentile) and is 24 inches long (90th percentile). She's going to be long and lean just like her dad. Raegan also had her first immunization shots today, but even as I'm writing this blog she has yet to show any side effects. In fact she's been in a really good mood all day long and hasn't needed any Tylenol yet. Earlier today Derek and I got out the video camera and she put on a little show for us. She was all smiles and was cooing up a storm. It was quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen. I tried to replicate her cuteness with our digital camera (which is easier to post) but it didn't turn out quite as well. I couldn't get her to smile quite as good, but the video and pictures below are adorable nonetheless. Enjoy!

Back to school

Tristin is busy with baby, so I figured I would take a turn with the blogging for once. Things have gotten busy since school started back up last week. I was on break for over a month which made it very difficult to go back to the daily grind of sitting in class, clinical work, lab work, and the dreaded homework. I just started my 3rd year. It's amazing to think I'm more than half-way done with school. At times it's overwhelming to think I'll soon be done with school and out in the real world having to work. I've been going to school my whole life. I don't know anything other than school.

I'm now working in the clinic 5 days a week. I have a pool of patients that I see on a regular basis. I love working with different people and providing a valuable service for them. The other day I had to calm a woman down before I attempted to extract one of her canine teeth. She was on the verge of tears because she had worked herself up so much, but we managed to calm her down and get the tooth out. When it was all over she told me, "Is that it? That wasn't too bad." I just smiled and said, "I told you so."

With me being at school all day, Tristin has been busy with Raegan at home. She's trying to finish up some work that she needs to turn in, but Raegan hasn't been too cooperative. Tristin does such a good job with Raegan and is so patient with her. Each day is an adventure, and we never know how Raegan is going act that day. One day she's mellow, the next day she's fussy, but we love her nonetheless.

This is a picture of me holding a pig jaw from our oral surgery lab last semester. For practice they let us extract teeth from the pig's jaw.