Sunday Snapshot - "Sisters"

I know everyone is anxious to see and hear how it has been going since Reagan arrived home last week. Unfortunately, due to lack of energy and time, I have not done a great job of taking pictures and chronicling what has been going on, so I am going to quickly fill you in this morning!

While in China I posted about all the changes that little Reagan was experiencing. Nothing was familiar to her and everything and everyone was a new experience. That didn’t change when we got home. There were her new surroundings and lots of new family members to get acquainted with, but Reagan was not the only one faced with big changes.



Sarah has had to deal with some big changes too! We had talked a great deal about her new sister leading up to the adoption and how she was going to be “The Big Sister” but we just were not sure how she was going to handle it once Reagan came home. Sarah has “ruled the roost” for the last 4 years and both Pat and I knew that it was going to be a major adjustment for her to have to share the spotlight with her new sister.

She has done surprisingly well. She loves her new sister and is very interested in all that is going on. She loves to play with her and asks to help feed her quite often. She is a little rough at times and has to be reminded that Reagan is just a baby and is not as strong as she is, but other than that, the transition has been rather smooth.

That being said, we are seeing signs that she is seeking extra attention from us. All totally normal we know and we are trying to give her the attention that she needs so that she does not feel threatened or pushed aside. We are also trying to plan a couple of fun things for Sarah and I to do together to make her feel extra special. Pat and I were thinking that this might be a good year to start the tradition of going to see “The Nutcracker”. She loves all things that involve princesses or ballerinas of any sort and for those of you that know me, know that this ballet has always been one that I have cherished as I spent many holiday seasons of my young life up on that stage. I am anxious to see if Sarah will love it as much as I do.




We have not really ventured out too far this week, but we did have to make two trips to the doctor. The first trip was nuts. It was a very long appointment for Reagan involving lots of tests and shots, and luckily Pat was able to go with me and the girls so I didn’t have to go through it by myself.



The second trip was a quick trip just to have her arm looked at to make sure there was no reaction from her PPD test. Pat asked if I wanted him to take off from work to go along with me and I told him no, I could handle it on my own. It was the first time I drove and the first time the girls were in the back without me and they were great(Her PPD test was fine and we are still waiting to get the results of some of the other tests that should give us a better indication of some of the tummy issues she is having). It was a rainy miserable day, but since we were already out and I was feeling like I had a little energy, I figured we would go to Target and walk around for a little bit.



Sarah loves to eat their soft pretzels, so as soon as we entered the store we went straight for the snack bar. She shared her pretzel with Reagan and I think we now have another soft pretzel addict on our hands. The pretzel kept them busy for a while and allowed me to look around and pick up a couple of things we needed.



The girls in their coordinating outfits and hair accessories did attract some attention and whenever anyone said something to Sarah about her outfit or pretty pink hair bow, she played shy and would not answer.



Eventually we made our way to the checkout counter and let's just say that Sarah got over her shyness rather quickly.

The cashier made the mistake of looking straight at Reagan and saying “How old is this cute little princess?” She barely had the words out of her mouth and Sarah interjected, “She is not a princess, I am the princess.”

The woman did not know what to say, so I jumped in and had to explain that Sarah is our Princess and Reagan is our Empress (My uncle said that Reagan looked like an Empress in her Red Couch photos and we thought it was kind of cute, so it stuck and it gives them each a nickname of their own).

The cashier got the message loud and clear and the next thing she asked me, “How long have you been home from China?”

I am sure we will experience many more of these kinds of encounters, so we better get prepared to think fast on our feet.



The sun is coming up and that means “The Empress” will be waking up shortly!
Hope you enjoyed the first photos of the sisters in action.
There will be more to come this week. Just wait until you see her with her big brother.
Nick was in school the day these were taken, so I got a few of him with Reagan yesterday!

This post is part of Sunday Snapshots. To participate in or see more Sunday Snapshots stop by Stefanie's blog by clicking HERE.