The many faces of Sidney!

Bath Time!

There once was a day when this would have made me crazy; funny how kids change things! We brought out some new (old) toys from storage and the girls were having a wonderful time getting reacquainted.

Jumping!

Sidney is finally getting the hang of this jumping thing! She enjoys being in it all the time and goes crazy kicking her little legs. Regan would love to get a chance in there but we remind her all the time that she has a trampoline outside!!

Regan loves playing at the park; she's such a big girl and climbs all over the equipment this year. She's still not a fan of the mega huge slide where she ends up flying off the bottom....but then again, who can blame her!

I took this short video at the park this afternoon. Regan was singing to herself (All around the Cobbler's bench) and I couldn't help but try to get it on video. The best part is when she doesn't know the exact words and kind of mumbles them!! Too cute :)

Sitting like a big girl

Sidney has been able to enjoy these views for a while but we finally got it on camera. Last night we went for dinner at Don Pablo's so she sat by herself in a high chair to eat her dinner. She's still a little small for the chair and ends up wobbling around for a while before getting her bearings. She also likes to grab at anything within reach, and sometimes that means hot food, or in my case last night, lettuce! I had lettuce all over my lap and not much left for my meal. Sure was funny though :)

Trouble!

This is what life will be like for us in 10 years. For now, we're keeping the cell phones out of her hands but Grandma Sheri gives in and lets her pretend to text. For all we know she really did send someone a message!

Basketball game!

We took the girls to Logan's basketball game on Saturday and it was their first time (and ours too) watching Logan play basketball! They seemed to enjoy it but the buzzer startled Sidney at first; those things are loud!

Swinging!

This swing is considered the "neighborhood swing"; it's been passed on from neighbor to neighbor for the last 14 years!!! Regan loved it when she used it so we finally got it out for Sidney. However, Regan didn't think it was fair that Sidney got to swing so she jumped in when I wasn't looking and asked for a push! It's hilarious to see her in this baby swing because her feet almost touch the ground! We have to be careful not to push her too high or her head hits the tree branch! Sidney enjoys her swing too, she was so content that she would've fallen asleep if we hadn't have taken her out.

Swimming lessons!

Regan is enrolled in parent/child swimming lessons this spring and having a great time :) She enjoys learning how to use her "puppy paws", jumping off the side and she's even starting to like doing "dips". The video is of her working on dips....we had a lesson in closing her eyes and mouth and she obviously didn't catch on the first time around!

GIRLS!

Ryan's UMD college buddies get together every once in a while and at this particular gathering, we had the kiddos with us.....and they are ALL girls!! We lined them up in birth order; aren't they precious!

An addendum to the last post needs to be made.......That darn tooth poked through!! No wonder she's been cranky all evening; I would be too! A little Tylenol and hopefully we'll all sleep well tonight :)

Spring fun!

The last two days have been gorgeous outside and we've definately taken advantage of the warmer weather. Unfortunatley it's coming to an end. Today we played at two parks and then finally came home to play with bubbles. Both girls had a great time! Sidney's been a little more cranky tonight and we're pretty sure that tooth is bugging her; can you believe it's still not through?! Poor girl; it's just a white bud on her gum right now. OUCH!

Many of you think we're crazy for holding Sidney as she sleeps....but just look at how adorable she is while snoozing in mom's arms tonight after a quick feeding. How could you put her down when she's so precious? Besides, all of my patients remind me that kids are "only little for a short while" so why not cherish these moments! It'll be soon enough when she's all grown up.
Tonight as I gave Sidney a bath, I noticed a little bulge in her lower gum and can see the start of a tooth popping through! I'm thinking tomorrow it will be through entirely:) And to think it appeared and she was hardly crabby.

(Another) New Bike!

The bike we bought Regan for her 3rd birthday is too big for her this summer. Thank goodness for Craigslist because we found this one for less than 1/2 the cost and it's in great condition! Despite the puddles, we let her take it out for a test spin today. She's learning the basics of balancing, stopping and looking for cars. She loves it!, although her butt hurt after a while!

Sidney has recently found her tongue. She's constantly sticking it out and continues to "suck" on it. For those of you that haven't witnessed this, it's hilarious! She literally tries to suck on her own tongue!? Sounds crazy. For now, we just hope she keeps it in her mouth occasionally so I can get some decent pictures!

Warm weather!

It was another lovely day so Regan decided to sport a new spring outfit, compliments of Grandma Sheri (of course!). She was so cute in her sandals too, although she still doesn't like sandals at the park because she gets wood chips/sand inside and it drives her crazy.

What a ham she was for this picture!

Swim lessons and ice cream

We started the morning out with swimming lessons and then after nap, took our first trip of the season to DQ!! Regan loved swimming lessons and can't wait to go back (although she looks a little scared in this picture she wasn't scared at all, she was having too much fun to look at the camera). Her least favorite part was that it was over in only 30 minutes and we had to get out of the water so the next group of kids could get in. She's learning how to kick her feet while we swim, back float and water safety all while having fun! After nap, we went to DQ and gave Sidney her first taste of ice cream. She was in her glory and her legs were kicking away with each little taste. It was so fun to watch but we all felt bad for her when her few bites were gone. Since we weren't sure how much ice cream a 7 month old should eat, we kept her tasting pretty brief.

Spring has sprung!

Isn't this weather gorgeous? With warmer weather comes outfits that expose those chubby arms, and (as uncle Shane likes to call them) "chicken legs"-- as in the drum stick. We've been spending every waking moment outside exploring the grass, park and everything in between. Both girls are definately 'outdoors girls' and love the warm sun on their faces. It's so much fun to be outside, not to mention get acquainted with all the neighbors again after the l-o-n-g winter.

Sisterly love

There is nothing more precious than watching Regan and Sidney interact. Sidney absolutely adores playing with Regan and just lunges towards her for some play time. They both light up when the other is around and have so much fun making silly faces and babbling to each other. I sure hope they love each other this much when they're "sharing" their toys with one another!

HAPPY EASTER!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! The bunny dropped off baskets for the girls overnight and Regan was more than happy to open the presents while everyone was still in jammies. After church we went on an Easter egg hunt and opened presents from Godparents, Shane/Amy and Gma/pa Friederich. Then after dinner tonight, the girls opened their presents from Gma/pa Wallner. It felt like Christmas today!! We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

It's a miracle!

Sidney is finally starting to sleep somewhere other than mom's arms. Today she napped for over a 1/2 hour in the pack n play! YEA!!! Unfortunately she was pretty scared when she woke up; poor girl.

7 months old!

Sidney is 7 months old today. Boy how time flies! We are all doing well. On the mend from a circling cold (it's been around once, missed Ryan the first time and is now on it's second trip and Ryan caught this one too). Both girls are finishing up their course of antibiotics from ear infections and so far no one has caught the pink eye again. Whew! We've been enjoying the beautiful weather and catching up with our friends at the park. They all comment how "content" Sidney seems to be just taking in all the excitement from the other kids. She certainly is perfectly happy strapped to me in the front carrier bundled up in the Peek A Roo; adorable too! All of us are excited for Easter, and it will officially be Spring when the temps reach 60 this weekend!

Pickle!

I shared my pickle spear with Sidney today at lunch! Judging from her expression, she's tasted better things :) We're all sure she will eventually love pickles as much as the rest of us.

FRIEDERICH

If you can believe it, this was actually Ryan's shirt when he was little! Sheri saved it all these years and it fits Regan perfectly! Now why was Ryan wearing a sparkly, pink shirt.....well, that I can't answer :)

Easter chick!

I was having a really bad day at work and then, suddenly, a message appeared with this adorable picture attached! Sure helps to see this smiling face during a rough day. Looks like Sidney is having fun preparing for Easter at daycare.

School pictures

We had school pictures today! It was our first experience with school pictures and both girls did well. Not that we needed another set of professional pictures....Ryan complains that we should have stock in JC Penney portrait studio because we are there at least every 3 months (it's been every month since February this year)! They're so much fun to look at though, I'm a sucker for buying some. So here are the proofs from school. Nothing spectacular but cute nonetheless.

Splashing away!

Sidney learned how to splash tonight! Bath time is getting to be much more fun. Although now Regan thinks she's allowed to splash in the tub too, and her splashes are like a tsunami!

Our Picaso

This is a scanned in picture of Regan's art project from this morning. She absolutely loves to draw and color and said she wanted to draw a "smiley face". I got a new piece of paper out for her because I had high hopes :) For a 3 year old, this is an amazing picture! She even put eyes and a mouth on him all on her own. I gave little promting during this picture (pretty much just told her to start out with a circle for the head). She insisted he have shoes on (or skies as they appear)!!

HAPPY EASTER!

We took the girls to visit the Easter bunny this afternoon at the mall (I'm a sucker for spending money on over-priced mall pictures with lame photographers). Both girls were incredibly scared, Sidney more so than Regan which surprised both of us. Amazingly we got one decent photo, although neither of them are smiling; at least they aren't crying!

Easter Egg Hunt!

Even with an ear infection, Regan felt up to going to the city's Easter egg hunt this morning. Before the egg hunt, we played games inside to stay warm. The hunt itself was held at a local park with two play areas, and as you can tell, we went towards the play area with fewer competition! Regan had a blast!

Bath Tub Paints!

As if having tablets coloring the bath water and crayons for the tub weren't enough, we had to find paints at the store too! Ryan's such a sucker and bought them right away for Regan. She's been having 30+ minute baths these days; the water is freezing by the time she's done!

Videos

Sidney learned how to fake cough tonight! I guess she's been really paying attention to me lately with my nasty cold. The next video is of Sidney sucking on a teething ring making an adorable squeaking noise.