YEA!

The Vikes pulled off another win, but not without scaring us with a potential loss today. Thankfully both girls had just woken up from their nap or we would've woke them with our screaming/cheering! Both were well prepared for the day's game decked out in their cute outfits!

Just our girls hanging out on the front step! Go Vikes!

"Enough pictures mom!" We're outta here!

Fashion Show!

It's a rainy Friday morning, so Regan and I decided to hold a fashion show! Aunt Vicky had bought her this 5 ft dressing room a very long time ago. Well, a 5 ft toy sounds overwhelming so this is the first time it came out of the box! I put it together, got excited for our show, and then my little diva wouldn't come out onto the runway! Little stinker; she likes being inside tents. We had fun anyway.

Look who's walking!!

Although crawling is still her favored mode of transportation, Sidney is definately perfecting her walking skills! She has gone up to 30 steps without falling. Unfortunately, she's still pretty wobbly and falls easily; I wish I could put a helmet on her and let her go! The video was from tonight at the park on a slight hill; I apologize for the unsteadiness of the camera, she was going right towards Ryan so he had to catch her while taping.

Coloring

Sidney got hold of Regan's markers and was pretending to color on a spare sheet of paper. We decided to pull off the cover and let her go crazy! She created a masterpiece :)

BUSTED!

Tonight we got home from the park and were busy settling in for the night. Sidney was being awfully quiet in the living room so I went to check on her. I got incredibly scared as I noticed blueish-greenish coloring all around her mouth. As I called for Ryan and kept asking Sidney to give me what was in her mouth, she picked up this wrapper that Regan had left on the floor after dinner....mini M&M's!! No wonder she wouldn't take out what was in her mouth! We asked Regan about the wrapper and she said there were some left because she couldn't get them all out (how many nobody quite knows!); then Regan got really sad. I think she was upset that Sidney had finished her treat! Needless to say, Sidney couldn't sit still tonight, she had a pretty good sugar high going :)

Hermann fun

I, along with both grandmas took the girls to Hermann Monument (otherwise known as "Hermann the German" to all those from New Ulm) while Ryan golfed (and drank!) the morning/afternoon away. Regan has been asking to see this thing up close for a very long time, and given that it was the 2000th (yes, two thousand year) celebration/anniversary, it was the perfect time for a trip up to the top! Here's some photos of us along the way.

Regan thinks we should all have spiral staircases in our houses now.

This is what we had to climb through to get to the very top. Getting up was easy, no one thought ahead about how we were going to get both girls back down again!

Grandma Jan's fear of heights got the best of her and she waited for us at the bottom. I don't know how she made it to the top of the Eiffel Tower a few years back! Apparently I put more pressure on her then :)

Sidney loved the views from the top....well, maybe love is a strong word. She had a "death grip" on me for a long time.

Views from the top! So much fun!!

Thank goodness Papa made us a fire while we waited TWO hours for those celebration fireworks to start! And wouldn't you know it, we had given up and were pulling away in our car just as they started. Unfortunately, Regan had already lost interest in the idea of fireworks and was less than thrilled to see them.

A weekend in New Ulm

We spent the weekend in New Ulm and had a great time. Sidney had her 1 year pics taken on Friday and did so well, especially considering her stranger anxiety. I can't wait to get the proofs. Saturday I took the girls, along with both grandmas up to the top of Hermann Monument (that will be another post). We spent some time playing at the park and going for dinner at Stueber's beautiful house before the fireworks display at night. It was a busy weekend but both girls did great and always love the attention from all the grandparents!

Fun at Washington Park!

Sidney took a break in the tunnel

Regan got a lesson in cooking from Jane while she worked on dinner and the rest of us admired their new gorgeous home.

Go Vikes! Regan's ready for the big game!

Thanks Uncles Ben and Jon!

Uncles Ben and Jon sent the girls this cool "tent" and they love it! I actually couldn't get them to come out tonight, they played and had snack all without terrorizing each other! It was wonderful :) Sidney was very hesitant at first, but once Regan went inside, she was ready to follow. Thanks guys!

Official stats

I couldn't post without a picture, so here's a pic of Sidney opening one of her presents from the weekend; she pushed the paper into an open area of the present and was peeking inside! It was so cute to see her excitement beyond the wrapping paper!

We had her 1 year appointment today, boy is she a drama queen! The doctor hadn't even touched her and she was crying! She cried throughout the entire exam, and we all know it doesn't hurt when a doctor listens to your lungs or heart! But Sidney just kept on crying. Poor thing! You can imagine what it was like when it was time for shots! The bad news of the appointment is that the doctor has figured out Sidney is having night terrors. These are much worse than a nightmare and completely explains her inconsolable crying at night. It's sad news because there isn't much we can do to help her, she's essentially asleep when she's screaming/crying and she can't wake up, in fact, we're told not to wake her during a terror. The docs recommendation is to wake her before the anticipated episode, which has been at 10:30pm every night. Who wants to wake a sleeping baby? not us. But who wants to watch helplessly as she screams/cries/thrashes about? not us. Lesser of two evils I guess. So if anyone has any personal experiences or recommendations, we're open to anything at this point. We just pray they don't last long and they don't recur very frequently.

As for her stats, she now weighs in at 19 lbs 10 oz (25th percentile) and is 28 inches long (17th percentile). Her melon puts her in the 63rd percentile....she's got lots of brains up there!

Sidney's TV debut!

http://www.showcaseminnesota.com/video/player-birthdays.aspx?aid=106238&sid=824106&bw=hi&cat=318

Click the link above, wait through the commercial and you'll see Sidney's TV Debut from last week :)

PARTY!

We had Sidney's first birthday party today! She had a wonderful time :) It's overwhelming when we have nearly 20 people in our tiny little house but eventually she warmed up to everyone. She loved her dinner but amazingly, didn't want much to do with her very own cake!? I think she would've rather had a Mr. Freeze for dessert; silly girl :)

Thanks to everyone who came to help her celebrate!

Sidney not really "diving" into her cake like everyone was waiting for.

If you look closely, she's holding up her finger to show us she's 1 year old!

Only Uncle Shane could find these adorable shoes!

Family photo; really we were all having a good time!

Trying to take a picture was pure chaos though.

This is what trouble looks like!

SIDNEY MARIE!!

I was putting Regan to bed for nap this afternoon and realized Sidney was being a little too quiet. Come to find out she's enjoying watching the toilet paper unravel onto the floor. What a stinker!

Fun day!

Yesterday afternoon was all about the girls; specifically Sidney! We ran through the sprinkler on her sunny, warm birthday afternoon, opened presents and then headed to Chuck E Cheese for her favorite meal....PIZZA! She downed an entire adult sized slice before heading over to the rides/games. I followed both girls with hand sanitizer.....I'm such a freak. She seemed to have a wonderful first birthday and is looking forward to her party this weekend! She loved spending so much time with us yesterday that she asked to see me three times overnight for a bottle; we've officially gone backwards :( Maybe the switch to whole milk during the day will help.

Hard at work

During "free play" at school, Regan can always be found at the table drawing and coloring pictures. She brings home at least one (if not 5) picture/s everyday :)

School birthday party!

Sidney brought cookies for her teachers and friends yesterday to celebrate her birthday :) As you can see, they obviously let her have a good time with her treat!

One year ago....

One year ago today at 7:30am, I debated going into work. One year ago today at 9am, I was having some major back pains throughout a morning meeting. One year ago today at 10:50am, my water broke....in my office! And what does a girl do when her water breaks in her office while wearing a dress? She sits down on her garbage can. Ryan still laughs saying he would've broke the garbage :)

As for what happened after that, I quickly called my coworker to get my some towels, Ryan to come join me at the hospital and my mom to bring Regan home from the park to help Ryan grab our hospital bags! Thankfully I work in the hospital that I delivered Sidney and 4 hours after my water broke, she was born!

Here's a look back at day one

and now!

Sidney was born at 7lbs 14 oz and 19.5 in long.
She is now 19 lbs 2 oz and 28.5 in long (official stats next week after her appointment).
She is our "little peanut" and drowns in her 12 mo clothes. But she's healthy and happy!

Happy 1st Birthday My Dear Sidney!

The day has arrived, it's Sidney's first birthday! It's a bittersweet day. I'm so happy to have made it through the first year, but I'm sad that the first year is over. I don't go to work on my kids' birthdays, in fact, I think it should be a law. This morning we had mommy/Sidney time, which is incredibly rare when there's more than one child in the house. We played, went for a walk and she ate her favorite breakfast-French Toast! I think she's sort of wondering where Regan's at (don't worry, she's safe at school this morning) but loving all the attention, snuggles, kisses and one on one time. She talked non-stop during our walk and for once, I could listen to her intently. She only says about 10 real words, but that doesn't matter, I love listening to her!

As for what life is like with a one year old, well, she cruises all over the furniture; eats anything that isn't baby food; drinks from a sippy cup; still wakes at night to drink a bottle (I'm open to any tips on this one that don't include "let her cry it out"); loves to play with people and sometimes toys; naps like a champ; still dislikes car rides; loves to swing at the park; and most importantly, is our snuggle bug and loves to give hugs and kisses!

Happy 1st Birthday!

well, almost. Since Uncle Ben and Uncle Jon were in town for the weekend, we decided to celebrate Sidney's first birthday at the lake. Ben seems to like it when kids dive into their cake so we let Sidney go crazy on her cupcake and she made a MESS! Despite his efforts, she didn't mash it in her hair---thank goodness!

Lake Darling, Alexandria

We spent part of this gorgeous Labor Day weekend at Lake Darling in Alexandria with some family. It was a great time and the girls really enjoyed themselves! Regan went fishing off the dock and caught her very first fish! She was so scared to see the fish dangling on the end of her line that she handed the pole over to me immediately! And she was speechless, which if you know Regan, know that rarely happens! Sidney went on her first boat ride, she wasn't real sure about it, but the second time out she about fell asleep in my arms. The ducks and paddleboats were other favorites for Regan; mom and dad enjoyed being on the jet skis on the lake!

Regan's first fish! Both girls were in awe!
Sidney and Grandma Jan on her first boat ride

Family photo on the dock

Regan feeding the ducks

Sitting around the fire watching the fireworks over the lake; it doesn't get much better than this!

Uncle Ben and Grandma Jan sure got their work out this weekend with multiple trips on the paddle boat; Regan preferred to hang out in the back and "blask in the sun"!

37 years of love...

My parents celebrated their anniversary today, well, thanks to me they actually remembered it was today :) My mom sent me this photo, it's her riding my grandpa's Cushman moped....keep in mind this thing is an antique!! And this is how they celebrated! (my brother and I keep saying it's a crazy couple with too much time on their hands thanks to early retirement!).

I wonder if this is what Ryan and I will be doing after 37 years?