Mommy time

I don't take much time out for myself, what mom does!? So this morning, I woke early, grabbed a friend from down the street and we headed over to a local 5K. 

And to think this is how I wanted to spend some "mommy time"!? HA! It was a beautiful run and for a great cause, the Minnesota Stroke Association. Considering how many patients I see with strokes on a daily basis, this one made sense to me. It was my FIRST real 5K; I've ran 3.1 miles before, just never signed up and paid to run in one! 

We opted for a l---o---n---g brunch afterwards to soak in some quiet time and savor each cup of coffee. Thanks for a great morning Jenny!  

Overbooked

Today was one of those days that we as parents wonder, "why did we do this to ourselves?!". 

The morning started out with Regan's participation in her very first parade. She's been working hard with her dance studio on a few numbers and today was the big day. The rest of us staked out our spots, shockingly found a decent parking spot, and managed to get Regan to the start.

And yes, you are seeing double below....

 She marched/danced for the mile long parade and was pretty exhausted afterwards. Too bad she had all of 4 minutes to scarf down lunch in the truck and head off to a cheerleading clinic. And for the record, these are all activities that SHE wants to do! You see, once she learned how to read, the things that we used to filter could be filtered no more. She sees the signs, she reads the flyers and then (the biggest influence), she hears her friends. And so, we sign up and she doesn't complain, she's just slightly tired for the rest of the day. 

 Sidney left the parade and went directly to a birthday party, for the famous BOYFRIEND that she's been talking all about the past several months. Oh she just thinks he's great. So missing his party was not an option for her. And so, we went. 

On the way there, I had mentioned his full name (first and last strung together) and Sidney says...."I think it sounds like Sidney ____" adding his last name to her first name. 

Seriously girl!? 

She's already married the sweet fella. 

They share a birthday and have been friends for 4 years. I think they make a pretty cute couple. 

And just when we thought everyone was too tired to move, we went for a swim. Because, well, it was 80 something and it's September. In Minnesota. 

We're likely to see one last day of swimming before we close it up for the year. 

First grade update

When one of the girls has a birthday, the blog tends to get a little heavy on that child. So to even things out, and to ensure the grandma's that this sweetie is still around, here's a picture to prove it. 

She's thriving in first grade, loving her new class and asking me each day to pick her up later so she can spend more time with her friends. 

She's reading chapter books and her writing her name in neat print. I'm over-the-top-excited that her new best classmate happens to be a super smart, very good reader and writer as well as a sweet girl.
Regan still enjoys dance classes and has been in an extra dance class the last few weeks as her studio prepares for the upcoming parade. She's also in gymnastics although is much less interested in this sport and is likely to finish out the session and hang up her leotard. We've discovered that swimming is a bigger interest, so we'll change directions. 

As for play time, she and Sidney adore their American Girl Dolls and it's really all we do around here besides play games. Toys are just not something Regan was ever interested in. 

Four Year Stats

Sidney took a trip to the doctor today to show off being 4. We did all the usual things: height, weight, blood pressure and overall health check. She weighs in at a whopping 33.8 lbs (40%) and is 40.5 in (67%). Growing right on track. 

And since she didn't do the usual 3 year check (by her own refusal) of vision/hearing screening, we did those today too. She willingly participated but when it came to the vision test, she looked at the nurse, then at me and said "can I move closer?.....I can't see it". 

My heart sank. 

She's due for a preschool screen with the school district and pending what they find, we'll head over to Regan's eye doctor and add Sidney to the next visit. 

We love you our sweet Sidney! 

Dinner table discussions

Each night at the dinner table, we talk about our day (because like Ryan mimicking Kramer, "do you know what you do at the dinner table?, you talk about your day!"). This week, Ryan's been working late so it is just me and the girls. I was asking Regan about school, and she was going on and on about this person, and that person, and this activity and that book. Sid wasn't very interested in Regan's day, and was trying desperately to interrupt "mom, mom, I want to tell you about my day"

Regan continued talking.

Sidney: "mooooommm!"

Regan keeps going

Sidney: "it's my turn!"
Apparently she had something pretty exciting to tell us, so I stopped Regan to allow Sid to talk. 

Sidney: "Madison peed in her pants today". 

And that, my friends, is what we do at the dinner table. 

Happy Birthday Sidney!

I got to hang out with Sidney today, just me and my littlest girl. We started the day with her favorite: a caramel cooler and a poppyseed muffin from Caribou. Atta girl :) 

And ended the day, joined by Ryan, Regan and Aunt Amy with dinner at Lucky's where she was greeted with an A-W-E-S-O-M-E dessert! 

As for the activities throughout the day?, not worth mentioning. 

And by the time we finally got back home tonight, she was greeted with this outrageous stack of birthday presents to open. She's such a sweet girl and said all day "I'm going to let Regan help me open all of my presents tonight", and then she did. Not one argument when Regan dug right in and opened half of them.

This will definitely be a birthday we will ALL remember.....

forever. 

:) 

Birthday eve...4 years old

Tonight marks Sidney's 4th Birthday eve. Four years ago, we went to bed as a family of 3. And now, despite our FOUR years of rather sleepless nights, we still love her to pieces. 

Two of us have learned to sleep through her mellow night time 'requests', but the lovely father of the family still gets up each night and gives in to her "turn my stuff on" request. That "stuff" she is referring to includes a ceiling fan, box fan, noise maker, dream lite, etc. We have our reasons for not leaving it all on throughout the night, that's for another post. 

Back to birthday eve: 

tonight as I snuggled with our 3 year old one more night before she turns 4, we laughed and giggled as she told me stories. This girl is something else; she's imaginative, fun and downright funny. Much different than the "pissed off" baby pictured below. 

Oh she was one tough baby. Not much made her happy. Good thing she was so preciously adorable (and even better that this mama happens to do well with cranky babies). 

 Sweet loving Sidney, look at how little you were! To go back 4 years, it brings happy tears to my eyes. 

We are so very blessed to have you in our lives. 

As per tradition, I have taken tomorrow off from work and it'll be a day for me/Sidney to do whatever her little heart desires. And I cannot wait! 

4th year Slideshow

HERE is the link to Sidney's 4th Birthday video slideshow. I call it my "labor of love" every year because I search and search for all the best pictures, peruse iTunes for just the right songs and then inevitably something goes wrong and it takes me twice as long as I had anticipated. But in the end, it's always worth it as I see the girls' eyes light up and tears come to my (and my moms) eyes as we watch the previous year in pictures. 

FOUR!!

Well, she's not quite four yet, but today was Sidney's birthday party. She picked out the theme herself, and as you can tell, she was pretty excited about Strawberry Shortcake!

And who knew there was a helium shortage?! Only 6 balloons were allowed. huh. Made for some great conversation later and quick research on Maddi's "space phone" as Zevlen calls it.

 We didn't actually do any swimming, it was a wee bit windy and the girls didn't even ask to go in. I think they were both too excited. 

My best friend Kari came through with THE MOST ADORABLE Strawberry Shortcake cake! And might we all add that it was delicious!! Sidney was giddy for this cake. She couldn't take her eyes off it and climbed right up on the table to get a closer look.

 After some discussion about Sidney's American Girl doll's dreadful hair, Vicky took matters into her own hands and in about 10 minutes, whipped up this creation. WOW! No need for a trip to the AG Salon now, we have Vicky!

 Let's just say she got a few presents.

 Grandma Jan made her a new quilt....and knows that because it doesn't match the current room color, it means she'll be doing some painting too :) 

 Both girls made a haul on American Girl stuff thanks to Grandma Sheri. Yes, even Regan got presents today. 

I made another slideshow DVD. 

my mom cried. 

To her credit, when I watched it the first time, so did I! And then I complimented myself that if I could make it and still cry, I have done well :)

 We sang "Happy Birthday" to one very excited 4 year old and one very proud big sister (with candles decorating a second cake from the talented Miss Kari!).

 And what's a birthday celebration without a family picture. 

 Happy Birthday Party Day sweet Sidney! 

Now give me just one more day to soak you in as a 3 year old, and I promise not to cry when I wake up and you turn FOUR!

Thanks to everyone for coming to help celebrate Sidney's 4th Birthday!

We love you!

School work: "Gold Star!"

Here's a peek at what Regan worked on at school the first week. It's clear they are working on a variety of things, from handwriting, to numbers to coloring to following instructions. I was a bit worried (yes, worried), when she didn't bring home any homework until Friday. I think we're just easing into the routine. 

She certainly earns a "Gold Star" as we call in in this house for her work. Here you go Regan, catch your star...."chhhhiiiinnngg". 

"beer"

I get to hang with Sidney on Fridays. We usually try to incorporate some sort of learning into our busy day. This afternoon, as she worked on a workbook (sidenote: she both started and finished the entire book today), I was explaining "different" and "same". 

I asked her to tell me each of the items in the row and on this particular row she said

"beer" in her oh so cute almost 4 year old voice that sounds a bit more like "be-or"

I think the workbook author was shooting for "soda pop", but I accepted her answer of "beer"

and credit Ryan to her knowledge :) 

Back to school

It's that time of year again, today we headed back to school! Regan started the first grade and Sidney started Pre-K. They were both a little nervous the nights leading up to today. Thankfully they both slept amazingly well, woke up happy and we even had time to play a game of Old Maid (their favorite card game) before heading out for pictures. Unfortunately, Sid was being a stinker and wouldn't partake in any picture taking this morning. I didn't argue, as I tried to keep her in a good mood. 

Regan was up first for drop off. First grade here we come!

 Mom and Regan

 Dad and Regan

 First grade friends

 Getting acquainted with her desk. When I picked her up at the bell this afternoon and asked about her day, the first thing she wanted to tell me about was how she organized her desk. She went on and on about where she put the crayons, erasers and scissors in the box, the folders, and notebooks and other supplies in her desk. Someone follows in her mama's organizational style :)  

Not only would Sidney  not let me take her picture at home, but she wouldn't let me take pictures at school either :( Oh, and she picked out her own shoes today....pink with sparkles of course. 

She's a girl that knows what she wants! 

Little did she realize that I brought along my phone and snapped a few as she entered her class, elated to see 10 of her friends were joining her in the new PreK classroom! 

I picked up the girls early from school, as tradition, and both of them complained that I came too early! I guess that's a great sign on how their day went. Here's to a great year! 

Labor Day Weekend 2012

The end of summer has come, and with it, is our annual outing with my dad's side of the family to the cabin. This year, we ventured to a resort we hadn't been to and it proved to be a good time. Then again, anything on a lake, with a campfire, surrounded by good people is a good time for us. We're pretty easy to please when it comes to cabin life. 

Here's our weekend, mostly in pictures. 

The fam standing on the very very long dock which proved to be a good place to catch perch and sunfish. 

Ryan and Grandma Jan went out golfing so Papa took the opportunity to take the girls out for their first spin of the weekend. They were in their glory! 

Oh boy this girl is going to break hearts some day. With her beautiful sun blond hair and her piercing eyes. I love her to pieces!

Regan and I, this year with Sidney, took a turn on the tube. My cousin has a nice ski boat and her husband is sweet enough to pull us back and forth. Unfortunately, we didn't get any action shots. The girls giggled like crazy as Dave made figure 8's and we bounced high off our seats. 

I had high hopes of getting one-big-family picture, considering Ben/Jon were in town, but looking at all 400 of my pictures from the weekend, apparently we missed our opportunity. 

But we got one with the grandparents! 

There was a full of cobwebs/spiders lovely swing set/play ground built on sand and the girls had a great time getting dirty. 

The rest of the crew took the girls out for some fishing from the boat, an experience they are sure to remember for a very long time. Ryan and I got to hang back on dry land and R-E-L-A-X! 

Sidney caught the biggest fish on their adventure, and she's a pretty good fisher-woman when she tells the story: "Mom, it was dissssss big!". 

I love sunsets. I love them even more over the lake. 

The girls adore the moon, finding it no matter how tiny it is. We had no trouble locating it and it's beauty reflecting on the lake. I could have sat for hours watching it....oh wait, we did, we were on vacation! 

I got a call one night from my mom in the fish house as I was busy with the girls: "Liz, you have to come down here, and bring your camera". As Papa and Dave were busy cleaning fish, Ryan just had to check it out. But he's not real into fishing these days.....and had a trouble stomaching the smell :) 

Regan waiting for her catch of the day: 

Which didn't take long and her shriek was always priceless "I GOT ONE!" as we cheered her to reel and reel and reel. 

She caught a lot of seaweed throughout the weekend, so the moments when she caught actual fish were a pretty big deal. 

The girls have 2 cousins who are pretty close in age and they have a lot of fun burning off energy. Let's just say the decibel level at the resort went down about 100 after we all left :) 

It's pretty incredible that they see each other once a year yet always pick up where they left off the year before. This year we were joined by Hannah (girlfriend to my cousin's son) and Regan/Sidney just adored her! Seventeen and beautiful, thankfully she did great letting the girls hang on her all weekend. 

THANK YOU EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY MOM AND DAD, FOR YET ANOTHER MEMORABLE LABOR DAY WEEKEND!