Curlz!

Absolutely precious

Sisterly love

See, they really do love each other!

Playdate!

We had a playdate today with the Schwartz clan and we were so happy they were able to stay all day long! The kids had a great time, even though Regan wasn't exactly playing games fairly with Thomas (I don't really think he minded that he didn't win at Pretty Pretty Princess anyway!). She talked about them all night long and I'm sure she'll be dreaming about all their fun tonight :)

Tis the season!

Time to pick out the Christmas tree!....

and dress in crazy layers of clothes....picking out mismatched hats, gloves, scarves and jackets (as any independent 3 year old would do).

Watch a parade from the top of daddy's shoulders...

...or snuggle up close on mom's back...

...for the arrival of Mr. Santa Claus himself!

It's official, the holiday season is upon us!

Parade of Lights

Every year on the Friday after Thanksgiving, we bundle up and head downtown New Ulm to watch the parade of lights. This year was no different, except Regan really got into the whole thing. She was thrilled when Santa went by and stood in amazement starring down the street after he passed (even though he was the last float and everyone else had packed up to leave!). She was so excited that he had yelled "Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas" to her! I can't wait for her to see the Holidazzle parade tonight. Having kids is so much fun!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed lots of turkey! Sidney was a little under the weather, but we were still able to enjoy our day. We're thankful her fever and cold didn't last long!

PS: Ryan likes to ruin pictures; payback, I'm posting it since everyone else looks good :)

Sidney

Grandma Sheri might need to baby-proof this cabinet. Although from her mouth "oh, that's ok!" Our girls can do no wrong in her mind :) Sidney had a wonderful time shaking all the spices and cookie decorations, good thing the covers stayed on tight!

I attempted to put a bow in Sidney's hair this weekend, but she tore it out only minutes after I took the picture. Too bad because it's so cute!

I'm starting to like this crazy guy

Finally, after spending time with Uncle Shane over the last couple of months, Sidney is warming up to him! This weekend, she even asked him to pick her up. It was adorable the way she just kept looking at him; we think she was thinking "he sounds a lot like my daddy!".

Macy's display

Regan has an excellent memory, but I didn't realize it was this good. Keep in mind, she's only 3.5 years old.

It started last Friday, while putting Regan to bed she started asking me if we could go see the "hot air balloons". I asked her to tell me more of what she was asking, and she proceeded to talk about the big tall building, where we go up the elevator and then see the hot air balloons and the men moving back and forth. It dawned on me, that she was thinking of the Macy's display (yes, there are some hot air balloons and elfs moving during the display!). After doing a brief online check, we realized it opened the very next day!! What a smart girl to think "it's time to go see the display!". So this morning we headed downtown, and both girls were in awe.....

Walking into Santa's Workshop at "A day in the life of an elf"

A little scared at first, both girls absolutely loved the display, so much that we had to go through twice!

This one's for you Uncle Shane....."CHEESE!"

They weren't really grumpy, probably just upset that I made them stop for a pose!

Then at the very end, Regan got to write her very own letter to Santa! She wasn't brave enough to sit on his lap but she knew exactly what she wanted on that letter "THOMAS" as in Thomas the train. So she asked me to spell it out and then she signed her name!

And yes, I had tears running down my face as she put her little postcard into that red mailbox.

Unsupervised in the toy room

Our toy room has an attached bathroom; given that Ryan was gone for the night, I opted to get ready for bed using that bathroom while the girls played. Guess I should have opted for a DVD instead. Regan had emptied all the toy bins (see the empty white shelving in the background?) and made herself a little train with the bins. What a MESS!!! However, she was so proud of her train and was in such a make believe fairytale place that I couldn't even think about scolding her.

Flashback!

Growing up, I remember my mom making my brother a lot of chocolate chip pancakes (I never thought the two should mix and ate my chocolate chips separate from my pancakes). My girls however, think this is a delightful dinner! Regan ate 3 of them tonight and Sidney had 2 :) Uncle Ben, want some next time?!

Hand me downs...

Not the toy, the clothes :) Regan wore this outfit at 9 months.....it finally fits Sidney and she's 14 months old! That just shows how different our two little girls are; from size to personality, they are two totally different girls.

Toy Room!

Thanks to Grandma Jan, our toy room got a fresh coat of paint as well as something extra special: chalk board paint on the closet doors! I was especially eager to find paint that didn't have to be the standard chalk board black. It helps to blend in a little better. We love our new space, although the grandparents are stuck on an air mattress now when they come to visit :(

Regan is really starting to write her name; here she traced the letters.

Sidney prefers to run around getting chalk on everything and showing me chalk. It's still fun, despite the chalk dust mess!

Sidney's Silly Face

Whenever I take out the camera now, Sidney looks at me, says "cheese!" and gives me this silly face!

She's got a bit of a fat lip, had an apparent fall into the door. Regan promises she didn't push her, but I was around the corner and can't vouch for that.

Trip to Germany

Ryan got an early Christmas present funded by his parents and recommended by his (wonderful) wife and kids.....a trip to Germany! While he really enjoyed his time visiting with Paul, Renata and Niklas, he missed us dearly and was eager to come home :) We were happy to have him back too! Next time we want to go with :)

Pretty Pretty Princess

Aunt Vicky and Uncle Lon bought Regan the Pretty Pretty Princess board game for Halloween, along with Lipsmackers lip gloss and she's in her glory! After finishing the game last night, she refused to de-crown herself and then added layers and layers of gloss to go along with her Princess style :) We're going to have our hands full when she's a teenager!

Photo shoot!

I attempted to get a good picture of Grandma Jan with both girls, this proved not an easy feat! (this is just a sample!)

Finally!

Park!

We spent the afternoon at the park today; it was well needed for all of us after spending the last 2 days painting! Thanks to Grandma Jan, it's finished!! (keep in mind Ryan't in Germany so he's just waiting for the surprise when he gets home!).

Sidney's face after she goes down the tunnel slide....all by herself! She LOVES it!

"Um, can someone please help me out here?"

Veteran's day!

Here's wishing all of our Veteran's a very Happy Veteran's Day from Regan's preschool class! THANK YOU :)

14 months old!

I simply cannot believe that Sidney is 14 months old! It's amazing at how fast time flies. She's a girl on a mission these days, getting into everything and anything. Every room we walk into, she's thrown something onto the floor and dashed on to the next! Sometimes it's exhausting but we love her :) I haven't a clue how much she weighs, probably somewhere around 23 lbs. She is a very sweet child, with a lot of compassion for her sister's tears (whether they be from a fall or that there are no more goldfish in the house!). Yet at the same time, she knows what she wants and Regan is learning that Sidney will fight back if she takes a toy from her!

LEAVES!

The girls had fun playing in the leaves on Monday with grandma/pa Friederich. My favorite is the first picture where Regan is in mid air jumping into the pile!

Cheese!

Our precious Sidney :)