Ice skating

It was definately an adventure, but we took Regan ice skating for the very first time today (thanks to Hope and Cheryl for the skates at Christmas!). Here's how it went....

Daddy and Regan walking towards the ice, nervous and excited!

Regan screaming and crying in fear "I want mommy!" (only because I was not on the ice where she was feeling all out of sorts!)....Oh, the days of "forced fun".

Poor Sidney is always the spectator these days; from gymnastics to dance and now ice skating, she's just too little to participate.

Look at our little skater!

By the end she was a pro! (as long as daddy wasn't too far behind!).

And yes, she's excited to go back so there will be more ice skating in her future :)

Two peas in a pod

I don't think Sidney knew entirely what she was doing, but Regan had food and that was enough to convince her to sit down and watch a movie for a few minutes before we left the house the other night. What was even cuter is that they were dressed alike that day :)

Go Vikes!!

Happy Birthday to me!

I got to celebrate my birthday at the waterpark today....sure felt like a kid again! We had a wonderful time going down slides, hanging out in the lazy river and watching the girls swim. It turned sour when my camera was stolen. Thankfully grandma Sheri is borrowing an old camera of mine (she broke hers on Monday!) so we were still able to get some good shots.

Lesson learned, never leave a camera unattended, even covered up in a swim bag. Guess I'm getting myself a birthday present this year :(

Sidney made this face every time the gigantic water bucket would pour down water into the kiddie area! It's priceless!!

She's like a fish in the water, kicking her legs, jumping off the edge and wanting to swim all day long.

What trip to Duluth is complete without a stop in Canal Park for some photos by the lake! It was a little windy, can you tell?!

Hello from Duluth!

Despite the freezing rain, we ventured, along with Grandma/pa Friederich to Duluth! Our hotel has a water park and although it took the girls a bit to warm up, they're having a blast now!

Sidney getting some help down the kiddie slide from me!

Grandma Sheri introducing Regan to the kiddie slide; and that's daddy next to them with his legs in the air trying to convince Regan it really is fun!! Thanks dad, it made for a great photo :)

Winter fun

While dad enjoys the sporting events during the winter months (hockey today, football tomorrow), the girls and I took advantage of today's gorgeous weather and headed outside in the snow! Regan had much more fun than Sidney; poor girl got another snow wash and was ready to come inside before that! Regan doesn't mind at all when the sled tips, she thinks it's hilarious no matter what! She thought it was the most fun, when I took a digger into the 3 foot snow drift and hadn't put on my snow pants because I didn't think I'd need them! Lesson of the day: always wear snow pants when taking the kids out sledding.

Sidney's surgery

Sidney's surgery today was a success :) It was a very early morning for all of us: up by 5am, Regan to school by 6am and the rest of us to Children's by 6:30am. The staff was amazing and Sidney did well; getting the most upset while going under anesthesia and waking up again. By 11am, she was pretty close to her usual self and it was so wonderful to see! We hope having these tubes will prevent any further infection in her poor ears.

Cupcakes!

Grandma Sheri left us some yummy peanut butter frosting cupcakes and, as you can see, Sidney likes the frosting the best! The peanut butter was literally sliding down her chin and we had to hurry to take the picture before it landed on her shirt :) First thing Ryan said when she was finished was "I'm not cleaning her up! I said it first!" I'm so lucky :)

16 months old!

Sidney is now 16 months old! She's an absolute joy to our family and we love her to pieces. She's starting to talk a little more, but that's hard to do in this family, especially when big sister, Regan, takes over a lot and talks for her. Unfortunately, she doesn't sleep through the night these days, but it's likely due to her ears. She's had fluid in her little ears for approximately 8 weeks and 7 infections in 5 months. We made the decision to have tubes placed in her ears and so she will have that done on Thursday. We are all hoping she will feel much better after it's over. Other than that, she is a happy little girl, quick to defend herself when feeling threatened (someone stealing a toy, etc). She enjoys dancing, singing along (she does the signs, we do the singing), following her big sister, and of course, EATING!

Snuggles

It's not very often that these two cuties sit still, and at the same time. So when they decided to snuggle up and watch a movie, I couldn't resist but get a picture. Plus we were watching the movie, Annie, one of my favorite childhood movies!! What could be better?!

Bubble blower

The girls got a bubble blower for Christmas and they love to take their baths with it!!! Granted, it quickly goes through shampoo/bubble solution and batteries, but it's so much fun that no one cares!

Cousin Paxton

We got to meet baby Paxton on Saturday and he sure is a hit for the girls! They argued all night over who got to hold him. Regan definately held him the longest of anyone! She asked if we could have a baby like him, but a girl!

Love to help....

Apparently roughly 13-15 months old is the time for the girls to love the swiffer....

Sidney helping me just this week

Regan helping me in 2007
(with a big scrape on her nose from the stairs)

New moves

Sidney's got a few new moves up her sleeve :) Stay patient with her on this video, it took her a moment to warm up to me videotaping. Our favorite move is when she moves her left arm up/down almost like a chicken! It's so adorable!

Future Bulldog!

If daddy had his way, both the girls would be attending UMD in their future. He's trying to steer them in that direction by purchasing adorable UMD clothing!

Sisterly love

Sidney is unbelievably scared of the vacumm and although we have mostly hardwood floors, we still have to pull out the vaccumm regularly. Last night, instead of asking me to hold her (and vaccumm), she ran and clung to Regan. It was so darn adorable but I had to keep the vaccumm running while I took the picture for fear they'd break apart :)

What do we do it's too cold outside? We use blankets as sleds and the hardwood floors as snow! It works great and the girls think it's so much fun!


Notice Regan's new "accessories" aka glasses. It's our latest attempt to teach her to use her eyes together all of the time. We've been seeing a pediatric opthamologist for about 18 months and although it hasn't gotten dramatically worse, her eyes tend to wander out (not crossed) when she's tired or angry. Since it's not affecting her vision, we're reluctant to put her through surgery. For now, she'll wear glasses. And they make her look so much older! She's done well tonight wearing them, only took them off to bathe and eat (she feared they'd get dirty at dinner!).

That's not your mittens!

I told Regan to grab her mittens from the bench in the entry way....and this is what she came back with; in her mouth and everything! (We store Mr. Snowman's stuff in the same bench, can you tell?!).

Curlz!-----Take 2

Looks like someone is going to take after her big sister!

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!! We spent NYE at a very kid-friendly party, the only way to go these days! And wouldn't you know it, all the other kiddos there were GIRLS!!!! 7 girls and 0 boys; FUN!

By 10:30, Sidney told us it was time to go so we got a quick picture of the kids celebrating New Year's a little early. They loved the noise makers and hats!