Happy Birthday Grandma Sheri

And when we celebrate a birthday with Grandma Sheri, we get to order a dessert! The girls were thrilled when the waiter brought out not one but TWO yummy desserts to share :)

Happy Birthday (tomorrow)!

Strike....well, not really

Given the lack of snow around, a scheduled playdate for today went from "let's go sledding!", to "let's go bowling!". The kids were just as happy and it was so much fun to watch them try something new. 

The girls were ready, sporting their shoes (though it took some coaxing to convince Sid)

Regan had more of a walk up and toss it with two hands mentality; she wasn't real interested in technique. But she had a great time! 

Sidney's shoes were slightly over-sized but she didn't seem to mind. I think she looked adorable in her stripped tights (picked out on her own, in fact, she put them ON all on her own!!) with bowling shoes. 

 Sidney was the only one to use the ramp, then again, she is the littlest by a long shot. She took charge, moving the ramp back and forth during each of her turns. And our little Miss Independent carried her 6 lb ball independently to/from the ramp on every turn. 

 Regan was oblivious to the fact that anyone was keeping score; I just wish the kids didn't gather around this monitor at the end. She had a good time despite her score! And clearly Sidney did quite well on her very first bowling outing!

Another first...

Regan asked this year to have a "friend" birthday party. This in addition to her usual family birthday party and the annual Duluth trip. So we ran down the various options for locations, sorted through a list of her friends and ultimately came up with a trip to Edinburough Park with 11 kindergartners (plus herself and her dear sister)! That made for 13 children! 

And thank you to all four grandparents for driving 100 miles to help us supervise, I'm proud to say we didn't lose even one child! It was a lot of work, constant supervision and yours truly spent many minutes inside the park helping connect the lost girls to each other.

Onto a few pictures....

She asked for a flower cupcake cake....red with orange please. 

 Presents presents presents galore!! 

 These orange shirts were well worth the extra cost! It was super easy to keep track of which kid belonged in our group. Slightly over-sized, but the girls didn't seem to mind. Regan was very very satisfied with her very first friend party! Something tells me we'll be doing it again every year!

Ta-da!

or not. 

The girls have enjoyed their weekly gymnastics classes and tonight, after the final night of this session, they were each given ribbons and Sidney's class does a little "TA-DA!" on a pedestal. Well, our little girl got a little nervous and didn't want to come out in front of all the parents. Luckily Miss Linda scooped her up and presented her to us....

Please don't be alarmed...she adores gymnastics classes! Loves them to pieces. She does fret when she can't see me sitting with the rest of the parents (because occasionally I do like to go watch Regan too). Thankfully she has another amazing teacher, who does her best to distract her while I sneak away for 3 minutes. She has always been a mama's baby and a million times a day can be heard asking "where's my mommy?". Bless her heart! 

Painted snowman

This afternoon we ventured out into the freshly fallen, thick, heavy, snow for a little playtime. I tried to create a snowman, but the girls lost interest quickly so I made him short and busted out the paint instead. They were thrilled and said the bottom was a wedding skirt....turns out "he" is a "she"!

 As it turns out, they preferred demolishing her and laying together on her 'skirt' over the building or looking at her. It was great to get outside and enjoy the snow, much as we all wish it would be 80 and sunny, we're making the most of this weather. 

Waterpark-2012

We spent the long weekend on our annual Duluth trip with Gma/Pa Friederich. Some day we might actually take in more of what the city has to offer than just the water park, but for right now, that's plenty of fun for these two cuties who simply could not wait to get their little heads wet!

 Thankfully Regan has a great time playing with Grandma because I had my hands full with Sidney who refused to let go and eventually I made the comment "I feel like a mama monkey with a baby hanging on me!". 

 Our little monkey was not pleased to stop and pose for a picture. 

 There was plenty of wet fun for everyone. After a warm up of about 2 hours, Sidney allowed herself to enjoy one of the slides on her own, provided I was close by. Ryan and Grandpa kept themselves busy on the big-kid slide. 

Regan is our brave soul, and did a great job at showing Sidney the ropes, even let Sidney go down on her lap a few times. What a sister! Regs loves the big kid slides too, but turns into Sidney and will only go down with me because she remembers bonking her head last year while going down with Ryan. 

 CHEESE!

 Sunday evening we went out for dinner to celebrate Regan's birthday (the reason we go to Duluth every year) and the waitress brought a gigantic birthday dessert. Unfortunately the place was so cold that I sat there with my jacket and hat on! Obviously Regan didn't have a problem and helped devour the plate!

 Our silly birthday girl with her new Panda hat that she so loves. 

Happy Birthday Regan! 

Happy 6th Birthday Regan

This morning, I woke up at 6am, as per usual. Only today I thought back 6 years ago, when I woke about the same time to my water breaking. I relived the moment, the thrill, the unknown, the excitement. I have the privilege of working at the same hospital that my babies were born in. So my flashback continued at 7:20 while I walked into the hospital, just as I had done 6 years ago (yes, I walked into the hospital in labor, water broken....not exactly pleasant). I remembered carrying some mail on that frigid morning, knowing I wanted to drop it in the "outgoing mail" near the parking ramp. Funny the details I remember. 

As the day went on today, I thought about how my morning had progressed with labor. 

Today, around noon, the same time I had received my epidural, Ryan and I headed to Regan's Elementary School for a lunch break.

She and her friends danced around the playground as we waited to be called in for lunch.

 We ate lunch today and I remembered the relief I felt after that epidural had kicked in. 

 And then we headed back to work so Regan could do what Kindergartner's should do after lunch: REST! Oh how I wanted to join in on the break and snuggle her as my mind went into flashback mode. 

Instead, I went about my own day, seeing patients, mentoring an intern, and the next thing I knew, it was just after 3pm. And my mind once again jumped back to the moment in time that Regan arrived-3pm on Wednesday February 15, 2006. Oh the rush of love I felt back then; a depth of love I never knew existed. 

 We went about our day and after school, headed to Regan's restaurant of choice for dinner: Rainforest Cafe. 

 She gasped when the waitress came out with her volcano dessert the size of her head! Seriously, that thing is monstrous in size and oh so yummy in taste! Sure beats the hospital food I ate the day she was born. 

 As I drifted back in memories to snuggling a newborn baby girl, she begged for a few rides at the amusement park before we returned home for the night. Hard to say no to two little girls like this. 

 And just like she received 6 years ago, there were many presents for her to enjoy. Thankfully she happens to be incredibly sweet (she has her moments), and allowed her sister (the one in mismatched PJ's per her own request) to help open a present. They had hoped to find a baby brother inside one of the packages, but remembered that's a discussion with daddy for another day.....

Happy Happy Happy 6th Birthday Regan!
We love you to pieces!! 

Regan's Birthday Eve

Tonight we not only celebrated Valentine's day, we also celebrated Regan's birthday eve! Tomorrow she will turn 6 and I simply cannot believe how quickly time has gone. Six years ago tonight, I made a spaghetti dinner, and then laid on the couch while Ryan cleaned up afterwards. I never dreamed I would go into labor the next morning, 4 weeks earlier than expected. But thankfully we were blessed with a very healthy baby! 

Each year I make a video slideshow for the girls' birthday, click HERE to see the video created to celebrate SIX years! 

Tomorrow she will wake up to celebrate 100 days of school AND her 6th Birthday!! We love you sweet baby big girl! 

Swim Meet 2012

Regan participated in her first swimming meet today. It's defined as a "fun meet", and fun is what we had. Although it didn't start out so rosy, she woke up from nap this afternoon and declared "I don't want to do the meet". This is a comment that we didn't expect. Regan is our laid back daughter, one that generally has a go-with-the-flow attitude and does whatever we bring her way. My guess is she was tired, wanting to stay home and play versus go for a swim. But with a little convincing, we made it to the meet and she quickly changed her attitude. 

Side by side, they sat with anticipation until Regan was called to hop into the pool. Sidney is her biggest cheerleader, it's really fun to listen to those two. 

Regan is in lane 3 below, where she made it to the other side in 15 seconds. We screamed and cheered and were so proud of her. Ryan was the typical dad, completely ecstatic that she hit the wall ahead of any other swimmers....."it's not a competition", I kept reminding him!  

 She eagerly showed us her first ribbon and then waited again for her turn to climb back in. She caught some pointers from her lane coach before taking off for the other side again. 

 By the location of arms on her lane coach, you'll see he felt the same as Ryan did. Once again, Regan made it to the end ahead of the other swimmers and he/Ryan were pretty pumped! 

 Regan, however, was just happy to receive her second ribbon for the day. Later at dinner she commented, "and I didn't even want to do the meet at first!". Needless to say, she was pretty satisfied to have a set of parents who strongly encouraged her participation today. Sidney reminded her "and I was cheering and clapping for you Regan!". She has so much admiration for that big sister of hers. And we are so proud of you Regan! 

Happy 6th Birthday Party Day Sweet Regan!

We celebrated Regan's 6th birthday with a family party this weekend. It's the first of 3 celebrations for this sweet girl. This year, she asked for a pink and yellow party. No "theme", just specific colors. Then when it came to the cake, she said "a cat playing with balloons". Well the cake decorator took her literally and made a cat (which to me, looked more like a tiger), but it worked for Regan and that's all that matters. 

 What's a birthday party without Nala?? Oh if only Maddi was serious when she said she'd sell her for $35, I'd pay $100 for that lovely dog! 

 After loads of presents, there was lots of playing. The American Girl dolls scored a salon chair, a jeep and bunk beds! Where or where to store these lovely toys??

 Everyone played....Leigha got roped into "fix her hair please"

 Amy begged to play the new Legos and created the salon which was perfect because it was then instant play time for the girls! No need to wait 8 days for me to try to create it. 

 When it was time for Happy Birthday and cake/ice cream, the girls were giddy with excitement! All the kiddos took a turn blowing out candles...I'm guessing there was a lot of spit on the cake by the time we ate it. 

 Happy Birthday 6th Regan! 

We love you to pieces!! 

Doctor Doctor

This face cracks me up......

Regan really doesn't mind the doctor, she actually kind of likes her. The paper gown, however, is another topic. Today we took Regan in for her 6 year well-child visit. The nurse asked her to put on the paper gown and I knew she'd hate it. She has never liked those things. So before we knew it, she hopped off the table, ripped off the gown and tossed it in the garbage. Our pediatrician walked into the room to find Regan in her undies wearing nothing more. Doc's response "fine, take it off!". 

Regan now stands 47.5 inches tall and weighs in at 54 lbs. 

She's growing great, definitely tall for her age.  

After much discussion and a few years of "waiting it out", we will be taking her to see an orthopedic doctor for her "knock knees" in the coming weeks. We, along with her pediatrician, are hopeful it is a muscular, not joint, issue. That said, the track would likely be physical therapy. 

If it is joint?, well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. 

So keep your fingers crossed for good news.  

Fire and Ice

Yesterday we headed a few miles up the road to a local Fire and Ice family fun day. There was a lot more ice than fire, but given the 30 degree temps, it was an outdoor afternoon of fun. 

There were lots of various fun/activities on the lake as well as a few on shore. The girls started the fun with a little "boot skating"; Regan opted to pretend she was swimming out to the first ride. 

 First activity, 4 wheeler train rides. The girls and I climbed into the bucket/wheel-barrow and off he went, tooling around the frozen lake. We drove past the ice fishing holes, but neither of the girls were interested in checking that out...frankly, neither were we.

 Ryan was the only one willing to feed the animals at the petting zoo. He couldn't get over how soft it felt so I gave it a shot too. Fearful they might bite me, but happy they did not! The girls wouldn't get close, no way were they going to see the soft fuzzy lips of a Llama. 

Pony rides were probably their highlight, as you can see from each of their faces. Regan tried to play "teenager" and say it wasn't cool to be riding on a pony, but I think the smile on her face is a dead giveaway. Nice try Regan. 

 Apprehensive Sidney made sure I was always nearby. Throughout the entire afternoon, I wasn't allowed to leave her sight! I tried once to just leave her side (still in plain view), taking Regan on a kicksled ride (pretty fun by the way), and we heard her screaming/crying as she stood next to Ryan for the entire 20 seconds that we barrel raced. What can I say, she's a mama's girl!

Before the cold got to be too much, we hopped on board for a sleigh ride pulled by two beautiful Clydesdale horses. The girls had a blast all afternoon and I can imagine it'll be a place we head back to next year. 

We completely skipped over the one tiny bon fire where folks roasted marshmallows...apparently that was the "fire" to the loads of ICE!

Almost 6

Yesterday the girls asked how many more days until Regan turns 6. It's now February afterall. So the countdown has begun. I'd like to keep her 5 for a long time, but then again, I wanted to keep her 5 days old for a long time. Can't stop 'em from growing up.

I really do enjoy watching her grow and mature. She remains a very inquisitive child, asking all sorts of questions. Taking in new surrounding as though she's been there before, not batting an eye when we ask her to try something new (though I'm not referring to food), slightly germ-a-phobic and I have no idea where she gets that from.

I love how she loves to learn. She will occasionally mention being bored in school...one day it was because they didn't do writing. The girl loves to write. She writes words, then sentences and now is onto writing her own books. Yes, she loves to create short stories all on her own. Man these are wonderful treasures about animals, her friends and her family. With all that writing, she's done quite well with her reading as well. We need to make a stop at the book store soon, because she's eager for something more entertaining than Dick and Jane. And frankly, so am I. Let's not forget about Spot, Puff and Tim. 

 Her classroom is filled with a great teacher, wonderful students and a lot of fun ideas to make learning fun. She soaks up over 6 hours of what is offered each and every schoolday. Today, her teacher drew sight word squares on the board and me (along with Sidney), watched the children toss sticky balls onto the board and squeal in delight when their ball landed on a word they could then add to their own white board. 

Simple game, great learning opportunity.
Little Miss Sidney is on track to become a teacher herself. She enjoyed standing next to the board, pointing at the word that a student's ball landed on and saying "now what is this word?", as if she knew. 

 And what 5 year old doesn't like a snack? Today's most enjoyable station was creating ice cream. All the ingredients into a bag, the bag into a larger bag with rock salt/ice and 5 minutes of shaking....

 instant reward!! 

12 more days of being five. 

only 288 more hours. 

SIX!!!
Where has the time gone??