Growing up

This little girl is growing up, 

and there's not a darn thing I can do about it to stop her. 

Last night she headed to a friend's birthday party, and after picking her up, I realized there is so much happening in her already busy world that I am not a part of. So I do the motherly thing and ask loads of leading questions (that Master's Degree of mine sure comes in handy) and offer plenty of support while she tells me all about the fun, and not so fun, experiences she has. 

Lately she has been asking me to snuggle her in bed and lay alongside her while she recaps her day. I soak up this opportunity every time she asks; because I know it won't last forever. And sometimes, like the other day, she recites to me, a book we've read countless times....

"I'll love you forever, 

I'll like you for always, 

As long as I'm living

My mommy you'll be!"

Oh how I could just squeeze the love out of her sometimes!

I see you!

Evenings in the park

We spent some time at a local playground tonight, soaking up the crisp, cool, spring sun and burning off loads of energy. Regan desperately begged to take off her socks/shoes and feel the sand beneath her toes. In due time my dearest, we will get to that as it warms up :) Promise!

Traveling family

Travel has been a big part of my life. When I was 18, I embarked on my first international trip and headed to Ireland with a group from my hometown. It was an amazing experience. A handful of trips overseas later, I brought Ryan with me and we had a blast living it up and seeing another part of the world. After Regan was born, I didn't want to stop traveling, although we've had to scale back considerably. That said, she's been on more than a handful of trips in her 6 years and Sidney's quickly catching up. 

Ryan's cousin invited us to his California home a few years back. Life got in the way with having babies and purchasing houses and prevented us from going. But tonight, we announced to the girls that we were going to California, and got them super excited by mentioning that we will be spending time at Disney. Click HERE to see their reaction; they are over the moon!

And while we don't (yet) get to gallivant across the ocean like we once did, we are pretty excited to take the girls on this trip and hope to give them some pretty great experiences!

Easter Eggs

The girls have been begging to color eggs for the last several days. But with the amazing temps, it's been hard to convince me that we should do an indoor project! So this morning, as we waited for the sun to come out, we got to coloring eggs before 9am. 

While neither of them still like the smell (click HERE to re-live that moment from 2010), both were quick to get over their aversions and move on with some fun. 

 and of course, what's the fun in coloring the eggs if you can't eat them! These three shared 4 eggs this morning and loved every bite. 

Sweet sweet Sidney

This sweet little girl is quite a handful these days. Oh who am I kidding, she's been a handful from the beginning. Reflux, colic, and clingy in the beginning, turned to screams, night terrors, and further clinginess. 

She has never slept well. Ever. And although we realize it could be worse, in general, she would be much  happier if she just could sleep. This morning she got up at 6am, and while that isn't such a big deal, it is when she first falls asleep at 9pm (after being put into bed at 8pm). She rolled around and whined for close to 45 minutes this morning and announced she should have stayed in bed. Um, yes, my dear, that would be a fine spot for your sleepy head. 

Her little mouth never stops talking either. A complete "blabber mouth" as Ryan calls her. She will talk about nothing in particular, to whoever will listen. Her stories go from one topic to the next without so much as a breath. Sometimes I laugh so hard I cry at her semi-made-up-stories. 

Sid's imagination takes her all around the house, creating new activities along the way. Regan continues to beg Sidney to be included in her imaginary play and thankfully, she's a pretty good younger sister and most often will oblige with big sister's request. 

Oh, and thank goodness she's cute, especially when she flashes this little "I'm a stinker" face.

We love you our sweet sweet Sidney, Sid, Ninnie, Ninn's.

Bubbles

It's technically still winter, but today it felt like summer. 80 degrees on March 17th, we were all in love with fresh air. We played bubbles, chalk, bike rides, and anything else we could think of doing outside. I keep wondering if winter is coming back....oh how I hope not. We are simply loving this; I can't keep Sidney inside anymore. When we come home she immediately asks "can I go outside to play?" and the moment she wakes up from nap, it's the same question. 

Please Mr. Nasty Winter....stay away until next December! 

Hands

Sidney rarely lets me hold her hand, telling me "no, I'm a big girl". Tonight was a unique night, she was craving a little extra attention, and so holding my hand was just fine in her book. I love these moments. 

Meet Sidney, Our Aerobics Instructor

She was just so stinkin' cute in her leotard shorts with her sweatshirt on, getting ready to leave after gymnastics tonight. She pranced around the lobby area, striking pose after pose and she truly reminded us of an aerobics instructor. Oh how our little Sidney makes us laugh!

Picnics and Parks

The girls and I celebrated this 70+ degree weather, grilling dinner (yes, shocker, I grilled burgers!) and eating dinner poolside before heading to the park. 

Too bad our pool remains covered for the winter and it'll be two l---o---n---g months before it's ready to go. If this weather keeps up, we'll be moving up the opening day, I can guarantee it! I won't be able to watch the neighbors splash in their pool (it appears they are going to open this week!) while ours remains sealed tight. 

 After dinner, we basked in the sun at a local park, climbed our hearts out and ran off every ounce of energy. Sidney did more climbing than I could imagine, she loved it!

 Regan mastered this apparatus and I can tell she'll be spending many summer days perched up high, taking in all the chaos below. 

Ryan joined us just as the sun was setting, but long enough to get in some playtime. I sure hope "average" March weather never returns. Quite frankly, I am LOVING this!!

New Ulm at a glance

This weekend, we had a couple of engagements in New Ulm so it was a quick trip down following Regan's sleepover. My mom decided it would be a brilliant idea to take the girls to a local store hosting "Chick Days". My dad quickly realized that this was going to be no short visit. As soon as Regan watched another little girl pick up a chick, we might as well have pulled out lawn chairs, because she wanted to spend all day holding those chicks. 

The girls begged us to go back a second time (in the same day); at which time Regan taught Sidney how to hold those baby chicks. Sidney held one for a few seconds, then literally tossed it back into the crate before announcing she prefers to pet them over hold them.
Good choice sweetie :)
Regan begged to take one home and under my breath I said "great, then we can have lunch next month". 

No, we did not bring a chick home. 

And no to the grandmas/pas, uncles/aunt reading this, we do NOT want a chick! 

 The temperatures soared into the 60's, breaking records set 30+ years ago. So we spent the afternoon playing at a gigantic park and burning off energy. Sidney is going to be so much fun this summer at local parks! I've been waiting for this time; the days when she takes off in a park on her own screaming "mom, watch me!" instead of "mom, come here!".

Not to worry, I have my hands full with "mom, come here!" out of Regan as she tests out her skills on the bigger kid equipment.  

And what's a trip to New Ulm without a new baby waiting for Sidney at grandma's? This baby....well, she poops and pees and then tells us about her mess and gives us a "hooray!!" when we clean it up correctly. Oh brother. I'm glad to say this doll is staying at grandma Sheri's to be enjoyed while visiting. 

 Do you notice that grin on her face? The one with a little extra lip stick smacked across her face? Sweet Sidney knows exactly where grandma Sheri keeps all of her lipstick and choose to help herself this weekend. I had to scrub hard to get that stuff off her!

Give them roots...

then give them wings.

I packed a bag and grabbed her sleeping bag and off she went to her best friend's house for a night. I prepped her, encouraged her and then let a few tears roll down my cheeks while she wasn't watching as I let Regan go on her very first sleepover. 

I love her so very much it's hard for me to let her grow up; but she's reminded me that she won't be staying little forever, much as I try.

She was super excited, talking for the days leading up to the big event and then on the drive to Katie's house, became slightly nervous with questions like "what if I get scared?, do they have a nightlight?". We rehearsed and boosted her confidence and once she walked in the door, all anxieties were calmed....for her.

All I can say is "thank goodness" for texting. I was thrilled beyond words when I received a text around 9:30pm saying things were going well and the girls were in their "nests" settling in for the night. No tears, no apprehension, just excitement. 

Our little girl is growing up.

I can tell this is the first of many sleepovers in her future. And I'm doing my best to relax and just take it all in stride, watching as she grows into a confident, happy, secure little BIG girl.

School Break Day 2: Como Zoo and Conservatory

We jam packed everything into this morning. First it was a stop at the eye doctor for Regan's glasses which were stepped on and ultimately are nearing the end of their days :( Then it was a quick Caribou for me and breakfast at the bakery for the girls. Sidney climbed over to Regan's side of the bakery items and ordered her own Big Foot donut. YUM!!! 

 By 10am we were at Como Zoo taking in all the wonderful/interactive animals. This ape was busy eating lunch and showing us his behind, which of course, gave these two giggly girls a good laugh. 

 I've been waiting for months for Como to fill this tank with fish; the sign in front has always said "exhibit temporarily closed". Please please please put some pretty fish in there!

 The bears gave us a good show as they entertained us with their playtime. Although they looked pretty upset with one another, it was clear they were just rough housing like a bunch of brothers. 

 Tigers and lions scare the dickons out of me. I literally feel myself get anxious the closer we come to the cat exhibit. Thankfully, the girls have been watching Lion King lately and so we sang the famous "I Just Can't Wait to be King" song which eased my nerves....a little. 

 And you wonder why I get nervous!? Just look at the leopard gnaw at that bone. So up close to us!!

 Every time we visit the giraffe building, one of them is always doing this. I can't explain to Regan why on earth he would be sucking on the wire. Need to find myself a zookeeper. 

 Oh the beloved polar bears playing with a stick in the water. His paws mesmerize me as he climbs through the water and plays with various toys/sticks. 

 And then it was onto the Conservatory. The girls promised to take some good pictures, and boy were they hamming it up for the camera. Both of them would stop, pose and say "mom, take my picture now". It was so sweet!

Thanks for another fabulous day girls!!

School Break Day 1

It's Parent/Teacher conferences for Regan (more on that later), which means a couple of days off from school for her and an extra day off for me and Sidney. We were thrilled to get to spend some girly bonding time and made every second count. Our scheduled play date for day 1 was cancelled due to a sick child on the other end, so I quickly created Plan B: Pull out all the arts/crafts that we haven't seen in years. 

First it was micro-pixos. My secret goal was to make as many little creations as possible so we could be finished with these annoying little beads. Don't get me wrong, it's great for fine-motor work, but those beads end up all over the floor and I find them for days afterwards. The girls worked hard and enjoyed creating little ice cream, cakes, cupcakes, hearts and stars. I didn't meet my goal, we still have oodles left :( 

 Then it was on to Spin Art. This thing hasn't been used since we moved into this house nearly 2 years ago! The girls took turns creating a mess and had loved watching the little ballerina spin wildly as they gave a tie-dye color to her dress.

And yes, Regan is STILL in her pajamas and it was nearly 11am. 

 By the end of the afternoon, we had packed up the crafts and moved on to American Girl Doll fun. They gave Sidney's doll a birthday party, complete with a party hat created by Regan. She was so proud of that hat and eventually made one for herself of course :) 

I simply adore spending an extra day with the loves of my life! Sidney cracks me up non-stop with her antics (for example, the "jeez mom, it's cold outside". Yes, she said "jeez"), and Regan melts my heart lately with her gushing about how much she loves me ("I'm never going to leave you mommy"....awwww!).

Friends and birthdays

Part of growing up is the joys of attending birthday parties for friends. I remember the days of going to McDonald's (long before they had play lands) and playing old fashion kid games and having a grand time celebrating a birthday with friends. I'm learning that birthday parties have come a LONG way since those years, and Regan now gets to attend fun parties at gymnastics gyms, monstrous indoor playgrounds and last Sunday, one with multiple giant inflatables! She enjoyed burning off all of her energy and came home completely exhausted. 

Her sister, on the other hand, enjoyed a 3.5 hour afternoon nap in the peace and quiet of home!!!

Weekend visitors

My very best friend and her 3 little angels came to visit this weekend. We packed in A LOT of fun playing at home and staying up late to visit. You'd think after daily emails and texts, that Kari and I might not have much to talk about, but we could have talked all night (if our bodies allowed us to stay awake!). 

The girls had a beach party (indoors unfortunately) and spent most of Saturday running around in swim suits. 

 Natalie brought her American Girl doll and the girls enjoyed all their imaginations could create as they found new adventures for Lily, American Girl and American Girl (someone's kids don't name their dolls). 

 Natalie spent a few hours with her aunt/cousins so Thomas took advantage of that playtime with Regan and they got busy with the Wii doing song after song on Just Dance. 

 The next morning, all the girls woke up and snuggled on the couch to a movie before heading back for more playtime. Sidney and Regan were so adorable the way they both want to be next to Natalie. Sidney finally asked her the famous question: "Natalie, can we keep you?". 

awwwww

 Let's not forget this little peanut who is the best snuggle buddy once he warmed up to me. He was all snuggles and wresting at that point. LOVED IT! 

It was a wonderful visit and we can't wait for them to come back and use their swimsuits IN the pool!

Milestones

Today was a big day for Regan. For months we've been working on getting her to tie her own shoes. Not an easy feat for a girl in Kindergarten, especially  one who gets super frustrated when she doesn't master something easily. Even harder when half of her parental unit couldn't figure out how to teach her because he has a hard time with strings (yes he can tie his own shoes, but give him a balloon string and he's lost, or ask him to tie the boat to the dock and watch it float away). This morning, we worked on shoe tying like we do every Friday morning and she needed only a slight cue for shoe #1. I walked away to let her mess around with shoe string #2 and she yelped "I did it mom!!!". Boy oh boy was she proud of herself, and so was I!