Cupcakes!

Regan helped mommy make some yummy Halloween cupcakes that she picked out at Target over the weekend. She had a great time putting all the Halloween sprinkles on each one (and making a nice mess too!). Too bad she's not a big fan of eating them because we have a lot of cupcakes sitting around now.

Bath Time!

Sidney's great aunt Sandi and great uncle Bill sent her this cute frog towel; it's so soft it keeps her warm and cozy during bath time. Thank You!

Thanks Nana Jan!

We were blessed with help from Nana this week. She did everything from cleaning, to laundry, to taking Regan to the park and even painting our bathroom! It was great to have an extra set of hands around. Mommy even managed to take a nap everyday which was well deserved :)

Regan's teaching Sidney all about her toys!

What did you say?

This morning (Ryan's going to kill me for posting this), Regan needed a Kleenex and headed into the bathroom just as Ryan was getting out of the shower. She took one look at him and said "that's a funny looking butt" describing something else! From where I was, I could hear him about to respond and I could have died laughing at her little comment! Needless to say, he just let it go and she grabbed her Kleenex and ran off :)

Two weeks old!

Sidney is two weeks old today and we're starting to fall into a routine of eating, sleeping and pooping (and looking cute)! She fits into her newborn clothes so well it's so much fun to get her dressed up, even though we have absolutely no place to go. Yesterday we did run a few errands but she told me early on during the run that she wasn't going to cooperate and cried the entire time we were in a store. Poor thing, just needed to burp and then she's happy again.

Youngest Vikings fan!

Despite the terrible start to the season, Sidney is the youngest Vikings fan. This morning, mommy got her all decked out in the Vikings gear that fits her (she's still too small for the outfit) and took her for a long walk. She's pretty adorable hanging out with her Vikes hat on :) We hope her cheering will help them pull out a win today.

I love my baby sister!

Squishy cheeks!

Yes, she does have the cutest squishy cheeks, even Regan said so! Yesterday she walked up to Sidney and squished her cheeks and said "look at those squishy cheeks"! The best part is that neither mom nor dad had ever said that, Regan came up with it all on her own!

Down she goes!

Regan finally mastered all the slides at the park this week, with the help of the neighbor girl. All summer, Regan has been too nervous to go down the "big huge slide" and that's partly our fault as it goes super fast and we were concerned she'd fly off the bottom (mom and dad have both gone flying off the bottom!). Turns out Regan figured out how to slow herself down by putting the soles of her shoes onto the slide-smart girl! The park is much more fun now that she goes down 3 more slides! Look closely and you'll see Regan at the top of this picture getting ready to head down the slide!

Sidney's 1 week old!

Hard to believe it's been one week since Sidney was born, it's gone so quickly already! We are all adjusting to life with a toddler and newborn, and it's sure different around here! Regan is mommy's big helper when it comes time for baths, feedings and diaper changes (provided it's just a potty). She tried once to get Sidney to play Barbies with her, but that just resulted in a reminder from daddy that Barbies feet don't belong on Sidney's face (and a little red mark on Sidney's cheek; poor kid's going to grow up a tough one!).

Rain Rain Go Away!

Regan needed some time outside of the house after an entire day of rain so we just decided to let her go outside and play in the puddles. They came back soaking wet and a little cold, but she sure had fun!

Although the last two days have been quite rainy, we did have a chance on Friday afternoon to go for a short walk in the neighborhood and let people meet Sidney. She and I both love the sling, and it will be great for those trips to Target when we don't want people too close to her giving her an icky winter cold.

Just Jump!

Grandma Jan and Papa took Regan to Just Jump in Edina on Thursday morning! Everyone had so much fun, even grandma and papa went down the slides and got in on the fun :) We can't wait to take Regan back there; daddy is especially excited to head down some slides and jump around.

It's a girl!

Sidney Marie was born on Wednesday 9/10 at just about the same time of day as Regan was (ironically on a Wednesday as well!)-2:59pm. Sidney weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and was 19.5 inches long. It was a quick labor, only 4 hours and started during work! It was an interesting day :)

We are all doing well and Regan loves her new baby sister, except when she cries or poops! At some point I'm going to have to change the name of this website because I don't intend to keep up two blogs so I'll be combining the two. We came home from the hospital late this morning and everyone except me (mom) is napping; there's something wrong with that picture!

Regan spent the last two days playing with Nana and Papa and was in her glory with all the attention. She's happy to have mom and dad back but I wonder what she'll think about sharing our attention.

We went to Logan's softball game last weekend and Regan had to be just like her big cousin, Hunter, with her cool shades!

And for those of you wondering and waiting, no, there is no baby yet! We're (im)patiently waiting!

We spent the day soaking up the sun and going for a swim in the back yard :) Lately, Regan has been quick to steal the sandals right off your feet if you aren't quick enough. Here she dashed off with daddy's sandals and it looked like she was preparing to going skiing!

This afternoon, Regan laid down on mommy's big round belly and said in a baby voice "awww, I want to come out" and then "that's what the baby is saying!". Mom and dad both just grinned :) We're all looking forward to baby's arrival, and we're so happy that Regan seems just as excited!

Como Town!

We spent this morning at Como Town to let Regan go on some rides (and daddy too; mommy's not allowed to go on any rides, not even the 'turtle speed' train!). Regan had a great time jumping on and off all the rides and going around and around on various cars, horses, trains, etc! She only lost it on one ride, and we can't blame her, she felt a little trapped and wasn't able to see mom or dad for much of the ride. Thankfully they let her off quickly and it didn't traumatize her enough to stop going on all the rides.

Baking with Grandma Sheri

Regan got to spend last Monday with both grandma and grandpa Friederich because of grandpa's recent surgery and time off from work. She loved hanging out and having their undivided attention all day! Grandma chased grandpa to the store (twice, he tells me!) to buy the ingredients for brownies and by the looks of it, Regan had a great time baking, stirring and probably tasting the brownies. She's such a great helper when it comes to doing things in the kitchen. She's a lot like her mommy though and would prefer to leave the mess for someone else to clean up!

Another great MN get together!

We spent this afternoon at the state fair and everyone had a great time! We ate lots of yummy food and Regan had some fun checking out all the animals. She tried all the food we tried, even the chocolate covered bacon; although she primarily ate the chocolate and then handed the bacon over when she was done. Her favorite part of the day was likely the Giant Slide, although she was pretty nervous about it at first! The second she got down she said to dad "I want to go again" and of course, we couldn't resist and had to let her go down again!

Tennis!

Regan has had a recent interest in playing around with a tennis racket :) She loves trying to hit the ball back to mom or dad, but sometimes she'd rather just try to "hide" behind the racket! She'll yell out "you can't see me!"

Bozo the clown or a pro wrestler?

So I realize this has nothing to do with Regan (well, it was her bouncy ball) but I couldn't resist putting this up! After all, he let me take the picture, he had to know I was going to post it online :) I'm not real sure who Ryan was trying to pretend to be, but after Regan's ball broke, he ripped it in half and for whatever reason, stuck it on his head to pose for a quick picture. Guess he thought we all just needed a good laugh!

Holding baby Hudson

Regan's cousin, Hudson, was baptized on Sunday afternoon! Regan was so excited to wake up from her nap and hold baby Hudson, although with all the people there, it was a miracle she snatched him up for a few seconds to hold him!

Puppy!!!

No we didn't buy a puppy, but Regan sure did have fun playing with all the puppies this weekend! Daddy's cousin's black lab had 10 puppies last month and Regan, with the help of many other kids, was brave enough to pick them up and play with them on Sunday afternoon. She was in her glory carrying around her puppy all afternoon and thanks to Grandma Sheri, we not only got some cute pictures, but neither mom nor dad had to stay outside in the heat with her while she played!

Aren't I cute?

At 2.5 years old, Regan's turned into a real toddler! Just a few stats: nearly 30 lbs and roughly 36 inches tall, she towers over other kids her age. She's still a shy girl, very cautious in new situations but incredibly outgoing when she gets comfortable. Her mouth never stops talking (where does she get that from?!) and she loves babies, puppies, dolls, helping in the kitchen, dancing, singing and playing around outside. Our new favorite is to listen to her make up song lyrics! They don't always make sense but they sure are adorable.

"Cheese in a pod"

Aunt Vicky and cousin Hunter picked some peas in a pod for us from the field this week; it's something we look forward to every year! Regan thought we were saying "cheese in a pod" and couldn't figure out what she was supposed to be doing with them. Unfortunately, she's not nearly as into them as we are, but she had fun breaking them open and putting them on the plate for us to eat!

Me and my daddy

We had a busy day today with more professional pictures. Last weekend was Regan's 2.5 year pictures and today we took maternity pictures. I think Regan preferred taking this picture with daddy on the couch over the ones at the studio!

Her personality is certainly shining through these days. She is fiercly independent which can become frustrating to all of us; and she is also incredibly shy in new situations. She's learning new things at such a high speed I told her she was a "quick study" tonight and she reminded me she wasn't a "study". We're currently working on number and shape recognition and we're making great progress thanks to the Magna Doodle. If only I could get her to show me the number two with her fingers....for whatever reason she can cross her fingers but she can't uncross them and show the number two!?

We went to Minihaha Falls again this morning because Regan's been asking to see the waterfall for quite some time. Apprently the house down the street with a waterfall/pond in the front yard wasn't sufficient. Unfortunately, now that she found out there is a park with a swing set at the Falls, we might not get to actually see the Falls anymore!

Yum-O!

Her only comment was "this corn is so yummy!"

Chuck E Cheese!

We had our annual summer visit to Chuck E Cheese this weekend! Mommy's cousin came up for a visit and as we do every year, we spent a night eating pizza and playing games at Chuck E Cheese. Regan's favorite "games" were the ones she could ride on. She could hardly eat her pizza she was so excited to get back to the "games"!