Spring Open House equals Como!

Our realtor hosted another Open House this afternoon which kicked us out for over 2 hours. Thankfully it was nice enough out to make our first trip of the season to Como Zoo :) Regan was so excited about the trip, she could hardly fall asleep during nap. Both girls practiced their best animal sounds on the drive there, which lead to a lot of "ROARS" in the cutest toddler/preschooler voices! Once we arrived, Sidney pointed at every animal and yelled "ROAR". It was so cute, every passerby commented (maybe it was the UMD bear hat that caught their eye because we had a few of those comments too!). I try to coordinate outfits for the events of our day.

Regan's highlight was the monkeys, Sidney's might have been the lion/tiger areas ("ROAR"!). She freaked when we got into the penquin areas because those darn things are inches from her face starring right at her like they're about to get her. I couldn't help but laugh when she'd turn her attention to something else and next thing you know, there's a penquin just waiting for her to turn back. She literally screamed and jumped into my arms! I have to admit, they scared me and Regan too sometimes! Sneaky things.

And what trip is complete without a visit inside to the Conservatory. Oh how I'd love to take pictures for hours inside the beautiful gardens. My girls (and husband) don't have the patience for me though!

Sidney has now learned proper behavior inside the Sunken Garden and no longer tries to touch, dig in the dirt or pull on the flowers. YEA!

Someone was starting to melt, get a little stubborn, not want her picture taken.

And suddenly, viola!, I convince her this will be my last one for the afternoon :)

Note to the grandma's: don't worry, we'll be going back in their Easter dresses for more pictures before they change out the show :)

Sharing

The focus lately here has revolved around sharing, something 18 month olds tend to struggle with. Here you can see Sidney took sharing into her play world.

Some for you...

and some for me!

Baking with Regan

It was a bit chilly this afternoon so we decided to forego a trip to the neighborhood park. Of course, the girls complained (seeing as though the sun was shining and it sure looked nice out). Regan perked up when I told her we should bake Easter cupcakes :) She loves to help in the kitchen and today I finally agreed to let her crack the eggs on her own. It wasn't pretty and once the egg more or less squished in her hands, she was ready to let me take over that duty.

Everyone had to taste the cupcakes; perfect 10 for Regan's baking!

Sidney really likes frosting :)

Coloring

It's no lie that Regan's favorite activity is art (coloring, painting, writing, drawing, anything really). So today I walked into her classroom during free time and she was sitting at a table with some friends and two teachers coloring a workbook page. I stopped dead in my tracks after seeing what she was doing....coloring IN the lines!! Completely in the lines, not just somewhat :) I was so proud of her, it's like she just suddenly realized that her art looks better when it's contained. Her teachers were just as proud; nice work Regan!

SCHOOL!

The girls with their faces painted.

Tonight we had the annual spring open house for the girls' school. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, although that might have been a good thing given how chaotic it gets and trying to keep track of our girls in a sea full of kids, games, babies, food, prizes, jugglers and fun is a job in itself! Regan got her face painted (a pumpkin) and when Sidney saw it, she had to have one. No one thought she'd sit still long enough, but her teacher was super fast painting an adorable heart on her face. She was so proud of her heart, she walked around the rest of the night pointing out her heart to all of her friends and teachers. She also showed us just how much she really does love school by greeting all of her teachers (past and present) with a giant sized Sidney hug (have I mentioned how great she gives hugs?!). She likes to pretend she dislikes school these days with letting out an enormous cry/tantrum when Ryan drops her off every morning. It's nice to see she really does like it there. Regan enjoyed all of the games and prizes tonight and even got her very own Rootbeer float! Which by the way, she sucked down without sharing.

The chaos rang true as Sidney rounded a corner just as a bigger kid came from the other direction and WHAM, they collided. Blood eveywhere and coming from both her mouth and her nose. He felt terrible but it really wasn't anyone's fault. She's a tough cookie and after a few kisses, forgot all about it.

Aren't we lucky parents?

We feel so lucky to have two wonderful children: full of energy, healthy, bringing joy to our lives. We are super lucky to have four grandparents who love them, spoil them and spend every Monday with them. And aren't we even more lucky that when those lovely grandparents come to visit, they bring toys like this?

I think those wonderful grandparents

need a reminder...."annoying toys, like whistles, are for grandma's house only!".


Just to be clear, Regan doesn't think the whistles (yes, there is one for each) belong in the outdoor toy box so she blew her obnoxiously loud whistle in the house all night until Ryan threatened to throw the thing in the garbage :)

Aren't we lucky?

Choo Choo Bob's!

This morning we packed up and headed all the way over to St. Paul (yep, we do cross the river sometimes) to visit Choo Choo Bob's Train Store. I was told of this wonderful store over 2 years ago but we never took the opportunity to visit....until today. They have everything trains: kid's trains, collector's trains, train puzzles, train books, benches with trains on them, trains to watch and of course, trains to play! Ryan's first impression upon walking in the store was "why in the world did you bring us here", until he ventured around the store, saw the smile on the girls' faces, and said upon leaving "I think we'll be coming back here"! In fact, the girls had so much fun the only way we got them out of the place was to promise we'd be coming back again. Amazingly, neither one begged to buy anything in the rows and rows of trains for sale but instead were content with knowing they had just spent the morning playing with trains.

PS Uncle Shane, we had wanted to call you to join us but knew that 11am is just too early for you on a Sunday morning :)

Regan loved playing on any of the 6 tables set up with tracks including three tables with Thomas the Train. We have lots of ideas now to get her small set arranged.

Sidney adored this powered train. Every time it came by, she'd scream "CHOO CHOO!" Unfortunately, she thought maybe this was a play train and ended up temporarily shutting it down until the conductor (aka store employee) got it up and running again. Gotta love her curiosity!

This girl loves to eat

We never would've thought our little peanut, weighing in at less than 10th percentile, could eat so much! She loves to eat, and eat and eat. Granted she's not eating deep fried twinkies but we're amazed at how little she remains.

One of her favorite fruits is bananas. And yes, she devours the entire banana within 15 minutes.

Grandma Jan and Papa bought her a shirt that reads "Yum-O" courtesy of Rachael Ray! Very fitting for out little food lover :)

And her big smile, along with contagious laugh is simply adorable

Cutie Pies

Grandma Jan entered the girls into a photography contest, mostly so she could get some discounted photograhs by a professional, but also because of course she thinks her grandbabies are the cutest! Sidney took a very L-O-N-G time to warm up to the photographer even though we'd seen him just 6 months ago. She continued to refuse to let me fix her hair but we did get some cute smiles out of her. Regan did an excellent job and I'm really not sure how anyone is going to pick which pictures to purchase! I haven't seen all of the proofs, but Grandma sent me a few samples she got back today.......

Cutie Number One

Cutie Number Two

I have to agree with Grandma, they sure are cute!

First pony for Sidney!

Not the greatest picture as it's from my phone. Sidney wanted one of Regan's ponies in her hair tonight while we watched gymnastics and she left it in until bathtime!! Ryan rolled his eyes and said "I bet you're going to put a pony in her hair tomorrow for school." Darn right!

Spring has sprung!

...we hope it's here to stay!

Today's temp reached 60F and we couldn't be happier! Outside without jackets soaking in the sun, running in the park and burning over 4 months of pent up energy. It sure felt good.

Sidney loved swinging and listening to the sounds of spring. She'd hear a bird, an airplane or a dog bark and make this silly face at me :)

Regan let her hair fly in the wind, laying her head back to gaze up at the sky.

We gave Sidney a little help going down the slide, only to realize she's a brave little girl and didn't actually want our help. She's so light that she flies right off the end and onto her cute bottom, cushioned by a diaper of course.

Regan figured out a new way to swing and giggled the entire time. Her face is downright priceless with how much fun she was having kicking her toes in the sand!

Easy Bake

Ryan went out last night so the girls and I pulled out the Easy Bake Oven from Regan's birthday for another round. Let's just say the cookies for dessert were decent. The pretzles for snack were TERRIBLE! Ever taste cardboard with a hint of glue?

Yes, it's "easy", but no one said it was always good.

Birthdays

We celebrated birthdays on Friday for Thomas (5), Regan (4) and Natalie (3). Their birthdays are within 2 months of each other so we've always done our own little party for all of them. Thankfully Kari had some party hats on hand because Regan goes nuts for those things! It was Saturday sometime before she took it off outside of sleeping. The kids love to play together and do so well without our involvement which is great because we need some time to catch up too!

I had to get a picture with the little ones too. William is 4 months and Sidney 18 months. Good thing they were born within 2 months of each other too so now we can celebrate their birthdays together in the fall! At that time, we'll have a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 year old on our hands! Guess that means it's our turn again....we'll have to think about that one.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Sidney 18 months

This little girl is 18 months old this week; definately no longer a baby, but instead a toddler! It's a bittersweet moment for me, I'd like to just stop her from growing up! Thankfully she's still my snuggling little, mommy loving, terrible sleeper baby girl! But apparently all that's normal according to her pediatrician. She loves to play with babies, interact with Regan, eat almost anything, color and dance. Our areas to work on include sleeping through the night without any help as well as overcoming her new "shoving" stage (someone's a little over protective of her family). She weighs 21 lbs 15 oz which puts her just under the 10th percentile and is 32 inches, roughly 55th percentile. She remains our little peanut.

Uh oh

Bad news. We're not entirely sure how they ended up like this, 4 minutes alone in the living room and this is what I found at Regan's feet. Sidney was not to blame, in the tub, no where near. Regan's story has changed 3-4 times tonight. The one stem is actually sticking straight up; the pictures a little deceiving. Needless to say, Regan went to bed a little earlier tonight.
Fixable?

Sidney 18 mo professional pics

She didn't cooperate with pictures today: not one smile, refused a barrett making her hair look full of static and silly, but this girl still melts my heart.

Outdoor fun

These March temps have been amazing so far and we all love them! Sidney is a lot like me and does not, by any means, enjoy the cold. So for the last 2 months, she has gone outside to play while kicking and screaming and throwing a fit (even at school!). Yesterday was different, she climb into the stroller (with much of a fight) but once she saw the park, she was pretty happy. She sat in the swing and actually dozed off while Regan ran around the playground playing! Neither one wanted to leave and I had to promise that when it's nicer outside, we can stay longer.

Sidney dozing in the swing :)

Regan on a mission....the slides!

They had so much fun playing at the park. Both girls were laughing hysterically while Regan pushed Sidney in the swing.

Painting

As I've mentioned in previous posts, our girls (specifically Regan) don't appreciate toys much. However, their cabinet of arts and crafts activities is over flowing and they love it! This morning, Regan decided to use some giant sized paper as table cloths and then proceeded to paint. She painted for nearly an hour using everything, except finger paints. She left those to Sidney; although Sidney treats all paint as finger paint.

Gymnastics take 2

Last week, Regan completed the first 8 week session at gymnastics. This week, she started her second session, this one lasting 12 weeks. She was very excited to go back again, but pretty bummed when I informed her she'd be going back to the smaller kid gym and not the BIG kid gym. Let's just say she's very very excited to learn how to tumble like the bigger kids but needs to wait until she's 5 in order to do so. I finally brought my camera with and got a few shots. Enjoy!

Warm ups with the two classes

Regan in the background, working on her flips on the bars, guided by Coach Connie

And once again...Sidney the spectator. Enjoying a snack of course!

What 'cha doin' Papa?

Family photo

We took a trip to New Ulm to visit the grandparent's, celebrate Grandma Sheri's birthday as well as Paxton's baptism. It was a very busy weekend! And to top it off, Sidney's teething; just look at her rosey cheeks. All 4 eye teeth are making their entrance; two have cut through just the tips and the other two are still little bumps beneath the surface. Poor kid! Poor mommy! Last night she/I were up from 4:30am-6am before finally getting comfortable and going back to sleep.

Art night.

Regan's not real interested in toys. In fact, 3/4's of the toys in our home are never played with. She prefers books and arts so when Santa brought a crayon maker and Uncle Shane/Aunt Amy gave her 3D spin art for her birthday, she was in her glory! We've done a lot of arts/crafts lately and the other night decided to do them both at once. Crayons take 30-40 minutes to make so you can imagine how many pieces of art from spin art we created :) {Pardon the blury photo, had to turn off the flash}

My big helper!

The other day I had brought up a basket of laundry to fold and while vaccumming the bedrooms, Regan started in on the laundry! She had separated out the socks and started folding the wash cloths, all on her own. I only noticed it when she ran past me with a pile of clothes and was putting them away! What a wonderful helper she is :) Now if only she remembers this in 10 years.

Those curls are coming!

I know I've been saying this for a very long time, but at some point, Sidney's curls will last longer than bathtime! Tonight Regan was styling Sidney's hair in the tub and both girls forgot to pay attention to the bubbler who just kept spitting out bubbles behind Sidney! Made for a great picture with mountains of bubbles and crazy hair!

Gymnastics

Tonight was Regan's final class of the winter session at TAGS gymnastics! She was awarded a ribbon for participation and each child had a little "ta da!" moment! It was pretty cute; unfortunately I was chasing after Sidney and had no time for photos. The next session starts next week already so Regan doesn't quite understand why she got a ribbon; tough one to explain. She's doing well in class, able to master some of the 'tricks' and working hard on others. Practicing gymnastics inside our house isn't easy so for now, we'll just encourage practice at TAGS.

Stuck in the snow

**UPDATE: I had a minor error in the link; it's been working for me tonight. Good luck! Worth the wait on this one :)

Anyone remember Randy from "A Christmas Story?"; Regan looked a lot like him today! Thank goodness I had my camera.

Sorry I was forced to link this to YouTube; wonderful blogger is not uploading my video tonight. Hope it works this way!

Click the link, then type "Stuck in the snow" and click search.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqnVM-UmJsk

Regan's 4th Birthday!

Today Regan turned 4 years old! To celebrate, both mom and dad stayed home from work to do fun 4 year old things! We started off the morning with Regan's birthday surprise...a trip to Build A Bear where she picked out Hello Kitty wearing a Belle dress :) That's our girl!

Then it was off to Nikelodeon Universe for some rides!

After nap and a few presents at home, we headed to the birthday gathering spot...Chuck E Cheese!

Regan is pretty excited to be 4 years old! She said it was a GREAT birthday! She was a little sad though realizing her legs are still short; she said this "but mom, I still don't touch the ground" {apparently she thought that by turning 4, her legs would instantly touch the ground while she was in her car seat}!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's hoping everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day. We sure did!, spent the entire day together, making breakfast, going bowling and having a fire tonight before bed while we watched the Olympics! It was truly a wonderful day!

Regan showing off her heart shaped pancakes

Sidney's favorite gift was actually just the Elmo bag; she carried it around all morning saying "Elmo"

The girls helping me throw the bowling ball down the alley; what a treat!

My job got easier when we found this little hill; and the girls loved it!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!