Happy 14th Birthday Regan!

Fourteen years ago, this little girl made her debut. She arrived 4 weeks early, unable to feed normally so we used a dropper, but with a set of lungs to let us know she was ready for the world. 

And she hasn’t stopped talking since! 

 

I was blessed to be a mom for the very first time, and in the blink of an eye, now 14 years have gone by. 

 

 

 

It’s so very hard to believe. So slow, yet oh so quick. There really is some truth to the saying “the days are long but the years are short”. 

 

 

Our adorable, chubby cheeked girl is growing up right before our eyes. 

She has an immense love for animals (particularly llamas and dogs), a giant heart that cries crocodile tears of sadness and an uncanny ability to talk and talk and talk. :) She is athletic and adores sports:, long distance running (no sprints!), dance and her absolute favorite is softball. 

 

 

Beyond everything, she is social. Every single school conference since kindergarten, we are reminded that she loves to talk. I cringe because since the 5th grade, she learned how to be social, while getting her work done at the same time. It’s a fantastic life long skill, but one that most of her classmates have still not yet mastered, and as such, can be distracting to them. She easily makes friends, always trying to help the new kids. She floats around, having all sorts of groups of friends. Her coaches and teachers clue us in that these traits (though challenging at times), make her a true leader. And those comments make me proud :) 

 

 

 

 

 

Her most recent realization has been that she will graduate high school in just 4 short more years. While this life event is so very exciting, she cried those crocodile tears when she did the math and discovered Lincoln would still be in elementary school. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that her math was off, and he would actually be younger than she calculated. Her fear is he will forget her, she’ll become a stranger that shows up on holidays....(we are a tad dramatic over here!).  But I secretly cried right along with her. If 14 years went this fast, imagine how quickly the next four will go. So my advice to her, keep making memories, don't hide behind those screens, and your siblings will always remember their fun big sister!

 

I’m hanging on to every moment over here. Clinging to this sweet girl who drives me batty with her eye rolls and general lackadaisical attitude. This sweet girl I love so fiercely! 

Happy 14th birthday baby girl!

 

Winter Show 2020

The girls participated in their studio's winter show this past weekend. It was a complete whirlwind experience! Every year I say how thankful I am that the director chooses to put on this show in January as opposed to December, despite that it is a Christmas themed show. The extra rehearsals and stress are certainly not needed during the Christmas season.

While the classes start to rehearse their regular dances 2-3 months earlier, the cast is set at Christmas and they spend only 3 weeks learning and perfecting their parts. It's simply amazing to see it come together. As I chatted with the owner after the first show, we both commented how wonderful it looked and the doubt we had just 2 days prior. These kiddos are talented :) Regan participated in the cast and once again, had a phenomenal experience. Sidney cannot wait for her chance to try out....anxiously waiting for next year when she's old enough.

 

Sidney danced in lyrical, jazz and ballet dances for each of 3 shows. She loves lyrical the most and shines up on stage. Her face tells me she is sure happy to be back on stage after taking a year off. I couldn't believe how many people commented that they were happy to see Sid back on stage :)

 

 

Besides all of the cast dances, Regan was in 5 dances in each of the 3 shows as well: 2 different ballet, pointe, tap and jazz. I love seeing how much she has grown over the last 9 years of dance. It's astonishing. Watching her up on pointe is just beautiful.

 

 

Although the most beautiful dance is White Winter Hymnal. I could watch that one over and over. Maybe it's the simplicity of the costumes, or the excellent uniform of the dance, or maybe it's the song itself. Whatever it is, I love it!

 

 

I'm so proud of all the hard work that Regan and Sidney put into their dances, all while staying on top of homework and their other activities. Not an easy feat.

 

 

I love their stage presence and love for being in front of an audience. They sure aren't shy these girls :)

 

Congrats on another amazing winter show!

Camera roll lately....softball, softball, softball

The girls, Regan in particular, have been putting in a lot of training time this winter with their softball teams. As a result, Regan begs me to take pictures and videos of her doing specific drills so she can later study them. This girl is dedicated I tell you :) She might spend more time studying these videos than she does on her homework, just don't tell her teachers that!

The other day, I went to look at my camera roll and this is what I found:

She was working with her catching coach on some pretty specific footwork behind the plate. As long as she keeps asking, I'll keep taking these videos. I love her commitment to this game she loves so much!

From baby to kindergarten to high school registration

It almost doesn't feel real to even say out loud: high school registration.

I'm only 29, how can I have a high schooler :) ha! Yea right. 29.

 

Oh this sweet baby girl who loved me to pieces, wore whatever I put on her and loved to play in my arm....., she's growing up so fast!

 

I remember getting this pamphlet in January of 2011 and thinking "kindergarten....already!"

 

 

And now here we are, a mere 9 years later, staring at this not-so-tiny-book below, wishing we were looking at that pamphlet. A time when we were worried about lost loveis and missing favorite toys. There's some truth to what they say "little kids, little problems; big kids big problems".

 

Tonight, I sat in an auditorium filled with parents of soon-to-be-freshman and listened as all of her options were laid out before me: geometry, world language, STEM classes and fine arts. Don't forget AP and honors courses and if you want to be considered for something extra-special, there's the pre-ACT requirement next month.

 My head was spinning and my hand was writing frantically.

Us moms gathered afterwards to compare notes, huddled around my cell phone looking at websites to hopefully help our kiddos make the right decisions to prepare them for a future.

One that their 8th grade mind has no idea what it wants (nor should it!).

The pressure is huge, and I vow not to ask her "what do you want to be when you grow up?", so she can choose the correct high school classes.

At least not this month.

 

 

Oh baby girl, your future is bright. And although I still cannot believe we are heading to high school, we are so excited for whatever your future may bring! This mom who loves to learn, is begging you to take me along on this journey because I'd love to take some of those classes with you!

 

 

Pretty please!

Time flies

It dawned on me this evening:
 Lincoln is 6 years old.
In 6 more years, Regan will be approaching her 20th birthday.
 Two decades.
Oh my heck!
Which led me to think how much our lives have changed in is last decade.
So let’s recap that right here, before we ring in the new year.

In 2009, we lived in a tiny 1200 square foot house with two little girls who loved to color and paint, sing and dance. They loved each other fiercely, looked after one another and and were best of friends.

We outgrew that house and moved to one with more space and a gorgeous backyard; the girls were instantly in love with the pool.

They grew into silly, sassy, sweet things and also found fun!

Regan started school and Sidney loved joining her for lunch. 

Ahhh, look at that cuteness!

We played and explored, did a little traveling and a lot of family time. 

We had fewer extra curricular activities and more together time.

And in 2013 we added one more to the mix. A boy to shake up all that cute girly stuff. 

He loved puppies and mischief and making a giant mess. 

But those girls love him no matter what. 

Oh our rolly-polly boy how we love you! 

We found time to explore

And make memories

We traveled and hiked

And taught photography to the littlest of the bunch

We made time to relax and bask in the sun

And run, jump to burn off energy

We got baptized and first communioned (not on the same day)

We splashed and made a mess!

And traveled some more

The last decade has been incredible and full and amazing in so many ways. It's hard to believe all of that happened in just 10 years. I'm excited for the next 10 :)