Summer vacation!

We had a long relaxing vacation at Izaty's on Mille Lacs Lake last week/weekend. As you can see, Regan couldn't wait to get down to the lake; as soon as we opened up the back door, she was out running! She also enjoyed hanging out in the tv room in our townhome where she insisted on being in charge of the remote :) It was a fabulous vacation and we had some gorgeous weather. Daddy and Papa Wallner went golfing two days and ended up in more water than they had planned. The 3 of us girls couldn't help but laugh as the water sprinklers came on just as daddy was about to hit a shot...that's the fastest we've ever seen those two move!

Water please

Regan has this need to drink from mom's water bottle at every chance she gets. Needless to say, we try to hide it most of the time or we end up with water everywhere! We thought this was a pretty cute picture of her sitting and watching daddy in the kitchen just drinking her water.

17 months old today!

What a big girl she is getting to be. Regan happened to step on Nana's scale today and it said 24 lbs! Not sure of her height, but she's definately growing that way too. It's fun to ask her to repeat something, although that also means we all have to be very careful what we say. Anything can come out of her mouth now! Thankfully the worst she has said is "shoot", but it sounds a bit more like the word she shouldn't say.

MN Zoo

Saturday afternoon we went to the MN Zoo where Regan was toted around on mom's back for the bulk of the day. She was in her glory looking at all the "puppies" and seemed pretty confused when we told her the actual name of the animal!

"Pretty power"

Translation.... Pretty flower. OK, so it was a wilted dandelion, but she didn't care! Now that I look back at these pictures I have no idea what was so intriguing that she was focused on in the distance, but I do remember she wouldn't look at the camera for long tonight. O well, still a cute picture.

Ring pops, pony tails and a new ride!

A blue ring pop!? Can anyone say grandma? All Regan had to do was point it out and next thing we knew it was in her mouth :) That's alright, she was being such a good girl watching Hunter's softball games on a super hot day.

This weekend we went searching for a backpack carrier in hopes that it would free up mom's hands both in and out of the house (she absolutely insists on being held by mom whenever mom is around). Today we were lucky enough to find one online and after a quick trip to Edina to pick it up, we couldn't get Regan out of it! Thankfully she's in love with her new ride; now it's mom's turn to get used to carrying 20-some lbs on her back.

Lake Harriet-ducks and puppies

The intent was to spend the evening listening to music at the Lake Harriet bandshell, the reality was we spent the evening chasing ducks and puppies!

Giggly little girl

Regan had the giggles yesterday when mommy was trying to take her picture :) She was so cute eating her strawberries but kept shying away from the camera. Silly girl.

Most people have been mentioning Regan's hair in all the pictures we have posted. Yep, she's got quite the mess of curls! It's also much more blonde than anyone would anticipate given mommy and daddy's hair color (and no, it's not the "mailman's kid....he's Asian)!

Have a great weekend! We plan to spend it outside as much as possible (ok, well, minus daddy who is going to spend as much time as possible inside; we all know how much he loves the heat).

Happy 4th of July!

We celebrated the 4th of July with a BBQ at the Helm's house; and as you can see the kiddos enjoyed an afternoon swim! No fireworks for us this year though, Regan was ready for "ni ni" by 8:30. She gave it a good run at staying awake, but just couldn't make it. She couldn't even stay awake for either of the two nearby parades going on because of her twice daily naps. We hope to see it all next year!

One for you, and one for me

Grandma Sheri bought Regan some books, a baby with bottles, and a baby stroller for the 4th of July (it looked like Christmas at our house this morning!)! Regan just loves her baby and stroller and showed us how she can not only feed the baby, but can feed herself at the same time; now that's talent!

And yes, I realize she's running around in her diaper, but if you look back at her blog, you'll see that every night we struggle with getting dressed after a bath. Sometimes it is just easier to let her run for a while with just the diaper. I pick my battles, and that's not one of them!

Taste of MN

We made a trip to the Taste of MN today for Regan's first live concert :) She loved the music, although we couldn't get too close since we didn't want her to lose her hearing. She enjoyed the food too and couldn't get enough of pointing out the "puppies"; aka: anything that has 4 legs and a tail, including the horses on the merry-go-round!

Girls and their shoes

Regan has this strange fascination with her shoes :) She will constantly go into her closet and pull out different shoes and study them....she obviously takes after her daddy. Seriously, he had more shoes than mommy when they first met!

Her dark complexion is really starting to show. In fact, our daycare provider asked in an almost guilty manner if she "tans through sunscreen". Apparently one afternoon they had been in the swimming pool no more than 40 minutes and Regan came in the house with tan lines. There isn't much we can do, she tans through her 50 SPF sunscreen! At least she doesn't burn.

Money Management 101

Lesson #1: We don't eat money.

Thankfully we're doing well with that lesson :)

Regan actually loves to put change into her piggy bank so (with close supervision), she gets to empty mommy's wallet and daddy's pockets and fill up her own piggy bank (she's starting early with her cute little "please"!).

Regan's been a little under the weather with a sore throat and runny nose but it's not strep, thank goodness, and she's feeling better today. Next week day care is closed so she'll be spending her days hanging out with the grandparents; not sure who is more excited, her or the grandparents!

Smartie pants!

This morning Regan showed mommy her ability to climb up on a chair all by herself! She's been so interested in watching the birds outside, it apparently was the determination she needed to climb up alone. Unfortunately, it didn't stop there, she then managed to climb up on the table and tonight she attempted climbing into the bathtub all by herself. Much to mommy and daddy's dismay, we have a "climber"...the downside is that often means a "tumbler" as well. We'll be sure to keep a close eye / hand on her at all times!

When mommy took this picture, Regan had no idea anyone was watching her and when mommy asked her what she was doing on the chair, Regan was quick to sit down. Can you tell she's been told to 'sit down' a time or two?!

Wouldn't Grandpa Schugel be proud?

Clearly she has some Schugel in her blood!

For those of you who aren't a Schugel, um, yea, she's just telling us that she's "one".

Swinging at Nana's

We spent last weekend in New Ulm so daddy could enjoy a few rounds of golf with some relatives and mommy/Regan could enjoy watching another softball tournament. Regan and mommy took a break from games on Saturday afternoon to go swinging on Nana's deck. Regan was in her glory being pushed on the big swing, another thing she doesn't have to be strapped into which just makes her happier!

Our visits away from home are becoming increasingly difficult as they have a tendency to create problems with naps and night time routines; it ends up taking a few days to get back on track once we get home again. And those can be some sleepless nights for mommy and daddy.

Happy Father's Day!

Daddy's only request today was to watch part of the US Open, and we appreciated that his request didn't include watching the entire 6+ hours and that he didn't mind if Regan and mommy skipped the golf all together! Instead we watched two softball games in Shakopee, went swimming in the back yard and grilled burgers for dinner; oh yea, and daddy watched just over 4 hours of golf. Dad and Regan shared a moment after bath time when Regan gave him a kiss while riding her horse; it was so adorable! Mommy was really hoping for a poopy in the bath tub for Father's Day like Regan gave her on Mother's Day....too bad she pooped in the tub one day too early (she managed to give us another surprise Saturday night instead)!

Happy Father's Day :)

Nice Shades!

Regan was busy working on her tan this weekend, and she did a good job! Mom and dad applied 50 SPF sunscreen 4 times between 10am and 5pm today and she still managed to get some tan lines; and no, she was not outside that whole time. Thankfully her little head didn't burn in the sun (she tends to toss the hat-and sunglasses- after just a few minutes)!

16 months old!

It's getting harder and harder to take these pictures because Regan won't sit next to the sign, but we're determined to keep taking them until she's 18 months (or at least that's our goal!). At 16 months, she's saying more words than we can count, running all over the house and getting into everything! Her least favorite thing to do is ride in the car (too confining) and her favorite things to do are swim in the new pool outside or go for a wagon ride, well, and usually eat! She now repeats nearly everything we say...so watch out! Thankfully she (we) haven't said anything she shouldn't say. She also points out everything she sees, especially puppies and babies (what a little girl!). The funniest thing she does is cry in empathy when she hears another baby crying; it's actually quite funny to watch/hear! We've been spending the last few hot/humid days swimming in the pool and running around in swimsuits! This weekend we've also been watching some softball games in Shakopee (Logan and Hope are both playing); Regan would prefer to run or talk with the girls instead of actually watch, but we can't expect anything more from our social butterfly!

More TN pictures

As you can see, Regan really enjoyed her

time in TN!

Dana and Mark's wedding

The biggest event of our TN trip was Mark and Dana's wedding (daddy's cousin) and it was definately a good time! Regan enjoyed kicking up her heels on the dance floor and finally fell asleep in mommy's arms around 9:30pm; poor girl had a long day! As you can see, she made some new friends out on the dance floor. Daddy enjoyed doing what he does best when there are many camera around...jumping in front of pictures he wasn't asked to be a part of. Two pictures here show him in rare form; one he tossed a pair of socks at the perfect moment, blacking out Hunter's face while the photo was snapped! The other (his favorite) was supposed to be a nice picture of Gma-Sheri and her sisters. Daddy happened to see their attempt at a nice picture and hopped in the back just as the picture was taken; no one even knew he was there!

Jack Daniel's Distillery Tour

So what that it's a DRY county!? Yep, that's right, the Jack Daniel's distillery is located in a dry county. We still had a good time on the tour and at times the smell of whiskey is so strong I thought we'd be drunk just from the scent alone (and Grandma Sheri wanted to pass out she was so disgusted by the smell)! Regan slept through most of the tour, but Jamie, daddy, mommy and Grandma Sheri enjoyed learning how the whiskey is made, fermented, bottled and distributed.

Pigs!

Our first night in TN was spent sitting down to a great meal and catching up with the rest of the family who made the trip down to TN (21 from MN)! It was HOT, especially for daddy who isn't a fan of 90F and humid weather, but he managed to survive!