Regan's Artwork

I haven't posted any of Regan's Art Work in a while, but she drew this this morning and I was so impressed I had to post it. She initially only drew the elephant with the ball, but when I said I was going to post it she took it and added to it.

Jennings Swim Meet

Regan with one of her teammates. She offered to let her hold one of her silly bandz for the picture.

Her first sillyband for winning her heat in the 25m butterfly. I definitely think the pink nails helped. : )

Matt waiting to time his first swim meet.

Regan had her second swim meet this morning in Jennings, LA. She placed second in her heat in the 6 & Under 25m backstroke event. She won her heat in the 6 & Under 25m freestyle and butterfly events. We were so proud of her!! She was one of seven competing in her freestyle heat. I was like a crazy mother jumping up and down screaming. It was very exciting! Matt was one of the lane timers this time. I think he really enjoyed doing that. They gave out sillybandz if you won your heat, which made it even better for Regan. A big thank you to Granny for keeping Addison for us. I really like getting to watch Regan compete.

Bowling Party

One of the girls friends had a birthday party at the bowling alley last weekend.

Vacation - Fireworks

One of the conventions at the hotel paid for fireworks the first night we were there. They were really pretty. But they were really close and really loud.

Vacation - Resting

Neither of the girls really nap anymore. They did, however, like to lay in our bed and watch t.v. to rest. They really got into Animal Planet while we were in Destin. Specifically, Big Cat Diaries.

Vacation - Ice Cream

While we were at Destin Commons Addison kept telling me that she was hungry for something cold. Since we were sitting right next to an ice cream stand, I was pretty sure of what she was hungry for. I kept ignoring her until finally she said "Oh look, they have ice cream!"

Vacation - A Little Break

We needed a little break from hotel food, so we went to Destin Commons and ate at one of the restaurants there. They have a sprinkler and a playground, so we let the kids play after we ate.

Vacation - time at the pool.

The kids are definitely happiest at the pool on vacation. Addison makes us very nervous in the pool, because she is just good enough to cause herself to drown. But by the end of the week, we were feeling confident enough to let her swim while we sat on the side of the pool. I think I will be able to read a magazine (a personal dream of mine) by next summer. But right now we still have to watch her pretty closely.

Vacation - Time on the Beach

Regan staying hydrated

We spent more time on the beach this year than we ever have. I even got to sit in my chair and read a little. Addison gets a little bit better with the sand every year. This year she started out on the first day only whining a little and then ended the week with whining a lot. I think lack of sleep didn't help. Also, Matt and I agree that we would like the beach a lot better if there were no sand.... so we can't really blame her. However, by the last day we were ready to leave them both home next year. They would be happier at a hotel in Lafayette with a pool.

Regan's leggo collection

Regan made the little girl based on the picture on the box. I was pretty impressed and, of course, had to take a picture.

Regan's First Swim Meet

Enjoying a healthy snack

One of her teammates was really good about helping Regan not to be nervous.

Regan had her first swim meet this morning. When we woke her up she told us that her tummy hurt. We explained to her that that is what happens when you're nervous. She did really well at the meet. She participated in a relay. She won her heat in the 25m freestyle event. She also competed in the 25m butterfly and the 25m backstroke. In the butterfly she was competing against one of the coach's daughters. We thought she would do well in the backstroke, because she really likes the backstroke. But the whole not knowing how long it really is because you can't see behind you threw her off, I think. She came in 3rd out of 4 in that heat. We were very proud of her and so was her coach.

Swimming

We have been going to the pool a lot this summer. I would like to take pictures and share them with you guys, but I am afraid that I am going to break my camera as I am dropping it to run and save Addison. Addison is swimming really well, but she now thinks that she can swim a little better than she can. She loves to be under water and she can hold her breath for a long time. Which is a little scary. Today we went to a pool party and my friend got some shots.

Sleeping Baby

So, the girls have been sick. Addison mostly. She threw up three times on Monday. We thought it was something that she ate, but then she threw up again Tuesday morning. And then Regan started throwing up and I started feeling queasy (maybe from all of the throwing up and being thrown up on more than once), so we decided that it was probably a virus. Addison threw up again this morning, but has seemed fine for the rest of the day... We hope we have turned the corner. But I have to say... she is just like me when she is sick. She sleeps it away. Yesterday Regan came and asked me where Addison was. We were all pretty lethargic yesterday, but I hadn't heard the door beep so I assumed she was inside. I told her to go find her and tell me where she was. She found her sleeping in her bed. She slept for two hours. Today we went through the drive through, and Addison fell asleep on the way home. I left her in the car until she woke up and then I brought her inside. She slept for at least forty minutes on me and then she got up and wanted to eat. So, I brought her food to her chair. She got up and went into my room and I heard her fuss but she never called or came back out. I went to check on her and she was asleep on the floor. She then woke up and went back to her chair and is currently sleeping on her chair. On Monday (before we knew she was sick), I made her lay down in her bed with her milk. I was debating on whether or not to wake her up to take Regan to swim team when I saw her sit up in her bed. When I went in her room she seemed to be pulling at the strings on the blankie that she no longer has. She looked up at me and said "Mommy, I didn't get a strike." and then she put the air blankie to her mouth like she was chewing on it (which I think is how it disintegrated in the first place) laid back down and started snoring again. Had I known that she was sick, I would have left her sleeping.

Beach

We were on the MS Gulf Coast this weekend for my grandmother's 80th birthday. I think it is the first time that I have stayed on the Gulf Coast since I have had children. It was a lot of fun spending time with family that we don't get to see very often. My kids really liked seeing one of their cousins, Wyatt, who they would like to adopt as their little brother.

They really wanted to go to the beach while we were there, so Sunday morning before we left... we took them. My kids are extremely spoiled when it comes to beaches, because when we go to the beach we stay at a hotel with a pool and pretty water and sand. So, as soon as we got there they wanted to know where the pool was. And at first they wanted no part of "the yucky brown water." Which Matt and I thought was funny since we both grew up with that yucky brown water. As soon as we got there Addison needed to potty. We told her to go in the water, so she walked to the edge of the water, squatted and started peeing. They did eventually get in the water. And then I realized that in that way it was better than Destin, because there is no undertow and it doesn't get very deep. So, I could let them go in by themselves and now worry. But we will still be going to the beautiful beaches of Destin. : )

Kindergarten Program

I have to say.... I LOVE the music teacher at Regan's school. The kindergarten program was adorable. I meant to get a video of it, but keep forgetting. Hopefully, I can still purchase one. It was ocean themed and everyone had a speaking part. It was the cutest thing! It brought tears to my eyes, though. I think because it finalized that kindergarten is over and we are done with the little school. I'm not sure who is having more anxiety about the big school, Me or Regan. I think I would have to say me. But they took the kindergarten to visit first grade and Regan said it was big and there are a lot of kids. Which anything would be big compared to where she is now. She also told Matt that she wanted to stay in Kindergarten. I talked to her about it and she seems to be worried that she won't have friends in her class. Which I explained to her that she knows all of the kids in Kindergarten, so even if it's not the kids that she has in her class this year it will still be kids that she knows. They have summer camps at the big school and I am sending her to one at the end of the summer to hopefully help alleviate some of her anxiety.

Art Spark

The kindergarten performed at Regan's school's Art Show. People have made comments to me lately about Regan's voice. It is loud and she has good pitch. Someone even suggested that I put her in voice lessons (as if I don't have enough to do). She definitely loves to sing and she was so close to the microphone that there was one song in particular that you could only hear her voice.

After the performance we walked around and looked at the art. We were really impressed by some of the art. The most impressive were these pieces of art that looked like drawings, but were really a bunch of words that created the art. Apparently the art teacher at the big school is really good.... which is good for Regan, since she truly loves art.

Dance Review

It's finally over and I can take a breather from dancing. Having two in dancing this year has been hectic, to say the least. We thought Addison wasn't going to do it again next year, because (unlike her sister) she has no love for the stage. She even cried a few times (as if getting their makeup on straight isn't hard enough), but would dance once she got on stage. She told me that "All those people looking at me makes me look funny." I swore that I would never be the mother that forced her children to do dancing, so I kept telling her that she just had to do the rehearsals and the review and then she never had to do dancing again. Well, she loves the makeup and she of course loved getting a present.... so now she's decided that she wants to do dancing again.

May Day

Last Friday was May Day at Regan's school. She was very excited, because the kindergartner's get to hold the ribbons on the may poles. After Addison's muffins with mom's we went over to Regan's school where Matt met us. The kids had fun running around and then we all went to lunch together.