Regan's First Tea

Georgina and I took the girl's to their first tea today. It was really cute, and they really enjoyed it. They had a Ms. Clause, a Snow Princess, Santa Clause, a Snow Man and a Rudolph. As you probably guessed, Regan liked the Snow Princess the best. She took two pictures with her.

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Tonight we let Regan stay up and help decorate the Christmas Tree. It was an experience. She started unwrapping all of the ornaments while Matt and I were busy putting the lights on the tree. Which is fine, except that most of our ornaments are breakable. Only one broke in the process, which is pretty good....I think. She didn't quite get the concept that you have to put the ornament far back on the branch. But all in all I think she did well for a three year old.

Visit to Santa

I don't think I will be using this picture as my Christmas Card this year. Although, I think it's kind of funny and cute. They had a fan blowing on Santa to keep him cool. If you were wondering why Regan's hair is blowing back like that.

Picking out a tree

Regan could not wait to go pick out a Christmas Tree, and now she can't wait to decorate it. We are hoping to decorate it tonight. If for no other reason than so that she will stop asking us. Our tree is the one right behind Matt and Regan. I think it is a little fat, because as Regan says..."it pulls my hair when I walk by it."

Addison's Physical Therapy

We went yesterday for Addison's Physical Therapy appointment. They are very happy with her progress. They gave me some exercises to work with her on cruising, balancing and walking. They said that as soon as she starts walking they will release her, and they think it will be before she is 15 months. We go back again at the end of January.

Goofy Golfing

One of Meredith's friends came over to visit on Saturday and we all went goofy golfing. Everyone minus Dick and Matt who had an "important" football game to watch. They volunteered to stay home with Addison. We lost Regan's coat at the mall ealier that day, so she had to wear Matt's. It was a lot of fun. We helped her with the first shot and then she would do the other shots. The funniest thing was when the ball was to far away from the hole, she would pick it up and move it closer. I am not the best with hand eye coordination and I have a hard time not hitting the ball to hard. There was one ball that I was having particular trouble with and Regan said "just hit the ball in the hole mommy." Regan got two hole's in one that I helped her with and she got the ball in the snake's mouth that I helped her with, too. She got a free pass for getting the ball in the snake's mouth.

Thanksgiving

We went to Florida for Thanksgiving. We had a really good time. We don't get to spend a lot of time with my family, so it's always nice when we get the opportunity to. Regan had what Matt had while we were there, and I have had it for the past two days. Not fun. Matt was nice enough to work from home today. I was barely able to take care of the kids yesterday, and this morning I felt even worse. By this afternoon I was feeling a lot better, and I am all but recovered this evening. Addison seemed to be starting with it today. We will see how it goes.

Park

So, we usually go to the park on Friday's to meet our playgroup friends after school. There is not much for Addison to do; because she doesn't walk, slide and until today swing. I have been trying to break her in little by little with the swing. I didn't have a lot of hope because one of my friends has a four year old who is just starting to like swinging and I have another friend who has a two year old that hates to swing. Well, today Addison loved swinging. She was laughing the whole time. Love it! I also love how she is looking at Regan like "what you talkin about willis." in the second picture.

We were on our way to New Orleans today to go to two birthday parties this weekend and stay for a few days before we headed to Florida. Well, we were concerned that Regan was in the beginning stages of pink eye and Matt wasn't feeling well. We were halfway there and Matt wanted me to take over driving and that is when I made the executive decision that we should head back home. When we switched drivers I thought about asking Regan if she needed to potty, because we were at a place where she could have gone. But I didn't, so we ended up pulling over on the side of the road and letting her tee-tee in one of Addison's diapers. It was lovely. I called the pediatrician on call and he called in some drops for me. He said she should be fine by tomorrow, but I still don't want her around a lot of kids for a few days. It was a good thing we came home, because as soon as we got home Matt was very sick. So, we will see how they are feeling tomorrow and re-evaluate our plans. The whole way home Regan talked about how she wanted her eyes to be blue again. She also told me that going to Avery's party and seeing Cinderella would help her to feel better.

Regan got pushed on the playground at school today. I think she would have told me, but I only know for sure because I went to drop off chicken nuggets at school today for their Thanksgiving Feast. Normally I would have left them with the secretary, but a lot of people were coming in behind me to go on tours of the school. Regan hasn't had issues of separation anxiety for a while now, so I thought I would take the opportunity to be the cool parent who brought the chicken nuggets for snack. I probably should have just left them with the secretary. But I am glad that I got to hug her and wipe her tears.

I hope to take and put up a picture for Addison's eleven month tomorrow. A few days late, I know. What can I say....I have two kids.

Pictures from Chapel

For your child's birthday you can dedicate books to them for the library. Today was a little boy in Regan's class birthday. Regan's teacher is the one at the microphone and the lady with the guitar is her music teacher.

Addison Crawling and Shaking Her Head No

Addison's favorite thing to do is to shake her head no and wave. Regan said yeah to everything when she was a baby, and I think Addison is going to say no to everything. She even kind of says no no. It's cute now, but I am sure it won't be forever. She is crawling all over the place and I tried to get video to prove it. But she had a one track mind to get to the lamp cord.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1581285266409738010

Weekend

Friday night Matt and I went to an auction for Regan's school. The owner of the company's children go there, too. He bought a table, but was unable to attend. So, we got to sit at the table which was really nice. Saturday Matt went hunting for the first time at a company sponsored hunt. I think he had fun, and wants to go next year. My only rule is...no gun's in the house. The girl's and I went to a birthday party. And after naps we went to the mall. It wasn't to bad. The only hard thing was trying to fit the double stroller in the restroom when Regan had to go potty. I had to go, though. We are having beach pictures made over the Thanksgiving Holiday's, so I needed the right dresses for the girls.

Chapel

Addison and I finally made it to chapel at Regan's school. They have it every Wednesday morning and parents are encouraged to attend. It was really cute. It reminded me of chapel at camp. Next week I will bring my camera and post a picture. Addison was really happy to be there, so I think we are going to try to go more often. Regan seemed happy that we were there, too.

The vegetables aren't going so well. Regan is not so easily deceived. I made her the grilled cheese yesterday for lunch with the pureed sweet potatoes. She told me that she did not like it, that she wanted a square piece of cheese. Addison and I ate one. It wasn't bad, but the texture was a little off.

Eating Healthy

In an effort to get Regan to eat vegetables, I bought the controversial cookbook deceptively delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. Tonight I tried out my first recipe of pasta covered with pureed squash, and Regan ate squash for the first time since she was a baby. Granted it was not very much, and we had to bribe her with a princess snack to even get her to try it. All because I didn't have the right kind of pasta. Even though I let her pick out the pasta at the grocery store. But I still feel that it is a step in the right direction. And a step up from last night when I bribed her with french fries to get her to eat some carrots. Tomorrow I am going to try grilled cheese with pureed sweet potatoes and chicken nuggets with pureed broccoli. Addison had the left over pureed steamed squash and loved it. I think I will start doing this for her more often. It was so easy. I also gave her some pureed sweet potatoes that I prepared in advance for the grilled cheese. It was a little thick for her, I think.

Halloween

Regan was so excited for Halloween this year. She could barely contain herself, she was so excited to go trick or treating. We had to tell her she couldn't go trick or treating unless she ate dinner, because she didn't want to eat she was so excited. She kept changing her mind about what she wanted to be, and finally decided on Belle today. It was always a princess, of course, it was just a matter of which princess. Luckily we have almost all of them, so she could change her mind. Originally I was going to dress Addison as Snow White, and then Regan wanted to be Snow White. Well, Snow White is one of the only princess costumes that we don't have and I happen to know that she is getting it for Christmas. I finally talked her out of Snow White and into Sleeping Beauty. So, all along she was going to be Sleeping Beauty and then today she decided she was going to be Belle. Addison on the other hand barely tolerated her costume. Especially the wings. She kept her head band on the whole night, though. I was surprised.

Addison and I went to Regan's halloween party at school. It was fun, and the kids were adorable. I could never be a pre-k teacher though. I told Matt that he has to go next time, because I thought my arm was going to fall off from holding Addison for so long. She is a little potato. I thought I might get a break tonight, but Matt got new glasses and Addison was not liking them. I think I am going to have a sore arm tomorrow.

Dentist

Regan went in for a checkup today and Addison went for her first visit. They said that they both look good. No cavities. They were able to scrape the vitamin stains off of Addison's teeth. They said if we brush them right after we give her the vitamins she won't get stains. Regan was a really big girl today. She let them polish and floss her teeth. Every other visit we have had to hold her down while they looked at and counted her teeth. I actually felt like I got my money's worth today.

First Parent/Teacher Conference

Regan's first parent/teacher conference went really well. There are no requirements for pre-k 4 and she knew everything that they evaluated her on. They seemed most impressed that she knew Matt and I's real names. Her teacher said she is a sweet kid and she has no problem's with her. What every mother wants to hear.

This Weekend

We had a busy weekend this weekend. Matt was supposed to go to a hunting class in New Orleans, but their was a propane accident so he couldn't get there. I had a playdate on Saturday with one of our friends. We went to a "bounce house" and Regan had a ton of fun. On Sunday we went over to the North Shore to see the new baby and we stopped and visited some other friends. Today we have Regan's first parent/teacher conference. She stayed with her Granny overnight for the first time with out us. They are coming here today and Granny is going to watch both girls when we are at the conference.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch after school today. Regan and Addison had their first hayride, and after about 50 shots I finally got one of them both smiling and looking at the camera. Thank goodness for continuous shot and digital cameras.

Sibling Rivalry

Now that Addison can crawl and get to her sister's stuff, instead of select objects being brought to her, we are starting to have a little bit of sibling rivalry. Today Addison was trying to play with Regan's paper. Which Regan was having none of. So, I told Regan to pick five things that she did not want to share and she had to share everything else. I read some article that said that this would help. Since Addison was trying to get her paper; and I don't want her to have paper right now anyway I tried to start Regan off by saying okay your paper, your Elmo, and three more things. What else do you not want to share, and she tells me "all of my toys in my playroom."

Playing with the Leap Frog Table

Big Girl

Apparently Addison has decided that she is a big girl. Yesterday she did not want to take her bottle, and today she ate her first grilled cheese. I told her she cannot give up her bottle until she figures out how to drink from a sippy cup. When that happens I am more than happy for her to give it up, but not until. She seemed to really enjoy the grilled cheese, though.

Addison is Crawling!!

Addison started crawling today. Not very fast or very far (which I like....easy to keep up with). She will only crawl if she really wants something and there isn't anything else within reach. But she is definitely crawling. So exciting!!

Addison 10 months

Apparently I did not take a 10 month picture of Regan, because we were in Maine.

Addison is half scooting half crawling

She will only do it if she really wants something. And if you try to keep moving it just out of her reach she will sit up and get mad. And if she can stretch to get it, she will. But she will scoot/crawl to get something if it is just out of reach, and that is progress. She is also doing well with her pulling up to standing exercises. I don't think it will be long before she is doing that on her own. She will also stand and play with the Leap Frog table. Whereas before therapy she wouldn't stand at all. She has come so far in the past couple of weeks, and I am very proud of her.

Addison's 2nd Physical Therapy Appointment

We went to Addison's 2nd PT Appointment this afternoon. It went really well. The PT was very happy with her progress. She said that she doesn't usually see progress this quickly. She obviously doesn't know how obsessive I can be. Regan went with us, and she said that probably throughout their lives I will be trying to reign Regan in, and nudge Addison forward. She said that it is just their personalities. She also said that Addison has little to no motivation to move because her sister will give her whatever she wants. This was demonstrated soon after when Regan had a toy that Addison wanted and Addison raised her hands and let out a cry and Regan handed it to her immediately. She gave us some more exercises to do, and we go back in four weeks. She said if I feel like we need to go back after two weeks that I can call and make an appointment. But she thinks that four weeks will be fine.

My roommate from College, Darcy (Aunt Darcy to Regan), came to visit for a to short visit. We had a lot of fun. She played a lot with the girls. Regan, of course, thought she was her personal playmate. Yesterday was Darcy's last day, and Regan was basically telling me to get lost. Which is fine. It so did not hurt my feelings, I was wondering what it would take for Darcy to move in with us. While she was here we ate a lot, shopped in Baton Rouge, went to Tabasco, and shopped for some smocked dresses. They don't really wear smocked dresses in Montana, so Darcy couldn't believe that we have whole stores with nothing but smocked dresses in them. We found a great deal on some Christmas dresses for the girls, and Regan wanted to try them on. I think she liked them just because they were red. She's not to happy that she has to wait until Christmas to wear it. I bought an orange fallish one and Christmas ones, and I got one for each of the girls. When we were leaving the store we were trying to explain to Regan that two were for her and two were for Addison. So she says to us, I want both red ones.

Sat Up by Herself

Addison sat up for the first time today. When Matt went to get her from her bed this morning she was sitting up in her bed. Of course, she hasn't done it while we are watching. But now we know she can do it.

Already Seeing an Improvement

The main exercise we are supposed to do with Addison is to put her up on all fours (in a crawling position) and push her bottom towards the floor. I am already seeing an improvement. At first she would only tolerate them after her morning nap and then only a couple of times and then she would start getting aggravated. Today she has gone straight to sitting every time I put her up on all fours, and will even stay up for a minute or two and rock back and forth. She still doesn't get herself to all fours, but I think that will be next. I am so excited to be seeing an improvement this quickly.

Trendsetter

Every now and then Regan's Aunt Darcy sends her care packages. She sent her this skirt and hair thing (which Regan made into a bracelet) a while ago, but Regan just sort of re-discovered it. This how she went to Target today, minus the cd player.

The Princess On Her Throne

Now that Regan is not napping I am having to be something that I have never been before.....creative. Thank goodness they have books to help you fake it. Today we made a crown that kept her occupied for a whole ten minutes. After we made it, I asked her if I could take a picture of her. She said yes, and wanted to take it in her rocking chair. And no, I did not pose her. : )

Addison's Physical Therapy

Her Physical Therapy Consultation went really well. They confirmed everything that we thought. She isn't that far behind, and she is most likely behind because she had a lot going on in her early months when babies are usually building muscle during tummy time. They said that it's not going to take her very long, and without physical therapy she would probably be fine. But this will get her up to speed, which is what we want. We go next week again, and then she said we will probably go once a month after that. She gave us some exercises to do with her. I am very excited that we are getting started, and that I wasn't wrong in my mother's intuition.

Soccer Game

We went to our friend's son's soccer game this weekend. It was fun, but hot. I am so ready for some cooler weather. Regan is really getting into soccer. She will sometime's ask Matt if he wants to watch soccer, which makes him very happy. And when we were at the game she said.....Mommy, I want to play that.

Regan and I are going through a tough transition. I have not been putting her down for nap's, because if she nap's we can't get her to go to sleep until around 11pm. But she is obviously tired during the day and can get really cranky. We have been having her rest, which helps a little but she is still much crankier than we are used to. I am hoping that this is just a transition, and once she gets used to it she will adjust. Until then, I am praying for patience. On the bright side, she goes to sleep as soon as we put her in her bed now. And she got her treat for listening every day last week.

Addison goes for her physical therapy consultation tomorrow. I am ready to get started. I think it is going to help her get on track. One of my friend's little girls went to speech therapy two times, and she went from me not being able to understand a word she said to speaking clearly. So, I have high hopes for Addison. Especially since I really think it is not that she can't, it seems that it is more that she doesn't want to. I am anxious to see what the Physical Therapist says.

Weekend

We went to New Orleans on Saturday. While Addison took a nap we took Regan to feed the ducks which were hard to find and not very hungry. But she had fun. Then we took her to another park to swing and slide.

Saturday night we stayed out to late, but had a very good time with some friend's at dinner.

ENT

Addison went to see the ENT today for a follow up visit. She said that her ear tubes look really good, and that her pallet looks perfect. As long as there are no issues inbetween, we don't have to go back for another three to four months. Yay!

Addison - 9 months

Addison's Nine Month Well Visit

Addison had her nine month well visit this morning. She has to see a physical therapist, because she is developmentally behind in gross motor skills. He said he doesn't think anything is wrong with her. Especially because while sitting she will bend down to get a toy and play with it. She just won't get herself to sitting. And she should be starting to crawl and pull herself up on furniture and she is not. He said it is better to get started with these things early in case something is wrong. We had to see a physical therapist when she was having trouble with the bottle, and it was a one visit miracle. We are hoping that this will be similar.

In other news..... she is growing really well. Following the curve like she is supposed to.

Here are her stats:

Height: 28 inches (67%)
Weight: 18 lbs. 14 oz. (48%)
Head Circ: 18 3/8 in (98%)

Happy Birthday Matt

Saturday was Matt's Birthday, and I think he had a good one. We went out to dinner on Friday night with a friend and he went to the LSU game on Saturday. We had cake for him yesterday, because he was gone most of the day on Sunday. Regan was very excited to give him his cake and sing happy birthday. She wanted to get him a prince charming cake, but they don't have those (not a lot of demand, I guess) so we settled on a cookie cake. Which is Matt's favorite kind of cake.

Pool

Regan was cleared for public pools, and she has been asking to go to the "big pool" for a while. So! This Sunday we went to our gym's pool for a couple of hours. It was Addison's first time and she was not to sure about it, but Regan had a blast! So much so, that we had a little bit of a meltdown when it was time to go. She even said she wanted to go underwater in order to be able to stay. Something she is already out of the habit of doing.

The Next American Idol

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=657596026681439873

Regan's First Ballet Class

Regan had her first Ballet Class. It was too cute. They did Tap and Ballet, and were already learning heal together, etc... It brought back memories of when I took as a kid. I think Regan really liked it. I think she especially liked that there was a mirror all along the front wall that she could see herself in.

First Salon Hair Cut

Matt and I took Regan with us to get a haircut this weekend. I wanted him to clean it up. It was the first time she had her hair washed in a sink and the first time shehad product put in her hair. I think I am going to take her every few months. It's a better haircut, but it is hard for her to sit still for that long.