We went to a nearby neighborhood development last night to kick off our 4th of July festivities. It was really hot, but the girls had fun! Regan was most excited about the fireworks, but had the most fun dancing. Addison only danced for one song. I think it was to hot for her. She does not enjoy the heat. The face paint did not last long on their faces, because they were sweating so much. There were long lines for the face painting and the horse rides, but they didn't seem to mind. Addison wanted to ride the horses until we got to the front of the line and then she wanted no part of them. Regan wanted to ride again.

Addison Gymnastics

Addison and I are doing Mommy and Me Gymnastics every Monday morning. Regan has been going with us most days and I have to say that it might as well have been Regan's class, because she was the only one participating for the most part. But today Addison actually did a lot. I don't know if it's because she is getting used to the class or if it's because her sister wasn't there. She still won't climb through things and she wants no part of the sponge pit, but she was letting me flip her over and she loved the balance beam... as long as she was holding onto my hand, of course.

Destin '09

We had one of the best beach trips that we have had, yet. It helps that the kids are getting older and I think it will only get easier and better. However, if it were up to them.... as Matt says.... we could stay at a hotel in Lafayette with a pool and they would be happy. None of the kids loved the beach. They really only wanted to be at the pool. We tortured them every day and made them go to the beach (since it is a seven hour drive to get there and we belong to a pool at home). We went with our friends that we go with every year (except the year that we stayed with Aunt Carla, because Matt and Regan had recently had Salmonella). Our girls are similar in age and play really well together. The older ones (Kate and Regan) tolerated the sand, but really wanted nothing to do with the "ocean." I think they have both watched a little to much t.v., because they were both concerned about sharks. Regan went in a little, but only because she wanted to see the little minnows that you could see swimming by. I told her that if she continued to swim that she could eventually learn to scuba dive and she could really see ocean life. She informed me that she had no interest in that, because there are sharks out there. The younger ones (Avery and Addison) on the other hand had no use for the sand but didn't mind being in the "ocean." In fact, every day Addison had to be coaxed onto the sand. The whole way she would try to pull me toward the pool and say "I want to go to the pool, first!" After she was on the sand for a while she would get used to it and play a little bit. She would shovel sand (without actually sitting in the sand) into the bucket. She told us that the "sand was to sandy!"

Aunt Carla, Dick and Meredith came out for their annual babysitting gig, so that we can go out with our friends. Thanks again guys!

Children's Museum

We met some friends at the Children's Museum this morning. It was a fun playdate for both girls. It's inside and there are things for both girls to do. Since Addison has been born we have only gone for birthday parties, but we're going to try to make an effort to go more this summer.

Addison has a crush on her friend Emory's older brother. It is very funny to watch. She gets all giggly around him. Regan told me when we got in the car that she wanted a little brother. I think it was because Addison followed Chapin around and Emory was happy to do what Regan wanted to do. Whereas Addison will tell Regan no.

Regan's Career Goals

Regan told us today that she wants to be an illustrator and a princess when she grows up (I think she already has the princess part down). I was pretty impressed considering I wanted to be the standard doctor/lawyer when I was a kid.

Funny Story

A recent conversation between Addison and Matt while eating fast food.

Addison: You're eating your fries daddy?

Matt: Yes.

Addison: Did Mommy say that you could eat your fries?

Sunday Afternoon

We took the girls to the pool this morning and then this afternoon they played in the baby pool in the backyard while Matt grilled. They are definitely water babies.

VBS '09

Regan had Vacation Bible School last week at the same school where Addison goes to MDO. She went last year and loved it. She was very excited to go again this year. I love it, because it is $15 for the whole week and that includes a t-shirt. She had her program on Friday. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any good pictures because she was in the very back corner on the opposite side from me.

Playing in the Rain

Weekend

Unbelievably, I forgot my camera again. It was actually in the car, but I forgot to bring it to the Aquarium. Luckily, I had my phone.

We went to New Orleans for the second weekend in a row. My Aunt Linda was in town for her annual visit, so we went to have dinner with her. We had dinner Friday night at Cafe Giovanni. It was delicious and the company was good. Her friend, who we have had dinner with on other occasions, was not able to join us. But we got to meet and have dinner with her lovely niece. It was a really nice evening. And the unbelievable happened.... I ran into one of my best friend's from high school's parents. I was very excited to see them. I haven't seen them in at least ten years. They had her daughter with them and she was adorable and very well behaved. They were actually seated at the table next to us and we kept hearing her say "that's my mommy's friend." But she kept looking at me like she did not actually believe that I was her mommy's friend and wanted to know who I was and why I was talking to her grandparents. Oddly enough, her daughter is three days older than Addison and Addison was a name that they considered. I am going to meet up with her mommy next time I am in town.

On Saturday we took the girls to the Aquarium. We have an Audubon Zoo/Aquarium membership, so we try to get as much use out of it as we can. Because of this we go to one or the other fairly often. So much so, that you would think that our children would get tired of going. But they are just as excited to go as if it were their first time. In fact, we ate at Canal Place for lunch and when we were done eating Addison got up and did a little dance and sang "Yay! We're going to the Aquarium!" So much so, that the people at the table next to us chuckled. I think she likes the Aquarium because everything is behind glass, because last time we went to the zoo she acted like she had never been to the zoo before. She is definitely our nervous nelly. When Regan went to pet the shark she wanted no part of it and wasn't particularly happy that Regan was going to do it.

We also got haircuts on Saturday. Our hairstylist and his wife have talked me into letting Regan's hair grow. She has been wanting it to be long, but I'm not convinced that it is going to look good long. We'll see how that goes. I think we are going to start taking Addison with us next time we go.

On a side note, we have finally found something that Addison likes to watch on t.v. She loves Dora. We bought her a video for the car and it is very helpful. That is until it is her sister's turn to pick.

Dance Review

Well, the bad news is that I forgot my camera. The good news is, my iphone takes okay pictures. Regan finally had her dance review tonight. It was supposed to be two weeks ago, but the board of health shut it down due to the swine flu panic. Unfortunately, Matt had to be in New Orleans for work and couldn't make it tonight. Granny came, so Regan was happy about that. I think as long as there is an audience, Regan is okay. She told me after the review "Mommy, I really like danceing."

Kart Ranch

We met some friends at Kart Ranch (an indoor play place) on Friday. We were supposed to go to the pool, but we are having lots of rain and record low temperatures here lately. It is very annoying when you want to go to the pool. Although, I am sure that I will be complaining about the heat soon.

Summer is here!

Thursday was Regan's last day of school. I don't think it really fazed her, but I am glad for the summer to be here. They had an end of year party with pizza and fruit. They did a couple of crafts and then we were on our way. We then went to Chucky Cheese for an end of year party/birthday party. Addison was terrified of Chucky. She did not want to get out of the car and then she cried for the first 10 minutes. She finally relaxed and had fun playing the games, but she doesn't want to go back.

Playing in the Rain

Addison has been playing in the baby pool at Regan's swim lessons with one of her little friends. We got home from swimming and it was raining and they wanted to play in the rain. Regan lasted all of two seconds, but Addison really liked it. I wanted her to stay in the driveway, but she would go to the gutter everytime. I think she liked the water running over her feet. I would say Addison to her and she would say What? as if she weren't doing anything wrong.

Dentist Visit

I took the girl's recently for their semi-annual checkup. Addison let them polish her teeth, which I was very surprised by. They both are still cavity free.

Regan's Parent/Teacher Conference

We had Regan's last parent/teacher conference on Thursday. She got the highest marks on everything and her teacher said that right after our last conference Regan started doing well with transitions again.

Her comments said:

Regan has completed a productive year in Pre-K4 with independence and self-confidence. I'm proud of her efforts in mastering letter recognition, patterning, pre-writing and science concepts. I am impressed with her improvement in making transitions throughout the day.

I feel that Regan is ready for Kindergarten and capable of meeting it's challenges.

I will miss Regan's sweet disposition and her great art work. She has truly been a joy to teach!

We will miss her teacher, too. She has really been a great teacher for Regan. We have been impressed by how much Regan has learned this year and I am impressed that she seems to take all of the 4 year old drama in stride.

Mother's Day Weekend

I had the perfect Mother's Day weekend this past weekend. We have been wanting to meet some friend's of ours who live in Mandeville for dinner in BR for a while now. Since we would be over an hour away from the children, I wanted an older babysitter to watch them. I had been trying to find a babysitter for Saturday with no luck and then on Thursday Addison's teacher told my friend that she wanted to start babysitting (I didn't pick up Regan because we had parent/teacher conference). I called her, she was available and we were off. I was so excited and we had a great time! The only thing (and it really wasn't a big deal) was that the kid's were still awake when we got home. Which actually worked out, because Regan slept in the next morning. Which she NEVER does.

On Saturday we took the kid's to the pool. It's so much easier this summer than last summer. Regan mostly kicks around in her intertube. But I know that if she falls out, she can swim to the side. We ended up staying a while, because the kid's were having so much fun. We came home the kid's took naps and then we grilled hamburgers that night. A perfect end to a perfect day.