Addison's Swimming Lessons

One of the mom's took pictures today to try to make a gift for the swim teacher. They are going to do re-takes on Monday, since Addison is the only one that is smiling.

Addison loves her swim lessons. We are taking the summer off and I don't think she is going to like that to much. On the days that she doesn't have swim lessons she tells me "Mommy, I never have swim lessons!" I think I might sign her up for drama classes next. I think she already thinks that she is on swim team. She takes lessons at the same place that Regan does swim team and all the kids in her class have older siblings on swim team. One day we were late and she told me "Mommy, I don't want to miss all of my practice." She got the pink swim cap from the Easter Bunny and it was the only thing she wanted the Easter Bunny to bring.

Dance Awards

Both of our girls are getting awards at dancing this year. Regan is getting a three year award for taking there for three years and Addison is getting an award for being the hardest worker in her class. Addison is very excited especially since her teacher told her she was going to get a trophy and that I would probably get her some flowers. After she found out, our conversation went a little like this.

Addison: Mommy, I'm getting a trophy and some flowers!!!

Me: I know! (thinking: thanks Ms. Jennifer for telling her I would get her flowers)

Addison: I want red roses.

French Quarter/Beignets

We took the girls down to see "Aunt Darcy" and to have beignets. They were very excited to have beignets for the first time and to see Aunt Darcy. They know about beignets, because they are mentioned in the new Disney princess movie. Regan even wondered allowed if Tiana (the new princess) would be there. Unfortunately, it was French Quarter fest and the line was wrapped around the restaurant. We got them to go and sat in the little outdoor theatre area right down the street. Neither one of the girls were to sure about them. Regan told me she wasn't hungry for them right now. Translation: I don't like them, but I don't want to admit that I don't like them.

Darcy was in town because her mom had a conference in New Orleans and they decided to make a trip out of it and were kind enough to let us crash. Regan asked me what they should call Darcy's mom. I said they could call her Ms. Rita. So, Regan says "We should call her Aunt Rita, she's family too!" So I had to explain that Darcy wasn't actually family, that she was just a very good friend of mine. They were both really excited to see Darcy. They both wanted to hold her hand and she only had one hand available, because she was carrying her coffee in the other. So, we had to take turns. At one point Addison said to me, "Mommy, I don't want to hold your hand. I want to hold Aunt Darcy's hand!" You know, with kids... you really just can't take anything personally. We also overheard someone who thought that they were cousins. We think that they thought that Addison was Darcy's and Regan was mine. Poor Addison! She told me the other day that we could still love each other even though our hair doesn't match.

Easter/Spring Break

We had a very fast paced go, go, go Easter Holiday and Spring Break. We went to Florida for Easter. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from Easter weekend. I left my memory card in NOLA the weekend before and never got a chance to go get another one. We had a nice visit. The girls got to swim in Pop and Lil's indoor pool, which they love. We went to play goofy Golf with Aunt Carla and Dick. They are still asking to go play again. We went to see Dick's show that he was playing in while Aunt Carla babysat the kids (thanks Aunt Carla!). The show was about Patsy Cline. Turns out, you don't have to be a Patsy Cline fan to enjoy the show. And, of course, on Sunday we went to Church and had Easter Lunch. It was a whirlwind weekend, but we always enjoy being there.

We came home on Monday only for me to turn around with the kids and go to New Orleans on Tuesday. Georgina and I had tickets to see Wicked, which was an amazing show! We relied on Granny a lot this weekend for babysitting. She babysat that night and then again on Friday and Saturday. My best friend was in town from MT, we made plans with my cousin and we had a 40th birthday dinner of another very good friend. Thank you Granny for all of your babysitting! In between Tuesday and the weekend, the girls and I went to the Northshore to babysit my friends youngest. We had a lot of fun and they also got to see their cousins that live over there.. By Friday the girls were exhausted and I'm not sure they got out of there pajamas for the whole day.

All in all it was a nice vacation, but it's good to be home and back in the routine.

Audubon Zoo

Lindsey looking at the Giraffe's.

We are in New Orleans visiting and decided to get some use out of our zoo membership since it was a pleasant day weather wise. We took two of their cousins, Blair and Lindsey, with us. Unfortunately, a lot of other people had the same idea. We were really nervous when we drove up, because there were a lot of people. However, it wasn't to bad once we got inside. Membership does have it's privileges, because we were able to walk right in whereas a lot of people stood in line for a long time. The girls had a great time looking at all of the animals and then we went to lunch at Frankie and Johnny's and I was able to satisfy a craving for a hot roast beef poboy.

Leggos

Santa brought Regan some pink leggos, mainly because they were pink. He had no idea the hours of entertainment that they would provide. Regan will sit down with the book and create. She even creates some stuff on her own. The car is my favorite so far, although, she created a t.v. one time that was cool too. My only complaint is they don't make nearly enough pink leggos.

Children's Chapel

Addison went to Children's Chapel yesterday during church for the first time. I asked her if she wanted to go with Regan and she said.... "Yes, I would love to!" So exciting for me to be able to sit by myself in church.....

Loss....

One of my friends has two girls who are very similar in age to Regan and Addison. Their father passed away on Friday from complications with MS. I feel that we should talk to Regan especially about the fact that their friends have lost their father. Mostly because I don't want it to come up and be a surprise for her. We took all four girls bowling today and they all had a good time and it didn't come up until I was bringing the girls home and I was glad my children weren't with me. However, next time I may not be so lucky. My biggest concerns are to not make it into a big deal and to not scare my children. The latter being the biggest concern given my recent medical history. Any advice would be appreciated.

Smocked Clothing

I knew this day would come..... but it is still sad for me. I think my smocked days are numbered with Regan. She had a birthday party on Friday and she wanted to wear play clothes. The clothes that she wanted to wear were faded and truly play clothes, so I said no to that. I pulled out a smocked outfit and she said no. I pulled out another couple of things and she said "why does it have to be fancy?" I explained to her that it was a party, and you have to dress a little nicer for a party. We finally came to an agreement on what she could wear. As Darcy pointed out to me, I got away with a lot longer with Regan than I will with Addison. Addison thinks she is five and not three, and once Regan stops completely I'm sure she won't be far behind. She has always been way more opinionated about her clothes than Regan ever was as it is. The other day I dressed her in a smocked outfit and she said.... "Why am I wearing all this and we're not even going to church?"

Addison's Speech

They were doing speech testing at Addison's school, so we decided to take advantage and have Addison's tested. I haven't gotten the official report, yet. But the speech therapist was finishing up with her when I went to pick her up from school and so I got to talk to her. She said that Addison's speech is age appropriate. However, she is hearing a lot of emissions due to her cleft pallet repair. It's a nasal vibrating sound. I notice it the most when she is overtired. We knew that this was a side effect and that she would probably have to have another surgery around the age of 7, but there was a part of me that hoped all of that was done with. The speech therapist said that there may be some excercises that we can do with her to help to strengthen her pallet. So, I'm going to bring it up with her pediatrician.

Regan's School

Our last parent/teacher conference for Regan went well, as usual. Her teacher told us that she is such a strong student that we need to let homework be her thing. She said that we should check and make sure that she has done it, but let it be her thing. I'm not exactly sure what that means and given what a control freak I am I'm sure that I will have a hard time with it. But I'm also sure that it will be what's best for her in the long run, so I will do my best.

Matt and I are both pleased with how well she is doing with reading. My hope is to pass on my love of reading to my children. They both love to be read to and they both love the bookstore and library, so my hopes are high.

She will change campuses next year and we went to view the "Lower School" campus recently. I am having a little bit of anxiety, mostly because it is on the other side of town from us and starts an hour earlier. But also because the campus is 1st through 7th. The orientation did a lot to relieve my anxiety. I'm still not excited about the earlier start time, but I really feel that the education that she will be getting will make it all worth it. She will also have chapel every morning, which I like and that Addison and I will be able to attend.

Addison's Vocabulary

Addison's teacher recently told me that Addison has been using some big words lately and using them correctly. I didn't think that much about it, but then Matt and I started to notice and I have to say it is very funny!

Here are some examples:

Today we were going bowling and I asked Matt if Addison should change her clothes, because the girls had been playing in the backyard and I wanted to make sure that she wasn't dirty. Matt said she was fine.... so later Addison says to me "Apparently, Daddy thinks I should wear what I am wearing."

Recently Matt was talking to Addison and I'm not sure what they were talking about but Matt asked her a question and she said "I don't think that Mommy would prefer that."

St. Jude Trike-a-thon

Addison's school recently had a trike-a-thon to raise money for St. Jude. It was the cutest thing! They all rode around in a little circle and had a blast! There was even a little three year old who was zooming around with no training wheels! Afterwards, they had snacks and then went back to class. I thought it would be hard for Addison to leave me, but after asking me if I could stay and me telling her no.... she skipped into the line to walk back to class. They grow so fast!

On a side note: Addison will be going to school five days a week next year. I think she's ready, because she asks me on Tuesdays and Thursdays why she isn't going to school. However, she still wants to know what I'm doing when she is at school to make sure she isn't missing anything. I usually tell her cleaning up as that is not appealing to her at all! She tells me that cleaning up is boring and I can't say that I disagree with her. Anyway, her best friend (who she told me recently that she loved more than anybody. And when I asked her... More than daddy? She said more than anybody!!!) is only going three days next year. I asked her today what she thought about him not being in her class next year and she didn't take to kindly to it. Houston, we may have a problem!

Princess Art at NOMA

Matt and I ran the Mardi Gras Half Marathon again this year. While we were in town we decided to take the girls to the Disney Princess Art that NOMA had on display. I think it was much more interesting for us than it was for them. Fun Fact: Did you know that Walt Disney did not intend Snow White to be for kids? That's why it's so scary. If only Walt had known just how big the princess phenomenon would be.

Mardi Gras

Regan had her annual Mardi Gras parade at school. Unfortunately, it rained that day and they weren't able to ride in the wagons outside. Instead, they walked around the Ark (which is what they call their assembly hall). The kids still had fun. It was the only parade we made it to this year as the kids were sick for most of the Mardi Gras holiday. They both had a fever virus. Regan's was much milder, but Addison's fever got so high she hallucinated and thought there was a dog in her room. It was very scary!! If that never happens again, it will be way to soon! In order to keep her fever down we had to wake up every three hours and give her a dose of either tylenol or motrin. I felt like I had an infant again and it reaffirmed my thoughts that two children are enough for me.

Cheerleader

Part of the cheerleading clinic that Regan did was that she got to cheer at a basketball game. She was very excited! She was not so excited that the costume was a t-shirt and not a "dress." She did really well. The coach told me that she knew all of the cheers. I think cheerleading is a pefect outlet for Regan. It's everything she loves and is good at combined into one. She has an excellent memory to remember all of the cheers. She loves any kind of costume and a stage to perform on.

Our little Saints Fans!

Regan had a cheerleading clinic the morning of Addison's Birthday party. That's why she has writing on her face. I felt guilty, because all of the other kids had mostly LSU cheerleading costumes. But a mom told me later that as soon as her daughter got in the car she said "Regan got to have a Saints uniform!"

I really think that the Saints success can be attributed to the fact that my girls wore their uniforms for all of the games except the game against the Cowboys. We all know how that game turned out!

Addison's Birthday Party

Okay, so I know it's been a while. However, you guys have to cut me some slack. Now that Addison doesn't nap and they are both in activities.... I don't stop! It's insane!

We did Addison's birthday party in January. I hate to say it, but having her birthday party later may happen more often than not. December is way to busy for everyone. She didn't seem to mind to much.

Snow

A blizzard hit the D.C. area while we were on our way. I was very nervous that we were going to have to drive through it, but it was done before we got there. The hardest part was getting up my Aunt's driveway. The kids got to play in the snow. I was very surprised that Regan really liked it and Addison didn't.

Christmas Cookies

While we were at Aunt Bonnie's we made Christmas Cookies for Santa.