Texas Friends and Fountains

Our Texas friends, Heidi and Nathan, came by to play with us today. Heidi grew up here, and they are in town visiting friends and family. It was so good to see a familiar face and have a friend to visit with.

The kids were cute playing out on the patio. We had lunch here and then went to get ice-cream. Nathan loved giving Reagan sweet, gentle hugs.

Finally, we took the kids to Civic Green Park to play in the fountains. They just turned the water on Memorial Day weekend, so this was a first for us. It was so much fun!!! We had a blast, although, the water was freezing, so they didn't stay in long. We wrapped our blue-lipped babies up in towels and snuggled them warm. The park is great. There is a playground, three different fountain areas to splash in, and lots of grass to run around on.

I must admit, I didn't think fun in Denver would include playing in Splash fountains and loving it!!!

Reagan Ainslee

LOVES....her Maggie Dog!!!

Addison Taylor

LOVES.....to hide under the bed!!!

Are you up for this?

If you are considering being a stay-at-home mom you should know that it requires multi-tasking. I almost never get to vacuum....or do any other chores alone.

Also, there are NO sick days!!! Tommy took this picture, after I spent the day before in the ER...girls in tow, getting IV fluids for dehydration after a stomach virus. Reagan and I got sick on the same day. Poor Tommy shuttled back and forth from work to home, for four days, to help me.

I let Reagan nurse constantly during her sickness, since it was the only fluids she would take. Thankfully she stayed healthy and bounced back after a few days. I, on the other hand, landed in the hospital. Thankfully after being re-hydrated, I almost immediately felt better. Now, we are all better!

Butterflies, Bugs and BIG Spiders

We took the girls to a nearby Butterfly Pavilion today. I loved the butterflies. They recreated an indoor tropical rainforest with over 1200 butterflies, turtles and frogs. They were flying everywhere, and you could watch them perched on beautiful flowers all over.

The butterflies were great and they also had an aquarium area, where you could pet starfish and sting-rays. Reagan loved the fish. She could have spent the entire day in front of one aquarium.

After all the fun, we headed to the "Bug" room. There were all kinds of caged creatures that made my skin crawl! Addison had no fear, she poked her head right up to every cage, no matter what was in it. And, that picture on the top....that is my sweet little daughter, holding a tarantula the size of my fist! She let it crawl all over her. I think the picture of my face depicts my thoughts about the SPIDER.

Strage Things...In Strage Places...

~A banana in my shoe and a cracker in Reagans.
~A paci in the potty.
~Foam blocks in the potty. (Reagan likes the potty)
~Strawberries in my washing machine.
~Shredded cheese and smashed acorns in Addison's pocket.
~Ballet shoes in my purse.
~"Petrified" string cheese in the floor of my car.
~Crayons in my bathtub.

Just a few of the strange things I have come across in the last few days. I usually just shake my head and laugh. The banana in the shoe did, however, catch me a little of guard. Apparently Reagan was experimenting with putting smaller objects inside bigger objects.

We had a small crisis with the paci and the potty while we were on our Disney trip. At the hotel, Tommy and I were both brushing our teeth, when, in the mirror, I saw Reagan throw her paci in the potty. We quickly finished brushing our teeth and Tommy went to retrieve it. He stuck his head out of the bathroom and said, "There is no paci in here?". Quickly, we looked at Reagan, who was already across the room. There she was, happily sucking the toilet water off of her paci! She had long since retrieved it herself, and put it right back in her mouth!

A Good Mommy Knows.....

That the roly-polies like the morning! If we head out for a morning walk, there are tons of them, just crawling around the side-walk. Addison is thrilled to see them, and I don't have to dig in the grass!

Win-Win!!!

Reagan is in on the game now too. Addison doesn't usually giver her a chance to get near the roly-polies, but she gathers tiny little rocks that look just like them, and tosses them in the bug catcher.

Sisters

Addison:

Do you know how much your little sister looks up to you? Do you know that she is watching everything you do and trying to do it herself. Do you know that she works hard to keep up with you. Did you know that you can make her laugh harder than anyone. Do you know that she is bored if you aren't around to watch and play with? Do you know how much she loves you?

Reagan:

Do you know how excited your big sister was to meet you? Do you know how hard she tries to help take care of you? Do you know that she is careful to include you in everything she does? Do you know that if I take her to do something special by herself, she misses you? Do you know that she never wants you to feel hurt or sad? Do you know that she tries hard to teach you, comfort you and help you? Do you know how much she loves you?

Girls:

I hope you always love and cherish each other. I hope you are always there for each other. I hope you are best friends when you grow up just as you are now.

One

Dear Reagan,

Sweet girl, at 13 months old, you are just bursting with personality and passion. You are determined and tough but also so sweet and loving. You seem to find trouble around every corner and you give us the cutest most mischevious grin when you are doing something you know you shouldn't. You climb things, throw things in the toilet, and rearrange Mommy's decorations. But you sure are precious doing it. Just when I think I am going to go crazy with your antics, you plant big sweet kisses on my lips or climb into my lap to snuggle.

Your favorite book, right now, is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear". Every time we are in the basement, you manage to find it. My heart could burst at the way you come toddling over to me, hand me the book and sit down in my lap for me to read it. You don't always read in the traditional sense, listening quietly from cover to cover, but you love to explore books. You like to flip the pages yourself, at your own pace. And you love to point at the pictures, feel the pages and make noises! You like books that have things to flip or textures to feel. I take you to the library for Storytime every week. You have a great time there, pulling books of the shelf and exploring, but you really haven't sat still enough to actually hear any of Storytime yet.

We are watching you learn new things everyday. You show us your tummy, you sing "Patty-Cake" and "The Turtle Song" with the hand motions, and you give kisses and high-fives. When we pray at dinner, you clasp your little hands together. You know how to feed your baby-dolls and how to put them in the stroller and push them around. You love to draw with crayons, but I have to watch you close, because you also love to eat them and you will draw on everything!


If we could, you would stay outside all day long. You are precious as can be, toddling around the back patio. You love the sidewalk chalk and the slide out there. You love our Maggie dog and all the other dogs that pass by. You are also getting around well enough to go up and down the front sidewalk with your push toys.

Boo Boo, you make life very, very interesting! I don't remember life without you. I know you are always going to keep me on my toes. I have so much fun watching you and teaching you. Mommy and Daddy love you so much and can't wait to see you grow up. We are blessed to be your parents.

Love,
Mommy

Three

Dear Addison,

Mommy can hardly believe you are three years old. It seems so grown up, compared to two! Especially since you suddenly have this life of your own. Preschool, Vacation Bible School, Awanas and Ballet....lots of things you don't need me for. This is tough for a Mommy has spent nearly every second of everyday with you so far. I am learning to slowly let you go. I am so proud to watch how independent your are and how well you fit-in with any group. You are so sweet and obedient. You are a rule-follower and a people-pleaser.

You are determined, these days, to do things BY YOURSELF. You don't want help dressing yourself, you don't want help in the bathroom, you want to buckle your own car-seat and shut your own car door. If for some reason, I help you with any of these things, it sends you into a fit of tears!

I am so proud to see how much you are learning about God. Lately you are praying on your own, with confidence. You tell me stories from the bible and ask questions about God, Jesus and heaven. You love for us to read the bible to you, and nothing melts our hearts more than to hear you walking around singing praise and worship music. Daddy taught you, "God of Heaven, Come Down," by the Robby Seay Band and you sing the entire chorus.

Seeing you with Reagan also makes me so proud. You are such a sweet and loving big sister. You would love to carry her everywhere if she would let you. You understand that she is learning how to "be nice" and you have a great measure of patience for her (most of the time). Your heart is big for your sissy, you don't ever want her to cry or be upset. When you hear her waking up, you are anxious to see her, and you run to her room and jump in the bed. She is such a big part of your life, part of who you are. When people ask you your name, you always answer, "Addison and Reagan"! You don't ever want her left out.

You are our "Little Buddy" lately. You and I love to get pedicures together and watch "The Kid Show". You help me cook and help me around the house. With Daddy, you like to work-out, build things and wrestle! You are so much fun to be around.

We love you so much!!! Just when we think we couldn't love you anymore you get just a little cuter and a little bit sweeter. You make us laugh everyday. You make us proud everyday. You make everyday better. I am blessed to be your Mommy and I know Daddy feels the same way.

Love,

Mommy

29

That is the number, at last count, of roly-polys the neighborhood girls had collected this afternoon. Addison had a blast digging them out of the grass and putting them in the bug catcher. It is the current favorite activity of the little girls on the street. I have to say, when I found out I was having girls, I did not envision myself crawling on my hands and knees in the grass digging for bugs!

I remember loving roly-polys when I was a kid, too! Despite the hunting, she is still as girly as they come. She only likes roly-polys, the sight of an ant, bee or spider sends her running away screaming!

Fishing!!!

Addison has been asking to go fishing for quite some time, so we were excited to see that our hotel at DisneyWorld had a catch and release fishing area. We headed over there Saturday morning.


It was early, but already very hot and sunny! When we went to get her pole and bait, the man was a little discouraging. He warned us that it was probably too hot for the fish to be biting and that it would require a good measure of patience and quiet! Not two of our strong points!!!

I stuck around to watch Addison grab her first worm (YUCK!!!) and help her Daddy put it on the hook. Then, Reagan and I headed off to the playground so our noise and activity wouldn't further scare off the fish. Tommy didn't expect to last more than about 10 minutes and said he would meet me at the playground.

30 minutes later, when they hadn't shown up yet, Reagan and I headed back to the lake, just in time to see Addison bringing in a tiny little fish. She was so excited, and even touched the thing (YUCK AGAIN!!!). It was actually the 2nd fish she had caught. Apparently she has a knack for fishing.

Sadly there were several little boys watching her from the dock. They had all been at it for a LONG TIME with no luck! They were forced to stand there and watch the little girl catch all the fish.

Bike Riding

The 2nd Day on Castaway Cay, we rented bikes to ride around the island. The girls loved it. Even Reagan, who generally is opposed to being strapped into anything, had a blast! She liked seeing things from a new vantage point. Addison had fun, because she thought her little handle-bar, steered the bike. And, she wanted to race!!! If I got even the tiniest bit ahead of them, she was shouting at Daddy to drive FASTER!!!

Princess for an Evening

Thankfully, I remembered it from our first Disney Cruise, and I was prepared for "Dress-Up Night". All the little girls put on their princess dress-up clothes for dinner. This was pure heaven for Addison. She loved wearing her "beautiful clothes".

At dinner they brought birthday cakes for Tommy, Addison and Sam and they sang to them.

Reagan stayed in the playroom late that night and Tommy and I were both able to go to "The Golden Mickey's", a live Disney Award Show, with Addison. It was so much fun watching her take in the show.

She got to hug Goofy on the way in.

Reagan Loves Room Service

Reagan was never really interested in eating dinner during dinner time. She was way to busy with all the things going on in the restaurants and she was usually heading to the playroom for the evening.

After dinner, Addison and I usually headed to watch a show, while Tommy picked Reagan up to hang out with her for awhile. Since she skipped eating, she would be starving. It became their routine to order Reagan dinner in bed at 10:30 at night!

She seems to like it!

Beach Babies

We booked this cruise, because it had two days docked at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. It is amazingly beautiful and has been our favorite day on both cruises we took. The girls loved playing in the sand and swimming in the ocean. We had beautiful weather and loved just soaking in the surroundings.

Meeting the Princesses

Addison is IN LOVE and Reagan is enamoured with the costumes. In addition to the times that you might see Disney's characters out dancing or performing, they post a daily schedule of character appearances. You can come to these and wait in line for your turn to interact with the character and have your picture taken. Addison never got tired of seeing the princesses. Wherever they were scheduled to be, we headed! We stayed up late and got up early, several times, specifically for princess gatherings. They are really sweet to the kids. They give each child their undivided attention for a few minutes and then they take pictures and sign autographs.

We saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Daisy too, but none of these compare to the princesses in Addison's eyes!

Each evening, Tommy picked Reagan up from the nursery and hung out with her, while Addison and I went to the show. I was so surprised at how much she loved the singing, dancing and costumes. It also helped that several of the shows incorporated the princesses. She was amazed at watching them sing and dance live!

Disney Cruisin'

Well, we made it back last night from our Disney Vacation! We had so much fun! Seeing Disney through the girl's eyes was priceless. The cruise has plenty to do for every member of the family, but I know for me, just watching Addison and Reagan's joy was all I needed! We feel so very blessed to have taken a trip like this!

We are in recovery mode today. Poor Tommy turned on his Blackberry last night to find 131 emails waiting. I am wading through the laundry and the girls and just plain tired! Reagan is happily napping in her own bed and Addison is snuggled up next to me on the couch. She still has in the braids and beads that she got in the Bahamas and there are still traces of "Pixie Dust" sprinkled in her hair by Tinkerbell. She says she is keeping the braids forever.....?

We started our trip with two days at a Disney Resort. We played in the pool and on their playgrounds and rode the boat back and forth to Downtown Disney a few times. We took them to the world's largest Disney store and had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. We celebrated Tommy's 30th birthday and just enjoyed playtime.

Saturday evening we headed to the McClure's hotel. Somehow Sherry and I miscommunicated and we ended up in two different hotels. I am not sure how that could have happened, when all of our phone calls take place with the 4 kids present. Anyway, thankfully it was just a short walk away. It was so good to see them again! Sam and Addison acted like they had never been apart. They swam, feed ducks and we had dinner together.

Sunday morning we woke up and headed to the boat. We spent the next 5 days going to shows, eating amazing meals, visiting with all the Disney characters and swimming in the boat and in the ocean. There was so much for Addison to do that we were often having to choose between activities. Her favorite thing by far was the princesses! She encountered Captain Hook the first day, and doesn't like him at all. She saw him sword fighting Peter Pan and decided that he was a bad guy! She had people around the boat laughing as she would shout at him when he passed by. We cracked up last night when Addison said, "Hey Daddy, how come all the boys have swords and you don't"! Nothing like a few days at Disney to get a girl's mind wondering?

Reagan was a trooper. She loved playing in the splash pool, the characters and the sand at the beach. She went to the nursery each evening while we had dinner. They made the sweetest little crafts with her! I think she looked forward to her freetime in there!

We are all a little spoiled after the great way they took care of us all! Each night, at dinner, our waiters would bring dinner and then immediately begin cutting Addison's and Sam's. If Sherry or I were holding a baby, they would then cut our dinner as well. Addison loved coming back to the room each night to find her bed turned down and chocolate on her pillow. And, last night at the Denver airport, we got in the elevator to the parking garage and Addison looked around....she then said, "Mommy and Daddy how come there are no beautiful things in here?". Not sure how to explain to a 3 year old that the glamour of a ship is just a little different then your local airport!

I have so many things I want to blog about from the trip, especially since this is my only real scrapbook anymore. It is going to take me awhile, so hopefully you won't mind reading about Disney for the next several days!

Oh REM Cycle, How I Miss You

I am beginning to think that the REM cycle of sleep and motherhood of toddlers just don't go together. Reagan is FINALLY doing better at night. About half the time she sleeps through the night, until 6:00am and on the other nights she usually only gets up once. A big improvement from waking every 4 hours like she did for so long. I am so thankfully, and most days feel like a new woman.

However, lately Addison has been waking up at night for various different reasons. Talking in her sleep, going to the bathroom, etc. It seems as though one or the other gets me up at least once. Last night was a good example.

First Reagan woke up around 1:00am. She never really cried, just chatted and played for about 30 minutes. I eventually went in there, just to get her back to sleep quickly so I could sleep too. It took me awhile to fall back asleep.

At 5:00am, Addison was calling me. I peeked in her door to see if she was really awake or just talking in her sleep. Awake she was, WIDE AWAKE. Here is how the conversation went....

Me: What's wrong, Addison?
A: I can't find my kitty I was trying to sleep with.

Last night she was playing with 2 stuffed cats that she got for Christmas. She packed one for the cruise and wanted the other to sleep with. I searched through her bed, under her bed and under the covers and couldn't find it.

Me: Addison, I don't know where it is....
A: It is a MYSTERY!!!

She even makes me laugh at 5:00am.

Thankfully she was okay with me getting the other one from her cruise bag. I staggered back to my bedroom to get it and stumbled on the missing cat on the way there. It had never even made it to her bed the night before.

Thankfully she went back to sleep quickly. Sadly for me it took about an hour, at which point both girls were waking for the day!

My Sweet Ballerina

Addison started ballet lessons today. She had so much fun. She loves the "beautiful clothes" and she can't wait for her first recital in August.

Reagan kept me busy with stair-climbing, but from what I got to see through the glass window, they are so cute! She did a great job listening to her teacher and following directions.

I hope she continues to enjoy it, because I sure think it is fun!