RG

This post is dedicated to Raegan because she is just so much fun for us right now. Everyday she makes me laugh with either her antics or her words. She is so curious about the world around her and our favorite RG phrase lately is "Call this?" (i.e. 'What's this called?") She says it constantly as she points everything.

She is still a picky eater, but will surprise us at times with what she likes. Last night we discovered that she likes tortilla chips dipped in ketchup and mustard.

She is deathly afraid of all "vacuums" which include anything that makes a loud noise (vacuums, lawn mowers, tractors, big trucks). This has made for an interesting and frustrating summer for me so far...every time we haul out the kiddie pool, someone is mowing their lawn and then she cries (and screams) to go inside.

She is already very selective about what clothing she will wear and INSISTS that I remove all tags off of new clothes as soon as I force her to try them on for the first time. I've found that giving her two choices for what she will wear that day cuts down on our battles. I find myself hiding certain shoes sometimes so that she has to wear the ones I want her to.

She likes to carry around random objects for an entire day. She insists on taking them in the car, to the store, outside to play, and to bed for naps. Random objects might include a burp cloth, measuring cup, old discarded makeup case, a ribbon or string (a.k.a. a "snake"), or an old pacifier.

Raegan is definitely a child all her own!

too nice out

I haven't been in the mood to blog lately because the weather has been so nice and we have been busy! But I know some of you who check blogs often are looking for an update so I thought I'd better at least post some pictures before I get an email reminder (brenda). =)

We had another great weekend filled with family and friends. Had our first real babysitters- my cousins Julie and Kelli- and had 6 wonderful hours away with adults only on Saturday night! Thanks guys again for doing that and for FREE!! (A gift from them when Syd was born~ 3 free babysitting "sessions" whoo hoo!)

Loved the long weekend with Brad home and loved all the good food and fun times out in Holland with my family. Here are a few highlights:

Syd all dressed up with her first hair "pretty".

Having a tub bath with a "faux-hawk" at Nana and Papa's

RG and Caden hanging out on Papa's dock

Patent anyone?

I am having a love/hate relationship with Sydney's pacifier right now. Brad asked me on Sunday if it was really "wrong" to tie a string through the holes on the side and tie it to her head.
I'm thinking duct tape would be much more effective and I am being completely honest when I say that this thought has actually crossed my mind as a very real solution when she pops it out 50 times during her nap and screams until I put it back in.
Okay maybe duct tape is a little too harsh, but what about long bandaids or masking tape? I don't think they'd leave that much of a mark...

Sales and Smiles

Another busy weekend around here! Friday and Saturday my mom and I participated in the neighborhood-wide garage sale. My mom did most of the work as I was juggling both girls and even then I felt like it was too much work for me to be worth the while. I'm not a fan of having garage sales but I enjoy going to them. This will probably be the last one that I do until I'm ready to sell my baby stuff!

Thanks mom for all of your help! It was fun to hang out with you for two days in my garage. =)

Sydney being very helpful at our sale

Friday night the Hondorp's invited us over for a great mexican meal and some hang-out time. Sydney was giving her "Auntie" some major love and smiles.

And finally Saturday night I got to have my first "big" night out for a bachelorette party. I felt very free as I drove away from the house by myself in anticipation of some girl time! Of course most of the night all of us talked about our kids but it was nice to be sipping a glass of wine while we did it and not having little ones pulling at our legs! Unfortunately, I didn't make it out for the later part of the night to go dancing (I was home by 11 p.m. which was already WAY past my bedtime!) but it still felt so great to be out of the house for a night! A big thanks to Brad for 'holding down the fort' so I could get out. Love you!

Great Weekend

Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all fellow Moms out there! I hope you were all spoiled as much as I was this past weekend.

Friday night we had a fun impromptu dinner over at our friends Luke and Janine's house. They had another couple over too and all the kids played great together! Raegan and their son Kai play extremely well together and had just a ball running around outside and playing with all of Kai's cool toys.

Then Saturday afternoon we drove out to Holland and Brad and I had our first date night since Sydney was born. My mom watched the kids and we had dinner at The Boatwerks and then drove out to the Pier (although we just missed the sunset) and made a stop at Captain Sundae on our way back. It was HEAVENLY!!!

Then Sunday we went to church (the first time in over 6 weeks!) and then the whole family came out to my parents and the "boys" cooked all of us dinner AND cleaned up. I even got in a short little nap on the couch while dinner was being prepared. It was wonderful!!

All in all it was a great weekend and I am loving all of this sunshine and warm weather we are having!! I hope it stays.

1 month

Things Sydney likes to do and has been up to the past month:

Hiccuping. Constantly.



Sleeping longer stretches at night (keep it up girlie!)



Sleeping and Lounging in her vibrating bouncy. It's pretty much her favorite spot.



Pooping through her clothes; especially the cute outfits. (Never the plain white onesies).



Getting "mauled" by her big sister at least 20 times per day. Raegan is big into poking her nose and saying "beep"! Sydney is not so amused by this...




Oh, and she still has awesome hair =)

"normal"

We are starting to come back to life around here..Praise the Lord!

Brad and I were down with horrible sickness last week and coupled with all things "newborn" I was starting to feel like life would never be normal again.

We are still adjusting to life with two and all the wonders and challenges it brings. Sleep deprivation still dictates most days but we are trying to get out and do things as much as possible. I have ventured a few errands on my own which always leaves me wondering why I felt compelled to go out in the first place. =)

The park is our new favorite home away from home when Daddy is around and I'm looking forward to feeling brave enough to do it alone with two kids since Raegan loves it so much. We are so blessed to have 3 parks/playgrounds within a mile radius from our house! We are taking full advantage of that!

In other news, Sydney is nearing a month old already which also reminds me that time flies fast. As much as the newborn stage is challenging, it sure passes quickly! She is sleeping pretty well at night and despite some minor reflux issues she is a "good" baby and we are just loving her. I haven't taken any more pictures since before we were sick so I'll try to get some to post again in a few days. She's getting some "chunk" on her little body! =)