Regan is 6!

Little Regan turned 6 this week! I guess that means she's not quite so little anymore. Clint had to leave for work before the kids were up, so Regan had to wait until he got home to open her presents. I think Haden was having the hardest time waiting. We always get him a present on Regan's birthday, too. Regan loved her earrings, both sticker and clip-on, (I wanted her to just get her ears pierced, but she is too chicken.) jewelry box, posters of Taylor Swift, make-up, piano books, and Camelbak. Haden LOVED his Camelbak. I think he is now the most hydrated 3 year old ever! Regan kept saying that it was "the best day ever!"

Regan is definitely a teenager in a 6 year old body. She thoroughly enjoys clothes and accessorizing. She does a good job, too! Her friends are very important to her. She loves all things Taylor Swift. She likes to watch her music videos and tell me which of Taylor's dresses she wants as a prom dress. I keep reminding her that she still has 10 years! Regan enjoys ballet and is still unaffected by peer pressure. She is a wonderful helper around the house and a devoted babysitter for Lila. She is Haden's favorite playmate. Regan thoroughly enjoys school and loves reading. I have yet to talk her out of her absolute fear of the wind, but she does her best to be brave if there is no alternative. I always have fun shopping with her. She will do just about anything to stay up late and hang out with me. She will sneak down the stairs, observe what I am doing, usually folding laundry, and say, "Mom, if you let me help and we work together, we'll get the job done faster." I love her so much! I am so lucky to be her mom! I hope I am up to the challenge her teenage years are going to bring!

Swimming Lessons

Everyone knows that Regan is terrified of water. When I give her a bath and water accidentally drips anywhere on her face, she freaks out until it gets wiped off. It is getting rather ridiculous. Especially now that since she takes baths with Haden, he copies her exactly. Clint has tried bribing her to take swimming lessons for some time now. It hasn't worked. She simply tells him that she is a ballerina, not a swimmer. For some reason, this year was different. It might have been her new "super cute swimsuit" and cover up. Her friend's mom teaches lessons and both Regan and Haden agreed to take lessons and do whatever Kelly tells them to. This way, they also have friends in their classes.

Regan was awesome! She did her very best to put her face in the water and blow bubbles. She really did try to relax so she could float on her back.

Haden also did well, even though he had to jump out of the pool to go wipe his face off with his towel several times.

Hopefully, they will both be much more comfortable in the water by the end of the summer!

West Metro's Fire Muster

I saw an ad in the newspaper about a fire muster one weekend. Haden is all about firemen these days and I knew he would love it! He insisted on wearing his fireman rain boots and his firefighter jacket, which we persuaded to leave in the stroller because it was too hot to wear it. They had a lot of fire trucks lined up for kids to explore. Haden loved it!

Regan climbed aboard a few of the trucks, but wasn't feeling great. Firefighters really don't interest her much anyway. Don't you love her outfit, though? Isn't that how you would dress if you were going to a fire muster?

They had a tent full of firefighter clothes that kids could dress up in. Haden LOVED this mask and hasn't stopped asking for one yet. Every store we go into he asks if we can buy a mask that "goes like this" as he covers his nose and mouth with both of his hands. At his insistence, we even looked online, but without much luck (in my price range, anyway). Where do you buy a reasonably priced old firefighter mask?

They also had a "house" full of smoke. A firefighter taught the kids about how to escape a burning house and then they crawled into the smoke filled house and rolled out the other side. Regan was interested in it, but Haden refused to participate. He said that he was the firefighter, not the person that needed to be rescued.

Haden could actually hula hoop, rain boots, fire coat and all!

There was a giant cell phone wandering around teaching kids about dialing 911 in an emergency. Haden just wanted to push all the buttons.

The cutest firefighter around! She likes to wrap both of her little arms around my neck, press her little cheek next to mine and dance. It usually draws quite a bit of attention. It's a little hard to do in a firefighter hat, though!

There was an firefighter obstacle course for the kids. They had to climb the ladder, go down the slide, grab a hose and run with it, army crawl through a tunnel, drag a pretend person, carry a fan, and then unwind a hose. Each kid had a real firefighter that helped them through it and kept their time. Even though Regan wasn't feeling well, when she found out it was a race, she whispered in my ear that she was going to cream Haden. Totally her father's child! Haden's firefighter was awesome! He lugged Haden's rain boots around and was very patient with Haden and his jacket. Both kids loved it and Regan's time was much faster than Haden's.

The kids all had fun and were completely worn out when we finally left with our stack of new firefighter hats. (That's Regan in the stroller.)

Regan Finishes Kindergarten!

The end of school is always filled with fun activities. Kindergarten is no exception. Regan got to go on her first field trip, without me, to the zoo. I was horribly nervous for her. I imagined all sorts of things that could go wrong. So, I talked to her teacher and arranged for Regan to be in the same group as one of her best friends whose mom was going as a chaperon. Regan was thrilled, but I was relieved, knowing she would be well taken care of! I sent a camera with her with instructions to have her friend's mom take pictures of her around the zoo. I explained that pictures are so much better when there are people in them. Regan had the best time ever! She loved the bus ride, even though she fell asleep, and said that she just might be willing to ride the bus home from school now. I laughed when I downloaded her pictures; she was just too excited to pay attention to any of my advice.

There were a lot of pictures of this lady, but this was the most flattering view.

She really liked the monkeys.

The flamingos were also well documented. There was not one single picture of Regan or any of her friends! So glad she listened to my advice! At least she had a wonderful time!

The teacher who set up Field Day did a fabulous job! There was a lot of variety and fun activities for the kids.

I love this picture! Regan(in the white shirt and blue skirt) looks like she is running for all she is worth.

The parachute was also fun. There was also an obstacle course, a minute to win it type of game, and a drench the 5th grader by throwing the ball at the target game. Regan actually drenched him! I was very proud of her!

Two hot and sweaty girls after all their running around.

Since Regan has a summer birthday, we brought treats in to celebrate early. Rather than the typical cupcakes, Regan wanted "Worms in Dirt" (chocolate pudding with ground up Oreos sprinkled on top and a couple of gummy worms).

Her class sang "Happy Birthday" to her.

And then we went outside to eat. I think Haden liked hanging out with all the older kids!

Regan was sick and missed the second and third to last days of school. She insisted that she still wasn't up for going to school on the last day, but it was graduation. We spent the morning in the doctor's office, where she was diagnosed with a double ear infection, and made it to the park down the road from the school just in time for graduation.

Naomi and Brooklyn made this year absolutely wonderful for Regan!

Each kindergartner had to tell everyone what they were going to be when they grow up. I honestly had no idea what Regan was going to say, but not at all surprised when I heard, "I am going to be a singer, just like Taylor Swift".

Regan loved her teacher, Mrs. Appel.

Her speech therapist, Ms. Amy, worked absolute wonders with Regan. Regan improved leaps and bounds in her speech. I will always be grateful to Ms. Amy for her dedication to her job and to my little girl!

All in all, Regan loved kindergarten. She learned to read, her handwriting and coloring skills improved dramatically, and she became more confident with herself. For example, a few weeks ago we were at McDonald's with some friends. Regan and her friend were playing basketball. For these two girly girls it was a big deal when one of them made a basket. A couple of older boys came over and apparently called them losers. Regan, with hand on hip, let them have it. She told them, in a matter of fact voice, that it was not nice to call people losers and it was only because they were older that they were better at playing basketball! I was so proud of her! A year ago, I was still bribing her to stand up for herself. My little girl is growing up! I cannot believe that she is first grader now!

Regan's birthday party

This year Regan wanted her birthday party to have a fashion theme. Fashion is a big deal in Regan's world! So, we started off by having each girl design their own fashion porfolio. I was amazed at how quiet and focused they all were!

Then we ate pizza and watched "Barbie in a Fashion Fairy Tale". Surprisingly enough, no one but Regan had seen it. Notice where Haden is sitting. He REALLY likes all of Regan's friends and they are all very good sports to put up with him.

Lila also wanted to be included in the party.

Then we decorated individual cakes with pearls, glitter, and other fancy sprinkles. Once again, the girls were very quiet and focused. It was fun to watch them create their own masterpieces. They did a very good job! I apologize to all the parents who might have a bunch of sprinkles in their cars now! Some of the girls really liked a lot of sprinkles on their cakes!

Then we ate cake and ice cream, opened presents, and the parents showed up to take the girls home. Regan insisted that the parents all came early because there was no time to dance to Taylor Swift!

Haden entertained everyone with his fabulous table manners.

Frosting goatee? Definitely fashionable!

Lila was thrilled to play with everyone's shoes. I think it is an inherited trait. Apparently my grandmother was once shoe shopping and found a pair she loved. The salesman knew her well and insisted that she already had that pair. She was positive she didn't. He told her to go home and look. If she didn't already own that pair, then he would bring them by after work. She sheepishly called him back to admit that she did already own that pair of shoes. When my grandparents moved a few years back, my granddad limited my grandmother to 150 pairs of shoes. She couldn't part with 200 pairs and still threw out at least that many. Too bad we don't have the same size foot!

Regan is very lucky to have such a spectacular group of friends!

Haden's last day of school

1st day of school (January 5, 2011)

Last day of school (June 2, 2011)

Haden finished his first 1/2 year of preschool. I think overall it was a positive experience for him. There were a couple of days where he either refused to go (and there is just no changing that kid's mind, regardless of bribes or threats!) or refused to stay without me. His teachers were the best I could have ever asked for! Haden liked all of them, but insisted that Ms. Deb, the speech therapist, was his favorite. Ellen was his favorite friend. Haden will frequently call Ellen on his pretend phone and plan camping trips with her. It is really cute!

Haden and Ellen

The parents were invited to attend the the last half of the last day of school. The kids had popsicles and sang songs to us. Haden willingly ate the popsicle, but refused to sing any of the songs. The teachers told me that he was singing the loudest and was the most animated during practice, but he refused to do it again. He tends to shut down during emotional events, like good-byes.

Lila had a wonderful time playing with the puppets.

Haden didn't cooperate when it was time to take any pictures either. Poor little guy was moping around for the rest of the day.

Ms. Deb (speech therapist) She had a southern drawl and now several of the words Haden says sound a little southern! I love it!

Ms. Kari (occupational therapist)

Ms. Valerie (teacher's aide)

Ms. Lynn (teacher's aide) Haden had a hard time remembering her name at first so he called her the teacher that talked funny. (She has an English accent.)

In the last six months, both his imagination and vocabulary have taken off. He is constantly role playing with Regan. Fireman Sam is currently his favorite hero. Haden insisted on wearing his fireman rainboots to school on beautiful sunshiny days. He said he needed them in case there was a fire. His teachers willingly helped him change into running shoes when it was time to go out on the playground and then back into his boots when they came in. Pretty awesome!

I hope his next two years of preschool will be as wonderful as the first! The standard was set very high!

Bolder Boulder 2011

This was the 5th year Clint has run the Bolder Boulder. I had planned on running it as well, but decided it wasn't worth the hassle. The kids would have to have waited for Clint to run it and then for me to ride the bus to the start line and then run it. They just don't cooperate that long. Clint offered to sit it out this year, but he gets more out of it than I ever would. Maybe when the kids are older we can all do it together.

We dropped Clint off and made it to the stadium with 25 minutes to spare. The kids got free cowbells from Dick's Sporting Goods. They loved ringing them! They drank their hot chocolate while we waited. Lila got to try it for the first time. She was in heaven! The front of her jacket is now completely covered in hot chocolate drips. Thank goodness for Shout!

The kids climbed around on the bleachers while we waited. Not many people are there quite as early as we are.

I missed Clint crossing the finish line last year because everyone wears the same boring white tshirt. This year, he wore his yellow and black tie dyed demon deacon tshirt. I had no problem spotting him as soon as he ran into the stadium.

After we wandered around and collected all the free stuff, we headed north. Clint is always looking for good places to take his scouts and we had been wanting to explore the mountains west of Fort Collins for some time. We had planned on hiking around Chambers Lake, until we got there and discovered it was still covered in ice. The drifts along the road were higher than our car. Apparently, August is really the best time to hike that area, but at least we know what it looks like!

Haden had fallen asleep soon after we left Boulder and missed the snowstorm and the lake. He was not happy when he woke up several hours later and we were still in the car. Regan was also annoyed that she had to spend the entire day in the car. Thank goodness for McDonald's! Regan was carefully squeezing a drop of ketchup onto each french fry. Happy meals really do make everything better!