Beach at Nana's

Our first week at the beach when Mom is free from work and stress.  Reagan and Madison both enjoyed the sandy beach.  Madison enjoyed eating the sand while Reagan learned how to make sandcastles and jump waves.  She has gained so much confidence in the water this year!  Last year, she wouldn't even put her feet in the water and now she thinks she can go by herself.  Reagan loves for me to hold her while we dunk into the water together.  It's so great to share her life with her as I see how much she grows day by day.  Back at Nana's house we enjoyed the baby pool as their baths.  They both did not like the outdoor shower so we had to figure out how to get the sand off without going inside.  The make-shift bath turned into more play time for the girls.  They never knew the getting clean, :).  It's so great that Nana lives at Ocean Isle Beach.  I love seeing my girls grow up by the water.

Bubbles at Papa's and Gamma's

What's better than bubbles on the front porch?  Well, Madison who is too little to understand knew something was going on.  Gamma and Reagan blew bubbles for well over an hour.  Gamma wore out and Papa came to play a little.  I really think that Reagan could blow bubbles with her grandparents for hours.  She loves the special attention that they give her.  Little does she know that her baby sister is getting to be not so little anymore, ;).  She uses all the wands and definitely watches to see if your wand produces bigger bubbles.   It's hard for the near 3 year old to understand sharing.  She had to learn that the slower you blow the bigger the bubbles.  It didn't take her long to understand how to get bubbles to go out of the wand but she still has to work on the size.  Blowing fast is her style.

Play-Doh

As soon as Reagan gets home from school there are two things she wants to do, eat and play.  Of course, she wants my full attention.  This can be so hard when it's 5:00pm and she expects dinner to be served by 6:00pm or will completely melt down.  Oh, and did I mention that Madison also wants to be loved and held.  So, the plan is to have dinner somewhat started before leaving the house, put out an activity with a snack on the table so that she can come in and just start.  Does this work everyday?  Yes and no.  Sometimes she will eat and play for 30 minutes without even asking for me and other days for 10.  I can usually keep her going if I interact with her on the days she struggles to gain my attention.  Today, she played great.  She made what she called little cupcakes and placed them on the couch two at a time.  It was so cute to watch her go back and forth.  What color of play-doh is a must have right now---PINK!  She doesn't want to play with any other color but pink.  Thank you Play-Doh for putting three cans of pink in one pack!

Madison Stands Up

I woke up this morning to a very loud little girl in her crib.  I could tell that she was busy trying to do something but with my eyes hazed over I did not know what.  Finally, I got up to see what she was up to.  When I awoke there she was trying to pull up in her crib smiling right back at me.  It was so cute to see her work so hard.  I ran to get my camera and before I could get back she got up on her feet.  Her smile was so big and she kept giggling over and over.  Of course, I was excited.  This was a first for Madison and a big step towards walking.  However Reagan's take on it was not so exciting.  She hates when the attention is not on her and she'll let you know it.

I finally had to help her understand why it was such a big day for Madison.  She then helped me take pictures none worthy to put on the blog, :).  After, she almost destroyed the camera she climbed up in the crib with Madison and hugged her so tightly I thought Madison was going to suffocate.  The younger sibling held strong and took the over loving sister very well.

Show and Tell

Today was the first day Reagan took a show-and-tell. Dad always takes her to school during the year and never remembers to find something for her to take. Since I am teacher, I had a workday this past Friday and was able to take her. I decided that she could wear her tennis dress and take her racket and ball. She loves to "play tennis" when she gets home. It's mostly scraping the racket around on the concrete and chasing after a ball that she completely missed when I toss it to her. I find it adorable that she wants to be just like mom who plays all the time.

Collages

Madison's Baptism

Madison's Baptism was a special moment in her life. She had all her grandparents there watching her. What a lucky girl!