Just a Trim

With Cole being 6 1/2 months old, and having "wings", we decided it was time for a haircut (get a load of him in this "before" picture).  So, last night, we headed out to Cookie Cutters - a haircut place for kids.  It is way cute with each station having its own special chair, like a pink cadillac or an airplane or a race car.   

Cole sat in the race car and Steve held him while the lady cut his hair.  He just looked around and kicked it while she cleaned him up.

Not to be left out of anything, Reagan had to jump into the race car chair after Cole's cut was over.  We hadn't planned to cut her hair, but she was right there and ready to go and the lady suggested trimming up her ends, so both kids got their first haircuts on the same day.

Cookie Cutters gave us a little bag of each of the kids' hair (for their scrapbooks which are being neglected as I try to learn to blog) and gave the kids balloons and suckers (who wouldn't want a hair cut there???)

Rub a Dub Dub

I'm not sure why, but every time I am giving my kids a bath, I feel compelled to grab the camera.  Maybe it's because they are so cute and innocent -  sitting there in the tub, naked, hair wet and splashing all over the place.  Maybe it's because my entire focus is each of them and we are face to face for 20 minutes or so - talking, making faces, splashing and yucking it up.  

Whatever the reason, I have always treasured bath time and love to have them upstairs in the kitchen sink, rather than downstairs in the bathtub.  Yes, in the bathtub, I can bathe them at the same time and sit on the ground, but in the kitchen sink, they are higher, with the window right behind them and the sun shining in - it is a wonderful thing.  Maybe I love it so much because it means that they are still my babies and they need my help to get ready and I realize that this will not last long before they will be yelling "I can do it myself".  Until then, bring the bubbles and rubber ducky .. we're filling up the sink.

The end result is even better - clean and fresh and ready for whatever is on the agenda today.

A Cheap Date

Well, we're at the mall one day, doing some shopping and having lunch, and we decide to go on the carousel.  Just look at that face - she is in heaven.  Daddy by her side (the consummate protector), riding a zebra (apparently they are better than horses) and going round and round.  Who knew you could have such a good time for a buck and a quarter?  It's a good deal for me as  I would have paid anything to buy that smile.  

From Bumbo to Bliss

Until recently, Cole's only hope at sitting up was with the assistance of another person or the Bumbo chair (don't you love those?).  A driven man... er, baby, he implemented a rigorous training schedule of crunches, roll overs, pull ups (the arm kind, not the diaper kind) and stretches (freakishly resembling the yoga pose of boat).  He has now achieved "optimum core stabilization" and can sit up on his own...  well, with the occasional crash onto his side or back.  Each time I see him, it is so weird - he just looks so big sitting there all by himself.

By the way, how is it that my six month old has abs of steel and I'm still working on getting abs of anything?

We Love the Park

Whenever we are driving and we 

pass a park, Reagan yells out "swing" or "slide" - even if it is a swing in someone else's backyard.  We have several nice parks close to home, so, we try to stop when we can.

Once we pull over, the game begins.  Reagan runs from the slide, to the swing, to the monkey bars, to another slide, and then to another swing. Steve is right on her heels and gets a kick out of her having to try every piece of equipment at the park.  Sometimes we meet new friends and sometimes we get 'bonked".  I'm always surprised how truly unafraid she is - she'll try almost anything.

Even Cole gets in on the fun.  Usually, he is stuck with me, walking around to the different pieces of equipment, trying to see, talk to, or take pictures of Reagan, but he is constantly fascinated with the bundle of energy that IS Reagan.

We have looked at getting a set for our yard, but geez, the choices... from Rainbow and Sunshine to Ultimate and King Kong (Steve's personal favorite after "market testing" several of them). 

Until then, we'll keep stopping at any park that we drive by, gradually fine tuning our "expertise" of the public parks in Sandy/Draper.

Cole - "The Bouncer"

It doesn't take much for Cole to get a kick out of himself when he is in his bouncer.  We bought it for Reagan and she used it some, but he loves it.  The hardest part about it was finding a doorway with a door jam.  Almost all of our house has open areas or arches - nothing to attach this thing to.  The only doorway in the kitchen/dining room/family room is in the pantry.  So, here he is in our pantry.  It actually works out well for me because he is right there while I am cooking and I can talk to him and keep an eye on him (that's code for: protect him from Reagan - who thinks it is so funny when she swings him or twirls him.)  Get a load of Cole Cole (what Reagan has called him since he was born) in his bouncer.

Wonder Where She Gets It

Apparently Reagan is a chip off the 'ole block.  She LOVES shoes.  Not just her shoes, but my shoes, other kids' shoes, other adults' shoes, even strangers' shoes.  She can be running full on down a hallway, see a pair of shoes, and stop dead in her tracks.  She loves to hang out in my closet and has previously only been interested in the colorful ones, but lately, these peep toe pumps are her favorites.  Her little feet fit perfectly through the peep toe.   

Really though, can you blame her?  I mean...which would you rather wear.... K-Swiss or Steve Madden?  

Of course I love that she loves shoes.  What a fun thing to bond over and I admit that I've had a blast dressing her feet to this point in her life (can you say PediPed?)... why stop now?  In fact one of my friends is a buyer for Tai Pan Trading and she decorated a Christmas Tree for her daughter consisting of all of her baby and child shoes.  How cute is that?  Maybe in a few years, I can convince her to do one for Reagan.... Stay tuned.

Time for Spring Skiing

Why, you might ask, when we live five minutes from the mouth of Alta canyon, would we drive an hour to ski at Snow Basin? Well, beside the obvious (six person gondolas vs. freezing your tail off on the chair lift), we love the lodges and they allow snowboarders (Alta is one of three resorts left in the country that don't allow boarding). Both of our sons in law and Steve's daughter Shannon snowboard, so, if we all want to ski together, we must leave our favored Alta. Snow Basin was completely re-done for the Olympics (we saw a few events there) and it is beautiful. So, we make the trek.

On this day, we met Shannon and Matt there and spent some time playing in the snow while soaking up the sun.

We've determined that before Reagan and Cole hit the slopes, we'd better learn to board as well. So, starting next season, you might get some crazy pics of us trying to learn the snowboard way. For the small part that is left of this season, we'll stick to skiing.

Slide On Down

The Treehouse (our gym) had a huge, blowup slide for the kids to play on today. Reagan was so excited that standing in line, waiting to get on, was pure torture (or so we thought until we saw her reaction when it was time to go - pure torture for us).

She wasn't big enough to climb the slide herself so, Steve offered to help. Uh, help, right? That's what we're calling it? It was a necessary, fatherly obligation... really.... no fun involved whatsoever.
Just look at him... he's obviously having a horrible time. The other kids in line were wondering: Hey, who's the big guy in line - he must be at least 6'3".

Mother Nature's Mood Swings

I realize that April showers bring May flowers, but Mother Nature seems to be having serious mood swings. Maybe it is just that the Snow Miser and the Heat Miser are fighting hard over Salt Lake City these days. Monday was 80 degrees - fun in the backyard and light sweater weather in the evening.

By the end of Tuesday, it was freezing outside and we had at least an inch and a half of snow. It seems crazy that the weather can shift by over 30 degrees in one day. Oh well, such is life in Utah. Steve says that through his years in Salt Lake, he has seen it snow in every month except for July. I really don't mind it though... I love the snow and the gorgeous mountains with snow caps. I also love the heat and enjoy spring and the warming up. Each day brings a challenge of what to wear and what our activities will be, but after growing up in Arizona, I love the change of seasons that we get here. So, wear a t-shirt and bring some snow boots.... we're off on our next adventure.

I'm an Excellent Driver...

Reagan, even at twenty three months, loves to "drive". She always wants to be in the front seat, so, Steve let her jump in. Not only does she know where the key goes, but she knows which key is supposed to be inserted (this is complicated by the fact that we each have two Lexus keys which look the same). Then, she knows where to turn on the music, how to adjust the sound, how to hit the windshield wipers, etc. I had to laugh and take a video of her. She wouldn't let Steve help her find the right key and after she turned the car on, she started dancing to the music. Once she had enough, she turned off the car and was on to the next activity. Get a load of her in this video clip.


She has always loved driving. Even last summer, when she was barely one, she would climb into our golf cart and try to drive. She knew she needed a key, she knew which key she needed, and she knew where it went. Fortunately for us, she couldn't get it inserted and turned correctly.

I'm sure it will feel like the blink of an eye and she'll be ready to get her license, but until then, she's stuck with pretending in one of our cars or playing around on the golf cart. And rest assured, I will not be following in my parents' footsteps and letting her drive around the neighborhood at eleven (seriously Dad, what were you thinking??? Don't get me wrong - I loved it, but eleven years old?????)

Easter Too Early

To me, Easter always conjures up images of spring: bright Easter eggs, flowers, pastel colored dresses, hats, and short sleeves. However, with Easter coming earlier this year than it has in decades, I was a little thrown off. After all, who can plan for sundresses, sandals and hats when there is a fresh blanket of snow on the ground? But with two dress up dolls of my very own, there is no way we are going to skip the whole thing. Not to be discouraged... we'll just throw on a lovely trenchcoat over Reagan's dress and wrap a pastel blanket over Cole's car seat and we're off to church. Of course you can guess that the hat lasted about ten seconds and the trench covered up the cute dress. Plus, halfway through church, Reagan lifted up her skirt and I found the little panty/cover ups that come with the dress - still attached to the inside of her skirt (not sure how I missed that when I dressed her). Yet, Easter was wonderful: baskets from the Easter Bunny, a great day at Church, and a fun egg hunt and dinner at Grandma's house. We Love Easter!!!!!

Who Has Time to Blog?

OK - So everyone has a blog but me. Seriously though, who has the time? I don't know how you guys fit it in (and cute stuff too, not just pics and blah, blah, blah). But, when I consider that I don't keep in touch with many of you as much as I should and that my out of town family doesn't get to see my babies as much as they should.... well, looks like it's Blog Time. So, please be patient with me if I don't update as often as everyone else (Sherine - you are an animal), or have as cute of sayings as everyone else (Rachel - you are way creative), or have complete stories with feelings and emotion (Jenn - this is you). I'll try to get the hang of this thing and please let me know of tips, tricks and ways I can make the look and feel of the blog better. OK..... here goes... Let's Blog!!!