baby ballerina



Reagan has started her first dance class and it is the cutest thing EVER. I can honestly say that I'm not sure who's more excited about this: her or me.

 



 

Her class is a ballet, tap, and tumble class offered through our local Parks and Rec department; we'll eventually move on to an actual dance studio, but while she's still this young, I wanted to have her be apart of these classes to make sure that she really does enjoy this. I don't want to be the kind of Momma that forces her daughter to dance if she doesn't really want to.

 

But man, I really hope she wants to.

 

So far, so good.

 

The start of dance class also gave me the chance to deck Reagan out in some sweet dance gear. She ended up with three leotards, a tutu, tap shoes, and ballet slippers. She wants to wear her dance clothes all. the. time.

 

And I can't blame her. Isn't she just the cutest?

 

How can you not adore little ballet feet?

 

Reagan's only attended three classes so far, but she's already remembering things that she's been taught and likes to tell us what moves she's doing as she's dancing to her beloved Bieber. From tippy toes to tapping feet to her ballet twirls, she's a little pro.

bathing beauties



 There really is no story here; I just felt like showing off the cuteness that is my kidlets in the bath.

 

 



How can you *not* swoon at these sweet cheese faces?



bieber fever

Reagan and Luke have really only ever been exposed to Disney or toddler-style music. I don't listen to radio stations while they are in the car; with the exception of the Adele CD that we listen to, everything else is kid friendly.

 

In fact, when Keith asks me what my favorite current songs are to listen to, I usually have no answer since my usual music involves Jake and The Neverland Pirates, Imagination Movers, or a Baby Einsteins CD.

 

 

We have recently made an exception and Reagan has officially now caught Bieber Fever. She is obsessed with the Baby, Baby song. I found an acoustic version on YouTube that she will listen to and watch all day long if I let her.

 

She's even started learning the words and will try to sing along. It is seriously the cutest thing ever!

back to school

Even though Luke technically started school last year (he was there for the last quarter), this seems like the "real" start to his school career for me. We got to experience all of the fun that is the Back To School Season: supplies shopping, clothes shopping, Meet the Teacher night, and having a crazy picture-taking Momma!

 



 

 Keith surprised all of us by coming home from work just in time to take Luke to school! I don't think that Luke could have been more excited about school.

 

 

 

Because Luke qualifies for Speech services, he also qualifies for transportation to and from school. Reagan and I enjoy dropping him off at school, but Luke LOVES riding the school bus home. He has a huge smile on his face everyday as he hops of the bus and runs to give me a huge bear hug.

 

 

As a special treat for doing such a great job on his first day, we took both kids to get a fun treat at our local Circle K.

We are so proud of what a smart little guy Luke has become. Keep up the great work buddy!

fourth of july

We were excited to have the Hildwine's over to celebrate the Fourth of July this year. We barbecued, had sparklers, and popped oodles of poppers. The kids were thrilled to get to hang out with some of their besties: Emma and Josh. These are a few of my favorite pictures:

 

 

 

the fishes

Keith and I were super excited to enroll the kids in swim lessons this year. Last year would have been really tough with one parent and two kids in a parent-tot class; this year Luke was old enough to be in a class on his own!

 

 

For the first three weeks, we were golden. Both of the kids adored going and loved their teachers. They loved re-enacting the moves they learned in class and sang the songs all. the. time.

 

And then the fourth week happened. I'm not sure what triggered it exactly, but Luke had suddenly had enough and began to cry each day when it was time to go and we had to force him into the water. And when Luke is unhappy, Reagan is unhappy. It was more than this one Momma could handle solo.

 

So, we only went to swim lessons for four weeks this summer. Keith and I are re-evaluating our plan for future swim lessons. I think we need to look into a more personalized form of lessons for our water-shy little guy.



Any suggestions?