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?

AZ Cardinals Training Camp 2012

The family and I did something that we *never* do: we took a compulsive trip.

The Husband and I are very much planners, but when we were offered VIP tickets last minute to attend the AZ Cardinals Training Camp in Flagstaff, there was absolutely no way we were saying no.

I'm giving you fair warning here: this is a post loaded to the brim with pictures, but at least half are of my sweet kidlets. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

I wish that I could explain who all of the players are and everything that we got to experience, but I'm pretty sure that I might bore you to tears; not everyone is as big a football fan as myself. I can tell you though that our most popular and well-known player is Larry Fitzgerald {see picture above} and he was warming up right in front of us. Crazy.

Because we were on the field with the VIP passes, the kids also had access to the equipment prior to the beginning of practice. Luke had a blast playing around, jumping, running, and loving the cooler weather.

Reagan was more excited to color. {Side note: Color Wonders from Crayola are our new favorite thing. LOVE.} I do have to say though, for messing with her schedule and feeding times, she stuck it out like a champ.

Also because we were on the field, we were able to get autographs and pictures with the players. Luke is now the proud owner of a football covered in at least 10 autographs (and a few fingerprint smudges) that the Husband won't let him touch.

We had a blast and are so thankful that we were blessed to get such amazing tickets to the AZ Cardinals Training Camp. And now the planning for next year begins... ;)

love.

Pure and true love.

missing out

For those of you who may not already know, I'm at a blogging conference in Salt Lake City this weekend called SNAP and I'm having a blast. I've met great new bloggy buddies, I've learned so much, and I'm enjoying a little "me" time. My days have been filled to the brim with logistical seat saving, craning to take pictures of amazing speakers, and quickly scrawling notes of all the gems that these geniuses have to offer.

But if I'm being 100% honest, I feel like I'm missing out.

I received a phone call from Keith last night during our dinner letting me know that Reagan went on the potty for the first time ever. And I missed it. And I know what you're thinking: why are you sad about poo? It's really not the poo that I'm sad about -- I can guarantee you that! I'm sad that I wasn't there to celebrate her new accomplishment.

I feel awful that I missed such a big milestone. I miss my kids and husband terribly and this has helped cement to me that as much as I love and adore blogging, I love and adore my family WAY more. One of my goals for the Sweet Rose Studio blog that I'd set awhile ago was to attend more conferences so that I can learn and grow this fledgling business of mine. Now that I've had to leave the state to attend one, I'm determined that I will only ever being leaving my family for this once a year from now on.

The message that is the theme for this conference is Be Authentic; Be You and I'm certain that in order for me to be that person, I need to remember what my main focus is: my family.

I fly home on Sunday and can't wait to squeeze the beejesus out of the three most important people in my life, but until then, I'll enjoy myself and keep missing them.

four

It's really hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that my sweet Luke is four today. He has brought us innumerable smiles since he made his entrance into the world and it wouldn't be right if I didn't share his goodness with you!

This picture was taken April 12, 2008, 10ish days overdue. Yep, you read that right. I was in my dear cousin's wedding that far overdue. It was rough and painful and beautiful and memorable all in the same moment. The wedding took place on a Saturday and I was induced the following Monday.

After 19 hours of back labor, our little man arrived and we were over the moon. He has been such a sweet baby from the very beginning. His pregnancy was cake (minus being tired all.the.time.) and he started sleeping solidly through the night at 8 weeks, as soon as we let him. For his first two years, I could count on one hand how many times he woke during the night and how many times he screamed.

During his first year, he was able to experience snow for the first (and only) time. He was such a cute little bundled baby! And in case you were wondering, that is a toddler size hat on his head. His noggin has always been on the huge size.

Okay. Don't laugh, but Luke's birthday falls on April 15th which meant that right when the whole Tea Party situation was going on, that was Luke's first birthday. He attended his first (and only) Tea Party rally that day due to his proud Daddy being in a total politically charged phase at that point. Wasn't he just so precious?!?

Our little man near his second birthday. I feel bad that I can't find pictures from his actual birthday that year, but in my defense, Reagan the princess had just been born and was in the process of turning our worlds upside-down.

I love Disneyland, so any excuse to go for me is a good one. We started the tradition with Luke that we'll take the kids for their third birthday. He loved every single second of it; from the characters to the rides (minus the dark ones), he was one happy birthday boy.

Which brings us to four. Four. I'm honestly having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that our little man is now four. He has brough so much joy, so many smiles, and so much laughter inti our lives.

I feel like celebrating another birthday of my child is such a contradiction in my heart. On one hand, I couldn't be happier to celebrate such an amazing boy and how he's grown. On the other hand, I'm sad that he's growing up so quickly and that he's leaving the baby and toddler stage so fast. What's a momma to do? Love my little man and support his growth, his learning, and his loves.

Happy birthday to my sweet little man. Momma loves you more than you know!