Bike Rides!

My friend Karin is pregnant and asked me if we would like to borrow her bike carrier for the girls so that we could go on some family bike rides, since she can't use it for awhile. We said OF COURSE!!!! Nana and BopBop have one in Kiawah and the girls loved it when they tried it at Easter time with BopBop!
We got it this afternoon and Matt spent awhile hooking it up to his bike and making sure it was secure (because I'm a total worry wart!). We took a long bike ride around the neighborhood and the girls squealed and laughed the whole time. They waved to everyone they saw. Then we went back to the house so that I could grab my phone to take some video. They really aren't the greatest videos since I made Matt just go back and forth in front of our house...but you'll at least get the idea! I have a feeling we'll be on the bikes every night from here on out (at least until we have to return it to Karin!!!).

Our very first swimming lesson!

Last Thursday the girls had their very first ever swimming lesson at the pool! They LOVE the pool and love to put their faces in the water already so we're anticipating that these lessons should be great for them. They have 8 lessons and get to go twice a week (it's just for a half hour). The first lesson went pretty well...Reagan absolutely loved it and had a blast (see the video below) but Riley cried out for me for the first 20 minutes! I hid in the pool bathroom so that she couldn't see me (that was NOT that fun) and by the end she'd warmed up to the teacher and was a bit more comfortable. I'm going to drop them off next time and leave so that she can't see me at all...we'll see how that goes!!! But...we're so excited and I can't believe that they are old enough to be starting swimming lessons already. We're heading up to the pool with the girls here in a bit to have some fun! Here is a video of the end of the lesson and a cute picture of them before we left the house. They were so excited they could hardly sit still for me to take a picture (I don't think that Riley knew at the time that I wasn't going swimming with her!!!).

Golfing with Daddy

My cousin Ben and his wife Michele and their daughter Taylor sent the girls their very first set of golf clubs for their birthday and they have been LOVING them. When we drive into our neighborhood now the girls shout "GOLF!" as soon as we drive by the range. They actually ask to go hit balls...isn't that funny?! Yesterday Matt took them out to the backyard to practice. As you can see from this video...Riley was a lot more into it than Reagan was at the time. Reagan was much more interested in going down the slide on the swingset! We're planning on taking the girls to The Players Championship in a couple of weeks so they can see some REAL golf! That should be a blast!
It's been an absolutely gorgeous weekend. The girls are napping now and we're going to take them to the pool when they wake up!

Fun (and cupcakes!) with Friends!

My friend Karin had a birthday today! Karin and I play tennis together and have become good friends. Her kids, Jack and Kate are so sweet and they love to play with Reagan and Riley. The kids all play so well together and have so much fun! To celebrate Karin's birthday we had them all come over (along with Kay and Joshua!) and we had some cupcakes and played outside. It was a blast and the kids all loved it. We are so lucky to live here and live by such amazing friends! Here are some pictures from today...check out all the blonde hair!!!!!

April showers will hopefully grow our flowers!

The girls helped us to plant some flowers today! The weather has been really bipolar the past few days...85 and sunny on Friday and 55 and rainy this weekend. Gross! It looks like that's over though...and we have a nice looking week ahead! (The girls start swimming lessons on Tuesday and are SO excited so we're hoping for no rain!!!).
We had some planters that needed some TLC and the girls were a huge help! They went with us to the nursery and helped us pick out the flowers for "their" pot and helped us to plant them. They even had their very own Cinderella gardening gloves! They have their own watering cans that they use all of the time to help me water the plants so those got some use today too...here are a few videos of the process and one of the final products ("their" plant!). They loved it and keep looking out of the window to see if it's started to grow!

A fun couple of days....

Yesterday I took the girls to the beach for the afternoon. We played in the sand, went for a walk on the beach and hunted for shells. It was so much fun! The weather has been absolutely perfect the past few days...I think spring is finally here! Matt met us after work and I had packed his suit, so we took the girls swimming. It was amazing. They just squealed and laughed the entire time. They LOVE to swim!!!! They start their swimming lessons on the 23rd and I can't wait. I hope it makes them love the water even more than they already do.

Then, today I had a milestone of my own....I took the girls to swim all by myself for the first time! I know that it doesn't sound like such a big deal to most, but it was huge for me. Granted, it was only to the baby pool but with two toddlers that don't know how to swim yet, I was pretty nervous. Not to mention that it takes us about 45 minutes just to get READY to go...with the sunscreen and getting everything organized. But...we did it, it was awesome and the girls had a BLAST. I can't really say that it was relaxing in the least bit for me...but just to know that I can do it on my own was HUGE. I was pretty proud of myself to be honest...and just so glad that I can take R and R to do something that they love so much without having to wait for some help! As long as they don't realize that the BIG GIRL pool is just a few steps away....because then I'm in trouble.
(pictures of them in their new swimsuits from Joshy that he gave them for their birthday!!)

We're 2 years old!!!!!

Reagan and Riley had their BIG Birthday on Saturday! It was a beautiful day and we had a very fun time celebrating! We kept it pretty low key this year...we figure that we have plenty of years ahead full of parties and this year we kept it super small! (especially because we'd celebrated the week before in Kiawah already!) We had two sets of neighbors stop by to help the girls blow out candles and eat their Sesame Street cake! (complete with Big Bird and Elmo on top). Their super special babysitter, Miss Kristyn, came by too. So...it was small and perfect! The girls were spoiled rotten all day long with presents from family and friends and have lots of new things to play with and wear!
On all of the girl's milestones, I sat and wrote about them and their personalities...so I thought that I'd do it again since it's been a LONG time since I've done that. Here it goes...I'll try not to be TOO long winded, but no promises!
Reagan Elizabeth continues to keep us laughing and smiling all day long. She has become quite the mommy's little helper. She LOVES to help me do anything...dishes, laundry, set the table, you name it. She's also really good at telling other people what to do! She can be heard saying "Come on, Riley!" or "No, Ma'am!!" throughout the day. She LOVES her new play kitchen from Nana Susan. She asks to play in it all the time...she loves her baby dolls, loves dressing up and loves princesses...especially Cinderella! She is quite the girly girl! She has a GREAT arm...which her Uncle Ron will be thrilled about! She's practicing with her new tee ball set every day and getting pretty good at it! She still adores her daddy and loves to cuddle. She has started taking really good naps (over an hour...which is HUGE for her!) and we think it helps that she has about 10 stuffed animals and her blanket in there with her now. She kept adding new stuffed animals every day and they've just sort of all stayed in there. I'm not complaining! The girls have graduated to booster seats out of their high chairs and she LOVES it. Just today she told me she wants to sit in a big girl seat. She loves anything that big kids can do. She loves her sister and loves her family and is just about the sweetest little thing in the world. If I cough or sneeze, she'll run right over and rub my back and say "Ok, Mommy?!? Ok, Mommy?!" and it's everything I can do to not burst into tears every time. She does it to Riley too...although Riley doesn't find it as sweet! She has her first little boyfriend, Nathan. She loves him and they continue to hold hands all of the time. It's adorable. (see the picture below..we went to Nathan's birthday party on Sunday as his birthday is the day after the girl's!). She's smart as can be and continues to amaze us with the things that come out of her mouth. At the doctor's today she was 27 pounds and almost 34 inches. He was blown away by her vocabulary and said she's doing outstanding...which of course, we knew already! We love her more than life itself and are so proud of the sweet young lady she's becoming!!!
Riley Harper continues to astound everyone. She's talking in mini sentences non-stop and runs faster than any kid she hangs out with. At a birthday party yesterday all of the parents kept saying..."WOW...that kid is going to be SOME athlete!!!" which is what Matt and I say all of the time. She's SO fast...and good at kicking a ball, so I'm thinking soccer! She loves to climb on anything and everything...such a little monkey. She's fearless too...nothing seems to scare her (except Santa and the Easter Bunny of course). She is singing ALL OF THE TIME!!!!!! Her favorites are ABC's and Twinkle Twinkle, but she'll sing and hum just about anything all day long. It's so sweet. She has become super silly and loves to laugh. She wakes up laughing and pretty much keeps going all day long. She loves to make Reagan laugh too...they can really get each other going these days and it's hilarious when it happens. Riley told me today that she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. Wouldn't that be awesome?! She still loves to sit and cuddle with mommy, although daddy is taking over the night time reading spot...she loves to cuddle up to him and read and drink her milk before bed. She loves her friends at school, especially her friends Nathan and Jack. We hear about them all of the time. Joshy is still her best bud too...and she looks out of the window for him all of the time. Riley loves to slide and push her baby dolls around and pretty much goes from one thing to the next every few minutes still. She's constantly on the move!!! She's just an angel and sweet as can be and gives the best and biggest hugs ever. I can't believe how strong she is and how far she's come in 2 years. At the doctor today she was 25 pounds and 34 inches! She's FINALLY in the 26th percentile for her weight...a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE accomplishment! Matt and I were so happy! She continues to be my hero!
I have the most beautiful, kind, wonderful daughters that anyone could ever, ever ask for and I feel so unbelievably blessed. Matt and I thank God every day for all that He has given us...but especially for these two precious two year olds. We love you, Reagan and Riley! Happy Second Birthday!!!!

Here are a few pictures from the tiny birthday "party" we had. We served cake out on the back porch so we wouldn't destroy the whole house!