A Tale of Two Sisters

You know, they always say that your kids can be drastically different. I have been learning that over the past 18 months that Regan has been bounding around the house and everywhere and anywhere she can find to explore. But no matter how many stories I have already told about how different my two girls are, NOTHING tells the story like the water fountains in Florida...

Here are the two girls being introduced to the concept. Taytum had been here before, but it was just before she was walking, so this was her first real opportunity to run and romp through the water...

As you can see, however, Taytum was very apprehensive about the water and wasn't much for getting splashed...
Regan, on the other hand, was very interested in the water and wanted nothing more than to get soaking wet...

Taytum was content to run around the outside of the fountains or through the middle, as long as the water was not spouting up...

Regan was all about the water and loving every minute of it...

And in the end, the true tale of two sisters...

complete

bliss

and happiness

coupled with...

crying,

whining,

and grumping!

At the end of the day, no matter how different...

...we know they still love each other...

(as Regan screams, 'LET ME GO!!!')

...and we love (and celebrate) their differences!

# 7

The day Rob went and picked up the uniforms for Taytum's soccer team, he came home very excited! Their colors are red and black... as are the colors of his favorite EPL team... Manchester United. So we named Taytum's team the Red Devils, which is what Man U is called as well.

My excitement came, however, when I realized the bag Rob brought home contained a #7 jersey! #7 has always been my favorite and I wore it as often as I could growing up. Rob and I buttered Taytum up to the idea of wearing #7... you know, telling her how cool it is and about Christiano Renaldo and David Beckham and blah blah blah...

Well, now I've created a monster. Here are some things that come out of Taytum's mouth:

"Mom, can you fix me SEVEN chicken fries please?"

"Mom, do we need gas? Because I'm looking at the gas station and there's no one on pump number 7. So we could go and get gas and get it from pump number 7."

"I need SEVEN oreos, Mom."

...I wonder what will come next?

Ahhhh...Computer

Well, our computer is finally up and running and I am back to snapping pictures and organizing them as best as I can. Now, just to find the time to post!! So you'll see more pics coming, but I can't guarantee they are in order from before the computer was on the fritz!!

Summer Happenings

Now that summer is gone and the scramble of school has started, here is a look back at some of the things that happened around our house this summer...

Maddy had her birthday... the BIG 13!! Crazy! Here's Taytum with Maddy and the card she colored for her (on the floor), which was next to the treat that Maddy is devouring! Happy Birthday, Big Dog!

One day before heading off to the pool for the first time, Regan found a seat that was quite comforting! It's funny for me to look at this picture because she no longer takes a bottle!

Just as school ended Taytum spent a week in Vacation Bible School for the first time. She has talked about it ever since... wanting to know when she can go back! So needless to say, it was a hit! It's just too bad it only comes around once a year! She had so much fun and here are a few pics of her and her friend, Lucy, who went along with her.
Taytum is waaaaaaay into singing and hand motions! It's a riot!


Here we are enjoying a little fun in a summer shower..

We went to a local 4th of July parade with my sister, Taytum's cousin and our Uncle Jimmy...

Here is Taytum screaming, "CANDY! CANDY! CANDY!"

Soccer camp was our next big event (this was before the start of Taytum's soccer team). Taytum and a couple of her buddies signed up for this 2-day camp. It was put on by someone that Taytum has worked with before. As you can tell, she had a blast... well, most of the time...

...the pre-camp chitter chatter...

...is that a 'princess' pose? this is SOCCER!...

...T and her buddy, Lucy...
...that girl's got SKILLS!!!...
...the patented pout...

...the post-camp chat with Coach Mike...



My Uncle Jimmy, one of my mom's younger brothers, came in for a visit. Here he is with the two girls. It was a fun visit. We all went to the pool, 4th of July parade, he watched Taytum at soccer camp, I actually went to a Cardinal's game with him, and we just hung out. It was really nice to have Uncle Jimmy around for a while. He was always my favorite uncle growing up, and he's still full of it all (even you know what!!!)! We miss him already!



Just before my parents headed back to Florida for a while, my dad (Gramps) picked up some special 3-D glasses for Taytum, Regan and some other brave soul! Gramps also informed us that they were special because they were for the HANNAH MONTANA concert that was going to be on TV. Niiiiice. A 3-D concert, no doubt. So here are Taytum, Regan and the other brave soul all ready for the concert...

Now how many dads do you know that would do THIS???
Oh, and here's Regan when she wasn't jamming to the concert... getting into trouble as usual!


One of the most exciting events of the summer, by far, was Taytum enrolling in dance class. Nothing fancy, nothing spectacular. The girls (and boys if you like) just learn basic steps. This was a ballet and jazz class. At the end of the session there is no big production, but the kids put on a little 'show' to demonstrate what they had learned. This is the only class that the parents get to sit in on. Here are some pics of our ballet beauty (HA!)...



And of the jazz routine...

I'll have to admit that Taytum was very focused in each class (you could peek in a window) and she took everything seriously. If she heard the songs on the radio at home, she would practice her routine. She loved it! She was very proud of herself and I know that she looks forward to signing up again soon... next time tap, maybe?