April 2007 Archives
Maddie and Josie are dancing together on the train table. Maddie starts singing a song that she's made up and Josie tries to follow along, like a backup singer. They're both dressed in princess dresses with lots of jewelry.
"Mama, look at us! We're ROCKET STARS!!!"
On telling Maddie she needed to pick up the food she dropped on the floor:
"It's okay, Mama. The superheroes will come and pick it up. That's what they do. Did you know that? They do, Mama. They pick it up and then they have a celebration and say YAY!"
At least it's more creative than saying that the dogs will eat it up.
- The hilarity that is Josie. This kid really is a little clown. She keeps us laughing all the time. Unfortunately, Maddie isn't taking well to the fact that Josie is getting all the attention. She's been a little clingy lately. I've been trying to give her a little extra love and attention and I'm hoping that she'll start to feel a little more secure soon. She really thrives on her alone time with me. Josie has given up her nap so finding alone time with Maddie is proving to be much harder. I'm still figuring out a way that I can give each one some attention without causing jealousy in the other one. Any suggestions?
- Beautiful weather. It's been in the 70s all week. That's the perfect temp for me. I dread the coming weeks when summer finally kicks in. I hate when it's so hot that we don't even go outside. Unfortunately, the lower temps have been deceiving and the girls and I have already gotten sunburned. However, we have noticed....
- Fewer mosquitoes. On the suggestion of our neighbor (who actually works for Orkin) we invested in the Mosquito Control Service. I was skeptical, but considering how bad they were the last few summers, I thought it couldn't hurt to try. Already, we've noticed a difference. I've only seen 2 mosquitoes in the past few weeks. You have no idea how amazing that is. This time last year we were banned from our backyard because of the little pests. It's great to actually let the girls play in the backyard.
- Attending the ballet recital of Maddie's best friend Grace. It was adorable to see Maddie watching her friend up on stage. She couldn't stop clapping when it ended. Afterwards, they held hands and danced together while other dancers performed on stage. I hope with all of my heart that their friendship lasts, or at least that they'll remember each other as they get older. The girls have known each other since they were about 4 months old. I have pictures of the two of them lying on the floor, side by side, long before they could even roll over or crawl. I even watched Grace during the day for a few months while my friend Carolyn finished the school year where she taught. Unlike any of Maddie's other playgroup friends, Maddie and Grace have NEVER fought over anything. Not over toys or food or games or anything. They have always played together peacefully. Those two just have a connection that is so sweet to watch. They're opposites in many ways too, so perhaps they complete each other.
- The blooming flowers in our front yard. I was pleasantly surprised to find the climbing rose bush I planted two years ago is in bloom (and still alive!) Bill pointed it out to me when he got home today. It actually has some adorable little pink tea roses. Yay for my green thumb (which until now I thought was falling off!) The clematis I planted around our mailbox is going to sprout large purple flowers any day now. The gardenia bushes by our porch have little buds, as well as the jasmine bushes by the front door. Aaaaaaaahhhhh Spring is here!
We've had a few funny moments of the girls on video lately.
Josie wears her goggles and sings a song for us. Oddly enough, the words to the song are
"I not seeeeeeeee!" I kept telling her she probably wouldn't be able to see with the dirty goggles on her head, but she liked them nevertheless. It's funny because she's become quite the little chatterbox and performer lately (just like her big sister).
Oh, and I apologize in advance for the video being sideways. I took it with our camera, which doesn't adjust itself. I usually remember that fact, but in this case I didn't.
I caught Maddie and Josie cuddling and giggling on the couch one day. It was absolutely adorable and so sweet. I ran to get the camera and actually got them on tape. (I just knew they'd stop and start fighting while I was out of the room!) They love "eskimo kisses" and Josie, especially, loves to announce "I love youuuuuu!" I hope to show this to them in a few years when they're fighting over clothes or using the car.
The girls' favorite game lately is to crawl on the floor and pretend they're cats or dogs. They love to crawl up to me and beg for treats or a pat on the head. In the video Josie talks about her "friend Taya." ALL of her dolls are named Taya. Plus, anyone she knows is her friend. Ask her who's coming home and she'll say, "My friend Daddy."
And finally, a video of Maddie dancing in the kitchen to her Disney music. We were video taping her dancing when she suddenly started worrying about the tape we'd put on the floor. (Sounds like her ballet recital, right?) We had put tape on the floor to show her the "end of the stage" so she wouldn't get too close to the camera. Of course, that became the object of her attention after a while.
PS. She designed her outfit completely. She loves to wear her ballet dress and the brown wig.
We'll be sure to post more as we get them. I think they definitely tell more about the girls than any of the pictures we post.
Riding "Red" with Michel's and Heath's help.
- A really great Easter Sunday with beautiful weather (not too hot or too cold). The girls are both old enough now to participate in an egg hunt and they had SO much fun. We went out to my mom's place, which is out in the country with lots of land. She has a few neighbors with farms too. The girls got to see chickens and the eggs they laid, and they got the chance to go horseback riding. They love seeing all the animals. We also spotted a few calves and puppies. The Easter egg hunt was fun too. They found lots of eggs and were delighted with the "prize" eggs. Best of all, though? The real decorated eggs they found. Did I mention that the girls LOVE boiled eggs? Josie ate three in a row and I'm not sure how many Maddie ingested.
- NOT getting poison ivy. As those of you from the Myrtle Beach trip know from this, I am really allergic to poison ivy. Well, my sister's mother-in-law suggested that I hide one of the eggs in a tree. She pointed to a branch and I tried, but the egg kept falling out, sooooooo... I tried to place it in the vine right next to that branch. At this point she said very calmly, "You know that's poison oak, right?" Aaaaaack! I ran inside the house and didn't touch anything with that hand until I'd washed it thoroughly. Like I said, I didn't get poison ivy, so I'm very thankful.
- The fact that "pollen week" in Atlanta is finally over. See this?
All of that yellow stuff is pollen. We are attacked by it during two weeks in April each year. It leaves a quarter inch-thick layer of yellow dust on everything until it finally rains. Then, instead of being washed away, all the stuff puddles (and splatters all over the girls' toys). It's torture for people like Bill who have seasonal allergies. I don't have allergies, but even I get stuffy.
- The good health of everyone in our family.
- Easter candy. We limit what the girls eat, but we don't have any limits for ourselves. Well, at least not until that diet starts.
- Planting flowers with the girls. They love "gar-ning." I took them to a local landscape center yesterday to pick out some flowers for a few containers we have on our porch. We had fun smelling the herbs and picking out their favorite color of flowers. Then we came home and planted them all. It was so funny to see them with their little shovels playing in the potting soil. I'm horrible about remembering to water my flowers, so it's good that they're so excited about doing it and remind me all the time.
A few years ago, I would've used this cool tool to make a superhero dance...
See the full thing here.
I took the girls to Burger King for lunch yesterday. It's been rainy and cold the last couple of days and I wanted them to be able to play in the indoor play area there.
We were in a few minutes when one of the Burger King employees came into the play area. She's mentally impaired and we've seen her a couple of times. She's always really friendly and loves to talk to the girls.
A couple of minutes after she entered, she asked me a question:
"Police ask questions and you say no, so you don't go to jail?"
I guess so. Sure.
(Hmmm, that's an interesting question, I think to myself).
A few minutes later:
"If you kill somebody, you say no and you don't go to jail."
Girls, it's time to go!
I'm sure it was probably something she heard on TV or something like that, but it still made me little uneasy.
