THREE

Dear Addison & Mackenzie,

Yesterday, you turned THREE years old.  I can hardly believe it, but then again, it seems like you have been with us forever.  You are absolutely THE best part of our lives, and your daddy and I love our little family so very much.  Every year gets better and better.

 

Mackenzie, at three you are sensitive and kind.  You worry about things sometimes, so we have to be careful what we say around you.  You take care of your sister and get upset if she is upset.  When Addison goes to time out, you usually ask if you can take her a blanket or even end up sitting beside her while she serves her punishment.  You think of other people more than any barely-three year old I know.  Just the other day, you remembered I had been to a movie the day before.  You asked, "Did you like your movie, Mama?"  When I answered that I did, very much, you said, "I'm so glad!"  And then my heart melted.

If you notice I have on a new outfit, or just one you particularly like, you will say, "I like your dress, Mama.  It's very pretty."  Right now, you practically refuse to wear anything except a skirt or dress ("ballerinas", you call them), and I am happy to oblige and let you wear one nearly every day.  The little twirl you do when you first put on a favorite dress is so much better than any cute outfit I could coerce you to wear.  You are very attached to your Jen Jen and Ne Ne.  You love to snuggle and watch movies on the couch, and you are awesome at games of pretend.  You call any dog "Toto", from The Wizard of Oz, and you often tell people very sincerely that your name is Dorothy Ross H----.  I may cry the day you stop asking us to call you Dorothy.

My little Addison, you are the life of the party around here most days.  You are funny and silly and fiercely independent.  Sometimes I shudder to imagine how sassy you might be during your teen years, but we will cross that bridge when we get there, and I will love you even on the days you make me want to scream.  While you are less likely than you sister to cuddle up with me voluntarily, I also catch you more and more often sitting still "reading" a book all by yourself.  You have definitely inherited my love of books, and seeing that love grow makes your mama's heart very, very happy.

I often call you my wild child, but you have a sensitive side too.  Sometimes when you realize you are about to get into trouble, your little face just crumbles and you burst into unexpected tears.  (Yes, that makes it very hard to stay mad at you at that moment in time, a fact I hope you don't figure out anytime soon!)  Just the other day, you were bouncing around while I combed your hair and you caught sight of an ASPCA commercial on tv.  You asked me if the doggie was sad and I, without thinking, answered that he was.  Your eyes immediately welled up with tears and you became inconsolable, wailing, "I don't waaaaannnttt him to be sad!"

You are very much a mama's girl right now, but you often get caught up in things your daddy is doing too.  You love to help him work on the lawn mower and you request to visit the John Deere store almost weekly.  You love to run and play "chase" right now and you can far outlast any of us adults.  You scrunch up your nose when you smile, just like I do, and you have this funny little abrupt way of talking sometimes that absolutely cracks us up.  I can't describe it, but I'm pretty sure I will never forget it.

The two of you together are an unstoppable combination.  You are our yin and yang, our sweet and spunky, the perfect complement to one another.  You are our wild and crazy monkeys, and our lives before you seem dreadfully boring in comparison to the excitement you bring to our days.

As I have said before, being a mama to you girls is by far the greatest and coolest thing I will ever do.  I will make mistakes, and lots of them--like, um, taking your pacis away the night before your 3rd birthday so that you were sad ON your birthday instead of waiting until the day after (sorry about that!!)--but I promise you I will always do the very best I can do for you girls and for our family. 

You are so very loved, girls, don't ever forget that.  Happy third birthday!

(Since you are such big girls now, can you go ahead and forgive me for this paci business soon?  Pretty please?)

Love,
Mama

Friday Five--Toddler Talk

• Sometimes I forget how very closely the girls listen to everything we say in their presence.  A few weeks ago, I was digging through the out-of-control sippy-cup drawer to find a matching lid.  I didn't think too much about my frustration until, a day or two later, Mackenzie was playing in the same drawer, shouting, "Where's the freakin' lid??"  Oops!  At least it wasn't anything worse, I guess?

• When the girls say something they aren't sure they should be saying (like 'freaking'), they will turn to one of us and ask, "Is [random word] nice to say?"  It cracks me up, and I love that they care enough to ask...I am sure the day will come when they seek out those not-nice words.

• We have been teaching the girls when it is appropriate to say 'God' (i.e. when we are talking about God, church, etc.).  They had heard the phrase "Oh my God" somewhere, and started asking questions about it.  We tried to explain that we are not supposed to use that phrase, and to say "goodness" or "gosh" instead.  A & M have done very well not repeating that saying, but they are VERY quick to point out when they hear it elsewhere.  (It is on Shrek, which is the ONLY DVD that plays in my car--random, I know--and they never fail to point it out.  They also never miss the phrase 'shut up', but we haven't had many problems with that one...yet.)

• Speaking of phrases the girls never miss, Jeremy and I totally failed that lesson that says if you hear something you don't want your kids to notice, don't draw attention to it.  One day last weekend, the four of us were in our bedroom hanging out.  I think I had just had a shower, so Pandora radio was still playing on my iPhone in the bathroom.  We were alternatively dancing around to the music and playing around in the floor, when this song came blaring out of the speakers.  (That link is just the lyrics--no music!)  Jeremy and both stopped in mid-sentence and looked at each other with wide eyes.  He jumped up and ran into the bathroom to skip that song, while I burst out laughing.  (Mom of the year, right here!)  Luckily, the girls somehow overlooked the whole situation, and to my knowledge, that word has not entered their vocabulary.  It was a close one, though!  

• A & M are really into playing 'babies' these days.  They take turns pretending to put one another down for naps, feeding pretend bottles, and reading to each other.  It's all very cute and funny to watch, but they are starting to put some 'baby talk' with this game...which is NOT so cute.  We are supposed to be long past the stage of unintelligible words and whines.  When they get in the mood of whining and pointing, I have to remind them to use their words and tell them they are big girls now.  I can handle the pretend baby stuff, but there will be no more deciphering noises and whines when I know good and well they can say whatever they want.

 I called this post Toddler Talk because I can't resist alliteration, but my girls really don't feel like toddlers anymore.  They are quickly moving into the little girl stage, and I really love it.  Sure, I miss things about the baby stages on occasion, but there are so many more things to look forward to!  What do we call these kids after 'toddlers'?  Preschoolers?

All I know is that my almost-three-year-olds are pretty freakin' awesome!  

Monday on a Tuesday

We had a great weekend, complete with an extra day off yesterday.  Friday night, the girls went to spend the night with Jeremy's parents.  We decided to go ahead and eat dinner with his family instead of going somewhere else, since every restaurant seemed to be packed.  Late Valentine's celebrations, I guess...it was ours too!

After dinner, the girls went off with their grandparents and Jeremy and I went to see The Vow.  It was...alright...some things about the characters really irritated me.  Still, it was nice to sit in a theater next to my husband and do nothing but take in the movie for about two hours.

I made a quick Target run right before the movie and ran into a local blog friend (It was great to catch up for a few minutes, Iana!  We should really get our kids together sometime!).  I also snagged this necklace on clearance for $2.40 that I am a little bit in love with:

The Gemini symbol (my astrological sign)...also the symbol for TWINS!  : )

Jeremy and I spent our child-free Saturday morning piddling around the house.  I finally started a project I have been intending to work on for months.  After a morning spent in Jeremy's workshop and one trip to Home Depot, this desk

became this:

It is still far from perfect, and I have already put a couple of spots on the top (because I didn't wait long enough before setting the heavy sewing machine on it), but it is a great improvement.  I used spray paint and it was pretty easy, so there's no telling what piece of furniture I will attack next!  I do want to make a little skirt for the desk, to hide the cords and stool, and I need some baskets for the open shelves on the end.  I don't really know if the desk is going to stay where it is (in the kitchen) or move somewhere else, but at least it is now in the house and functional.  Progress!

The rest of our weekend was pretty quiet.  We hung out at home, had a fantastic Sunday lunch with just the four of us (a rarity!), and did lots of reading (rainboots optional).

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Random Addison quote from lunch on Sunday:  "Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do!"  

I love that my baby quotes one of my favorite shows (I Love Lucy) without having any idea what she's talking about.  (She picked it up from her silly father a couple of weeks ago.)  : )

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday

My baby knows the Pledge of Allegiance!  She said it all the way through the first time; this time she got a little distracted by the tv, but still...the pledge!



File this under:  things I would never have dreamed they could learn at this age.

Parades, Parties, and a Weekend Milestone

This weekend was our busiest in a long time, with something planned for each day from Thursday to Sunday.  'Tis the season, I suppose.

Thursday evening, Addison & Mackenzie attended their first Christmas parade.  The past few years have been cold and rainy, and it just hasn't been ideal for us to take them out to it.  This year was pretty cold, but not unbearable, and the girls absolutely loved it!

My aunt lives very near the parade route, so as we did so many times during my own childhood, we hung out inside at her house until we heard the wail of the sirens approaching.  We walked down to the end of her street to take in the extravaganza.  A & M had lots of fun gathering candy, waving at the people on floats, and watching for Santa to come by.  Afterward, we made the short walk back to my aunt's and enjoyed a warm meal together.

First Christmas parade=success!

Friday, Jeremy and I had a "date" to finish our Christmas shopping.  We dropped the girls off with Jeremy's parents and had a very delicious dinner before heading to the most dreaded of all children's stores...Toys R Us.  I never go there, and actually I try not to shop there since a few bad experiences with Babies R Us when the girls were babies, but J was convinced we needed to go see what they had (translation:  he wanted to play with the toys himself!).

It was horribly crowded and took forever to check out (I was honestly in shock over the amount of toys some people were buying), but we survived.  We did find a wooden train set for the girls at a good price, as well as a play coffee pot, since they love to "make coffee" for us.

After that task was complete, we spent an hour or two wandering the shopping center, ending with coffee in the bookstore.  Just as we got in the car to leave, Jeremy's mom called and said Addison wanted to come home instead of spending the night at her house.  We weren't really surprised, since she has been very much a homebody lately, so we arranged to meet his mom and pick her up.

And thus, we accomplished the second "first" of the weekend:  Addison and Mackenzie spent their very first night apart from one another.

I will admit it...I was a little sentimental about the milestone.  My girls have spent each and every night under the same roof since birth (actually, since before birth, if you want to get technical about it!), so it was definitely a strange feeling to creep into their room and see only one bed occupied.

I think it was probably a good thing for both of them.  Addison got to spend some quality time with Jeremy and me, and Mackenzie got to have her NiNi all to herself.  The first thing Addison said on Saturday morning was, "Where's my sissy at?"  And when Jeremy brought Mackenzie home on Saturday afternoon, Addison was still asleep in her bed.  Mackenzie barged through the house, saying, "Where's my Addison?"

Ahhh, melts my heart!

I was originally supposed to attend The Nutcracker on Saturday evening, while Jeremy and the girls had a movie night at home.  Mackenzie was pretty attached to me once she got home, though, and she cried real tears and begged me not to go.  Who could deny a pitiful little girl asking, "Mama, will you stay home and watch a movie with us?"  Not this mama!  I decided time with baby was worth way more than the $30 I would be losing for the forfeited tickets, and we had a fun movie night at home.

Sunday was a flurry of church, baking, wrapping, and preparing for the Christmas party with our youth group.  It was a success, and I wound up with a dirty santa gift I actually wanted:

Jeremy, on the other hand, was not as lucky...though Addison & Mackenzie are having a ball with his gift!

How was YOUR weekend?  Is the holiday busy-ness in full effect for you too?

To Addison...

Dear Addison,

As you start your second year of "school" at Mother's Day Out, I can't help but marvel at how much you have grown and changed since this time last year.  When you started school last August, at 16 months old, you were still so much a baby.  I remember how worried we were about you adjusting to having only one nap every day and wondering how you would ever learn to sit at the table and eat from your lunchbox all by yourself.

Somehow you made it, and you adjusted to MDO and your new schedule quickly.  Your first teacher, Mrs. Misty, took very good care of you and Mackenzie and made your first year wonderful.  It was so fun to see all the little art projects and activities you brought home...I just couldn't believe that my tiny little baby could do those things all by herself!

Fast forward to August 2011, and the changes in you are just amazing.  You are now 28 months old, and many traces of your "baby-ness" are (sadly) fading quickly.  You are very much a little girl now, and you are spunky.  I can't pinpoint exactly when it happened, but you have really developed a huge personality in this past year.  You have become so much more outspoken and domineering than you used to be...and I absolutely love it!  We used to worry that Mackenzie was going to run all over you for much of your childhood, but it is now obvious that you can hold your own.

You have boundless energy that makes it hard to capture you in photographs that don't have the blur of a body in motion.  Tonight, you ran circles in the driveway at full speed, singing and yelling happily the entire time.  Then, after bath, you nuzzled yourself under my arm in your favorite spot on the couch and were perfectly content to sit quietly and read books until bedtime.  I love all these things about you.

To try and capture a bit of you at this stage, I thought I would list some of your favorite things....

Favorite songs:  Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Jesus Loves Me, Tomorrow (from Annie), and the songs from bible school this summer ("Big Apple Adventure")
Favorite foods:  Fruit snacks, goldfish, shredded or parmesan cheese, and hamburgers (You will eat a hamburger anytime, anywhere!)
Favorite books:  The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Peek-a-Boo Baby, a pirate alphabet book, and Dora's Bedtime Adventures
Favorite activities:  You love to sing and dance, especially to Annie or Yo Gabba Gabba.  You are constantly mimicking something one of us has said or something you saw on tv.  You LOVE America's Funniest Home Videos, and you like to pretend to fall down to make us laugh (I wonder what kind of lesson this show is teaching you, but you love it so much...).  You like to color and play with stickers.  I love to watch you write or color...you know how to hold your pencil the correct way, and you are SO intent and focused on your writing.  I can almost picture the little schoolgirl you will be in a few years, working hard on school assignments.  You like to play in your kitchen at home and take care of your stuffed animals.  After your first day of school last week, you told us that you washed clothes in the playhouse in your new classroom.
Dislikes:  The vacuum cleaner.  I don't know why this fear has developed...the vacuum is definitely not a regular occurrence in our house, but you absolutely hate it.  You won't even walk down the hallway if the hand-vac is charging.
Mama's current favorite memory:  For whatever reason, you are not pronouncing the letter "f" right now.  Anything that starts with "f", you say with a "p" sound.  We have noticed it more in the last few weeks, and it never fails to tickle me.  You ask for your "poot snacks" (fruit snacks), want your shoes on your "peet" (feet), etc.  I laugh every time, especially when whatever you say sounds borderline dirty...Mama is not always so grown-up, you see.  : )

You are a funny, sweet, and snuggly girl right now, Addison...and we love every bit of you!  You often take longer to go to sleep than your sister, and once she is asleep, you will sometimes call out for me.  Occasionally, I come in to get you and let you sit up for a few extra minutes of snuggle time.  That happened tonight, in fact, and after about five minutes on the couch with me, you happily went right back to bed...where you demanded, "Cover me up again!" as I tucked you in.  I treasure these quiet moments with you, my precious little headstrong girl.  I can't wait to see what an amazing lady you will become one day.

I hope you have a wonderful year in the two-year-old class, Addie-bug.  I can't even imagine how grown up you will be at this time next year!

Love, Mama