The Magic Of Age Three

Emily (left) and Madeleine with a bear at the Harrison, ID playground.

Without so much of a glimpse of the homesickness that plagued last year's summer trip to Spokane, Emily and Madeleine rated this summer's journey as a success and were asking "Why we leave 'Pokane" as the plane backed away from our gate. Their mother is taking this as a sign we should visit longer (read - avoid heat and humidity) next year. The difference between age 2 and 3 was startling in the girls' willingness to try new things and engage in those already sampled.

We spent the first few days in Spokane playing with our special toys, some of which are rather noisy, that live at Grandpa and Grandma's house, exploring the park and eating Wheat Thins (a tremendous hit and something Mom does not buy on a regular basis).

Our only disappointment was the fact we had wanted to feed the ducks like we did last summer, but the Spokane Park Dept. has decided these ducks are wild and should no longer be fed (After decades of being fed by the general public, the ducks seem to take umbrage with this new policy). Sadly, we had spent weeks saving heels and scraps of bread and had even gone to the effort to fly them across the country (in multiple zip-loc bags in an effort to reduce crumbs in our clothes). We did go visit the ducks, who are no more wild than I am as they expectantly waddle toward anyone who hesitates on the pond's edge, and took our bread scraps to the birds at the lake; who fled from the boat and the bread being thrown at them - demonstrating the correct behavior of a wild bird.

Madeleine in yellow and Emily in blue at the fountain at the Duncan Gardens in Manito Park.

Madeleine in blue and Emily in yellow running through the Duncan Gardens.

Upon our arrival at the lake we quickly fell into the daily routine of a morning boat ride (to get M&Ms!), usually to Harrison where we had to walk up the big hill and could play on the playground, followed by lunch and nap, then swimming. Emily and Madeleine showed new enthusiasm for driving the boat and took great delight in "turning" the boat which means the captain of the moment would grab the wheel and sharply turn it in one direction....kept the adults on their toes.

The first day Emily was "driving" as we approached the dock and, in an effort to avoid a collision with said floating wooden platform, Grandpa had to take over a bit more than Emily deemed necessary. This led to a complete temper tantrum and hasty retreat from the freshly-docked boat. The next morning when we went to get in the boat we realized the blower had been left on in the chaos of the previous day and the battery was dead. None the less our quest for "chocolate m's" (as M&Ms are called) had to go on. Luckily, Uncle Paul had recently obtained a paddleboat and so a very brave and self-sacrificing Grandpa and Mommy loaded Emily and Madeleine in the paddleboat and headed for the marina at the end of our bay. Two of us got candy and two of us got lactic acid in our thighs, but all of us got a boat ride. The battery on the motor boat was recharged and there was no workout the following day.


Emily (left), Madeleine (right).

Grandpa, Madeleine (purple shirt), Emily (dotted shirt) and a couple more Harrison bears.

Captain Emily.

Captain Madeleine.

When the Virginia Circus rolls into town it cramps things a bit at the lake if the entire family is there. So Uncle Kyle and Aunt Chessy generously (wisely) sleep in a tent. I offered to take the tent and they could be in charge of the girls for the night, but my offer was not accepted. Last year the girls would only peek in the tent and have spent the rest of the year convinced that their aunt and uncle live in a tent at all times. This year they: 1. saw Kyle and Chessy's "real house" and 2. could not get enough of the tent, thinking it is the niftiest thing they have seen in a long time.

Emily (pink) Madeleine (blue) "helping" Uncle Kyle set up the tent.

While Kyle and Chessy were at the lake we took the opportunity to celebrate Uncle Kyle and Aunt Liz's birthdays (which we had missed). Basically, we will take literally any excuse that results in cake.
Uncle Kyle, Madeleine (purple), Aunt Liz, Emily (pink). Upon taking this picture I realized that nearly three and a half years after the girls' birth this is the first picture of both sets of the family's twins. Guess it goes to show our family doesn't get into the "twin thing" a whole lot. It always amuses me when strangers are shocked I don't belong to a "twins group", as if you are not allowed to leave the hospital with twins unless you have a membership card to one of these groups.

While we were not in the Pacific Northwest for the 4th of July, Uncle Paul bought a few fireworks for us to see when we came. While we were not the biggest fans of any firework requiring lighting, we did think pop-its were pretty spiffy and are still looking for more.

Madeleine (blue), Uncle Paul, Emily (pink)

Aunt Liz was once again a constant source of creative ideas, craft supplies and glue. The girls would go through gallons of glue if given the chance. I was recently informed my crafts at home are not as much fun as "Aunt Liz crafts".

Emily in pink, Aunt Liz, Madeleine in purple.

Our faithful paddleboat - Madeleine in blue, Emily in pink.

Our last evening at the lake the girls discovered they could "walk buoys" down the road and took to it with great enthusiasm. They dragged the buoys up and down the driveway and road, singing to them most of the time. I think the buoys were a combination of babies and dogs as sometimes they were encouraged "over here baby" and other times they were clicked at the way you click to a dog you are calling. The buoys were eventually sung to sleep (click here for video) and Uncle Paul graciously promised to sing to them every night in our absence.

Madeleine (left) Emily (right)

Madeleine carrying her "tired buoy". Emily's just had to walk home.

Madeleine left, Emily right, wearing shirts they tie-dyed with Aunt Liz, "walking" Cindy - buoys are easier to handle!

Emily and Madeleine picking "fuzzy flowers" - dandelions - at the park our last day in Spokane

Bapa, Emily, Madeleine and Mama waiting for the plane at the Spokane airport.

Gate C18

Emily working on her noodle necklace for Grandma on the flight from Norfolk to Las Vegas.

Madeleine making Grandpa's noodle necklace on our flight to Las Vegas from Norfolk.

If you are ever stuck in the Las Vegas airport and outnumbered by preschoolers who "want to be done riding airplanes", I highly recommend gate C18. Gate C18 affords a lovely view of the runway and should you be fortunate enough to snag chairs by the window, your traveling companion(s) can be distracted from whining, asking how many more hours, etc. by being told about every 90 seconds or so - "There goes another airplane!"

Emily and Madeleine handled our cross-country flight beautifully and are now in the process of trying to adjust to local time (we are in our second full day here). We have had "lunch" at 9:30 AM two days in a row, followed by a rather substantial nap. Thursday night (arrival night) they went through their standard procedure of happily going to sleep in their beds here, crashing for about an hour or so, then waking disoriented and hysterical. At this point parents are faced with the options of throwing the girls out the window, running back and forth to their room all night as they wake every two hours or so, or just putting them in our bed. We obviously go for the last option - one night only. I'm honestly suspicious Madeleine would have made it through the night in her own bed had her sister not sounded the alarm; once she was in my bed (barely awake walking across the hall to get there) Madeleine crashed, not be heard from again until about 5 AM, while Emily clung to me all night.

The portable DVD player bought about 30 minutes of peace on the plane (was hoping for more), but the dyed noodles with which we made necklaces and small notebooks in which we stuck stickers paid off dramatically. The girls were also intrigued by the picture of the people using the oxygen mask in "the airplane book" (the safety instruction card). In light of recent events with Qantas Airlines I told the girls that sometimes you need special airplane air if the pilot decides to go down really fast. I also told them that if Mommy, or any other grown-up, put the mask on them they are to leave it there until a grown-up takes it off and it covers your entire face so you will not be able to suck your thumb. I should have my head examined. We probably spent a total of an hour, over the course of the trip, discussing whether or not the masks were needed at this point, that they cover the entire face, are we going down too fast and need the mask, etc. etc. etc.

While the girls did a great job, it is a bit wearing to lug two kids, and all of their "accessories" across the country. While in the Vegas airport, I saw a man wearing a baseball cap with a message that appealed to me, and while it is not complimentary to my children it is tempting to have a T-shirt made with the same message for when we fly at Christmas - "I'm Grumpy and I'm with Dopey".... I won't as I usually don't wander around with writing on my chest, but the message has some validity.

Two days before we left Williamsburg Till and I had put the girls in their room (they like to play a bit "without grown-ups" before their baths) and were getting their bath ready, toothbrushes set-up, etc. Madeleine was ticked about some perceived injustice and was howling at the top of her lungs. There is that point in the evening when parents' patience is running low, couple that with the classic situation where nothing you can do is going to make the upset child happy and there is no point wasting your time. So, we told Madeleine we'd be right back, we had to get baths ready, she should play and feel better and we closed the door. Things quieted down just a bit and then there was a definite increase in both pitch and volume. I opened the bedroom door to find Emily sitting on Madeleine's back, she had pinned Madeleine to the floor, and "thumping" her with a shoe (it's a light weight sneaker). As I removed Emily from her sister I asked why in the world she was sitting on Madeleine and was told "she no stop crying". While I completely empathise with the inclination to sit on a screaming child who will not be consoled, it is not permissible and apparently not effective. Emily was removed to her bath and Madeleine was consoled. It was also pointed out to Miss Madeleine that Emily is heavier by only eight ounces and Madeleine is allowed to fight back a bit. It appears there are no hard feelings.

Yesterday we went to the playground at the park, picked dandelions and clover for a lovely centerpiece and discovered "fluffy" dandelions - they were left at the park and not brought to our grandparents' yard. This morning I heard a conversation in the girls room about 4:35 so I got up and took a shower. When I got out I heard flat-out caterwauling. I went in and told the girls it was early and while I had had a chance to shower, I'd like to dry my hair too. They said, "Sure, no problem, please excuse us. Take all the time you want, put on a little make-up!" No, really, I changed them out of diapers, flipped the wastebasket upside down, brought in the portable DVD player put it on the "wastebasket table", turned on Cinderella and enjoyed another hour of peace and quiet during which I finished getting ready and got to talk to Mom in peace. The DVD player pays off!! Just not on a Boeing 737, but pays off none the less.

This morning we went to Safeway (huge adventure as we don't have Safeway in Williamsburg and apparently it is startling different from our Virginia grocery stores) and this afternoon will probably go to see Uncle Kyle and Aunt Chessy's house and meet their kitties.

Into The Deep

Madeleine in her "floaty belt" before her first swimming lesson.




Emily in her "floaty belt" before her first swimming lesson. (photo disclaimer: I'm fully aware she doesn't have all of her head, but "we" were a bit squirmy and sadly, this is the best of the bunch.)

We survived our first week of swimming lessons. The lessons are M-Th from 4:30-5; our current level is for 3-5 year olds so we are definitely the novices of the group. On Monday Emily and Madeleine happily obliged their teacher, Miss Gina, and would sit on the edge of the pool, lean over and splash their hands. They also happily sat and kicked their feet in the water. Then Gina took the kids, one by one, into the pool - no dice. Emily was taken, had a nervous breakdown and Madeleine, watching from the side, decided this was perhaps not the best activity in which to participate. Gina demonstrated amazing patience and by the end of the 30 minutes our girls would let her take them in the water as long as she stayed near the wall. Monday evening and all day Tuesday we spent our time discussing the fact we won't sink as we are wearing a floaty belt, have Miss Gina and can use the ducks (more little floaty gizmos). We entered our second lesson confident in our abilities. Miss Gina wasn't there. We were not convinced of the other instructor's abilities. Madeleine sat on the edge of the pool and chewed on the extra strap length of her floaty belt (blechhh), Emily sat on the edge of the pool and looked around - the entire time... look out Olympics, here we come! Wednesday Miss Gina returned and we once again allowed her to take us in the pool and even move a bit away from the wall. On Thursday we happily threw our rubber ducks across the width of the pool so we could "swim" out to get them back (with Miss Gina of course). We also let Miss Gina bob us up and down in the water and were even caught smiling a time or two. We also managed to half-way hang on to the edge of the pool while floating on tummies and kicking our feet. At the end of the lesson Emily (who has periodic dramatic tendencies) burst into tears and treated all present to gut-wrenching sobs. I went over to the edge of the pool to get her out as she was disrupting the concluding game of playing Ring Around The Rosie on the shallowest step. Gina asked if she was okay and I said yes, but mentioned Madeleine was "in trouble". I had looked up just in time to see Madeleine step off the last step and while her floaty belt kept her from sinking, she was floundering and gasping in a rather panicked state. Gina retrieved Madeleine and I had two of them in tears, one from temper and the other from fear - fear won and was given more attention. Gina came to check on them and commented that they "have good arms" from the "throw your duck across the pool" game. I said I knew that based on the strength with which we throw things at each other on a routine basis. Anyhow, Madeleine is fine and both girls were impressed with the speed with which Miss Gina moved when retrieving her, we are looking forward to returning tomorrow for week two.

This past week was our last week at Mother's Day Out. It is with some trepidation (on the part of all three of us) that we will start official preschool ("peeschool") in the fall. Emily and Madeleine had a very nice last two weeks with the program and a lot of fun making masks as their art project (Both girls immediately go to the table to create their art when they arrive. We have the prevailing attitude, the more the better, and Emily in particular is a fan of glue...I see a career as a wallpaper hanger in her future.) Thanks to Miss Deena and Miss Emily (not Schreiber) for a wonderful summer.

In other Miss Deena news, she babysat when Till and I went to dinner for our anniversary last week. More importantly she introduced the girls to nail polish and the next morning we had two very excited little girls who proudly showed off twenty painted toes. If this isn't Fancy Nancy glamour, I don't know what is!

Speaking of Fancy Nancy, the girls have discovered a literary heroine from their mother's childhood. The little badger Frances from the Frances series by Russell and Lillian Hoban. Aunt Liz gave us several Frances books for our first birthday and they were recently spotted on a bookshelf containing books we will grow into. At this point we have tackled A Birthday for Frances, Bedtime for Frances, A Baby Sister for Frances, A Bargain for Frances and Bread and Jam for Frances. We own, but have not read, Best Friends for Frances....may appear on the plane. Bread and Jam for Frances is our definite favorite and Madeleine announced the other morning she was going to eat toast every morning until she gets tired of it - like Bread and Jam for Frances. The books are fairly long for the preschool crowd and I was surprised the girls did as well as they did sitting through a book of that length....however, there are periodic occasions when we start some pretty heavy paraphrasing half-way through.

Madeleine in the mask she made at school.

Emily in her mask from school. She isn't cross-eyed, but certainly has that appearance with the mask.

Emily and Miss Deena.

Madeleine and Miss Deena.

We have our countdown to Spokane going (four "night-nights" left) and two of us are a bit more enthusiastic about the flight than the oldest member of the group. We have also started packing (as in we took turns dragging the carry-on suitcases up and down the hall.....I actually try and have us packed 24 hours ahead of time, saved me when I got food poisoning at the Econ. Dept. Christmas party in December, two days before we flew out for Christmas - I love it when my compulsive tendencies are validated). We have been discussing the virtue of using airport restrooms instead of airplane restrooms, but there isn't much we can do besides cross our fingers (and wear our "airplane underwear" the disposable training pants - just in case. I never used them when potty training, went straight from diaper to underwear, so we are firmly convinced they are something to be used only at 30,000 feet). We are hoping to be entertained by the portable DVD player, dyed pasta with which to make necklaces, story books, coloring books and of course approximately 739 stickers.....we'll just have to wait and see.

Summer Happenings

Recently, we decided to go out to dinner and the girls wanted to dress "ooo la la fancy" like Fancy Nancy. Madeleine is on the left and Emily is on the right and they each picked out their outfits (all by themselves...complete with sweaters on a day of 95 degrees)

This was a day where they woke up way too early from their naps and it was shampoo night anyway...in an effort to waste some time, and please overly-tired little ones, I suggested we put curlers in our hair like Fancy Nancy after our shampoos....so we took an afternoon bath and then groomed one of our bears. (Madeleine on the left, Emily on the right)

Emily (left) and Madeleine with their Lego house.

These "dresses" are actually very stretchy scarves Aunt Liz gave to us two years ago....however we discovered they are basically tubes and have converted them into evening wear. Emily on the left, Madeleine on the right.

I recently received an IM from my sister pointing out it had been over a month since I had updated the blog...this one is for you Aunt Liz.

Madeleine and Emily have been having a wonderful summer (aside from the random bug bites that seem to prompt all kinds of skin reactions - especially from Miss Emily).

We began the summer by discovering ice cream. In the interest of nutritional value the girls' mother had previously tried (repeatedly) to introduce ice cream and was met with total disdain. However, the stars must have aligned this time because on a trip to Baskin Robbins we were rather taken with the wide variety of options and both chose the most God-awful flavor available. A Flavor Of The Month, striving for patriotism in the form of being red, white and blue, called "America's Birthday Cake" (it was about 6 weeks before July 4th). This concoction was a combination of yellow cake, strawberry ice cream and blue frosting! The girls' mother had the sense to choose the same flavor or risk 88 questions about an opposing choice as well as rejection of the pre-schooler-selected-flavor. The ice cream was a hit (and we were even marginally polite to the two British couples who happened to sit near us) and Emily and Madeleine are now "culinarily" equipped to handle any romantic disasters that may be in their futures.

Emily

Madeleine

The local movie theater is once again running kids movies Tuesday through Thursday at 10 AM. We now make it through about 30 minutes at a time. Sadly, our TV viewing skills have improved, so I would hazard a guess we may make it through a feature-length film next summer. Currently, the main reason for attending seems to be the purchase of a kiddie popcorn (no butter please) and the joy brought about by watching other kids. Two weeks ago I made the mistake of referring to the 10-year-olds in front of us (who were jumping all over the place, being loud, etc.) who were there as part of their day camp as "awful"....I am now asked "Where are the awful kids?" when we enter the theater. I believe I was warned about little kids taking everything in and repeating who knows what.

Emily on the left and Madeleine on the right. Don't worry, it is my Diet Coke in the cupholder...the girls drink water!

In the vein of watching things on screens, the girls are once again fans of Little Einsteins on the Disney Channel (weekdays 8AM). The show is about 4 children who spend 25 minutes going on a "mission" of some sort. Each episode features a composer of classical music and a piece of art. The kids travel in their good friend "Rocket". The girls and I have decided we would like to travel by Rocket to Spokane in a couple of weeks. Emily and Madeleine want to go in Rocket because he has a closet of toys, a closet of snacks and a closet of musical instruments, plus he is piloted by children who simply push random colored buttons. I want to go in Rocket because he is used to having small children as his passengers, there are no curmudgeony airline employees and he can get from the mainland U.S.A. to the Austrian Alps in 45 seconds! I actually timed it on my watch...my life is stimulating.


We have also discovered The Muppet Show. I was a fan of the show when I was the girls' age and was happy to see it is out on DVD. However, one is never sure what will be a hit and what will be a miss and I didn't want to buy a miss... so I used Netflix to get disc one of season three. We are fans! Madeleine always chooses the episode with Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge as the guest stars (it is a hoot to hear her say "Kris Kristofferson") and Emily is the only three-year-old I know who is a devout fan of Gilda Radner, the guest star for Emily's favorite episode. The girls do not know there are three other discs in the season and will not discover this until we are airborne on the way to Spokane (alas aboard Southwest and not Rocket)....watch, it will be the idea of other episodes that will be the miss! I finally broke down and bought a portable DVD player for this trip...I hope it is worth it.

Speaking of traveling with kids I saw the following on a website and loved it "I'd like to say a few words to every crabby traveler who responds with disgust whenever a baby cries on an airplane. Perhaps you don't know how babies work, but there's been a study, and it turns out that giving a 4-month-old the stink eye doesn't actually accomplish anything. Either have a little compassion or a little Ambien." I'm seriously thinking of printing this on cards and handing it to the people who glare at the girls because they have the unmitigated gall to board an airplane and walk past people in their seats during the boarding process!! I hand out small packs of M&Ms to people around us once we find our seats (not kidding) as a peace offering - sad thing is you can actually buy people off for the 21 M&Ms in a minpack....may start handing candy to nice people and cards with this quote to mean people...my life as Santa's apprentice!

Upcoming trips aside, we recently attended the James City County Fair. For those readers who live in the vicinity of the Puyallup Fair, or even those who attend the Spokane County Fair...this would have fit in the parking lot! However, it was the right speed for our group. The girls went on their first pony rides (their shirts have stickers stating it is their first pony ride) and loved it. They sat there and held on as if they had been doing this equestrian stuff for quite some time. They also met some officers from the local police department who gave us classic texts such as "Police Officers Are Your Friends" and "Making Good Choices: Say No To Gangs", we each also got an ID card which made Mom happy and plastic police officer hats. Continuing our intro to emergency personnel...we got to see inside an ambulance and talk to an EMT who let us play with the doo-hicky they put on your finger to check your oxygen level. I learned that there are carseats built into the seats in an ambulance; there is a toddler seat that folds down from a seat and an inflatable infant seat that pops up from another. I hate to admit it, but this is reassuring as I have literally wondered what would happen if I was alone with them and one was seriously injured, what do you do with the other? You don't want to take the time to transfer carseats but you want her safe in transport, you can't leave her alone, we have no family here to call ...turns out ambulances are equipped to transport the whole family. We also learned that there are teddy bears on board who often need the pediatric patient to "take care of them" in transit by applying rolls of gauze and band-aids. Finally, we got to sit in a fire truck....all and all a big day!

Madeleine on Rosebud.

Emily on Ike.

Officer Emily on the left and Officer Madeleine on the right.

Emily

Madeleine

The girls have very much enjoyed being in separate Mother's Day Out classes. Madeleine goes to "school" on Thursdays and Emily goes on Fridays. On the day your sister is at school you get "alone time" with Mommy. One day I do the grocery shopping and the other day I do the everything-else-shopping at Target...the biggest challenge is to keep track of who went to which store last week so they can go to the other store this week. If there is a repeat and one girl goes on the same errands two weeks in a row; there is a serious scolding. When in the house we do exciting things like empty wastebaskets and fold laundry (shockingly these are the activities that are listed as the favorites....must encourage this love of chores).

Next Monday Madeleine and Emily start their first session of swimming lessons at the Y. It seems so much of parenting is having reasonable expectations. My expectation is that our two will be the two who sit on the side of the pool and howl while refusing to put any part of themselves, whatsoever, into the water....we'll see, I may be pleasantly surprised.


Happy (upcoming) Birthday to Aunt Liz and Uncle Kyle (the girls are glad to know there are other "tins" in the family!).

Grandparents Galore!

The title of this post by no means implies the pictures immediately following are of grandparents. There is a new temporary exhibit at The Virginia Living Museum titled Dino-Mania. The exhibit features 3/4 size robotic dinosaurs that move, make noise, etc. Initially we were not keen on entering the dinosaur room, but by the end of the visit had conceded to go in just to see the baby dinosaurs "hatch" from their eggs (we were reassured when told the babies were smaller than our kitties)... we were immensely proud of ourselves for seeing the dinosaurs once it was all over. Just outside the dinosaur room there are two stationary dinosaurs on which a brave child can sit for a picture.


Emily

Madeleine

May has been a very busy month for Madeleine and Emily, and consequently, one of limited blogging for their mother. The girls' Spokane grandparents flew in on April 30th and left on May 13th. The girls' German grandparents flew in on May 15th and left on May 29th. The result is two happy little girls, who were given lots of time and attention, having to return to a routine that involves just one full-time adult.

The month began with Madison's (friend from school) birthday party. I completely admire the courage Madison's parents demonstrated in hosting an event that involved this many preschoolers (there is a reason our girls didn't even know a party was an option this year!). This is the third time Emily and Madeleine have been invited to a party, but the first time it's worked with our schedule...it was quite a success with face painting, a jumpy castle (for lack of a better term), a visit from Cinderella, a huge cake (thankfully our prep work about taking the piece you are offered and not asking for more frosting paid off!) and treat bags!

The girls had a great time with both sets of Grandparents. A major treat was that each side of the family had a grandparent who had recently celebrated their birthday...this meant we could "recelebrate" and there was much excitement regarding the procurement of cake! Grandparent activities included trips to Busch Gardens, Yorktown, Colonial Williamsburg, the playground and of course the park.



In hygiene news, every time we give the girls a shampoo we are informed they do not need another one "until Christmas time". We have repeatedly pointed out this would not be socially acceptable and would result in the girls being "stinky girls". Madeleine and Emily were told that kids at school don't talk to stinky kids and that is why they need regular shampoos....this was contemplated over a period of time until Emily announced "That okay, I be stinky girl" with very little concern for her future social status.



"School" for the school year came to an end two weeks ago, but thankfully summer session starts this week. In an experiment of our making, we have enrolled the girls in separate classes with Madeleine attending on Thursdays and Emily attending on Fridays. Our hope is this will allow a group of children to get to know each of the girls as an individual and not part of a set....we shall see how it goes.



Madison's party - Madeleine is 2nd from left and Emily is 6th from left. The birthday girl is noticeable due to her crown and coveted position on Cinderella's lap!

Emily's face paint!

Madeleine's face paint!

The girls playing in a "bathtub", dug by Grandma, in the sand at Yorktown. The game was to take turns pouring buckets of water into the tub while the other girl "took a bath". The adults' motivation was having the girls lug buckets of water led to a good nap! Madeleine pouring and Emily bathing.

Grandma, Madeleine (white suit) and Emily (lavender suit).

Grandpa filling buckets of water. Grandpa, Madeleine, Emily.

Madeleine (left) and Emily (right) playing with a gift from Uncle Paul....those gelatin caplets with a foam "animal" inside that is "released" once the caplet melts in warm water.

What a difference a year makes! This picture was taken pretty much to the day from our blog's first post Horses And Then Some which depicted a howling Madeleine and did not show Emily at all because she had had to be removed from the ride due to her tears. As you can see, we are no longer intimidated by the horses at Busch Gardens. Emily on the left, Madeleine on the right.

Building a Lego tower with Oma and Opa. Madeleine in the purple shirt and Emily in the pink shirt.
Celebrating Oma's birthday - left to right - Emily, Oma, Madeleine, Opa.

Le Scoot

M with Madeleine and T with Emily (to truly see their glee, click the photo for a close-up of little faces).

The picture says it all...after much cajoling, bribing, threatening, etc. I finally got the girls to agree to go on Le Scoot Log Flume in "France" (granted Emily had to literally be pulled into the log at the beginning of the ride and coached throughout...). The ride involves the riders being in the log as it winds its way, in water, through the mill and then ends with a drop at the end. The picture was taken at the very top of the biggest drop. I'm told I appear calm, in reality I'm wondering how I will live with myself after one or both of my three-year olds have fallen out and simultaneously trying to figure out how to hold on to both Madeleine and the bar on the inside of the log. The last time I was on this ride, I was 18 and had my younger brother Kyle with me - but he was 11 and could hold on for himself. Needless to say, the girls weren't overwhelmed and I think it will be a while before I return as well.

Transplant

First things first. It was pointed out to me, by a devoted reader or two, that I failed to post pictures of the girls with their Easter baskets....
Madeleine on the left, Emily on the right.

Madeleine with her chocolate bunny.

Emily with her chocolate bunny.

Now, on to the post.

Ladies and gentlemen, it has happened. Finally, after at least two and a half years of heavy use one of the tags on our Essies (security blankets) had to be replaced. Unlike their mother, aunt, uncles and any "normal" child I have encountered Emily and Madeleine rejected the satin binding on their Essies and went straight for the tag. The girls' blankets are smallish squares with an animal head in the middle (as in small stuffed toy head, not anything from the local taxidermist) with the tag in the center of the back, under the animal's head. Madeleine's blanket is lavender with a kitty head and Emily's is yellow with a duck head. Each of us have three security blankets, but about a year and a half ago each girl designated one of her three as "the good one". The good one is, of course, the one that has had the most "nose water", saliva, etc. wiped on it, and is the recipient of the most love. Anyhow, the tag on Emily's good one finally totally disintegrated....after months of being nursed along, repeatedly reattached to Essie, being worn down to nothing but threads, etc. So, in Williamsburg's first case of tag transplant I snipped the tag off a baby washcloth and attached it to Essie. I was told "I want a brown tag, this one white", it's also coincidentally free of bubonic plague...but who cares about that minor detail? I told Emily the tag just needs some love and I'm sure it will be brown by Christmas time. It seems the initial rejection period has passed and the new tag and its owner seem to be doing well together. Side note for anyone who may find themselves in this position - use a Gerber washcloth tag. The tags from Target's brand, Circo, fray and just come back off...I "bound" the edges with crazy glue, but realized Emily would essentially be a huffer when sucking her thumb - not optimal parenting. So....we tried a third time and the Gerber tag doesn't fray!

World War 276,342 took place recently, and as is often the case, the battleground was the backseat of the car. For our next car, I'm buying a taxi - I'm going to slide that window behind the driver shut and just let them go at it until only one can walk away! Anyhow, we were driving home from playing in the sand at Yorktown and Madeleine announced she wanted to be an animal doctor and therefore would go to college (we've had a few discussions about college because that's where Daddy works). Emily said she was going to go to college too. I remarked it is good for both girls to go to college, blah, blah, blah. Madeleine asked if there were toys at college and I said sure (not exactly made by Fisher Price, but there none the less). Then Emily announced she was going to college so she could be an animal doctor too. This was the shot heard around the Subaru. Madeleine came completely unglued. It simply was unacceptable that Emily would be an animal doctor, Madeleine was going to be an animal doctor, the world is not large enough for two animal doctors!! Once we had Madeleine's breathing restored to a normal rate, I asked why Emily couldn't be an animal doctor too. "Because I need a nurse! I be doctor and Memy be the nurse! Memy is the animal nurse!" Apparently we paid attention the week we went to both the pediatrician and the vet. It was suggested that both girls could be animal doctors and another person could be the nurse. Shockingly, this was acceptable. However, the doctors had some questions as to who would be qualified to work with them. I tried telling them it would be someone they'd meet in college, but they weren't buying it. I finally told them it would be their friend Gaius (who at the moment is constantly practicing his Spider Man impersonation skills...but I don't think a medical career is out of the question) and this, thankfully, was acceptable!!

Uncle Chuck reading The Poky Little Puppy to Madeleine (When he found out she was unfamiliar with the dessert rice pudding, it was suggested a call to CPS be made.)

Madeleine in blue and Emily in green coloring pictures at the folk art museum.

Last week the girls "met" their great-aunt Carol and great-uncle Chuck who live in Gaithersburg, MD. Actually the girls had met Chuck and Carol at the age of approximately four and a half months, but shockingly did not remember it (although I remember Chuck carrying Madeleine around for a bit of time while she happily soaked his shoulder with drool). Chuck and Carol and some friends came down to Williamsburg and Jamestown. They stayed in one of the colonial houses and it was a very big deal for us to finally get to go inside one. We saw some animals and went to the DeWitt Wallace Museum because Carol had noticed a table set up for little ones (paper, paints, etc.) while on a tour the previous day...sadly the activity was not set up, but we saw some nice spoons. However, Uncle Chuck later found and told me about an exhibit, "Down On The Farm" at the folk art museum; so we went and saw that on our own. It was a hit and we got to color pictures of farm animals! I was informed "they very nice people" at the end of our visit.


Last Saturday we went to Busch Gardens....there is a reason we don't go on weekends in the summer. Granted, it is still April, but the place was packed. Every cheerleader from ages 4-18 in the Mid-Atlantic region was there for some sort of competition, as well as high school band members, choir kids and a corporation having their "family day". This was the first time we have ever waited in line just to get in the park. The bright side was that Land of the Dragons, the area with the heaviest concentration of kiddie rides, was fairly empty. This week we played in the water attraction for the first time, it took a bit of getting used to, but ended up being a hit. Also, while watching one of the Clydesdales getting a bath we saw a small lizard....this was completely acceptable, until it moved.



Emily

Madeleine caught a bit off -guard by water shooting out of the ground next to her.

Emily on the left and Madeleine on the right.

While driving to Busch Gardens Till and I were talking about a trip we took right before I got pregnant with the girls. From the backseat came Emily's "What you talking about?" Her eavesdropping capabilities are superb, and if she fears she missed something...she happily asks. We told her we were talking about a trip we took before we had the girls. Life before the girls is incomprehensible to our backseat crew. We were informed they were little tiny babies at the time of the trip, we said no. We were told they were big girls at the time, we said no. Finally, to buy peace, I said they were in my tummy at the time. However, this brought up the question of "How we get out your tummy?" We try and be fairly open with the girls, use the correct terms for all body parts (hence two of us having "beninas"), etc., but we didn't want to get into this. So, we said the girls came out when the were ready. How? I said I didn't remember. Emily concluded "We come out your head" and the matter was settled.


Looking stylish driving home from the eye doctor in Richmond. The girls had their eyes dilated and we were thankful for our "Hawaii glasses"....which have obviously been removed since parents initially placed them on our heads as Emily's (left) are upside down and Madeleine's ear doesn't look too comfortable.


The forest animals exhibit is leaving The Virginia Living Museum so we made one last trip. Emily on the left and Madeleine on the right with bugs and magnifying glasses.

Emily and the red ant.

Madeleine and the black ant.

Happy (Very Belated) Easter

Emily dying Easter Eggs!

Madeleine dying Easter Eggs!

Amazing how time flies when you are having fun - sorry for the lapse in "publishing".

Shockingly, the girls have been keeping pretty busy. Easter was a hit this year and once again the difference between this year's Easter and last year's was anticipation. As with any holiday, the girls had fun with the actual day a year ago, but this year Madeleine and Emily are aware the holiday, whatever it may be, is coming and are waiting with little patience and great anticipation. We knew the Easter Bunny came at night (it was pointed out this is much like Santa Clause) and that he would hide our eggs and put candy in our baskets. The day before Easter our naps were a bit on the short side (which means we are just a wee bit grumpy "gumpy" and not coping as well at bedtime), after Emily and Madeleine had been put to bed Till left to pick-up a pizza as I was boycotting the idea of cooking. Emily spied the departure from the girls' window (unfortunately over the garage and with a clear view of the driveway) and came unglued because Daddy wasn't cooperating by going to sleep so the Easter Bunny could come. When I told her he would be right back, it was suggested that perhaps he had gone to pickup the Easter Bunny and bring him to our house. While this was the topic of great discussion we concluded the Easter Bunny would simply hop to our house, just like he hops to all the other kids' houses. Madeleine, Emily and I read all of their books featuring a bunny in any form until Till returned, upon which he promised to go to bed as soon as possible.

Easter morning brought a thorough review of Easter candy. On the acceptable list are Cadbury Mini Eggs and M&Ms. On the unacceptable list are jelly beans (although we like to lick them just a bit, but will not place them in our mouths), chocolate eggs from Germany (which they would love if they would just try them) and, much to their mother's distress, peeps.

In advance of Easter Madeleine and Emily had a wonderful time dying eggs. Just like last year we wore head-to-toe black as it seems this color is least likely to show spilled dye. The first video gives a good indication of our method. No spoons for us! It is all about using one's hands and, as shown on the left of the screen, constantly rotating the egg in question. The second video gives an overview of our vibrant finished products and some discussion on the creation of secondary colors. In both videos Emily is in profile on the left and Madeleine is facing the camera.

In other news, Busch Gardens reopened on March 21st! Two of us were slightly more excited about this than the other two - you can guess as to pairings. We didn't tell the Madeleine and Emily we were planning on going (we were too afraid to risk the excitement that would be destroyed by an unexpected shift in the weather - we are proud to be cowards) and once in the car did not tell them where we were headed. However, the girls have a very good sense of direction and can navigate Williamsburg fairly well (including being able to tell you - most of the time - the direction to turn at each intersection, and the street names, on the way home from Colonial Williamsburg) so it didn't take them too long to figure things out. When Busch Gardens closed at the end of October we had told Emily and Madeleine it would reopen in the spring when the flowers were out. This video demonstrates some of the enthusiasm of that morning and Emily's connection that the flowers are out! Emily is on the left and Madeleine is on the right. The girls were thrilled to see all of their favorite rides and their mother is on a mission to get them on a ride that involves riding in a "log" (with an adult) by the end of the season. She wants a picture of terrorized girls to go with the picture she has of their terrorized Uncle Kyle on the same ride in 1994....so far, we have gotten as far as actually getting to the ride and refusing to get in - we obviously respected the boycott, but will continue to work on this.

In literary news we have been reading two of the Fancy Nancy books in which Nancy teaches the reader "fancy" words...."furious is a fancy word for angry...mauve is a fancy word for purple". When I looked at these books at the store they seemed a bit long for our attention spans, so we decided to test the waters with the library's copies. They are a hit. Periodically, Nancy says something is "ooo la la fancy", so we are doing the same. We have "ooo la la fancy" shampoo, scarves, etc.....just what I need - divas in the making.

Yesterday the girls and I took the car through an automatic car wash at the gas station. There was some preparatory discussion as to the noise, water all over, etc. There were four VERY large eyes in the back of the car and Emily physically shook. However, both young ladies stood their ground, possibly damaged the circulation in their right thumbs because of the hard sucking and did not cry! We consider ourselves very brave for this effort.

Last Friday the rain finally stopped and I took the girls to Yorktown to play in the sand. When we first arrived we were basically the only ones there. We did very well playing together in one central location, then Emily decided to wander off. While she was never out of my sight, she did have a nice time ignoring my requests for her return which meant I had to go stomping after her (leaving Madeleine and my purse at the original location) and bring her back. Her walk (the kind where the child has to walk really fast and hop periodically because one side of her body is being pulled up by a ticked-off adult clutching the child's wrist) back was accompanied by a lecture about safety, etc. As soon as Emily was back, Madeleine decided it was her turn to take off. I threatened that should this occur, we would pack up and go home. This was the point Emily looked at Madeleine and said "It's okay Madeleine, just walk." grrrrrr I am so looking forward to the teen years!