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!

Why? Why You Do That? How Come? Why?

Eagle Madeleine in blue and Eagle Emily in black.

Chipmunk Emily in front of Chipmunk Madeleine.

Playing with animal "footprints"

Emily (L) and Madeleine looking at some fish.

Emily (L) Madeleine (R) looking at the Red Fox.

Emily (L) Madeleine (R) feeling very brave in front of the dinosaur. Madeleine did have a nightmare during that day's nap about dinosaurs...but thankfully it hasn't been an issue since.

Madeleine feeding fish to the eagles....seems to have been a rough landing.

Emily Chipmunk.

Okay, I knew when I was faced with two drool-covered faces there would come a day I would regret my efforts to encourage verbal advancement. I knew kids went through periods where there are incessant, never-ending, mind-numbing, please-God-get-me-through-this-day days of non-stop questions, and yet what did I do? I made faces, I encouraged my little drool factories to babble, coo and "talk". Now, I pay the price.

"Why are you cooking waffles?"

"You said you wanted waffles for breakfast."

"Why you use that pan?"

"It's called a waffle iron and if I don't use it, the waffles won't cook."

"Why you use a spoon?"

"Because it is hot and I don't want to hurt my hand. We don't touch hot things."

"Why?"

At this point...the first waffle hasn't even cooked - have a good day!

The girls had their three year check-up and passed with flying colors. Both of them are basically about 50th - 55th percentile for height and weight (both are 37" tall and Madeleine is 30.5 lbs, while Emily has her beat by a whole 8oz!) - pretty much the percentiles they've been since birth. At the three year check-up they no longer measure head size...both girls were always high 90th percentile - a bit top heavy. I really like our doctor, and really hate his office. They are always running behind schedule and the women who "register" patients are always overwhelmed and three steps behind. We had an 8:45 appointment on a Monday morning. The office opens at 8:30, we were there at 8:30 (you have to arrive 15 minutes before your appointment to allow an entire 45 minutes of waiting in the waiting room) and yes, they were somehow already behind schedule!

When we were finally called back I was handed two cups in which urine specimens are collected. I glanced around quickly and as I didn't see cameras set up for Candid Camera looked at the nurse and said "You're kidding, right?" No. See the issue is, we "tinkle" at certain points in the day and we generally are home during those times. When I made the appointment I asked if there would be any "labs" and was told no. (Last year I learned if you ask if there are any shots, you are told no, when in fact there is a "lab" that involves drawing blood for a lead test. I'm in favor of this....I just want to know so I can have the Infant Motrin already in their systems when they get poked! I now bring it in my purse just in case...) So, I don't think we will be producing a whole lot. I finally convinced the girls it would be fun to tinkle at Dr. DeWitt's and go about locating the restroom and potty seat (the kind that adapts a regular toilet to a child-sized bottom - not a separate little potty - not a fan of those). They don't have any sort of potty seat. That makes perfect sense as this is a pediatricians' office and you wouldn't want to be too prepared!!

The girls will use adult toilets, but only with a potty seat. We have tried to use them without the seats, and it isn't happening folks. In fairness...it must feel like the Grand Canyon to them. So, I'm faced with taking two children into the restroom (knowing it won't be successful) and using both hands to hold one of them over the gaping chasm of the commode while using a foot to pin the other to a wall/steer her away from the toilet/sanitary napkin depository while screeching "Hands on your tummy!" because we are in a public facility (this really happens) -all the while holding the collection cup with my....other foot? I refused to even try and we took the cups home. Madeleine and Emily took great delight in "tinkling" in the cups and have requested to be able to do so again on several occasions. The routine urine tests (I don't even know what they were looking for) came back normal - thank God, because I'm not doing that again. And to think, if I had been told "yes" when I asked if there were any labs, we could have picked the cups up in advance and come in prepared!

The other totally amazing part of their check-up was when I was presented with pediatric paper gowns and told the girls needed to strip to their underwear and put on the gowns with the openings in the front. Excuse me while I fall on the floor laughing: 1. They have no sense of modesty 2. They LOVE to be naked 3. They are very excited to show Dr. Dewitt they are big girls who wear underwear 4. They are champion paper shredders and these gowns will be confetti in nothing flat. We skipped the gowns (save your money and buy a potty seat!) and were happily in just our underwear (and socks) when Dr. Dewitt came in the room and graciously commented on our wearing "big kid pants".

I was actually glad the Emily and Madeleine had an appointment scheduled as they both picked up a cold at school. It started with just slight "nose water", as it is called in our house, and then dropped to the chest for a nasty cough about a day later. I learned the upside of both colds and Big Girl Beds. Colds - you have an excuse to put them back in cribs (running a humidifier and using Children's Sudafed Plugins - both of which would have been too tempting to free-range children) and they sleep more. Big Girl Beds - when you hear the scary cough and want to sleep in their room so you can keep an ear open and grab the coughing child to prop her up at 2AM - you have a bed to sleep in because the children are in cribs....I used to sleep on the floor in such situations - beds are so nice! Anyhow, the cold seems to leave fairly quickly and managed to hit us one at a time. Madeleine had it first and her basic attitude is "drug me and put me to bed" which makes her pretty easy to handle. She likes to be held, but is willing to just be propped on the couch if a meal needs cooking, etc. In addition, Emily is a very solicitous healthy child, bringing Madeleine her security blanket ("Essie"), water cup, books, etc. I foolishly thought this isn't too bad.....then Emily got sick and Madeleine got better. Emily is a clingy sick child who must be held at all times and finds it completely unacceptable to leave your lap for any reason. She also tends to whine and did announce "I a little bit gumpy (grumpy)." I told her that's no problem, the grumpies would go away soon. Simultaneously, Madeleine was feeling much better and making up for lost time by swiping things from Emily, hiding Emily's "Essie" and making direct eye contact while defying what I had just told her to do. After two weeks of being up to my elbows in nose water....the girls are doing better, I have the cold (Zicam is working its magic so it isn't too bad) and hoping Till dodges this one - not likely.

Emily and Madeleine discovered the joy of sidewalk chalk and we have a colorful driveway and back deck. There are rumors the Easter Bunny may bring chalk shaped like bunnies and eggs to our house....

Recently, Madeleine and Emily went to the Virginia Living Museum to see the animals - photos above. We went there once before, fairly soon after moving here, but haven't been back as it is a bit of a drive and a pretty big place. It is amazing how much of a difference age makes. The girls had a lot more fun and were able to handle all the walking outside well enough we ended up with a family membership and have already made a second visit. I will say this time they were more fearful of some of the exhibits, those housed in the dark, but we did get to see some nice fish, etc. A lot of the critters are rescue animals and one is a large sea turtle with a seriously injured front flipper. Madeleine has decided to be an animal doctor and she will fix the turtle. When I asked her if she wanted to be a doctor for big animals like cows and horses or little animals like dogs and cats, I was informed "both!" Okay. Currently, there is a traveling exhibit, Animal Secrets, that is designed to educate small children about forest animals. We had a lot of fun in this area and thought it was great getting to be chipmunks, feed fish to eagles and move all of the animals (puppets) into the cave for "night-night time". I have no science background, but I'm thinking with bats, eagles, raccoons, foxes, fish, chipmunks and wolves in one cave...things may get a bit cozy.

Today Emily and Madeleine helped me take our kitties to the vet for their check-up. This is always an adventure in humiliation as Lincoln makes such a fuss and is truly embarrassing. Sure enough, Lucy went through everything fine....It took three adults to get Lincoln out of his carrier (I was bitten in the process - rude cat) and he hissed, growled and spat so much the girls backed against a wall and were on the verge of tears. Dr. Madeleine, who had previously agreed to take care of Lincoln and Lucy when she is a grown-up lady, said Lincoln doesn't get to go to the doctor anymore. Emily (who wants to be a Mommy doctor - "Only for other kids' mommies.") is worried Lincoln will consequently get sick. At least they didn't have to provide urine specimens.

The Big 03!

Madeleine blowing out her candles (she "designed" her own cake).

Emily tackling her candles (she also "designed" her cake)

Emily on the left and Madeleine on the right.

After much anticipation, on their part, Madeleine and Emily turned three last week! This event was so significant we had a "cross-off sheet" for 22 days (when something significant is going to happen - grandparent visit, Christmas, etc. - we cross the days off on a sheet of paper that is continuously taped to the kitchen wall...we usually start with about a week before the event) and are still singing Happy Birthday to each other (and ourselves) in the car on a fairly routine basis.

Till and I opted not to have a big party and just have a "special day". At 6:12 AM I was awakened by one of them saying, rather enthusiastically, "This day is Mama and Memy's birday!!" which was promptly followed by two little voices singing Happy Birthday. A rather cute and humorous way to start the day. (The night before I gave Emily a hug after her bath and told her that was the last time two year old Emily would hug me, but was reassured by "That's okay, three year old Emily will hug you Mommy.")

The girls started their day by receiving "birthday outfits", complete with new underwear and socks. I wonder at what point underwear and socks lose their appeal and are no longer something to be looked forward to. Madeleine and Emily also received large, and oh-so-subtle ribbons that labeled each girl a "Birthday Girl" to wear for the day. When they came out of their room they found their door decorated and balloons for each girl. For a video of the Emily and Madeleine taking their balloons downstairs for breakfast, click here. Madeleine is the first one down the stairs and I wish I could have gotten the camera to cooperate about 10 seconds earlier - such is life.

Following breakfast, we talked to Oma and Opa on the computer and opened the presents that had been sent from Germany. Then we went to school. In the car on the way to school Emily announced she wanted to have the birthday alone, so she could have "this day and Madeleine can have a later day. How about that Madeleine?" Madeleine was not enthused. After school Emily and Madeleine came home and announced their expectation of another gift - caving to pressure, Mom and Dad gave them new swimsuits and the family ate lunch. After nap time we went to dinner at Ruby Tuesday (any event in any restaurant is a very big deal in our world) where Madeleine mentioned "that man is really nice" in reference to the waiter. After we got home our neighbors, Maureen and Leisa, came over for cake and presents. For a video of our stellar singing, click here, again, I wish the camera had started earlier and apparently I need to carry around studio lights as this video is very dark. My favorite part is Miss Emily picking frosting off of her cake around 20 seconds - for which she received high fives from Leisa. After Leisa and Maureen went home Emily and Madeleine opened their Spokane presents while talking on the computer with Mama and Bapa (they also got to talk on the phone with Aunt Liz), bathtime and bedtime followed and two very tired three year olds went to sleep.

While they loved their birthday and want next year's to come immediately (there was actually a request for a cross-off sheet for next year's birthday - the request was vetoed), Emily and Madeleine had even more fun the following day when they could actually play with their airplanes (we drew a chalk airport on the driveway), read their books, make crafts and play Memory and Hi Ho Cherry O (I was amazed at how quickly the girls grasped the objective - be the first to fill your bucket with cherries from your tree - and learned to cheat. For example, when you spin the spinner if you land on a bird or dog you have to put two cherries back...nope - you just spin again! And, you keep spinning until you land on the number 4 - the highest possible number of cherries that can be removed from a tree at one time!) The morning following their birthday, the birthday tablecloths and hats were on the table, Emily put her hat on and both girls demanded cake for breakfast. When I said that perhaps that wasn't the best idea I was informed, "Mommy, that's why I have on my birday hat." - oh, okay then.

Emily on the left and Madeleine on the right - figuring out which girl gets which set of balloons (their dresser is in the hall because I had to remove it from their room - again - the previous Friday during naptime....I just consider furniture moving the strength training compliment to my treadmill time!)

Waving good-bye to Oma and Opa after chatting on the computer.

Emily with a book from Bapa and Mama

Madeleine making something with craft supplies from Aunt Liz.

Madeleine with her new book from Mama and Bapa.


Emily, the glue master, at work.


Emily (L) and Madeleine (R) showing each other their "messy faces" the day after their birthday.

Melissa with Emily and Till with Madeleine.

Preparations

Madeleine inspecting her mittenless fingers.

Emily exhibiting her mittenless fingers.

I'm afraid I removed the camera from its standard location in our backpack and don't have pictures of our activities over the past two weeks....so, a couple of more pictures from our Valentines Day trip to Colonial Williamsburg. (In truth, I did manage to grab the camera when the girls got away from me while getting dressed after a nap. There are few pictures of both young ladies performing "the naked dance" (they made this up completely on their own), however, I think it best not to put such pictures online, no matter how innocuous.)

Somehow the girls began focusing on their upcoming birthday (next week) on about January 6th. I'm not sure how they knew it was up-and-coming, but chatting about it has become the major past-time in our household. Friday each girl had "alone time" with me and got to pick out her birthday tablecloth (I think we will have to fold both tablecloths in half and run tape down the middle to get them both on the table at the same time), napkins, plates, etc. Till and I had talked about having a "kids' party", but as the girls have two groups of children with whom they go to school, AND they don't seem to know about kids' parties....we shelved that one for next year. In other words, we made a significant investment in birthday paper products for ourselves and the neighbors. However, the girls were so proud and excited picking out their things, that it is worth it. The only specific gift request we have received at this point is from Madeleine who wants "a teeny tiny airplane I can hold in my hand", Emily thought this sounded good too. The girls have very specific ideas as to the appearance of their cakes and are under the impression the cups, plates, napkins and tablecloths are their gifts. We contemplated taking advantage of this innocence, but realized we'd be found out eventually and it would simply give the girls more ammunition when they are teens. Gifts have been purchased.

I spent the past weekend in Washington D.C. with a friend from college. The girls seemed to do a good job supervising their father (and the cats). I took the train instead of attempting to drive the Capital Beltway and handle rush hour traffic on a Friday night in an area I don't know.

We have also discovered the book Babushka's Doll in which a young girl is slightly "demanding" about what her grandmother is supposed to do for her. The grandmother leaves the girl with a doll who comes to life and is shockingly less than reasonable in her expectations of the girl...we read the book 3 times within the first 24 hours. The girls seem to understand that it is nice if you can give someone approximately three seconds before hitting them with another demand...I'm just hoping we don't' experience nightmares about our dolls coming to life!

The Sweet Silence Of Slumber

Emily asleep!

Madeleine sleeping!

Two family members who never experience sleep deprivation. Lincoln is black, Lucy is tortoise shell.


Ladies and Gentlemen, I think we may have success with our sleeping arrangements. Generally, the girls are doing much better both staying in their beds and going to sleep within a somewhat reasonable amount of time. We did have to break down and use bribery (I am indebted to the inventor of the sticker so many times over). We have charts on the wall and when we put the girls to bed a smiley face (or "smimey face") is put on the chart, we come back to the room once about 15 minutes after we intially left, to tell them "play time is over" (seems you must use those exact words) and if they get in bed and go to sleep at that point, they get to keep the smiley face. IF parents have to make another curtain call for anything other than an injury (which shouldn't occur if two young ladies are lying in their beds, but we have yet to address this technicality) - you lose your smiley face! If Emily and Madeleine accrue three smiley faces they get a "fancy sticker" from the sticker store. So far - bribery has worked. This week I introduced a kitchen timer and the theory is...we set it and leave the room, when the timer "goes ding" it means play time is over and the girls are to get in bed on their own. It has worked once, but I have not completely given up hope.

We have had a couple of adventures. About two weeks ago on Saturday night Madeleine ended up with a small cut on her lower lip and hysterics commenced. Ice was applied (the very first time this first aid technique has been permitted and I am thrilled to have picked up the ice pack shaped like a kitty head, on a whim, the previous day) and the minor bleeding was stopped. However, the girls flat-out refused to tell us what caused the injury (very unlike them as normally they tell readily and even offer a reenactment on occasion). It was obvious Madeleine's lower lip had been bitten by one of her upper teeth, but we weren't sure how. The next day I took the girls upstairs to put them down for their nap and was treated to the following performance (video) which obviously explains how a lip was bitten. Emily is in blue and Madeleine is in purple (sorry the video is so dark - their room is honestly well-lit, but the blinds were closed and I can't edit the light on a video..).

On another occasion when I poked my head in to announce "play time is over" I was handed a screw by Emily and told "The light is broken". There is a small door near the girls' beds that leads to some storage space over the garage. The girls never noticed the door before the arrival of Big Girl Beds (in fairness I painted it the same color as the wall and it used to be behind the dresser). Anyhow, there is a light in the storage space and the switch is now at the foot of Emily's bed. We have a ceramic Peter Rabbit switchplate cover and somehow the two of them got the bottom screw out. When I put it back in, to see if it would stay, I had to use a screw driver to get it back out - but not these two, fingernails are enough. I removed the screw from their room as this would be an ongoing issue if it had been left and searched for both tools and maps of any local banks. I came up empty-handed, but that doesn't mean they aren't in there.

Per our young ladies' request last week we had another Friday of "alone time". When Madeleine was at school Emily and I took clothing to the clothing bank, stopped at a book store, and tried to pick up a few items at a grocery store that carries things the "real store" doesn't. The highlight for Miss Emily was getting to sit in the front passenger seat of the car (while it was parked and locked!) to eat her snack before she went back to school. While Emily was at school Madeleine and I went grocery shopping for the week and took the food home and put it away. She had a great time dragging bags of groceries from the door leading into the garage to the kitchen and then handing me items to put in the cupboards. Saturday, Madeleine and Daddy had a muffin at a "cafe" (really the one in Barnes and Noble) while Emily and Mommy walked around and watched them take apart the truck that used to be in the middle of Old Navy. Then the girls traded grown-ups and Emily had a muffin with Daddy while Madeleine and Mommy looked at a couple of books and checked-in on the progress of the truck removal.

Madeleine with her valentines.

Emily discussing her valentines with Madeleine.

Madeleine and Emily celebrated their third Valentine's Day and it was a hit! When they came downstairs and saw the tablecloth with hearts, and cards waiting for them, they literally giggled out loud and danced a bit - seriously haven't had this much excitement since Christmas. They had a great time picking out valentines to take to school and think receiving the little cards, and occasional piece of candy, from the other students is the best thing they have encountered in quite a while. In addition they were also sent cards in the mail and got a package from Mama and Bapa (Grandma and Grandpa); a good day overall.

These boots are made for walking? Emily in black pants and Madeleine in lavender.

Valentine's Day brought a little bit of snow to Williamsburg (less than an inch), so we put on all our snow gear (it was cold and windy) and headed to Colonial Williamsburg to play in the snow. I had bought the girls snowboots for next year (I try and do a lot of end of season buying with an eye toward the next year's season) - last year in Spokane, the girls didn't play in the snow for any length of time, so the old bread bag over the socks trick worked pretty well. This year we tried the bread bag trick again (it is hard to justify buying two pairs of boots to be used for only two weeks), but I realized as the girls had gotten older, they were more able to stay outside and play in the snow. So...boots have been purchased for next year, but of course they are too big at this point. In an effort to rectify this situation, I put three pairs of socks on each child. There was initial difficulty walking in the boots (and probably too many socks) as the girls aren't used to that much bulk around their ankles and calves, but we finally succeeded. There wasn't a whole lot of snow to play with, but we did have a blast stomping in puddles (something that is normally forbidden). We found the best puddles were actually in the grass itself - video and I would like to point out, that while they are not worn in the video, we did bring - and wear some of the time - mittens. Unfortunately, the stomping in puddles went a bit far when Madeleine elected to sit in one - video.

I was informed this wasn't "real snow" and so show some highlights that haven't been posted from Spokane's "real snow". Last year Madeleine sledding with Grandpa and thinking it wasn't the best of ideas (the girls laugh out loud when they see this) - video. This year Madeleine sledding with Grandpa and deciding it was worthwhile - video. Emily sledding with Grandpa - video. And lastly, the girls sledding on their own on their tummies - Emily first, then Madeleine - video - the requests for "I want do that again" express a definite increase in sledding's approval ranking from the previous year.

Emily in front and Madeleine in back, sledding on their own in Spokane.

Madeleine, on left, with Grandpa and Emily looking down from Grandpa and Grandma's balcony.