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!

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.