Pillow Talk

One of my favorite things about the girls sharing a room is that I get to eavesdrop. As soon as Chad and I tuck them in and leave the room at night, Caroline usually says, "A-yee, wanna talk?" They plop themselves on the sides of their bed and have conversations like only a 4- and almost 3-year-old can. The first thing that they were talking about tonight while their mama stood 15 feet away listening was about our upcoming trip to Nana and Papa's. Aly was excited to surprise them (they definitely know we're coming!) and Caroline couldn't wait to feel the airplane bump (definitely not my favorite part!) When I went back about 15 minutes later, Aly was telling Caroline about everything there is to look forward to at the dentist. I wish that I could tape these conversations to listen to years from now. Sweet, sweet, sweet.

The following pictures have nothing to do with this post, but I wanted to include them for Nana and Papa...

Baby Blue

And just one guess at what these two are doing!!

Ballerina Girls

Dance for yourself. If someone understands, good. If not, then no matter. Go right on doing what you love.
-Lois Hurst-

If you know my girls (or have ever read this blog), you know that Aly and Caroline are a little obsessed...with ballet. I'm sure it's a phase, but it has been a fun one. They also like being princesses, Superman, pumpkins, waitresses, doctors, teachers and more--but they usually begin and end the day as ballerinas. Dance camp was this week and they both agreed that it was just as magical and wonderful as they had dreamed it would be. Beyond just dancing, the highlights were that they made headbands with jewels to wear and got to put on their own make-up for the performance today. Does life get any better?!

Encore!

My Boys

Caro showing Sam some moves afterward

Dancers are the athletes of God.
-Albert Einstein-

Say "Cheese" (or "Cheese-y"!)

I am definitely a sucker. Even more than that, I have an absolute inability to say "no". But I would also love a family picture, which we've never had. So call it a perfect storm, but 3 weeks ago while walking into Kroger, a nice older man with 2 huge gold rings on his fingers persuaded me to pay $10 for an entire picture package. Who can say "no" to a family portrait ("portrait" may be a little bit of an exaggeration) for $10? My husband, that's who. But he played along, we all got dressed up and showed up. To Kroger. The grocery store. Chad was a little horrified, but entertained himself with his cinematography skills:


Only 2 weeks and we'll get to return (to Kroger!) and see if our $10 was well-spent...

Life in a Wardrobe

The girls aren't as much into toys as they are clothes...dress-up clothes. This morning, Caroline was pretending it was winter:


This afternoon, we had a superhero-ballerina and Pumpkin-head (Caroline's favorite).

Sometimes, Chad and I just have to look at each other and ask, "Who is this girl?!"

Taking the Plunge

I got a chance to video Aly jumping off the diving board. This is her favorite new thing to watch!! At this pool, you have to be a good-enough swimmer to swim unassisted to the ladder, and Caroline is not quite a strong enough swimmer; she did a great job as a cheerleader, though!

Don't Blink

Something strange has happened in the past week: we've blinked, and suddenly we're surrounded by little people who are not so little anymore! They seem to be passing milestones, each at their own rate, and I can't make them stop!! Aly and Caroline have turned into little fish (well, mermaids, according to them!) They want to spend every afternoon at the pool and it's just amazing to watch them swim! And both of them love the diving board. The diving board?! When did they get old enough for that?! I'd love to get some video of them, but I don't think I'm talented enough to tread water, watch out for a sinking kid, and manipulate a camera at the same time. Poor Jack doesn't exactly love the water yet, so he spends a good majority of the time sweating in his stroller in the shade. He doesn't seem to mind, but it is enough to kill a mom whose guilt-meter is already off the charts!

On Jack's part, he is teething big time and always has half of his hand in his mouth.

I don't know if it's a boy thing or a Jack-thing, but he is quite the little eater! He is already starting to eat rice cereal. The girls didn't start until closer to six months, but he just eats a lot--too much for me to keep up with! He seemed pretty excited about the new food... though I do have to say that he is the happiest and most easy-going baby ever so I didn't expect anything less.


Caroline and Aly still dance everywhere. Our kitchen is a permanent stage with The Nutcracker playing constantly. They now refer to me as Ms. Meredith (Aly's dance teacher!) The will have the privilege of attending her dance camp next week--they are absolutely ecstatic. Pictures of the big week to come!

Next Week

The girls have been really curious about death lately. Apparently that's normal with kids around Aly's age, but it has definitely made for some interesting questions and conversations lately! Obviously, Aly's comprehension is about a year and a half ahead of Caroline's, so Aly's questions probably lead to a little confusion in Caroline's world. After a conversation tonight about how great Heaven is going to be, Caroline very thoughtfully asked, "Mama, are we going to die on the cross next week?" Gosh, Sugar, I hope not!

Not much!

I am tired tonight! I've had these pictures downloaded onto this post for 3 days, and every time that I sit down to write something descriptive about what we've been doing lately, my fingertips lack the words to type! So here are a few pictures and a video--mostly for the benefit of Nana and Papa! Have a good week!

Memorial Day fun with friends

Bathtime: my favorite time of day with Jack

"Welcome Summer" party

Jack started really "talking" this week, just all of a sudden! There is a lot going on in the room during this video, but the squeals are actually him!