Super Stuff on a Saturday

After what I now realize has been a whole lot of going and doing over the past few weeks, we tried to settle down a bit this week and remember our “home” routine.  That turned out to be a good plan, given the extreme heat in our corner of the world – well above 100 degrees! – most of the week.  Ack!

Here are the fabulous highlights…

1)      Daddy has been teasing the girls by leaving the collar up on his shirt sometimes, as things being “out of order” get them all out of sorts.  I planted this seed once upon a time, but it’s so funny to hear them get all flustered, “Daddy, put your collar down!  You’re not Elvis!”

2)      The girls helped me make granola on Sunday.  They were so proud to scoop out the oatmeal and other ingredients, stir the bowl, and rake everything into a pan.  And of course they’ve been so excited to eat their creation most every day.

3)      One afternoon I was going to run a quick errand while the girls stayed home with Daddy.  I told them I wouldn’t be long.  “How long will you be gone?” Baby A asked.  “One minute?  Two minutes?”  About 15 minutes, I told her.  “That’s a LONG time!!!” she said.

4)      One morning the girls came with me to run a few quick errands…the post office, the mall, and the grocery store.  They were incredibly well-behaved, especially at the mall where we bought new shoes for them.  I was dreading that part of the morning, but they were very good about touching with one finger, even in pretty close quarters in the shoe store.  We’ll still be doing our shopping in limited doses, but I’m feeling more confident in what I can actually accomplish with them!

5)      The lady working the desk at the post office gave the girls coloring / activity books.  When we got home we looked at the books – all about different landmarks throughout the US – and the girls wanted to play with them.  This was the first time both of them [sorta-kinda] tried to color within the lines, using appropriate colors for the pictures.  And I was AMAZED that they both followed directions on one of the activities, to “circle all the falcons” among many different types of birds.

6)      We had one cooler day this week, and we decided to take the girls to Jackson’s Orchard.  They were so very excited to get a snack and go down the “bumpy slide” over and over and over.  I love seeing my family so at home there.

7)      Our girls have been full of imagination for so long, but Baby A has really been talking it up lately.  Particularly at bedtime, she has been telling the tallest tales…incorporating different places she’s gone, animals she’s seen, things she’s done.  And when she transitions between thoughts, she’s most often been saying, “And then, all of a sudden…”  It just cracks me up!

8)      Baby B was reading a book with Daddy one day.  I heard her looking at the table of contents.  She named the page number and then said, “So this story must be on this page!”  We often look at the table of contents together, but this was the first time I’d seen one of the girls in action.

9)      The girls have been a hit and a miss with naming their right and left hands (mostly hits, but not enough for me to be confident)…but I think I’m crossing this off our list.  They’re pretty darn consistent when I say, “Give me your right hand,” or “Turn left” in a store.

10)   We took the girls to story time at the book store on Friday.  I was so proud of how they listened to the story and focused on the craft (a bookmark).  We’re growing up!

Very thankful for this everyday fabulousness!