Sister Show

When I got home from work today, the girls immediately presented me with a “program”, one that outlined the “show” they’d been working on to present to Daddy and me. 

Sleenky and Sisters.

We are going to do sleenky tricks and how we like being sisters.

They were SO excited.  There was lots of whispering and planning leading up to the big event.  After supper, as promised, they escorted us upstairs, where they’d lined two chairs with blankets for us to sit on.  They “hid” behind a pile of pillows, and then began their show.

First up, there were sleenky [i.e. "slinky"] tricks.  They illustrated how they could move the slinky from hand to hand.  Then The Amazing Baby A illustrated how she could build a tall tower of blocks.  And The Incredible Baby B showed how she could force two magnets together.

There was a robot demonstration, which consisted of the girls running around “like robots”, having their batteries run down, and then recharging themselves by the wall.

My favorite part was the “sister show”.  Each baby held one end of the slinky, and they coordinated to move it from hand to hand.  Then they bicycled their legs.  And then – upon my suggestion – they tried singing the A-B-C song alternating letters.  (That didn’t work out perfectly, but they had fun!)

The show ended with a grand finale, catapulting the slinky down the stairs.

How incredibly heartwarming it was to see the girls working together, professing their sisterhood.  And how sweet it was to see their first “show”…which reminded me of the many, many “shows” I put on by myself, and certainly any time I had a friend over, when I was a little girl.

What a great gift to come home to!!!

A Singular Party Invitation and a Case of Mistaken Identity

Wow…that’s a title straight out of a mystery book, huh?  The story I’m about to recount wasn’t a mystery, exactly, but it’s a milestone of sorts that I don’t want to forget.

This spring, Baby A got an invitation to her friend R’s party.  R and A were in the same class.  While Baby B knew R, they didn’t share classes together.  B was not invited.  Baby A wanted to go, and B was tearful.  “That’s not fair, Mommy!  I want to go!”  Hubby weighed in on the situation, saying I should call R’s mom and ask if B could come.

Having read about this conundrum from other twin mamas, I had decided I wouldn’t take that approach.  I’m certain R’s mom would have been fine to add B to the invite list, but I wanted A to have her special time with her friend.  B quickly conceded when I told her she could do something super-special with Daddy while A and I went to the party.

A week or so ago, an invitation came in the mail for B.  Baby A had a moment of sadness when she realized she wasn’t invited, but I reminded her of R’s party…and the super-special time she’d have with Daddy.

The girls have gotten a little wistful when one got to pick out a gift and the other didn’t get to weigh in.  And the goody bag given at both parties caused the non-party-goer to be maybe a tiny bit jealous.  But two parties down (one for each kiddo, THANK GOODNESS!!!), and I feel like this is the right approach for us.

At the party I attended with B, there was another funny twist.  The kindergarten classes weren’t aligned in a straightforward fashion.  There were homerooms, and then kids could have different teachers for reading and/or math.  Baby A is friends with K, from her homeroom class.  Baby B didn’t have classes with K.  But when we got to the party, we saw K (who I’m guessing had reading or math with the birthday girl).  [Clear as mud, right???]

I know K’s dad from seeing him at other events, so I started chatting with him.  We were probably 45 minutes into the party when he said, “Wait……..do you have twins???”  Yes, I told him.  That’s B, and A is at home.

“And A was in K’s class, right???”  Yes.  I pulled out a picture to show him the girls together.

“OHHHH!!!” he exclaimed.  “I wondered why B wasn’t talking more with K!  K and A are usually so chatty!”

Hahahaha!!!  It hadn’t even occurred to me to mention the difference to him.  Our first case of “mistaken identity” (which I didn’t know to expect with my fraternal girlies), in the books!

(And if I thought Baby A was wistful at not going to the party, hearing her friend K was there was really tough for A to swallow.  I’ve gotta plan a playdate to catch up with K.  The girls will both enjoy it…and maybe K’s parents will recognize firsthand we have two kiddos.  HA!)

Playing Some B-Ball

The girls participated in their first-ever summer camp this week.  They attended basketball camp at the high school where Hubby teaches, from 8:30 – 10:30, the first three days of this week.

They were the smallest ones there, but that didn’t stop their FUN.  Daddy was there to watch everything, and I got the highlights.

On Monday, they had to dribble the length of the court and back.  Hubby told me that B was the last one to finish, and as she did so, all the other kids were chanting her name.  How cute!

On Tuesday, they had a pick-up game.  Hubby told me that the bigger kids weren’t being very gracious with sharing the ball.  When A finally got a turn, he said she took off…forgetting the dribbling…she RAN!

And after Day 2, my A told me, “Mommy, I had to reach up really high to give the big kids a high five.”  HA!

The kiddos did a warm-up “shuffle”.  The girls practiced SO hard to get it down…to the point that that’s how they wanted to walk on Tuesday night…everywhere they went.

On Wednesday, Baby A did the shuffle with the best of them.  Hubby said that Baby B took her sweet, methodical time, the last one to finish, but she did not miss a step.  Hee hee!

For the last 45 minutes or so on Wednesday, I came to see the girls in action.  I got to see my A being incredibly serious as she was guarded by a 10-year old boy. 

(She told me that morning, “Mommy, the pictures you take of me will be blurry, I’ll be running so fast.”  She was right!)

(I did not LITERALLY mean to take a blurry picture.  Mommy Camera Fail #1,749.)

And then, when her drill was over and she saw me, she RAN to me and LAUNCHED HERSELF into my arms.

And then I got to see my B doing a skills test.  She was concentrating some kind of hard, alternating a very serious look with a huge smile.

And every night when the girls told me about their day, I had to smile at them calling the high school kiddos, “my coaches”.

The girls had a great me…got to interact with some great kiddos…and maybe even learned some skills.  What a fun treat for our summertime!

Father's Day Top 10

Every year for Father's Day, I put together a list, "The Top 10 Reasons We Think You're the Best Daddy in the World."  The past couple of years, the girls have largely come up with the list themselves.  I love this snapshot in time each June.

On this year's list:

10. You are the best snowman builder, and you push us (and Mommy) on our sleds when it snows.

9. You’ve taken us to some amazing places this year, including Chicago, New York, and St. Louis…fun!!!

8. You enjoy watching the Berenstain Bears almost as much as we do.

7. You take us on interesting adventures, like searching for the “Anna” sign and finding fresh eggs.

6. You play Connect Four and UNO like a champ…and you don’t “hot dog” too much (most of the time).

5. You bought us soccer cleats and shin guards, and we are SO excited to play soccer.

4. You pick us up from school every day with a big smile and a warm hug.

3. You help us with our homework.  You make learning fun!

2. You take care of our furry brothers Miki and Alex.

1. YOU’RE OURS.

The girls and I had fun making this picture collage, too.  D-A-D-D-Y!!!

Happy Father's Day to one of my two favorite dads!

And Happy Father's Day to my original favorite dad, whom we got to see just last week.

My heart is happy!!!

Another Milestone in the Tooth Department

Although I'm tracking considerably ahead of where I was last year, I still haven't blogged to the degree that I'd like to.  When I glance through the {short} list of posts I've published over the last couple of months, there's definitely a recurring theme.  Teeth.  Specifically, the lack thereof.

Baby A lost her first tooth without me, at school.

Baby B lost her first tooth...FINALLY!

And Baby B lost her second tooth, with a great degree of nonchalance.

I'm writing today about Baby A again (which I just notice puts the balance back to 50-50...such a "twin mom" thing to think!).  A's front tooth has been on the cusp of coming in for a few weeks now.  Every day, I'd check to see if it had broken through.

On Sunday night, when we were in Alabama, it happened.  She was SO excited!!!  "We have to celebrate!" she said immediately.  (I didn't follow up on that one, though...if we celebrate both the loss of teeth and the addition of new ones, we'll be taking out a second mortgage before the girls hit third grade.)

Still, it's been really fun to see her tooth slowly make its way into the world over the past couple of days.  Fun...and (oddly?) kind of emotional for me.  It just feels like a HUGE milestone away from babyhood.  And it feels pretty groundbreaking to witness the emergence of this precious little [big] tooth that will be front and center of her face from here on.

It took me a couple of days to snap a picture of the evidence.  Here's what I got...

I guess if I get too sentimental and weepy, I can just look at that second picture.  No way can I keep from cracking up.  This kiddo is growing up, yes.  But the sense of humor that comes with that is a pretty awesome benefit.

Simple Pleasures

Just within the last couple of hours, I "indulged" in a couple of simple pleasures...ones I don't want to forget...

I got home from work this afternoon and I could hear Daddy and the girls have a large time in the basement.  They didn't hear me come in, though, so I changed clothes leisurely to the sounds of lots of laughter.  What sweet joy.

The girls eventually heard me and came bustling upstairs to invite me down to play ball with them.  We played for a few minutes, and then I came upstairs to get supper on the table.

The girls had gotten quite sweaty, and after supper I gave them the option of a quick shower or a bubble bath.  They agreed on the latter.

While I was getting the bathroom ready, Baby A yelled, "Can we have tall water, Mommy?"  I wasn't 100% sure I'd heard her, so I asked her for clarification.  "Tall water!" she said again.  And then, "T-A-L-L W-A-T-E-R!" she spelled.  Hee hee...I loved it!

I got the girls situated in "tall water" (which, as I'm typing this, reminds me of high cotton...HA!).  I could have used their soaking time to get some laundry rolling, or just sit down for a few minutes myself.  Instead, I decided to be in the moment with them.  I'm so glad I did.

"Can I join you?" I asked?  I had a book in my hand, and they didn't quite know what to make of it.  I sat on the side of the tub, my feet in the bubbles, and read them a few chapters of a cute little reader.  They were in little girl heaven.  So was I.

We finished our book before bedtime, and still had time for a night-night story.

So many fun little happies this evening.  I can't help but think of the adage, "Enjoy the small things...for one day you'll realize they are the big things."  #truth

Bath mit fun, taken a few months ago.  :) :)

It's Starting...

Hairstyles.  

A month or so ago, I’d gently planted the seed with the girls about growing out their bangs.  I think they look perfectly adorable with their now-standard cuts, but I am guessing they won’t want bangs forever…and they’re painful to grow out…and we might as well do it when they’re younger…and summer is probably the best time to start.

Baby B was very open to the idea.  She talked about how she could pull her hair back to play soccer.  She was sold.

Baby A was not very excited, though.  She’s sometimes resistant to change, and I think that’s probably what was driving her reaction.

I continued to market the idea to both girls ahead of our haircut appointment last week.  B continued to be excited, and A continued to balk.  I even got our hairdresser in on the idea, and she talked it up as an adventure.

When it came time to make the cut (ahem), Baby A was adamantly against it.  I didn’t push her any further.  And so, here we are…the beginning of different hairstyles.  Gulp.

Baby B is learning the ropes of barrettes and hairbands.  Baby A has shown some slight interest, seeing B pick out some cute accessories.  She’s still loving her bangs, though, and that’s fine with me.

We Made Up for It with the Celebration

Baby B lost her first tooth a few weeks ago.  It was one she’d worked on for a long time, it seemed.  Not only was I not surprise by it coming out…I was begging her to end the process.

Yesterday, B got up and said her tooth was really loose.  She took a tissue (as I had encouraged her to do with her first tooth) and wiggled and pulled.  This time, I encouraged her not to rush it.  “You can wiggle it, but don’t pull or twist.  It will come out when it’s ready,” I told her, inwardly wincing.

I didn’t think another thing about it.

I went to work, came home, and then played outside with the girls for a few minutes.  We came in and decided to have a quick shower before supper.  Nonchalantly, B told me, “I lost my tooth at lunch today.”

Wha???

No phone call to Mommy at work?  No waiting with baited breath to show Mommy your new smile?

I was truly surprised how in-stride B took everything.

We went ahead with our supper plans, and then I had an idea.  I decided to load the girlies up after supper and take them for ice cream.  We’ve never gone somewhere AFTER supper…we’re usually rushing to get ready for bed.  The girls were incredulous when I told them the surprise.

As we drove to the ice cream shop, the girls began to ask, “Can I have the cookie thing?”  I don’t know that they’ve ever had a sundae there before, which includes a huge dinosaur cookie, but they’ve seen other kids have it.  Of course I said yes.

Our first pic minus TWO teeth!

The girls were giggly and cuddly and so sweet.  I loved everything about it, including the opportunity to snap some pictures in the late-day sun.

Waiting in line...

HUGS in anticipation of ice cream!

Big snaggly smiles!!!

Enjoying our treat!

Biting to the side!

Giggles at Sissy!

 I hate I missed the event itself, but we made up for it with the celebration!

Matchy-Matchy

When I think of "matchy-matchy", I generally think about dressing twins alike.  When we went to the zoo this weekend, though, I realized it was not just the girls who were dressed similarly.

Granted, when I spotted these shirts for the girls, I kinda fell in love with them.  I could just envision them with their khaki capris or denim walking shorts.

And then I paused to chuckle, thinking that's just what I'd wear.

I didn't consciously dress us all alike on Sunday, but I had to chuckle again to realize we were all wearing the same stripe...three-quarter-length sleeves...and denim capris.  Hee hee!

And it made me smile even more when B said, "Let me put my sunglasses up like you, too!"

I just need some pink sneakers, and we'll be set!

{LOVE}