Way Back When-esday: Granddaddy Edition

Granddaddy came for a visit this weekend.  The girls had been eagerly anticipating his arrival, and their excitement grew ten-fold when they learned he was bringing his bike to ride with them!

We had a very relaxing visit...we hung out and ate good food and played and read.

And of course we snapped some pictures before Granddaddy headed home on Sunday.

This one...

...made me think of this one...

We're holding opposite babies, but you get the idea...what a difference 7 1/2 years makes!!!

###

Thanks to Cheryl at Twinfatuation for her Way Back When-esday prompt!  It's sometimes bittersweet to look through pictures of the girls' infancy, to realize how quickly time flies...but it's always a worthwhile trip down Memory Lane!

Precious Emotion and Maturity

I’ve witnessed a couple of the most precious displays from Baby B over the past few days, ones that simultaneously melt my heart and make me wanna cry.

We were out to dinner on Saturday night, and I took the opportunity to tell the girls that I won’t be able to attend their fall festival at school.  [I feel terrible about it…it’s something they look forward to so much…but I made plans several months ago to go to an event with my dad.]

I expected the girls to be upset.  I can’t say they were thrilled, but they took it in stride when I told them they would still go with Daddy, only Mommy wouldn’t be there.  And then, moments later, I saw Baby B’s chin start to tremble.

“I don’t like it when you’re not home for night-night,” she told me.

To glimpse what's important to my precious girl!!!

And then, in the middle of that same night, B came to me around 2am to tell me she’d gotten sick to her stomach.  I asked her to go to the kitchen, and I made my way there.  I couldn’t quite put two-and-two together, as to how everything transpired.

B explained that she woke up feeling sick and came downstairs to get me.  “…but I saw you were sleeping, and I didn’t want to disturb you.”

Bless it!!!

She got her “bucket” out of the kitchen and lay on the couch instead.  She finally woke me only when she actually got sick.

There’s emotional maturity and the sweetness of my baby girl, all rolled into one.  It tugs at my heartstrings, for sure…and makes this heart of mine so happy.

Thanks for the Memories, August!

August has been a whirlwind!  I CANNOT believe that the girls have been in school THREE WEEKS today.  (I guess that explains where the time has gone!)

So...before the month ends, here is {one} first-day-of-school picture.  The girls posed like this on their own...look at those long legs!!!

Despite the back-to-school busyness, we've packed in a lot of fun, too...

...several trips to the library to keep these girls entertained...

...a mommy-and-me trip to the trampoline park, where these girls gave me a run (er, jump) for my money...whew!

...a family trip to the yogurt shop (during which Daddy agreed to a selfie!)...

...and the kickoff of the soccer season...

I'm supremely thankful, among all this BUSY, that the girls still made time for play at home.  Here they are, having "built a TV", putting on a show for Mommy and Daddy before bedtime.

~ Thanks for the memories, August 2016! ~

School-Day Morning Sweetness

Not all aspects of our school-day mornings are “sweet”. 

Nope. 

There’s the half-paying-attention syndrome that sometime plagues us, prompting Mommy to offer up more “reminders” than ideal.  There are the “you-fixed-her-hair-first-yesterday…it’s-my-turn-to-go-first-today” grumblings.  And there are the “why-didn’t-you-pack-my-backpack” accusations, one sister of the other.

Sigh.

But…

I’ve had some of the sweetest sleepyheads to greet me in the mornings.  Our girls are usually up early, and it’s a supreme treat to get to wake them on occasion.  “Good morning, Mommy,” they’ll mumble.  “I love you.”

Melt.

I get warm belly kisses from still-snuggled girls, one of my favorite things in the world.

And the sweet little voices who often read to me aloud as I’m getting ready.

And to end the morning, I sometimes get an over-the-shoulder look and wave as the girls enter their school.

That morning sweetness doesn’t begin to rival our weekend family time, nor does it touch the lazy mornings we spent together the girls’ first five and a half years of life…but it buoys my day, for sure.

Way Back When-esday: The First Day of School

I've been feeling somewhat overwhelmed as of late at how BIG my BABIES are.  My A is getting pretty close to my shoulder!  And my B, while not as tall, is looking so grown-up with her shorter hair.

After snapping this adorable picture of the girls holding hands walking into school a couple of weeks ago...

Heading off to second grade!

...I knew I had a "match" from a few years ago.  Honestly, though, I couldn't bring myself to dig it up right away.

I finally braved the file of older pictures, and -- sure enough -- I gasped at what BABIES my baby girls were.  It seems like just a couple of years ago that they marched bravely into preschool.  Surely it couldn't have been FOUR YEARS.

Heading off to preschool!

Wowza!  Pigtails and all!

It surely tugs at my heartstrings...but I'm thankful for this little walk down Memory Lane...hand in hand.

And I'm thankful to Cheryl at Twinfatuation for prompting this Way Back When-esday post!

{Now pardon me while I grab a tissue.  I seem to have something in my eye.}

Sister(s) Golden Hair

I was hanging out with the girls at their open house, two days before school started.  It was around the golden hour of photography, and I was snapping pictures as the girls enjoyed a popsicle before we headed home.

B finished her treat first, and I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of her braids as she watched some kids across the way...

...and then of A as she enjoyed a few more licks...

How I love those precious golden-haired sisters.

My heart!!!

When They Need Each Other...

I think of our girls as so independent.

Sure, they're usually together.  And they often dress in coordinating clothes ('cause it's easier for me!)...and they'll occasionally want to match.

But developmentally?  Psychologically?  They seem to be very confident in themselves.  They're two little people, orbiting in close proximity, but usually very much doing their own things.

I guess that's why it feels extra sweet to nab the occasional picture of my girls, clearly comforted by being together.

I took this at their open house, two days before school started.  Hubby couldn't come with us (as he was at his own open house across town).  While I waited in line to get our car tags for the pickup line, I told the girls to wait in the line to get their tickets for the popsicle stand.  I could see them at all times...in their school gym...but they were still apprehensive to wait in a line themselves and ask for something of an adult, without me being right there.

I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures as they inched closer to the front of the line, clearly a bit nervous at the prospect ahead of them.

My sweet girls!!!  I am so incredibly grateful for them...and for the fact that they have each other!!!