Dear Molly and Maddy,
Here are some of my favorite moments from November 2013.
“Mommy, do I look like a real mommy?” -Maddy- after dressing yourself, putting your baby in a car seat, and showing me your “wedding ring” from Daddy.
We had a lot to be thankful for on Thanksgiving this year!
And we ended the month with this…
Lol… love you crazy girls!
Love,
Mom 🙂
Dear Molly and Maddy,
It looks like I stopped posting around October of 2013. That month was SUCH a special month! On October 4th, we celebrated the soon-to-be arrival of your little cousin, Baby Jackson! It was the first baby shower you went to, and you had a really fun time trying out all of baby Jack’s new gear! We were so excited for his arrival!
You guys are still doing amazing at preschool and I just can’t believe how big you are getting. Everyday I drop you off, we hang up your coat by your name tag, we walk into the classroom, you pick your name off of the table and place it in the box, and then we give each other lots of hugs and kisses before you join your class to play!
And then… the most amazing thing happened. YOU BECAME BIG COUSINS!! On October 29, 2013, Baby Jackson was born!
He was perfect and you could not have been anymore in LOVE with him! You were the best big cousins from the very start!
We are so blessed! I love you!
Mom
Dear Molly and Maddy,
I am so bummed. I totally dropped the ball with this blog. It’s been over a year since I’ve posted, and omg… SO much has happened in that year! You just celebrated your 5th birthday and it was a reminder to me of how fast time is flying. I really don’t want you to grow up. But, you are. You’re growing up into the funniest, smartest, most beautiful little girls. So, since I can’t freeze time, I can at least document every special moment of it. I’m going to go back and post about some of the amazing things that has happened in your life in the last year… and once I’m caught up, I promise to keep up! I hope you enjoy reading this one day. I love you!
Love,
Mom
Wow, well September just came to and end…. which means your first official month as a pre-schooler is over! I was so worried about how you would do. I thought you would cry and not want to go. I literally felt sick the night before your first day. But, guess what? On your first day, you both literally gave me and Daddy a hug and kiss and said “bye!” and that was it! On the second day, you did the same. And now guess what? You still haven’t cried! I guess it is safe to say that you girls are big now! You are so big and so brave and I am so proud of how well you are doing with school! You are learning new things, and you really enjoy going!
During the first week of pre-school, Molly brought home the “share bag”. The share bag is basically like show and tell, but you put your item in the bag and write 3 clues on the outside. Your classmates have to try and guess what it is! Here were Molly’s clues:
1. He lives on Pride Rock.
2. His dad’s name is Mufasa and his uncle is Scar.
3. He just can’t wait to be king!
Clearly, Simba was in the bag!! 🙂 Molly, you came up with those clues all by yourself! I think you did such a great job! Your teacher was even so impressed that you had them memorized! Usually, they encourage the kids in 4 year old preschool to do that, but I guess you are ahead of the game! Later that week, you also got to be the “star of the class”! This means you wore a big yellow star with your name on it, you got to turn on the “Jesus light” and pick the song that you sang that day. You were pretty proud of being awarded the star!
The following week, it was Maddy’s turn to bring the share bag! Maddy, you also came up with your own clues with no help from me! You did a fantastic job!
1. She lives in a big tower.
2. She has big green eyes and looonnnggg blonde hair.
3. Her best friend is a chameleon named Pascal.
It was RAPUNZEL!! Lots of girls in your class guessed that one! She’s like the coolest Disney princess these days! I was glad you got to do the share bag so soon after Molly because while we were getting Molly’s share bag ready, I could tell you were feeling very left out! While I felt bad you were sad, it was nice to see that Molly noticed too and asked you to help her! And I really like that you guys are getting a sense of individualism in school.
All and all, you girls are total pre-school rockstars!! You really look forward to it and are learning so much! You guys are making me proud! Now, Mommy just needs to learn to get the house picked up before I drop you off at school so maybe I could actually be more productive with my free time. Oh, and I have to admit, even though it seems like it would be nice to have a couple hours to myself- all I do is go home, clean up the house, and miss you! 🙂
Love,
Mom
Dear Molly and Maddy,
Wow. Okay, so over the last few weeks I have had been emotions- sad ones, grateful ones, happy ones. All these emotions swirl around the idea that you are about to head off to pre-school! HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?! I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again, I honestly don’t even feel like I was in High School that long ago. So, you could imagine that it literally feels like you were babies…. like, yesterday! I cannot believe how fast time really flies by.
I am excited for you to grow and learn new things- well, kinda. I am really actually sad. I don’t want you to grow up! I want you to stay my little babies who want to cuddle and need me for things! I have stayed home with you almost every single day of your entire life. Now, you guys are about to leave ME! What?! Granted, it’s only 2 hours a day, 2 days a week. But still, this is a really big deal, you guys!
So, this year you will be going to 2 schools. You have speech school on Monday’s. It is at the same place as last year, but it’s going to be a lot different this year! Mommy doesn’t stay with you- I drop you off. There are more kids in your class (around 5, compared to last years 1), and there will be a whole lot less playtime and lot more learning time! On Tuesdays and Thursdays, you will be going to preschool. Like REAL BIG GIRL PRESCHOOL!! It’s insanity. It’s only for 2 hours a day and I know you guys are going to have a lot of fun. I guess I’m supposed to go home during that time, clean up the house, do some laundry and get dinner…. (or maybe go shopping, take a nap or workout? 🙂
I was really nervous. More nervous than you. A hundred questions flew through my mind- what if they can’t understand what you are saying? What if you don’t speak up if something is wrong? Will you tell them when you have to go to the bathroom? What if you have an accident or something?! What if a kid is mean to you? Will you be able to listen and follow directions or just want to play the whole time? Will you miss me as much as I am missing you?
I spent as much time holed up in the house enjoying every moment of you as I could as the summer ended. I made sure to get in ten times the amount of hugs, kisses and snuggles. And, alas, the day approached. On Wednesday, the 4th, we got to go for a little “meet and greet” at speech school. Gaga had promised to paint your nails before the first day, so she came over that morning. We got you all ready to go (complete with the new backpacks you picked out the week prior) and took a few pictures outside. Gaga decided she would come with us! That was exciting- you guys love showing people things like this! So, we all got in the car and drove to speech school. Once we got into the classroom, you booked it towards the toys and had no problem at all acclimating yourself! I filled out some paperwork, sat back as I watched you play, and that was that.
We enjoyed a nice weekend- (Lauren’s baby shower! post to come soon!)- and when Monday arrived, I was surprised to feel as calm as I did. I realized that my nervousness was not nervous for me. I thought I was going to be sad, that I wouldn’t know what to do without you guys hanging from me for those two hours a day. But, I realized I wasn’t nervous for myself- I was nervous for you. But, you girls weren’t nervous at all. You were excited! You happily got ready for school, walked in, gave me a kiss and said good bye! And that was that. No tears, no crying, no looking back. You girls are brave, big girls, and I couldn’t be more proud!
I love you!
Mom
Dear Molly and Maddy,
What a weekend we had! Dad took Friday off from work so we had an extra long weekend! On Friday, Daddy took you guys fishing in the morning! He took you girls to get your own real fishing pools, then to his favorite pond. I decided to hang back and clean up the house so you could have some special daddy/daughter time. And guess what?! You caught a fish!! I’ll have to get the picture off Daddy’s phone and update it here soon 🙂 We kinda just hung out most of the day. Daddy BBQ’d some fish and shrimp. You both tried shrimp for the first time and loved it! And we ended the night with an awesome dance party! 🙂
On Saturday, we hung out for most of the day and then… we went to the fair!! The state fair was this weekend and it was full of farm animals, carnival rides and the Shrine circus. We checked out all the farm animals, watched a few minutes of a horse show, and then hit the carnival. You guys are carnival pros by now, and this Saturday was no exception. You went on just about every ride you could! After about an hour, we walked over to catch the circus show. We ended up leaving about halfway through- there were no tigers or elephants this year, and Mommy didn’t like watching how they whipped the horsies 😦 So, we went back out to ride more rides! We ran into your friends Carley and Sammi there, too! After hours of rides, you girls were getting T-I-R-E-D! So, we got an elephant ear and called it a night! It didn’t take but a few minutes for you to fall asleep once you hit your sheets!
On Sunday, we decided to play school after breakfast. We worked on your alphabet for a little bit and you guys got A-E down pat! After playing “school”, Daddy and I planned to take you girls real school clothes shopping! We hit up a few stores and got you guys a LOT of clothes! We had planned on going to a few more stores when we got a phone call from Bubba. He was wondering what time we’d be at the BBQ. BBQ?! Um, I thought that was on Monday! Oops…. Mommy really does try to be as organized as possible, but sometimes I am known to get some dates mixed up. So, we made a beeline out the door, ran home to freshen up and met Bubba and Didi at Aunt Dawn’s BBQ! We had a good time- there was a ton of food and a lot of family we don’t see to often. Afterwards, Lauren came over. We planned to have a bonfire but when we realized we didn’t have any marshmallows to roast, we nixed that idea! Instead, we cuddled up in Maddy’s bed with some popcorn and Lauren’s growing baby belly, and watched the Wizard of Oz!
Being silly in the car on the way to Aunt Dawn’s!
The weekend didn’t end there… on Monday, we relaxed in the morning while Daddy did the grocery shopping. Once he got home, we put the groceries away and went to the CIDER MILL!! I LOVE the cider mill! It is a fall essential… like every weekend! It’s a sad reminder that summer is just about over, but it brings such awesome memories and fun times. We loaded up on donuts and cider… I think we ate over a half dozen before we even got to the parking lot! 🙂 YUM! We went from the cider mill over to Nana’s house where Nana, Nick, Gaga, Pop Pop, Adam, Mimi, Lauren and Jon were all hanging out. Uncle Jon BBQ’d some chicken, steak, burgers, and corn on the cob and we had a lovely Labor Day BBQ. The weather was perfect sitting on the deck weather. You guys walked to the store to candy, swung on the swings, went on a pirate hunt and collected leaves, ate, and had a good laugh making up silly nicknames for everyone (like Gogo Butter, and Coco Butt)! Don’t ask me where these words come from- this week you are having a ball making up goofy words!
We came home to have a bath, read books and go to bed. It was an awesome 4 day weekend filled with family and fun. And it was certainly filly with more hugs, kisses and cuddles than normal… and you normally get a lot anyway. I’m nervously anticipating your upcoming first day of preschool and am trying to get in every second of loving that I can!
More on preschool soon… I don’t want to think about it anymore today!
Love you!
Mom
We have been having so much fun this summer and have been so on the go that I have gotten a bit behind on my blogging! No worries! I’m going to get all caught up now and not a miss a beat come September 1st!
So, what did I forget to tell you about in July? A lot, I’m sure! As I am scrolling through my pictures on my phone, I am reminded of all the wonderful, funny things July was filled it.
We spent many weekdays at the pool. You guys are little fish! I can’t believe how much better swimmers you have become over this summer! What started as a deep fear of the big pool at the beginning of the summer, has turned into wildly jumping in on your own and treading water with only the help of your bright pink noodle, and no one else!
You became pros at riding your bikes and can now go around the entire sub! Maddy, your little legs just FLY and you are typically 20 feet ahead of us at all times. Molly, you do great.. but usually 10 houses til home you say you are too tired and want to ditch the bike. Usually, a promise of a snack when we get home keeps those feet going 🙂
Molly, you continued your love for Simba and the Lion King. More recently, you became OBSESSED with Jackson. That’s all you talk about. In fact, you ARE baby Jackson. I have to call you “baby Jackson”, you only want to eat “baby Jackson food”, and wear “baby Jackson clothes”, and so on.. and so on.. and so on. It doesn’t end. I must say, I am just as excited as the next person to meet baby Jackson, but gosh, can we give it a rest for just a day! 😉
Maddy, you were given you first make up kit from JoJo and you LOVE it. You love having rosy cheeks. You are ever so girly and love dressing up, sparkles, and can’t go a day with chipped nail polish.
We’ve gone to countless birthday parties, the beach, the zoo, graduation parties, played with neighbors, hung out with friends. Daddy barbeques every weekend and you both LOVE fish. Mommy has never tried it. Gaga and Pop Pop took you to your very first MOVIE!! You sat through the entire thing and were such good girls! Mommy and Daddy took you to your second in 3D! You didn’t sit through the entire thing and we left a bit early, after you tricked me into taking you to the bathroom about 14 times and wouldn’t stay in your seat!
Mommy and Daddy took you to your first Tigers game and we had an awesome time! Uncle Nick gave us the tickets and, fittingly, they played the Twins! Daddy was sure you had your first ballpark hotdog.
You had a playdate with your good friend Carley and I tried to sneak away while you guys played so nicely in Maddy’s room. Until I heard Maddy say, “good job, Carley!” and Molly respond with, “yeah! You paint my nails too!” UM… PAINT NAILS?! Yup… busted you three girls with three open bottles of nail polish, painting each others nails on my carpet. Miraculously there was not a single drip anywhere but your nails!
You conquered vacation Bible School; you had a sleepover with Lauren. You spent countless days at Nana’s and made her walk with you to the corner store to buy candy too many times on way too hot days. We spent many rainy days in our pajamas the entire day just being lazy. You helped me cook dinner almost every night and now have come to the habit of having your own salad with every dinner. Your speech has grown so much and you have grown up before my eyes. We had a wonderful July! Enjoy the gallery of some of my favorite July memories!
I love you!
Mom
Hello my lovely babies,
So, picture this. This morning I wake up to the sound of you getting out of bed. I peered out my door as I see you hold hands and walk into your playroom. I listened as you played and giggled hysterically together. I sat here for 10 minutes thinking of how awesome your laughter is, how wonderful it is to have a twin, how the best way to wake up is to the sound of your giggles… All these warm and cuddly thoughts.
Then, I walked into the playroom, my heart full of love, to go check on you and see hat all the laughter was about. This is what I found:
Really. This isn’t a joke.
I was so shocked, I didn’t even know what to say. When you noticed my presence, one of you said “Look, Mom! We’re bears!”.
I actually just walked out of the room. I went downstairs and got a drink. I had to collect my thoughts. I truly didn’t know whether to laugh or be mad. I went back upstairs and said, “GIRLS! Come here, NOW!”.
You attempted to hide for a moment, and then came, very slowly, to meet me in the hallway. You clearly knew you were in trouble- hence the look on your faces in the above photo. We proceeded to have a very long conversation about how bad that was, how we only draw on paper, and what would happen if you did it again. We FaceTimed Gaga so you could see her disappointment too. We tried Dad, but he was busy at work and didn’t answer. We then went straight to the bath- no toys, just a lot of scrubbing. And then I made you sit in the playroom and watch as I cleaned every inch of the walls. You could hear Dora in the room over and wanted to badly to go watch cartoons, but you had to sit and watch.
You felt so bad that when we met Gaga at the pool later, you wouldn’t even look at her when we walked in. You were ashamed. But, of course that only lasted a minute before you were in Gaga’s lap.
Honestly, as bad as this was- this picture is hilarious. And the utter shock I felt when I walked into that playroom was quite comical too. I mean it was everywhere- the windows, closet, electrical outlets, every single wall, ever inch of your body… but I couldn’t help to fight to hold back my “omg’s” and laughter. I mean, come on- how insane is this picture?!
Thank goodness Crayola markers really are washable. And thank goodness you girls are so darn cute!!
And for anyone wondering- a mixture of water and a bit of vinegar wiped all the walls clean! 🙂
I love you always,
Mom.
Dear Molly and Maddy,
What a week! Monday-Thursday you went to Vacation Bible School! I was really excited to sign you up for it- I thought it would be great practice for preschool and it also at the same place where Gaga, Jojo and Uncle Doug went to school, and where I had attended Vacation Bible school when I was little! I was anticipating that it might be a little difficult for you the first couple days. But what I was not anticipating was how difficult it would be for ME!
On Sunday night, I could not fall asleep! I have basically been with you guys 24 hours a day since the day you born (of course, you go to family’s houses sometimes.. but you know what I mean). You’ve never stepped foot into a daycare or had to be dropped off anywhere. I am used to knowing every single thing you do in a day. When I realized that I would be dropping you off at this school, with people you don’t know, and a teacher who is probably in charge of 20 other kids too, terrified me! What if they couldn’t understand what you were saying? What if you were too scared to ask them to go to the bathroom and had an accident? What if another kid was mean to you? What if you cried for me the entire time?!
I eventually feel asleep and my alarm went off in the morning, I felt like my heart was in my stomach! But, I quietly went downstairs and made you breakfast. I woke you guys up and carried you back downstairs and sat you at the table. You gobbled up your cereal and drank your orange juice. I had already laid out your clothes the night before- they were waiting for us on the kitchen table. So, we got your dressed, did your hair… and we were ready to go. Daddy had actually gone into work for a few hours on Saturday to get some things done so he could come with me to drop you off! So, the 4 of us headed out the door.
I pumped you guys up the whole way there, talking about all the cool things you would do. We signed you in, and walked into the gym with you. We were actually quite early so we hung out and looked around and you guys seemed to get pretty excited! When all the kids started arriving, you girls gave us hugs and kisses and, Molly, you said “okay, mom! leave now! bye!”.
What?! Umm.. okay. So, your Dad and I watched as you walked in and sat in the gym with all the other kids. Neither of us really wanted to leave- and we stood there for another 5 minutes watching to makes sure you were okay. You didn’t look back, you were taking in all of your surrounds, so we finally decided we should go. And we did. Dad went to work, and I started to drive home. My plan was to clean the house and take a shower and go back to pick you up. On the way home, my stomach hurt so bad! I got home and felt lost! I had to pep talk myself into getting up and cleaning so I could go back and get you. I had thrown in laundry, prepared dinner, cleaned the house, taken a shower and stopped at the post office and it still wasn’t 12:00 yet! Ugh… I missed my babies! Finally, it was time to get you!
When I got there, a woman came right up to me and said, “oh my gosh!” As I looked at her quizzically, she went on to tell me how they almost called because you both were screaming and crying so hard after I left. Ugh! My heart sank when I heard that! I guess, eventually you had calmed down when the pastors wife, Lisa, came over to talk to you. You stayed attached to her the rest of the time!
Needless to say, on Tuesday I was not looking forward to dropping you off. But, I knew I had to help you guys conquer this. You are big, brave girls now and you have each other. In just a few weeks you will be going to preschool and, as much as I don’t want you to, you need to become a bit more independent from me. Tuesday was a little better. We talked about it on the way there and you guys said if you could take your favorite stuffed animals in then you wouldn’t cry. Molly, you took Simba and Maddy, you took Nala. Molly- you held your Simba tight and walked right in! Maddy- you not so much. You were glued to my leg and crying. Do you have any idea how hard that was for me?! Miss Lisa came over and picked you up, and I gave you a kiss and left. HARDEST THING EVER! Wednesday was slightly better- you cried just a little but recovered quickly. And Thursday- guess what? NO CRYING! Maddy, you were about to, but Molly came over to you and said “Come on, sissy. Hold my hand”. You guys grabbed hands and walked in together. And that was it!
When I picked you up on Thursday, we enjoyed a little concert and an ice cream social. You got to bring home all the special projects you made all week. Oh, I should mention, although dropping you off was hard- I can’t believe how you acted when I came to pick you up each day. You did not come running to me. You did not even want to leave! I guess it wasn’t me being gone, it was just me leaving that was hard. But, I guess you got over that quickly!
All and all, it was a major success. You got a little taste of being away from me and know that I will always pick you up. You got to socialize with other kids your age, make lots of fun crafts and learn about God. Hopefully, this will have been good preparation for preschool… which, I must admit, I am NOT looking forward to. What am I going to do all day?! I can’t believe how quickly you are growing up. I wish you were still my babies! But, you are growing into two of the most beautiful, smartest, funniest little girls and I am excited to see what each new stage brings.
I love you!
Mom
Hi loves!
Next week you will be going to vacation bible school! It will be the first time that I drop you off somewhere (other than family’s houses) and LEAVE! All 3 of us are pretty nervous!! You girls will be starting preschool in the fall and you both are unsure about the idea of me not being there. I thought a few days of vacation bible school would be a good practice! So, I found out that St. Paul’s offers a program for 3 year olds. This is where Gaga, Jojo and Uncle Doug went to school and I went to vacation bible school there when I was little too! I have been trying to pump you up about it all week!
You still aren’t quite convinced you want to do this (even with bribes of new shoes and backpacks) so I thought we would check it out today! This morning, we drove over there and went inside so you could see what it looks like. One of the teachers came out and chatted with us. She told us about all the cool things you would do and she happened to be a twin too! When she came over to talk to us, Maddy, you grabbed onto me so tight, covered your face and almost began crying. And that is when the cutest thing ever happened. Molly, you told her, “it’s okay Maddy. Me be here with you.”
My heart melted. And then we talked about how lucky you guys are to have a sister, and that not everyone gets to go to school with their sister, and how if one of you gets nervous or scared you can just give your sister a big hug and kiss. And then you practiced by giving each other a hundred hugs and kisses! You guys are seriously the best!
After checking out the school, we hung out at Nana’s for awhile. Then, Lauren took you to Gaga’s while I went to a hair appointment. Gaga dropped you off just in time for a yummy dinner and bike ride around the sub! You girls are becoming AWESOME bike riders! Maddy, you are crazy fast and make it all the way around. Molly, you stop every 5 seconds to “put gas in your bike” and seem to tire out 3/4 of the way through. It’s a long ways though, so I don’t blame you. I am so proud of you both and can’t believe you can ride your own bikes so good!
Love you!!
Mom
Dear Molly and Maddy 