Wednesday, November 30, 2011

I am amazed...

 It's been a long time since I've blogged. Too long - not necessarily because of all those waiting eagerly for updates (all 4 of you?), but because I feel like I am letting so much be forgotten and I can never those little moments back.



Natalie and Abby are my absolute joy. I never cease to be amazed every day at the adorable things they do, how smart they are, how funny they are and well, how amazing they are. I could be biased about that though:-)


Who needs toys when you have a really big box?
Pretending to be cats curled up in the box


I think what mesmerizes me most about Natalie and Abby is their incredible curiosity about everything. They love to learn about everything around them. Natalie and Abby love books and we read on a variety of subjects: dinosaurs (a current favorite), cats, dolphins, whales, sharks, Bible stories, fiction stories, princess stories, Highlights magazine, the human body, illnesses, castles...everything. Obviously, animals of any kind are a favorite subject - especially babies and mommies.

Wait!  We need toys!
I am also always amazed by how much Natalie and Abby absorb from the world around them from books, tv, and their environment. One day, Abby excitedly informed me, "we are investigating the dark". I think this is the influence of Dino Dan on Nick Jr. Dan is a young boy who sees dinosaurs and spends his days "investigating" and learning about them. Dan is also the source of their current dinosaur obsession, and along with supplemental books and a little teaching from mommy and daddy, has also influenced their vocabulary with words like carnivore, herbivore, omnivore, as well as a number of dinosaurs I can barely pronounce.

From Sesame Street they have learned about experiments thanks to the Three Little Pigs and their attempts to determine the best building materials to thwart the Big Bad Wolf. Last week I was cleaning the garage and I had a fan on. When they noticed a plastic bag blowing around they gathered up a few items to test (like the Little Pigs) to see what would stand up against the fan. (Plastic bags = no. Pieces of wood = yes)

Possibly riding on a boat to escape the sharks
In another example, a few days ago Abby can running excitedly to get me to come see an experiment she had set up. She kept saying, "the paper doesn't move, the paper doesn't move". She had made a little track on 8x10 pieces of paper overlapping to run her little cars over. She was so excited that she could run the cars over the paper without it moving. She kept saying, "I thought the paper would move, I thought it would move!". I asked her if her hypothesis was that the paper would move. She said yes, and then she said, "my hypothesis was wrong!" I was so proud.


Roasting marshmellows (packing peanuts)
In addition to curiosity about everything, the depths of their imaginations knows no end.  They can turn anything into a toy, game or moment of extreme excitement, ie: hurry, Abby, there's a shark coming!  They love to re-create moments of their own life (camping) or things they've seen on tv.  They also re-enact books like The Good Samaritan or Bambi.  They are still very much into their "babies" both doll-like and stuffed animal.  Dolly the Horse (a 4 foot tall Christmas present from Grammy last year) is still a huge hit (who knew?)  Dolly and her friends, Strawberry and Blueberry are well fed and cared for.  Dolly, though, does have a propensity for attracting predators and has suffered a number of injuries from hyenas and other pesky creatures which requires intensive medical veterinarian care.

With Natalie, I am always amazed at how sweet and thoughtful she is. She is so sensitive, especially to Abby. When Abby was a little sick last week, Natalie disappeared into the playroom and returned with a little flower she had made for Abby. She gave it to her to help her feel better. It was precious. She is always aware of Abby, and if she can't find her, she will ask, "where's Abby?" Early one morning, after she had climbed into our bed during the night, she woke up, and wanted to know where Abby was. We told her Abby was in her bed, in their room. She wanted to go back to her bed to be near Abby.


Natalie headed out on a little trip:-)
Natalie also loves her tricycle and rides it around the house relentlessly. She started out only riding it back in forth in the hall on the hard floor. Now, she can ride it all the way around the house in a circle across the carpet. Abby, who until recently refused to ride the bike, also rides it around "the circle". But, it's not simple bike riding. Natalie will often dress up as a princess with her crown, put a baby (or two) in the bike basket and away she'll go! She gets so, so excited and loves it so much. Just today she said, "when I ride by bike so fast it feels like I'm flying!"

Outdoor Fun


 They love their swing set and make-shift climbing wall.






Abby is VERY proud of the sunflower seeds she planted

Rock painting













Dressing up is so much fun!

Abby
Natalie at Kidzu Museum in Chapel Hill








Natalie and Abby
Natalie
Abby



Sunday, October 23, 2011

Where to start...

Goodness, where do I even start to catch you all up on everything Natalie and Abby have been up to over the summer and this fall? Time has flown by SO fast and I can't believe they are already approaching 4.5 years old.

They are growing up so quickly and I confess, I really, really hate it. I really just want them to stay just they way they are - forever. I love this age and every day I feel like it is slipping away too fast. Every night I go to sleep feeling like I have failed as a parent and haven't spent enough time with them or taught them enough or been gentle enough or yelled too much. Every night I pledge to do better the next day, and then at night, I start the cycle over again.


But, Natalie and Abby are joyous children. They are full of laughter and smiles. They spend hours playing and making up games. They are curious and love to explore the world. They are generous with hugs, kisses, and "I love yous". And, then, yesterday, while Ben and I were painting the shutters of our house, the girls were playing a game and Abby led Natalie to sit down on one of the tarps on the ground. She then proceeded to lead her in a prayer. "Now, first you say, Dear God", and Natalie would say, "dear God". It went on and on with Abby saying a phrase and Natalie repeating it. I don't know what all they said; some of it didn't make any sense, but they were saying thank you for something, and well, they were praying.

In the end, I guess we are doing something right after all.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Happy Birthday Natalie and Abby!

Well, this is only 2.5 months late, but I still wanted to get the birthday post out there for all to see.

It's been 4 years! FOUR YEARS!! I can't believe it. It's absolutely incredible that we have come from this....
Natalie Kimberly 1#5oz, 604 grams, 11.5 inches

Abigail Elianna 1#13.5oz 840grams 12.5 inches


to this!

Abby and Natalie

The girls had a relatively low key birthday, but full of activity. Their birthday was Sunday, May 15, but because of a ballet recital, we had their little party on Saturday.

As in the past two years, it was simple and really just family. Although, this year, I'm thrilled to report that the girls actually have a little friend that we were able to invite. Since meeting at Little Gym last summer, Kenan, Natalie and Abby have been bosom buddies and have enjoyed many a play date between Kenan's house and ours. Her mom, Regan, and I have become close friends which has been wonderful for me as well.

Since Natalie and Abby are all about princesses these days, it was only fitting we had a princess party!

Introducing...the three pretty, pretty princesses!




A great shot of Princess Abby

Our Princess party included a Princess Pinata






great gifts (and thank you hugs)




And, absolutely amazing Princess cakes courtesy of Grammy (my mom)! She did an incredibly job on Snow White (for Natalie) and Aurora aka Sleeping Beauty (for Abby). In Natalie's words, "wow!"

No birthday would be complete without a shot of the little sleeping twins that graced the cake at my baby shower.




Family picture


When it comes to chocolate, the girls are very serious!








Yaya and Grandpa enjoying some cake!

I love this picture of Ben and his family


The girls really enjoyed their party and loved playing Princess with Kenan and all our family. We are so blessed to have so many people who love them so much.

These are the "semi-official" 4 year old pictures - taken on their birthday.

Natalie
Abby
Sisters and Friends Forever


A few more Birthday Day Pictures!


Natalie


Abby



Happy Birthday Natalie and Abby!
We love you so much!