My Girls: Twice The Fun

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

spring update

We've been having a fun spring so far. Olivia & Violet loved Easter this year. They kept asking when the Easter Bunny was going to come. We spent Easter Saturday at Jamie's parent's house. The girls had fun dyeing eggs, going on an egg hunt and spending time with their cousins. We spent Easter Sunday with my family at my sister Nikki's house. It was great to see all of the cousins play together. Olivia loved her Easter basket and was very excited about the underwear she got from the bunny. Violet didn't care at all about her basket. After she found it, she left it on the ground and went searching for more plastic eggs instead. Olivia and Violet have been sorting and re-sorting their Easter treats ever since Easter weekend. The treats have been sorted by color, then by type, then stored back in the plastic eggs, then into baggies....I didn't know there were so many options.

Dyeing eggs

Olivia: I found one!

Violet on an egg hunt

Suchy Cousins

Violet & Olivia on Easter Sunday

Thronson Cousins

Olivia & Violet with Grandpa & Granny

It has been such a beautiful spring that we've been spending a lot of time outside already. The girls love riding bike and are now learning to ride without training wheels. It was strange to spend a day raking leaves in March, but the weather was so wonderful that it felt like fall. The girls had a blast playing in the leaves!

Olivia and Violet also participated in a Little Sportster class run by the City of Plymouth. They met once a week for four weeks and played a variety of sports including soccer, kickball, floor hockey and some common kids games. The class was held at the high school near our house, so we would ride bike to and from class which was really nice. They really enjoyed the class and are sad that it is over!

Olivia playing kickball

Violet (with foot on the ball) practicing her soccer skills

Olivia & Violet are also still participating in swimming lessons. They just moved up to the next level and absolutely LOVE it. They swim around with big smiles on their faces the entire time. They are starting to learn how to swim without a flotation device, so hopefully it won't be long before they can swim on their own. One of their favorite things to do is jump off the diving board. They usually get to do this at the end of each lesson.

Olivia jumping off the diving board

Violet getting ready to jump off the diving board

Thursday, March 8, 2012

update

My mother pointed out that it has been awhile since I posted an update, so here goes! J

In January, we went to the play “Harold & The Purple Crayon” at the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis. The play is based on the book with the same title, which we have read with the girls many times. Olivia & Violet were excited to see the play and sat very well during the whole thing. They really enjoyed it and said they would like to go again sometime!

Waiting for the play to begin

In January, they also had a play date with their friend Sylvia from daycare. This was the first time that we’ve had a non-relative come to our house for the afternoon and play. All three girls were very good and had a great time together! They definitely kept each other occupied, so Jamie & I felt like we actually had some free time.

The end of February brought some snow (finally), so the girls really enjoyed being outside. They went sledding with Daddy a few times and had a blast. They loved to roll around in the snow. When they came in the house, they were usually dripping wet but had big smiles across their rosy cheeks.

Last weekend, the girls and I went to “Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream” with my sister Terri. This show was all about Disney princesses, so of course the girls loved it. They wore their princess shirts and crowns to the show, and sat in awe through most of the performance. They knew a lot of the songs and would occasionally yell out character’s names as they appeared. Tiana, Cinderella and Rapunzel were the featured stories, but at the end, all of the main princesses made an appearance with Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy. The girls called it the “Princesses on Ice Skates” show, and as we left, they asked if we could see it again the next day.

Ready for the "Princesses on Ice Skates" show

Fun with Auntie Terri

Finale with all of the princesses

They are both still in swimming lessons and really LOVE it. They know that Wednesday’s mean swimming after daycare. Olivia is usually more daring, and loves to jump off the diving board and off the side of the pool. She actually gets some air time before landing in the water. Violet is a little more hesitant and sometimes doesn’t want to jump off the diving board, but they both love swimming the length of the pool with permanent smiles on their faces. It is also fun to watch them encourage each other when they are learning strokes individually with their teacher. They have swam a few feet without a flotation device, usually with sister cheering for them.

Olivia getting ready to jump off the diving board

Violet getting ready to jump off the diving board

The past few months have also brought its share of challenges. Olivia has been a spitfire lately. She challenges everything we ask her to do, doesn't always share nicely with her friends and sister, and is very emotional. However, there are times where she is her usual sweet self. We are hoping this is just a phase that we can work through. On the other hand, Violet has been easygoing and does a pretty good job of listening and being considerate. She has really matured and does a great job of doing her best every day. It is challenging for us to manage their different personalities and still give them both the positive attention they deserve; we truly love them both for who they are and want them to know that.

Monday, January 9, 2012

christmas fun

We really enjoyed the Christmas season this year. My parents came down to our house and spent Christmas Eve & Christmas Day with us. On Christmas Eve morning, we went to downtown Macy's for the "Day in the Life of an Elf" display. The display shows a typical day in the life of an elf, which involves sleeping, eating, going to school, doing laundry, visiting the singing tree forest, watching the reindeer, baking and collecting mail. Olivia & Violet loved it this year, and it was nice to see that parts of the display were different than the year before even though the theme was the same. The girls were thrilled to see Santa at the end. They walked right up to him, sat in his lap, and talked to him for quite awhile. Santa talked so quiet that I couldn't hear what they were saying, but Olivia asked for a princess computer and Violet asked for a Cinderella carriage.

We went to church on Christmas Eve afternoon, and then ate a nice meal at home. The girls were of course eager to open presents, but they had to wait until we cleaned up all the dishes. They did a great job taking turns opening presents. Their favorite gifts were their large princess activity pads, roller skates, doctor kit and tea set.

They also left milk and cookies for Santa. They were so excited the next morning when they woke up and found their stockings! Santa also ate most of the cookies (he must have been full), drank his milk, and left a mess of ashes by the fireplace. They must have been good girls because they both got what they asked for! That night, we drove around and looked at Christmas lights in the neighborhood. I remember doing that when I was young so it was fun to see that tradition continue.

Visiting Santa at Macy's

Santa came!!

Violet and her Cinderella carriage

Olivia and her princess computer

We celebrated with the Thronson family on New Years weekend. The tradition that Olivia & Violet remembered the most from the year before was jumping on Granny's mattress. They brought it up as soon as we were on the way to their house! We had our Christmas celebration on Friday, December 30th. Olivia & Violet had a blast with their cousins. They sat at their own kids table, sang a few Christmas songs before opening presents, and of course mattress jumped. Maya did a great job reading the Christmas story this year. We also managed to get a decent picture of all the cousins. Usually this is a challenge, but I can tell they are all getting older and therefore more cooperative!!!

We all stayed overnight and spent all day Saturday at the farm. The weather was just beautiful. The guys cleared off the slough and the kids went sledding and skating. It was Olivia and Violet's first time on ice skates. They only kept them on for a short time, but they were able to "skate" around with help. They really enjoyed it! Jamie built a "jump" for the kids to sled off of. They all thought it was a blast. The weather was so nice that we were outside for a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the afternoon. We had a fun, relaxing day!

Olivia & Violet

Cousins: Olivia (4), Violet (4), William (2), Owen (2), Alex (6), Evan (4), Emma (6), Noelle (4 months), Maya (8)

Cousins singing Christmas songs

Favorite tradition: jumping on Granny's mattress

Violet ice skating for the first time

Olivia ice skating for the first time

Sledding off Daddy's jump

We celebrated with Suchy's this past weekend. Jamie's Dad was in the hospital unexpectedly so we had to push back our family celebration a week later than planned, but it all worked out. We had a big, delicious meal at noon on Saturday. Afterward, we took our time opening presents. The kids went first, so to occupy them while the adults were opening gifts, we gave them a big box full of packing peanuts. Olivia, Violet and Claire had a blast throwing them up in the air; however, they made quite a mess!! In the evening, we played cards. We taught Nicholas and Chelsey how to play whist. It was so much fun!

The next morning, Santa had visited Grandpa & Grandma's house and filled their stocking. The girls couldn't believe he knew where they were!!

Olivia & Violet really enjoyed the Christmas season this year. They loved driving around looking at lights, opening presents, and singing Christmas songs. They also participated in a church program and said that we celebrate Christmas because it is Jesus's birthday. It was really fun to see them enjoy their time with family!!