Our Sweet Ellie

I am still having a hard time believing that my girls are 2!  I thought I would write a little about each of them individually, starting with my first born, Elizabeth Jane. 
Likes/Loves:
-Peppa Pig.  This is a British cartoon about a Family of pigs.  I am not sure why she loves it so much, but it is a welcomed change after Yo Gabba Gabba for so long.  These pigs are a very polite and loving family.  Plus it is pretty funny to hear Ellie occasionally say things with a British accent! :)
-beans.  One of her favorite foods is beans.  Pinto and black beans are what she likes best.  She actually likes them more than dessert!
-being girly.  Ellie loves feeling pretty.  She loves new clothes, shiny shoes, bows, necklaces, bracelets, especially mommy's purse and lip gloss.
-being a little mommy.  She loves her baby dolls and doing things just like mommy.  She is a great helper and wants to help me unload the dish washer and put clothes in the drier.

Things that are Not her favorite:
-being pestered by Kate
-when the dogs steal her snacks
-all veggies except for peas and beans
-peanut butter sandwiches

When we went for Ellie and Kate's 2 year old check-up our pediatrician was impressed with Ellie's verbal skills and said she was closer to the articulation of a 3 year old.  She does a really good job of listening to me and speaks in little sentences all the time.  Here are a few of the cute things she is saying:

-Watch the Peppa pig show please.  (I hear this one all the time, she brings me the remote when she asks.)
-Mommy/Daddy, where are you? (when one of us goes upstairs)
-Kate is "Tate" and cat is "titty tat"
-ready, steady, go! (this was learned from peppa)
-mmmm, licious (when she thinks something is delicious)
-she can count to 10 but skips 5
-she sings her version of the ABCs

And here are a few pictures from the day my sweet baby girls were born.

The first time in mommy's arms.

Snuggled up with Kate at 1 day old.

Dressed to leave the hospital.  Swimming in the newborn size clothes.



And here are just a few of my favorites from the past 2 years.

All dressed up for her first birthday party.

delicious oreo

chewing a straw like daddy

Just up from a nap

tasty toes

sleeping beauty

my serious girl

carrying her 'baby' in the sling

2 years old

 Ellie is usually very shy and serious.  She takes some time to warm up to new people and places.  She loves to sit on Mommy or Daddy's lap and snuggle or read books.  Ellie is sweet and gentle most of the time, but can still throw a mean temper tantrum.  We love her so much and smile everyday at something she says or does.  Happy second birthday Ellie!

Our Two, Two Year Olds

Ellie and Kate turned 2 today!  I just wanted to do a quick post today and I will add more soon.  Yesterday the girls went for their Two-Year well visit at the doctor. 
Here are their Stats:

Ellie
35in  tall (80%)
28lb  (75%)

Kate
34.5in tall (70%)
26lb (55%)

Our pediatrician told us about an interesting wive's tale.  She said that if you double your child's height at the age of 2 you get their projected adult height.  That would make Ellie 5'10" and Kate 5'9".  It is just a wive's tale, but I thought it was interesting.  We will just have to wait and see :)

So that was yesterday and today we decided to take the family to the grapevine aquarium.  This was our first outing where we decided to go without a stroller.  It was a little crazy, but luckily it was not crowded and I think Kate and Ellie had fun.  They ask that you not use your flash because the fish don't like it so I didn't get many photos, but here are a few.

On our way to Grapevine, don't they look thrilled?

This is the face I get when I ask Kate to smile.

Neither one of them was quite sure about walking 'on the fish', it seemed safer to crawl??

After lunch, a woredrobe change and a pretty long nap, we opened birthday cards from Grammie & Grandpa, Grandma & Grandpa, and the great-grandparents.

They were happy to find some surprise stickers in their cards! :)

So that is it for today.  I will most likely be adding a few more birthday posts after their party when I get some more free time.

Preschool

I have been meaning to write about Ellie and Kate's first day of preschool.  They have now gone four times, so I guess it is time to fill you in on how it has been going.  Their first day was August 30, they go every Tuesday from 9am to 2pm.  I had mixed emotions about sending my babies the first day.  It was hard to imagine spending 5 hours without them, but I knew it would be good for them, and good for Jack and me to spend some one on one time together.  So Monday night was spent packing lunches, labeling blankies, preparing nap mats and backpacks, and laying out 'first day of school' outfits.  Todd went in to work late that day so we could take them together for their first day.  After 4 weeks, and doing as much as I can the night before, it still takes over an hour to get everyone up, fed, dressed, and into the car.  I had great plans to get a bunch of pictures, but these were the only decent ones I had time to get.

 

Once we got to school, we put their belongings in their bin and waved bye-bye.  Here are their little back-pack bins.  (Ellie even found the one with her name!)

 Ellie was a little unsure about things and I think Kate was just eager to play with all the new things.  They both fussed a little when we dropped them off, but I think I was more upset than they were.  I felt like I had tricked them.  I have never dropped them off anywhere and then left.  I really don't think they understood what was going on that first day, but now they sure do.  When I came to pick them up, I was so happy to see them!  I got two big hugs and smiles ear to ear.  Once we were in the car driving home, I asked the girls if they had fun at school.  Ellie just gave me a look like, you better not leave me there again, but Kate exclaimed, "happy school! Happy school!"  So I know someone had a good time :)  Drop off the second week was much harder than the first!  I didn't have Todd with me, so I put Kate and Ellie in the double stroller, hook two back-packs, two lunch boxes, and two nap mats on to the stroller handles and strap Jack into the baby bjorn.  I get all kinds of looks and have to open both of the double doors to get into the building.  All the while Kate is crying for her blankie and Ellie is saying, "No school, no school".  It is very sad.  But on both the first and second day I called the school's director about a half hour after drop off and she checked on them and said they were happily participating.  So I know they are having fun, socializing and learning so much!  Each week they do circle time, arts and crafts, music class, chapel, and romp (in-door play area).  We get newsletters telling us about the curriculum.  They list books and topics and the color, shape, and letter they are currently working on.  Here are some of their art projects:

Can you tell how much they enjoyed the hats?

Ellie actually wore her hat to bed and I had to sneak in and get it after she fell asleep.

They made these fall trees by stamping a balloon in paint.  How fun! 

Glitter names.  These are on the fridge and they love pointing to their 'shiny name' as they call it.

So that is the update on Preschool for now.  Each week they get a little better about not crying when I drop them off.  This last Tuesday, as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, Ellie started saying, "no school, go to Target".  Apparently I take the girls there a little too often :)

Perfect Day for the Park

Well the weather finally cooled down this weekend, and with a forcasted high of 85 today, we couldn't resist heading to the park.  The kids haven't been feeling 100% and they all have a runny nose, but everyone seemed to enjoy getting out of the house and being outdoors.  I cannot wait for fall and more days like this!

I had to post this one mostly because Ellie's hair has finally started growing!