Lubs to snuddle

Last weekend we went to Oktoberfest at Snowbird. I think it's strange to be holding this event in AUGUST, but it was the perfect time to be up the canyon. After several meltdowns in the parking lot over having to walk, and who gets to hold mom's hand, and who gets to have a turn being carried by mom, the girls cheered up when daddy bought them a bag of popcorn. They were so cute sharing with each other and walking around with their balloons. Kennedy asked for a pink poodle and Macy wanted a butterfly. Unfortunately Macy wasn't very careful with hers, and as she said on the ride home, "it popped seven times!" They were good sports about not doing any of the activities and settled for our non-German lunch of popcorn and garlic fries. And thankfully they were both willing to let dad carry them back to the car. We'll have to go back up again before it's over and have a more authentic experience.

Macy really does love her big sister. It's a toss up to see if she'll run to give me or Kennedy a hug first when we come to get her after school. Yesterday in the car on the way home from Grandma Sue's she said, "Tennedy, you're my special friend. I lubs you very much!"

At night, Macy is especially sweet. She loves to give hugs and kisses to everyone. Multiple times. There's always "Hug and tiss! (said with outstretched arms and a huge smile)...Just one more hug...And now a tiss...And another hug!" She wraps her little arms around my neck and presses her cheek against mine as tight as she can. It can be tough to get her to let go! Every night around 2:00a.m. when she climbs into bed to "snuddle" with me, I get the same big hug, and that's how she wants to fall asleep. I feel so happy and peaceful when she melts into me like that, but after about two minutes it's also quite uncomfortable. I'm not much of a snuggler, and it gets way too hot and crowded in our bed!

I think Macy's affectionate nature has rubbed off on Kennedy. She was never interested in a cuddle unless she was sick - until Macy came along and Kennedy saw how much attention she gets with all her hugging and kissing. I'm just happy to have two of them to give loves to!

Day two

Macy wasn't quite as eager to be left in the classroom today. She was excited to go to school, but I could hear her crying for me after said I goodbye and closed the door.

Kennedy was also a bit reluctant to head down to her classroom. I left her reading books on the couch with Lucy and her mom, and it seems like maybe the things from yesterday will be forgiven quickly. Kennedy reported after school that luckily there was no more teasing today.

Kennedy asked to have her hair curled in socks last night.

She's so adorable, I just don't know how anyone could call this sweet girl names!

Macy got the sponge roller curls for the first day, so it was pig tails for day two. I wasn't sure that I'd be interested in or any good at doing hair, but I love it! It's fun to try them in lots of different styles - I'm also fine with leaving it a tangled mess, as they prefer on the weekends. Maybe there's hope that I can learn to get excited by shoes, clothes, shopping, makeup, and other girlie things?

Back to school

The lazy days of summer are over. It's back to school today! That means we need to get back to routine, structure, and order in our lives. And no more excuses, I need to get back to blogging.

I wish I had gotten up early enough to get started on the right foot. Unfortunately, our morning was chaos. I'm blaming it on the rough night we all had, which meant I couldn't get out of bed when the alarm went off. Kennedy slipped into bed with us as some point during the night. I carried her back to her own bed when I finally noticed. A while later Macy climbed in, also unnoticed until I got up to go to the bathroom. When I came back there was no space for me, so I got in bed with Kennedy. An unpleasant shock - Macy had spilled her water bottle, so her side of the bed and blankets were all wet. I found a semi-dry spot and curled up, but when Jake and Macy woke up an hour later, Macy came and got right back into her bed with Kennedy and me. After that I had to hurry to get all three of us ready. The unwashed dishes and spilled bowl of Cheerios will just have to wait until we get home this afternoon.

After the mad rush we barely made it on time for Macy's 8:30 class. I wanted to get a picture of the two of them outside the school, but it seemed more important to be on time for her first day. She was so excited to go in and get right to work. It was nearly impossible to drag her away from the classroom when we visited yesterday for the open house.

She loved the "castle" and the playground, and she walked right up and gave her teacher, Ms. Nanette a hug! No worries about this girl having any separation anxiety. Today she marched into the classroom after a very brief goodbye, and the drop off was tear-free for me, too! I cried all the way to work when I took Kennedy to her first day of school. It was just such a big milestone. Sure it's big for Macy, but now I know what to expect. I love this school and I love the teachers. I'm excited for her to start having her own learning experiences and make her own friends (I really hope those friends include Mae Mae's litter sister, Caitrin, and Lucy's little brother, Wilkes, who are also in the Suns class!)

Kennedy and I had some time before her class started at 9:00, so we took a few pictures outside and read books with Lucy and her mom, Shelby, in the lobby.

Kennedy wasn't quite as excited as Macy had been to go into her classroom, but I know she's thrilled to be back. She loved showing Macy around the Purple classroom yesterday at the open house.

Pamp took this picture of Macy when he picked her up.

Macy's teacher said that she did great, and Macy reported that her own favorite part of the day was "going up and down the slide." The only problem? She came home in the wrong pair of shoes. It was an easy mistake to make because my dad didn't see what she was wearing in the morning, and she has some pink Keen sandals just like the ones she wore home. Sorry to the child that had to leave school barefoot!

Kennedy did not have such a great first day. She told us that her friends, Lucy and Mae Mae, had been calling her names like poo-poo-head, doo-doo-head, and tu-tu-head. It really hurt her feelings. So much that she didn't want to go to school the next day. She was thinking of alternate plans like going to Grandma Sue's or Pamp's, or just staying home because she has a cold, which unfortunately seems to be true (I think she must have caught something on Sunday when she had the get-together with her friends). It broke my heart! This seems way too young for such teasing. It sounds like Kennedy handled the situation quite well, but we talked about some other things she can do if it happens again. Yesterday at the open house, she and Lucy were best friends. I'm sure no harm was meant. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

Invited to a party

Our neighbor, Nate, just turned three, and the girls were invited to his birthday party. Jake tried to convince them that it was a fancy, pool, costume party, just like in one of their favorite Elephant and Piggie books, but neither one believed him. It was fun for us to socialize with some of the families from our street, and the kids loved playing in Nate's backyard. When it was time for the slip and slide, Kennedy was very excited - that is, until she actually tried it. I guess the water was too cold for her.

Macy was timid around it at first, but once Jake pulled her down the slide, she was loving it!

She splashed and stomped and screamed with delight. In fact, she was the last kid in the water.

Kennedy found that she preferred lying in the sun on her towel and eating watermelon.

We had to leave the celebration a bit early to head out to Beth and Ira's house for a family dinner. Kari and Rainier came to town from Las Vegas for the father's day weekend. It has been great spending time with them - lots of golfing for the boys and pregnancy/baby talk for the girls. After we ate, Beth and I walked around the block with the kids. Macy made several comments about the "castles" in their Herriman neighborhood. Our house just isn't quite as grand as some of these homes. When we got back, the kids got out some toys to play with. Kennedy was having a wonderful time with a princess tea set, lining up all the items and then filling the imaginary cups just so.

Macy loved the Toy Story dolls and was off in her own little world with Buzz, Woody, and Jessie.

Watching them play always brings a smile to my face. They are both just so darn cute! We're all excited for a new BOY cousin to join the family this fall! The Pioquintos left with a car full of baby gear from Beth and a few things we were able to squeeze in. We can't wait to see them again in August for the camp-out and a baby shower!

So lucky to have a sister

Today at work I was reminded of a funny story (by a co-worker whose wife just had their second baby) about Kennedy adjusting to the role of big sister. The first time I brought Macy in to introduce her to the office, someone asked Kennedy how she liked having a new baby around. She answered, "Pretty good, but she keeps me up at night!"

Well, they still keep each other up at night. I guess that's inevitable when they share a room - and a bed! Last night neither one was especially tired at bedtime. I read lots of stories, put on music, and tucked them in. Then I went outside to fold the laundry on the clothes line and keep Jake company while he washed his motorcycle. When we came back in to watch TV, Kennedy came downstairs, followed by Macy, saying that they couldn't sleep. So, what had they been doing? Cleaning their room! Oh, I love you, girls!

To be honest, I'm always amazed at how well they get along. Of course they have those moments when they fight over a toy, don't agree about what book to read or which CD to listen to at night, or just want to be left alone, but I really do think that they are becoming the best of friends.

Today at the park, Pamp said they were pretending to be pirates. They sang as they marched back and forth across the bridge, and Macy shouted, "Arrrh, I'm a pirate!" Grandma Sue says she thinks Macy is a tomboy. Yes, Macy likes to stomp in every puddle she sees. She loves to dig in the dirt. She pushes her messy hair out of her eyes and is willing to tackle most any new feat. There are times I can see that side of her, but she must be the most fancy and glamorous tomboy ever!

And speaking of dancers

We went to Eliza's final dance concert back in May. She did a great job and she looked like she was having such a fun time performing. Kennedy was watching all the dancers very intently. I think she was dreaming of the day she could be up there dancing. Macy did a good job sitting still, and she sang along when one of the groups did a routine to a song from the movie Tangled. Macy loves to sing and dance - there's no doubt that she's ready for her turn to be on stage. I think we're in for a few more dance recitals. Jake will just have to suffer through it. He's not a fan, but how can you resist when it's your own darling daughters?

Grammie and Pampie got a new scanner, and they sent me this picture. They figured the girls would enjoy seeing their mama in a tutu.

Twinkle Toes

Wow, am I ever behind on blogging. I have recently come to the conclusion that there just aren't enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I want to get done. So, things get neglected, left undone, in various states of disarray and incompleteness. C'est la vie. I'll do my best to do some serious catching up. But first, the current news.

Kennedy started ballet tonight. Her Irish dancing dream was short-lived, but she's been asking to take ballet for quite a while. I found her a pre-ballet/tap class for 3-5 year-olds for the summer. We bought her the uniform of black leotard, pink tights, and ballet slippers. She's been wearing the leotard non-stop since we brought it home. We even checked out some books on ballet from the library, and Kennedy has been trying to copy the poses in the pictures. And then, of course, Macy tries to copy what Kennedy is doing.

All I can post are these pictures from before class started. They don't want parents distracting the students while they learn to dance, but we'll get to see her at the last class. Her report after class: she loved it!