Today, we celebrate the girls' fourth birthday! I can't believe how far we have come. We now have healthy, happy girls! They are at a fun but challenging age. The girls know so much and say so much that amazes me. On the other hand, they test me with their independence and will. Still, every day is an adventure and really fun.
We had the girls birthday party this past weekend. They spent the previous week at Grandma and Papa's having a blast. My friend Allison took great pictures of them for their party. Here are some of the pictures (there are a lot of them).
It was a great party and on a beautiful summer day. The kids just played and played. It was one of the easiest parties ever and fun to have the family there.
Lizzie and Gracie have been enjoying their kiddie pool lately. We have had a hot spring, so we have been out there a lot. The girls love to play with the hose by watering everything, including each other. They take turns so every few minutes, I hear "is it my turn yet, momma?". It reminds me of when my sister and I were little. We loved the summer and playing in the water.
Getting ready to squirt each other
Downward dog in the pool to get her hair wet
We have been going to a preschool yoga class lately and the girls are really into it. They know the sun salutation and can do the whole thing. I will call it out and they will do all the poses. I think their favorite pose is downward dog and any variation. They will get in the pose and then kick one foot up and then the other. Hope they keep up the enjoyment. It makes me happy.
We spent our Memorial Day weekend in Oklahoma with family. On Saturday, we went to the Cowboy Hall of Fame's annual Chuck Wagon event. It was fun. We did a wagon ride, the girls did some crafts, rode a pony, ate some cowboy food and listen to cowboys singing.
On the wagon
Wearing the bandanas that they decorated
Lizzie and Wes riding the pony
Gracie with Grandma
On Sunday, my aunt Betty and cousins' came over for lunch. I finally got to spend some time with baby Dawson. He was so cute!
The kids got to play in the water, go for a ride with Papa on the tractor and have so much fun. It was really fun!
Papa taking the kids for a ride in the tractor
Fun early birthday presents from Angie, Chris, Kassidy and Dawson
Sydney loved holding sweet baby Dawson
Today, Monday, we went to see Grandma and Grandpa Potter. Grandpa gave the girls a ride in his wheel barrow and the girls asked grandma a million questions about her flowers. It was a great weekend with lots of family fun. Our summer has begun!
Today was the last day of school for Lizzie and Gracie. This was the first year of preschool for them and they loved it. They seemed so little when they started and now they are big girls. We watched they grow so much both physically and mentally. Next year will be their last preschool year and then it's on to kindergarten. Wow, time flies.
To show the differences, I thought I would show pictures of the first day of school vs. today.
Gracie
Lizzie
Daddy and his girls
This one is from today, it was the best I got because they were in a hurry to get into the classroom.
Standing by their names
Something really nice that the teacher did is make a scrapbook for all the kids. It has pictures in it from the year. It was nice to see what they did and learned throughout the year. Now, we start our summer.
Today was field trip day at the girls preschool. The girls only have one more day of school this year. We arrived at school and then walked a few blocks to the duck pond.
Waiting at the church to start walking
The girls girls walked like this with their little friend all the way to the park. It made it really hard for us all to fit on the sidewalk. Their teacher gave them all duck hats. The kids all loved them and put them on immediately.
At the park
As soon as we got to the park, all the kids started running for the pond. The ducks all hightailed it to the other side of the pond. These ducks decided they weren't hungry enough to mess with these crazy kids in their yellow hats. The kids didn't care. They took their bread and threw it at them anyway. If there weren't any ducks, the kids threw the bread on the ground, water or each other.
This pond also has a wonderful playground. After the kids were done harassing the ducks, they moved on to play.
Apparently, preschoolers love to put the entire bottle in their mouth
The kids stopped playing for a bit to have a snack. After snack, they ran back to the playground to play some more. While we were at the playground, I ran into one of my fellow twin mamas with her sweeties. So fun!
Snack time
Wes and I tag teamed this adventure. I had a meeting at work so he came to the park and walked back with the kids. We both enjoyed being with the girls. I did worry the entire time that the girls were going to fall into the water. The girls also loved running into two different directions.
After dinner tonight, we went for a walk. First, we loaded up with bug
spray because all of us Potters are notorious for attracting mosquitoes.
The poor girls have bites up and down them.
So, we set off all smelling
of citronella. The girls and the dog were excited. Its nice now, the girls can
walk without a stroller or holding our hands the entire time. We have to
remind them when crossing streets to hold hands.
Running down the sidewalk hand in hand
Funny how they are looking in different directions
Hurry up mom and dad (notice Grace's band aids - for mosquito bites)
It was nice to be out and a fun walk for us. The entire walk, Gracie was telling me she was thirsty and needed ice cream when she got home. Lizzie told us we needed to get home because the "mosquito bites" were out. Funny, how their little minds work.
We have had a busy week. On Monday, we had lunch with my friend Stephanie. We met for tacos with the girls. It was really fun to see her! After nap, we went over to Amy's, Reese and Riley's house. She was sweet enough to have us to play and make us dinner. It was really fun. The girls love Reese and Riley's new house.
Tuesday, we were lucky enough to have Grandma and Papa stay with us for a few days. Grandma worked hard to get the toy room cleaned up.While we were cleaning, Papa was busy keeping the girls entertained so they wouldn't want to keep all their toys. The room looks great now. Lizzie got mad at Gracie for messing it up. So silly.
Thursday was Muffins for Moms at the girls school. Gracie has been telling me for about a week that she has a surprise for me but can't tell me. She has been busting at the seams to tell me about it. It turns out the girls made some special stuff for me, a letter, a picture and a painted tea pot. Lizzie and Gracie were so excited to go to school today that they were not too upset that Grandma and Papa were leaving.
Gracie - the band aids are for mosquito bites
Lizzie holding her flower pictures
The class after they performed their two songs
The girls filled in the blanks - Lizzie's
Gracie's responses
It was fun to see what the girls had to say about their momma and their excitement to share. So excited, they couldn't eat their muffins until after they sang their songs. They are getting to be such big girls.
This weekend, we went to Oklahoma to help celebrate my cousin Chris's graduation. He graduated with a PhD. We missed the actual ceremony, but was able to celebrate anyway. We stayed one night with my sister and one with my mom.
Yesterday, we had a big family day. We got to see my aunts and uncles. My uncle Tony has been busy scanning in tons and tons of family pictures and shared the files with me. He had some pictures that my grandfather had taken of Oklahoma State University back in the 1920s. So fun to see the changes. We made a stop at Grandma and Grandpa Potter's house for a visit and the girls showed off (like always).
OSU Campus and City of Stillwater, OK
OSU Campus buildings. Recognize any?
Today, we celebrated with my cousin and met baby Dawson. Such a sweet baby! So glad we finally got to meet him. Soon, he will be playing with the big kids (can't believe the girls will be the big kids).
The big kids
Silly Lizzie
Sweet Gracie (she doesn't always look this sweet)
In other news, we have been having a battle over bed time. Both girls are fighting it like crazy. Yesterday, they both SCREAMED at my parents house for nap time. Mom finally went in and laid with them until they fell asleep. I'm hoping that they will soon return to my good nappers and sweet girls.
Today was the Spring Program at the girls school. They sang two songs. This morning, I wasn't sure if we would make it to school. Lizzie kept having melt downs and I never thought I would get her to stop crying. I was exhausted by the time I dropped them off.
Sitting in the pew waiting for their turn for pictures
Still patiently waiting
The class with the teacher
The girls did really well and did a lot of the sign language with the songs and sang. It makes me really excited for the girls to join choir next year.
Also, I thought I would throw in this video. I haven't posted a video in a while.
Today was a busy day for us. In the morning, we had a play day with our twin group, MPOM. I was hosting so I ran to the store this morning to get the snacks. We had a great time and the girls played well.
The girls waiting patiently
Each time we have a big play date, we try and get a picture of the whole group. This is always a challenge because at least one kid isn't in the mood to get a picture taken.
Its a little blurry.
After the play date, we had lunch and all of us took a nap. After nap, we had dinner and then ran out the door again to a concert at church.
The concert was a benefit for Imagine No Malaria. It's an organization from the United Methodist Church that wants to eliminate malaria in Africa. Its a great organization and is already making huge progress in just a year or two. Emily Elbert, who grew up in our church, played an amazing concert. She has such talent and such passion. She has traveled the world and experienced much in a short time. At one point, she had her dad come up on stage and play the keyboard while she sang. It was so beautiful.
The girls were in the nursery and the workers brought them in to hear a couple of songs. Gracie was mesmerized. After it was over, she wanted to meet Emily. Emily was so sweet to her.
Emily Elbert
Emily with Wes and the kiddos
She was so kind and sharing. It was an awesome concert. So glad that my job allows me to do such fun stuff!
Since the girls started playing with baby dolls, they have always put two to a stroller or two to a bed. I've always found it interesting. Sometimes they will even say something like, look mommy I'm just like you or it's like me and sissy.
I'm not sure if singletons play the same way or not. But I think it still shows the special bond that these two little girls have. It's like I've always said, raising twins is like a social and science experiment.
