When I grow up...

Gracie's aspirations at 5 years old:

I'm going to be a healing doctor for big people and little kids AND an artist who paints pretty pictures.



















Kate's aspirations at 5 years old:

On Monday, I'm going to be a dentist.
On Tuesday, a doctor.
On Wednesday, a teacher
On Thursday, I'm going to be "Dorothy" in a show.
On Friday, I'm going to be "Annie" in a show.
On Saturday, a model.
On Sunday, a dancer on Dancing with the Stars.

And...

When I'm 20, I'm going to be an artist.
When I'm 21, a girl builder.
When I'm 22, a ballerina teacher.
When I'm 23, a conductor on a choo choo train.

Princess Etiquette

According to Kate and Gracie, princesses dance and sing prettily. They hold teacups properly, with their pinkies sticking out. They are kind and glittery and all "beautifulness". Princesses never trip or fall or burp or fart or slip or sneeze. Now that we have that straight, let me fill you in on the latest.

We've been a bit more princess obsessed around here the past few days. If you were to enter our house at this moment, you'd probably see a slew of glittery tiaras and sparkly wands strewn about...plastic heels and beads too. So what has brought on this royal resurgence? It started Saturday when Gracie and Kate attended their friend Hava's 6th birthday at Sweet and Sassy. The name says it all. Someone had a pretty darn good idea to create a salon for little girls, a place where they can go to receive the royal treatment just like their high-maintenance moms! But wait, not only can these little ones go to this magical place for junior salon services, they can also have dress-up birthday parties there with all their friends! Brilliant! And I must say this, though I know it's entirely redundant, Why didn't I think of that?
Both girls were definitely in their element, picking fancy princess dresses and opting for princess hair as opposed to rockstar. They learned how to model their new look on an in-store runway as the announcer shared pieces of information about each girl. It went something like this:

Next we have Kate. [Applause] Kate's favorite place to shop is at the toy store. Her favorite celebrity is Snow White and her favorite movie is Snow White.


Next is Gracie. [Applause] Gracie's favorite place to shop is at the toy store. Her favorite celebrity is Ariel and her favorite movie is The Little Mermaid.

After the fashion show, the girls learned a special "sweet and sassy" dance to the tune of YMCA. The party concluded with cake and a Conga line. What a fun time! Did I mention we will most likely be having the girls' 6th birthday there?

Kate's Tooth

Oh my, it really happened. Kate's front bottom baby tooth, the one that first made an appearance on March 30, 2004 when Kate was just 6 months old, has fallen out! I am looking at it right now as it rests in a ziploc baggie on my desk, awaiting the arrival of a proper tooth pillow (which has been ordered) all fancy and girly. We noticed it was quite wiggly a week prior to its falling out but Kate was a bit hesitant to pull it herself...I will miss my tooth, she whimpered. On Saturday night, the tooth was barely hanging on; Kate was able to push it completely forward with her tongue...ew! Shawn was afraid she would swallow it while sleeping, so with his persuasive Daddy ways, he convinced her to let him pull it. Oh, and there was blood which I don't think she expected. But the moment was too exciting to let a little "bleed" (as she calls it) get in the way.

Above is the first picture I could find with her little teeth popping through on the bottom; Gracie's are there too. Kate is on the right in this picture. The girls got most of their teeth within days of each other, just another reason that made me think they were most likely identical. It might seem strange to others that I would even question their zygosity, I mean look at them, but I was told they were fraternal and there were definitely subtle physical differences between the two. The order and timing that their teeth came in was not one of them though.

Here she is a couple months later....much better view of those two bottom teeth!



So farewell little baby tooth and thank you. You served your purpose well and have now made way for the permanent one we see popping through.

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo

How about you, you, you?
You can come too, too too.
We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo.

I've been singing this song to my girlies since they were just babes and they have definitely had plenty of opportunities to make the song a reality with our Phoenix zoo membership. We do renew every year but with the girls in preschool 3 days a week, and with my distaste for weekend trips there (don't like crowds) we haven't visited our animal friends in awhile. A trip was in the cards for many reasons such as: a) beautiful spring-like weather, b) a completely cleared schedule...wow...and, c) maintaining mom's sanity...yes I have two 5 year olds who have somehow managed to channel the inner 2-year old within and are thus temporarily unable to entertain themselves at home. Oh yes, a stimulating day, one in which mom didn't have to play Go Fish, or clean up or do dishes afterwards, was oh so needed!

And the day was lovely indeed. Kate saw her favorite zebras. Gracie saw the giraffes, flamingos and elephants, all of which she consistently names as her favorites...I even overheard her listing them as so to the dental hygienist at her last cleaning. I was happy to see baby Kasih, the almost 3-year old orangutan who we've visited since her birth, seem to enjoy the laughter that resulted from her silly behavior. We took the paddle boats around the lake, rode the safari train, and visited the stingray exhibit where Kate got drenched by a sea creature and had to change her clothes.

The important observations I made on this trip though did not involve the actual zoo animals but rather my own little monkeys . My two babies, the ones I used to push around the zoo in a double stroller while having to stop constantly in order to monitor snacks & sippy cups, change diapers, pacify with ba, etc., have become real little people with inquisitive minds and questions for which I don't always have the answers. As I observe the development of these rational minds, I am amazed and hopeful. I hope they will continue to question until they find answers that make sense to them. I hope they will make good choices by balancing this new intelligence with their always present intuition. And most importantly, I hope that with this developing new intelligence they never lose the magic and peace they experienced the first time they visited the zoo and looked at the animals, animals that were not all named and classified in the mind of an 18-month old, but rather experienced in the present... exactly as they were in that moment...exactly as they always will be.

Grandparent Presents

Let me preface this by saying I am not crafty...at all. Now that you know, please be very impressed that I pulled these off! I got the idea from a woman on one of my message boards and thought it was just so cute. Once she explained how she created these gifts, I thought I might be able to make them myself. It took me two trips to Michaels to pick up supplies such as paint pens (never even knew those existed) and synthetic snow. The end product was super cute and I hope the grandparents appreciated the effort because they did take me a lot of work. No laughing...I know some of my crafty friends could have made these look a lot cuter. And in case you haven't figured it out, the snowmen are the girls' handprints. Gracie's snowmen have green scarves and Kate's have red. Below is the poem I attached.

The day before Christmas

Kate decorating cookies

Gracie decorating cookies
LOVE how she sticks out her tongue when concentrating

The girls decorated sugar cookies the day before Christmas. I like giving them complete freedom while decorating in hopes that my budding Martha Stewarts will get better with practice and someday realize that cookies look and taste better when sparsely sprinkled. Here are some of the girls' favorites. Warning, little fingers were licked constantly while decorating. And FYI, these cookies were not delivered to our friends and family. Phew, no one is getting sick.

This one is a reindeer


That's Santa waving up there on the top left...see his cherry nose


My absolute favorite: The Christmas tree with half a jar of sprinkles representing "ornaments"

Gracie's favorite too

Yummo!

Our Nutcracker Tradition

Grandma and Girls
Today

Grandma and Girls
Vegas 2006

Oh I just love going to see The Nutcracker at Christmas. I love hearing the orchestra tune up and watching the people file into the hall. I love seeing all the little girls dressed up in their prettiest Christmas dresses to attend the production that is a tradition for many of them. Today marked the third year in a row of seeing the ballet with my daughters and mother. I saw The Nutcracker several times growing up but I don't think I ever knew the story as well as my girls. Grandma got their schema activated before the first visit (when they were three) by reading them the story and preparing them for what they were to see. I was nervous during that first trip to the ballet; I didn't know if they'd be able to sit through it. They were wonderful though, quite mesmerized. I can remember them carrying their little purses and looking so darling. I remember smiling at people when they asked, Are they twins?

Now at 5 years old, they are familiar with all the characters and can re-tell the story. Kate was looking forward to seeing Mother Ginger today and Gracie wanted to see the Mouse King. Both girls want to be Clara someday. Dream big, my little ballerinas. How wonderful it is to believe anything is possible. I can remember feeling the same.

Mom and Girls before today's performance