My Funny Girls

In an effort to update more often, I have been thinking of the sorts of things I had more time to write about when we had only one little girl running around.  I think of my old blog posts as the girls' baby books, since we never really got around to making one.

Lillian has such a strong and interesting personality. She is very smart and is thinking all the time and always asking lots of questions.  She is tough, but also quite sensitive and does not like to be laughed at in any way.

She thinks about things very intensely and can work herself up a bit about small things, like remembering how much she hated the flu shot, or agonizing over the fact that she wants pierced ears but does not want to endure the piercing!  Lillian has also reached the age where she has more of an awareness of death, and has asked me quite a few times when we are going to die. If we are going to die tomorrow.  Will we die on the airplane on the way to California for Christmas. It can be a little disconcerting!  Audrey went through a somewhat similar realization about her own mortality in kindergarten when a classmate told her she could die after eating apple seeds.  Nothing we could say could outweigh the impact of her peer's words, no matter what we said, and it just had to run its course.   

On a more positive note, Lillian is enjoying being active, and is really improving her swimming. She is also looking forward to starting gymnastics now that she is five, although she is a little apprehensive about trying the bars.  She also loves to dance and do shows for us, and was so happy to have a dance party in the kitchen with me recently when Michael and Audrey were up in Toronto.

I got to spend some time with Eleanor the other when I had to take her to an appointment.  I was reminded again how funny she is.  She was commanding me to yell 'yikes' at the top of my lungs with her while we were in the car, and then telling me to whisper it.  And then trying to convince me to cover my eyes and hide, which I decided wasn't the best idea since I was driving.  She also charmed all the people in the waiting room, and tried to play rock, paper, 

scissors with me, although she was always the rock to 'bash' me.

Eleanor has been showing more of her temper recently since she had decided to stop napping almost entirely way too early. She is good most of the time, but can be a little loopy and angry at times.

Audrey is doing well too. Still loving to read Harry Potter, and Michael and I take turns reading with her at night.  She is happy at school and has already been planning her birthday for March for months.  She is getting so grown up at times, but she is still very affectionate and likes to sit on my lap and cuddle.  

Our house is a loud and hectic place at times, but we do have fun!

And here are some photos from Lillian's birthday party:

A New Year Has Come!

Our lives seem like a blur this year, but a good one!  We hope everyone has had a wonderful year and holiday season.

The girls are all growing up so quickly!  Eleanor is still tiny, but growing, and Audrey and Lillian have grown a lot this year.


Audrey is in second grade now, and has recently really started reading more complicated books. She's currently really into Harry Potter and is already on the fourth book!  Audrey also finally lost her first tooth, and quickly her second too.  She was the last one in her class to lose a tooth. 

Over the summer Audrey tried a week of drama camp, which she really enjoyed. And this week she will start gymnastics for the first time.  She had been asking for a while, and after seeing how strong and agile she was at the playground, I figured it was time.


Lillian has still been doing ballet and tap and recently had her recital, which was cute as ever.  She really enjoys performing.  We hear a lot of "look at me" around here.  Lillian is also making great progress with her reading and loves to do her "homework."  She can read simple words and is noticing words in the world around her.

Eleanor is two-and-a-half now, and her personality is developing more and more.  She is quite a little joker and has fun being silly, especially with Lillian.  Eleanor has a surprising vocabulary and speaks extremely well.

Audrey and Lillian have been having fun making little videos this year, and do a good job of presenting.  We are looking forward to seeing what videos they make with the new mini camera we got them for Christmas.


We just returned from visiting Auntie Chrystal and Cousin Adele and Jonny, as well as Baba, Papa, and Uncle Justin, in California.  We had a great time and saw lots of new places, including Yosemite National Park, which was really gorgeous.  The girls enjoyed playing in the snow and we even got to go sledding.  We were happy that our most recent au pair, Silvia, who arrived in July, could also come with us.


We hope 2017 will be another great year!  Soon we will getting ready for birthday season, and Audrey and Lillian are planning their parties already.

We made it through the winter!

It was a long and busy winter, and things are finally getting a little bit easier!

Easter!

I am now working at home 3 days each week, which has it's own challenges, but is really wonderful for allowing me to be around the girls more.  And to do more fun things, like cooking again!

The girls were very happy to have their first Christmas at home in their memories, and Lillian and Audrey had really fun birthday parties.  They are all getting so big!!

Here are are a few highlights of photos, and I am really really hoping to keep up with the blog more regularly, since I really love to look back on the blog myself with the girls!

Eleanor is turning into a chatterbox like her sisters and can say lots of sentences already.  One of the funniest things she was doing recently was saying "I know, I know" when she is crying, which is what I generally would say to console her :)  It's very cute.


Lillian is doing really well at school and is such a character.  She can still be challenging with her temper, but she is also extremely sweet and loves to be a helper.  And Lillian and Eleanor are playing together more and more and really seem to enjoy each other.


Audrey is getting so grown up and loves to read independently now.  She is really excited to be starting a tumbling/cheerleading class next week, and is already planning a routine for her school talent show next year.

We joined our local YMCA in January and have all been happy to get some pool time.  I have been quite impressed with the progress the girls have made, and next week Audrey and Lillian will start swimming lessons.

We have a busy spring ahead, with our first family camping trip, a trip to Toronto, a visit from Baba, Eleanor's second birthday, and a road trip to Kentucky planned to meet up with Auntie Chrystal, Adele and Jonny at Papa's house - all before June!!  We are really excited for it all!

Poor Eleanor was sick for Christmas.

Citlaly with Eleanor.

After the blizzard!

Audrey's Paris Birthday!

At the maple syrup festival!

Birthday girl!