Four and Fabulous

From wombmates to roommates, these two four-year-olds are still as close as can be! In between the constant arguing, tattle-telling, badgering, teasing and driving each other crazy, there are some sweet moments. Today, before bed, we were sitting on the couch and Amelia hugged Samantha saying, “I love you because you’re my sister.” Samantha repeated the same to Amelia and they both gave Meredith, who was feeling left out, a giant bear hug and “I love you’s.” Those heart-melting moments make up for all of the hair-pulling ones.

From becoming big sisters to starting preschool, these girls have really grown up over the past year!

Their big day began with a festive balloon drop… because who wouldn’t want to be showered with balloons on their birthday?

The girls chowed down on the traditional funfetti birthday pancakes, which, tragically, did not turn out as fluffy and pretty as in years’ past. The girls still gobbled them up just the same!

Funfetti birthday pancakes in their former glory:

  

After breakfast, the girls caught a frog on the patio! While I was shrieking and leaping back in fear, the girls were super calm and tried their best not to squeeze it to death.

The girls played with some of their fun crafts and gifts from their birthday celebration the day before, and opened some birthday packages that had come in the mail. We are loving this awesome Shakespeare for kids set from Marisa and Lori! I love it when I don’t have to be bored to tears during storytime!

Samantha and Harper went for a cruise to the park in their bday jeep from Katie and Jenny.

Won’t be long before they are driving their friends to the mall… I just had a minor heart attack.

Meredith LOVES this thing. She’ll hop in and start hitting the steering wheel and screeching for someone to start it for her.

Let the good times roll.

Samantha and Amelia had their ballet/yoga class while Meredith took her morning nap, and then we met up with Phi, Michael, Parker and Baby Maple for some pasta and foosball/bean bag tossing. Parker and Maple always have the most excellent audiobook recommendations and gave the girls Madeline and Cat in the Hat, which we’ve been enjoying in the car!

These two were hilarious toddling around with their signature baby zombie walks.

SQUEEZE. The girls wouldn’t take off their number 4 necklaces from Meredith until bedtime and randomly kissed Meredith and told her thank you throughout the day.

Hmmmm… I think it goes through this hole.

Eh. Close enough.

Struggling to hold wiggly babies!

I think it was time for a nap…

Later that day, Grammy and Grandpa drove in from Utah just in time for birthday cake with Great Grandpa.

Make a wish! We are apparently going to have an awesome Christmas this year, because every time the girls throw a coin in a pond or wish for something, they wish for a “Merry Christmas!”

Chocolate and milk YUM.

The only way I can get the girls to look at the camera and smile for pictures these days is to have them make a silly face first, and then tell them to switch to their princess smile faces.

Close enough.

Way to start off a year of four and fabulous!

Lots of love,

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Meredith’s Family Birthday Celebration

Meredith’s actual first birthday fell on a boring old Thursday, but we spiced it up a bit by having a little family celebration of our own before her big party the following weekend.

Party in my crib!

The only picture I have of Meredith in the little party hat I made her! She was supposed to wear it at her party, but adamantly refused.

We did our traditional funfetti birthday pancakes in the morning.

No, we did not let her get close to touching the flame.

Jake had a board meeting that night, so we had an early dinner and cake, which the girls helped me make. It was completely refined sugar-free, made with applesauce and bananas as a sweetener, and actually turned out tasty! There was no taking the sugar out of the frosting, unfortunately, since we made buttercream frosting loaded with powdered sugar. Meredith couldn’t believe her good fortune!

So excited I just can’t handle it!

Lots of love,

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Happy Birthday, Jake!

Jake’s birthdays growing up were understated, (read: he was happy if someone remembered!) Especially since Jake’s birthday falls in the summer when school is out, he always felt a little bit robbed in the birthday category since he, “Never even got a cupcake like the other kids with birthdays during the school year!”

He recalls one birthday during grade school in which he told a friend to come to his house for a birthday party (of which nothing of the sort had been planned… Jake dug in the freezer until he found some ice cream and the two played out in his backyard). First world problem, but all the same, I can’t help but shed a tear thinking of second-grade Jake’s forgotten birthday! Jake claims he doesn’t harbor any negative psychological effects from the lack of birthday fanfare, but the girls and I try our best every year to make up for his non-birthday-ed childhood. This isn’t hard to accomplish since he’s so easy to please!

We had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney, mostly because I was trying to think of a fun place the twins would be occupied so we could relax. The twins and Meredith thought the robot gorillas, elephants, and mock Amazonian thunder storms were entertaining, and spent the majority of their time staring at the exotic fish in the tanks.

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After walking around Downtown Disney, the girls crashed when we arrived home, and instead of waiting until the next day to sing and eat Jake’s favorite carrot cake with the girls, Jake and I ate the first slices ourselves. It’s a good thing I took a picture of the cake intact, because the next morning, the girls somehow found it in the fridge and completely destroyed it in animalistic fashion. I found what was left of the ravaged cake later that afternoon and had no words for the destruction! To their credit, the twins seemed genuinely remorseful about ruining Jake’s cake and chirped, “Sorry, Daddy!”  for the rest of the weekend.

The amount of sugar consumption vastly succeeded that of the unfortunate Honey Incident of May 2016 in which I had unwisely left a jar of honey on the kitchen island during breakfast, and when I ran upstairs to change Meredith, the girls snatched the jar and had squirted/eaten 3/4 of the jar into their oatmeal by the time I came back down.

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Out of all the options for a birthday activity I suggested, Jake chose the circus (not my first choice, but it’s not my birthday!) Our friends, Heather and Kael, and their son, Sam, came with us for all four kids’ first circus experience.

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This was not the traditional lions, tigers and elephants circus of yore, but was more of a cirque du soleil meets America’s Got Talent. There were all the regular circus features– tight-rope walkers, fire-dancers, clowns, tigers, dog tricks, pony tricks– mixed in with a space-themed storyline, jarring techno music, and ice skaters dressed as inter-galactic, double-axel jumping space aliens. The kids probably would have preferred a good old-fashioned simple circus with a few animals and stunts, as it was all a little overwhelming for them, but the adults were definitely entertained!  Meredith was understandably terrified by all the neon lights and loud music, and stayed in the Ergo the entire time.

During intermission, Samantha and Amelia morphed into a dog and tiger.

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Meredith had a view of my shirt the majority of the event, although she did come out and watch parts of the show. She giggled at the dog tricks, but was freaking out or sleeping the rest of the time.

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Amelia the tiger.

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The girls and Sam were mesmerized!

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Two pooped wild animals who escaped from the circus.

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At home, we barbecued, opened cards and gifts, and Jake and I munched on the crumbs of the desecrated cake… without the twins! Happy birthday to the love of my life and the girls’ hero!

Lots of love,

 

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