It's been how long??

It's been a while, so I thought I would actually write on our family blog. We've had a lot going on, and the girls are growing like crazy, so here goes...

Paige is half-way through kindergarten and LOVES it. According to her (which, as a teacher, I know not to believe anything that she says), her teacher told her that she's already reading well enough to go to 1st grade, so she thinks she's only got another week or so before she heads on down the hall and gets to stay all day for first grade. I told her that she has to finish the year in kindergarten, but apparently "that's not what Mrs. Brockway said..." Duh. I'll leave this as reason #472 as to why we don't believe anything unless we hear it directly from the teacher. She's also doing swim lessons, where she masterfully swims (and is even starting to move her arms while she swims!), and dance lessons with Rylie, where the two of them thump around in cute dance clothes and call it dancing. Paige has grown into quite the little lady and is turning out to be both thoughtful and gracious, which is all we can ask for.

Rylie is our little comedian and her goal in life is to make people laugh. Just a few minutes ago, I overheard this interaction:

Paige: Rylie, can I have the Elsa doll?
Rylie: You forgot to say the magic words.
Paige: Oh, sorry. Can I PLEASE have the Elsa doll?
Rylie: Nope, that's not the magic word.
Paige: Well, what's the magic word then?
Rylie: Fruit basket.
Paige: Oh, uh, okay. Fruit basket.
Rylie: Sure, here ya go.

Stuff like that. All. Day. Long. She makes it difficult for us to punish her, because she does have the ability to look at us and make us laugh, which she uses to diffuses all situations. Her best friend at school is a little boy named Alejandro, and he's into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, so she is also. That and Pokemon, both girls love Pokemon. I have no explanation for that one, but they walk around doing some chant about saving the world from devastation (debastataion, according to Ry), which apparently comes from that show. Ry is also doing swim lessons, and her teacher calls her "a little mermaid," but a mermaid that still requires flotation support.

Izzy is having a tough time this winter because she suffers from something called "princess paws" (which means her paws can't-or won't-touch mud or snow) and she can pull off a full body shake due to cold like no other dog I have seen. She MAY be a little spoiled though, so she gets prime spots under all blankets (and under the covers, in the bed, at night).

I'll try to be better about posting, I promise.

Swimming, swimming

Both girls have become quite the little swimmers.

Here's Rylie floating:


And Paige swimming:

Halloween 2014

This about sums up our Halloween night:

Non-Amusement Park

Return to Busch Gardens. Paige and Rylie are not thrill-seekers.

Rylie's Career Change

Recently Rylie demonstrated proficiency in new trade - Bumper Cars. We think she has a real future in the sport.

Our Future Olympian

Paige is currently deciding which Winter Olympic event best suits her talents.

Skeleton:



Speed Skating:



Bobsled:

Lil' Lynch Update

Paige has recently been obsessed with a few things. Totally normal things:
1. Jail
I think the jail thing started after we went to Skyline Taverns. Afterwards, we were driving around a small town and we passed the jail. Either Dave or I were like, "oh, the jail..." and thus started Paige's hang-up with jails. She puts everything in jail. For example, I'll say, "Paige, will you put the peanut butter away (let's face it, they eat PB&J more than I will admit)?" She says (to the peanut butter), "You're going to jail." Then puts it in the cabinet. She puts Izzy in "jail" (her crate) every time we leave the house, and tells her what her indiscretion was that put her there. I used to find dolls and other toys in Izzy's "jail" also, so we had to institute a "no-playing-with/in-Izzy's-crate" rule. So now the dolls are put in dresser drawers, their personal jail. Paige has also started pocketing small toys from her daycare and bringing them home, so I was all, "you know people go to jail for STEALING other people's things," to get her to stop this bad habit (her teacher and I also pat her down before she leaves). Unfortunately, this may have only encouraged her, because she was like, "oh, I can see the inside of jail?"

2. The tires on my car
My tires are worn down. I know this. My car is also about to die after 9 wonderful years of carting me around. So I held off on getting new tires because I wanted to see if my car would even outlive them. Well, the tires are now unsafe, the car is still running (kind-of) and Walmart is going to have a Black Friday special (guaranteed for an hour!!) on tires, so I'll get them about 50% off. Paige asks about my tires 20-50 times a day and whether I snuck off to get new tires without telling her. She doesn't want me to get new tires because she "loves" my current ones. She apparently had a dream last night that I got new tires and she was sad.

3. Monsters/Witches and their Brews
We often play a game where I am apparently a monster, and the girls run screaming anytime they see me. I am also supposed to roar when they see me, which I sometimes do. However, if I am not enthusiastic enough about my roar, I am scolded by a 4 year old for not doing it right. She also talks a lot about witches and what they put in their brews (I'm not sure where this one came from). The other day they were studying Indians at her school, and she came home and was all, "Where do Indians live?" I said, "Some live together on reservations." She says, "Oh, maybe they drank a witches brew and the witch turned them into real people and they live right here." Uh, okay, guess my answer was wrong.

Rylie, on the other hand, has her own things going on. She dances and stares at herself in mirrors, wears footie jajamas to bed, told Paige today to take her fingers out of her mouth because, "only peakut butter sammiches go in there," and is terrified of public restrooms (did I mention she's potty trained?!?!). I'd like to personally thank Uncle Andrew for passing on that final trait.