Rule of Twos

We have two very individual girls but there is no escaping the sibling rivalry that they sometimes have.  If Kinsley has a bouncy ball, Myla wants one.  If Myla has a set of keys, Kinsley needs some.  Its become a little predictable, but there are some things that we have not yet figured out how to have two of (time with play-doh comes to mind).  But every-once-in-a-while, we have gotten a glimpse of how good of friends they are going to grow up to be.  Tonight was a good example – I was sure that Myla had grown six inches and so I thought tonight would be a good time to measure her.  (She’s actually grown half an inch in four months to 38 1/2”.)  As she stood there against the wall, Kinsley watched in her new favorite pose – arms crossed and a finger on her chin – and then when Myla was done, she said “me too!”  Myla helped me keep her still enough to measure and find she too has grown – three quarters of a inch to 33 1/2”.  When Kinsley was done, Myla said “good job Kinsley” and Kinsley ran to give her a hug and Myla gave her a little kiss on the head.  Yep… do it together and you’ll never be alone. 

2013 – off like a shot!

Sorry we let 2012 go without an update… Johnny and I both took vacation starting from December 21st and we just didn’t have time to blog!  We had a fantastic Christmas and the girls were truly spoiled.  We spent the 10 days of vacation playing with shopping carts and baby strollers and princess castles and suitcases and baby dolls and puzzles.  The girls spent two days straight in their pajamas until we forced them to an indoor play ground.  It was awesome – and a much needed break for us to spend with our girls.  The girls were ready to get rid of us by the 3rd though. 

Myla begins the second semester of “school” tomorrow and is having a really good time with her teachers and her class.  I went with her on a field trip to the Nutcracker and she was pointing out all of her friends to me.  She never really tells me what she learns in school, but sometimes can tell me exactly what her friends were wearing.  She’s a girlie-girl.  She loves using her imagination and is usually very sweet about letting her sister tag along.  She’s taken to playing up in her room when she wants to be alone though and will barricade the doors with her big stuffed animals, even though Kinsley hasn’t figured out door knobs yet.

Kinsley is growing way to fast and still talks up a storm.  She’s really getting some words down though and sometimes we can actually understand what she is saying.  She loves to read  - LOVES it – and sometimes will bring a book all around the house with her.  She also loves hats and prefers baseball caps on backwards.  She’s very helpful at setting the table and calling for Myla when dinner is ready and is awesome at knowing just when to annoy her big sister.  Kinsley is very sweet though and will usually grab our arm or face to give us kisses and loves to give hugs too.  She is learning a lot every day – its very fun to watch.

Johnny spent a week in Telluride in December and is currently in Breckenridge.  The girls and I make the most of it while he is gone and today we got to spend most of the day with my parents and then after dinner, the girls spent the rest of the night playing with each other until it was time to read in bed.  They had spent a lot of time up and down from our bed and all across the floor with flowers and hats and jackets.  They like to go on “adventures” and clock in a lot days as the sun goes up and down a lot in their little worlds.  Now, I know that time flies, but let’s not let it happen too fast!

The most fun part

You know how they always say, "you get them a toy, they play with the box."  We've noticed that on a number of occasions (I've got a few pictures in my stash to prove it) and we've always been amazed at what these imaginative girls come up with.  Its become harder as Kinsley grows to make them both happy - you know, the she's-got-it-and-I-want-it syndrome.  (Actually, Kinsley just says "me too" and we know what that means.)  Its always fun to see them playing together too.  Just last night, Johnny and I had the pleasure of watching the "Myla and Kinsley Show" in the basement.  We were laughing so hard - it was just too darn cute - Kinsley would pop out of the tent when Myla would say "and here's Kinsley!" and she would wave and clap.  Then Myla would come across the stage and take a bow.  It was great entertainment.

And so, in honor of our 301st(!?) post on our little blog here, please allow yourself a moment to remember enjoying being a kid and playing with the box.

Lots to be thankful for

Another year, another Thanksgiving, another “holy cow, the girls are so big” moment.  We’ve had so many things that to list all the things we are thankful for would take up a lot of your computer screen.  So instead of the boring old parent thankful things (you know, good doctors that take care of little broken arms, great teachers that teach your little ones how to be great people, awesome grandparents that love you and your little girls unconditionally, so on and so on), here are some things that Myla and Kinsley are thankful for:

Myla is thankful for Christmas trees and princess dresses and Christmas lights and footie jammies.

Kinsley is thankful for baby dolls and milk cups and blueberries and pennies found on the floor.

Happy Thanksgiving!  We hope you have too many things to count to be thankful for!

Hey, even princesses need to do their homework!

Another reason to love Colorado

Yesterday was a perfect 60 degree day in our fair state and a rare day when Johnny didn’t have to be in to work early.  So we took advantage of the sunshine and ventured out to the zoo.  (Do you know, we got the family pass for Christmas last year and this is the first time we’ve been as a family?  Crazy huh?)  There weren’t a ton of people there and the girls really enjoyed walking around at their own pace.  I took Myla into the the lorikeet area where she got to feed the birds and was very brave once she saw how it all worked.

We also got to ride on the merry-go-round and Kinsley got to give a mermaid toy to the penguins.  (Well, not exactly on purpose and not without a few tears.)  There was also a lot of speculation around the Christmas lights that we saw all around the zoo.  I have a feeling that we’ll be going back there in the night soon.  We grabbed a large bag of popcorn on our way out of the zoo and nibbled all the way home.

So, basically, it was a perfect day.

Catch up

So, I’ve been a little slow getting some updates on here with colds and Halloween and well, life.  But I think I’m all caught up now!

Goodbye Cast!

Kinsley got her cast off on the third and never looked back.  I don’t know if she knew why her arm was in a cast, but I think she knew it was better once they took it off.  They took the cast off and then had to take an x-ray to make sure the bone had healed, so they left us for a minute.  She looked at the pins in her arms, pointed to the door and said something like, “okay, lets go!”  They did take the x-ray and were very pleased at the amount of new bone growth and happy that it had healed just about perfectly, so the pins came out.  Kinsley watched them do it – mom did not – and didn’t even really fuss.  In fact, the nurse that was observing commented that Kinsley didn’t even cry.  It took her a couple of days to remember that it wasn’t locked in one position any more and she could use it now.  She still prefers her left hand to do things, but has started to get her right arm moving around.  Basically, its like it never happened except for the scab where they pulled the pins out.  And her mom might be a little more hovering on the playground for the moment.