Labor Day Weekend Highlights

Let's see - Friday night we went out to dinner. Usually when we head out to eat the girls don't eat much. But the love pancakes, so I thought maybe if we ate pancakes out it would work. Sort of. Madeleine ordered blueberry, and Lily ordered chocolate chip. Madeleine wouldn't touch hers with the blueberry sauce on top, but Lily did eat hers. Luckily Grandma had a plain one, so Maddie did get something to eat :)

Saturday morning was just hanging around the house. We went to Target for some errands and later made ice cream in the Cuisinart. I'm always amazed they'll sit there for 25 minutes with their finger on the stop button just waiting for the timer to go off.

Sunday morning we went swimming at the gym with Grandma Sherry. Eric had used up his August guest pass already, so Grandma came along. Of all the weekends we went swimming this summer, Sunday morning was the best weather. It's a shame they don't have morning swim hours the rest of the year.

We stayed in the pool all the way until 11:20. Lily didn't wear a life preserver this time, and Madeleine took hers off after a while.

Monday morning we went to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, and the girls had a blast. I can't believe we hadn't been before, especially since the girls get in free until they turn 3. We spent the whole time in the outside exhibits and never really even went indoors other than the butterfly house. They enjoyed the train ride, and walked pretty much the entire nature trail by themselves.

Rainy Day

The remnants of Tropical Storm Fay rolled through the area yesterday, making it wet for everyone. The girls enjoyed the chance to use their Dora umbrellas.

Wiggly Update

Today was the Wiggles' first Raleigh concert. For those of you not intimately familiar with my family, the girls love the Wiggles. With Lily especially, it borders on obsession. Until recently, she wouldn't even watch other shows. So when I heard they were coming to Raleigh, I immediately bought tickets during the pre-sale.

We've been talking about the event for some time, and they were very excited to go today. Lily got up and wanted to wear her "Wiggle" shirt. Miss Briana did their hair pretty at school just for a night out on the town.

Then we went and picked up KFC for dinner so that we could "tailgate" in the parking lot at the RBC Center. I got popcorn chicken, biscuits, and potato wedges. Lily had her standard two juice boxes, and Madeleine drank one. The girls ate more than I expected, but they definitely could not wait to get inside.

It was 40 minutes until show time, so I wanted to walk the concourse a bit. The lines for the merchandise tables were huge. I had wanted to get them some shirts but thought better of it. Instead I got a program, and we went to our seats to have a read. Daddy went and got us some popcorn, which Lily immediatly spilled quite a bit of.

For the next half hour, Lily, along with every other kid in the arena, asked where the Wiggles were every two minutes. Finally, the lights dimmed around 6:35, and the show started. The opening act was a couple of clowns and a ballet montage. I thought it was great, but the kids were really ready for the Wiggles.

Lily screamed. It was so funny, but it brought tears to my eyes that she was so excited. The clapping kind of scared Madeleine at first, but she warmed up after a bit. Apparently the Big Red Car wasn't functioning, so poor Anthony had to push the thing around.

The show went for an hour and a half, and no mistake about it, this must be the hardest working crew in show business. They played a ton of songs - most of them old favorites. They also played to the parents as well . There was a Stairway to Heaven interlude, and Lily got down the most to a version of Superfreak.

Of course, when the show was over, the girls were very sad. Lily just cried the whole way out of the arena. I didn't see any other kids yelling that much, but it was over an hour past bedtime for her. She screamed all the way home, "I want the Wiggles!" Madeleine was just upset we left the popcorn.

Here they are pointing their fingers and doing the twist:

Both girls passed out when we got home.

Sisterly Snuggles

Latest art project

Okay, this is an art project for me, not the girls.

We're going to see the "Pop Goes the Wiggles" concert on Friday night at the RBC Center. We've been talking to them about it since we bought the tickets a month ago, but I want them to be looking forward to it this week and know when it's going to happen. So I thought I'd put together kind of an Advent calendar thing where we'll count down the days until the concert.

Behind each photo is a number of days left, with Sam being Friday (0 Days!). The trick will be getting them to not pull each day off at once. I'll have to hang it up high.

Thank you Miss Valerie!

Today was the girls' last day in the two year-old room at EPLC. Every stage has been unique, but they really grew into wonderful, independent, little people this past year. Their teacher, Miss Valerie has played a huge part in that.

I don't know if it's common for first-time MoMs or not, but I feel like I'm more tentative than moms of singletons or moms of more than one. Having the girls in a day care environment has been a blessing this way because I feel like I have the "experts" I can ask when I have a question or a concern. Valerie has done an amazing job with the girls, and I know I have her to thank for their table skills, manners, and potty training. Left to my own devices, who knows what would have happened?

There have been a number of other teachers in the room this past year with the girls, but Valerie has been their one constant. Madeleine seems to be the most attached. When we play school, she's always Miss Valerie. Lily is usually one of the other teachers or a JumpBunch coach. Lucky mommy gets to be Lily or Madeleline. They both point her out in books where there's pictures of "friends." They really love her, and I know she loves them as well.

They've matured so much in the past year, I can't even imagine what this coming year has in store for our family. I don't know if the girls will even notice that something has changed on Monday, but I can't let it pass without recognizing Valerie and all the other teachers at EPLC for the amazing job they do every day.

Overheard

Lily: Mommy? I have a good idea.
Mommy: What's that
Lily: When people come over to our house to visit, we should give them a kiss.