April started with a BANG! We squeezed in some egg coloring as soon as the calendar rolled over into April. Lillian loved mixing the colors and wanted to play with her eggs instead of eat them.
We went to our community Easter egg hunt and Lillian was a champ. She hustled like a pro and pretty much filled her basket without any help from me. Freya was eager to get in on the action. She knew those colorful eggs had to have something good inside!
Easter morning Lillian woke up to find giant Easter Bunny tracks all over the house. She followed them outside, collected her Easter eggs and then waited for Freya to wake up so they could open their other Easter treats.
Then we put on our Easter dresses and braved the wind for a photo.
Once Easter was celebrated and gone we moved on to enjoy the Pima County Fair. I hadn't been in years and so I wasn't sure what to expect. My friend, Tara, and I packed up all the girls and headed out for an evening of fun and oh boy, was it fun! The girls had a blast looking at all the 4H animals, riding the carousel and roller coasters, driving cars, and eating junk.
Then I blinked and it was my birthday! I drug out the birthday celebrations for as long as I could. First, Josh and I went shooting with our friends and then went out for a night on the town.
Next, Josh made dinner, I made a lopsided chocolate cake, and our friends came over to help me celebrate once again.
The next day we went out to dinner with my dad and Jean to The Arizona Inn. We wore our Audrey Hepburn get-up, the chef made strawberry bisque especially for me, Lillian ran through the gardens, and we had an enjoyable evening.
My last day of birthday celebrations was spent with Renee watching the Broadway show, Newsies. We had a good time singing along. I just wish all my cousins could have been there to sing with us.
In between all the holidays and celebrations I get to spend time with my two little angels. We play, we learn, we live a good life. They change a little bit each day and I try to document as many of the changes as I can. I tell myself I won't forget this or that but when the girls are finally tucked in at night and I lay my exhausted head on my pillow, I find that I have already forgotten so much. It is heart wrenching because I know this is the best time in my life and I don't want to miss a thing or forget what it feels like to have these two precious girls by my side all day.
This past month Lillian has really enjoyed helping and learning. She wants to go to school so bad! Almost every day she asks me when she will be big enough to go to school. To her I am sure it seems like kindergarten is so far away but to me that day is coming too soon!
We spend a bit of time each day learning and practicing the skills she will need in school. This month we have been working on name recognition. We do some kind of activity involving her name, we sing songs with the letters in her name, and I have plastered her name all around the house.
These days Lillian asks to help with everything. For being three she actually does a good job following instructions and paying attention. Thankfully, Gigi is a patient soul.
It has been my goal to raise well-rounded little girls who know they can be girly if they want and still get out and have fun doing "boy" things. So far, I appear to be accomplishing my goals! Lillian has no trouble going back and forth between traditional girl and boy activities. I hope as she gets older, and the world starts working on her, she will continue to be herself and navigate between the two worlds with ease.
Lillian even likes helping me with Freya Lynn. She gets a little rough sometimes but she means well.
At ten months, Freya is a little ray of sunshine. Her smile, curiosity, and determination warm my heart. She loves Gigi and Beauty and enjoys getting whiskery kisses from them both. She also enjoys riding in her basket saddle. I think she may like it even more than Lillian did at this age.
I thought Freya might skip crawling because she really didn't show much interest in it but she finally gave in and started to crawl. When my arms are full and I can't pick her up I just yell,
"Let's go Freya!" and she crawls along behind me. When she is tired she crawls after me and clings to my legs. It is so pathetic and so darling. She likes to growl at Lillian and Lillian just gets a kick out of Freya playing monster baby.
One day, Josh put on a Halloween wig and beard to see what Freya would do. Her reaction was so cute. She wasn't sure why her dad's voice was coming out of this strange man!
Watching the relationship between these two girls change and grow has been so much fun. Lillian can't wait for Freya to wake up in the morning. As soon as she hears Freya stirring, she bursts into her room, throws an armful of books into Freya's bed, and climbs in to read to her.
Every day is filled with precious little moments between Lillian and Freya. Moments that make me glad they have each other and that make me glad I have a sister to share my life with.
As we head into sunny summer, I am sure even more fun (and sweat) awaits us!
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