2 little ladies, 2 best friends

Lucky for me the concept of having Maddie and Faith 22 months apart, and therefore best friends for life (which I would tell myself often if I panicked thinking about them being that close in age) really worked out well.

These little women are inseparable. The new thing is that Faith is the only one invited in to the bathroom with Maddie when she has to poop. Maddie tells me to 'get out' and calls for her Beebster, and man does Faith come flying. Not to mention when I am finally allowed in, they're usually dying of laughter at something Faith is doing to entertain Maddie while she is on the toilet. Today Faith was brushing Maddie's hair while holding the brush upside down. Of course Maddie thought this was hilarious.

After lunch this afternoon, they wanted me to pull out the loveseat so they could play "city mouse and the country mouse" (very elaborate sounding 'games' which actually are not elaborate at all.. this only consists of jumping from the loveseat to the snowtube 50 million times). They always get carried away playing things like this and end up sweating so bad from chasing each other and laughing like crazy. Faith would fall to the ground, and Maddie would fall on top of her. Faith may be small, but the girl is not frail. She laughs when Maddie does this. Then they go in to Maddie's room and sit in front of Maddie's fan with their shirts pulled up to "refresh." Haha. At that point, it was so cute because out of nowhere Maddie put her arms around Faith and tells her: "I love being your big sister. You're my best friend and my little sister. Thanks, Beebster." And, they hugged. Priceless.

No- nap days...

... tend to be very long days, but thankfully today went smoothly. 

Crannie stayed in her room til the 2:00pm alloted 'end of rest time' which is nothing unusual, but Faith for some reason decided that she wouldn't nap today. She was carrying on and fooling around for an hour, and I couldn't help but laugh when I'd go in to check on her. I'd look through the crack of her door and see 'two beady eyes' and a crooked smile looking at me and waving! Haha. How can you not laugh when you see that?! She showed me her Pluto and Mickey when I'd go in, and then blow me kisses on my way out of her room. What a little charmer. I gave up by 2pm and decided to go about my day with a laugh and a positive outlook instead of getting frustrated that it was only 2pm and dwell on the whole 'what am I going to do to entertain these two women for the rest of the day' notion.

Yesterday at the library Maddie picked out 2 kid's cookbooks to borrow. We couldn't find the ones that she loves, but we did find a really cute cupcake cookbook and a Disney bakery cookbook. Most of the ones in the Disney cookbook are way too complicated for us, but there was one that suited us well called "Aladdin's Treasure Lamp Cupcakes." So we chose that one to do today and she chose a cupcake recipe from the other cookbook to make. I figured I'd get Faith undressed to her diaper so she could help too since she was up and fully energized anyway. They had a blast. We put little Hershey's Hugs in the Aladdin cupcakes which they had fun placing.. and eating. So, that worked out really well.

The dumb weather kept looking like it was going to storm, but then would get sunny. I decided to take a chance and go up to let them swim for a little. I took their big bag of Play Doh since there's a kid sized picnic table up there and they could feel free to make a mess that I wouldn't have to bother cleaning. Right when we got there it started thundering-- just my luck. But, they still got to do their swims for a good while and then played Play Doh, so it was really nice.

While I was making dinner, Cran and the B. picked 'Chichen Itza' of Backyardigans to watch. Maddie asked Faith if she would help her to be brave during the show (Maddie is slightly scared of certain parts of it) and it was so funny because Faith goes "ETS!" and gives Maddie a huge hug. I remember Maddie doing the same closed eye hugs when she was this age, and Faith now does them too when she's being affectionate.  So cute.

2 days

2 days off inevitably fly by, but it's still 2 days with Dan so I can't complain.

Lucky for me, Dan's always wanting to do stuff on his days off. By his first day back at work, he's always asking "what do you think they (implying the Cran and the B.) want to do on my next days off?" We went to Weaver's Orchard on Tuesday and picked raspberries. They had blackberries, black raspberries, red raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, and cherries to choose from and when we asked Maddie what she wanted to pick, she replied right away: "RED RASPBERRIES." She loves her raspberries. Of course, Faith ate more again than she picked, but had a blast. And, Maddie thinks it's funny to be a 'farmer' so she always has fun. They love going in to the little store afterwards too, so it was a nice day. In the afternoon, I took Maddie swimming at the pool and Dan took Faith to the mall since our Disney store is closing. We had planned on all going swimming, but Faith didn't want to put on her swimsuit so Dan thought to take her with him on a little trip. Both Maddie and Faith are very much both of our girls- 100% mine and 100% his.. Momma's girls and Daddy's girls- but, Faith is going through a big Daddy phase right now. Nothing that is hurtful to my feelings or anything like that, and in fact, I think it's really cute. But, if Dan's around she wants him for mostly everything and wants to be held by him for the majority of the time. So, they had a nice afternoon and since our Disney store is closing, Dan got her a little Pluto puppy for dirt cheap.

Crannie and I had a really nice afternoon swimming. It's always so funny to see them apart because you can tell they feel strange without one another. The whole time she and I were at the pool, she would tell me "I'm having a great day with you, Momma. But, it would be better with my Beebster. I really miss my Beebster and my Daddy." She kept asking me what I thought they were doing at that moment in time and what I thought Faith was saying to Dan. She'd tell me laughing, "I think Beebster is telling Daddy, ets." Haha. That was probably quite true! But, we had a blast. We spent the whole time in the big pool since I didn't have to worry about Faith, and Maddie loves to swim to the deep end in her pet. We did a new thing too where I'd go under water and then lift her up and throw her over my head. She loved that, and didn't even mind going under water a little bit with that. She's kicking very well, and now I'll just have to get her to practice her arms when she's comfortable enough to swim without her pet. We walked back to the apartment together, and it was really fun just walking with Cran. She tells the funniest stories and always makes up little songs to sing that are all her own. In fact, the lifeguard there that they love so much is always asking Maddie what song she is going to invent that particular day since Maddie's notorious for coming up with her own lyrics.

They were hilarious when we got back to the apartment. Dan and Faith were already there, and Beebster was waiting for us at the top of the stairs. I think they hugged for a good solid minute, and Faith blew us both kisses for another minute straight.

We went to Sesame yesterday, and of course that's always an awesome time. It was the hottest day we've ever spent there, and the most crowded, but we still had a blast. Maddie got to see the Count, Abby Cadabby, Prairie Dawn, and Oscar this time. I kept asking Faith from the moment she woke up in the morning, "are you going to hug Bert and Ernie?" and she'd say "ETS!" so enthusiastically. But, of course when we saw them she'd get so excited and start doing her infamous dance but if they got too close, she'd start to cry and want to be held. It's got to be the age. I have a feeling she'll be hugging and kissing them next year! She just loves them though, and wants to sit in my lap constantly and look at pictures and the video of the parade.  They both LOVE all the rides. Faith doesn't ever want to get off the rides, and starts to screech when we have to get off. We rode the carousel twice because that is their absolute favorite- Maddie never fails naming her horse "Princess"-and their other favorites were the Flying Fish and the teacups. Maddie insisted she wanted to try this ride called "Blast Off" which I thought looked a tiny bit scary for her, but I still went on with her. She was so excited to ride it and hated that she had to wait in line. We got to the top and she was still so excited yelling for Dan and Faith from above, but the second they started dropping us she started crying a little. Poor Cran, she definitely got scared. But, of course the second she got down she was saying how brave she had been and was asking which ride we could do next.

We went on a big ride all together which was the most fun. It was a huge tube that could fit us all and went winding down a big slide until the last big drop. They both wore their cute little lifejackets and loved it. Faith was laughing hysterically for all of it, until we came to the big drop where she screamed but then was laughing when we got off. Maddie loved the entire ride, and especially getting splashed. She would have done the tube slides the entire day if we would have let her and if the lines wouldn't have been so long. She loves all of that stuff. They both went in to the big pools and you couldn't get them out of there. They love it all. It's nice though because every time we go, there's always something we still have yet to do that we can save for the next time, and the next time, etc.

Last night when we got back from Sesame, they got their baths and were all energy until bedtime. I had the loveseat pulled out and Maddie declared that they were "showgirls" and were putting on all of their 'fancy accessories' and doing running jumps. They're so funny. It's not only Maddie though that comes up with things, because then Faith came walking out with Maddie's bathroom stool and Maddie thought this was ingenius for them to do more sophisticated jumps in the living room. Maddie started mixing the promotional song of HersheyPark with the Sesame theme song and she was singing this while Faith danced. It was so funny! And, tonight at dinner they were having a screeching contest. Maddie would screech as loud as she could, and then Faith would go. These girls can screech VERY, VERY loud. And they definitely do have that girlish pitch to their screeches which makes it even funnier. They were dying of laughter.

We definitely enjoy our time together.

Great day

Little women went to bed tonight the same way they woke up this morning: goofing off and being funny! They were so funny today. Gampa asked Maddie today out of the blue who her best friend is, and she answered without hesitation "my best friend is my Beebster," and smiled. They are two peas in a pod.

When Maddie poops, she always kicks us out of the bathroom. If Faith's around and not occupied, she calls for the Beebster to go in with her. I never really know what they're doing in there because they scream at me if I try and snoop and open the door. I always hear giggles coming from the bathroom though, and usually I see Faith right next to Maddie peeking in to the toilet bowl or getting tub toys from the cabinet with which to entertain Cran while she poops. Haha. Today when I peeked in, they were hugging. It was so sweet. Hugging and giggling.

They spent forever this morning too in Faith's room sitting in their old bouncer. I couldn't even find them for a little while because all was silent, and they weren't in Maddie's room playing where they usually are. Then they started laughing like crazy because Faith got the brilliant idea to sit in the bouncer, and Maddie followed suit. Of course, they're both so heavy that the bouncer wasn't bouncing and instead was level with the floor. They looked so funny sitting there together!

Nene and Gampa ended up coming here today to swim and for dinner, and it was a nice time. Maddie was just beside herself with excitement that they were coming, and Faith is right there alongside Maddie feeling the excitement too because when you say "Nene and Gampa are coming" she says "ETS" really loud and starts clapping. She's also been infatuated with her cousins too, and gets so excited when you mention Flupper's name or 'Baby Cousin, Ella's name. Anyway, it was really nice to have some extra hands and eyes at the pool. We always have so much fun swimming, but I tend to feel like I short change both Maddie and Faith because I never get quite the 1-on-1 time that I'd like with each of them while we're there. Today though was different. I played figures with Beebster in the baby pool while Maddie was swimming with Nene and then got to take Maddie in to the big pool all by herself while Beebster sat with Nene and Gampa. I was so incredibly proud of my big girl today because she's been wanting forever to go to the deep end with me, but I'm never able to obviously because I have to be able to hold Faith at the same time. Today I swam alongside of her and her 'pet' while she kicked all by herself and swam the entire edge of the pool. She was very excited and proud of herself, and I was so excited for her and just to see the pride in her eyes. Not to mention how much I enjoy being with my girls individually as well.

They were a riot in bed tonight again too. Maddie always reads her books in our bed before wiping out and then I pass her over to her bed. On most nights the little Beebster goes to bed in her crib, but sometimes she points and cries that she wants to sleep in our bed with sissy. I can't deny the girl. She's too darn cute when she does that and says her famous 'Ets' when you ask her if this is what she wants. The two stinkers started off quietly reading individually, but within a few minutes they were laughing so hard that they could barely breathe. Faith kept standing up and falling face first into our comforter and laying there like a sack of potatoes. Maddie thought this was hilarious and then would do it as well. Then they decided that it'd be funny to be ghosts and put their blankies on each other. I decided that it was time for them to go to bed, and took Faith back to her crib. Maddie passed out within minutes, but Faith was crying for Maddie. So, I brought her back and she started out quiet but within a few minutes was doing her tickling noise to Maddie's butt: "guata guata guata" (which is what it literally sounds like). She kept tickling Maddie and laying on top of her. She finally passed out by 7:45pm and on top of Maddie.

They're two peas in a pod. Two incredible little girls.