Hello!  I hope summer was good to you. Ours was busy but I’m really not sure what we did.  School didn’t end until the middle of June for us, so the first part of summer was spent with end of school activities like water day and their singing program.  I always know the songs they are going to sing well in advance because they will run around the house singing them at the top of their lungs but they tend to get stage fright on performance day and freeze on stage. They rode horses for the first time and were irritated that they couldn’t be 100% in charge.  They did not like that someone would hold the reins.  They really don’t fear much.  We also went to the amusement park frequently and they are now y’all enough to ride 2 roller coasters.  They say they like it when they’re stomach goes “weeee” .  Mainly we hung out and goofed around.  We had shaving cream fights in the back yard and did lots of art projects.

 

Taya in pink, Emi in green

 

Since they are still just 4, there aren’t a lot of camps for them to be in over the summer but I was able to enroll them in a dance camp and they loved it. They really love to watch music videos on YouTube and their favorites involve dancing, but not hip hop, they like contemporary and ballet. Their favorites are Sia’s Chandelier, and a ballet dancer doing a routine to Hooser’s Take Me To Church.  They watch and then repeat what they see in the living room. They don’t know it yet but today is their first day of dance classes here in town. I’m excited to surprise them with it. The only part that is a bummer about it is that they have to take the class together and I’m really trying to avoid that, but there aren’t a lot of options in their age range.

 

Emi                                     Taya

 

They also took swim lessons at the local pool.  Swimming is bar none their favorite summer activity. They would do it every day if they could. They are actually getting pretty good and can jump off the diving board and swim to the side by themselves. We spent so much time outside and in the pool this summer that their hair got really blonde at the ends. Almost like an ombré effect.

The other major milestone that occurred this summer was finally becoming fully potty trained!  They’ve been peeing on the potty for a year but have had difficulty going poop on it. Part of that is because the still take prescription medication daily to avoid constipation and pooping is difficult for them. The other part of the problem was plain old stubbornness.   It wouldn’t have been horrible but they loved to play with it. I can tell you this now because some of the stories are funny now that enough time had passed. They have in the past, pinstriped the dog with it, painted on the walls,  and shoved dirty underwear down the floor vents so that the whole house reeked as the air circulated. Their final act of naughtiness happened at the beginning of summer. We had just gotten back from dance camp and I was making them lunch so they went upstairs to the toy room to play. I went up to get them 15 minutes later and I knew someone had had an accident but neither of their pants was dirty. When I asked where it was they replied in unison that “it’s up there”. Where up there you ask? The ceiling. They had dug it out of Taya’s underwear and flung it up to the ceiling. I had to get a broom to knock the turds down and then a ladder to wipe the skid marks. Yes, I had skid marks on my ceiling. And that was the last straw for me. We spent the next week locked in the house with no underwear and 20 barbies lined up on the mantle. Every time they went in the potty they got a doll. It was a rough week but it got the job done. It can be bittersweet to watch your children grow up but I am thrilled to be closing that chapter. I don’t miss it at all. 🤣.

Emi                                        Taya

 

They started back to school last week in their final year of pre-K. I’m excited to see what the year will bring. They can both write their first name, know all the abc’s and most of the sounds a letter makes. The area that they need to grow in is more social. They still are primarily interested in each other and tend to ignore everyone else, myself included 😁. This year their school allowed me to have one of them stay in aftercare 1 day a week. Each Thursday one stays at school and is forced to socialize without her sister while the other one hangs out with me and we do something fun. Because we don’t have family in the area I’ve not spent a ton of one on one time with the girls and I miss it. I also want them to know who they are without their sister. Last Thursday was our first one and Taya stayed and played at school while Emi and I had our “date”. She chose pizza for lunch and then she got her first pedicure from a salon, followed by the ice cream shop. It was a big success. Taya will get to pick our activity this Thursday, but based on the way she’s been eyeing Emi’s sparkly toes I think she’ll be wanting a pedicure too. I really am excited about getting to know them as individuals and have high hopes for how it helps them develop.

I hope all is well with you. I appreciate the comments and am glad people are checking in. Someday the girls will have access to this and it will be a diary of sorts.

 

I’ll post again in January. Take care.