Twin Update

By themselves Jillian and Lyla are wild. Together they are a tornado. A happy, adorable, but chaotic tornado :)

Jillian is just like her big sister. Often Adam and I look at each other in amazement because it is as if we are reliving Grace's babyhood with her. She is sensitive and sweet. Her feelings get hurt easily and she has very little tolerance for Lyla's shenanigans. We tell her not to do something and if our pull is greater that her twin sister's then she usually stops. She finds it easier to just hand over whatever Lyla is screaming about than to fight with her about it. She loves to sing and talk. Her favorites are the ABC song and Ba Ba Black Sheep. She does this little half smile I'm trying not to smile that just slays me. She also does a wrinkly nose smile that her big sister patented at her age. Miss Jilli is our climber. She can scale just about anything: her crib, the dining room table, the rock wall on the playset. She also has a major sweet tooth. She loves fruit, candy, and cereal best. She still loves her paci and her blankie and sleeps on her side.

Lyla is our spitfire. It is hard not to laugh at her shenanigans. She has this incredible shit eating grin and often you can see the wheels turning on what she will be up to next. She is also our little comedian and delights in making us laugh. She is PERSISTENT. Good gracious is she persistent. There is no distracting this child from something she wants. She pretty much bullies her twin. And almost always wins a fight. Even with her big sister. She got her first time out at 20 months. She is so good natured though. As "busy" as she is she also loves to cuddle and be held. She is happy to let her twin do the talking for her and is less social around those she doesn't know. Miss Lyla likes to swing and hang. From dressers, the trampoline handle, counters, anything really. She eats slower than Jillian. She loves fruit. vegetables, and ice cream best. She still sucks her middle 2 fingers and sleeps with her butt up in the air.

Their interaction with each other is priceless. It is so fun being a mommy of twins. They hold hands, bump their bellies, give eachother kisses and hugs, and are generally 2 peas in a pod. Even though they fight and love in equal measure you can tell already that they will always be there for each other.

Bye Bye Preschool

Miss Gracie Grace graduated from preschool today. She has gone from the child that cried at drop off the first half of the year to the child who hops out of the car with a smile and a wave and says "Bye mom!" It is gratifying as a parent to watch her blossom.

This was her on her first day of school. This was her this morning.

They did the whole graduation song and tassled caps. I cried like a big baby (good Lord) but Grace rocked it out. She happily sang all the songs about Jesus and got her "diploma". Pretty much the cutest thing ever.

By the grace of God we ended up in a place with a teacher that was exactly what Grace needed. Mrs Tippens actually cried and said she was really going to miss Grace and that she has been "such a joy". I went in blind hoping my gut was right and it was. Despite all of my trying to control and plan-  ultimately I am not the one in charge HE IS. He likes to remind me of this in wonderful ways and I am slowwwwwly learning :)

K Time

I am still struggling with the decision as to where to send Grace to school. I started checking out schools in February. It's now April. I don't know why I am having such a tough time deciding and I am sure I am making a bigger deal out of it than I need to.

Today we did Concords roundup. Grace did great. She was shy at first but then went happily with the 5th grader assigned to her and then with the teachers. It was nice to know people there and that they knew us. Grace would not just be another face in the crowd @ Concord. The highlight for her was planting a sunflower and seeing the inside of the school bus. Next week we will do Westerns roundup.

We also had G's preschool conference tonight. Mrs. T informed us that Grace "has really blossomed this year". She started off crying everyday at drop off and kind of being a loner. She now has no problem with the separation and actively plays and talks with the other kids. Academically she came in doing well and has continued to do well. She also said she is quite the little artist (just like daddy). She showed us some of the great pictures she has drawn this year. She said she asks very thoughtful questions at sharing time, not the same ones asked every week. We were also told our Miss G is a perfectionist. She takes the time to make sure she does her very best even if it takes a little longer.

Her Self portrait in September

Her self portrait in April

Her name in September

Her name in April

If she were president...

She likes to play in her tree fort

Her Robot

Our little artist

Mrs. T and Cherubs have been perfect for her. I feel like my child has been nurtured and loved and allowed to be herself while growing at her own pace. You can't ask for much more as a parent.
She is ready for kindergarten! Now if mommy could only figure out where to send her!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Easter

Holidays are always a mad dash in the Dawson household. While it is wonderful that all of our family is close it also makes for an exhausting day of trying to get everywhere and do everything.

First we searched for the eggs the Easter bunny hid (real eggs that the twins enjoying smashing while throwing the the basket). Next up was checking out the baskets. Cue 4 year old breakdown because despite having 3 times the things her sisters did, her basket did not  include princess shoes. Needless to say, everyone is enjoying the princess shoes now :)

Church was next on the agenda. If they want to torture prisoners of war they should have them take twin 22 month olds to church. Holy crap. They ended up in the nursery which was better for everyone.

Next we enjoyed an amazing buffet at the Country Club that Scott and Nicki were kind enough to ask us to join them for. That dessert bar is to die for (okay maybe the wrong saying on Easter). Lyla amused the crowd by standing at the m&m bowl and looking cute so people would feed her gobs of candy.

Speaking of candy our Jilli Bean LOVES jelly beans. She would do just about anything for these sweet beans. Including pushing chairs over to whatever high objects the baskets are hidden upon and climbing until she can reach them.

The Easter bunny was at the club so Grace got to give him a big hug while the twins wanted nothing to do with him.

We then went to nana and papas for an Easter egg hunt. The twins had no idea what was going on but enjoyed running around like all the big kids. Grace really got into it this year, taking her egg hunting very seriously.

Next was GG Wilsons to see that side of the fam. Too windy to enjoy time outside but the kids got into GG's old dress up suitcase and had a great time playing together.

Finally we ended the day at GG Dawsons for another Easter egg hunt. Grandpa Dawson gave all the kiddos (and me) a good 'ol fashioned tractor ride.

Whew! God is Good!! The end

Spring Break

We went on spring break this year! Nicki asked us if we wanted to do a girls thing somewhere warm and we were in! Gracie, my mom, Nicki, Ally, and I headed to Delray Beach, FL for 6 days. It was hard leaving daddy and the babies at home but it was also nice to get away and have a nice, relaxing week.

Weather was beautiful. Hot and sunny. It was so nice to bake in the sun and eat outside at all the adorable little restaurants in the area. I would definitely go back there for vacation. It was a very cute little town with beach access across the street from our hotel. It wasn't all built up and touristy like some parts of FL are. The beach didn't have any hotels on it so it was protected and beautiful.

It was nice to spend some time with just my girl. I feel like she is always having to wait and be patient with twin little sisters and for once she got mommy all to herself. She loved swimming in the pool with Ally and playing in the sand at the beach. This girl LOVES the beach and pool and SUN in general :)

For more go to Nicki's blog:
Florida
Life At The Beach
Sunny Days
Shopping Day