Madison Updates

Madison's age group has started having more birthday parties.  I love the idea of the girls getting together to hang out.  I also love the stuff they do together.  What I feel conflicted about is what to do when I don't want to have a kid party for my girls.  I still enjoy the family birthday party, and they do, too. It is just too much to have both a kid and a family party.  Yet, I feel like I should reciprocate and have these friends over for a party.  I think my plan is just to have occasional playdates and have people over in smaller groups. 

Her latest party led to a first - roller skating!  She ended up really enjoying it!  I don't know how many laps she took, but she looked fairly steady on her feet when I saw her at the end of the night.  Such a cool opportunity!

Madison also had to say good-bye to her pet Betta fish, Blueberry.  It was more emotional than I thought it would be for her, but she recovered quickly.  She purchased a new Betta fish named Raspberry.  He is not as active, but he is still a fun fish.  She bought new rocks to match her fish, which makes him hard to see.

Fun Stuff

Because Blogger is reluctant to work well with Open Writer (the program I love to create my blogs in before posting), I have not been blogging much.  But we have had some fun in the past month.  Here is the first post of such things; it is just easier to post them altogether rather than separate blog posts, I think.

The girls received shower caps at Christmas and used them for the first time.  I don't know if they like the caps or the fact they didn't have to wash their hair better!

Being sisters can be just plain fun.  It can also be horrible, lest these photos deceive you.  These two can yell, tattle, and cry about everything the other one does as well.

Ellie had a choir concert.  It is always a fun thing to watch.  This year was Disney song themed.  So, every song was familiar.  There are a lot of words to learn in Disney songs!  This is Ellie and her teacher.

Sometimes we have fun just being silly and doing things we haven't done since the girls were little - like "flying".  And sometimes  Daddy helps with craft time!

Ears

Madison asked years ago if she could get her ears pierced.  I thought she seemed kinda young to do all the maintenance it required.  Plus, let’s be honest… I didn’t know if she could handle the piercing part.

So, I put her off by telling her when she turned 9 she could get her ears pierced.  Why 9?

10 would have been a more significant birthday.

But, I was in 3rd grade when I got my ears pierced, so that’s what I went with.

After heading to get flu shots on January 2nd, we drove over to Claire’s to consider the possibilities.  She was excited but unsure about getting them pierced where “all the mall could see.”  Which, I get.  And, it did make me wonder, “Why is it such a public thing, Claire’s?”

We looked at our choices for a long time, talked to the ladies who would do the piercing (who had lots of practice on each other apparently!).  And finally, she was ready!

She climbed up in the chair.  I took hold of her hands. She took hold of her bunny for bravery.  There was an ear piercer on each side of her.  And Ellie looked on.  (The rest of the mall pretty much ignored what was happening.)

A split second later it was all over.  There were a few tears, but overall, she was a champ!

She was so proud of her new butterfly earrings!  I was so happy for her.

We celebrated with some ice cream in the mall food court.  And all was well.

Joint Birthday Party

It is just easiest to have one party.  I don’t think it bothers the girls, but I wonder that every year.  We still try to do something special on their birthday for each of them.
This year we had about 18 people here to celebrate, and it was a lot of fun.  The girls had worked hard at making (glitter!) signs in the weeks leading up to the party.  They also made signs detailing the menu.  All this is put up the day of the party, and that is a lot of what they love about parties – getting ready for them.  This was the first year that they were both able to really help me prepare the food.  Madison sliced all the strawberries for her angel food cake.  Ellie peeled and chopped veggies.  I worked on some of the other stuff – cheesy potatoes, cowboy caviar, chopping harder veggies, sloppy joe meat, shredded chicken.  All of it was pretty easy, just kinda time-consuming to cut it up. It definitely went faster with their help.  They also had a chance for some fun.

Then, the guests started arriving…. slowly, because the snow had started.  Last year was ice; this year was slick snow covered roads.

We tucked in, let Pepper greet everyone, and then started the meal.

 

Then, we had dessert.  Madison chose angel food cake with strawberries, spoon dip, and whipped cream.

Ellie chose a DQ ice cream cake.

While others finished their desserts, the girls opened presents.

It is always fun to see their reactions.  They truly love the act of opening gifts and seeing what people thought to give them – sand art, slime kits, hooded sweatshirts, American girl clothes, and “fit bits” to name a few.

 

We remembered to capture a few pictures with the grandparents before they left.  (Forgot to take a picture with us and them…a little disappointing.)

Happy Birthday, Ellie!

I am an entire week (and one day) late on this post.  Sorry about that, Ellie.  We were too busy celebrating for me to get one in on that day, I guess.

You are loved on your birthday, and weeks… years… beyond it.

For your birthday, we went out to eat at the buffet at Sam’s Pizza in Smithville.  You opened your gift from us – a notebook with you and Madison on the front, an outfit, and a panda hat.

 

You are a ray of sunshine with a few worry clouds tossed in at various occasions.  You love to laugh, tell jokes and stories, and be a part of things.  Sometimes you get overwhelmed by things, too – new situations, unknowns, thinking about what could happen.  But we are working on that, and that is normal.  You took a big step of courage when we got Pepper.  You have become more confident around him, and I like to see you grow in that area. 

You love playing school and babies.  You like going to school, too.  You seem to have lots of stories to tell everyday, especially whatever it is that Kacy shared with you that day.  You were pretty proud of your pinch pot from art class, your spelling test scores, and how neatly you can write.  Each of those things you worked at to make them happen.

You love snuggles on laps, holding hands, and being close.  Sometimes I feel guilty because I want space while you crave closeness.  I hope I am giving you what you need.  Oh, the questions I have with you – How far do I push when you worry about something? How do I help you use your words (and you have lots of them!) to get your feeling across? Am I doing things right? Is not picking up your clothes because you don’t care or because you can’t remember to follow directions?

And you have questions for me – How are babies made? How can a dog be two different kinds/breeds? Can I have so-and-so over after school? When can we bake? Why do I have to ___? Do you love me? (You know I do!)

You also like helping.  Many nights when it is time to set the table (your job), you say that, “I just love helping out.  What else can I do?”

I can’t wait to see how you grow and change in this next year.  God has big plans for you, my little curious soul, be ready!

Happy Birthday, Madison!

(Yep, I made that sign on the dry erase board.  I didn’t forget.  I remembered. Aren’t you proud of me?)

Today, you turned 9. You are one finger away from two handfuls and double digits.  Nine seems so grown up.  And you are growing up. 

You still like some things that remind me you are a little girl: silly games with Ellie, reading picture books with me, coloring (but more advanced pictures now), giggling at little things. 

I love those things. 

But you are doing things that are also showing me who you are becoming: lengthier chapter books, building lego sets all by yourself, an interest in your clothes/hair/style, journaling.

I love those things, too.

While I say sometimes that you should stop growing, I don’t really mean it.  I love seeing you change, develop new interests, try new things, experiment with who you are.  It is neat to watch this progression. 

I love that you enjoy going to church, especially Sunday school.  (You have had the privilege of Grandma teaching you for a few quarters.)  You also look forward to Kingdom Choir practice and performances.  You even had a solo!!!! in the Messiah for Young Voices.  Wow!  What courage to sing in front of everyone!  And you have started going to Jr. Missionaries.  Another way to grow with your friends in your love for Jesus. 

Thanks for the way you play with your sister, care for your friends, and love us as your parents.  You are an amazing 9 year old!

Aerial Yoga

This year, Jennifer treated the girls to an aerial yoga session at Flex Yoga in Wooster.  I was going to join, but with a dislocated pinky, it was kinda hard to be all in. 

We had never done this before, so there was some hesitancy before going.  But I reassured them that all they needed to do was sit in the silks and only do what they were comfortable with. 

But the minute the silks came down, they were all in.

           

It was Erin (and Marianne), Jennifer, Ellie, Madison, and Maggie in the silks. With Gloria and I watching.

The instructor was fantastic – relatable, encouraging, and just the right amount of push.  Erin did a great job.  And Gloria even got in the action for a bit.

    

The girls tried all kinds of things – standing up, swinging, flipping completely over, twirling like a ballerina, and more.  It was really neat to watch them try all the things.

              

At the end, they wanted more.  If only everything fun wasn’t 30 minutes away from us, right?  But, I think I would like to do a session with my Ediger side sometime.  I think there would be others who would enjoy it. 

It was a great gift, Jennifer!  Thanks for helping them try new things.