The girls are going through a dance phase. They've been trying to replicate the ballet scenes from Disney's The Little Einsteins. We can hear them singing "Arabesque . . . arabesque" and fluttering around the floor. As luck would happen, Great-Grandma A just sent a box of goodies including two dance leotards. And then yesterday, their preschool teacher sent them home with a pair of tap shoes which had been donated to their school's dress-up collection, but were too small for anybody but our girls. Fun! Although, I'm not sure what our adjoining neighbors think of tap dancing twins on hardwood floors! This morning, Lily ran into our bedroom at 7am asking to put on her tutu.
Elsa is wearing pink and Lily's in blue.
Elsa cracks me up. Lily tends to just run back and forth while dancing, but Elsa actually concentrates on her form. She tries to make it look like ballet.
Lily said the cutest thing last week. She was carrying a big box of toys up the steps and said, "Elsa please help me. I need 3 hands." I thought it was a cute way to ask for help.
Happy sisters.
This picture is a little blurry, but I like it because you can see Elsa's "proud
expression. We've been seeing it a lot lately. She's been really working on being more independent and doesn't like help doing things like getting dressed or using the bathroom. Over the weekend, we rearranged their bedroom so they can now reach all their clothes. They really like being big kids.
Last Monday, the girls had their 3-year checkups. At 37.5 months, the girls were both 27 lbs and 35.5 inches tall. This puts them at the 9th percentile. The girls have been keeping on their growth curve which is good and actually gained a bit from last year. They seem to be very healthy and active and developing quite normally.
That same day, Mark also met with their teachers for their first parent/teacher conference. I couldn't go because the girls were both sick last week. He reported lots and lots of good things. The teacher's said the girls are doing amazing, especially considering they are the youngest in the class. Some of the kids are almost a year older than them, but they are keeping up quite nicely. As I've noted on my helping parent days, the girls attention span is getting so much better especially in circle time. The teachers said the girls are always willing to join in and try new things. They are very impressed with how well they play with others and share. They noted the only time the girls get cross is with each other. And they've made it a policy to keep them separated at snacktime, field trips, etc. They noted that Lily tends to be a bit more outgoing and really really likes to paint. But, Elsa tends to have an easier time being independent and separating from us at drop-off. One of the nicest compliments they received is about how joyful and happy they always seem to be and that they are never mean spirited. The teachers mentioned that Lily, Elsa and their buddy Lucy have formed a sunny little trio. They did note that while the girls' language skills are excellent as far as grammar and vocabulary, we need to focus more on pronunciation. They are having a bit of trouble with their initial consonants like p-oliet for toilet and z-uice for juice. This is typical for their age, but we should keep an eye on it. We mentioned this to their doctor and he said as long as WE can understand most of what they say and HE can understand at least half of what they say, he's not worried. Both the teacher and doctor also mentioned using scissors as a 3-year milestone. So, the girls each have a new pair of safety scissors for practicing. They like them very much. On another random note, the girls also got their first boardgame last week. I bought them "Candyland" and they think it is the best thing ever. They understand the concept, but sometimes have a little trouble knowing which direction to move their gamepieces.
