Ellie and Claire turn 8!!!

Ellie and Claire turned 8!! We brought cupcakes to their class to celebrate - I did the funfetti cones. 

They had a half day due to conferences so right after school we took the girls in their class to Painted Pottery for a fun party. Thankfully Auntie Suz was free to come help me survive. 

At their class celebrating Claire and Ellie. 

At painted pottery!

all at work.

Auntie Suz getting busted painting Ellie's Moose. ha!

What do you get at a twin 8 year old party??? LOTS OF CRAFTS!!! It was the week before the deck got demolished so they "made perfume" on the deck. 

another creation.

lip gloss anyone?

greeted by their sarcophagi at conferences. 

creation

Happy Birthday Ellie and Claire! 

November well child checks

Ann & Addi hosted a fun dinner party with a handful of families! Had to snap the kids dinner! When will Charlie start smiling normally again??? 

While checking the girls' homework I was surprised to find really well dressed children in their word problem. I just can't get enough of these! 

Charlie's 8.5 year old well child check details. He weighs 66.2 lbs (71%) and is 52 inches tall (56%). 

Eleanore and Claire had their 5.5 year old check and they continue to AMAZE me! 

After school they both did their urine samples and then got on the scale. It blows me away that in the middle of the afternoon they weigh the EXACT same! 

Claire: 42.8 lbs (22%) and is 45.5 inches tall (27%)

Eleanore: 42.8 lbs (22%) and is 45.75 inches tall (32%). 

We are continually thankful for the health and well being of our kids. We thank God for them and for their health! 

January Happenings continued

found these gems of ellie and claire! So precious!  

ellie - still in control and future newscaster. when she was little she went to charlie's preschool open house (she was like 16 months) and sat at a desk and was all BUSINESS. at that time we pronounced her Natalie Morales -- love seeing that she is still just like that! 

Claire has always been our actress and goofy one. She still continues! Love her spirit! 

I'll never tire of seeing these two next to each other in just undies. seriously incredible at how "identical" they are!  

I mean look at that! Ellie is on the left, Claire right. 

Charlie and Drew having a blast!

proof of the kids' hard work! 

Charlie is a master student. 

his reading comprehension tests show what a stellar reader he is! 

Claire! doing great with phonograms and spelling tests! 

Ellie! Also mastering the spelling tests and phonograms! 

These are the quilts my friend Sari made of Bill's old t-shirts! So cool. 

on to Feb! 

things about Ellie & Claire at 5...

Some things we want to remember about Eleanore and Claire at age 5.

Claire:

• is incredibly funny. Being funny is in her genes. She will make a goofy remark and it is usually hilarious (where in comparison - charlie or ellie's might be borderline little kidish - claire's usually hits the mark). Just tonight we were having a random dance party on our deck and Claire was getting jiggy with it and had some amazing dance moves. It has Bill and me in stitches. I think this trait will be both fun and terrifying as she grows older. 
• changes her clothes MANY times a day! no words on how i feel about this. she does help me clean up and put her clean clothes away so for the most part it isn't horrible. I just do about 1-2 loads of laundry a day and I'm all good. 
• speaking of clothes - she mixes and matches the most random patterns. in her world - patterns match (typically 3-4 different patterns within 1 outfit). it creates some really interesting outfits. 
• she loves shoes - pretty shoes. she has no interest in wearing reasonable shoes like keens, winter boots, etc. she almost ALWAYS wears her Cinderella glass slipper high heels. so much in fact that they were almost dark (they are normally see-through). So I just purchased another pair in the next size. She grabs on to a pair of shoes and will wear them until there are holes in the front of them. then she continues to wear them. she did this with a pair of gold ballet flats last year and this year it is a black patent pair of ballet flats. 
• she still loves to draw, color, cut, tape, staple, you name it. there are so many pieces of paper throughout my house - little notes the girls leave me (and bill and any guest - so be prepared to bring home a ream full of notes if you come visit). 
• we recently watched a movie called Hatchi about a really loyal dog. While everyone else was crying and touched - Claire and Bill weren't the least bit emotionally effected. 
• Loves bugs! 

Ellie:

• during Hatchi (the movie I mentioned above) - Ellie was very sad. She loves animals and seems very sensitive towards them. She loves sitting with lily and just petting her head. 
• She still has some pretty cute word mashups/mixups. She sais I amin't instead of I am not. 
• She also continues to put her shoes on the wrong feet most of the time. and she will grab 2 different shoes just because. Not always, but she just grabs what is easiest and then puts them on. 
• Ellie is really good at putting together cute outfits. She will come down in stylish combos - doesn't mix as many patterns as Claire. 
• Recently the girls started joining us in adult church since they graduated out of the nursery program. So they join us for the majority of the worship and prayer and then leave for children's church with Charlie for the sermon and then return. We have been shocked at Ellie's dedication during the church service. She loves to be independent and follow along with her little pointer finger pointing to the songs and parts of the program (even though she is usually on the wrong line). She recently saw communion being taken and when she got home she really wanted to know how she could take the samples. ha! (we are talking with her about it, but calling communion - samples shows she is not ready).
• Also loves to color, cut, tape, etc. she will spend lots of time writing notes and delivering them to me. love it.

Claire happy with her new bike!

Charlie and Claire.

Whenever the girls and I get back from the library with a stack of books - they will read together forever. Love it! 

One morning - Claire delivered to me the drawing on the left. She specifically said "Mom, this is you as an egg!". She was thrilled. 

Same with Ellie  - she delivered me the picture on the right. I am wearing a crown in each photo and have long eyelashes. Loved them both so much I framed them! 

these two are so kind to each other (most of the time). Claire was cold waiting for preschool one morning and so Ellie was warming her up.

then I stepped in to warm them both up and a grandma snapped this photo of us. Love these girls and the extra time I get to spend with them. 

another gorgeous photo! love all the crowns. 

Overall the girls have so many similarities and interests that I won't list them all. They love their "barbies" (aka - American girl dolls) and magic clip dolls and really anything they can jump into their own world with. Their imagination is incredible. They love to play "talking chess" where they set the chess game up and then start "talking" with the chess pieces as if they were people. It is amazing and hilarious. They will craft and color and play games for hours together without any intervention from me. When they are fighting, I just often tell them they can sort it out or I can have them play independently and after a bit more discussion they work it out. So thankful for these 2 girls! 

They love clothes and pretty things. Shopping is fun for them (not for me!) so I usually just order things or pick them up when they are not with me. 

The other night they decided to wrap up their bedtime routine with a little american girl doll chair reading time. of course they stacked their chairs on top of stools, but seeing them so snug together made me smile. 

Ellie is in the pink. Claire is the sock/eskimo slipper combo. 

What a miracle these two are and we are so thankful to watch them grow up! I have to say it makes me jealous for a twin! Love you Ellie and Love you Claire!