2nd Grade

Ava and Macy are off to a great start in 2nd grade. Here they are at Meet the Teacher night.

We are so pleased with their teachers this year. Ava has Mrs. McMillan who is super sweet and very organized. She seems to be an excellent teacher and Ava is really thriving academically this year.

Macy has Mrs.Mansell who seems to be firm yet also laid back and funny. A perfect match for Macy! At her conference, Mrs. Mansell said, "I can't say enough good things about Macy." : )

Here is the first day of school:

Their school was recently featured on a local Dallas news station because they have 22 sets of twins and 1 set of triplets! It is so crazy! Ava and Macy didn't really get any air time but it was super fun to watch and be a part of. 

Here is a picture of career day. They had to dress up like what they wanted to be when they grow up so we went with our old stand by costumes. Ava was a doctor and Macy was a vet. Aubrey would NOT let us get out of the house without dressing up too. She apparently wants to be a chef when she grows up. 

Aubrey thinks she is just as big as they are. Almost every day she insists on walking with the girls to school and wearing her backpack. Sometimes she even makes me put a water bottle and snack in her backpack. She will ride in the stroller on the way home but insists on walking with her big sisters to school. 

Before leaving for the 2nd grade field trip to the Frisco Heritage Museum. 

In other big second grade news, Ava and Macy got braces. I know they seem a little young but their mouths are a mess! We have known since Macy was very little that she would need extensive orthodontic work. We weren't sure about Ava but after a consult with an orthodontist this summer (at the suggestion of our dentist) we found out that they both needed expanders and partial braces (top four teeth on upper and lower). They both have overcrowding with no room for their permanent teeth to come in. Macy also has a cross bite. They will have these braces and expanders for 12-15 months. It is possible that they will need braces again as teenagers when all of their permanent teeth have come in but we don't know that for sure yet. At that point it will be a cosmetic issue whereas now it is a functional issue. I can already tell a difference in their teeth even with the braces. But having two 7 year olds with braces really is kind of a pain.  I have to help them brush and clean out the food and gunk that builds up and gets stuck. It's gross. And time consuming. BUT it will be worth it when we see their beautiful smiles again. 

Before 

After

Milkshakes for lunch. 

The first week was pretty rough. They were really sore and we all had a hard time figuring out what they could and couldn't eat. It's much better now though and there are only a few things that we have to stay away from. They have truly handled it like champs and I am proud of them for not complaining about not being able to eat popcorn and gummy bears. I guess this is when having a twin sister comes in handy. Things like braces at 7 years old doesn't seem so bad when you have someone else going through it right alongside you. 

Keystone

We took a ski trip in December and this time we brought the girls with us (all 3 of them!). We went  to Keystone, Colorado. Ben's parents also came with us. They were a huge help with all 3 of the girls, but especially Aubrey since she is too little to ski. This was Ava and Macy's first time to hit the slopes and they loved it. They actually both got a little bit of altitude sickness the first day so they didn't make it through the whole day of ski school. But they did great the second day and were so sad when we had to leave. They are already begging to go back again. Ben and I both love to ski so we are really glad that they enjoyed it! 

This was the first day. We think Ava really was sick, but maybe Macy was being a little over dramatic. : )

This is right outside our condo. There was a huge hill that they slid down on their bottoms. 

This little one loved the snow too!

Ready to hit the slopes on the second day!

 Ski pose! 

Going up the mountain on the Gondola:

 Grammy, Pawpaw, and Aubrey met us at the base of the mountain for lunch each day. 

We didn't ski our last day, but we hung out at the base of the mountain until it was time to head to the airport. We sat by the fire and drank coffee while the kids played in the snow. The girls also went ice skating. 

Aubrey turns TWO!

On December 17th, Aubrey turned TWO! It's hard to believe that she is already two. Although we have had a few terrible two moments in the last few weeks, she is still such a joy! She is funny, sensitive, sweet, silly, happy, loving, friendly, polite, and easy going (most of the time... unless shopping is involved).

We did not have a big party for her this year. (3rd child problems!) December is such a crazy month for everyone, so I decided that she wouldn't know or care if she had a big party this year. We will throw a big bash next year when she is old enough to care about her birthday! We celebrated at home on her birthday by having her favorite dinner... macaroni and cheese. (I'm pretty sure we had some other things to go with it but all I can remember is the mac and cheese!) We got a small cake, sang happy birthday, and she opened presents. I took cupcakes to school the day after her birthday so that all of her friends could sing to her and celebrate with her.

Cupcakes at school:

 A little bit about our TWO year old...

She has recently started talking up a storm. To be honest, the speech pathologist in me was getting a little worried that her language was delayed. She had a fairly small vocabulary (about 50ish words), only a couple of 2+ word phrases, and was pretty difficult to understand. And then she turned two and VOILA... language explosion. She has words for pretty much everything in her environment, uses tons of phrases and short sentences, and is much easier to understand now. It's so fun to listen to the things she says.

She had her first trip to the dentist. And she did so great. She does not like for me to brush her teeth (only wants to do it herself), but for some reason she laid back and let the dental hygenist brush away.

She is the WORST shopper ever!!!! She will not ride in a grocery cart and will only stay in a stroller for a short amount of time. Grocery shopping is seriously such a pain with her. She wants to walk or push the buggy. Which would be fine if she would actually walk beside me and not touch every single thing she sees. Lately, I have been letting her push the little kid size buggies at Kroger which works well if I only need to get a few things. But if the store is crowded or if I need a weeks worth of groceries, that is not a good option. Her latest trick is to start opening candy in the checkout line while I am putting the groceries on the belt or while I am paying. Then I have to buy the candy which means she gets to eat it. She totally knows how to work it. Seriously... worst shopper ever.

Do not be deceived by the cuteness of this picture!

She is a good sleeper, but wakes up early. She goes to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 and wakes up around 6:30. She takes a 2 hour nap each day. She still sleeps with a pacifier. She rarely has it during the day anymore but I still give it to her at night and for nap. She used to jump in her bed and go right to sleep without a peep, but she has now learned how to delay the bedtime routine by asking for milk, covers, books, stuffed animals, extra kisses, high fives, etc. It's quite the process to get her settled each night.

She is super friendly and cuddly and loving. She loves to give all of us hugs and high fives. She waves and says "hi" to strangers when we are out and about. She will run to her teachers and let them hold her and cuddle with her when she gets to school in the mornings. She is super attached to me and wants me to hold her all of the time. I am happy that she loves me so much, but sometimes it is hard to get things done with a 2 year old attached to your hip.

She is so polite. She almost always says thank you when you give her something. It doesn't matter if it is something she really wants like candy or just something simple like a blanket at bedtime. She will say, "thank you mommy" and if I don't acknowledge her right away she will keep saying it until I say, "You're welcome." She also says, "bless you" whenever anyone sneezes, and please, and will even say "yes ma'am" and "yes sir" to Ben and I. So sweet. : )

Her favorite foods are mac and cheese, yogurt, raisins, and cheese-its. These are the only foods that she will eat consistently without fail. Balanced diet.. right? It drives me crazy. The girls were such good eaters and would at least TRY anything I put in front of them. Aubrey will eat a variety of things but just not consistently. For example, today for lunch she ate a piece of ham wrapped around a cheese stick and carrot sticks. Tomorrow if I put that same thing on her plate, she probably won't touch it. She loves anything salty... goldfish, pretzels, almonds, popcorn... but even these snack things are not consistent. Last week she ate an entire small cheeseburger. A few nights later I ordered her one from a restaurant and she wouldn't touch it. I always give her the same food we are eating for dinner but there are a lot of nights where she either doesn't eat it or only takes a couple of bites. She is clearly not starving or malnourished so we are just going with it for now. I'll keep making her a plate, and she'll keep asking for yogurt.

She is really tall. Her height has actually gone from 99% percentile to 89th but she is still way taller than her classmates and just seems SO big for her age.

She loves to sing, dance, color, and CLIMB. The girl has no fear. 

She is a really happy baby (sniff....sniff... toddler). She has her moments where she acts like a two year old, but most of the time she is laughing and smiling and easy to please. We can't imagine life without her and feel so blessed that she is ours. Happy Birthday Aubrey James!