Abby, Zoë and Enzo

Not only did Papa Norm and Daddy insist that I take a motorized cart so I wouldn't be on my feet so long, Papa Norm also took the girls down the cereal aisle to let them choose whichever cereal they wanted, junk or not.  Zoë chose Capn Cruch Berries and Abby chose Froot Loops.  Abby and Zoë had a grand time shopping in the store with relatives, even Auntie Reanna was with us.

Papa Norm and Grandma Cindy came along to swim lessons today, and the girls wanted to show them their stuff.  Also, we saw Anna Claire and Andrea walking into the pool area as we were.  When they saw us, they realized that they had actually come a half hour late and missed their class, so they asked Brooke if she could join our class.  With an audience of relatives, plus a friend in the class, the girls were all about trying to go underwater more.  Abby was so excited about getting her face in the water and so focused on trying again and again, that she wasn't always paying attention to what the rest of the class was doing.  When they were doing 'supermans' off the side of the pool, Zoë decided to try and do it on her own, which meant her 'leaps and bounds' were underwater. 

After we were done at the pool, we decided to just head to the beach, except it was high tide.  We went into Maine to go to long sands beach.  It was so packed, everywhere we tried was so full.  We finally got parked and chose a spot on the beach and ended up seeing Angie and her kids, Kayla and Hunter.  We played for a while and then ate lunch at Sand and Surf.

Well, Grandma Cindy and Papa Norm finally arrived this evening.  Even after finally getting into the airport, then they had some rental car issues, then they stopped at the store to pick up some ice cream and spinkles at the request of Zoë.  The girls were excited that company had finally arrived, but before we knew it, it was time for Abby and Zoë to get ready for bed.  Grandma Cindy and Papa Norm were going to walk to get some ice cream cones with Reanna and Corey, so the girls were kind of upset that they were being left.  But they went to sleep pretty quickly anyhow, wanting to do a good job to be able to have a day full of excitement tomorrow.

Brooke wasn't able to teach the swim lesson this morning as she had a Dr.'s appointment.  Instead there was a woman named Mary teaching the lesson.  The class wasn't as structured, but even with a different style of teacher, it was good.  There were a few times that each of the girls attempted to get out of the pool for some reason, I think because they saw some of the other kids getting out to sit on the side once they did every little thing.  We did get to see Brooke towards the end of the class.  She wasn't able to get in the water at all today, but she's supposed to be able to see us on Wednesday.

Abby and Zoë are going to be having an extended sleepover in our room for pretty much the whole month of July.  We moved their beds into our room this morning to get their room set up for company.  Grandma Cindy and Papa Norm will be our frist guests.  After church and lunch, the girls and I all took a nap... begining the sleepover.

My mom and Norm were supposed to be flying in to Boston in the wee hours of the morning, but their flight from Denver ended up getting canceled and they can't get out until tomorrow.  Abby and Zoë were bummed, since they have been counting down the days until Monday morning, when they'll be able to see Grandma Cindy and Papa Norm and have them watch at swim lessons.  Now we should be seeing them sometime Monday afternoon.

The girls were excited to hear that we'd be going to see Dakota and have a barbeque.  The weather was very overcast and chilly however, and I knew it would be even chillier what with the breeze over at the commons.  We layered it up, dressing warmly and headed over a little before noon.  Mark was there, holding down their spot, and Leann arrived just after us with the kids.

We went over to the playground for a little bit, until we saw the next guests arrived and then we went back over to the picnic spot and Mark got the grill started.  The girls played this cute game called 'tag tails', which is basically like capture the flag for preschoolers.  Not everyone was dressed as warmly as we were, so Mark made a little wind baracade with blankets and camp chairs and the kids sat right in front of the chairs to eat, while we sat in chairs or braved the chilly sea breeze.  After we ate grill food, noodle salad and chips, the girls got to help make a flag cake.  It was tasty and they were excited since we have a (more difficult) flag cake recipe on our calendar for July.  We went to the playground again after a bit, which is where it became evident that Abby and Zoë needed to get home for a nap.  They bonked heads while riding the little airplane and Abby never perked up after that.  Then Zoë fell back out of a (low) swing into the bark mulch and was very upset.  We visited the bathroom and then the horse once more, since Abby hadn't gotten a turn to ride it and she wanted a picture taken on it so that she could show Daddy how she was pretending to be Felicity riding Penny (from the American Girl series).  Then it was off to the house to get some much needed rest.

Today was another swim lesson, finishing up the first week of lessons for the girls.  There wasn't any going under water today, figures since we had the camera and goggles.  Reanna was able to come and watch the lesson today.  We had the girls take their goggles off after a while, because they were fogging up and causing more difficulties than anything we figured.  Just after that though they went to fish for 'magic sticks' and wanted to rush back for their goggles.

Two of the other boys did get in the water today, but mostly stayed at the side of the pool so Abby and Zoë pretty much had the class to themselves again.  It was hot waiting at the side of the pool, but the girls were still chilly in the water.  Today was the first day that I heard any complaining... once Abby told Brooke she was too cold to do something, but she ended up doing it anyway.

We went to the Target in Somersworth today, they were having a big sale on some items.  I had told the girls that I was hoping to get a body pillow that was on sale and Zoë insisted that she get one too.  When I told her they weren't for her, she said that she'd come sneak in my bed.  She said to me, "And you know what I'll do when you're not seeing me?  I'll lay on it!"  The whole rest of the day she wouldn't let up about her having a body pillow, even after saying it was bigger than her bed and her.  Each of the girls got to choose one thing to get in the store.  It was so funny when we got to the food section and they saw the candy aisle.  They both ran to it and, checking out all of the candy, exclaimed "Candy!"  Abby ended up choosing to buy a $1 container of lays 'stax' cheddar chips and Zoë got and .89 cent pack of licorice rope.

The trip to the store wasn't all fun.  Out front of the store on the cement sidewalk area, they have these big red balls (made of some sort of rock, cement, something like that - though they're smooth) cemented to the sidewalk.  Abby and Zoë were thrilled with these things and began running towards the next one.  I tried to remind them to walk on cement, but it was too late or they just weren't listening I guess.  I see Abby go down, so close to the ball, and began howling.  The way she had fallen I completely expected that she'd slammed her face into the thing and an awful image flashed through my head of what may have happened to her face.  Turns out, her face was spared, besides a skinned chin from the cement.  Her knees and elbows are another story.  Her left knee was really bleeding quite a bit, the right just a tad.  Her left elbow seemed fine, but the right one was bleeding some.  It is just so hard to see your child hurt, something that doesn't get any easier as they grow.  We got her to the car and I got Zoë in her seat, while Chris tended to Abby at the trunk.  While I was putting Zoë in she said to me, "I pushed Abby" and actually giggled about it.  I was shocked!  (Not to mention upset)  I explained to Zoë how banged up and upset her sister was, and how it could have been much worse (thank God she wasn't just inches closer to that dumb red ball) and then she heard her sister wailing in the back, and then she wasn't so giddy.

Luckily we have the travel first aid kit in the trunk, because we needed it.  The paper towels we keep in the car also came in handy, since I had to soak up a very drippy knee before Chris could wipe it with the antiseptic and get a jumbo square bandaid on it.  The elbow was a pretty easy fix, but Abby was just so upset.  Chris got her set up in her seat as she was still sobbing, then Zoë started sobbing and felt really badly about what had happened.  Chris hadn't heard what she'd said to me and thought she just wanted some attention too, but then I told him what actually happened and Zoë was quite sheepish in the back.  She didn't get yelled at or anything, but Daddy did let Abby get the nightgown that Zoë really wanted at bed time, as her punishment.  What an ordeal, let me tell you.  Chris put the girls to bed tonight, after I read to them downstairs for probably half an hour, and then we made home made microwave popcorn and watched a movie as our anniversary date.

Abby and Zoë did indeed get their photos onto the website for one of the local newspapers.  Two of their photos are in the slideshow.  Check it out!

We went this afternoon to Corey and Reanna's.  They weren't home yet, but we just dropped some stuff off and then went to the Wal-Mart in Somersworth.  After that we went back to Reanna and Corey's and prepared some stuff for dinner and hung out to wait.  Chris had brought the blender and pineapple juice, and got some coconut milk and imitation rum extract at the store, to make piña colada 'mocktails'.  He made a batch, with a recipe he found on the side of the pineapple juice can, and tried it out on the girls to see how it turned out... it was pretty tasty so he made more for all of us to have with dinner.

Last night we made our own twix and fruit roll-ups, then today we made pretzels, and pizza.  We've been busy.  Chris made the pizza dough first today then set it in a covered container out in the sun on the porch to rise.  Next he made the pretzel dough and set that to rise.  Since the pretzel dough only needed to rise for 30 minutes, we got to work on those first.  Abby made a pretzel heart, Daddy helped Zoë make an eight, and then Daddy and I both tried our hands at the trick to make the regular pretzel twists.  We also made some pretzel rolls in the muffin pan.  Daddy was dissapointed when they ended up not tasting like the pretzel dough he was hoping for... they tasted more like bread dough.  The search continues for the right pretzel dough recipe, this recipe was supposed to be like Aunt Annie's in the mall.

Next we made deep dish pizza's.  The recipe we had was to make a deep dish like Uno's.  We really liked the crust and it turned out really nice.  We were wishing that we had more ingredients to fill our 'pizza pies', but they still turned out yummy.  In one we put down mozzarella then bell peppers (Abby made it look like a pizza sun), some ricotta and our home made sauce.  The other we did the same, but we put onion slices on top of the mozzarella first.  It tasted just like the old school pizzeria uno's deep dish.

For a little while now, we've been getting different questions about death and also about when the girls are grown up.  Many times the questions are asked with just curiosity, but other times the questions are asked with much emotion... especially from Zoë.  The girls will wonder how far apart we'll be when they're grown up, they'll ask us when different people are going to die... those kinds of things.

 Tonight, with tears in her eyes, Zoë asked if Chris and I would be dead when they grew up and got married.  She said that she wanted to see Nonna again before Nonna dies, and then she got upset when it was time for bed.  She wished I could sleep in her bed, she wished she could sleep with me, etc. etc.  She was just quite emotional this evening.  She snuggled me on the couch and got into this conversation about her bed and my bed.  I was saying to her how her bed is where she sleeps and my bed is where I sleep and mentioned that her bed wasn't big enough for us both to sleep in.  She asked if when she was too big for her bed, if then she'd come sleep in with Chris and I since our bed was bigger.  That led in to a whole discussion on bed sizes, (explaining twin, full, etc.) and Abby thinking it is funny that Daddy sleeps on a queen bed.  Both girls keep mentioning that they are too big for their beds and telling us how much they'd like bunk beds... yeah, they're really subtle with their hints.  I attempted to have Chris go up to brush teeth, but Zoë was a sniffling mess so I went up with her.  After some more teary eyed requests to be able to keep their snugglies even when they're teenagers and even when they're grown up and married, they went off to sleep.

When the girls were going down for nap today Chris told them to do a super job getting right to sleep and having a nice rest and that after nap they'd go get a treat, just them, no Mommy.  Well, they just all couldn't decide where to go for their treat or what kind of treat they should get, and they ended up just deciding to go to Wal-Mart and do a little shop while they were out.

 2 hours later they got back home with groceries, and junk, in hand.  I had given specific orders not to bring any treats (read: junk) back to the house - Mommy has no will power with that stuff.  Not only did Daddy bring home pre-made junk, he also brought home ingredients to make our own.  I said to the girls that they were supposed to tell Daddy not to get any of that stuff and Zoë (sarcastically, can you believe it?!) said, "Oh, I thought you said bring junk home"

Almost 25 weeks anyway, I will be 25 weeks tomorrow.  I saw a different doctor today, Dr. Ethier.  She was in and out in a flash, I'm surprised I even got to ask a question.  I had received papers from the nurse about doing my glucose test at 28 weeks, which will be July 11th, however Dr. Ethier didn't give any explanation of it.  This test will be something new for me, as I was in the hospital at this point with the girls, and at 28 weeks they didn't do a glucose test that I remember, and I'm pretty sure I'd remember it.  When I got home I noticed I'd also been given a paper about circumcision, again that didn't get discussed with me at all.  Oh well, we do our own research around here anyway.

At 23 weeks I was in the hospital with the girls, and 25 weeks was the very first hurdle we were hoping for me to get past.  Now here I am up and about at 25 weeks, so that definitely feels nice.

The girls new favorite thing to do for breakfast (besides have Daddy make them veggie filled cheesy eggs) is to make their own raisin bran.  They get to pour their bran flakes in their bowl and then scoop some raisins in and drizzle a little raw honey on top.  So after this and then getting the girls and I showered, it was time for me to leave the house.  With as much time as I've spent out of the house to have the car repaired lately, I might as well have gotten a part time job.  I'd be out of the house the same amount of time and I'd be the one having money handed to them.  Anway...

I'm sure Abby and Zoë had some big plans for while I was out.  They usually do get to do fun stuff with Daddy while I'm away.  The manager took the car for a spin, apologized that the guys yesterday didn't realize there was one more problem, and gave me a discounted price for what it would be to fix it.  After a call home to Chris, I got to spend another couple of hours waiting for the car.  When I got home, both of the girls were quite silly.  So I read them a few stories before nap.  They decided to put themselves to nap, "Like big girls" today.

So, it actually wasn't much fun at all.  This morning I went over to Meineke to get an estimate for some stuff going on with the car.  It didn't take all that long and I was home.  Then we called Midas to see how their prices differed.  Midas was cheaper so off I went again.  This time I had to go to North Hampton and there they checked it out, and we decided to get the necessary work done there.  Unfortunately they didn't have any sort of shuttle service, so I just had to wait.

Meanwhile, Abby and Zoë got to watch a movie at home, had a nap, played dolls, all that good stuff.  By the time I got home, I had been gone for around 5 hours.  The girls aren't used to not seeing me for so long, but they were just fine at home with Daddy.  Abby kept telling me stories of the day and she'd start them with, "When you were gone today, the time you were gone for a long time..."  Unfortunately with all of the work done on the car today, it didn't fix our complaint so I get to go back again tomorrow to complain a little and  find out what's up.

Chris and I were talking recently about chores and allowance and all of that stuff.  We decided to first get a chore list and expectations together for the girls, and have them get used to having specific things to do each day for a while before we introduce allowance.  Ultimately, I do not want chores tied to allowance, but right now there aren't that many 'extra' things a four year can do to earn money besides household stuff.  So, I put together a list of the girls responsibilities and family jobs - things they are expected to do just because they're a part of the family.  And then I put together a chore chart.  As they get older, the chores will evolve and certain chores will move from the chore list, to being something they do just because they live in the house, and then more difficult tasks will take their place.  So for now, here's what it all looks like:

Everyday responsibilites: 
- Cleaning up after themselves, which includes: Folding their pj's in the morning and clothes in the evening and putting them away, Making their beds, Clearing their place at the table, Putting things away when they're done using them, and Cleaning up any messes they make.

- Being considerate and respectful to other family members

Family jobs:
- Helping to fold the laundry and putting theirs away

- Helping to put away the groceries

Chores look like this:
Monday:
Zoë gathers the bathroom and bedroom trash in the evening
Abby is the dishes helper (dries the dishes and puts away utensils)
Tuesday:
Zoë is dishes helper
Abby is crumb cleaner (sweeps and/or dust busts the crumbs under the table after meals)
Wednesday:
Zoë sweeps the porch (if it's raining she can sweep something inside)
Abby is dinner helper.
Thursday:
Zoë is crumb cleaner
Abby is dishes helper again
Friday:
Zoë is dishes helper again
Abby gathers the bathroom and bedroom trash
Saturday:
Zoë is dinner helper
Abby sweeps the porch
Sunday:
They get a day off :)

Both of the girls were super excited to start their chores today.  I have their responsibility/Family Jobs posted right above their chore chart, where they can check off the day after they've completed their job.

At today's ultrasound we saw Ronnie, whom I've had once before.  Chris and I think that she is an intern.  The procedure took longer today, lots longer, than expected since it wasn't a full measurement of the baby ultrasound.  Enzo's head was pushing down on the cervix, which made it hard to get an accurate measurement.  Chris said that he could actually see him repeatedly head butting my cervix... that should be helpful.  She took a bunch of measurements, some with his head pushing, some where he moved away long enough for her to measure that way.  When she went to check with Holly, one of the apparently higher up, more qualified ladies, she came back saying that the verdict was no real change from last time.  Next she wanted to get a heart beat, and try to get a profile picture.  Little Enzo was being shy and not wanting to show his entire face all at once.  We did see him working his tongue to swallow and also saw a big yawn though.

We received a package from Daddy's friend, Lena, today.  Inside were some adorable baby boy clothes.  Her son, Aidan, was born in late September of last year, just about a week before our due date of October 3rd, with this one.  So, the clothing style is the perfect size for the season, if that makes sense.  The first thing I commented on to Chris when I opened the package, was how nicely organized it was... I was quite impressed.  I think I just looked at the contents for a moment before unpacking, I was so impressed.  It may seem a small thing to be thrilled about, but well organized hand-me-downs, especially those little socks and things all matched up, is something I can appreciate.

The clothes themselves are adorable and look brand new.  There were some plain short sleeved onesies, some long sleeved onsies, a couple of little two piece outfits, some one piece outfits, a few little cotton pants, socks, a couple of little beanie hats, all in newborn or 0-3 month size, which was fun to look through.  There was even a dress for each of the girls.  The dresses are adorable, Zoë tried one on right away.  She thought they looked like something  the 'Island Princess' would wear.  There was a cute card too that I have to share because it got a laugh out of me anyway.  On the front it says "What is a baby boy?  10 little fingers , ten little toes, two little ear lobes,  one little nose, one little tummy, (with different pictures of babies beside each thing) and then on the inside it says "... and yes, one of those."   Thanks so much Lena, Jason, and little Aidan!

We are so happy to be having some nice days.  The other day was uncomfortably hot, but today was very nice.  At the beach, it was even a little cool.  It was a chore to get Abby and Zoë to stay in the shade at all.  Though we did get sunscreen, and I did put some on their shoulders, I didn't want to use more than needed.  After Chris and I ate the majority of our salads, Abby and Zoë came to sit a little bit to each eat the rest.  After a while I just put their tank tops back on, which doesn't do much for the shoulder area.  Abby ended up with multiple swimsuit tan lines across her back, since the girls wore different suits today.  (Only because their pink polka dot suits are waiting to be washed)

Digging with sand toys was the big hit today, especially Zoë's canal.  Daddy saw that and asked to help, but Zoë declined the offer.  So Daddy went down closer to the water to make his own, complete with tide pool, and both girls quickly monopolized on it.  Then they each got a turn having their feet burried in the warm sand up closer to our little area set up.