February Excitement

The last couple weeks have brought a lot of excitement to Ava and Reese.  Valentine's Day, a little snow, the long-awaited Father-Daughter Dance, and Grammy and Larry's visit.

Valentine's Day included heart-shaped pizza (which was actually the night before because Friday night is pizza night in the McNeil household) and then a special Valentine's Day breakfast where else but IHOP!!!  The girls love their breakfasts out and so does their mama!  Breakfast was followed up with a trip to Kohl's and that evening we had dinner and hung out with some great friends and the girls were able to play dress up.

We haven't had much snow this winter (so far...knock on wood I don't jinx us!) so when we got a couple inches we took advantage of it.  I changed as soon as I got home from work and our nanny Laura stayed to play with us for a while too!  Make sure you have the volume on when you watch the video.  The laughing is priceless!

The Father-Daughter Dance at church is always the hot topic in February.  The girls love daddy taking them dancing and the chocolate fountain is pretty popular too!

And of course, when Grammy and Larry visited there was plenty of action.  Mommy and daddy took advantage of free babysitting while Ava and Reese enjoyed outings to Oak Park Mall to ride the carousel, Bass Pro to see all the creatures, and oh yes, Target!

And here is the song of the week...courtesy of Ava.

The Life of a 4-year-old...Okay, Two 4-year-olds

There are snippets of life that just seem to fly by.  The beginning of 2015 has been one of those times.  Everyone else can relate to this I'm sure.  I'm also feeling like Ava and Reese are growing way too fast.  How in the world did they get to be four?  It feels like just yesterday we were spending our waking hours in the NICU and now they are dressing themselves, buckling their own seat belts, and writing their names.  Yikes!  People have their favorite ages as their children grow up but I still haven't figured out my favorite.  Every stage we are in I think it's my favorite but then we move on and that's my favorite too.  Go figure.  There are occasions I miss that cuddly baby time but then I'm reminded about how much I love their 4-year-old conversations and the fact that they are little sponges taking in the world around them.  I'm convinced that it's okay for every stage to be my favorite.  In fact, I like it that way.  I'm sure when the girls are teenagers I will think otherwise but I am going to continue praying for God to give me the perspective to make every stage my favorite!

So as the title of this post says...it's all about life as a 4-year-old so far.  We have had a busy January and beginning of February so here are the highlights...



First of all, the pictures came back from my cousin's wedding in August and they were very cute so I thought I'd share...

 We discovered that IKEA has the best bathrooms ever!!!  There is a sink and hand dryer the perfect size for kiddos like Ava and Reese!

With a little cold weather and a little warm weather we have been getting a steady mix of environments for playing.  Sometimes it consists of The Great Mall for walks and getting out energy, while other times we have been outdoors.

We have gotten to play with some very special friends...Preston and Reid...

And even took a trip to Omaha to spend the night at Evie and Luci's house!!!

And don't worry, we do plenty of playing around our house too...

4-year-old doctor's check-ups were pretty fun too...Look at those fancy dresses!  Height and weight are in the bottom 10-15% but being on the chart is what counts!  Slow and steady wins the race they say.

And just last night the girls had their first ballet class.  Dressing in leotards, tights, and ballet shoes was the best part.  They are already asking if it's time to go back.  The athlete in mommy has to remember that they are only four, it doesn't determine their future!

And today was the Valentine's pajama party at preschool!  Parfaits and popcorn were fitting treats since they've been learning about the letter P.  Preschool is another thing they can't get enough of.  "Is it school after this nap mommy?"  (Night time sleeping is referred to as our "long nap".)

That's it for now.  I hope whatever stage you are in, you are finding the joys in it!