Belated Birthday THANK YOU!

I always pictured myself following the cookie-cutter kids pattern: have a baby... wait a year and a half or so... have my second (and last). Abby and Elise annihilated that mold by coming as a pair, which in turn, for the sake of our sanity, made us decide to wait a bit longer before considering another. Now the anticipated 2-year gap became almost 6 years and instead of the final babe being #2, she was #3. Cookie-cutter DESTROYED. 

And it's amazing. Abby and Elise perfectly compliment one another in their relationship with Anna: Abby often nurtures; Elise entertains. They hold her hands together for ring-around-the-rosy; they tag-team reading books or rolling the ball to give the other one a break while I switch laundry. And somehow over the past year as they entertained and nurtured, they kept growing... and then suddenly July arrived and they turned SEVEN. 

As we rapidly approach the start of their second grade journey and first year in public school, my very belated birthday thoughts to these two can be simply stated in two words: "thank you". 

Thank you, Elise, for the amazing Padme Amidala costumes, for the crossed-eyes-tongue-sticking-out-make-the-baby-laugh faces, for taking ownership of one of my favorite hats, for playing your piano recital song as fast as you possibly can (perfectly), for doing countless cartwheels inside the house regardless of how many times you were told to stop, for always wearing a bow/headband/braid and sparkly shoes, for stating that "Anna will probably read early because Abby and I read to her all the time unlike us - we had nobody", for announcing every song that comes on the radio in the car because you can see the screen and Abby can't, for checking the weather before you get dressed every.single.day even in the summer when it's the same every.single.day. Thank you, Elise.. for everything... I love you.

Thank you, Abby, for confidently starting your first day of Jedi Academy with a single braid in true Anakin fashion, for always saying "good morning" to Anna first and then letting the dog out while I'm still in bed, for thinking the greatest haircut you ever received was the day the hairdresser straightened your beautiful curls, for writing notes that say "this beer is quite delishis" in beautifully decorated letters, for still believing that the cure to a hard moment is a familiar lap and a squeeze, for wanting to start a stuffed animal babysitting club, for playfully saying "are you tickling me?" when in actuality, Anna is painfully digging her toes into your arm in the car, trying to get a rise out of you. Thank you, Abby... for everything ... I love you. 

Over the past year, you two soared through dance class, art class, drama class, and piano lessons. You made friends with ease in our Wednesday homeschool group - exploring parks, learning about farm life, and springing around gymnastics like a couple of gazelles. You performed on a stage at least 3 different times without the slightest glimmer of nerves; rather you shone as bright as I could have ever imagined my babies would. And not a single day passed that, if the award for "best sister ever" was being given, you both would have received it. Happy belated 7th birthday, girls. Public school is about to be ROCKED by you both!