...and then they were FOUR...

9.16.17

These four year olds are some of the most silly, sweet, stubborn little girls I've ever known. They make my heart explode and they make me completely crazy in the blink of an eye. They make me laugh all the time with the funny things they say and do and they can warm my soul just by telling me they love me. Their favorite thing lately is to wait until my patience is wearing thin to say something like, "Mom can I tell you something?" I usually respond with a heavy sigh and an eye roll and a "what?" Then they answer, "I love you!" *Que the melting heart.* Or they say something like "I love you so much I want to cry." Silly little girls! 

They love to make their brother laugh. Alya is really good about letting him play with them when she is not engrossed in her show...or when he's not trying to play with something of hers. She really worries about him slobbering on her things and she doesn't like to bath with him because she worries that he'll pee in the tub! She can easily figure out what he wants her to do and she is usually very eager to do it for him. Just tonight he went and grabbed one of his hats and offered it to Alya, she gladly took it and let him chase her around the house until he "caught" her and took his hat back and then they repeated the steps of the game. It was so cute, and once Lyla figured out what they were doing she quickly wanted to join in. I love how she interacts with her siblings. She is usually the first to give in when she and Lyla are arguing and sometimes she just prefers to be alone.  

The girls are getting really good at counting! They can both consistently count to at least 13. Lyla can count to 13 or higher, or as she puts it, "all the way to the top!" Her counting usually goes something like this: "1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-14-19-17-18-19!!!"Alya's counting goes like this: "1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-13-16-17!" 

Their favorite songs right now are the Moana songs. They asked me to download them on my phone and every time we turn them on they practice. Lyla feels like she finally learned all the lyrics to "How Far I'll Go" and she is so proud of herself! She sings really well with the soundtrack and even by herself! 

They also really like "the coyote song." It's one of Dad's classic country songs where the singer makes a coyote whooping sound in the song. They love to sing along and I love to listen to them! 

Alya will tell you her favorite singer is Carrie Underwood and I think Lyla would tell you that her's is Syliva. (Your Nobody Called Today)

Along with singing Moana, the girls love to play Moana. They like to take turns being the white Moana and the "regular Moana." They have also been practicing their galloping skills lately! They always ask me to watch them gallop up and down the hall. They like to pretend they are unicorns or horses. They also enjoy dressing up as Anna and Elsa. It's so fun to watch them and listen to them when they play together. It's usually best when they don't know I'm watching or listening. It's like they get a little self conscious when they notice I am paying attention to what they are playing. Some mornings the girls will wake up and just start playing in their room for an hour or two before they come upstairs and say their good morning...which is, "Mom, can I have some juice?" Haha! 

They like to play outside, but it's rare that they will play outside for more than 20 minutes on their own. They definitely like to know that someone is there, so if I stay inside and send them in the backyard, they usually don't last long. Even to go to the park they are generally done after about 30 minutes or so. But they love to play inside and watch their shows...which I struggle with, but I think we have a good balance!  

The girls got new bikes for their birthdays and they have ridden them to the park twice now. It's quite the experience! On flat roads they don't dare go any faster than about 3 miles an hour. If they get going any faster than that they instantly hit their breaks. But when crossing the road, as the road slopes toward the driveway, they obviously pick up speed and no matter how many times I yell to hit the breaks, they just can't seem to find them! They always crash. I get so frustrated and find it so funny at the same time! The day after they got their bikes Alya tried telling me she was ready for her training wheels to be off! Haha! I'd say we definitely need to practice on the bikes a little bit first!  

Lyla is a sassy little thing! I don't remember the exact circumstances, but one Sunday her dad was trying to get her ready for church. The dress that she wanted to wear was not available and she was not happy about that! So she told her dad that she was "never going to go to church again!" As sassy as she is, though, she is also very tender. She has a very sensitive little soul and she loves to feel loved and offer her love to others. She is very shy but she can overcome that when she feels she needs to - that's usually when she feels like it will benefit her sister. She loves to tell us how much she loves us and she is always giving us little things, like pictures she has drawn or little shapes she has cut out. When I was planning girls camp this year, almost everyday she cut out new shapes and told me they were for me to take to girls camp, so she helped me tape them all onto a big sheet of paper and put it in my camp book. She loves to show me how well she can hold her brother! She wraps her arms under his armpits and lifts him off the ground about four inches and carries him as far as she can, and he loves it, and she is very proud of her abilities! 

The girls both weight the same and are the same height! They are 3'2" (95%) and they are 36.4 lbs (50%). I remember last year, and the year before that, and the year before that, thinking they were so big! But I can't believe how much they have changed and how big they seem to me now. I know that next year and every year after I am going to think the same thing, but I wish I could turn back time and appreciate how small they were...and I hope I can remind myself now that they are still small!! I really don't want them to grow up too fast!  

The girls love to help me around the house! One of their chores is to put new bags in the garbage cans once I've taken them out. They love it! They can do many, many things, but sometimes they don't like to do those things. Getting themselves dressed...carrying groceries inside the house...cleaning up their toys...etc. It's kind of funny.

I feel like they look more and more alike every day! I have been mixing them up so often lately! Lyla got sick of it one day (haha!) because by 10:00 am I had mixed them up three or four times! She finally said, "Ya know, we are different!" Oh man! I felt a little bad! But don't you think they are identical!?

I love, love, love these two little girls. They are teaching me so much about what it means to be a mom. I wish I was better about playing with them or doing school with them or reading them stories. I wish I was better at spending one on one time with them. I wish I was more patient with them. I feel bad that they have to be my "guinea pigs" but they do it so well. They are so sweet and so patient with me. They are so kind and timid and loving. I love them so very much!!! I hope that they know how much I love them. I hope they can see that I want what's best for them and I hope they know that they mean the world to me!!
-Happy Birthday Sweet Girls!-

Lyla is wearing the minty floral dress, Alya is wearing the blue birdie dress.