Sisters!

As everyone who has done this before knows, one of the very best things about having two girls is watching their relationship as sisters blossom. As Nora gets older and develops more of a personality, is better able to communicate, and starts to really be able to interact with Everett, this relationship becomes more and more special. 

In their Princess Racecar

EJ "reading" to Nora at the doctor's office.

The girls got flowers from their daddy for Valentines day   :)

My beautiful girls. 

Bath time is one of their favorite times of day!

All the girls checking out the wide world. 

Love these amazing girls so much sometimes I feel like my heart could burst. How did we get so lucky???

Following the path less traveled is easy with a sister
at your side. 

Charleston Fun

Beautiful day in our favorite city!

We had to cancel our trip to Charleston over Christmas so we rescheduled for early in February and drove over for a wonderful weekend of fun!

Fun with Mama-J at the playground.

 We went to the South Carolina aquarium, which is always a great day. This was Nora's first time there since she was a tiny baby and she was mesmerized by all the fish!

Pop-E & Mama-J had a fancy event one night - they clean up well!  Of course EJ wanted to jump in the picture with them.  =)

Looking good!

Storytime with Mama-J is always a highlight.

 Because they live right on the marsh, there are an endless amount of great trails to explore right out the backdoor.  

I'm not sure who is leading who here. 

We are always sad to say goodbye, but are looking forward to our next trip over!

Easter fun

COUSINS!

We had a great Easter Sunday and egg hunt with the entire Nadi clan this year!

Love my beautiful girls!

Happy New Year!

Holy smokes am I waaaaaaaaay behind on my updates. This fall/holiday season has been so very busy with all kind of craziness, both good and bad, which has kept my attention elsewhere. So my New Year's resolution is to catch up on everything I forgot to write about these last 2 months and stay on track in 2015.

But in the meantime, here's a little cuteness to usher in your new year with.  =)

EJ's 4-year stats

Growing up so fast

Everett;s stats at her 4-year appointment were as follows:

38lb (73rd %)

41.5" tall (85th %)

She appears to have met or exceeded all her developmental milestones. She knows her ABCs (and for the most part their sounds, plus can recognize all the letters), can count to 30 (and recognize her numbers through at least 10), can write her nickname (EJ) but not her full name. She knows where we live (the name of our street/neighborhood, our city, and our state).  She can recognize both the US and GA flags and say the Pledge of Allegiance. She seems to have my spatial awareness/memory, as she will recognize when we are driving somewhere she has been before and knows when we are on the roads going to places she is familiar with.  She asks legitimately thought provoking questions such as "Why do we have necks" and is able to explain things I thought would be beyond her at this age like "If we want to go faster we should go down the hill."

She loves art and will happily color for an hour straight; similarly she seems to really enjoy building with her Legos. She understands and wants to play games like Jenga and Memory.  She can throw and kick a ball. She will happily run and jump and climb all day long. She has an amazing imagination and if left to her own devices will come up with some truly creative (and often incredibly messy) ways to pass the time, with an elaborate story to go along. 

Overall she is a happy, engaging, clever child who seems to be generally fearless (good and bad, but mostly good at this point), incredibly socially confident (she did not inherit her mom's shyness, that is for sure!), and exhaustively active. We have loved watching her mind explode and are delighted daily with the way she speaks and expresses herself. She never ceases to make us laugh. She challenges us, which can be exhausting but I wouldn't want it any other way. She is spirited and fierce and brave and amazing. In other words, she's perfect.  =)

Still our silly girl

Happy Birthday EJ!

My oh my, how is it possible that 4 years are gone already? My sweet girl, my first baby, the original Tiny Tornado....oh how you have grown into an articulate, fearless, smart, funny, kind little girl right in front of our eyes. 

We have loved every minute of it, even the ones you have challenged and pushed us on. You have taught us how to be parents and you made us a family. 

We love you desperately and completely. You make us laugh every single day. You make us better people just by being part of our family. You delight us and surprise us and make our hearts grow in ways we never imagined.

We are so incredibly proud of you. You have officially moved out of the realm of "toddler" which in some ways is heartbreaking but in so many more ways is thrilling. We can't wait to see what you do next. You are a world of surprises wrapped up in an adorable, mighty-girl exterior. 

Happy birthday, baby. We love you, to the moon and back. 

Nora's 1-year stats

Nora had her 1-year check up almost a month late, because that is the reality of the second child.  *shrug*

Here are her official stats:

22 pounds, 7oz (68th %)

30.75" tall (90th %)

head circumference of 18.9" (over 97th%)

For comparison sake, at EJ's 1-year appointment her stats were:

22 pounds, 3oz

30.7" tall

head circ of 18.5"

They are basically the exact same size, and yet their bodies seem quite different.  EJ had way more fat rolls than Nora ever has. I think Nora has shorter legs and a longer torso than EJ, although they are basically the same height. And perhaps most significantly, it appears that Nora got the Nadi squares. For those of you unfamiliar with this natural phenomenon, it means she has fat feet.  They are a LOT bigger than EJ's were at this age, and because of their girth, none of EJ's old shoes fit. Which means I have to buy all new ones. Darn.  =)

Here they both are, at the same age, wearing the same outfit.  You can see how differently the sweater fits them.  And also how much more hair Nora has.  =)