This is the look of Bliss...

Yep, I'd think so...

We're babysitting today.  Meet Princess FussyButt...Aptly nicknamed by me when she was born 2 years ago.  She's my best friend's little girl, who seems to fit in with EK and AG flawlessly.  Funny thing is, when we go out with all 5 kids (she has 2 boys that are EK and AG's ages, which is how we met), people often think they're all siblings.  You should see the looks we get when it's the 2 of us, the kids, and Chris.  It's quite amusing to us because we know they must be thinking.  I guess that happens when your kids look alike for some odd reason.  Anyway...

PFB spent the night last night, and Oh My...You should see how she and EK sleep.  I tried to get a picture this morning, but it just didn't work, as it was too dark, and I wasn't going to risk waking them up at 7.  Nuh uh, no way.  Sad thing is, they were all up by 8 :(  

It's funny, the thought of more than just my 2 girls used to scare me to death, but after having PFB here every day for a few weeks while her mom was at the hospital with her critically ill Grandfather, the thought didn't seem so scary.  Then...I realized that it wasn't full time.  It wasn't the same as actually having another child...the thought of which now makes me want to set my hair on fire (No.  It wasn't always that way, but we'll get to that).  I said it before, they just kind of mesh together.  It's actually really cute.  Like earlier, AG grabbed the last of the cheesecake out of the fridge, cut the 2 pieces into 6, and the 3 of them sat in the floor watching Princess and the Frog, eating and giggling.  Oh, and we can't forget about the HSM concert I got earlier.  The girls found the microphone that plays one of the songs, and if you put it against the Gabriella barbie's mouth, she sings...Hilarity ensued.  I promise...It was hilarious.  If only we could all get back to that frame of mind.  

Can They Turn Into Fish...

...by swimming every day for hours?  I mean, really, at some point, won't they sprout gills?  Since being out of school, I think my girls have been one track minded on how they can keep their bodies submerged in water the most possible amount of time.  Yeah, that has to be it...Because they've gotten it down to a science.  Breakfast, pool, lunch, pool, dinner, begging and bribing to get back outside.  But man, are they sleeping better than ever!

In all actuality, it's really nice..They swim, I read or swim with them, and we all get a few hours of independence.  Not to mention, it's really cute to hear some of the games they've come up with in the pool.  Like, being mermaids, or the evil queen that eats kids, or the shark...It's hilarious.  Not to mention, they're getting really good at synchronized swimming a'la noodles.  Like this...

This is possibly the one time of the day when all is right with both of their worlds...No fighting, no competing, just being.  It's nice :)

The 411 on the Little Ladies...

So, the school year has come and gone, and I now sit here looking at my First grader and Kindergartener and wonder to myself, "How the heck did that happen?".  They're still babies, right?  They can't possibly be that old. It just isn't fair.  I'm finding myself on this fence...One side is sooo thrilled about how awesome they are, while the other is really missing them being smaller.  Don't get me wrong, I really like this age of being able to do pretty much anything with them, but the independence kills me sometimes.  I know I'm not the only parent that's ever felt like this.  This whole parenting thing is nothing if not a learning curve.  But I digress...On to positive things :)

Emma's Kindergarten year puts her reading at an end of third grade level, excelling at everything, and totally ready to rock first grade.  She won the Citizenship Award for her class, and of course, I cried.  It was so different being in the "real" awards day program and not just picking her up from Pre-K.  Abs even went, even though Pre-K'ers aren't allowed.  The end of the year for Abby brought a fabulous report from her teacher, also.  She's totally ready for Kindergarten and writes everything.  Matter of fact, she almost has better penmanship than EK, who loathes writing.  Suffice to say, I don't think we have anything to worry about for next year...Well, except for Abby trying to bat her eyelashes and get away with everything.  Kindergarten better watch out!

So far, in the week and a half they've been out of school, we've practically lived in the pool and the air conditioning.  With temps being 100 + outside, the pool isn't even good enough to cool off some days.  I dread seeing our electric bill after the heat this month.  EK's read about 20 books thus far, and has a list of about 100 more she wants to read before school's back in.  Both of the girls came home with recommended reading lists for the summer, but my over achiever says we need to read all of them.  She's totally into the Ramona series, so now I'm worried about what she's going to read over the next few years if she's reading them all now.  Ugh!  Abby, on the other hand, could care less right now, and that's ok.  She's still enjoying being read to, versus doing it herself.

Both of the girls are swimming on their own, sans floaties, so that's a huge accomplishment.  Abby's starting off the summer already jumping off the side of the pool, so I'm guessing that by the end, she'll be just as much of a fish as EK is.  Fingers crossed, anyway :)

So, here's to a long summer of relaxing, reading, swimming, playing, staying up past bedtime, sleeping in, watching fireworks, and eating way too many icees.  Cheers!