We are being teased with summer-esque weather. You would think it was July around here, heat and humidity that’s almost unbearable. Both of the girls have curlier locks than usual due to the humidity. Yes, Annie’s hair is even curlier, and Mimi’s is now curly. I do not expect this nice weather to last though. My friend, Julie, reminded that when she came lown last year in late April, it was chilly. We’ll see. I long for the days of going to the beach. Hopefully, this year there will be two daughters enjoying themselves immensely, no eating of sand, no babies crying to get picked up constantly, no huge umbrellas to bring for newborns to sleep under, and a mother who can relax. Annie’s all ready for summer, too. We bought the girls each a bathing suit with interior life-vests. Annie pranced around in her bathing suit this morning. What a goof!

Annie’s is as silly as ever. She talks like it’s nobody’s business. “Where’s insert name here? and “What is this?” are two sentences I don’t care to hear to anymore. She’s has also quickly learned the phrases, “get out of there”, “get out here”, “come over here”, and “stop it” which she uses interchangeably on a regular basis (to my dismay). Annie also likes to introduce herself to the moon, the boat, the van, and other inanimate obects. At night, she will say, “Hi, moon! I’m Annie.” I don’t know where she acquired that habit, but it’s cute, nonetheless. One neat thing Annie has picked up is that she will now count objects. She came to me the other day with 2 old cell phones that are now toys and said, “Mommy, I have two phones!” At that moment I realized it’s time to start working on counting objects with her. Annie already has friends that she asks to see almost hourly. Her best friend is Kendall, but she calls her “Tendall”. When those girls get together it is non-stop running and screaming. We’re having lots of fun these days watching Annie grow into quite the kid

Much has been happening with “Wipe” (Mimi) these past weeks. Mike asked Annie what color Mimi is the other day, and she responded with “wipe” (her word for white). Both of the girls have a cold, but Mimi also contracted hand/foot/mouth disease. I don’t know how it is that my girls keep getting these illnesses usually only common to daycare children even though the girls don’t go to daycare. Very strange! Mimi will be fine though; it’s just one of those illnesses that look much worse than it feels. She now has four teeth and is off baby food now. Pickiness has set in though. Fortunately, she is not quite as bad as Annie. However, Mimi is picking up on many of Annie’s quirks. If not getting her way, Mimi will throw tantrums. It’s actually pretty cute. She lays on her belly, head-butts the floor, and kicks out her arms and legs. Mimi is also very curious and gets into everything, same as Annie. I think they both might have some special radar that alerts them of open cabinet doors, unlocked stair gates, non-toy items being left for their reach, etc. I never get a moment’s rest around here anymore. Annie has been teaching Mimi her tricks, too. Thanks to Annie, Mimi now knows how to push stools or other climbing devices to taller items in order to explore higher ground. Another strange idiosyncrasy of Mimi is that she makes this awful noise, kind of a screech, that is audible to all of Jacksonville and maybe even as far as Wilmington. There no rhyme or reason to when she might let loose with the deafening sound. We still love her though, and we’ll probably keep her. Check out the new pictures of the girls in their March album.

These next few weeks will be busy. On Thursday, my best friend, Julie, is coming for a short visit. Her husband surprised her with a ticket this past weekend. Julie and I are both very excited to get a few days to hang out. We’re wishing for nice weather because we have plans to go to the beach one day and then to Wilmington another day. I’m going to be frantically cleaning this place until Julie’s arrival. It’s amazing how filthy this place gets because of two small children. The weekend after next, Mike has a friend coming into town. The first week in April, Mike’s mom is coming for a visit. For Easter we’re all going to my parents’ house for a week. At the end of April, we have a wedding to attend in D.C. and will also continue our house-hunting. My mom is traveling here during that time to stay with the girls while we’re in D.C. How fun for her.

Have a great week!