I can’t even tell you the last time I did an update on my girls here. It’s been a while – but I know I never did an update when Ella turned two, or when Abbie turned six. Since this space is just as much for my own memories as for writing, I want to document that here – Ella at 2 (+4 months) and Abbie at 6, halfway through kindergarten. Being a mom of two girls is everything I thought it would be and more.
Abbie is flourishing in kindergarten, just as I thought she would. She loves her school, her teacher, her friends, and buying extras at school lunch. She’s a bit hard to wake up in the mornings, but then again, waking up by 6:30 isn’t easy, so I can’t really blame her.
She’s taking three dance classes (tap, ballet, and jazz) and can’t get enough of JoJo Siwa dance videos. She loves her sister fiercely and is the biggest help to me in the mornings in getting everyone ready for school, but she’s not immune to tantrums and her room is just as messy as mine was when I was a kid.
Abbie lost her first baby tooth back in the fall. When we had to put one of our cats down in September, and the other in January, she handled it so well and I was just so proud of her. It’s not easy to lose pets you love and adore (let alone within 4 months of each other) and while she misses them and talks about them often, she hasn’t let it get to her too much.
I want to remember so much – how emotional she can be, how she can surprise you with something unexpectedly sweet and simple (like getting me crackers when I was sick). There are things I hope I’ll never forget – like when she woke me up at 3:23am on March 1st to tell me it was March – because she was so excited about spring coming. I was so mad in the moment, but it’s funny to think about now.
I see her growing more into a kid every day and it’s just so much fun. Six is definitely my favorite age yet.
Meanwhile, Ella has grown so much since she turned two – it’s kind of unbelievable all that she’s learned in such a short amount of time. We switched her to preschool from home daycare in late October, and while it broke my heart to leave, Ella has benefited so much from being in a center. Her speech has exploded, and she’s in full-on toddler mode – running, jumping, expressing herself, and learning more and more every single day. The transition wasn’t the easiest, but she’s now so excited to go to school each day and play with her friends, and girlfriend definitely has an attitude and stands up for herself. I look at pictures from a year ago and it’s crazy to me that it’s the same little girl – so many changes in such a short amount of time.
The past two weeks, her teacher at school started her on potty training. The first week was rough – so many accidents – but in the past 2-3 days, she seems to have turned a corner. She’s made amazing progress – no accidents at school in a few days and even going on the potty at home with no issues – and I know it won’t be long before she’s only wearing pull-ups at naptime and at night. Since Abbie didn’t train until 3.5, it’s a big difference for me to have Ella train so early and quickly. Her teacher really knows what she’s doing – thank goodness, because I wouldn’t be able to do it without her.
Ella is also 100% a mommy’s girl. She nearly always wants me instead of Chris, and she is a drama queen when she doesn’t get what she wants. “I don’t want it” is one of her most used phrases, but she definitely still says please and thank you. She also is the first one to throw trash away or put clothes in the hamper. So much personality and so much drama in one little girl.
Hope you enjoyed my update on my girls! I’m brainstorming some new content coming up, but as I said, I can’t help but record my own memories here as well. Besides, I miss the days of reading updates on other bloggers’ kids, so I’m sure I’m not alone in wanting this update!
