June 19-July 3

This week's post is just going to be a list of updates about the girls.  :)  I'll try to cover all their current talents, just in case I've forgotten to mention them recently.  There will be a bonus post this Wednesday consisting of recent pictures.

Kaitlyn:
-Walks everywhere, sometimes quite fast.
-Has many opinions and is not afraid to voice them.
-Still needs incisors, but has all the other front teeth as well as one set of molars.
-Loves baths.
-Eats chalk.
-"Jumps" by bending her knees.  She also dances like this.
-Down to one nap, although the timing is still pretty inconsistent.
-Beginning to develop opinions about food, although if she's hungry enough she'll still eat anything.
-Loves being outside.
-Says mama (which means "I want"), dada, shoe, no, stop, don't, yeah, outside.
-Has a dog noise.
-Mimics other sounds so that it often seems like she's repeating whatever I tell her.
-Leaves barrettes in most of the time.
-Can drink from a sippy cup and a straw and from a regular cup if someone else holds it for her.
-Wants to have a fork at meals.  She can't stab anything with it, though.
-Gives kisses.
-Wants to play with the big girls.
-Loves to swing.

Gretchen:
-Our main source of funny sound bites.
-Has occasional acrobatic displays.
-Can stand on one foot (either one) without support.
-Has two modes: Asleep and Running.
-Also has two volumes: ON and off.
-Walks in circles when she thinks.
-Eats most foods without too much prodding.  Regulates her vegetable intake, but also regulates her dessert intake.
-Takes a nap about once every two weeks, but only when she falls asleep somewhat by accident.
-Likes to have her arms covered.  I hid all her long-sleeved dresses in the basement for the summer, so she wears a sweater everywhere instead.
-Current hairstyle of choice is pigtails.
-Likes to play Pentago (a game with black and white marbles) and Blokus (a game that uses Tetris-shaped pieces).  She doesn't follow the rules for either game, but she enjoys playing with the pieces.
-Tends to play alone when lots of kids are over.

Olivia:
-Skips, gallops, and jumps.
-Coordinated enough to race remote control cars and play basic video games.
-Enjoys riding her bike if it has the pedals and training wheels on it.  Ignores it otherwise.
-Makes up songs about her current activities.
-Prone to whining.
-Draws basic logical conclusions.
-Can write her name and recognize most of the uppercase alphabet.  Cannot recognize the lowercase alphabet.  This is hard to test because if she doesn't know the answer immediately then she tends to give up without trying to think at all.
-Counts to 39 before she doesn't know what comes next.  If someone is there to give her every tenth number then she can keep going.
-Pretty good at paying attention to her body where sleep is concerned.  If she's tired, she tends to be willing to go to bed and she sleeps in when she needs to.
-Finished with naps completely.
-Wears her hair in a braid or headband if I won't let her wear it down.
-Loves movies.
-Follows the rules in Candy Land.
-Can play a basic variation of Set.  :-D
-Favorite foods include pizza, macaroni and cheese, hamburgers, and peas.
-Huge fan of breakfast cereal.  She would eat breakfast cereal for every meal if I would let her.
-Carries Kaitlyn when necessary (and sometimes when not necessary).