Monkey See, Monkey Do...

It's been a whirl wind of back-to-school activities, swimming, and tons of birthday parties. I feel so bad for not updating my blog with details of how my girls have been doing. Here are somethings that I can think of at the moment...

Adelyn

A big part of how Adelyn behaves is definitely related to what Layla is doing. Adelyn likes to copy her sister a lot, and she's quickly picking up phrases from her, such as "Not fair!" when she doesn't get her way. With a big sister around, Adelyn has also picked up a lot of phrases, "What's this?" "What's it for?" "Look at me! Mommy!" "I did it, Momma!" "See!" Most of her talking consists of 2-3 word sentences, her days of babbling and baby talk are over.

At times, Adelyn will directly repeat what her sister is saying. Sometimes the two of them will try to gang up on me and scream, "We want tv! We want tv!" or "We want blueberries! We want blueberries!"

Adelyn is still sleeping in her crib most of the time. One night in September, we let the girls have a sleepover party, Layla was in her twin bed, and Adelyn was in the toddler bed pushed in the corner of the room, and against the foot of the twin bed. It started off really well, both girls went to bed after a round of stories and songs. At 4:00am, Adelyn fell onto the floor, and started crying. It woke up Layla and myself (Len was out of town), and Adelyn ended up going back to her crib in her own room. Adelyn moves a lot in her sleep, so at that point she was not ready to sleep in a toddler bed quite yet.

Since then, the girls have had a few more sleepovers together. We put a pillow wedged between the toddler and twin bed, and it keeps Adelyn from falling out. It looks like the girls are ready to share a room in the future.

When it comes to climbing, I think Adelyn is much more daring than Layla. She likes to climb on top of the sofa, and stand up. She likes to climb the rock wall at the playground without assistance. "By-self! By-self!" is a common phrase around here, especially when it comes to climbing stairs or eating.

With Layla at preschool, Adelyn and I have more time together. We go grocery shopping, or to Strong Start. It's nice to have more time together to play and read, and she's loves singing and dancing during circle time.

Adelyn has started to resist her afternoon naps, and I'm not too keen on it. She can definitely last the whole day, but she gets super cranky. Her naps are also getting pushed later and later. I can hear her singing, and playing, and it's not until 4:30 or 5 pm or later that she falls asleep! Then I have to wake her up at 6pm, and she's not too happy about that. I'm going to cling onto that afternoon nap as long as I can...

Adelyn is doing Parent and Tot swimming lessons. She is working on blowing bubbles, floating and jumping into the water from the edge of the pool. Next week, they're going to go off the diving board in life jackets.

Layla

On the days Layla has preschool, we have our time together, we get ready, have breakfast, and walk to school together. I love the peaceful walks, and our Layla conversations.

Mommy: "Daddy and I went to Whistler."
Layla: "Did you see whistles there?"

Layla is doing well in swimming. There are only four students in the class, and 2-3 teachers, so she's getting a lot of one-on-one time with the instructors. Layla is definitely more confident in the water, and she's getting better at floating. She enjoys water games, and likes to go first.

Both Girls
When the girls are playing, they can be the best of friends, or not...then, they fight and cry. And it can happen in split seconds between each other.

One time, when we were shopping, both girls wanted to hold my hand as we went back to the car. I had to carry a bag of the things we had just purchased, so I only had one hand free. Both girls had meltdowns, they were crying and pushing each other to hold my hand. In the end, I carried Adelyn, and made Layla hold onto my elbow as she walked, and she complained the whole way to the car.


When they are the best of friends, they will play house, build puzzles, play school, look at books, play fairies, ballerinas, doctor, and restaurant together. They love to dress up, and dance. And lately, they like to build forts using blankets, chairs, and toys. It's fun to watch them play together, they can be so imaginative... And sometimes, when I hear them calling, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"... It's not meant for me, they're just playing house.

We hope everyone has a restful and wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. We're looking forward to Halloween festivities and celebrating more birthdays this month.