Dear Alyssa & Madison -
Mommy and daddy woke up this morning fully aware and a little bit astounded to know that we had two beautiful FOUR year old daughters sleeping in the room across the hallway. This past year has been full of trials and triumphs for each of you and for mommy and daddy. Every day is a learning curve for all of us and some days things go well and others not so well.
Your fourth years of life have held many milestones for you both. We saw the dentist for the first time, which you both loved; we started swimming lessons; all of our therapies ended for both of you; we started preschool; and we even took our first plane ride to our first big family trip!!!
You both are the best of friends and worst of enemies at any given moment. You know how to push each others buttons better than your own, but despite that, you are always there for each other no matter what and often feel sympathy pains for each others injuries or misery for each others frustrations. Raising twins has been a challenge and that first year was something beyond difficult, but seeing you both together every single day and knowing you always have a best friend makes all those sleepless, long nights worth every minute of lost sleep.
You are each others champions, always there to encourage the other and on the flip side, always there to point out and rehash over and over again poor choices. You protect each other and give stern warnings to others to "leave my sister alone" when one of you is unhappy in a situation. You are always there to comfort one another when hurt and are the first to the freezer to retrieve our boo-boo miracles, our treasured ice packs. Both of you could take a hit that would make an adult cry endlessly but once those ice packs appear you are better within five seconds, people are amazed at how those ice packs work!!
You both love to play princesses, ponies, barbies and have tea parties together. You love to fight like the three musketeers with makeshift swords made by turning your princess wands the opposite direction, holding the stars and sword fight with the sticks. You both love music and especially love to ballet dance to Swan Lake, just like Barbie in the movie. You both love to dress up and instantly start talking in these high pitched voices that you both claim is exactly how princesses talk and sing.
Madison, still known as Maddie Moo, Moo or Peanut as your preferred terms of endearment ... you are a true character with an imagination that doesn't stop. You always move in your own direction rather than the one that is being chosen for you. You are a day-dreamer and can ignore the most obvious of directions, commands, requests and demands that are being made of you. You are also an artist and your most favorite subject matter to draw are unicorns, Pegasus unicorns and dragons; these are usually surrounded by flowers. Your favorite movies are The Last Unicorn, to which you know the theme song by heart and pose standing on your chair with your arms raised and curled ready to whinny and stand on you back unicorn legs at just the right moment in the opening credits. You also love The Wizard of Gauze ... I mean Oz ... and, of course, Tinkerbell, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and any other movie that has anything resembling a princess in it. You are still our more uncoordinated daughter ... typically falling like a movie stunt double down the stair case, over toys, off of chairs or even just over your own two feet. Just today you fell off of a high stool type chair at a restaurant and hit your head on the wall. Last week you fell down the stairs, again (yes this is a regular event in our home with you), and hit your head on something that caused much bleeding from your little head ... it was controlled with pressure but both you and your sister were impressed with your "pink hair" ... mommy and daddy not so much. Although uncoordinated, you take your hits like a trooper ... mostly jumping up quickly after the event and announcing, "I'm okay" to most onlookers horror. You still are the one with the devil in her eyes but a smile that melts even the hardest of hearts. You love, love, love your sister especially when you are not disliking her. Your favorite toys right now include ponies and horses, princess Barbies, tea sets, stuffed dragons, plastic dinosaurs, your "stickin' iguana" and your newly acquired but much loved Dragon Castle which you got for your birthday as a gift. So, as you can see, you are a very well rounded girl!! You still keep your bunny blanket close to you at most times, especially bedtime. At preschool, which you love, you have spent quite a few sessions in the naughty spot, but you are slowly figuring out that the teacher is the boss and not you. Your favorite thing about preschool is painting anything and library day! You love books so much!! You love food ... really almost anything. You are the kind of eater that every parent only hopes they could have. It would be easier to list the foods you do not like versus what you do. Bacon and eggs tops your list of favorites along with cheese burgers and salad, yes you love fresh veggies and lettuce ... but for sure you would take guacamole over most anything! You love to dance ... especially twirling and spinning. You have been working hard this past year to master a full spin on one foot without falling over and although you can do it, it is not so pretty yet, but we applaud you just the same as you are so proud of yourself. Your favorite songs are The Last Unicorn, Going on a Bear Hunt and Fly to your Heart from the Tinkerbell movie. You are fascinated with animals and bugs, unless the bug lands directly on you that is, then you and your sister act like complete girly girls and scream your fool heads off not even realizing you already scared the bug away. You will examine dead bugs and just the other day at the Science Museum you were manhandling the animal pelts on display for touching and were fascinated that the noses and claws were still attached and loved playing with them ... mommy just kind of stood back and watched and your sister was right next to me.
Alyssa, or Lyssa as mommy and Madison often call you ... you are a perfectionist with no patience, which is an interesting combination and one that leads to much frustration for you. You are an emotional girl who struggles hard to control what she has no control over at the present time. You are a pleaser. You are able to go from a giddy happy smile to tears in a second if someone is unhappy with something you have done. You like to have control in situations and do not hesitate to voice your dislike. You love doing art projects, especially using pens, markers and paint. You like to draw princesses, ponies and unicorns. Flowers and rainbows and trees are also favorites of yours to draw. You are hard on yourself when you think you didn't do well or if you think your drawing doesn't look like your sisters. You love to play with your sister and your imaginations are endless, but you like to try to take control and often are heard telling your sister exactly what her character should say to you. It is cute and funny to listen to you both.
Your favorite movies are anything with a princess or Barbie in them. You are tired of watching The Last Unicorn because your sister had a marathon run of that movie for three days. Sleeping Beauty is probably your most favorite movie along with Cinderella. You love music and one of your most prized possessions is a Hello Kitty Music Box that Farmor brought you this summer. You take it everywhere with you and play the music constantly. You also love to horde and hide small objects or treasures and then forget were you put them. Luckily, mommy and daddy are on to your hiding spots and we can typically find the items for you. Ponies, horses and princesses are also favorite toys of yours. You like to make tea for everyone and your favorite birthday gift this year was a Disney Princess Tea Cart and Service ... you think you are something special. You graduated from food therapy but we still have a ways to go. Mommy has been successful at adding pizza, some chicken, a few bites of egg, potatoes and pasta of other shapes than spaghetti to your diet. You are still extremely picky and you still give mommy a hard time when it comes to eating but you are much better than this time last year. Your favorite foods are peanut butter sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, pasta with Parmesan cheese and cheese quesadillas. You also love cereal and pancakes with syrup. You have a major sweet tooth just like daddy and oddly enough you will try any candy or sweet out there without hesitation but real food ... that is another story! You love to dance and love music. You know the words to many songs after just hearing them a few times. You love to shake your caboose or tail feathers (your bottom) and spinning and spinning and spinning. You favorite songs are Fly to Your Heart from Tinkerbell, Swan Lake and I Like to Move It Move It. You are dislike bugs but will be brave to look at dead ones if your sister is the one poking it. You also love your bunny blanket and still sleep with it every night and look for it often during the day. You are very emotional and that bunny seems to comfort you best.
You both are amazing little girls who challenge mommy and daddy constantly but make it all so worth while with a single smile and an I love you. You are individuals but best friends forever and we are looking forward to year five and continuing to watch you both grow into these amazing, wonderful people right before our eyes.
Happy Birthday babies ... no scratch that ... Happy Birthday Girls!!!! Mommy and daddy couldn't be prouder or happier than we are with the two of you ... thank you for making us be better people for you ... We love you!!!
Mommy & Daddy
After the show was over, it was back to bus for our sack lunches. The play ran short, so we were done much earlier than anticipated, because of that, the teachers decided to make at stop at a local park on the way home to let the kids play for a while. They really enjoyed that a lot and it was a good way to burn some energy after sitting for so on the bus and in the theater.
