Been Missing Those Miscellaneous Posts, Huh

Hey, y'all! We're still here, I promise!  

We just got back from a wonderful week in Maui, and before I post lots of pictures of sandy beaches and glorious sunsets, I figured I ought to catch you guys up on all of the miscellaneous happenings that went down last month.  Ahhhh, gotta love my miscellaneous posts.

➸➸ We moved Sydney into a big girl bed back in July, and since then, she has stayed in her bed all night {by herself} no more than 3 nights.  Every night, around 1:30, she comes in to get me, and I go crawl in bed with her and sleep for the rest of the night.  One weekend last month, I decided to see how it would got if Olivia slept in the bed with Sydney.  The first night, I'm counting as one of the 3 where she stayed in her bed all night:  SUCCESS!  So, we repeated it the next night, and no go.  I ended up sleeping sandwiched between both girls:  OPPOSITE OF SUCCESS!  It was worth a shot.

➸➸  Olivia LOVES to write and draw and create.  I'm so proud of how far she has come.  At the beginning of the year, she only wanted to write things if she could spell them perfectly, but now, she writes and writes and sounds things out to her best ability.  It's so great to see her drawing and coloring and making up stories.  I really love this age!

➸➸ The girls are both now enrolled in two dance classes each.  Olivia tried a new one that teaches singing, dancing, and acting {think broadway} and is loving it.  There is another class at the same time that is for 4 & 5 year olds {tap and jazz} and they are letting Sydney take that one.  It makes for busy Wednesdays since Olivia also has a tumbling class right after school, but both girls love it, and hey, Chipotle for dinner every Wednesday can't be thaaatttt bad. 

➸➸  You guys know how much we love our twirly skirts, right?  Well, probably 6 months ago, I placed an order for custom skirts and then it took me ages to send in my shirts.  I finally got around to it and sent in some of my Little Miss shirts.  Cynthia turned them into two gorgeous dresses, and the girls absolutely LOVE them!  {We've managed to spread the love of twirly girl skirts to some of our friends too....}

➸➸  Olivia had spirit week at school a couple weeks ago!  We had so much fun picking out her outfits and doing her hair!  {On Wednesday, it was also Rainbow day in her classroom, so we had to figure something out for Rainbow Day + Crazy Hair Day.  We came up with a good cross between Rainbow Brite + Punky Brewster!}

➹ Sports day with her arch nemesis: a Michigan State fan! ➹

➹  As much control as I could give up for mix & match day! ➹

➸➸  Olivia was in desperate need of getting her hair trimmed.  I couldn't resist taking her to the hairdresser that both Sydney and I use.  She got the royal treatment of a shampoo and a big, beautiful, blow-out.  

➹ Pajama day at school ➹

➹ And this is how that gorgeous straight hair looked the next morning! ➹

➸➸  Sydney went through a little spell where she was OBSESSED with Santa.  She talked all the time about where he kept his "stuff" and how he lived at the "north end pool".  She was so excited one day as we walked through Target and saw this little Santa Claus decoration!

➸➸  More swim practice!

➸➸  David and I went to see David Gray at Comerica Theatre one Sunday night.  We had front row seats and it was AMAZING.  I adore David Gray.  He never disappoints -- he is so full of energy and his voice is just so smooth. 

➸➸  And, now, for some miscellaneous pictures on this miscellaneous post.  Does it get any more random than that?

➹ A fun play date with Miss Hailey instead of going on a class fieltrip! ➹

➹ PE days are my favorite days.  Look how sporty she is! ➹

➹ This is the way she wears her necklaces all the time now.  She is her own girl! ➹

➹ Walking through Target studying her "map" and looking for Nana.  She was slightly traumatized when the lady she ran to hug was not her Nana after all.  ➹

Annnnnnddddd, THE END.