Exciting Things

I had no idea that last night was going to turn into an amazing kind of night. A milestone night if you will. A long awaited, amazingly fabulous kind of night. But it did and it is a moment I shall never forget, for last night was the night that Grace asked to read a book to us! I had pulled out our copy of Green Eggs and Ham since it had been awhile since we last read it. Grace, Emma and I climbed into my bed (where we gather each night before the girls are tucked in). We said our evening verse and afterward we always read a story (or two or three). Grace snuggled up to me, picked up Green Eggs and Ham and said: "Mama, can I read it tonight?"  "Of course, baby!" And so she did, with an occasional assist by me. It was such a magical moment and not something that I saw coming (though in the name of full disclosure I suppose I should have since she has been working on learning various word families as of late). The look of pride and joy on her face was matched only by the look of pride and joy on my face (and Emma's too). So, tonight, after their showers, they climbed into our bed, snuggled together and Grace proceded to read Green Eggs and Ham to Emma. It was a sight that I shall treasure forever. 

Now, earlier in the day yesterday Emma had informed Grace and I that she was ready to have her ears pierced. We have chatted with the girls about this topic for a year or so and while they always cringed at the thought of it they have also always known that whenever they were ready for it we would be too. Yesterday, as we were heading to ballet class Emma said to me (very matter-of-factly mind you): "Mama, I am ready to have my ears pierced."  "Are you sure, sweet girl?"  "Yes, mama. I am sure."  "Alright then. We shall see about getting your ears pierced."  She was thrilled. So thrilled that she told Dave last night that she was going to get her ears pierced and that she wanted star shaped earrings to boot! Today, after I returned home from the gym and Dave had headed to work, Em came and reminded me that today was the day her ears would be pierced.  "Well, I guess she really is serious about this" I thought. So, a plan was hatched and off we went (with a stop first at our local Ben and Jerry's since it was free cone day after all).

And here she is proudly sporting her fabulous new sunglasses and her beautiful new purple earrings!

She did great during the piercing. 

Of course, it probably helped that we had numbed her ears with Emla Cream before we went!

Grace has now decided that when she turns seven this July she too would like her ears pierced. I think she needed to see someone, like her beloved sister, experience it and come away unscathed before she was ready to experience it herself.

Needless to say, after the excitement of the events of the last couple of days, paired with the gorgeous weather we've had I had two very tired little girls here tonight. They even asked to go to bed early. A true sign that much fun has been had!