I just realized that my last post was sort of a cliff-hanger. Keana did audition for the Nutcracker and despite not feeling very good about her performance in the hour-long audition, she got a part! She’ll be a “little mouse” in the December performances at the Saroyan Theater in downtown Fresno. After the initial excitement wore off, she began to feel nervous about learning her part, and now that a month has passed, she’s pretty much not thinking about it at all. Which is good, since rehearsals for her part don’t start for a few more weeks anyway. I know she’ll be great and we’re very excited to see her on a truly big stage.

The other interesting thing that’s been developing with Keana is her fear. I think as her understanding of the world develops, so does her understanding of the unknown and what’s possible, and it can be a little scary for her. For instance, she doesn’t like having the curtains open now when it gets dark. She doesn’t say particular reasons why, but she knows it scares her. Also, we started reading The Fellowship of the Ring, and even though it’s not as blatantly scary as some other books, she’s starting to understand all the darkness that Tolkien eludes to and is building up to. So tonight she said that we may not be able to finish this one now because it’s too scary, which is a first for her. And of course, it’s all good by me.

Aliya’s been progressing right along with Keana, but on her three-year-old path. She still has the faintest bit of “Babe-in” in her, but she’s definitely maturing. One of her favorite words lately has been “also.” It’s like a magic connector she’s learned and is using at every chance she gets. She still refers to most things in the past as “last night,” but she has thrown in a “yesterday” here and there too. Another adorable and slightly heartbreaking thing for her lately, has been missing Maia when she’s at school. They have so much fun together and now that Maia’s been going to school for about six weeks, she’s started missing her during the day and often asks throughout the morning, “Are we going to pick Maia up now?” Her respect for Maia isn’t just play-related either. If we don’t know something, like someone’s name or where a particular toy is, Aliya will reply, “Maybe Maia knows?” So Maia has really become her go-to on a lot of levels.

Aliya is also taking nicely to ballet and loves her class on Fridays. They do some basic dance stuff—which she excels at since she has private instruction from her two older sisters—but they also do coordination exercises and name colors and count as well. Part of her “Babe-in-ness” comes in the form of how she pronounces words like “wellow” and “bwue.” The way she talks is so cute that Keana and Maia love trying to make her say the words they like to hear her say the best. Aliya also informed me the other day that it’s okay to call her “Aliya” or “Babe-in,” but nothing else.

Ms. Maia is thriving in school and ballet. After a long weekend it takes her a little bit to get warmed back up, but on Friday when I picked her up from school, she was upset that it was the weekend because she wanted to go back on Saturday. She has a new friend which is a big part of that I think. She does struggle not finishing some activities because of her perfectionism, but I think she’s learning to balance that out. Sarah volunteers in her class on Thursdays, so she gets to be a part of everything and see for herself first-hand what the class is doing and how Maia is handling things. As expected, there’s some little bumps in the road, but overall, Maia really enjoys the routine and challenge of school so far. Much of these same things apply to ballet. She’ll often say she doesn’t want to go, but Sarah gets her “warmed up” by pretending to be Ms. Yulia, the instructor. They review some lessons and act a little silly which gets Maia loosened up and ready for the real thing. Once she’s in her ballet class, she’s amazing and continues to learn skills quickly. Ballet is one discipline where some of that perfectionism might really come in handy.

Man, I could write on and on, but who would read it?! Having three brilliant, hilarious, talented princesses continues to be a blessing and a challenge. Sarah and I continue to grow with them though, and I think that’s the only way we can be there for them and enjoy all that they are along the way.