Happy Birthday, Jolie!

We had a small family birthday gathering for Jolie while we were home for Thanksgiving. All of her grandparents were there along with an aunt & uncle. She got lots of fun toys! She had been begging me for the "Lucky Ducks" game the past few weeks so that is what we gave her. As you can see from these pictures it was a hit!

Cinderella

We went to Jolie's friend Anna's birthday party today. It was a royal tea party & the guest of honor was Cinderella! When she arrived Jolie starting waving & telling her hi. When she finally got to talk to her she told her, "you are the best princess in the whole wide world!" The birthday girl couldn't keep her eyes off of her as you can see from the picture. On the way home Jolie informed me that Cinderella was going home to her castle.

Our big baby

I walked into the kitchen this afternoon & found Jolie very comfortable in Sarah's carseat. Silly girl!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Jolie is VERY aware that Christmas is on its way! She tells me all the time that she is " 'bery' ready for Christmas." I decided it would be fun for us to decorate our wrapping paper together. She had a great time painting & I'm sure will love showing off her artwork on Christmas morning.

Playing

Jolie likes to "play" with baby sister.

2 Months tomorrow

I took Sarah outside today for our monthly photo shoot. She's grown so much in the last month. I like the second one because it shows off her healthy belly :) I thought she would hate the grass, but she actually was quite content laying there. She has started to smile & even coos!

Bathing Beauties

I took this picture of the girls after bath time a few nights ago. It's a little blurry, but too sweet not to share. Jolie loves her little sister!

First Family Photo

They took pictures at the Fall Fest on Wednesday night & we got ours this morning at church. We were impressed that we were all looking at the camera (except Sarah).

Happy Halloween!

Jolie dressed up for Halloween for the first time this year. She was a cute ULM cheerleader! We went to the Fall Festival at our church tonight to collect some candy & have some fun. She was a big fan of the bear as you'll see below. Also, we didn't buy anything to put candy in so Todd thought it would be funny for her to carry her Easter basket, but we accidentally forget it in the car.

The Hawks

Sarah & Chad came to visit last weekend, but I neglected to take pictures with my camera so I'm sharing the ones Sarah sent me today. My girls are big fans of their Aunt Sarah & Uncle Chad. We wish we could see them more often!

Happy Birthday, Great Grandpa!

Great Grandpa Strain turns 82 next weekend & we went to Ruston to help him celebrate this weekend. Sarah was introduced to more relatives. Jolie provided the entertainment - as always.

Sunday afternoon nap

What once was lost, now is found...

Jolie's "sheep" disappeared about the time Sarah came home from the hospital & we've been looking for it ever since. I was hunting for a puzzle piece under the couch today & I was very excited to see the sheep. She has slept okay without it, but has asked for it at least once a week. She told me, "thank you, mommy, for finding my sheep." As you can see, she is "so happy" to have it back...

Bath time!

Bath time is a good time to catch Sarah with her eyes open. She is awake more & more during the day & even slept a 5 hour stretch last night! Jolie is a great bath time helper :)

Sarah at 1 month

It's hard to believe Sarah has already been here a month! I took her outside this afternoon for a photoshoot. She was quite the trooper. Here is our baby one month after her arrival...

My Big Girl

We had a good time playing outside today. Here is our big girl with her freshly cut bangs!

Do they look alike?

Many folks have asked me if the girls look alike. I think there are some similarities, but overall each one has their own look. I thought these pictures of them sleeping (wearing the same onesie!) let you see what's alike & what's not.

All Smiles

Jolie loves to take pictures with Sarah. We can't wait until Sarah can smile with her!

Paintin'

Jolie loves her new "paint with water" book! She likes to carry her brush around the house & paint other things & we are trying to put a stop to it before she has real paint on her brush!