Laugh 'n Learn Chair

One of Sarah's favorite things is the Laugh 'n Learn Chair that she inherited from Jolie. She loves sitting on it & getting it to sing to her. She giggles the whole time! So cute. Here she is enjoying her new favorite toy:

Our new look

I just discovered a site that walked me through how to design my own blog background so I played with it tonight & here it is! I used supplies from one of my favorite digi scrapping sites: www.digitaldesignessentials.com.

My Gymboree Girls

We broke out some of our new Gymboree clothes that Nonna bought the girls in August. I thought they looked too cute not to share...matching hair accessory - so cute!

Uh, Oh!

Poor Todd will never know the sound of silence living with three girls! Sarah is entering the world of speech...

More outdoor fun

Thanks to the cold front and our new bug fogger the girls & I actually went outside for a change today! Here are my cute, swingin' girls...

the big girl

the baby girl

and sarah's growing hair

Getting some fresh air

We've spent much of this week indoors thanks to the rain (10 or so inches!) that Gustav brought us so I decided we needed to get some fresh air this morning. After months of collecting dust, spiders & mosquitoes I cleaned off the wagon & got it ready to go. The girls really enjoyed it & had fun "talking" the whole time. Here they are in their wagon...And for those of you who haven't seen Sarah's new teeth - here they are. She is up to 4 & three of them have debuted since the beginning of August. Isn't she a cutie?

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

We celebrated Sarah's first birthday this past Saturday with all of her grandparents. It was a special day & she enjoyed being the center of attention for a change. She LOVED the cupcake & ate every bite. Jolie helped blow out the candles & open presents - what a good big sister! Here are some highlights...

A new favorite

We introduced Sarah to zwieback toast last week & it has been a hit! She eats each piece down to the very last bite. Here she is chowing down tonight:

Tea for Two

Sarah is finally getting big enough to sit at the little table with Jolie (with a little assistance from me). Jolie set up a tea party for them. Sarah is smiling as usual & Jolie is refusing to look at the camera - little stinker!

Masterpiece

Jolie was painting a couple of days ago & I turned my head to answer the phone & she created this masterpiece. Thank you to Crayola for making wonderful, WASHABLE products!

She can't walk, but she can...

CLIMB! This is where I found Sarah when I walked into the girls' room today. Now I have one more thing to watch out for! Also, the smile in the first picture is a typical Sarah smile. She is sweetest kid! If you've seen her recently I bet she's smiled this smile at you :)

Fun with family

Grandpa Strain died earlier this summer so we went to Ruston this weekend to help clean out some of the stuff from his house. We weren't there under fun circumstances, but we sure did enjoy seeing our family. When her Gran asked Jolie what her new friend's name was Jolie responded, "I'm being mean to him." Once she decided to play nice, she & her cousin Everson became big buds.

a little bit of lately

Here are some random snapshots from the last couple of weeks.

Jolie doing the hula with several headbands around her waist. Thanks to her awesome babysitter (aka: college friend) Christin for taking this picture!


Sarah looking sweet.


Sarah getting into the toy cabinet.


Jolie enjoying her new umbrella in the shower. Thanks, Nonna!


The girls watching their college friends at the annual BCM Leadership Retreat.

Bye, Bye!

Today was a sad day for our family. Our dear friends the Henkels (aka: Josie, Caleb, Mr. Aubry, & Mrs. Rachel) drove away in a moving van. They have been wonderful friends to us since our very first day in Monroe. We were fortunate to have them spend their last night in town at our house. We are jealous that the folks in NC are going to get such great friends! Jolie & Josie took these pictures together this morning. May God cross our paths again! We love you Henkel family!

More?

We used a little baby sign language with Jolie & thought it was fun so I've introduced a couple of signs to Sarah. I've been shocked how quickly she caught on to the sign for "more." She is constantly tapping her little hands together between bites. It is so cute!

Here is what the sign looks like:











To sign "more," tap both hands together a few times.


Here is our baby signing at dinner tonight:

Developing a sense of style

Jolie made a special request earlier this week when I was fixing her hair: one ponytail & one braid. It sounded a little funny to me, but I figured it was better than having her hair down in a knotted mess. She is definitely developing her own sense of style. She often reminds me of her Aunt Sarah & this definitely looks like something she would have requested if she had thought of it :) The people who saw it really got a kick out of it!

Trapped

I caught this cute picture of Sarah when I was going to pick her up from her nap a couple of days ago. She is such a sweetie!

The tooth

Sarah's first tooth arrived a couple of weeks ago & is becoming more visible everyday. I caught this cute picture of the girls today & if you look closely you can see Sarah's little pearly white.

Our little artist

Jolie drew this picture the other day. We thought it was fun because it was the first time her "people" actually looked like people. She says it's our family, but there is one too many members. Maybe she knows something we don't know :) Isn't she talented?

More beach highlights

We had a great time at the beach with Todd's family. We wish we could see Aunt Susan, Uncle Zach & Uncle Hardy more often. Jolie told me today that Uncle Zach is her best friend because he took her to see the airplanes at the naval museum. It's good to be loved :) Special thanks to Gran & PawPaw for treating us to a special week!

Our attempt at a family picture :)