A picture is worth 1000 words...

Jolie is officially pooping with pride on the big girl potty! Here is her completed potty chart & a picture of her holding her potty prize. We are so proud of our big girl!

So sweet

Jolie likes to fall asleep with her closet light on so I always go turn it off before I go to bed. When I went in her room last night, the closet light & the lamp beside her bed were on & she had her new favorite book (Pinkalicious) in the bed with her. I went & grabbed the camera to catch this sweet girl sleeping. She is her father's child - sleeping outside the covers!

Rockin' girl

Sarah loves to climb up in my old rocking chair & sit. She tries her best to get the chair to rock with her. She is such a cutie!

While I was vacuuming...

Things happen so fast around here! I was vacuuming the living room & when I turned it off Jolie yelled, "Help, Mom, I'm stuck!" I went into the kitchen & this is what I found:I never dreamed that she couldn't get down because Sarah was in her way! I snapped a quick picture & then rescued them both - although Sarah didn't seem to need rescuing.

Five minutes (maybe) later this is where I found Sarah. I don't know what I'm going to do with this kid. What a little monkey!

Helper?

Not so much. I can no longer load/unload the dishwasher without my little "helper" joining me. Here she is in action:

Doesn't she look guilty?

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: