Sarah & swimming lessons

This was Sarah's first year of lessons. She would have dived head first into the water last year, but this year has developed a slight fear of water. She really did pretty well, but was super tired on her last day of lessons. I really think the only reason she got in the water today was to get the treat - this kid is motivated by candy! Here she is in action (& that is her whining the whole way across):

Our little swimmer

Jolie took another year of swimming lessons & became an even stronger swimmer. We are so proud. Here she is in action:

Easter Bunny Cake

We baked our annual Easter bunny cake today. We are taking it to share with Jolie's class tomorrow. Jolie did a great job helping me place the jelly beans on the cake & sprinkle the coconut. Sarah did a great job getting in the way & eating icing.

Our finished cake:

Trouble maker:

My big helper:

Welcome spring!

After a really long winter we've been enjoying more time outside (well most of us).

Here is Sarah smiling in the sunshine...

Here is Jolie watching us from inside because of her serious fear of stinging insects...

Playing catch up

So pregnancy has significantly influenced how many pictures I have not taken over the last few weeks, but I did capture a few so here they are...

These Kids Surf (artwork by Jolie):
My sweet little Valentines:
I'm now 10.5 weeks pregnant & head back to the doc for a check up on Thursday. Hopefully, now that I'm beginning to feel better & spring is in the air I'll have more to share.

SNOW!

We woke up to a yard covered in snow! It's beautiful! We were out the door before 7:30 exploring. Jolie loved it & Sarah did too until she got too cold. We do not have clothes for this kind of weather!

My little ballerinas

Aunt Sarah bought the girls these leotards a long time ago. They still love to wear them & pretend to be ballerinas.

Smart girl

I heard Jolie talking about looking up Strawberry Shortcake on the Internet. She & Sarah were sitting in the computer chair together, but I didn't really think much of it until I went over & found this:She had the DVD in her hand & was busy entering the title in the address bar - Strawberry Shortcake The Sweet Dreams Movie. I was impressed with her resourcefulness. We did search for Strawberry Shortcake online & were delighted to find a site full of fun games & videos :)

Also, Todd borrowed my handy camera for the day & this shot was taken with my camera phone. Sorry it's a little blurry.

Jolie, our drama queen

Sharing the stage with Sarah is SUCH an unreasonable request. I like that Sarah just keeps singing.

Our annual Christmas morning pj picture. Waking up at Gran's house is always a treat. Next year baby Ben will be with us too. Yay for cousins!

Did your Christmas wish come true?

Jolie's did...

She is a huge fan of the new Dora Links doll. She'll be happy to show you how to change her eye color, necklace color, etc. I'm not sure about sharing my laptop with my 5 year old :)

Santa around town

We've seen Santa every where but the mall :) Here is Jolie at Christmas at ULM & the Coca Cola museum in town sitting in the big guy's lap. She has consistently reported that she wants "the Dora dolly that hooks up to the computer." May all her Christmas wishes come true!

Please note: Sarah is not featured here because she was NOT going near Santa :)

A star is born

Jolie sang her first solo at church tonight. She stole the show. (Excuse the blurriness at the beginning of this video.)

Beginning of Advent

I grew up in a church that celebrated the Christmas Advent season with an Advent wreath & candles. It is a tradition that I want my girls to experience so we got it started tonight. You light a candle the four Sundays before Christmas & Christmas Eve. We used a book that a friend gave me that worked great for preschoolers. We read a modern day story, the story of the angel coming to Mary & Joseph & then learned one of God's names - Emmanuel - God with us. The book has activity sheets that Jolie loved & Sarah put her mark on. They loved lighting the candle & are looking forward to the day when we light ALL five. Hopefully this tradition will help us to anticipate the birth of Christ all month long.

Here are some pictures from tonight.

Interview with Sarah

It's been fun watching Sarah's little personality bloom. She talks all the time & is amazingly easy to understand. I conducted a little interview with her tonight that I thought you'd enjoy.

Thanksgiving Feast

Jolie's MDO class had a Thanksgiving Feast & they invited parents to come. We got to watch them sing a few songs & eat lunch with them. She - as expected - sang the loudest & with the most enthusiasm. Here she is in action:

Jolie & her friends Saywer, Hannah & Kinley. Don't you love how she is holding Sawyer's face?

Trick or Treating in style

I attempted to post this on Monday, but my pictures wouldn't upload. Sorry you had to wait...We joined some friends in their neighborhood & went trick or treating for the first time this year. We loaded up the Barbie Jeep & the Beatty kids drove their John Deere Gator around the neighborhood. It was quite a sight. Jolie had a blast & Sarah loved every minute of it too. She did a great job keeping up with the big kids.

My favorite fairies.

Indiana Jones & a black cat.

Ridin' in style

Playhouse Disney Live!

We took the girls to Playhouse Disney Live this afternoon & they both LOVED it! The girls called their Gran on our way home & Jolie told her "it was the best part of her year." Silly girl.

Disney knows how to make a dime. They sold popcorn & candy with a hat so the price was nice & steep, but we are now the proud owners of two new Disney hats :)

Jolie dancing...

Halloween Preview

The girls wore their Halloween costumes to a costume-themed birthday party a couple of weeks ago & I've just neglected to post this picture. Aren't these the two cutest fairies you've ever seen?

Louisiana Tech, I love thee

We had a brief, but good visit with some good friends from college this past weekend in Ruston. Special thanks to Mandy for sharing these on Facebook.