last day of school

Meg's last day of preschool was Thursday and I was really sad to see it end. I can see now how parents get emotional about every tiny little milestone their children reach. Here's a picture of Meg on the last day of school (I'm not ashamed to admit I bribed her with a cookie to make her smile normally):


And here's a picture of Meg on her first day of school in September! I didn't have to bribe her to smile back then.


The preschool had the cutest cowboy-themed program and I could tell Meg was totally happy and comfortable singing there with all her teachers and little friends. She is in the front middle with the white bandana. Her "best friend" Walker is next to her in the blue bandana.


They are singing, "They'll Be Coming Round the Mountain". It was so cute!!

razzle dazzle

Katie turned two this week! She talks and acts like a two-year-old, but she still looks like a baby to me. I hope she stays looking this way a little while longer...she does not have a single sharp angle on her body.


Every day she says something that makes me laugh. This week she has started saying, at randoms times throughout the day, "razzle dazzle!" What on earth?!? I have never said "razzle dazzle" in my life and Mark certainly doesn't say it. I don't know where this came from but I like it.


The cake adoration and awe is written all over her face. It is soo exciting to be two and have a special cake just for you!

katie + claire

Three mornings a week, Meg has been in preschool, which lately has turned into sweet quiet mornings with Katie and Claire. The whole morning is mostly taken up with naps and feeding them. But I love my time I get to have alone with them and now that Claire is older, Katie has really taken an interest in her too. Katie loves trying to feed Claire a bottle, even when it is empty:


Claire holds her own bottle, so I usually give her a full one and then turn away for a few minutes. Sometimes Katie will then sneak up and take the bottle and "paint" dots all over herself:


Katie still calls Claire "cluh bluh" (for Claire Bear, which is a cheesy nickname but is starting to stick).

8 months

This time I was really caught off guard. Claire is 8 months old? It seems like she just turned 7 months old yesterday. Can you see her 2 new teeth? Can you see the blue barrette that is my feeble attempt to tame that hair?

Claire's baptism was this past Sunday and this is the best picture we could come up with:

She spends a lot of time on the floor surrounded by toys. I found her trying to catch a sunbeam with her hands:

She is in the Cheerio stage of babyhood. I love this stage! It is messy with dropped Cheerios crunching under our feet but it takes a lot of time and concentration for her to get one in her mouth (=quiet and happy baby).

just in time for summer

I was extremely pleased to get an ice cream maker for Mother's Day, and I was determined to figure out how to use it right away, unlike some other presents I have received in the past, such as the ipod and the sushi making kit.

I started with the easiest-looking recipe I could find, which was raspberry sorbet (just raspberries, water, sugar, and salt). It was actually really good and really easy! This is only the beginning...I can't wait to try some different flavors. If anyone has any good suggestions or recipes, let me know!

sc trip

Last week I took the girls up to South Carolina to visit my parents, where they were in little girl heaven. Mark's mom also came to visit one day, which made it even better. I love this picture because it encapsulates the stage that each girl is in: Claire just wants to pull Meg's hair sooo badly and is sooo happy about the thought of it; Meg is in a bizarre dress-up outfit that I will call "princess scientist"; and Katie just needs to be restrained. I love that both of their grandmothers are laughing. They are the best grandmothers - they are so patient and loving with the girls.

The weather was perfect and we went strawberry picking. Katie left with only eight strawberries in her basket.

There were llamas and sheep at the farm, which was just as exciting as the strawberries. Meg and Katie are really affectionate with each other - I often find them just standing there hugging! I am loving this sweet sisterhood they are forming together.

Why did they both decide to stand this way??

horse rides

Amazingly, we got to be near horses one more time this month - the girls got to go to a birthday party with horses to ride!

Katie had never been on a horse before, but she said she wanted to try it. She stood on a little stool, waiting for her turn. I was fully prepared for a meltdown at this point...

But she braved it out and had a great time!

horses & mulberries

A few days ago our friend let us visit her horse at some stables near our house, which was so fun for the girls! We got to see the horses very close up and even feed them carrots! Katie was really brave (at first):

The carrot snack for the horse turned into the carrot snack for the girls...

The horses were beautiful and it was a gorgeous day.

There was a mulberry tree on the property that was loaded with berries. Meg and Katie had never picked berries before (much less eaten mulberries), but they knew exactly what to do!
Most of the berries went straight into their mouths instead of into their bucket.

Thanks to Rawan - the girls loved it! (Can you tell they are in love with her?) :)

leave them alone for a few minutes...

...and we find a scene like this:

Meg was "reading" the comics to Katie on the kitchen floor in their tutus and fairy wings while Mark and I were getting dressed for church. My favorite is Meg's choice of headgear...the blanket tucked under the headband I believe is her idea of what a person in the Bible would wear.

23 months

What Katie is up to: adorning herself. Anything that can possibly be put on her body will be put on. Yesterday I had to help her take off eight tutu skirts! (Why do we even have eight tutu skirts?)


Last month I wrote that she never got out of her new big girl bed and that I was so happy about it. I am now eating my words. Not only does she get out of bed, but I have found her rummaging around in one of the worst possible places...under the bathroom cabinet (thankfully she didn't get into any cleaning supplies)! Notice the child lock dangling from the cabinet knob...


Katie is also into squeezing herself into Claire's bumbo and eating Claire's baby food.


And finally, the mullet is gone! Katie got her first haircut last weekend and was totally calm the entire time.