Apple Festival 2008

For the past several years, our family has marked the unofficial end to summer by going to the Apple Festival!

We enjoyed caramel apples...

...and apple cider!

Katie even got her first taste of apple today!

C'mon, Fall, we're ready!

My Little Type A

The girls and I ventured out to the grocery store yesterday after naps (yes, that's an entire post in itself, but it'll have to wait!). When we got back on the road to head home, Ella Grace asked me to drive as fast as I could because she had to go to the bathroom. Well apparently I didn't drive fast enough...she didn't make it.

Was she upset because she was all wet?
Nope.
Was she upset because it's been a long time since she's had an accident?
Nope.

Was she upset because her new car seat was wet?

Nope.

Why, you ask, was she so upset?

Because she couldn't wear her "Monday Panties" anymore. Of course!

Type A, you think?

2 Firsts

Today marked two first for our Katie Loren.

First, she took her first ride in a swing at the park; she loved it!

Second, she said "Da Da!" Congrats, Eric, you're three for three =)

Our Boys

A few months ago, my sister and her family moved out to our neck of the woods! Though our kids spent a lot of time together anyway, we're so excited that they are closer! We "switch" kids almost weekly, and if we go more than that, my girls are asking when the boys are coming over!

We notice the influence of their boy cousins on our girls in a lot of ways. The other day I overheard Ella Grace tell Annabelle: "We need to kill those bad guys!" I was a bit taken back, but decided to wait it out and see where she went with it. She continued: "Annabelle, kill me, I'm a bad guy!" Then I heard, "Thank you very much, Annabelle, for killing me!" Ha! She had no idea what she was talking about, she'd just overheard Gabe and Christian and was imitating--hey, at least she was polite.

Last night the boys were over while Rick and Melissa went out. The dress up clothes were out and the kids were dressing up to put on a "show". They came downstairs in several different "costumes": clowns, ladybugs, puppy dogs...and then Christian came down wearing a tiarra and purple high heels declaring to us all that he was the prince! Sorry, Rick!

After dinner, we all sat down for popcorn and a movie. When it was bedtime, I sent each kid into use the potty--Annabelle ended up being last. We're still in the process of potty training, so I went in to help. I found her on top of the potty on all fours. "Annabelle, do you need some help getting up," I asked as I picked her up and turned her around to sit properly on the potty. "NO, Momma! I want to do it like Christian does it!" Whoa, maybe a bit too much imitation there! =)

Thanks for sharing your boys with us, guys! They are the next best thing to having our own boys, and they balance out this girlie house well! We love you!

Stumped

Ella Grace: How come they call this your back (indicating her back on her body)?

Me: Um, I dunno; because it's on the back of your body.

Ella Grace: Well, how come they call this your belly (pointing to her belly) instead of your front?

Worth a Thousand Words

The Olympics

The big Olympic hit at our house has been gymnastics. As they watch, Ella Grace and Annabelle flip and kick and "imitate" what they are seeing on TV. As they watched the other morning, Ella Grace looked at Annabelle and very seriously said, "Annabelle, I think we need some training!"

Group Shot(s)

Click here to see the recent pictures we had made of the girls! They're so cute! Enter the customer name MARYBETH WILLIAMS (just like that) to view the pictures.


Oh, how do you like my blog "makeover"? Let me know what you think!

Go Team USA!

Toe Jam

So far I've faced the same challenge while introducing Katie to "solids" as I did with my other girls--keeping her hands out of her mouth. In true Katie fashion, today she offered a new challenge:



It's worth noting that it's harder to get prunes from between toes than it is from between fingers!

4 Year Old Faith

Earlier this morning while riding in the car:

Ella Grace: Mom, you got enough gas?
Me: Yes, baby!
EG: Okay...well, if we ran out of gas, you could drive and me and Annabelle could push the van.
Me: The van is pretty heavy, you know?
EG: Yeah, but it would be me AND Annabelle.
Me: Oh.
EG: Do you think that's a good idea?
Me: Not really. If we ran out of gas, I think we'd have to come up with a different plan.
EG: (After a little thought and said with much excitement) Mom, I know what we could do if we ran out of gas!
Me: Okay, what?
EG: We could just ask God to move the car!

Of course. What was I thinking? Sadly, that thought had not even crossed my mind. Oh, for a tiny taste of that kind of faith--what would my life look like?

On the way home, we heard the song "Mighty to Save" by Hillsong; the chorus reads:

"Saviour
He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save

Forever
Author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave"

I sing passionately that He can move a mountain, but don't even have the thought that He could move a car?! Thanks, Ella Grace, for reminding me that God is mighty to move the great and the small! Thanks, Lord, for moving me a little closer to You today through the faith of a tenderhearted four-year-old!

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