Highlights

Sadie loved wearing Analise's sunglasses
A Day out with Thomas

They enjoy bathtime together

Maisie loves to "wim" with daddy!

Sadie Lady walking the walker

Goodness...the summer is flying by! We've been busy and most days enjoying life. I will admit, there are days I just need a break. Let's see if I remember what we've been up to.

In June we had a week of VBS at our church for ages 3- Pre. K. It was a Go Fish curriculum called "Backstage with the Bible." We averaged 40 kids, and everyone had a great time. I was kind of the head honcho in all this, so it was fun seeing it come altogether. I had wonderful servant leaders, so my mornings were pretty simple. Analise loved being with her friends. Maisie was in the nursery with some of her friends, so she also enjoyed going. Sadie went a couple of mornings, but she spent the other days with Grandma.

I enjoyed being with kids again. I absolutely love being home with my girls, but when I am with kids, it's refreshing to me. I loved interacting with them and helped lead the worship time. What a blast!

We've enjoyed time boating together as a family. Analise is getting more brave and even got in the water with her Aunt S. Maisie is always up for a swim. Maisie was so excited we let her ride the big tube. She enjoys being a big girl.

For the 4th of July we had friends come from CO to stay with us. We hadn't seen them for a long time, so we had fun. They were so kind and helpful with the girls, and the girls just adored having them around. We did some fireworks with the family, they went golfing (so Analise was thrilled to drive the cart again.) and we spent time with the whole family. The weather wasn't all we hoped it to be, so we didn't get to go boating. In fact, I was in jeans and a sweatshirt when we watched the fireworks. We also make hamburger cupcakes that turned out really cute. Unfortunately, we lost 7 of them due to them falling off the top of the car as we drove down the hill. :)Thanks, N and J for spending your holiday with us!

We had swimming lessons the last two weeks. Analise was in the preschool class, and I signed Maisie up for the parent/toddler class. We never did that with Analise. However, Maisie seemed to have no fear of the water (unlike Analise) so I wanted her to learn a healthy fear. I signed us all up for evening classes so we could go at the same time, and Brandon could stay home with Sadie. That was the perk. The downfall was having dinner on the table by 5:10, and eating quickly so we could be out the door at 5:35. What a whirlwind! Two weeks of this schedule was plenty!

Analise really enjoyed her classes and became more brave in the water. By the end she was jumping in and completely going under. Once she learned she could do it (with an ice cream bribe from her mother) there was no stopping her.

Maisie, on the other hand, enjoyed going, but she actually became much more fearful of the water. By then end she was crying when I told her she had to go under. She attempted everything the instructor wanted us to do, but she never did anything well. I got through the classes, but I was reminded that I am a better Kindermusik mom than swimming lessons mom. Brandon took her a couple of times, but Maisie always wanted me to take her. :)

This past weekend we took a little family getaway. We went to a Day out with Thomas. It was about three hours away, but we were able to drive most of the way the night before and stay at a family's place. We arrived for the ride on Sat. morning, and the girls were so excited! They saw a real Thomas train and we took a 25 minute ride on the train. We then walked around the area and did other Thomas things. Analise enjoyed it all, and so did Maisie. She was always asking to see "Matas." So cute.

We have spent a couple nights at a local track so Analise can master the bike riding. She rode several laps last week and didn't fall. Yeah! She just needs to learn to start on her own.

Maisie is Maisie and keeps life busy and full of laughter. A quick funny...one night she was messing with a rug in the kitchen. Brandon told her to put it back nicely. So Maisie bent down and gave the rug a kiss. :)

Sadie is all over following her sisters. This week she puts their shoes on her hands and crawls around.

That's about all...quiet time is over.

Growing Up

The days move by quickly around here. Summer is flying by! I have been posting in my head for way too long, so I am sure I will forget something. I will start with updates on the girls. One of these days I will look at these posts so I can fill in their baby books. :)
Sadie is completely over her ear infections! We had to take two rounds of antibiotics, but they are all cleared up now. We also cut back the breathing treatments with albuterol since her cough is gone. We will continue the treatments with pulmocort. Today she had her 15 month check, a little late due to illness. She was 31 inches long and 19-1 lbs! So for her real age, she is in the 70% for height! For weight she is at the 4%...however if we adjusted back, she'd move up to the 10%. :) She's going to be tall and skinny! It might be hard to find her clothes as she gets older. We had her full evaluation a couple of weeks ago to see if she qualified for early developmental services. We found out last week that she doesn't qualify! What a blessing. She is doing really well and seems to already be catching up on some areas. She is pushing her walker around and cruising more. She does well while walking and holding on to my fingers, but she isn't taking steps on her own yet. She wants to get places quickly. We frequently hear her say "hi" and "bye bye." She pointed to a ball last week and said "ba." She is jabbering more and pretend playing. She likes to hold things to her ear and say hi, like she is talking on a phone. It's so cute. She likes to "play" more to get a reaction, such as: she gets a big grin/smirk on her face in the tub before she splashes because she knows I will laugh and tickle her. She loves to pull up on my legs, hide her face and play peek a boo with me. See below:

These are my silly girls. Maisie put her shorts on her head, so Analise joined in. How could I not take a picture of this? Maisie's ear infections are also cleared up. Like Sadie, she needed two rounds of antibiotics. She is talking more and more and saying words better. In fact, she is making some sounds that usually aren't mastered until 3 1/2. My slow in speech daughter is actually a little ahead! She is speaking short sentences. She is also recognizing more colors. Yeah! She is counting, and she counts like this: 1,2, 3, 14, I, U. Got to love it. We started swimming lessons this week, and she is so excited. She loves to go "wim." It's a parent/child class, so I get the honor of being in the water with her. Daddy will go sometimes, too. :) While at the doctor a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that Maisie hasn't gained much weight in the last year, so she looked at the chart. She is along the same curve at her two year check - about the 25%. I really do feed my girls!

Analise also was at the doctor recently for her big Kdg. check. She was excited because she knew she didn't have to get any shots. She did awesome! The nurse called her a little square (which I learned is normal for this age) because she was 45 3/4 in tall and 45 1/2 lbs. This put Analise in the 95% for ht and 80% for weight. Her eyes and ears are great, and she answered all the questions correctly for the nurse and doctor. She is such a firstborn. :)

Analise is also taking swimming lessons, and she is enjoying them. Though she is much more like me when it comes to water. She'd rather bop around in the water and not get her face wet instead of actually swimming. I hope she learns to like it a whole lot more that I do!

Yesterday the girls were coloring, and Analise realized that Maisie had both orange markers, so she took hers. Of course Maisie wasn't too happy, but Analise explained, "You have an orange, and I have an orange. That's just what the Bible tells us to do. " I laughed and asked her to explain. She told me the Bible tells us to share.

Later at supper Brandon talked about someone not listening or being able to hear. Analise asked, "His ears are blind?"

Lately Analise likes to act like she is conducting (like she learned in Wii Music). However, she says, "Look mom, I'm judgering."

More on life and activities in another post, another time...