big girl bed (sort of)

As of today, we have taken off the front rail of Arden's crib in an attempt to help her transition to a real "big girl bed" later this year. She was really excited about it this afternoon when Woody took the rail off. She kept getting in and out of the bed, saying, "Goodnight. Arden go sleep." She would lay down on her tummy and ask us to put the blanket on her, which was funny, because she usually can't stand to be covered up. The only "problem" was that she would lay right on the edge of the bed, ready to roll off!! (Don't worry she's not far from the ground and we're putting pillows down!) Anyway, it should be an interesting night. She's done great actually staying in the bed so far, and she's closer to the middle and back rail. And she's called out for us, like we told her to, instead of getting out of the bed and coming to find us, so this is good. We'll just see how long it actually takes her to go to sleep...she's been down for an hour and a half and has just now gotten quiet. And hopefully she won't decide to come visit us in the wee hours of the morning! We welcome any thoughts/tips you might have for making this transition! Well, so much for sleeping, she just called for us again.

track and field, here we come

Arden has always been the runner in the family, but I think now Esther has decided to join her. As if inspired by the Olympics, Esther's new favorite pastime is making laps around the dining room table...and not just once, she has to make 2 or 3 laps before she proceeds on with what she's doing. It's quite humorous to watch.

waiting out the storm

Tropical storm Fay is here and has been hovering all day. This is our first storm since moving down and so we weren't really sure what to expect, but got "prepared" and hunkered down for whatever was to come. So far we haven't lost power, obviously I guess, and we're so thankful that the Lord has protected our family and home through the midst of all of this, and trust that He will continue to do so, as Fay doesn't seem to be going anywhere in the very near future. The girls have done great as well through everything...we've spent the last two days inside and so I've tried to keep them entertained as much as possible. Here are a few of the things we've done to pass the time...

Arden got to paint while Esther took her morning nap.

Esther's hoping for a sunny day.

We had a princess pajama party and "ate" cake.

I know princesses are probably not supposed to stick out their tongues, but in Arden's case, I was really excited...this is something we've been working on with her for speech.

And finally, at one point today, I found Arden in the bathroom with Esther's baby on the potty. Arden was reading her potty book to the baby, but by the time I got back with the camera, she was gone. As I was taking the pic of the baby, Arden came up behind me and said, "Say cheese baby," which I just cracked up at.

We'll see what tomorrow holds as we wait for Fay to leave us!

our little baker

Arden has mentioned cupcakes every day since we went to the cupcake shop on Saturday. So today I finally pulled out a cake mix and decided we would make our own! She was a great little helper and I tried to let her do as much as she possibly could...I even let her pour the batter into the cups, which was a bit challenging for the neat freak in me, but she had a blast so it was worth it. She also loved wearing her new apron that I picked up from the $1 bin at Target last week. I think we have a little baker in the making!

cupcakes

I don't know why I have a fascination with cupcakes, but I do. We went to the new cupcake shop after lunch today (for you locals, they just opened yesterday and the grand opening is actually tomorrow). We got to meet the owners, and I was asked if I'd been to any other cupcake places. I mentioned New York City and San Francisco...and to my surprise, Kara's Cupcakes that Christi took me to in S.F. was actually the couple's inspiration store! (How cool is that?) They had gone to S.F. for their anniversary and had a cupcake from Kara's and thought, this would do great back home. Anyway, Luli's is a cute little shop and the cupcakes were pretty tasty! The owners said they were still fine tuning the recipes...we got a simply vanilla for the girls and Woody and I split a funky monkey (banana/choc. chip with choc. frosting-yum!). And I think the cupcakes were a hit with Arden-she just woke up from her nap and the first words out of her mouth were, "fun cupcake!"

the park

One of Arden's favorite places to go is a nearby park. Not only does it have a great playground that is pretty easy to manage with both girls, but it also boasts a carousel. From the first week we came down to visit Woody, before actually moving down, Arden has loved this place. I think one of her first words was "tarousel." And Esther's really enjoying the park now that she's not attached to my hip and can get around by herself.

It's a place we frequent quite often and sadly, I never think of grabbing the camera...until tonight. It's been raining most of the week and finally tonight turned out to be beautiful, so we headed out.

Esther's still not too sure about actually sitting on the horse. Tonight is only the second time she's lasted the whole ride, and that's on the horse that doesn't move.

As you can see, Arden loves riding...she chose a smaller horse tonight...more her size I guess.

After riding the carousel, we headed to a new cupcake shop that's just opened up downtown. (Which I am really excited about!!!) Unfortunately they'd just closed, so we'll have to try it again soon, like tomorrow! We'll see...be looking for a cupcake post soon though!

safe and sound

I think we've recovered well from the whirlwind weekend of birthday bliss. It was great being able to see family, even if just for a short while. In the midst of it all, and even now, I'm realizing how different the girls are from when our families last saw them. And really, they've changed a whole lot just since last week. Esther is on the go!! I knew the day would come when she would take off and Arden would take off and they would not be going in the same direction...and yes, that day has come! She, Little Miss as I call her, is into everything. Opening up cabinets, climbing onto whatever she can, grabbing Arden's "animals" and running for her life because she knows Arden will snatch them away from her, and the list goes on. She is so much fun though and I love her determined little personality! And I must say, her hugs are priceless!! Arden is also this whole new little person. She's saying so much more these days-she's finally repeating what you say to her, which I guess can be good and bad. :) And I think she said at least 5 new things on Saturday, (including Dagan!) which was so fun for everyone. We're amazed at her progression and thankful to the Lord for how He is working. Which brings me to the whole reason I was writing this to begin with...Arden and Esther have both really gotten into Miss Pattycake this summer. We have her sing-a-long DVD to encourage Arden to sing to help with speech. For those familiar with the world of Miss Pattycake, her favorites right now are..."Go, go Joshua," "Ten Men," and the Baby Moses song. So for the last few days, she's been stuck on the song about Baby Moses. She'll say, "Bas-gak-ik...sound" or "gaskit...sound," both of which refer to the line that says, "He's in a little basket, safe and sound." Well today, she emptied out a basket from her room and put her baby, as well as Esther's in it, and proudly walked around the house carrying the basket saying, "babies, bas-gak-iks, sound." I finally put in Miss Pattycake so that she and her baby in the basket could sing-a-long and could not resist a picture. It was really sweet! And for those who know the song about the little green frog (not a Miss Pattycake song), she started doing the last line herself last night..."mm, aah, mm, aah, mm, aah, aah!"...except she's not sticking her tongue out yet. Thanks Aunt Christi :) We were really impressed! Okay, enough of Arden's singing stories for one night. She's just so much fun these days, I can't help it!

Happy 1st Birthday Esther!

Our sweet Esther turned 1 yesterday!! It's so hard to believe our little one is a year old! For her big day, Nonie and Dagan, G.G. and Papa and cousins, Hannah and Halli came to celebrate! Esther loves being outside, so we spent the morning in the backyard playing at the water table, kiddie pool and "ocean sprinkler" from her Great Aunt Martha. For lunch we grilled hamburgers and all that other good stuff, including sweet potatoes, a favorite of Esther's. She had her own little cake and she did not waste anytime! She went face first into the side of the cake (who needs hands?) and never looked back! For our little sweet lover, this was paradise! And her big sis didn't waste time either...she got a taste of the "big cake" when she thought no one was watching! After a nap and present opening, we all went to the beach to finish off the day. What better way to end a great day?! Esther is such a blessing to our family and we're so thankful for the fun gift she is to us. Below are some pics from her big day...

a big deal

Arden was thrilled to have a four-month-old cutie, Gabe, better known as, "Baby Gade," and his mom, Brittany, ride in the car with us today on the way to a friend's house. Arden LOVES this baby and talks about him all the time like he's part of our family. Sunday mornings are a highlight when she realizes we're going to church so that she can "see Baby Gade." So today, not only did she get to see him, but she got to ride next to him and hold his hand. It was a big deal!

We also got to meet our contact person that we'll be working with throughout the evaluation process for Arden. She came by our house to get some more information and meet Arden before the appt. next week. Arden didn't seem too impressed and wasn't very talkative, but we really liked her, and we're looking forward to our visit.

And to end the day, Woody and Arden made some peanut butter cookies (with the help of Paula Deen). They were pretty tasty! Below is a picture of the finished product.