sowing

This afternoon the girls and I planted sunflower seeds! I've been wanting to do this for awhile and have been reading The Sunflower Parable to the girls, so they were really excited when I told them what we were doing. A few weeks ago, I mentioned my idea to our sweet friend, Patty, and the next thing I knew, she had brought us a variety of seeds, including child size ones! And then last weekend, Woody prepared a bed to plant them in-thank you! So today we were ready to sow the seeds, which turned out to be a hoot! All Esther had to say at first was "yucky" to the dirt, but she quickly got over that and became a pro at shoveling the soil out of the planter and dumping seeds everywhere! Arden couldn't get enough of the seeds and wanted to open every package...I showed her how to prepare a little place in the soil for them and place them in it, but when I would hand her a seed, she would just throw it into the planter from a few steps back, like she didn't want to get her hands in the dirt! Oh well, we all had a lot of fun and maybe next year it'll be a little easier! I'm looking forward to seeing how everything turns out and know the girls will love getting to watch the flowers sprout and grow. Arden has already gone back outside three times to check on them...!




Arden's favorite part by far was watering the seeds! I'll try and post more pics as the seeds begin to sprout.

sprinkler time

Well it has been quite beautiful here lately and was rather on the warm side this last weekend. I would say it was hot, but I know the true heat has yet to come! Anyway, we officially broke out Arden's bathing suit on Sunday (thankfully it looks like she'll be able to wear it again this summer!) and let her run around the backyard with the sprinkler on. Esther's had a nasty runny nose and was napping, so Arden got some Daddy time by herself. And of course, she now thinks that everyday should be sprinkler day just like in her Water, Water Everywhere book and she's also told us she's ready to go swimming in the ocean!

crowned

This last Friday a friend from church, "Miss" Jann, came to see the girls and brought several surprises for them...one of which was decorating princess crowns. Both girls loved them, but Arden was especially elated! Thank you Miss Jann!

i wanna be like you...

Woody was working on the computer at the table and Arden announced that she wanted to work too. She went and got her play laptop and moved her chair so that she was able to work right next to Daddy.


This second picture is of Arden and her latest fascination...her Leapfrog Click Start, My First Computer. She's actually had it for quite a while, but it's really seemed to "click" (haha) for her lately and it's all she wants to do. (For those who might not know what this is...it's basically a little computer with interactive learning games that hooks up to your tv. It has a wireless mouse and keyboard that goes along with it to play the games.) Arden's doing great with the keyboard and definitely knows how to click the mouse, but still needs some fine tuning when it comes to moving the mouse!

a new dress

Apparently, Arden wanted to join in on the fun while I was taking pictures of Esther...She wanted to wear her bloomers once Esther had hers on and then she disappeared to her room and came back like this...


She is wearing the newborn gown she wore home from the hospital! It is hanging on display in her room...she got it down, unbuttoned it and had gotten it on to the best of her ability. She was very proud of her "new dress!"

18 months

Our sweet Esther is 18 months...well, the fact of the matter is that she'll actually be 19 months old tomorrow, but today, she is technically still 18 months. Better late than never, right? :) Today she is actually the same age that Arden was the day she was born; if that makes any sense...anyway, it's crazy to think about.
I feel like Esther has grown up overnight...she's still our baby, but she's not. She's talking, running, still climbing and able to answer simple questions and follow commands. Where did the time go? It has been so amazing to see the Lord expand her vocabulary, picking up new words each day. Some of my favorites are of course, "Mommy," which she just started saying instead of Mama, and "love you." I also love to hear her say Daddy and Arden. Blessing, horse and boy are all faves because of how she says them. When you have something to eat, she'll walk up to you with the sweetest face and say "some please," and she's very hard to resist because she's so darn polite! She'll pretty much repeat at least one word of whatever you say to her, and she's even started "singing" with Arden, getting the right word or sound usually at the end of each phrase. She LOVES having books read to her and then reading them herself. For awhile, she would say "A-B-C" on a page, then turn the page and say it again on each page through an entire book. Esther's still a snuggler and cuddler, which I love, but she's also found some new independence and she's not afraid to let you know how she feels about something, quite forcefully at times, which we're working on! :) She LOVES her big sister and wants to do everything that Arden does. They play really well together and I'm so thankful for this and love that they have each other. Arden has become quite the little mommy with her and wants to change her diaper and clothes. Esther will pretty much do whatever Arden tells her to, and I haven't decided if this is good or bad! Anyway, I could go on and on...we love our Esther and thank the Lord for her! Here are a few shots I took...for those who've been around since Arden's birth, you know I have this thing with the purple elephant and rocking chair...this will probably be the last time for this pose because of age...and Esther's pretty active, so this time around was very interesting.



Here are a couple of more pics that were taken this month...Esther's done pretty well at mastering and actually using a spoon or fork, except when it comes to yogurt. She takes the first few bites with a spoon and then dives in with both hands! And then the last pic is one example of following big sis' orders, or instructions I should say. Arden told Esther to lay down so that she could take a nap and she willingly obliged. Arden was in the process of placing the pillow under Esther's head when I took this.

chocolate anyone?

Well, this was just too funny not to post...last night after dinner, I heard the following little exchange between Arden and Woody. I didn't have the privilege of being in the same room at the time, but heard it very clearly and was quite entertained!
A-"I've got chocolate in my toes!"
W- "No, that's not chocolate, Arden, that's dirt."
Needless to say, she was sent to get a bath right away!

And on a different subject...can I just say we're SO SAD we're missing out on the snow in B'ham!! The only time it snowed for us while there as a married couple was right after Arden was born, and it wasn't really enough to cover anything! :( So if you're there, enjoy it for us!