Random pictures

I've been pretty lazy about updating the blog, so here are a bunch of random pictures to show how the girls have been growing.


Ashlynn turned one a couple of months ago. I didn't really get any picures from her b-day, so she's stuck with this flattering pic of her going to town on some ice-cream cake.

Ashlynn is our very blonde, blue-eyed, gap-toothed baby. She's been walking since she was 10 months old (currently 13 months) and recently mastered the point-and-grunt language. It's incredible how effectively she communicates using this technique. Ashlynn is a climber. She is also a squealer, a cuddler, and good copy-catter. She likes to share her food and to push toy strollers.

Sadie is still obsessed with trains and (to an only slightly lesser extent) her neighbor Jay.

Sadie is also very fond of her babysitter, Katrina, but I don't have any pics of Katrina. It's a little sad, but Sadie would much rather sit with Katrina at church than with her parents. Actually, it was a little sad the first week. Now, it's kind of nice.

Sadie is (for the most part) a delight. She loves her little sister and let's Ashlynn play with her toys, as long as Ashlynn doesn't try to play with Sadie's favorites. She started pre-school this fall (the next pic is her first day), and she recently graduated from her toddler bed to a big-girl bed. This was a big deal. I still think she's too cute for her own good, but she's started whining more, which helps negate some of the cute factor. But she doesn't whine that much and there's just too much darned cuteness to negate.

I think the two of them are going to give me a lot of heartburn when they get older.

A little stage fright?

Sadie's been doing a summer dance camp this past week. Yesterday, they had their "recital" for the parents. There's our little Sadie-bug, front and center. According to Jill, she made a lot of progress during the week and was following directions well. When it came time to perform, though, she froze. Maybe dancing isn't her calling in life. But I still think she's pretty cute in her little tu-tu.

(For some reason, videos get cut off on the side when I post them on the blog. Right click on the video and click "watch on youtube" to see the whole thing.)

Ashlynn's our new water baby

Sadie used to be so brave. The past two summers, when we would go to the ocean, she'd run right in. Now, she runs in to her ankles and then runs away from the "big waves." As you can see, those waves are massive.

Ashlynn, however, is another story. She's not afraid of those big waves. In fact, we can't get her out of the water.

She's a cutie, but a handful. Ashlynn's a lot of work too.

Sadie's birthday

This post is only a month overdue, but we had a birthday party for Sadie's third birthday. How quickly they grow!

She's so independent already. I can't wait for her to become a teenager.

At any rate, the Sadie Bug is really into Thomas right now, so we had a Thomas the Train party, complete with jumper and everything. (By the way, I am officially converted to jumpers for little kids' parties.)

So the jumper was in the front yard, and in the back yard we had a bunch of Sadie's toys strategically set up for the little kiddos to play on. I think it was a success. Just look at how much fun those kids are having.

Nice job ladies!

Sadie certainly enjoyed herself.

I hope that's cupcake on your face!

Ashlynn had a good time too. That's her "I'm having a good time" face. Or maybe it's her "I've got a very special present for you, daddy" face. I get them confused.

Of course, the highlight was the Down by the Docks set that Jill and I got Sadie as her present. We really hit a homerun with that thing. She'd play trains all day long if we let her.

"I'm going to play with my trains all day long, and you can't stop me. Hahahaha!"

Ashlynn's a mover and a shaker

Ashylnn is eight months old. She started crawling at around 6 months. She's been getting around with ease for the last month. Now I'm just curious to see if she'll walk sooner than Sadie did. She's got a month. Here's some video's of Ashlynn's progression.

She started off doing what we liked to call the "plop and scoot." She'd just sort of plop forward onto her stomach and use her legs to scoot forward.



Then she got a little more confident and got up on all fours.



Now we've got to really keep an eye on her or she'll crawl right down the street. Luckily, she loves this tunnel. We can stick her in there, and she'll just go back and forth from one side to the other.



We'll see if she starts walking soon. I think she's pretty close.

I'm pretty impressed with people who post on their blogs on a regular basis. By the time we get the two girls to bed and pick up the house, the only thing I want to do is go to bed or watch a little house hunters or deadliest warrior (love those shows). Well Sadie didn't get a nap today, so she went to bed a little earlier than usual, leaving me a little extra time tonight. So I thought I'd post some random pics of the girls that I like. Here they are.