Here comes fall!

I don't know about the rest of the world today, but the weather today in Charlotte was PERFECT. It was sunny, cool, no humidity, and perfect fall/football weather

Speaking of football, Tom and I are a little bitter we had the miss the ECU game today. What a great game that was!!! GO PACK! Today was the first day the girls heard their daddy cheer, and I mean cheer, for his team. Instead of being scared of his fire and brimstone, they got a chuckle out of it. And I did, too. We would have gone to the game, but all signs pointed NOT go to. First came the lack of gas to be found. Next, I had to have an "unexpected" root canal Thursday, so I wouldn't have been much fun. And Jaime called today to seal the deal...Peyton has the stomach flu. I guess a good game can be enjoyed by the TV.

Mary Stuart and I started today by going to a neighborhood yard sale. I don't really do yard sales, since they are so early. But Mary Stuart's teacher was a part of it (she lives in the neighborhood next to us). So she really wanted to go. We came home with a Little Tikes vanity mirror, complete with a seat and makeup. $5. I'm sold on garage sales. What else can we find??? A new kitchen?? Outside equipment??? If they don't play with it, it's no loss for us!!

We ended the day outside. I took the easel outside and the girls had fun. Molly is a budding Jackson Pollock. Mary Stuart enjoys learning how to color her coloring books.

Note our artists. Molly has to wear her panties "just this way" for inspiration.




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The First Day of School

School has started! The girls are in school on MWF, and I teach on W/F!!! Both girls are doing great. Mary Stuart has a wonderful teacher, who has really made her comfortable going to school. This hasn't always been easy for her, but for the first time, she looks forward to school and really is excited to start Show and Tell and Chapel and Learning Center and all of the other Three-Year-Old things she is able to do that Molly isn't!
Molly loves her class, too. Her teacher is so wonderful. I shared a common area with her last year when I was an assistant and I was able to see all of the wonderful things she can do. She puts a lot of effort into creating themes and activities.

In other news, the girls are REALLY into helping Mommy in the kitchen. An added benefit to that is it does help them to eat what they helped cook. Here is a picture of the girls helping "bake" biscuits (in this case removing them from a freezer bag). Usually our cooking projects are more fun than that, but they don't care either way.


Yesterday we got a visit from our close friends Martha and Harrison. We go to their house every Thanksgiving for lunch. Harrison is a VERY good cook. It's his hobby, I suppose. So he usually makes a wonderful, hearty soup. Martha enjoys baking, so we usually gobble up her carrot cake...Anyways, they came for a visit and here are some pictures. Note the new rainboots they gave the girls. Molly loved Harrison!



And, finally, Tom and I have been chasing Molly around the house looking for her diaper and pants she has removed. She spends most of her days in the nudie and it is driving us nuts. I know, she is really close to being potty trained. But it hasn't clicked yet. She doesn't associate having to "go" with the potty.
Well, yesterday, she proved me wrong. She went to the potty, had fun flushing and pulling toilet paper out. She did this three times until FINALLY she pee-peed in the potty! Yay! She is making progress! I'll take the plunge soon and full-on train her. I'm not ready yet, and I'm not sure she is, either. We'll see!

Adding on from below...Molly's Pool Party

On August 21st, Molly turned two. This didn't mean so much to me on that day as it does today for many reasons. I always "knew" that 16 months apart was close for having the girls. We have weathered, and still do, back to back difficulties..the temper tantrums haven't gone away, the mood swings, the "waking up in the middle of the night", and the constant change...taking away bottles again, and transitioning to no paci, no blankie, and no crib (so the last three are *upon* us...again, we just did this!!!).
None of this meant so much until we started school and ballet. It seemed like yesterday that Molly was a baby, did baby things, like going in the Toddler Class at school, and was more or less along for the ride.
School started this week, and all of a sudden, I realize she is TWO! She is doing two-year-old things at school like her sister did just last year. I anticipated those things for Mary Stuart! Now I am shocked that Molly is that "old". Heck, she can do carpool at school next week!!!
I watched Molly in ballet and couldn't believe I was in the same place a year ago. And there is Mary Stuart, growing up, down the hall, not batting an eye that I'm gone!
Molly is growing up...she's doing the same things I just saw Mary Stuart do 12 months ago. It's just amazing. I am so proud of both girls, and happy with our Molly being a "big girl".
That being said, here are some pictures from her "pool party" on her birthday! Notice my homemade cupcakes...Molly's request!

So Far Behind...

I have been really behind on posts. I never posted Charlie's baptism pictures from July. I still have Molly's "friend" birthday party to post, and the first day of school.
So I will start with what I have, Charlie's baptism, and work from there, adding along asap.
Amanda's mom and dad graciously hosted the luncheon following the Baptism. It was a wonderful time. The girls really loved the surprise of seeing Mary Morgan (MS's best friend from preschool) and enjoyed the food and the backyard. Charlie did great during the Baptism. He was quite vocal but wooed the crowed, nonetheless.
Here are the after party pics, kid-focused, as always:

Birthday Time!!!

Our Molly, celebrating her birthday..

First came Mommy's birthday, on the 12th. Mary Stuart spent the night with Tuddie and Pop and helped make a cake. They came back here and assembled it:



We had a great time! Mommy's 25th birthday is nothing to bowl over, but when the girls are involved, it's much more fun:





Next came an early family party for Molly's second birthday! Tuddie and Pop are heading to Canada, so this was the best weekend to celebrate. We had them and Chuck, Amanda, and Charlie join us. And we had a wonderful time. Mommy is getting smart on entertaining...the easier, the better! We got a sandwich tray from Fresh Market, I made two cold dishes, and add chips...we did great!
Molly, by the way, doesn't like cake or ice cream (??) so I got a cookie cake and she was sold! It's a texture thing for her...
Here are some pictures of our fun times:

Molly as a newborn:



Molly at one:



Molly at Two..




Happy Birthday to Molly :)

When it rains it pours

What a week! We started the week with me at the Doctor's office Monday. I pulled a muscle in my lower back. I went to a Physical Therapist and he correctly identified my condition. He then told me I overextended my back and furthermore I need to correct my post-csection mush abs (not the words he used, but how I felt) so I can support my back. All of those sit-ups I've been doing? They weren't effective anyways since I was using my back. Look out...my six pack is coming!! HAHA
Meanwhile, Molly came down with another fever. In the back of my mind, another UTI situation came up, but I dismissed it, since we just went to the dr last week for a check on that. I changed my mind today. Molly had a 102 fever after Motrin and woke up with it being 103.8. Three hours later, it was determined she did indeed have a kidney infection (a UTI infection which is left untreated and travels up). One mean shot later, we're home. We'll have to go back for another shot tomorrow, and perhaps Saturday, as well. Poor Mol. Watching her get her finger pricked, being shot here and there...no fun.
Let's just hope we have a much better week next week. Summer is not for being sick!!!!!!!!! I can't wait for a relaxing weekend at home!

Lazy Days, New Photos with New Camera

The dust has settled. We've taken our trips, gone to camp, enjoyed our company, and now the lazy days of summer have begun. We have spent our time in the pool, at the Y's pool, at the Y, and having playdates with our friends.
Recently, I found a few pictures of the girls I thought were cute. This is what they look like at the end of a long, busy day:

In other news, we enjoyed playing outside since it's cloudy and not too hot today. I took my camera outside and caught a few cute shots of the girls playing:





Mary Stuart actually took this last picture of me, and I think she did a really good job. She was really careful and tried her best!

This weekend we have a lot going on. We're going to Davidson tomorrow to have lunch with the family. And on Sunday Charlie is getting baptized! I'm sure we'll have many fun pictures to post. Stay tuned!