Steady as she goes...

The Adorables have hit a lull. A lovely, lovely lull. It's kind of nice to just go with the flow for a little while! Between the house hunt and the girls both starting school, I think it's safe to say that there was a little stress floating around the household. Now that we've all found our little grooves, the breathing is a little easier.

To the left you see the girls playing in the yard one evening a few weeks ago. They had the best time just chasing each other around, sometimes even daring to go barefoot. :-) We've had some interesting weather the past few days -- last Friday we spent a good part of the day at a friend's pool, and by Sunday I was scrambling to find the girls some long sleeves and TIGHTS! And today, Grace wore a sweater to school but by the end of the day she was very comfortable in her t-shirt and shorts!

Gracie and kindergarten are like peas and carrots. :-) Today she brought home her library book and her Book-It book, and she read her Book-It book to me without any help at all. I will admit that I was a little relieved that she still needed me to read her library book to her! Report cards come out on Thursday, and we have our first parent-teacher conference next week. So far, the only difficulty I've found with kindergarten is figuring out what to pack for her lunch -- she confessed to me this morning that often much of her lunch ends up in the trash. ACK! Although, I helped in her classroom today and then stuck around for lunch, and it was obvious that I'm not the only parent with this issue! Those kids threw out SO MUCH FOOD! So if you have mastered the art of packing a lunch that your kids do not waste, clue me in!

Gracie's favorite activities during the week at school are P.E. and art, and her favorite daily activity is coloring at the literacy center.

Right now the big deal with Rachael is potty training. After the (mostly self-inflicted) fiasco I had with Grace and potty training, I made the very honest statement that I would rather go through labor and delivery with BOTH GIRLS than have another potty training experience like that. But Rachael, of course, is a do-it-yourselfer. Not long after we moved, she initiated the training. She was doing very, very well, but then I think we may have had a setback after everyone got sick (Gracie came down with the flu and Rachael had bronchitis, then all of us -- Grace included -- picked up the bronchitis). Now it's hit or miss -- but I have learned from my mistakes, and I'm not pushing. She's still showing interest and doing it on her own, and I think soon we'll institute a rewards system and that might give her the extra encouragement she needs!

Rachael is still loving school, she loves any and all art that she gets to do, and she is happy to talk about what she did during the day. She talks about her friends and her teacher the rest of the week. I love how much she loves it! We have no problems getting her up and ready on her school days, that's for sure!

Nothing really new under the sun for Mommy and Daddy. :-) Well, Chris just had to do a little traveling for work -- they sent him on a very brief trip to California... first class. I could not even try to hide my jealousy! But truthfully, he works so hard, and I think he's more than earned a little upgrade like that!! They are going to be sending him out a couple more times for longer trips, but it's a good thing -- he learned their new software well and trained those in his department, and they're sending him off to do the same elsewhere! As for me, I've started walking regularly, and soon I am going to attempt running. Please note I said attempt. :-) I am still teaching Sunday school every other week at church (3-year-olds), I work in childcare, and I'm beginning to think that having a house may be bringing out the housewife in me -- and I like it! :-)

Hope you're enjoying some beautiful fall weather where you are!

Florida Fall

I know some people scoff, but I think Floridians appreciate our autumn as much as anyone else. I think we might appreciate it more, considering we don't have as many leaves to rake. ;-) Anyway, today was our first day of cooler weather! Before the girls even went outside, they were asking for their sweaters! So there they are, my little Florida Girls, ready to brave the icy temperature of SEVENTY DEGREES!!!

And just over the weekend we were in tank tops and shorts at Sea World!

A couple of weeks ago, Gracie celebrated her 6th birthday. Early that week, we had a few friends over for a birthday playdate. Gracie and I worked together that afternoon to put the stage up for her friends:

The girls had a great time dressing up, and a few times the runway got some use! (It's got a sensor so that when they head out on the runway, you hear music and applause! Thanks, Papa!) One friend brought over a particular dress that Gracie tends to wear when she goes over to their house to play. We will label this "Daddy's Worst Nightmare":

Rachael found another use for the stage when the rest of the girls were back in the bedroom being different variations of princesses...

On her actual birthday, we just had family over at the house (it's so nice to be able to fit everyone!), and Gracie got to celebrate again! Publix made the cake for the gathering with friends, but since I'd bought two packages of Funfetti mix, we were able to have a cake that night as well!

Rachael loved it too!

The girls are still enjoying school, Gracie got the Student of the Week honor last week so we were proud of her for that! (Each child gets a chance to be it, but I was still pleased!) When Rachael gets to her preschool class now, she barely spares me a wave! She just puts her little bag in her cubby, and off she goes! So far, I haven't cried over this! :-) It's actually kind of fun to see her so comfortable and enjoying herself like that, and definitely better than the alternative!

The house is ALMOST done! I am hoping that when Rachael is at preschool, I can come home and tackle the office -- maybe not get it entirely done, but at least make a decent dent! We still have a few boxes that I'm ready to sort through and get rid of -- it'll be nice to not have to keep the door closed when we have company! ;-)

All in all, things are going well! Hope you're enjoying the beginning of fall where you are!

Happy Birthday, Gracie!

Six years ago, this little angel with ruby red lips and a headful of thick, dark brown hair came into the world. In a year that had brought a lot of difficult change for our family, she was a bright spot of love and laughter that we needed so much.

She's a little lady, most definitely -- 110% GIRL! She is also precious and sweet, strong-willed and kind. She has a pure, sensitive heart. She is polite, fun to be around, and we are so proud of her and so thankful she is ours.

Happy Birthday, Gracie! YOU are one of God's best gifts to us!

Country Girls

Grace was studying the farm this week, and as part of that they read about the country mouse and the city mouse. On Friday, they were able to dress like a country kid or a city kid, and Gracie chose to go country! She flat out REFUSED to wear overalls, but this dress worked just fine. As you can see, Rachael wanted to be a little bit country herself!

School's Cool

So far, so good! Both girls are loving every minute of their school days!

Gracie has adapted to kindergarten as well as she has to any other change in her life, like it's all a breeze! (She gets that from her daddy!) Loves her teacher, loves her activities, and if you ask her what she likes about school, her answer is: EVERYTHING! She's already made some friends, and she actually did me a huge favor by being buddy-buddy with a little girl with sweet parents and a little sister that's close to Rachael's age! As an added bonus, they don't live far from us!

She has already come home and asked to show us a science experiment (we sprinkled pepper in a cup of water, then she put a drop of dish detergent on her fingertip and set it on the top -- she and Rachael were fascinated), she is thrilled that she gets to go to the library (er, media center, sorry) one day a week, and she adores the P.E. teacher! He is in the car loop directing traffic each day, and Grace has asked for me to park and walk her in because that way we get to drive by him! It's like a celebrity sighting every morning!

The other day she told me that two boys had asked her to marry them. She told them no. I was happy to hear that, until she told me it was because she was already going to marry her friend, Noah. And then today she asked me if I knew one of her classmates' last names. I didn't, so she caught up with him and asked him herself. He answered, and as we walked away she told me she was going to marry him. (It may have been because his last name starts with an M, I'm not sure.) After we got home and Rachael went down for her nap, I explained that it would be a while before she got married. She wanted to know how long, and I told her she'd probably be around 25 or so, because she had to finish college first. (I was giving her a couple of extra years in case she wanted to get her Master's right away or go to law school or something...)

Rachael is in heaven at preschool! She gets to paint! Play with Play-Doh! Play with stickers! She gets to PAINT! Today when we were dropping Gracie off, she said that she missed her teacher -- it was so cute! If you ask Rachael what her favorite part of school is, she will answer "Snack time!"

I am so blessed to have two girls that can entertain themselves so well! Rachael is really great when we're at home together. One of her favorite activities is actually helping me with the laundry! She even asks to help with it -- asking if she can put clothes in the "washing clean." (I'm sure she is trying to say machine, but it's so cute that it sounds like that!) With the front loaders being lower to the ground, it is very easy for her to put the dirty clothes in and transfer the wet clothes to the dryer, and I think my back appreciates that!

Today we spent the morning at home, and before lunch I was treated to a concert (Rachael the Musician sitting on a chair using unsharpened pencils as drumsticks while music played), went to the doctor (Dr. Rachael listened to my heart and declared, "It's working!" -- good to know!), and got a haircut (Rachael the Stylist said, "Looks good!").

Soon we'll be celebrating Grace's 6th birthday! Time definitely does fly by, but I think that's only a bad thing if you're not paying attention as you go!