Last night we had a surprise dinner party for Stephen, who is leaving today to live in New Jersey for at least the next 3 years. He is going to Seton Hall Law School. We are very happy for him...good luck, Stephen! Everyone is listening to Aaron tell the story of how the cashier at Sam's insisted on giving him this cake for free because the writing on it was so unattractive.

Vivian asked Papa to keep writing words with chalk on the concrete. Her dress was taken off because we had BBQ chicken wings as an appetizer (Aaron grilled steaks for dinner...awesome).

August 2009
September
October

November

December

January 2010

February

March

April

May

June

July

August 5th 2010

These pictures aren't great, but here is the growth chart that I made for the girls. I wanted to do it for Vivian's birthday but didn't have time, so I made sure to finish it this week for Kate's birthday. It will go in V's room (which will be Kate's room next year, too). I am not creative or crafty by nature, so I need some advice about how to improve what I've done. There is extra space at the top where I stopped the vine too soon. Should I fill the space with more flowers (maybe yellow?) or should I try to write/stencil some cute "title" for the chart?

Okay, on how to measure the girls: my original idea is shown here...taping their picture at the time I've measured them at the mark where their height is. I don't think this is going to work. First of all, the pictures might be too big and take up too much space. Second, if I measure them each year, Kate's picture is probably always going to cover Vivian's previous year picture because she will be at that same height...does that make sense? So what's a good way to indicate where they measure? I also need an idea of how to make their age known. Stephen said I should make another chart so they have their own, but I don't know if I'm up to it :)

I'm not sure if I did the right thing by outlining the pot and vine with black paint pen, but now that I've done it, should I also make lines inside the leaves?

I am asking a lot of questions. If you think it's too much to answer in a blog comment, email me or talk to me about it next time you see me please!

Thanks to my super-hubby for sanding the board, priming it, and drilling the holes for the flowers :)

To finish off a great birthday, we took Kate to get ice cream tonight when Aaron got home from work. She didn't do well with the cone and got frustrated (i.e. screamed/cried) when she couldn't figure out what to do with it. But she loved having it spoon-fed. I wanted to include this picture because the blurry ice cream cone shows how she was shaking it all over the place. Aaron and I were holding our breath.

Vivian was so quiet while she enjoyed her ice cream. She had crazy vanilla (lots of colors).

And this is the sad face she gave when she finally dropped it (see below :))I shared the rest of mine with her with a spoon and she was all smiles. A rarity: a picture with all 4 of us! Toph was working so he helped us out by taking it.

Thanks for taking us out for ice cream, Daddy! It was a great way to celebrate one more time.

Today was special for Kate in one particular way: Papa gave her M&Ms for the first time.
I haven't yet mentioned this on the blog, but now I have a good opportunity to share!
For the past year or so, my dad has kept a stash of M&Ms in his truck. He divides them out to about 5 per ziploc bag, and puts all the ziploc bags in a tupperware container. Whenever he sees Vivian, whether it's because we stop by the shop, or we go to their house, or if we go to lunch, he gets a bag out for her. It's something just between Papa and Vivian. But now that Kate is one, she will get to join in.
Vivian asks for "n'ms" (sounds like "nims") every time she sees him. She will say, "N'ms, Papa's truck, I wanna blue one."
I am so thankful that my dad has a special relationship with the girls.

Today is our littlest girl's birthday. We are having an awesome day. We had family over for lunch (We all got subs and brought them here), ate cake, and opened some presents. Now that they are napping, I would love to share the pictures with everyone!
I will do a couple more birthday posts later today. We are so thankful for this sweet daughter!

Wow, it's so busy around here! But I wanted to get caught up on some pictures so that tomorrow I can post about Kate's birthday.
We had such a low-key couple of days last weekend. It rained a lot so we stuck at home and played together as a family. On Saturday morning, though, it was clear for a couple of hours so that we could go to Touch-a-Truck. It was held in Salem at one of our parks, and it was...FREE! Every kind of truck and vehicle you can imagine was on display and available for kids to get in and test out.

At the firetrucks, they passed out hats and lollipops.

They also had an massive area of just bubbles. Bubbles everywhere. Kids were going crazy for the bubbles...getting lost in them. Vivian was cautious.

But she did want to play with them.

Of course we had to stop by the tractor. Vivian loves tractors. Papa has one, and our neighbor has one that we see him using almost everyday in his garden.

Daddy helps her up in the truck's cab and shows her the ropes.

We didn't want to wait in line for her to sit in the front of the helicopter, but she was able to sit in the back of it just for a picture.The helicopter landing was a huge hit with all the kids!

Kate and I watching it land. (we were waiting for Vivian to get there...she had gone to breakfast and the duck pond with Papa that morning)

Hmmm...our girls might have a tomboy side to them when they get older.

Touch-a-Truck was awesome!! What a great idea for a family day. Aaron was in heaven..I could tell he was trying hard not to show his boyish excitement about all the big trucks and equipment, so you can imagine how thrilling it probably was for all the little boys there!

Today we had a very gracious visit from Granddaddy and Grandma Carolyn. They drove from Pinehurst, NC to come eat lunch with us! They came a little early to see mom and dad's newly renovated house, check out our house (they had only seen the outside before we moved in), and then we headed to lunch in Roanoke. We had a crowd...Joey, Sierra, and Stephen were there, too.

The waitress asked how old Kate was, and I told her that her 1st birthday is TOMORROW!!! So she very kindly brought her some ice cream and we sang to her. She enjoyed the ice cream until she got a brain freeze (we think) and Aaron had to take her outside to calm her down.

Saying goodbye and giving hugs and kisses!

Thank you for making the drive to visit! We loved it!