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!

Vivian has been saying a lot of cute things lately. Here are some of my favorites:

-"Be riiiight back"
-"One time" (when she wants to do something again...I say "only one more time" a lot so she's trying to use my language to get what she wants)
-"I wanna praise God" (when she wants to watch the Hillsong Kids Praise DVD)
-"I love you Daddy/Mommy"
-"Ooooo look at dat!"
-"How bout...?" (like, when we're talking about what to eat for breakfast, she'll say "how bout oatmeal?")
-"Look at me, Mommy!" (when she says this, I'm usually holding her, and she'll put her hands on my cheeks and turn my face to her so that I'm looking at her)
-Sometimes randomly she will remember her pacifier and say, "I'm tired, I wanna take nap" because she knows that she can only have it during naptime or bedtime.
-Two nights ago she was splashing and kicking her feet in the tub. She said, "Feet's happy!"


V: "put cereal riiiight here, Mommy" (tapping her placemat exactly where she wants the cereal)
Me: "can you say please?"
V: "Peas, Mommy"
Me: "Okay, here you go"
V: "Good job, Mommy!"

Kate got two eye teeth last week, took her first steps (2 or 3, then falls), and started clapping today. She wants to get a whole lot of growing in before her big day next week!

The ladies at the GirlTalk blog are posting a quote each day while they are on vacation. Here's one that I really like...maybe it will encourage you, too:

"Our natural reason looks at marriage and turns up its nose and says, 'Alas! Must I rock the baby? wash its diapers? make its bed? smell its stench? stay at nights with it? take care of it when it cries? heal its rashes and sores? and on top of that care for my spouse, provide labor at my trade, take care of this and take care of that? do this and do that? and endure this and endure that? Why should I make such a prisoner of myself?'

What then does Christian faith say to this? It opens its eyes, looks upon all these insignificant, distasteful and despised duties in the spirit, and is aware that they are all adorned with divine approval as with the costliest gold and jewels.
Its says, 'O God, I confess I am not worthy to rock that little babe or wash its diapers, or to be entrusted with the care of a child and its mother. How is it that I without any merit have come to this distinction of being certain that I am serving thy creature and thy most precious will? Oh, how gladly will I do so. Though the duty should be even more insignificant and despised, neither frost nor heat, neither drudgery nor labor will distress me for I am certain that it is thus pleasing in thy sight.'"
--Martin Luther qtd. in The Shaping of a Christian Family by Elisabeth Elliot, p. 87

We have some ferns hanging on our front porch (although they are in bad shape now because I haven't been watering them). Recently a bird made a nest in one of them and the other day we discovered the baby birds are here! It is an amazing thing to witness. And I love hearing them cheep in such a tiny way when we walk past.
The only thing I don't like about this bird nest is that every time we go out or come in, the bird flies out and I'm always afraid it's going to hit me.

On Saturday morning we met up with the Smith family (John, Dawn, and kids Hayden, Grayson, and Loren) to go hiking at the Cascades about an hour away. It was a great day trip, a little long because naps got pretty messed up but it was worth it! It was SO difficult to carry our kids up to the waterfall. A couple of times I had to make everyone stop for a break because I thought my back was going to give out...unfortunately the fact that I don't exercise was very evident on the hike. The girls really enjoyed it. Vivian talked about waterfalls and butterflies the whole time, and Kate was so excited she fell asleep for the entire walk down the trail to the car. Enjoy the pictures we took!

Yesterday afternoon I helped with a bridal shower for Megan. Megan and I became close friends in middle school at West Salem. She and Todd are getting married in October in Charleston, SC!

She and Todd got lots of great stuff!

After the shower, she came over to play with the girls for a while and we talked about all the wedding details...fun!!

(Thank you for the pretty new dress, Mama Dot!) This was Megan and Vivian last year around this same time.