Happiness

(Yes, once again Aida has a dirty face. This girl gets dirty so quickly...I don't even fight it these days.)

More of the sweet sisters

What can I say? These girls love each other and it makes my heart so happy.

Fun with stickers

Again, hooray for summer...which seems to mean spending less and less time in clothes around here, as you will probably see as I continue posting pictures! The girls, especially Sophie, have been getting into stickers lately, and they like to put them on their clothes. Earlier this week, without a shirt to stick them on, Sophie came up with the next best thing:

Getting some help from Grandmom:

"This one goes here."

Lunch with Daddy

Hooray for summer at MBA - relaxed dress code (no tie!) and no classes, meaning lots of time to take lunch and eat with Daddy at work. What a special treat!

Love this one of Soph with her mouth full (and a little peek at her belly):

Aida:

One of my favorites. I love the way Aida is holding her hat, and the way Elijah is looking at his sweet daughter:

Mother's Day a year later

Here I was last year on my first Mother's Day (can you tell who's who?):

A year later...different couch, different home, different state, lots of growing up, same beautiful girls. Lucky me.

Tearing up the backyard

A few days after recovering from emergency room trauma Elijah took on the jungle in our backyard. After chopping down waist-high weeds he tore everything up with a tiller and planted grass seed. It's been about 4 weeks and we are seeing some nice grass back there (and just a few weeds).

Sophie refused to nap that day and instead watched her daddy through the window, knocking to get his attention. "Daddy, look at me!"

Joining her later was sweet sister Aida:

Don't you just love those curls?!

Pictures of the new backyard to come...eventually.

Loving each other

Some much anticipated pictures of the girls kissing each other.  I love the post-nap hair...

...and I love the way they miss.  Every time.  These days, they try to kiss, miss, and then start laughing.  Could they be any cuter?

Snuggly sisters:

A long overdue update

So sorry we've been gone from the blogging world for over a month!  Life sort of got away from us, but we are back and here are some quick updates on the girlies.  First Sophie:

Most notably, Sophie decided to spice things up by spending the night in the Vanderbilt Children's ER at the beginning of May.  After many pokes, prods, and scary procedures she was diagnosed with Acute Hemorraghic Edema of Infancy.  If anybody doesn't know what that is (I can't imagine why you wouldn't) she basically had scary rashes, bruising, and swelling.  Thankfully, it was nothing more than extremely uncomfortable for the poor girl, and she has recovered beautifully.  She loves to sing while she is playing, constantly seeks to make eye contact with Aida so that they can laugh together, and is an expert at climbing into chairs and onto the couch.  She is very much into testing and pushing her limits these days, and is very loving and silly.

Now, for Aida:

This little girl is starting to venture more than 2 feet away from Mommy these days and loves to explore and be "ouside!", which is her favorite word as well as her favorite place to go.  She delights in climbing the stairs in front of our house, splashing in the little pool with her sister, and looking at books.  She can be very serious but also likes jokes and has a deep understanding of the "courtesy" laugh.  She loves her little sheep Baa, Elmo, and "ninner" (her way of saying dinner, which is what she calls all food).

Both girls have somehow learned several letters of the alphabet, love the playground, and crack each other up.  They are, without a doubt, God' s greatest gifts to us.

To make up for last's month's drought of pictures, prepare to be inundated with photos over the next few days.  I promise.  Well, I promise to try.