Growing up, part 3

These sweet girls aren't just growing up - they are growing together.  I know it might not always be the case, but for now, they are the sunshine in each others' world.  Sarah is happiest when Hannah plays with her, and Hannah is her most compassionate and caring self when she's watching out for her little sister.  Their budding relationship brings us such joy - we pray it just continues to grow as they get older!

Sometimes Hannah still asks to hold Sarah like a baby, and Sarah is happy to oblige.

Walking together is a part of our daily routine, rain or shine!

"Can I get in the crib and roar at her?"  You sure can, and she will love it.

The carousel at Busch Gardens is a favorite...

...because we can all ride together!

Family outing to the Tribe Homecoming Parade!

Two loves in the tub

More sticker love

Living large on the football field!

Growing up, part 2

The monthly updates are great, but don't always capture our sweet Sarah in all her glory.  I know we'll blink and she'll be a toddler, but for now, she's still squishy and sweet and squeezable and we love it.

Every now and then she'll still take a snooze on my shoulder...and it's never long enough.

Chub-a-wub

Getting some love from her sister.  Stickers are definitely a love language in our house.

She's just happy to be here.

Is it bad that she can plank longer than I can??

There's the stinker face.  We see that one a lot.

Growing up, part 1

Hannah continues to amaze us with just how grown up she is.  This fall saw the end of diapers, the beginning of preschool, and the growth of her imagination and sense of humor.  She continues to be quite constantly verbal - she does not. stop. talking.  And if she does, it's only for a singing or dance break.  She loves to dress up, play restaurant, play play dough...just play.  Her favorite show is Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, her favorite movie is Paddington Bear, and her favorite song...is too tough to pick just one.  I can't believe she's going to be 3 soon...she's definitely more ready for it than I am.

Super Hannah!

Thanks Daniel Tiger, for the best potty training jingle ever.  It really worked!

Enjoying story time at church with her friends

Taking Pengy for a stroll around the block

Walking the dog and wearing pigtails!

Super Hannah, round two

My style icon ;)

Sarah is 9 months old!

9 months is check up time!  Sarah stayed at the top of the charts, already 30 inches long (99th percentile), 23 lbs 8 oz (98th), and 19 inches around her head (100th).  Her communication skills took a leap this month, starting to say "mama" and "dada" and what I swear has to be "Hannah".  She's still rolling around and hasn't decided to start crawling yet, but that doesn't kept her from getting into everything.  She also got two more teeth this month - one top and one bottom, making 6 teeth total.  She loves her big sister and her puppy and the computer cord.  We love her to pieces.

Looking extra sweet in her sweater dress

This girl smiles from the depths of her eyes to the tops of her chubby cheeks :)

Getting so strong!

Oh that sweet little look

Hello lovely

Getting ready to crawl!

Just. So. Pretty.

For reference, Hannah's 9 month pictures

Halloween, kangaroo style

For the first time, Hannah had a definite opinion about her Halloween costume.  When she first said she wanted to be a kangaroo, we thought for sure the phase would pass.  We kept asking for weeks, suggesting a super hero or a Minion or the three little pigs (she loves the book and it would have been a hilarious family costume...maybe next year)...but she kept coming back to the kangaroo.

So we suited up our two little kangaroos, threw on some "explorer" hats, and hit the streets for some candy!  Hannah was (unsurprisingly) all about the candy, and Sarah relaxed in the carrier, just taking in the action.  Our trick-or-treating crew continues to expand every year and we love it!

The kangaroos and explorer crew

Our girls and their "pouchies" - Hannah's name for the baby 'roos

Big sister watching out for her little sister

Hannah loved the costume.  Sarah....tolerated it.

Most of the crew...although we had four others not pictured!

Halloween 2013, Halloween 2014

Pickin' pumpkins

Picking pumpkins is one of my favorite fall activities...something about kids and pumpkins and fall colors and cooler weather I suppose.  This year we went back to Pumpkinville, the same place we took Hannah two years ago.  The day brought back some fun memories and we made a bunch of new ones - Sarah exploring the pumpkin patch, Hannah bravely tackling the large inflatable slide by herself, and both girls enjoying spending time with the other.  So fun.

Use those legs girl!

Pumpkin cheeeeeeeese!

I tried to stage a picture with a pumpkin...Hannah kept rolling it away. At least all eyes were open.

A pumpkin for our punkin'

All about exploring the world at this age...

And quite proud of herself for it!

How tall this fall???

Family photo time!

Sarah is 8 months old!

At 8 months, Sarah is rocking two more teeth (and chewing on everything to prove the point), almost totally off of her pureed food (another big mom win), and starting to get up on all fours.  She's always on the move now, rarely staying seated in one place for very long, but still rolling to get to wherever she wants to go.  A part of me misses the days when I could sit her down in one place and trust she'd be there when I came back...okay, a lot of me misses those days...I think Leonidas misses them too ;)

Such a perfect shirt for her - hello sunshine!

Cheeeeeeeeeeks

Happy girl

The rolling also made for a photographic challenge...she was across the room before I even got the camera focused!

Sitting up so big

The tongue is back! She'd give MJ a run for his money.

Chewing on everything, exhibit A

For reference, Hannah's 8 month pictures

Sarah is 7 months old!

At 7 months, our little girl is all about the rolls - both on her body and around the house.  She is definitely keeping up the chubby cheek legacy, and continues to be a super content, smiley baby.  She took her first ride in the seat of a cart (a big mommy milestone for me), and if we set her against a table or the couch, she can stand and bounce.  But she's still small enough that she'll occasionally fall asleep in our laps (with her thumb securely lodged in her mouth of course.  Can't win them all I guess!).

Too long for pictures in the crib this month!

Loving that two-tooth grin so much

She smiles so easily, and it just brightens up the room...

But her little resting face is pretty stinkin' cute too...

And if you wait just a minute, she's going to be laughing again!

Tucking that arm for a rolling maneuver

Those arms...the other kind of roll ;)

Super Sarah!

For reference, Hannah's 7 month pictures