Happy Birthday to Jessie!
It was fun to have family over to celebrate with us, thank you!

I think that Jessie is growing up to be the comedian in the family! She has been such a happy, fun, wonderful, busy and no fear of danger kinda gal! She is catching up to her sister in height and I still call her my baby, and she lets me. . . but instead of kisses she blows on my cheek. She likes to hold our ears when she is sleepy. She loves to follow her sister around and do everything that she does, and loves to wear her sisters shoes (she does not get to far with that one)! She loves us to read to Her and loves to read. She has been more of an observer and now she has had an amazing out pouring of words. She loves music, singing, playing and listening, her timing and pitch always seem to amaze me! Dancing and dress up with sister is always a favorite as is loving her baby dolls and esp she loves kittens and I guess just loves animals! Most days I just can not get enough holding loving Her, She has been a wonderful blessing to our family even if she still likes to throw food on the floor!

Miss independent does what she wants, and this day Pants were it!

This is the way mom feels when she makes dinner :)

Pancake sandwiches are the best and we really like them with watermelon in them. Can not wait to make you one, come visit you are sure to get one.

No it isn't mud sister found me some pudding and it is sooooo yumm

Sisterly love!

Potty training 101 (for baby doll.)

Thanks to Tiffany Watkins comment on Shari's blog we have been diaper free thru the night Thanks Tiffany !!!!! We sure miss all of our AZ friends!

Jessie loves to follow Her sister around, this gives me a better understanding of why I think the world of my older sister! She loves Her sister. Jessie and I are going to be in Nursery together starting in January! Wow, my baby is growing up. I am trying not to think about it. Jess loves to play with the baby dolls and loves babies, I think that has been something that she has helped her sister to appreciate. She loves her Grandparents and always wants to see them! She is walking up the stairs now, unless I am near she really likes to climb on my back. She always points out letters everywhere we go. . . with the letter T sound, she pointed out a letter "n" on my shirt and I asked her what sound it makes. . . HUHUHUHU, so it looks close to h. What an amazing life I have to be with these two
wonderfully crazy girls!!

Our tree is lit and our stockings are all hung.

The girls always make sure the lights get turned on.

pushing the baby around, chasing with her sister.

The Nose book

Jessie loves to be outside! We have been enjoying working together the girls love to clean windows and Mom loves to (haha) mop the floor (Julia is becoming a great photographer!) We have even been getting in a little yoga, this is Julias "Power pose," Jess is even getting in to it.

I will be in trouble for publishing this picture! But I love it! Pat is enjoying all the snow we have been getting lately, I think it reminds him of home. I have this need to remind Him that I really like our car! I love the kid in Him that comes out with all of this snow we have been getting.

Grandma gave Julia this book of Nursery rhymes and she loves to read them. . .and I am always amazed at many of the strange nursery rhymes that have been published. (Sometimes I have to skip them or change the words, how do you explain them to a toodler?) She destroyed Her picture dictionary because she didn't like the guy with the white beard, so now she reads my Websters version! (My friend Elizabeth does that for fun. . . what is in a name.) J's favorite songs right now are "When the dog bites, and the bees sting," and she always tells me she doesn't like it when the dogs bite! and "Silent Night," Dad makes up words when he sings it and She gets a kick out of that, my version encourages sleepiness (I think)

The girls love their Dad to read them The Nose Book By Al Perkins and their favorite part is when he reads . . . "Sometimes your nose will make you sad.

Sometimes your nose will make you mad. BUT. . . They were missing Dad.

They also love to be pushed around in the basket full of clean laundered clothes.

Happy Birthday girl!

I was just noticing that the cakes get smaller as she gets older. random thoughts when you should be going to bed instead of journal entery. What a day! Happy Birthday Julia! We love you so much you amaze me everyday!

Yes, these were all taken in the same day! She loves to change clothes and she loves dresses.

What silly giggly girls!

So Monday morning started out something like this. . .

I went up stairs to brush my teeth and get socks and shoes for the girls, came down stairs to find all the chips from the pantry at the bottom of the stairs with two little girls eating away. You would think I never feed them. Julia cut the bags all open.

We were in the kitchen getting dinner ready and Julia said, I am going to go get Jessie shes awake. I finished what I was doing and headed up to get Jessie out of her crib, I had no idea that Julia had taken the 2lb brick of cheese before leaving the kitchen. Jessie had eaten a bit of that chunk of cheese. . . sometimes I wonder if I sould even make dinner! I am now learning that you need to just take a picture, I wish I had. Most things they do are funny if you can just remember to lighten up!! (at the moment. ) They got into the office and decided to try out the shredder today. . . I hope the bills are all payed!!

The Marlers came over monday night for a service project, helping us move some furniture around. . .Yes we are getting our house ready to sell. (It looks like layoffs are starting up again just after the manditory Christmas vacation, even if you do not have vacation time. Pat has had a job offer out of Denver, and maybe a couple other back ups, but they are not a commute we can make from here. I pray we can sell our house quickly.) Julia had such a great time with all of her marler cousins. That night in her prayers she said, "Thank you for my boys!" and today her prayers have been full of thanks for Birthday Cup cakes and Friends to play and many other things, I should write them all down. It is not difficult to offer prayers only of thanks when you listen to a childs prayer!

Julia likes me to sing to her before she goes to sleep, and she said to me, "And so my knees (Needs) are gray (Great), mom I want you to sing that one."

I am grateful for happing endings at the end of the day! One of my favorite things is to snuggle with the girls at the end of the day, and sing to them even if the words to my songs come out misunderstood.

The evening ritual

eating rocks and leaves

ready for winter. . . or summer, she wanted to wear t-shirt and skirt and decided it was to cold out. Seems to be the case often, at least she likes to dress herself.

Better than carving. . . we just drilled some holes.