A Mini Endorsement for the NRA

I know, I know, not great parenting to let the baby play with a fake gun. All I can say is if you don't approve, don't watch because that is what you'll see. For the rest of you- enjoy- I think she'll be our little hunter :)

When I grow up.....

It seems Sarah is quite fond of her big brother. From the beginning, he has always gotten the biggest smiles and the loudest laughs. Could be she is a little less fond of her big sister because she is always "accidentally" knocking her over and taking away her toys. Oh well, hopefully someday they will be the best of friends. In the meantime, Sarah has taken to copying much of what Alex does. She even knows how to pretend to shoot things and knows what to do with a golf tee, ball and club. Here's some pictures :)

All I want for Christmas.....

Yep- they're gone- both of them on the same day. I FINALLY got a picture of the toothless grin- super cute! Picture day is coming up soon, can't wait for the missing front teeth picture. He really does look like a first grader now!

Move Over, Make Room

Here is what Sarah is up to while the big kids are away. Poor Jazz. Good thing most of the time his kennel is behind a baby gate, but today I had left the gate open while I was cleaning and I came in to find them both "locked up". Too cute.

Maffematics

In honor of the start of another school year, I challenge all of you blog readers to a math problem....

If train 1 leaves the station at 8:05, traveling at 50 mph and train 2 leaves a different station 65 miles away at 8:10 traveling at 45 mph, and Alex leaves our house at 9:02 with a perfectly packed lunch, at what time will he lose his lunchbox?

Here's another one.....

If there have been a total of 2 days of school and on 1 of those days Alex took hot lunch, what is the likelihood (expressed in percentages) that he will lose his lunch box?

Give up?

The answer to #1 is undefined, because the lunchbox has been lost- sometime between 9:02 and 4:10.

The answer to #2 is 100%. If you ask Alex, he'll tell you, "Give me a break mom, it was my second day of school." Nevermind that he actually only took the lunch box with him ONE day.

And....let the fun begin :)

Big Kids

We officially have 2 "school age" children now. Where did the time go? Seems they grow up so quickly, even when you see them everyday.

I took a few first day of school pictures. Although, I will be honest in that it is actually Alex's second day of school, but he refused to let me take pictures yesterday. As you see in these pictures, he's sooo much happier to have his picture taken today :)




Anna, on the other hand, hardly slept last night she was so excited. That certainly made it easier on me, I didn't even shed one tear. She was just so ready and happy you couldn't be sad!




And, what did Sarah think of having the house to herself? Well, right away she went into her room and stole Anna's sunglasses and wore them around for awhile. Seems she is pretty happy about getting free run of the house while the other 2 are gone.

My Girls....

A quick disclaimer before I start this post. This is for Anna and Sarah in 10-15 years when they read this-- I love you BOTH, I do NOT love one more than the other.

Ok....on with the blogging. As Sarah has her own little personality now, Chris and I often comment on how completely opposite our girls are. Not saying that it is a bad thing, it's just kind of funny how we can have 2 girls that are truly nothing alike. Of course, there are the obvious differences like their hair color/amount and their eyes, but we have noticed so many other aspects that are different I thought I'd share.

For instance, Here they both are in the swing. Notice how Anna is all laid back and mellow while Sarah (and I know there isn't sound, but trust me) is screaming her head off and squealing so loud, half the playground is staring at her. Anna actually hated the swing until she was about 2. Sarah could spend all day in it if you let her. This is true to their personalities too. For the most part, Anna is pretty mellow most of the time. Sarah tends to be a bit more hyper and active.



And, next, the drama. Anna is and always has been our little drama queen. She is extremely sensitive and can cry over just about anything. Sarah on the other hand will fall directly onto her head and just keep going without a peep. This just happened the other day actually. Anna stubbed her toe on the swingset at the exact same time Sarah fell off a small retaining wall at my mom and dad's house. Sarah landed on her head, got up, shook herself off and kept moving. Anna, however, cried for about 10 minutes. Here are some pictures of the drama queen and her



not so dramatic little sister.


Onto baby proofing. Sarah is an absolute maniac and has figured out how to open every cupboard/drawer that we have. Chris and I just looked at each other yesterday and shook our heads when we saw Sarah trying to figure out how to unlock and lock the front door. Anna, however, never got into anything. You could leave an open bottle of cleaner out in the middle of the living room and tell her not to touch it and she wouldn't go near it. She didn't get into even 1/100 of the mischief that Sarah already has. Just today, in the span of about 10 minutes, Sarah almost put the remote into the toilet, took out about 5 glass bottles of beer and was clanging them together and tried eating all of Anna's hair binders. As you can probably guess, Sarah needs a cage and we may need a room with padded walls by the time we are done raising her :)



The first picture is of Anna. Notice the tall DVD case in the background of the picture. We still have this DVD case. However, it is now put away in the den behind a gate because if we left it in the open, Sarah would likely figure out how to A) climb it, B) pull it over, C) scatter DVDS all over the house, or (and this is most likely) D) all of the above. Second picture is what happens when we let Sarah into the kitchen for a few seconds. She is fast!

One of the other big differences is the amount of time each can spend sitting still. As those of you who knew Anna as a baby can remember, she LOVED to be held and sit still. She was such an easy baby and was so content to sit down that she didn't start walking until 17 months. We think it's because she was so busy developing her super smart brain! Anyways, Sarah is equally smart, but ten times faster. She does not sit still EVER. My mom and dad bought her one of those really cute foam princess chairs for her birthday. She hasn't sat in it since her party. However, she has figured out if she turns it on it's side, it works REALLY well for climbing on things. As you'll notice, the pictures I have of Sarah sitting are either when she is strapped in, OR when she has climbed up something she wasn't supposed to and then sat down for a brief second. Although the other trick to getting her to sit is to feed her (or push her in the swing).




Ok, I'll stop the comparisons now. I'm sure the child psychologists would tell me I'm damaging them by comparing. Although, we don't really do this out loud, just comment to each other when they aren't around. As for those of you wondering where the big brother fits in. He is much more like Sarah and they have become good friends. Just the other day Alex was listing off the things he is going to teach Sarah......how to play video games, how to fish, how to hunt, etc. Funny thing is, she'll probably LOVE to do all of that. Anna on the other hand said she will teach Sarah how to play babies and Barbies and house and fix her hair.......I think she may be disappointed in a few years. But, you never know, right?

.....and the rest of the disclaimer: Anna- we love you for your absolute loving, caring heart and sensitive nature. You are such a sweetheart and you truly care so much about others and are always willing to help someone who needs it. You are going to be so good at whatever you decide to put your mind to. Sarah- we love you for your silliness and ability to make us laugh. You are so adventurous and fearless. You are independent, stubborn and friendly. These traits will take you far. You will give us a run for our money some day :) You are BOTH wonderful little girls in your own special ways and we feel so lucky to watch you grow. Love you puddinheads.