This Week, So Far

We've been busy! That's not new...

Carly went back to school on Monday, happy and healthy! We waited to go to the store until she came home from school, so she could work on a Brownie project. She had to find groceries, school supplies and clothes within a certain budget. It was a pretty good learning experience for her - markers aren't cheap!

Tuesday after school, Bree asked me to go get my phone and take her picture...she waited just like this. =)

Tuesday afternoon is Zumba class! The big girls adore it. And the boys from the gym's afterschool program, who are too big and too cool for Zumba adore Katie. These guys were so sweet to her, and she just kept staring at them, trying to figure out what kind of not-quite-big big people they were. =)

Spoiler alert for the two-weeks-late update post coming tomorrow: she's mobile!

We usually go up to the base on Wednesdays so I can do my volunteering, but Katie was a little sniffly and I really didn't want her to catch her weekly cold again, so we're going to take a break until April. What that meant for me was an entire day with my little girls. It was great!

Katie's hair is coming in so blond. 

One of her most favorite things to do is pull up on my arm and hold on with one hand! Sometimes she gets a little wobbly and needs to be stabilized, but usually she's just happy to be up high! Her new favorite snack (spoiler alert #2) is slices of apples she just gnaws down. I take it away when it gets to a scary size, but she loves them! I think it feels good on her sensitive gums. Bree in the background - I don't know where the picture of her went, but she had a great time exploring the little park by the church right outside our neighborhood. We weren't sure whether we were allowed to play there, but no one has kicked us out, so I guess we're good to go. =)

And presenting Carly's first major project of her academic career!

She chose this president because Paul had to do a presentation on him when he was in elementary school. Come to find out, Mr. Buchanan was kind of a wimp and not such a great president, but we got to talk about leadership and integrity by noting their absence. Carly designed and put together this entire thing - we were so proud of her! And, to be honest, I was very proud of myself for not jumping in and micromanaging every detail. We did assist with mess-up repair but otherwise it's all her. She did a great job presenting, but unfortunately, she was so worried about it and whether it was good enough, that she wasn't able to sleep but about three or four hours last night. Because of that, she's not feeling very well and will be staying home from school tomorrow to catch up on her rest. Our job now is to help her focus that energy and concern into more productive activities than worry. 

From today! The sun was finally, finally, FINALLY out (at least for the morning), and it wasn't freezing cold, so Katie and I took a lovely two hour walk on the beach and then had lunch on the back porch before the wind and clouds rolled in. She's wearing the same outfit as Tuesday because it's Bree's favorite and she picked out Katie's clothes both days. =)

Ooooh check-it-out. Guess what just opened near us! GLORY!!!!

They have everything. Instead of going from Micheal's to Target to the Dollar Store and crossing my fingers, I can just go here and get all the cool crafty stuff we need. Super duper excited! Finding everything you need at one place is next to impossible when you live in a place that has a bunch of "small market" stores....they are such a tease! The outside LOOKS like it's going to be your normal Best Buy, or Dick's Sporting Goods, or whatever, but you get in there and they have such limited selection, it's basically pointless to even go there. Anyway, Hobby Robby is no such place, and apparently I'm not the only one who's been starved for selection. We all looked like that crazy Target lady on the Christmas commercials, in fits over the fact that there were like six different kinds of weaving loops, and I didn't even know what those were yesterday!

 I give the nearby Michael's a year before they're out of business, seriously.

Oh hey, here's the missing picture from Wednesday. We took a walk into the neighborhood next to ours - they have these big amazing homes and cool brick retaining walls that Bree loves to explore. She found some squirrel's stash of pecans in a hollow tree and was trying to crack it open while the poor little guy was yelling at us from the trees. Or at least I'm saying it was him because there was a squirrel up there making a LOT of noise, and honestly, it makes a good story, so I'm sticking with it. =)