Cheers!

Marci has discovered our wine rack, and it is proving to be as much of a magnet for her as it used to be for Osten. Funny, now that he's past that stage, he has turned into quite the wine-rack police! Marci will no sooner get her hands on a bottle, and Osten can be heard screaming, "No, No, Marci. That's Daddy's!" It makes me laugh every time.

Halloween Prep

We're not excited at all about Halloween this year.

Nope, not one little bit.

In some galaxies, you get to wear a mask every day . . .

and lightsabers are probably as common as, say, rain boots!

Truth or Fiction?

Just down the street from our new neighborhood is the cutest little private library. We became members about a month ago and recently went for our second visit. Osten loves the children's section, and most of the books are right at his level.

He loves taking books off the shelves. As you might also notice, his band-aid obsession has still not subsided. His left leg is actually injury-free, but that doesn't mean it's not a good place for a few colorful bandages!

Once he has selected a stack of books, Osten likes to preview them to ensure that they are worthy of making the trip home with us. We're only allowed ten books at a time, and they add up quickly!

Marci seems to enjoy the library, too, but not with quite as much enthusiasm as Osten, at least not yet! We're going to give her another year or so, and then we think she's going to love books as much as the rest of us.

Family Fun

It was a busy weekend, but we had time for some family fun.

Here's Daddy and Uncle John doing the "Shaver shake."

Gramma Sue and Marci had some girl time on the back deck.

The next time Aunt Ang, Uncle Ger and Piper come visit, baby "Boom" will be here!

One is Fun

It's much more fun to ride in the car now that I can see where we're going.

Mommy and I went shoe shopping, and I got some new kicks!

Actually, we got this pair, too. Tasty!!

On the morning of my actual birthday, I got to open my present from my godmother. She put some more pearls on my necklace. I had a card from Grammi and FaFa to open, too. And Mommy couldn't resist making me wear this silly crown one more time.

Good Enough to Eat

Since cake wasn't such a hit with Marci, Mommy picked up these cupcake-shaped cookies from Back in the Day Bakery. They had sugar pansies on them that looked like the real thing. Marci seemed to enjoy her cookie.

Osten, on the other hand, seemed more interested in his milk, as usual. Mommy made homemade Alfredo sauce (one of Aunt Ang's recipes) for dinner. Marci was too pooped from all the fun that she was sound asleep by 6:00 and missed out on the pasta dinner.

Backyard Ball-BQ

We set up a couple of pint-sized ball pits in the backyard, and the kids had a good time with all of the balls. The older crowd had barbeque from a local restaurant with all the fixings.

The trampoline was a hit, especially with Piper.

Marci's new pony seemed to be a crowd-pleaser, too.

It's not a party without hats and horns!

Party Time

We celebrated Marci's birthday this weekend with family and a few close friends. There were a couple of amateur photographers in attendance, and they got some great shots of the guest of honor.

Ah, there's nothing quite like a little hot pink icing on your chin!

Here's a family shot.

The sugar high peaked quickly!

Little Sassafras

The little sassafras has not only graduated to bigger bows, she is now pulling up on everything! She's also keeping pretty good pace with her brother and driving him crazy by insisting that he share his toys. She's also become a real wild woman in the bathtub, and now they both splash around and have a big time soaking themselves (and mommy!) Marci is also cutting her second tooth and is working on making the sippy-cup switch. She pulled up in her crib for the first time at school on Friday, and she is doing this often at home now, too, on pretty much anything that seems sturdy enough to balance her. And when she's not in her crib or highchair seat, she is crawling all over the house. She is one sassy lady, and she is officially on the loose!

New Attitude

Her parents are a lost cause, but Piper showed signs over Labor Day weekend that she will be secretly rooting for the Dawgs this weekend! I just love this picture of her. Besides the fact that she is wearing Osten's Georgia hat, she just looks so darned cute. Everytime I look at this picture, I want to belt out, "I've got a new attitude!"

Sweet Tea

Yes, I am still posting pictures from Labor Day ... But I couldn't fail to mention that as an added bonus, Franny brought his sweet girlfriend, Teaunee, with him for the weekend. Everyone--especially Marci--enjoyed her company!

Ang noticed that their rental car was a Lincoln Continental with New York plates! Too funny, so of course, we had to get a picture. I know this comment is guaranteed to get an eyeroll from my brother, but I can't resist. Aren't they cute??!!

We all really had a good laugh when Franny gunned it as they were leaving, and they went fishtailing out the driveway in a cloud of dust.

Between the Cheeks

Guess what Marci's hiding between her sweet, chubby cheeks?? Two teeth!! The first one popped out over Labor Day weekend, and I just discovered another one earlier this week. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a good picture of them at this point, since they're on the bottom, but I am sure going to keep trying. Consequently, she is chewing on EVERYTHING!! Just the other night, she discovered Wrigley's dog food bowl, and I had to dig five pieces of dog food out of those cheeks, and then my sweet, baby girl had dog-food breath for the rest of the night!

The Gymnist

Guess who had his first gymnastics class today? No more amateur splits for this fella, he's started tumbling with a professional once a week at his school. It's kind of scary and exciting at the same time! Speaking of exciting, he has nearly completed the potty-training hurdle and doesn't have to wear these crazy training pants anymore. Except for one little incident at the library yesterday, he has pretty much been accident-free all week. Interestingly, most of his accidents at school are due to bad aim! Thank God, we almost have this potty-training business behind us. Whew!!

Boudreaux's & Bubbles

Wouldn't you know it . . . The one time I travel without any Boudreaux's Butt Paste, and Osten catches a violent stomach bug that results in a screaming red diaper rash (and a pile of nasty diapers). Piper also had a tender tush, and (following an after-hours call to both of pediatrician's offices) we prepared ourselves for the possibilty of them having to run naked on the deck to let their poor, irritated cheeks get some air. In addition to Lotrimin and Boudreaux's, Ang bought this set of bubbles in case we need to distract them as they ran bottomless on the porch. Alas, they both made extra-quick recoveries, and we were able to enjoy the bubbles with two fully clad children. Once again, it was so cute to watch them play together, and it was especially nice to see them both feeling much better. Don't be fooled by this picture; the big bubble wands proved to be pretty tough . . .

but Osten and Piper seemed to have fun, nonetheless.

The especially enjoyed playing in the bubbles.

And again, poor Marci had to sit another one out. We sat her in Piper's exersaucer right in front of the window, so she didn't miss a thing!