Joanna says cute things.

Joanna: "I will sing in the choir. And I will play bells in the choir. And you and Daddy will watch me play bells in the choir."

Joanna, after my mother hollered at/reprimanded her yesterday: "Did you say Joanna with a scream?"

Daddy: "Daddy's an old man."
Joanna: "You need to be a new man."

They're just so stinkin' cute!

I was really trying to get a good picture of the two of them. It was beautiful outside and they were both pretty cheery.

Alas, no. Look at the attitude oozing from Joanna here:

Same shirt, but I think this was a few days later. :)

Sittin' on the porch of Gran's apartment.

I can usually just get one of them to look/smile at a time. Joanna gets fed up and leaves or Natalie starts to cry. As soon as one of them doesn't have bug bites on her face, we are going to have their pictures taken! Everytime I DON'T get a good one of the girls, I remember WHY I pay people to do it!!

Cute things:

-Joanna has one pair of footie PJs that she wears when it's chilly. Yesterday she decided the footie parts were "jammie shoes." Ha! Then, when I went to check on her before heading to bed, I discovered she was wearing her tennis shoes over them. I took them off.

-This morning, I decided to snuggle with Natalie in bed after feeding her instead of trying to put her down. Feeding her, then putting her back in the crib hasn't worked for the last couple of weeks and she and I are both exhausted. Anyway, I decided sleep in some fashion was better than none for us, and it was bliss. At about 5 till 8 (!!!), I was awakened with the sound of some kind of rustling by the bathroom. There was Joanna, holding a baby and a blanket, sitting on a step stool. She showed me her tie shoes, back on her feet. Sadly I had to wake Natalie up at that point. She'd crawl right off the bed when she woke up, and she didn't stay asleep through the transfer to the crib. We were all so well-rested though, it was wonderful!

I'm thinking it's because she's been under the weather for a few weeks, but this no-sleep Natalie is not fun! She's been regularly waking up and staying up at 5:30am. Then she squeezes in a 12 minute (I might be exaggerating a little -- make it 30, max) nap in the morning and another after lunch. Ick ick ick!! She's been a beast (for Natalie, anyway). Today was sooooo much better. She had two decent naps (probably 40 minutes and 1 hour) and was a much happier baby today. Sleep makes all the difference. I was happier too, having gotten to sleep in. Even though she was very snotty today, she was in much better spirits than she has been. I may just have to give in and snuggle nap for a few more days... you know, for Natalie. :)

After leaving my mom's apartment the other day, Joanna stalked a duck.

Football Game

We all decided to hit the local high school football game Saturday night.

It was actually a little chilly -- yum!
Joanna LOVED it!

I think Natalie did, too.

Joanna's tapping her hands to the beat.

She enjoyed watching the band and the dancers.

A lot.

Anna shared her pom poms with us. Natalie's a regular cheerleader, don't you think?

We sat with the Vandenberges (whose big brother is in the band) and the Beasleys. We left after half time to get the girls in bed, but I'm sure they would have loved to stay for more!

More conversations

Joanna: What's that?
Me: It's honey. (I was making tea.)
Joanna: What's it do?
Me: It makes things sweet.
Joanna: Oh, so it won't hit.

HAHAHAHAHHA!!!

Almost the end

Next Thursday will be Joanna's last Thursday at MDO. She'll still going on Tuesdays though, so it's not really the end. Since Natalie doesn't have a spot on Thursdays, it's pretty ridiculous to find something to do with her and drop off Joanna at the church. I still haven't fleshed out our permanent plan, but it involves getting a sitter to watch both girls for a few hours on Thursday while I finish up work for the week. My mom was off all the Thursdays in September and the first couple in October (YAY!!) and that worked out very well. Last week, I brought Natalie up to the church with me, but it really wasn't fun for either of us. This week I skipped Bible Study on Wednesday and got things done early, except for a couple of things I finished up today. I'll probably do something similar next week. Then in November I'll start paying a sitter to watch the girls on Thursdays. Fortunately it will be Gran! She has most Thursdays in November off, and is happy to take my money to watch the girls. :) There are definitely going to be times she won't be able to do it, so I need to work on getting a back-up plan. I'm looking forward to both girls being in the same place. Natalie is, too, although not in so many words. She and I had a pretty lovely day bonding, but I could tell she really missed her sister! Poor thing is a pretty happy baby, but I think Joanna has spoiled her rotten with lots of attention. She'd cry like I was hurting her everytime I walked out of her sight today or put her down on the floor. Silly girl.

When I went to pick up Joanna (who had again, not napped), I saw this on the table outside her classroom:Apparently Joanna is going to be blue for Halloween. That's either very silly or very sad. I wonder if she meant the color or the emotion...

Ranting, a little

Antibiotics
Yogurt
Cranberry juice
Lots of water
Salt water to gargle

I have a sore throat that's not strep (thank goodness!) and is getting a little better every day. I also have a bladder infection (sorry if that's TMI). The doctor first thought I had strep and a bladder infection, but there are no broad spectrum antibiotics I can take right now! I'm allergic to the penicillans. When I was a kid, I got hives from Augmentin, and nobody wants to risk anything worse happening now. Many meds are also unsafe for nursing babies, so I guess that takes out any others I'd be able to take. He also didn't want to throw two specific antibiotics at me because that's a sure-fire way to get a yeast infection (ick!) and who wants to be taking TWO antibiotics?! Anyway, he did a strep test and found it negative, so my swollen tonsils are likely just from drainage and junk. That's good -- I can just treat my symptoms. I'm supposed to be upping my fluid intake a bunch for the bladder infection, but it's hard to swallow!

I feel a little like I'm falling apart. I know it could be so much worse, but I think my immune system has taken a major hit this year. Before this spring, I had probably taken antibiotics once, maybe twice since I was a little kid. Since this spring, I've had FOUR ROUNDS of antibiotics. Seriously?! So my goal now is bulk up my immune system again. I'm think regular massages, pedicures, and girls nights out are the cure for that, right?
:)
Thanks for listening to me complain a little. I feel better.

The girls and stuff

I think these two are the most gorgeous, precious, amazing creatures I have ever laid eyes on. Nope. I know they are.
There's some dress-up fun sprinkled throughout this post.
I don't know what it is exactly, but I love it.

Those are Daddy's socks.

My sweet butterfly, Natalie!

Trying on our RenFest costumes at home.

Had to get a shot of the back as well.

And of course, Joanna had to admire herself in the mirror!

Before the festival, I was debating on whether to take the sit-n-stand or the wagon. I just couldn't decide! We decided to try out Natalie in the wagon on the "rough terrain" of our backyard. Technically, they don't recommend the wagons (even though there are seat belts) until 18mos, but Natalie was very stable.

I think Joanna actually managed to pull her a couple of feet!

Awwwwwww...

Random nature shot:

I am constantly amazed by that rose plant. I neglect it terribly, and yet it still blooms. Imagine what it could do if I paid it any attention at all...

Another fashion experiment:

Natalie's size 12mos jeans and shirt and Mommy's shoes. (She's finishing up a banana, if you're curious about her expression.)

Tonight I made stir-fry. Ingredients (in the order I added them, not in the order of amount or anything): olive oil, garlic, chicken thighs, carrots, broccoli, yellow squash, cabbage, brown rice, soy sauce.Before I added the soy sauce, I took a portion out:Then, with the help of my strong husband (I could've done it; it was just easier for him :)), I ground it up in the food mill.

Cool, huh?!

I added a little apple sauce to it for moisture; it was pretty dry for Miss Natalie. She's to the point where I could have pretty much just cut up everything into bites for finger food, but she got more of it this way, and it was fun! She liked it a lot. The applesauce was just handy, but I could've added a bunch of things to give it more of a "stage 3" baby food texture: another puree, yogurt, milk, maybe even just water. Yum! I love that she's eating more and more of what we're eating. I'm trying to keep as much salt and such as I can out of her food; she likes it plain, and it's healthiest that way!

Ren Fest '09!

I had to take a picture of the sky today. Not a cloud in sight. It was so clear, so crisp, so beautiful outside. Now, I love me some clouds, but this was pretty good, I have to say. There were no mosquitoes, no frizzy hair -- good for Jessica! We arrived close to 10:00 this morning. I was hoping for 9, but the girls actually slept in this morning! I cannot believe it -- I have been desperately wanting to sleep in (just to 7!) and they pick today -- funny little girls. :)

None of us have particularly cute faces in this picture, but I like it:

Joanna's chariot:
Trying to dress Miss Joanna one handed:
Ha!

Our little butterfly-fairy got to go (outside the womb) this year:

Poor kid got attacked by mosquitoes this week on her face! (It was during the whole vomit incident on Tuesday, which is why I didn't realize she was being eaten alive in our driveway!)

So that's what the spots on her face are, FYI. Still so stinkin' cute, though!

I couldn't help but including a few pictures from last year throughout this post:

Our family pic. Sadly, we did not get one of these this year.

Look how short my hair is and how swollen I am!

I never realize just how brown my hair is until I see pictures -- man, it's dark!

So instead of a family shot, we got a picture of me and the girls and a picture of Matt and the girls.

You'll notice there are three of Matt and the girls here. I've got a question for my photo shop friends: Do you think I could merge these pictures somehow? Or replace one girl with a better shot from another picture?

Like in this one, I LOVE Matt and Natalie's expressions, but Joanna's is terrible!

Here, Matt and Joanna look super-cute, but Natalie doesn't exactly look her best.

So anyway, I had to include all three so you could see the potential. :)

A shot of Joanna and Me from last October (well, technically Natalie's there, too :)).

And this year:

I cannot believe how much more grown-up she looks! She was still such a baby last year.

Joanna discovered running down the hill was very fun.

Daddy thought so, too. :)

Joanna also discovered that falling on the hill is not so fun.

Lunchtime!

Mostly Natalie had baby food, but I let her have a few tiny bites of turkey leg, too! What's Ren Fest without turkey legs?!

Mmmmm....

Because I had the camera...

Nobody got a picture of me eating the giant turkey leg. :)

Another flashback:

After a little while, my butterfly needed a nap.

So I tucked her in the Moby wrap.

And she fell fast asleep.

Until I sat down.

They're not the same ages here, but I think my little sleeping girls look alike:

A side note -- I want one of these:

Don't you think my girls would be so stylin' walking around Kingwood in a carriage?!!

Momma and her girls!

Joanna ended up on Daddy's shoulders for the walk out of the park.

Seemed familiar... and it was.

This year, we got horsey stamps as we left (you know, just in case we decided a few miles down the road to turn around a come back :)). Joanna was very excited, because she got one too.

When you come inside and just dump your stuff, it is very interesting.

On the potty training front: it's a little harder to do this kind of thing with a little girl who's new to panties, but she DID SO WELL! The public bathrooms today freaked her out a little. She held a few things back until we got home to our safe toilet, if you know what I mean. We had to stop twice on the way out there, because Joanna loves to pee at "Old MacDonald's Farm," which is what she calls McDonald's. That is hilarious. She only had one accident all day and it was on the way home. She peed right before we left the fair (in her potty in the car), and suddenly, immediately needed to go in Conroe. She peed a gallon (only a tiny bit in her panties!), so I'm impressed she was able to hold what she did -- she really had to go! I must say that having the little potty in the car is a good idea, especially for days like this. If we're just out running errands, she can go in the grocery store or Target or wherever, but we just didn't know exactly where the next bathroom would be, driving through the "country" today.

I know you all were just ecstatic to hear about the potty escapes. Thank you for tuning in!

If you want to read the post from Ren Fest last year, click here.