Sugarbottom Kids

Last Sunday I took the kids to Zelene's house - a.k.a. Sugarbottom - to take some pictures of the kids. Her lawn boasts several sugar maples (from which the house gets its name) and as a result her lawn is covered in leaves in the fall. The colors this fall were not the best here, but I really wanted to get the kids out and have some fun. I think we accomplished that.

Vivian had a great time playing in the leaves, but her love of horses pulled her to other areas of the property and her photo session was cut short.

Phoebe was a pretty good sport about things and I got some decent pictures of her. Now I need your opinion as to which picture is your favorite (I need to pick one to enlarge and frame for the house to hang beside Vivian's one year picture). Here are the candidates:

Number 1 - she is not looking at me or the camera, but I have seen this face a ton.

Number 2 - she is pretty pleased with herself here.

Number 3 - great smile. She did not like sitting in the leaves real well so the chair worked great.

Number 4 - I never get tired of the smile.

Number 5 - The only decent shot of her standing - it is cute.

I appreciate you opinions. I will probably have to do some editing since all these pictures are straight out of the camera. In case you are wondering, I fully intended to get a few pictures of the kids together, but Vivian took a dip in the horse watertrought and Phoebe decided that she was no longer interested in pictures and burst into tears. The day was saved by Zelene who had lots of milk and cookies waiting for us. Thanks for hosting the craziness. It was a fun day.

Happy Birthday Vivian!!!

Dear Vivian,

I cannot believe you are 3. You are so special to our entire family and I have been very blessed to have the privilege of being your Mom. After being patient and a very good girl at your sister's birthday, we had a day for Vivian and you really enjoyed it.




Your Hello Kitty cake and cupcakes courtesy of your Mommy and her mad decorating skills.

But you darling stole the show when your face lit up while we all sang Happy Birthday. I do not know if I have every seen you this totally happy about anything before. It was great!!!

You were also a good little present opener until you found the toys you wanted to play with and then we finished unwrapping them for you.

Your Sister had a great time in the glasses. She is a nut.

You looked pretty cool in your shades too.

We love you sweetie and were so glad that so many folks came out to celebrate your day with you - thanks Grandma & Pop, Uncle Ashby, Kevin, Christie, Jamie, Stephanie, Zelene, Pauline, Rachael, & Hannah for a great evening.

Your Birthday means Birthday season is over at our house for the year. Two parties in 10 days for two cool kiddos makes your Mommy and Daddy hustle, but your smile makes it worth it.

Love you, Mommy.

Happy Birthday Phoebe!!!

Dear Phoebe,

I cannot believe you are 1. This first year with you has went so fast. You are a pretty cool kiddo with a wonderful little personality. Your Grandma calls you little Napoleon - it is a well earned nickname because you a small and we all appear to be doing as you direct with your pointing and fussing at us. We all love you and really loved celebrating your first birthday. It went a little like this:

Balloons - you share your sister's love of balloons and were excited right away to play with the balloons on the table.

Cake - Mommy decided to try her hand at cake making/decorating. It went alright I think. You seemed to enjoy your cake a whole bunch.

Knowing what all the fuss is about - You seemed to understand that this was your day when everyone was singing happy birthday to you. I love this picture.

Sharing your day - Your sister was a great big sis during your party and she particularly enjoyed helping you with your cake.

Messes - You can sure make one, but you did a good job confining it to the top of the highchair.

Ohh... That was good!!!

Presents - You got so many nice things and were a good sport and helped open them up.

People - You had a nice little crowd at your party. Mommy, Daddy, Sis, Grandma, Pop, Grammy, PapPap, Uncle Ashby & Sara, Aunt Nichol, Cousins Emily & Sarah, Rev. Kevin, Christie, Jamie, & Stephanie Hand, Zelene, your Great Great Aunt Pauline, and your babysitters Racheal, Hannah, & Rebecca Davis all partied with you.

We love you bunches sweetie!!! Hope you enjoyed your special day as much as we enjoyed it with you.

Love Always, Mommy

Summertime

Vivian and Phoebe love summer, outside, kitties, pools, Popsicles, grass, 4wheelers/6wheelers, and anything and everything else you could possibly get into in the outdoors. I really do not know how we will survive winter when the kids cannot be outside as much - but we will not worry about that just yet.

Vivian had a blast at Z's pool. Since Vivian is pretty fearless with water, I went with the jacket, so we would know she would be okay even if she got away from us. It did not take long until she mastered balancing herself and paddling around in the pool. She had a blast. Phoebe liked getting in the water too, but was much more content to take a nap on the beach towel in the nude.

Vivian also enjoyed the after-swimming picnic. She looks so cute in her little swim suit.

Camping with the girls was very enjoyable. We were not sure how well it would work, but the kids cooperated great. We took them up on North Mountain to a little spot my parents have. We were a long ways from anywhere and we could see for miles - it was so peaceful and quiet. We did see a momma bear and two cubs pass through about 75 yards from our camp - she kept on moving, but did slow down a while to check us out (not long enough to grab the camera though:(

Vivian and Phoebe were most fascinated with the big blue tent and the air mattresses. They would crawl over the air mattresses and roll around on the tent floor. It really amused them. Vivian also enjoyed checking out all the camping gear and tipping over her canvas chairs in our outdoor kitchen.

Vivian took lots of rides on the 4 wheeler.

During one ride, Vivian fell asleep and Rick had to cradle her in his arms as he drove back to camp. One thing about all this fresh air - it makes a girl sleepy.

Vivian also took a 6 wheeler when Grandma, Pop, Uncle Ashby, & Sassy came by for a visit.

Phoebe passed on the 6 wheeler ride - but not on kisses from Grandma.

When Vivian was not riding the 4 wheeler, she was sitting on it - she was definitely the Queen of the Mountain.

On the last evening, Vivian and Phoebe were inside the tent laughing hysterically at each other while we got to listen outside at the campfire - it was a wonderful sound to hear.

We also have 5 baby kitties (free to a good home) at our house which make for an excellent evening distraction. So far, the baby kitties have gotten to swing (in Phoebe's little tikes swing with Vivian pushing them), go down the slide (both with and without Vivian), and ride around the yard (and down the preacher's driveway) in Vivian's wagon. They are really having a good time.

Phoebe got to ride in the wagon too, she loves being wherever Vivian is and really enjoys the kitties.

Phoebe means business!!!

They look pretty guilty of something in this picture. I don't know what, but something.

I really like this picture of the girls. It is so sweet. I had asked Vivian to hold her sister and she complied. Actually, she took me very seriously, hence this picture.

Everything worked out fine and the girls kept on playing, with one hitch...

Phoebe darling - "We Don't Gnaw on Our Kitty" - important advice from Dr. Evil & your Momma.

All About Phoebe

Dear Phoebe,

Please forgive your Momma for not blogging about you as much as I should have. Fact is, you and your sister take up about all of my evening every evening - not complaining, just not getting to blog as much as I would like.

When I last updated you were 5 months old. Now you are 9 months old and what a difference these past few months have made. You started crawling in May and you have not stopped. You just started to sit up good in mid-June and have been pulling yourself up to a standing position since the end of June. I am sure walking is just around the corner.

You really crack us up when you are jumping in your crib (holding on of course) and you can be screaming at the top of your lungs in your crib, but you stop just as soon as my feet hit the floor to get out of bed and come check on you. Your smile is amazing and it greets me every morning - no exceptions.

You were baptized in June too - June 6 to be exact. I was so very proud of how good you were during your special day. Rev. Kevin Hand baptized you and although you were a little uncertain about what was happening, you did a good job. You were very pretty in your dress and it was a very nice day.

You love to play. Vivian is a good sister and is very patient with you even though you have started to get pretty rough with her. I love watching the two of you play together - particularly when you steal each other's binky's - very funny stuff. You are also playing good at the babysitters, but we are going to have to keep an eye on that Jonah boy - even though he can walk pretty good he has been crawling around on the floor with you and he also stands and talks with you at the couch when you pull yourself up to couch cruise. I am glad you are making little friends.

I also like to hear you talk - you have Momma and Dadda perfected and you chatter non-stop. You really communicate great with Vivian - you girls seem to have your own little language. Your coordination is getting much better and you are able to pick up the smallest specks of dirt and get them in your mouth before we can stop you. Unfortunately, I think you may be a biter. Even though you only have two bottom teeth, you clamp down on Momma or Sissy whenever you do not get your way. I hope you out-grow this before you grow more teeth.

Love you little one,

Momma

Spring Things

Okay - I have not blogged in ages, but here are a few pictures of the kids from the spring that I really enjoyed. The first few are of Vivian playing at the park in Moorefield. She had a blast.

Then we have Phoebe - she plays until she drops - I really like her sleeping in the jumperoo.

And wearing Pop's hat.

And chilling in her swing. The kid has a great time:)