Fall

We've been enjoying fall.  We enjoyed a visit from my mom for most of October, and my dad, sister and her family for a long weekend.  We've enjoyed playing with friends.  We've enjoyed welcoming new friends into the world.  We've enjoyed planting trees.  We've enjoyed playing.  We've enjoyed being together and watching our girls grow.

Concerts

We took the girls to a concert on Saturday.  We all enjoyed it, and it has increased the number of concerts we get to hear at home as well.  There was a violinist at the concert, and so she has spent some time pretending her guitar is a violin, tucking it under her chin with enough confidence that she looks like she's been playing violin for years, and then she uses whatever she can find as a bow.  She also still loves to play the guitar as a guitar, accompanying herself as she sings. This morning she told me she was giving Siri a concert.  The song she sang went something like, "I love you so much, You are my best friend."

Halloween

Annie has been talking about her Halloween costume for months and months.  I kept expecting her to change her mind, but she never wavered.  She was Cinderella and Siri was one of her mice friends.

Our Siri Girl

Our Siri girl is almost sixteen months old and is as sweet as can be. She continues to love to cuddle, and is quite affectionate.  She has streaks of shyness that comes across as quite flirtatious.  She is becoming quite verbal, and it seems she will repeat just about any word.  We hear "statue" "amen" "chair" "baby" "mama" "dada" "papa" variations on "grandpa" and "grandma" "nah-nah (annie)" "no-no (nurse)"...and on and on...this morning Eric and I both swear we heard her say "Thank you God" while clasping her hands.  She loves to eat--and at the mere mention of snack time she will run to the kitchen calling "snah-snah!"  She also loves shoes; finding them, delivering them to people, putting them on.  She loves to play Daddy's drums, the piano, and sing.  Her two favorite books these days are "Hand, Hand, Finger, Thumb" and "Mr. Brown Can Moo".  She makes all sorts of animal sounds, including a very frightening dinosaur roar.  She is a very active little girl, and keeping her still for a diaper change is a regular challenge.  She loves to run, to dance, to climb, and to explore.  She is very fond of Mickey Mouse, who she calls "mao" (so we have all taken to calling him "the mouse.").  She is becoming more and more graceful with large motor skills, and is quite adept at fine motor skills...she loves feeding herself, organizing toys, opening and shutting containers, and is starting to enjoy scribbling with Annie's markers and crayons.  She has a great giggle, a darling smile, and an incredible pouty lip.  We are all smitten with her, and can't wait for her molars to get all the way in!!

Annie: First Day of School

Annie had forgotten by the time she woke up on Wednesday morning that it was her first day of preschool. While Eric showered and I nursed Siri, she lay on the floor with her frog, acting quite sleepy.  She said that she wished that Daddy didn't have to go work.  I asked if she remembered where she got to go.  She thought for a moment, and then began wiggling around and giggling.  The rest of the morning she was almost too excited to complete tasks (besides finishing an impressive amount of gingerbread pancakes).

When we arrived at the preschool, she greeted the statues, and headed in...She quickly found her cubby, and set about to explore the classroom.  When Eric told her that we were going to be going, she waved him off and went about her play.  When Siri and I returned to pick her up, she was all smiles.  She reported that her favorite activity was playing with playdough.  She also had played in the playground-climbing and swinging, had popcorn for a snack (and was thrilled to watch the popcorn pop in the popper), and listened to books.  As we pulled out of the driveway, she asked when she got to go back...

Sisters

The girls are doing a lot more interactive play, which is great fun to observe.  One of their favorite activities to do together is dance, especially when we get out the costumes.  Annie has some pretty intricate moves, and Siri's two favorites seem to be bouncing her body--her entire body--in time to the music, and twirling.
Besides dancing, they've been wrestling and tickling each other quite a bit, playing hide-and-seek, building towers together, and generally enjoying each other's company.  They also love taking turns with Dad's amusements like bunkin' bronco rides (when they make sure to check each other's form) and wiggle walrus rides.  Sure, they have their moments...when Annie's strength is more than Siri can take, or Siri rips a page of Annie's books...but all-in-all, they seem to be enjoying each other's company!

I also think that they are resembling each other a bit more.  However, I would not go so far as a lady at church did the other day and mistake them for twins.  It will be quite an adjustment for Siri to not have her big sister always around--it felt very bizarre to drive away from Annie's preschool on Wednesday with Siri all alone in the backseat.

And so, it begins...

Yes, I know it's been awhile.  And, yes, I do have more summer stories and photos I still plan on posting.  But, for now, our big news is that Annie is starting preschool tomorrow.  I spent part of this evening labeling clothes, her rain coat and boots, etc.  Annie has requested pancakes for tomorrow morning, so Eric has the griddle set up and ready to go.  We are delighted with her preschool, and are in disbelief that she begins school tomorrow.

In other news; my sister, Sara, and I just completed our first 5K on Saturday.  Neither of us are runners, so we spent the summer building up to it, and were happy to complete it with our families all there to join us.

Updates on Siri, Eric and more on Annie soon!