This is the link to the first set of Christmas pictures. Santa gave the girls a tent with multiple compartments and 35 red, blue, green, and yellow balls. They played with it for half an hour before they noticed anything else under the tree. The last three pictures are the ones after Santa left all the gifts under the tree and in the stockings.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8QYs3Ldo5at0k

Monday morning at breakfast, Emma Rose told me this story: When I was a little girl, there was a tent. There was a big tent and a little tent. I hid in the big tent. When the man came, he said "You look yummy in there." Weird.

She is also telling "jokes." Monday night, we had a series of jokes that dealt with most anything she saw going on around her. For example, "I had a spoon on my head." Hysterical, dramatic laughing followed. Then, "Do you get it?" This continued for about 5 minutes. John and I couldn't stop laughing at her. She got the giggles and couldn't stop laughing herself!

Anabelle is now mirroring most of what Emma Rose does, especially at dinner. When Emma Rose turns her face to the ceiling to laugh, Anabelle does it. When Emma Rose squeals with laughter, Anabelle does it. Emma Rose can also get Anabelle to say most all of her words and some new ones. It's wonderful to watch them interacting!

Tuesday night, John and I started getting Emma Rose thinking more about Santa. We asked her what whe was going to ask Santa for. She said, "I'm going to ask him for a camera for Anabelle." We teared up pretty good. Wednesday night, Santa (aka Pops) made a personal call to her. She was not shy, and she asked Santa for a Woody toy (from Toy Story), a giraffe, and some wind up toys. Santa also made sure to ask her to leave cookies and milk for him on Christmas Eve. She told him that she and and Mommy would make them for him! (I was very touched that she remembered me.) She also asked for toys for Anabelle. The camera was still on the list. She does not really like it when Anabelle plays with her camera! A selfless or selfish request??

Thursday night at bed time, Emma Rose told me we "needed to talk." Her face turned thoughtful, and she told me her heart was broken. I asked why, and she said she loved me, Daddy, and Anabelle so much. After assuring her we loved her, too, I asked her if her heart was still broken. She said, "a little." Then she told me her heart was broken when Anabelle fell down the stairs (3 weeks ago). She came in our bedroom after we had tucked her in and, with a sweet smile, told me both of her hearts were put together again.

Anabelle had her 15th month check-up yesterday. She had stranger anxiety with the nurse and doctor, so when they were examining her, it was cry fest. Emma Rose was able to participate, too. After the doctor measured Anabelle, he said, "Wow! She had a growth spurt!" She grew two and half inches in 3 months! Her height is 32.75 inches and puts her in the 97th percentile for her age. She weighs 22 pounds and 13 ounces, which is the 47th percentile. The measurements are similar to Emma Rose's measurements at that age! Anabelle also had one immunization and her second dose of the flu shot. She did well and only cried for about 5 minutes!

Emma Rose also got a flu shot, which is why she participated in cry fest. She cried for the 5 to 10 minutes before the nurse came in with the injection and for about 10 to 15 minutes afterward. On the way out of the office, I heard the lady at the desk tell one of the other moms, "She just had a surprise flu shot." The mom sighed and probably was telling her child there would be no suprise shots. Once Emma Rose caught her breath, she asked Daddy, "Can I have my milk shake now?" A milk shake is now standard bribe number one. Standard bribe number two is gum.

The girls did well last night after the flu shots. They had some Motrin and a bath before bed. They actually had two baths. For the second bath night in a row, Anabelle has pooped in the tub. Daddy has some almost inappropriate language and his face turns red. Then he gets the girls out of the tub, scoops out the poop with the cat litter scoop, scrubs the contaminated area with a bleach cleaner, and refills the tub. I hold the Little Pooper and talk with Emma Rose about the poop in the tub before they get back in to be decontaminated. Last night, I asked Anabelle several times, "Did you poop in the tub?" She makes a very serious expression and emphatically shakes her head no. This is about the fifth time she's pooped during a bath. I sure am glad Daddy is home! :)

Play Date with Laurin and Nicki

This past Saturday, Nicki and Laurin came over for a visit. Emma Rose and Laurin had a great time playing kitchen and tea party in Emma Rose's room. They also played this disturbing game in which they would put a plastic banana in their mouths and spit it back and forth at one another. The giggling between the spitting was tremendous, so we just couldn't stop the game. Eventually, they gave their attention to other toys that weren't used as mouth projectiles. Whew!! The girls got into a funny face making mood. Laurin had some really cute faces for sad, angry, and happy. Emma Rose had the same exact face for any emotion requested.

Anabelle also played in Emma Rose's room while the "big girls" played. She mostly did her own thing, and she had fun just hanging out with us. Hobie perched on Emma Rose's bed under the purple cozy blanket and eventually fell asleep on his back.

Later that night, Emma Rose and Anabelle had a bath. They both love bath night. Lately, Emma Rose asks more than once every day if tonight is bath night. She's very disappointed if we say no. When Anabelle sees us filling the tub with water, she does everything she can to get in. She's even tried to throw a leg up and hoist herself over. She's much too small to achieve the desired results, so she starts bouncing up and down and says, "Me! Me! Me!" They love to splash. The rainbow water stains on the wall are proof of such.

On this particular bath night, Anabelle was a little gassy. (It's baby gas, so it's still cute.) She thinks it's very funny to toot. She stood up in the bath and gave us a present. It was LOUD. Emma Rose's reaction to this gift was hilarious! She made her 'That's Really Stinky' face.

We spent Thanksgiving in Tennessee with John's family and had a great time. When it was time to leave, Emma Rose didn't want to go! I think one of her favorite things to do was play with the trains at Sugar's and Pops' house. She also enjoyed seeing her cousin Julian. They even watched the movie Cars Saturday night while Daddy and Pops went to the UT/UK game. At Grammy's house, Anabelle had her first tater-tats, and Emma Rose played with Shadow and Cody, Grammy's doggies.
























Anabelle also started singing the hot dog song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She sings in a little falsetto-like voice and nods her head up and down while she says, "Hot dog. Hot dog. Hot dog."

On Monday, December 1st, we had a little excitment in Canton. We had snow! Emma Rose loved when it snowed last year, and she was just as excited again. The snow didn't stick to the ground, and it was as if it never happened when we woke up Tuesday morning. It's still freezing!












To make the most of what little hair Anabelle has, I've started to give her a mohawk with the hair dryer after the girls take a bath. It only fluffs up for a while, and by the next morning, she looks slightly bald again. It's fun while it lasts!

Anabelle has started to perfect going down the stairs. She straightens out her body and bends at the waist just exactly right so that she can slide backwards down stairs. She's gotten really fast. She giggles as she's sliding! She has also started calling the pets by name occassionally. She calls Hobie "Bobie" and Jasper "Japper." While smiling a big cheesy grin, she also pats her belly with both hands and tries her best to say belly. As a total Star Trek nerd, I have been telling her "Hoot-a boot-a Solo" because I thought some of her babbling sounded a little Star Trek-ish. She is repeating me! She has also started to prefer walking to crawling. What a big girl!


Emma Rose saying "She was like . . . " When she starts sentences this way, she's usually referring to what she thinks Anabelle is thinking about a particular event. For example, "Anabelle was like why are you jumping around Daddy?" Emma Rose has also recently started brushing my hair. I'm not sure what spurred on this recent interest, but it's really cute that she's really getting to be a little girl.

Emma Rose has started quoting movies just like her daddy. She quotes them at oddly appropriate times.
1. "Don't just hork it down." (Ratatouille)
2. "Stand back. I can smell your breath." (Kung Fu Panda)

We saw a new bird at the feeder this morning! Our best guest is that it was an immature Yellow-rumped Warbler. It was the myrtle form of the species, and it looked a little like the pine warbler we saw a little while ago. What was so amzing is how yellow the little rump was. We read that it is sometimes called a butter-butt! Unfortunately, we did not get a picture of this one. Maybe he'll come back soon and we'll have the camera.

Anabelle's fifth tooth finally fought its way through the gum! The fifth tooth is the one on her right next to her two front teeth. The sixth one is working its way out, but I'm sure it'll be January before we see it. She is drooling all over herself and is chewing on her fingers. She must be the slowest teether in the world!

Wednesday morning at breaksfast, Emma Rose and Anabelle were so funny and very entertaining. Emma Rose looked at Anabelle and threw her head back and then into her chest. Anabelle giggled and did the same. Repeat. For about 5 minutes, they did this back and forth to one another and giggled. It was so funny. Emma Rose told me the other day she is glad we have Anabelle. This must be one of the reasons she is glad.

The girls are having really fun times in Emma Rose's room. Today, the closet exploded. I also managed to get a couple of pictures of Anabelle walking. She's doing much better: the drunken sailor walk seems to have turned into a sobering up drunken sailor walk. She still thinks it's funny when she falls!

Tuesday night, Joe Griffith (Nicki's hubby) came over to paint the mural on the garage wall. John still can't stop smiling. He keeps looking out in the garage and telling me (and himself, too) how cool the mural is. Joe is a really good artist, and his favorite medium is spray paint. We can still smell the aroma in the garage! He painted the mustang racing pony on top of the Ford blue garage wall. John's cobra, Ramona, parks right next to it. It really is very cool. Joe is awesome! I made dinner for all of us last night after the mural was completed. (I couldn't risk poisoning him prior to that.) My first attempt at the Uncle Eric's fish recipe was successful! I made fried rice to go with it! Yum!

Construction is in full swing right next to our house. The builder finally started on the lot immediately next to us, and it continues on the lot next to that. Forms are being poured today. That particular lot is under contract, so if all goes smoothly for the buyers, we should have more neighbors soon. In the mean time, we're going to see lots of construction vehicles and hear lots of construction noise. And today, the lot on the east side of the house will be getting forms poured very soon. We saw the newest set of construction workers there this afternoon. Our house is shaking - literally - from all the work that's being done. It really is pretty neat to see the neighborhood grow and change. Soon, our street will be filled with houses!

Left Pic: Lot on east of our house / Right Pic: Two lots on west side of our house

It seems the construction noise has not scared off any of the house finches. They are devouring the seed in the feeders! It's rare that I look out the window and don't see any birds. I keep looking for more pine siskins, but I haven't seen any more of them. We can't wait to put out the blue bird house my dear friend Nicki gave to me for birthday! It'll be really fun to see the little baby blue birds in the yard and show them to Emma Rose and Anabelle!

From the Kitchen Window: House Finches

Emma Rose is now becoming an expert at Wii bowling! She loves to pretend play with Daddy, and Wednesday, she bowled with me - for real! In two games, she was able to get several spares and two strikes. She still has a bit of trouble figuring out when to press the "B" button and then when to release it. Most often the bowlig ball just crawls down the lane, but she can sometimes get a little bit of speed worked up. She also gets a little frustrated and says she's "not very good at this." But when she knocks down the pins, she smiles a big smile and is very proud of herself. It is very exciting, and I think we'll have something new to do. We have a little bit of work to do to so that she won't get frustrated, and I think we may have a new Wii Champion Bowler in our family. (Watch out, Uncle Eric!!) It'll be especially nice since it's so cold outside now, and we won't be able to get out as much anymore.

The construction has really started in earnest on the house two lots over. Walls for the basement are going up, and this morning, it sounded as if they were working in our front yard. They were banging on cement and metal, so hopefully the noise won't be so bad when they start banging on wood. This will really test how well the girls can nap through noise. I may have to start playing relaxing music really loud downstairs to disguise the construction work. That begs the question: is relaxing music really relzxing if it's played loudly?

I have discovered in recent weeks just how much Anabelle seems to love music. When she hears music she likes, she bobs her head from side to side or if she's standing, she bounces up and down. She also seems to have a special affection for the musich on Disney's Imagination Movers and the Can you Teach my Alligator Manners short cartoon. We get to hear actual giggling when they come on. Anabelle is also still working on her fifth tooth. She must be the world's slowest teether. She is using the four teeth she has very well. It's so cute to see her bite something using those teeth very precisely. She even purses her lips slightly when she does it.

Emma Rose Funnies

• This morning, Emma Rose told me she had to go to the potty - number 2. She started walking away, looked back at me over her shoulder, pointed to her bottom, and said, "See Mommy. The poopy is in there."
• This afternoon, Emma Rose, Anabelle, and I were playing kitchen. Emma Rose made a delightful snack for me: wooden cucumbers, bread, and carrots. She gave me each in a separate bowl and then told me, "Snack it up, Girl!"

Last week, Emma Rose and I ran into a store while Daddy and Anabelle sat in the car. Emma Rose was very busy looking at and picking up every pretty item on the shelves. I told her we had to hurry because Daddy was hungry. Then I asked, "Do you know what happens to Daddy when he gets hungry?" She shook her head, and I told her Daddy turns into a monster. He really does get grumpy when he's hungry. A few days later, we were upstairs and Daddy was being the Tickle Monster. Emma Rose looked at Daddy and asked, "Do you need a snack?" and quickly ran to her kitchen to whip something up. She took me very seriously!

Emma Rose had to go to time out this weekend. After it was over, I went to talk with her about what she had done and why she had to go to time out. She looked at me and in her sweetest voice and with her most precious facial expression said, "God made me special, and I'm your little girl." It was a very sweet distraction from the pertinent issue, but I'm glad she understands I still love her even if she has to go to time out. It was also very difficult to keep a straight face!

We had a new bird at our feeder over the weekend. I couldn't quite tell what he was, but he really looked most like the picture of the Nelson's Sharped Tailed Sparrow. I emailed the folks at the Cornell Lab, and they told me the bird is a Chipping Sparrow in "winter plumage." I guess some of the birds have a summer/spring and fall/winter wardrobe just like people. At least I was right that it was a sparrow!

Chipping Sparrow

John and Emma Rose also painted one side of the garage Ford blue. He is awaiting a mural of the Mustang's logo from reknowned artist Joseph Griffith. John is slowly converting the garage into his own area dedicated to Ramona, his mustang. I will still be allowed parking privileges, or he will be in big trouble. I'm very thankful that we can now actually use our garage for cars rather than just for storing all of our crap. Now, it's all in the basement, and although much more spread out, it is much more organized.

Emma Rose Painting Primer on the Garage Wall

Deck Extension: Day 10
No visible progress has been made on the deck. However, deck building software has been purchased, and the permission slip for the HOA has been started. We have also learned that we can buy a book at Home Depot to make sure we adhere to the building codes. I can now see that John's planning tendencies are getting the best of him. If it keeps getting cold, no one will be able to dig in the rock hard Georgia red clay to do any work.

Anabelle is amazing us with how many words she is saying. "Sister" and some mangled version of Emma Rose are a couple of new ones. She is also able to say "Sally," which is the blue Porsche from Disney's Cars movie. She's also started making this funny face: She pokes out her bottom jaw, shows her bottom teeth, and growls. The face is specifically meant to encourage her daddy to chase her. That's the face he makes right before tickling or chasing the girls.

Anabelle also climbed up on the ottoman all by herself yesterday. She was pleased with herself and gave me a pretty smug look after she was up on the chair!

John and I painted the powder room. (I helped very little, and most of the credit goes to John.) Once Emma Rose started washing her hands on her own, there were rainbows of soapy water that were permanently a part of the paint beside the sink and towel. We painted it a nice crisp green in a satin finish. So far, I like it. The best part is that we did it in just under 3 days! Everything has been put back together and the room can be used once again! We hopefully won't have any more soapy water rainbows for our viewing pleasure.

Deck Extension: Day 6
The holes that were dug on Sunday have now been filled in. John found a great "how to" book for decks. It's given both of us some really good ideas, and we have agreed upon a plan that includes how we'll use the space once the deck is built. In about 10 years or more, we'll probably have enough shade to make it tolerable to be out there for more than 5 minutes during the day time in the hot weather. It'll be great for the evenings and at night. I'm very excited and can't wait for the building to begin.

The next steps are to get a permit from Cherokee County and to get approval from the management company that is acting at the Home Owners Association. Both entities require that once approval is granted, building is commenced within 6 months and completed within 12 months. Deadlines are good. Although we have not gotten approval, John has bought some tools . . . of course. Any excuse to buy tools is a good excuse.

Emma Rose has been particularly funny today.

• First, she woke up and told me she "had a long night." I guess she was secretly watching the election results.
• This afternoon, she told John to "deal with Anabelle" so that Anabelle would not climb on the stool with her. She has heard John tell me the same thing multiple times.
• Tonight at dinner, she told me she went upstairs (in our house) to tell her friend hello. I was concerned one of the neighbor's kids was hiding out upstairs, so I asked who the friend is. She casually pointed to herself, shook her head, and said, "Me." I absolutely could not keep a straight face.

John and Emma Rose had a bonding moment yesterday before his sudden urge to start adding the extension to the deck. The baked banana bread while Mommy provided supervision and directions. Daddy even learned about our secret ingredient: two Emma Rose handfuls of mini chocolate chips!

Anabelle also made us very proud. She can now on command stick her finger in her nose. In fact, she can shove her finger up her nose so far that her nose wrinkles. Yes, so very proud.

Anabelle continues to go up and down and up and down the stairs.
Emma Rose helped me in the kitchen last night, and she dipped her face in the bowl of water in the sink. She thought she was hilarious.



Sister Hug Fest!!

Deck Extension: Day 2

John does have a plan. I think this will slow him down but I remain hopeful. He has agreed to the second tier (HOORAY!), and he is working on an electronic design using freebie online deck planning software. From what he says, it's going to be complicated. Translated: the deck may not be finished until spring or later.

This is the picture from day one. The view is from looking down at the back yard from the current postage stamp size deck. (After John dug up one of the tomato plants, Emma Rose told him, "I'm very angry with you, Daddy.")

Halloween was so much fun! The Carpenter girls were the cutest Sunflower Princess and Butterfly ever. After having the sunflower headband for Emma Rose's costume for a month, we lost it right before Halloween. It was a cute part of the outfit, but I don't think she would have kept it on her head any way. Anabelle kept her butterfly hat on all night, and if I had bet on it, I would have bet she would have cried as soon as we put it on her. It all worked out, and they were really adorable.

Emma Rose has decided she will not pose for pictures anymore and hides when I try to take pictures of her. Sadly, I was only able to get two pictures of my little Sunflower Princess. Maybe she knows that I have plans to embarrass her with silly pictures when she is older.

I dressed the girls in their outfits right before snack time, and Butterfly Anabelle decided it would be a fun game to see how many graham cracker could fit into her mouth. I think she almost made it to 4.

The neighborhood Halloween party was also very fun, and the turn out was pretty good. All the kids dressed up and we had 6 pots of chili for the chili cook off. The one John liked the best won second place! The prize for first place was a free house cleaning.

This is the Shutterfly Site for Halloween Pictures: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8QYs3Ldo5at0G

Last week, we also saw the start of three new houses being built. Unfortunately and fortunately for us, all three are right by our house. The two lots beside us as you get to our house and the lot on the other side of us were dug out for basements last week. Only one of them are under contract. It'll be great to have new neighbors (we really hope they're nice), but it'll be sad to loose the empty lots next door. Where will we put our yard debris? Thank goodness there are empty lots across the street! We'll get some of the "left-overs" as the houses are built, so it's a fair trade!

Looking at our House from closest to the Entrance

Deck Extension Project: Day 1

Today, John all of the sudden decided to build an extension for our deck. I've been asking him to build onto the postage size deck we have since we moved in 16 months ago, so I am delighted! It is a bit ironic as he makes a living in planning. As of this minute, he really doesn't have a plan more than digging holes and where the new corners of the deck will be. I have requested a second tier, and John has agreed to keep an open mind. Cross your fingers!! It would be so pretty and fun for parties!

I'm not sure how long the project will take, and I'm hopeful he'll have a plan in the next few hours and will finish the project by the end of the year. Maybe I'm asking too much. We'll see. To his credit, John is very smart and meticulous, and I'm sure the finished project will be great. We'll have a little "Deck Party" to celebrate the new addition and John's hard work when it's all done! I'm so glad one of John's hobbies is home improvement.

Anabelle is really started to walk more and more. She hasn't quite gotten the hang of it and looks like a drunken sailor when she stands up, takes 3 to 4 steps, falls on her bottom, and then laughs. She is persistent and gets right back up and tries again. This morning, Anabelle stood up and spontaneously started dancing to a song on the Imagination Movers (a Disney program). She grinned at me the entire time, even when she fell on her bottom!

She has also renewed her love of climbing up and down the stairs. To add the stress of it all for me, she has also sprinkled in a little standing up on a top stair and wobbling as if she's going to fall and sliding down several stairs on her belly. I guess she likes to keep me on my toes.

We weren't on our toes yesterday. Anabelle was playing beside the stairs when her hand slipped. She fell face first into the corner of a stair. She has a very sad looking purple bruise to the left of her mouth. It does match her pink and purple butterfly costume.

Tonight, we having a neighborhood Halloween party at the club house. A few months ago, I was talking to our neighbor and we decided it would be a great idea to plan a party for the entire neighborhood. Wow, that sounded great! I think all will go well, and we'll have a great time. We're having a chili cook off, and the winner gets a free house cleaning. The kids will have a costume contest and pumpkin carving contest. Our neighbor also got some of those huge inflatable moonwalk toys for the kids. Emma Rose is going to be a Sunflower Princess, and Anabelle is going to be a butterfly. The only bad news for us is that 3 out of 4 of us are sick, and we'll have to go home a little earlier than we might otherwise.

Emma Rose told me that her costume is so beautiful she can get married in it. She has had a recent fascination with marriage and weddings lately. I'm not sure where it came from. I asked her who she wanted to marry and I expected her to say Harrison, the little 3 year old boy next door. She didn't. She told me she wanted to marry me! How sweet. I think if Daddy would have asked, she would have told him she wanted to marry him.

My Brother's Wedding Pictures

I've uploaded the pictures I took at Christopher's wedding. This is the web site: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8QYs3Ldo5atz4.

Enjoy!!

Exciting news from the last few days:

• No, nobody is pregnant except my dear friend Nicki who is having a "stinky" boy.
• Anabelle took 7 independent steps last week - the most evah.
• Emma Rose went to Sunday school all herself "without one single tear" she proudly said.
• Anabelle had her first day in Sunday school and only cried the last 10 minutes. They probably tried to give her gold fish. I wonder if she gave them The Sign.
• John & I were able to go to church together for the first time in a year.
• I scratched my eyeball (not on purpose) and was in so much pain that I went to the doctor sans an appointment and waited for mercy.
• Emma Rose said she wanted to talk about cars at dinner tonight. Her daddy has indeed brain washed her.
• John turned 34. Wow - since I am 8 years younger than he is, I'm wondering how it will feel when that happens to me. We went to the 41st Annual Moonshine Festival in Dawsonville to celebrate. There were lots of cars there.
• We saw a Pine Siskin at our feeder.
• I still cannot think of a name for John's car. He's really keen on Delilah, which means languishing, lovelorn or seductive. It reminds me of the Atlanta station B98.5 with love songs in evenings and its hostess, Delilah. Maybe that works. It just doesn't seem to fit the car. I've promised I'll have a name by the end of the week. I need suggestions . . . (He has ruled out Misty.)

Pine Siskin

John and I saw a new (to us) bird in our back yard this morning. We believe it is a Louisiana Waterthrush. (In the first picture, the bird is just about in the center of the photograph. He's difficult to see.) I was able to get a few pictures. I also snapped a few pictures of an Eastern Bluebird and a Mourning Dove.

Louisiana Waterthrush

Eastern Bluebird

Mourning Dove

In hawk news, we were outside from about 5 to 6 and saw the Cooper's Hawk try to pick off a 3 song birds. He's watching the feeders from somewhere in wait of a carefree songbird. Ahhh . . . . . the circle of life. Hobie would get really excited each time the hawk would come in the yard. He would bark and chase after the it until it was out of his site. The song birds have not been at our feeders as much lately, and when they are there, they look a little nervous. The good news is that our seed is lasting a little longer than it usually does.

Anabelle started walking again today! She took two to three independent steps about half a dozen or so times. It was very exciting!

Here are more of the pictures Emma Rose (age 3.5) has taken with her camera.

The self portrait series:

The family series:

The walk in the neighborhood series: