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.