Every morning for the past few days, Alyce-Ann has woken up, come downstairs, and immediately grabbed her Christmas tree cookie and another cookie bag that she filled with little trinkets. She carries them around for hours!
Barbara's nursing home hosted a great Christmas party this week, complete with Santa and all. 
Esther Grace made a cute reindeer hat at her preschool, so Alyce-Ann had to dig out her own antlers for this photo.
Alyce-Ann has fallen in love with the digital camera. It's pretty cool to see the world from her perspective!
We went to a fall festival in our neighborhood last weekend-- there was a petting zoo with turkeys and baby goats that freaked Alyce-Ann out, but she managed to hold it together long enough to pet the rabbits. She also went to zoo school on Saturday with Matt, and after seeing the alligators, she found a friend to stroll with!
Esther Grace has started taking solid foods. She seems to be particularly fond of squash and sweet potatoes. She also has sprouted teeth-- 2 bottom teeth poked through about 2 weeks ago, and it's amazing how different she already looks.
Matt's niece, Nichole, was in town over Labor Day weekend and thoroughly spoiled Alyce-Ann. The OU dress is just one example.
Esther Grace has been busy rolling over and reaching out to grab her favorite toys. She's especially fond of mobiles!
With cooler weather, we've started to enjoy the outdoors again. The girls love strolling down to the park, and goodness knows, Matt and I need the exercise!
Alyce-Ann has developed a fascination with all things baby. The other morning, she managed to climb into Esther Grace's jumper seat. We discovered her antics after she began calling for help to get out. Matt and I could hardly remain standing from laughing so hard, let alone trying to convey a serious tone to discourage her from doing that again!
Esther Grace has developed the habit of needing to take her early evening nap while being held by Matt. So sweet!
It's a bit hard to believe that summer is over and we're back to school! But it's also a welcome relief from daily planning for entertainment, structure, and a bit of learning thrown in. We painted our own ceramics (Alyce-Ann made a mug), spent many hours at Little Gym, visited Granny, and Matt even took Alyce-Ann on an overnight mission trip to Brownwood, TX. She LOVED riding on the big school bus! And Esther Grace is growing up and beginning to be fun to play with! Oh, how much more grown up they'll be next summer!
