Sarah Wren is 6 months old! We had fun taking these picture to celebrate the moment...from mid-December. She is rolling everywhere, getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth, takes a step and falls on her face. She gets where she wants to go by rolling or rocking and reaching for everything! She also has her two bottom teeth and the top two seem to be coming in now. Chattering up a storm and laughing a lot with her sister. Don't get me wrong, we are often still a house of tears, but many fun times too!

Can't believe that Christmas is here...we had a nice time today going to Anne Brown's for a holiday get together. Had a great meal and saw Aunt Nancy, Uncle Dale, Dana, Dale Barb and kids, Jamie G. and Anne's girls...very fun day. If all family gatherings went this well, we would have them more often! Nice day and came home with tired kids which is always a good thing.

I want milk Sandy! This is what we heard this morning from Savannah's room. She had been awake for awhile, talking and singing to the stuffed animals in her crib. She started in with "I want milk, Papa" and "I want milk, Mama" and when those attempts failed "I want milk Sandy". I don't know why it is so funny to hear her use my first name, she doesn't do it often, and usually when she is being ignored, but it never fails to make me laugh. Hey, what are you doing Sandy? She says that out of the blue sometimes....
We had an exciting day yesterday. We are Hyundai owners, or soon to be ... we have been looking to replace one of our vehicles (both have about 125k miles on them and are at least 10 years old). So the surprise was not that we bought one car, but that we bought two! We have two 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe LX vehicles, one is bright red and one is "Moonlit Blue" which is a beautiful navy blue (this will be my car).

Auld lang sayne a little early this year. It was an interesting weekend. I played hooky from the family and went to two Christmas parties while Pat stayed home with the girls. Both parties were in interesting homes owned by architects,just a coincidence. One was in DC near Georgetown and the other in Fells Point area of Baltimore. Saw several old friends, folks that I haven't seen in over a year. Interesting and fun to visit with everyone. Some were doing well, much better than last year. Others are just starting on hard times and some were doing about the same as always. Made me appreciate our life, overwhelming and busy, but overall we are pretty darn fortunate. Also got some leads on babysitters so maybe Pat and I can go out together one of these days!

busy time of year....tis the season. Much craziness around the house with kids, dogs, cats, construction, jobs. No way to keep up with everything. I am trying to enjoy these days because the babies are growing so fast, but it does get hectic around here. Sarah Wren is rolling around and starting to push up, she will be crawling by Christmas I think. Savannah surprises me everyday with new words and ideas. She has been 'helpful' and interested in taking turns lately (OK, my turn) which is a very cute stage. the sisters are starting to interact and Sarah Wren just cracks up sometimes when she is watching Savannah. It is a cool thing to observe, they are just babies but they already seem to have a special bond with each other. Pat and I can't get her to laugh like that, but Savannah doesn't even have to try. They entertain us every day and night.

Thanksgiving in Colorado.

Cavalry has arrived....Things have been much better and we have all gotten more rest since Mimi got her last Wednesday. Just having another adult in the house is a joy! Much easier to sleep and to relax. We are having some fun too, shopping and going out with and without the girls. Savannah got her first haircut at Cartoon Cuts. She was terribly dramatic, but they handled her well and we went to Uno's after for cheese pizza. Sunday night, the neighbors Cathy and Elsa came over for dinner and visiting. Sarah Wren turned five months old on 11/13 and is starting to eat rice cereal with is very cute and disgusting at the same time. Usually goes from the table directly to the tub.

it's raining leaves today.... We went to Music class this morning at the Vienna Community Center, we stayed outside for awhile after class, it was so pretty outside. Home for lunch then Savannah and Elsa played together in the leaves and went to the park. Sarah Wren is feeling much better, back to her cheerful, happy self.

Pat left for his 30 day detail/job swap. So I am Home Alone with two girls, two dogs, two cats and feeling a little sorry for myself! The HOT lived up to it's name today, Sarah Wren would not stop crying/wailing. She may be teething, or having some intestinal distress, I will spare you the details. Savannah was very sweet and only needed 3 reboots today. We walked to the school and voted this morning, our big adventure for the day. Later it was rainy and cool, so we stayed inside.

Call Me Bones...I think we found the best nickname for our healthy and happy Sarah Wren. Pat and Savannah went shopping today and came home with this baby outfit. The shopping trip had good results, a coat and pj's for Savannah, but the experience was painful. Evidently she had tantrums in the store, in the parking lot and in the car. I'm glad that I was home with the baby.
The day started off well, it was a gorgeous fall day and we raked leaves into a pile at the end of the slide and let Savannah slide down into them...fun for all!

Handsome hounds, Sport and Murphy.
I think that someone has been learning by listening to our interaction with the dogs. Last Saturday, Pat was upstairs when Savannah (downstairs in the den) said Come downstairs Papa, come downstairs. Pat was halfway down the stairs when he heard Savannah say to him: "Good boy!"

Cheers to Grandparents.
Last weekend Gigi was in town. We had a nice visit, including a night out for me and Pat. We also got a lot of stuff done around the house. Gigi enjoyed 'visiting' with the girls, and we loved having her around to babysit. We bought fescue sod and laid it in the backyard, covering the bare patch left by construction. We went out for a lovely dinner at Artie's. Pat had the ribeye and I swear he sobbed when he took the first bite, it was that good.

First Laugh.
Sarah Wren gave her first good belly laugh a few weeks ago. Patrick had been out of town all week (NCTC). He got home Friday evening and was messing around, kissing her face and she burst out with a real laugh. He has gotten a few more laughs out of her, I have not been able to get much more than a chuckle...

Photographers came this morning to take photos of the completed kitchen! Well, it is almost complete anyway....we still have a power supply line running through the room. Boo, Dominion Power!

Columbus Day 2006
Today is a federal government holiday AND daycare is closed, so Patrick is home with the girls. I went to work and worried about how things would go. They did great! Everyone was cheerful and happy when I got home from work. I didn't have to come to the rescue at all....he made it look easy. Good weather today so they were able to get outside, Savannah even got a bath.