say cheese...pleeeease!!!

We got my sister in law Katie to come get some pictures of our new and improved family. It was kinda last minute and the sun was slowly fading, but I think we got some goodies! Scarlet was TROUBLE! She was not cooperating, we had to bribe her with candies, and promises of Dora to get her to smile. It was semi-successful, she squeezed out a few grins but it took A LOT of work. We even broke the rules and tried bringing out the potty words like poo poo, not even those would snap her out of it! Oh well, she is just as cute to me when she frowns:) Thanks Kate you are very nice and verrrrrry talented. Katie does weddings too...if anyone is looking for a great photographer:)

haHAhalloWEen...

Here we are on that spooky night. If you can't tell Scarlet is Sleeping Beauty, Rosie is a ballerina, Dave is the handsome prince, and I am a square dancer (I borrowed one of Dave's grandma's dresses she uses for such occasions). It was a great day/night. We had a blast watching Scarlet enjoy getting lots and lots of candy. She acted so grown up. She tried really hard not to be afraid of the scary painted faces and masks. She would grab onto me whilst saying "I'm not scared, its just pretend..." Oh the wonders of Haaalllloweeeeeennn....

Journal

I quit writing in Scarlet's journal awhile ago because I thought I would replace it with a blog. However; I realized I am not keeping very good record of Rosie's life and I have neglected a lot of Scarlet's recent milestones as well! I hesitate to make this blog purely about my kids...even though they are the most exciting thing about my life. So here is a nice journal entry type post so I can rest easier for a few months.

Scarlet loved the water this summer. She was a terrific swimmer, she paddled around 7 peaks without her swim diaper or life jacket and did great. She can dunk her head under the water with her nose plugged. She went down the slides in the tad pool all by herself! She loved going out on the boat and swimming in the lake. She thought driving the boat was great too.
We blessed Rosie Sept. 20th and on her birth certificate her name is Rosie Sue St.Julien. On the records of the church her name is Rosalie Sue St.Julien...tricky tricky. I guess we did it because when we got Rosie home I started to call her Rosalie sometimes. We liked it and decided we could still use it. Rosie's talented aunt Marci crocheted these dresses, the girls looked beautiful!Rosie is the sweetest baby with the most adorable smiling face (especially those DIMPLES). She smiles and coo's constantly for anyone who will come chat with her. At her 2 1/2 month doctors visit she was 30 % for weight and about 50% for everything else. She is a good sport when Scarlet pokes her and yells/sings in her face. She has a hard time nursing, its just too much work for her I think. She sleeps well during the day and pretty good at night, although if she had it her way she would sleep in mom and dad's arms indefinitely! She just loves being held and played with. She holds her head up and looks all over when she is on her tummy and she likes to use those strong legs to practice standing. Her favorite thing to stare at is the fan on our ceiling. It's like she has little conversations with the fan. Scarlet and I ask her if she wants to play with her friend (fan) when she is sad. She usually does. We love Ms. Rosie and are so excited to see her GROW!!this picture (above) was taken by a proud daddy mid-sneeze...we thought it was pretty snazzy.

A moment

There are some moments in my life when I can see very, very clearly the things that are real. I had a memorable moment like that the day I watched my friend Stephanie on Oprah. She was so brave and beautiful and I was amazed at how far she has come!! I was thinking about it all the rest of the day, and as I was laying in bed that night I was remembering something she said. Oprah asked her to tell about the revelation/dream she had while she was in a coma. Steph explained that she felt like she was presented with a choice, to stay on earth and have a hard life, or pass on into the next realm. Steph said she chose to stay, of course. Because of her family.

When I would think about Steph's accident, her scars, her overwhelming surgeries and challenges---I realized I wondered sometimes if it was the choice I would make!? She is in constant pain all day, easy tasks are a huge strain on her, she looks in the mirror and can't even recognize herself! I started to imagine myself in that place, being in the crossing zone and given the choice. My heart was falling apart even thinking about not being there with Scarlet and Rosie as they grow up. I was over come with terror at not being able to kiss Scarlet whenever I wanted, or squeeze Rosie's little feet. That pain, of being apart from my family, seems more severe than any kind of physical pain. That moment taught me a lot of things I can't really put into words...but I know Stephanie made the right choice. I would have made the same choice a million times over. I am grateful for motherhood. I am grateful for those moments when I am filled with gratitude for the privileged and pleasure it is to take part in my family.

doctor doctor

well we spent the morning at the doctors office trying to figure out why Scarlet can't BREATH! The doctor put her on this machine to rule out asthma. Scarlet was sooo cooperative for the first few minutes, I was stunned! Shortly after these pictures her eyes welled up and she cried. The rest of the treatment wasn't so successful. I just can't believe what a big girl Scarlet is. I took these pics because I was just gritting my teeth watching Scarlet let the nurse and doctor put their devices all over her. She let them and when they were done she'd say "i did a good job." I still just want to chew chew this girl to pieces, she's just so funny and cute! So the doc thinks she has croup-yuck! She is devastated that she is still sick because she can't touch Rosie. On our way to the doc she was explaining that we were going to the doctor and he would fix her so she could touch Rosie again. Poor little sweetheart if only it were that easy.

Guess who

Dave and I were looking at pics last night and were astounded at how identical Scarlet and Rosie look in a lot of their pictures. Here is a quiz...who is who???

Number 1: Number 2:
Number 3:
Number 4:
Number 5:
Number 6:
Number 7:
Number 8:

Number 9:Number 10:
Good luck...

Sharing

Somebody is a lucky little sister...