Happy Birthday!

We celebrated J’s birthday today! We enjoyed a quiet day together as a family. After our church service in the morning, we went to visit a stalactite cave located near Jerusalem. (You can see pictures from this old post). The weather turned wintry again (rain, and lots of it in the coming few days) made outdoor activities less appealing. But somehow we lucked out and missed the huge downpour that happened as we were exploring the cave itself! The sun came out for our walk back to the car!

 

These girls sure do love their papa!

And of course we had birthday cake too! E was just a little disappointed that J’s cake did not also come with frosting and colorful sprinkles!

My Kitchen Help

This keeps them both happy and entertained during
most dinner prep hours. I like my “staff”!

Continuation

But, of course, one’s doll needs to be potty trained too!

And so it begins…again!

Sarah has shown a lot of curiosity about our toileting habits. Yesterday I decided to give it a try. It was a successful day! Three pees and two poops! Woo-hoo! And today was equally as successful. She is one very proud little girl!

Is it beginner’s luck or is she just a quick learner?!

As with Elizabeth, we will not immediately remove the diaper. We found that just making the toilet available for Elizabeth at certain times of the day was enough to teach her what she needed to know and making it easier (i.e. few accidents) once we did go diaper-free. I am hoping for a similar experience with Sarah.

Hat Day!

Composing

Elizabeth and Sarah both love to sing, and Elizabeth often makes up “new songs”. On a recent day Elizabeth and I were alone in the car going to a doctor’s appointment. This was the new song of the day: “My Mama loves me so much. My Mama loves me. My Mama loves me so much. So much.”

I don’t remember the tune, but the words are forever etched in my heart!

Happy Girl

Sarah sure does love to laugh! She is talking more and more. It’s lots of fun to have her start to really be able to communicate with us with words. She is regularly saying 3 word sentences and already has a very extensive vocabulary. Several people have commented how much she is talking for her age. Maybe it is just because she is a girl. Or maybe it just is that she has a lot to say and wants to develop an ability to communicate those thoughts with us as soon as possible!