FYI

Just thought I would turn your attention to the bottom of the screen...as in scroll all the way down, and look just above the music selection.

;D

The Larson Family is growing! We will add a new little one some time in June!

A Blast from the Past...Well, Last Year, Anyway

I found these pics in the camera my sister got me 5 years ago.

I can't believe how young the girls look!

This is common, although I no longer have to hold up Shalom's face.

Such a tiny baby!

Was my walking Shalom-Girl ever really that tiny!?!?!?

By the way, the date on the pictures? September 17th, 2007

My Daughter, the toy-ibal

You thought she was sweet,

You thought she was shy,

But she had you fooled!

My Shalom~Girl chews on her toys!

So, now that I have thoroughly scared you away from my little girl...

Shalom is now walking. She sometimes will "crawl" on her hands and feet if she wants to go really fast, but currently, her favorite mode of travel is walking. She loves to show off her moves! Shalom is still pretty wooden in her walking, but she is walking nonetheless!

Ruth is amazing. A woman asked me to day if she was 3 or 3 1/2! She couldn't believe all that Ruth can do (amazingly enough, she was just sitting at the lunch table using a fork!), she thought she was SO advanced for her age.

I made Chocolate Banana Bread today. Ruth asked if she could sit on the counter, so I let her - she wanted to be in on the action. The as I was mashing up a banana, Ruth said, "You wanna mash 'nanas?" Um...I already am! She repeated herself several times, then I had an idea, and I said, "Ruth, do you want to help me mash the bananas?" She nodded her head with much enthusiasm. I held her hand on the fork, and we mashed together. We both had fun being silly and mashing 'nanas!

So, apparently, people outside my house can hear anything going on inside! I happen to sing really silly songs to my girls after their naps - off-key, really loud (can you say major trauma!) to get them in a silly mood while we clean up and prepare for Papa to come home. Songs like "Magalina Hagalina-Oopa-Topa Whapa-topa-Oka-moka-poka was her name," and "Polly-wolly-doodle-all-the-day." Or I will read the "Ah-Choo" book. It is a book about a farmer and his wife who get the flu, and because they sneeze on everyone, their dog, cat, cow, pig, sheep, owl, rooster, chick, and mouse all get the flu too. Then the doctor comes, and everyone is in bed with the fever, and the very last page is of the docotr sneezing at the reader. Almost all of the words are "Ah! Ah! Ah CHOO!" When I read it to the girls, I sneeze REALLY LOUD, making a whole big deal out of it. Tuesday evening, I had read it before we went to pick up Papa, and one of the shop guys was outside my house. He asked me if everything was ok...

Then there was the time Ruth and I had a competition to see who could get to the bathroom first. We were both running down the hall screaming, "It's my turn! No, MY TURN!" Yep...the very same guy heard that little exchange too! Oops!

By the way, I got to the bathroom first.

Post-Haircut, Pre-Bathtime!

I love my girls...in case you can't tell by the amount of picture I put up of them! Every so often, I get this urge to cut hair. Unfortunately for them, my girls are always available! I don't "experiment" on their hair, I just try to cut it evenly (easier said than done!). For instance, I am learning why beauticians - when cutting a woman's hair - cut it one layer at a time starting from the bottom! Because it won't end up in a straight line when dry - no matter HOW straight you cut it!

That Was Then, This is Now

My...

How time...

Flies!

Seriously, it was just a year ago when Ruth was barely fitting into this dress. Shalom could barely get her fingers in her mouth, or stay awake for several hours at a time. Now look at them!

My Daughter...the model?

Ruth got to be a model of sorts at the beginning of September. The wedding was in a hay barn, and it was rainy, so the photographer wanted to practice with different lenses.

By the way, Ruth started wanting to wash dishes by herself. She had helped Don (the cook here at CMTS) clean up after lunch a couple times last week and did the dishes for him a couple times. Anyway, Thursday or Friday of last week, she asked me if she could do dishes. I let her wash the plastic plates and cups we have. She lost interest halfway thru the job, but the dishes she did do were clean! Well, just 10 minutes ago, I went into the kitchen because she didn't come when I called. The sink was overflowing...Ruth wanted to do the dishes!