Happy 2nd Birthday, Genevieve!

Genevieve is 2! She has been patiently waiting for her birthday for weeks now...well, someone's birthday, at least. This girl looooves birthdays...Loves singing about them, loves blowing out pretend-candles, loves birthday cakes. And I, as any doting mother would, wanted to make her birthday special while still keeping things simple, as she is just 2!

Enjoying her birthday breakfast of:

Baked Oatmeal Brulee. This was an AMAZING birthday-cake subsitute, since we were celebrating in the morning before Philip left for work. It had sliced bananas (Genevieve's favorite), with a sprinkling of brown sugar put under the broiler (hence, the Brulee), and a Peanut-Butter "Icing" on top, made of plain yogurt, maple sugar and peanut butter. Boy, was it gooood. And quite a hit with the girlies.

Showing off her new jewelry to dad. Yes, I broke down and bought her silly bands and kid's necklaces and bracelets so she would stop putting tiny hair-bands around her wrists and cutting off the circulation! All that to say, when she opened this gift she gleefully shouted "Rubber Bands!".

Enjoying her new wooden birthday-cake set, complete with candles and toppings. The girls have already had countless birthday-parties all over the house since this little gift came along. :-)

The birthday girl in her birthday-hat, with her sweet cousin Isabelle who came over later in the day to wish her a happy birthday and bring a present. Thanks, Isabelle!

And to conclude: some sweet and true words about little Eve that her father wrote in a letter to her to commemorate her 2nd birthday:

"Yesterday was your birthday. You turned two - a girl with a proper head of yellow hair, now, and opinions of your own, even if, to me, you still feel like a little bag of apples when I pick you up. I remember when you were born. You were a month early, and I think I got used to thinking of you in those first days as so fragile and delicate that I’ve never quite been able to shake that image, even as you tear around the house, now, climbing any and everything, and fearlessly thwarting whatever plans your sister has for you at a

particular moment."

Yes, you are our dear, opinionated, social, extroverted, joyful little girl. You find friends everywhere you go and are always eager to charm strangers, family, and friends alike. Rather than play with toys, you are much more interested in chatting with me, telling me everything that comes into your little mind (of which there is much!). You know how to make people laugh, and even at 2, you know you can, and relish it. We are so grateful that God gave you to our family, and your sweet and cheerful disposition is a daily blessing to all of us.

All my love,

Mommy

3 months old!

August is now officially out of the sleepy-all-the-time newborn stage, and has assumed his role as dear brother and resident-baby of the family. He continues to be an incredibly laid-back, content and cuddly little boy. We are so thankful for this! Serene, is another word, that fits him quite well. Dream-baby is another that comes to mind. :-) God apparently knew my limitations, and thus mercifully gave me an EASY third child.

At three months old, August enjoys the following:


*rolling over
















































































*smiling and cooing






















*playing on his "activity" mat



















*gazing at his sisters





























*sleeping---you have no idea how much he enjoys this one in particular! He pretty much keeps himself on a three hour routine: he wakes up to eat, stays awake for about an hour, and then conks out for the next two hours, only to start the routine over again, and again. Like I said, he is an easy-peasy baby. Hallelujah!



















We thank God for you, August. You bring sweetness, simplicity, cuddles, and great joy to our lives everyday!

"What have the girls been up to?", you may ask....

for these past two months since baby August came on the scene, and their lives are now forever changed by a sweet baby brother??

Well then, here's a few snapshots to give it to you in a nutshell (since I do have two months to catch you up on).

playing in the rain....


holding baby August...alot

tromping around (alot) in new, authentically-French rain boots

(thank you to jess and joel!)

playing dress-up while watching (probably too much!) tv....yikes.

and, going to church! This is often the big outing of the week, since its still pretty crazy taking all three kiddos out together.

I think we've finally finding our groove these past two weeks, and we're learning how to live life well with three. (The answer is: Doing anything takes a shockingly-long amount of time!) I am definitely reminding myself, "My hands are full - full of blessings." . . . And they are. :-)

Thomas August Sasser

born September 21st, 2010

7 lbs. 7 oz. 19 1/2 inches

Melts my heart!

Bed-time stories

Philip enjoys telling Marielle bedtime stories. Marielle enjoys hearing these stories, especially because the heroine of the story is always...Marielle!...not to mention Genevieve as her trusty side-kick, of course. I usually hear about these stories the next day while Marielle is playing in her room and re-enacting the events of said-stories, and even while we're driving in the car. I usually hear things like, "But, Mom, I want to go into the forest with Robin Hood and climb the trees with him." Or, "Look, Mom, there's a clock-tower, just like the one I fixed for Mr. Eugene!"

Here's our enraptured student, and her sage:

Casino Night at the Sasser's

Tricycle outings

In effort to wear Marielle out before bedtime, I've been taking the girls out for a late-afternoon jaunt around the neighborhood pond--Marielle on her tricycle, and Genevieve in stroller. These trips begin so idyllicly, the sun shining down on the girls, my admiring eyes gazing down the sidewalk as Marielle speeds ahead, so full of her delighted determination. These trips, (as they so often do with a young child), sometimes also end in tears -- Marielle's that is -- mostly since we are teaching her that she can't give up and leave her trike two blocks away from the house and walk the rest of the way home. And this mom pretty much refuses to try and push a toddler in stroller and tricycle at the same time. And yes, I've tried shortening the trips, but it can pretty much happen no matter when we turn around. :-)

Nonetheless, we all look forward to these outings, and I am seeing this little girl grow in maturity and cheerfulness during them.

"Look, Mom, I'm using my muscles to push the pedals, and not screaming!", she informs

me proudly. :-)

I knew she was smart when . . .

at 15 months old, she learned how to do this:

I'll set the scene for you: Genevieve is politely eating her lunch, (Pb and J and mango), while Marielle is playing outside, not quite ready to eat her own. A tablecloth is down, both girls' seats have plates of food in front of them....This is how I left it at least. When I return, Genevieve has consumed her entire lunch, and deftly pulled the tablecloth toward her until Marielle's full plate of lunch was now within reach. She begins eating....

And somehow, I dont remember exactly how, we end our scene with this: crying baby eating her sister's lunch..I know, it doesnt make much sense.

Growing up...its complicated

The past week Marielle has begun talking incessantly about when she grows up....

"When I grow up to be a mommy, I can sit in the front seat, JUST LIKE YOU, MOMMY!"

"When I grow up to be a woman, I can walk down the aisle in a wedding dress!"

"When I grow up to be a baby, I can sleep in a crib whenever I want."

(You might infer here what is the constant conflict in this girl's heart--do I want to be an independent big-girl, or a baby who gets cuddled by mommy all the time. We are straddling that line on any given day.)

"When I grow up to be a woman, I can get married. The sun will be beautiful and I will walk down the aisle, and it won't be scary!"

"When I grow up to be a woman, I can wear lacing beads like a necklace whenever I want!"

"A brown tree grows up to be a purple tree! And then I'll climb up the tree to the top with my markers, color the tree, and fly away in a helpicopter!" . . . This is no joke here, friends. Either this girl has an imagination, or her father is telling her some crazy bed-time stories (both very likely).

But the real highlight of the week was when our neighbor told Marielle in her very neighborly southern-drawl,"My, what a big girl you're becoming!"; to which Marielle promptly answered in a solemn whisper, "I'm growing up to be a woman." It was all I could do to not blush, and promise said-neighbor that this was not something that we were emphasizing at home. :-)

This chronicles one of our most peaceful mornings (i.e. this is rare)....Sister bonding over oatmeal. Sigh...It was very sweet. Marielle has taken an interest in feeding Genevieve her breakfast, since Genevieve still basically refuses to take this on for herself. :-) Marielle is surprisingly adept at getting the spoon gently into Genevieve's mouth. This is a great blessing to her mother, since I can be cleaning up the kitchen or get dressed while Genevieve is still happily being fed.

I know the soft morning light filtering in is giving this quite an angelic-looking aroma, so just in the spirit of keeping things real, below is a picture that was taken just hours later during lunch!

Youre probably wondering what happened to my happy little baby!? Well, you'll just have to read that in the next post. :-)

Nature-girl

Her father is teaching her well! MK loves climbing our magnolia tree, laying in the monkey grass, and laying on her belly watching ants and whatever insect she can find. . . .

Funny Sayings

Marielle's famous house-hold sayings: 3 years, 2 months


While contemplating the wind from the view of her car-seat: "The wind is blowing like a carousel."

"Mommy, I love you so much, I cant even tell you how much I love you!" (She took this from a children's song we listen to sometimes, but she probably tells me this at least 7-10 times a day.)


"Pushing green beans is NOT allowed!" (We assume in response to our oft-repeated reminder that pushing her sister is not allowed....

"Mommy, will you help me be a peacemaker?"....Also, in response to the often-reminded truth that she must be kind and gentle with her sister. :-) Ahhh, there is much at work in this little girl's heart!

Genevieve's favorite sayings (17 months)

"Buck, COME!"--our dearly beloved dog must hear this 20 times a day from all of us around here.

"Bi-Backkkk"--Translated "I'll be right back." She tells me this pretty much every time she leaves the room. :-)

"Chsssse"--everytime she sees me with a camera.

Genevieve's favorite new word is of course the name of the girl whom she looks up to and adores with reckless abandon--Marielle.

Farm Days at NC State

Our First Field Trip! We went with some other preschoolers to explore the farms at NC State University, and meet lots and lots of sweet farm animals. . . .

Not pictured here (though indelibly written in my memory) is Marielle holding a baby chick and proceeding to squeezing it to near-death...needless to say, she had no idea that she was NOT being gentle. :-) What can I say--Marielle is a fierce lover of animals!

Marielle's new favorite past-time . . . .

DANCING!

These days we dance in the morning, afternoon and evening. Marielle is one energetic girl, and dancing both lifts all our spirits while simultaneously getting some of that crazy energy out. I highly recommend it. :-) We dance to anything from Belle and Sebastian and James Brown to Kids' music (Music Together and Lori Birkner).

Marielle's arabesque

Jumping...

And the grand finale......

A pirouette!

Some pictures to catch up....

I havent posted in awhile, and you might be wondering what we've been up to. The answer is...not much! Just living life with two little girls. Here are some snapshots of everyday life.

can you tell who loooves taking a bath?

The girls' first dress-up party together

Genevieve all decked out with her lovely faux-fur orange hat and purse...yikes!


Pretty dress-up hats.

Daddy reading to his girls before bed