TEXAS

So Emilie, Kimmerle and I have been in Texas with my parents since May 22nd. We are here about another week and a half. Justin has been studying like crazy for the step one boards- he takes on July 1st! Ahhhhhh. So exciting- we both just feel like it's another step (a big step) towards normalizing life for our family! So it's nerve wracking, but very exciting as well. It has been rough being away from Justin so long- Skype has helped a little though. But we both know things would have been harder for all of us if we had stayed the month before his test. So the girls have just been spoiled like crazy by Grandma Hart. Emilie spends almost everyday outside with Grandma helping with the gardens, swimming in her little pool, walking puppy Molly, and she could pretend all day being Cinderella with Grandma as the "stepmother" and her "fairy godmother". Emilie's imagination is so amazing- it is just going nonstop! Just a few days after we got here, Emilie was playing with her princesses and the dollhouse- when she turned to Grandma and said, "Grandma I wish I was small like these dolls so I could play in this house too." Good grief! So perceptive!!!! Some days she plays so hard that she doesn't make a single complaint when it's time to go to bed. Oh, oh, oh, and her hair curls at the ends from the humid air here in Texas! It is so adorable. I have tried to curl her hair in Utah, and it lasts about 20 minutes before its absurdly straight again!

Okay, so Kimmerle has grown like crazy in the past three weeks. A couple of days after we got here, I introduced her to solids. She is now eating rice cereal and apple sauce like a champ. And just last week I gave her apple juice in a sippy cup, which she mastered the use of in a matter of seconds! She just guzzled. I was a little suprised too, that she took the cold juice without a thought. She is also starting to sit up on her own for a few seconds with just her own little hands keeping her up! Oh, and when we first got here she was rolling both ways, but just back and forth, and with quite a bit of effort. Now, we can't even keep her on a blanket anymore. I'll set her down in one spot and she'll be across the room the next time I look up. Unbelievable! She has even been showing the beginning signs of crawling. She gets frustrated, but has started pushing herself forward with her little toes as she reaches as far as she can to try to get a toy. Oh, and she is now sleeping through the night! Wonderful!!! Kimmerle is also giggling a ton more! Her Aunt Claire is the best at getting her to laugh! Oh, Emilie is great too- it is just so fun to see how much Kimmerle just adores her big sister, and how much it tickles Emilie to get Kimmerle going! Well, I could just go on forever- so I'll get some pictures up and post this thing.