Papa's Visit

Papa's visit came and went far too quickly for any of us. We're all very glad that the weather in Montana was so wretched that he made the trip down! While he was here, Izzy learned to say Papa, although we didn't get the proof on video, so we're pretty sure that none of the other grandparents are going to believe it. As a side note, both girls still refuse to say Momma.

While Papa was here, we treated him to a Gulf tradition... a crawfish boil! Deee-lish. Unfortunately (for them), neither Papa nor Dan will eat crawfish. More for me, I guess! The girls, the crawfish, and my camera failed to be in the same vicinity at any time during the party, but you can imagine their delight at the cooler filled with creepy, crawly crawfish. Very fun.

We spent Papa's last day playing outside so that he could soak in the warmth before heading back to the snowstorm in Roberts. The girls had fun with him, Abby absconding with his cell phone. Putting phones, toys and real cell phones, and any other (sometimes barely) similar objects up to their ears and saying a version of "hello," is one of the girls' favorite games of late.

A rare serious moment for both Papa and Izzy... followed by more typical frivolity...

And Dad couldn't let Papa have all the fun...

The girls' walking is getting more and more steady, and they're signing "more," "please," "fruit," and "milk" with regularity, and at times, ferocity. When we say "bath," they both get up and almost run to the bathroom. Dog and Orca are now nearly constant companions, and we almost forgot them at church on Sunday, which would have been a major disaster. I'm still working toward getting us into a schedule with "learning time," and trying to figure out how long and when naps should be for maximum enjoyment for all. However, the next major hurdle that we have is... what do we do with this hair????

I fear that the girls look like ragamuffins, and that I'm not noticing most of the time, because this is just what they look like to me! However, I am starting to realize that their hairstyles need some updating. Alas, they will NOT keep things in their own hair, and if by some miracle, I can get one of them to forget about her adornment, Sister makes a beeline for it as soon as possible. HELP! I just can't cut it yet, but I don't want the girls to razz me for not brushing their hair (I DO!) when they were little! How did those of you with little girls make them presentable in this interim stage?