Can you believe it!? They are 3 years old!! We had so much fun going to Duke Gardens on a beautiful day and then to visit a friend's horses. The girls actually got to hold their reins and sit on them! They had a blast.
CATHERINE LOUISE
Oh! I just can't get enough of that little face! She is me in so many ways that it is frightening and frustrating and endearing all at the same time. How do you yell at a child who does something that you know is completely within your own personality and you did to your own parents at the same age? She doesn't hold back. She will find where that line is and step over it just a little while looking you straight in the face. She is blunt and honest and 'forthright' as a professor once called me.
The train set is her absolute favorite toy now!
Yep, we have hip boots around here. Though usually we need them for Sam. It sounds like this: "Sam, what are you doing?" Sam: "Nothing!" Yeah right.
Birthday crown!
She was so scared of the horses after one of them sneezed. It took us a while for her to go back to them and pet them, but eventually she got up on Candy and even waved!
Such a gorgeous spirit!
SAMANTHA JEAN
She has my eyes, and my big feet, and not much else, and if I could steal that beautiful hair I would, but she makes us smile with her creativity every day.
Samantha is sometimes such the opposite personality from Catherine. She pushes over the line, but she does it while smiling at you and playing the sweet southern girl while plotting inside her head how to do or get what she wants. She loves to sing and we are amazed at the number of songs she knows and how quickly she picks them up. She wasn't afraid of the horses at all, went right up to them and couldn't wait to get on. Not quite as coordinated as Catherine, as evidenced by the bruises she constantly bears between ankles and knees, she's still fearless and we love her for it. My favorite thing about Samantha is the phrases she picks up and how she uses them with just the right intonation and timing.
Love that pose! Where's the magazine photographer when you need one?
Happy Birthday Catherine and Samantha! May you have many, many more full of health, smiles, and love.
