The Lord's Prayer

Ella is loving her first year of preschool. Every morning, her class recites The Pledge of Allegiance and The Lord's Prayer. She is pretty excited about how much she remembers already.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg9uvypnh6A

Life Lately

With little energy left after the girls are in bed each night, Oliver has been the perfect tv buddy. He is never far from my belly.

These girls have been loving their Lego playsets.

Good morning from Ella!

We are getting the hang of school mornings now that everyone knows what to expect and we have created more of a getting ready routine. The other day Abby came out of her room all dressed and ready to go. She didn't ask for any help and told me she had put the outfit together in her head a few nights before. She was just waiting for the weather to be "fall" enough to pull it off.

Oliver is all set for Halloween with the perfect costume!

We started dance last week. The girls are excited to be back in the swing of things and to see their teachers and friends again. Ella is in the 3/4 year old Ballet and Tap class. Abby moved up to the 5/6 year old Ballet and Tap class.

Waiting for our baby girl to come. This momma is feeling pretty wiped out!

Bump photo I sent to my mom and brother on my way to my 38 week appointment. The countdown is on.

I was thankful for a morning to spend at Starbucks last week when both big girls were in school. The first hour it was a date with Jesus, then I even got an hour to catch up with a good friend. There is nothing like authentic times of quiet and reflection with the Lord followed by authentic conversations and prayer with a friend. I left feeling refreshed and ready to battle in  prayer for my life, my marriage and my family. I'm more confident and hopeful than ever that we love and serve a God who changes our legacies.

Ella takes the role of babysitter/teacher very seriously while her sister is at school.

Abby had her first piano lesson last week! Her Daddy is the teacher. This girl is so excited for this special time with Daddy and to learn. For days after her lesson, she ran around the house shouting, "I learned Middle C! I learned Middle C! Daddy, I want to do my piano homework!"

Ella even gets special piano time with Daddy afterward. She wasn't about to be told she was too young. :) 

Hold me, Dad!

After 15 minutes of suspicious silence...

How do you like our makeup, Mommy?

First Day of School

School started this week! Abby started half day Kindergarten and Ella started three year old preschool two days a week. The girls have been excitedly anticipating the first day of school for weeks. The excitement was so real in our house that Abby woke me three times the night before to ask me how many more hours until school. She couldn't fall back to sleep for two hours and wanted to chat at 2 am about what kinds of things I thought she would do on her first day of school.  

As Ella prepared for her first day of school, she asked Abby often about what school was going to be like. Even if it was just Abby repeating the daily routine to her one more time, Ella sat and listened with her full attention. Some of my favorite moments were hearing Ella ask Abby for reassurance, "Abby, I might not remember everything. What if I don't remember what to do? Will my teacher tell me? What if I forget?" 

Despite all of the unknowns, Ella never seemed nervous. She was more ready and confident than ever! Ella wasn't sad that we were leaving her at school, she wanted to know why she had to leave school so soon and asked to stay longer. (Her first day was a 20 minute visit with parents and the second day was an hour and a half dropoff.)

Abby was excited to find her friend Raina at drop off the first morning. Not only are they in the same class this year, but they are even at the same table! I have a feeling these sweet little dance buddies are quickly becoming good friends.

The girls and I toured Abby's classroom the day before school started when we dropped off her school supplies, so Abby was proud to show her daddy around the new classroom for his first time.

Her first cubby!

+Ella found her name on the door of her classroom!

putting away her supplies

finding her hook with Mrs. Michaud

making a craft with her teachers

Though back to school week was full of lots of excitement and fun in our house, it still meant a new early morning schedule that we all needed to start adjusting to. We were TIRED by the end of the week.  Our girls aren't even going to a full day of school yet and by Friday night we were understanding the true relief of the phrase we loved as kids, but were claiming for the first time as parents, T.G.I.F. (Thank God it's Friday). On Friday afternoon, the girls sat at the dining room table and played Legos while I enjoyed a blissful moment of fall cliche: reading one of my favorite months of Food Network magazine, while enjoying my first (homemade) Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season.

Here's to a new school year and all the ways our girls will grow and learn!

Snapshots

Lately, I've been finding photos of Abby's "kids" on my phone. She insists on taking their picture when she dresses them in cute outfits every morning. :)

Glitter & Amelia

We savored every last minute of pool time with our friends and made so many memories this summer.

One final jump to say goodbye to summer...

Ella waited until everyone else was done! :)

Who needs a teddy bear when you have Oliver?

I'm so thankful that two of my favorite guys (Joe and Cory) spent their Labor Day laboring outside to get our deck stained before the end of summer (and before baby arrives). With only four weeks to go until we meet our little girl, my body is tired and I feel myself slowing down. The guys even watched the girls in the yard, so I could take a much needed afternoon nap. At least I kept them well fed throughout the day.

And just like that, Labor Day weekend and the first days of school helped us transition from...

to...

I love the way the colors, smells and decorations of fall make our home feel extra cozy and warm. It's one of my favorite times of the year for sure. Can't you just smell the first day of school in the air?

As sad as it was for our sweet summer to come to an end, I think I can officially say we are ready for fall! The chalkboards are done and the girls and I spent the week decorating. We even made a trip to buy some mums and our first fall candle!

We got to see our baby girl this week in our final ultrasound before we meet her face to face. Joe and I took the girls with us, so they could see their sister on the screen. Abby couldn't stop saying how cute our baby is. Look at her sweet face! I can't wait to kiss that nose and those cheeks. 

My dear friend, Heather, organized the most thoughtful afternoon with friends to celebrate the arrival of Cassel Girl #3. First, they took me to lunch and showered me with the cutest little girl gifts. Then, we all got pedicures. I couldn't have come home feeling more loved and refreshed.  God has given me some of the sweetest friends in the world and I couldn't be more thankful. Touching those newborn diapers and baby clothes had me smiling the rest of the day. She is going to be here so soon!

While I was out with friends, the girls had their friend Maddy over and spent the day playing while Daddy supplied the picnic lunch and popcorn for their movie! :)