We had some friends over to help us enjoy the cold-cold-cold water.
And after Bella decided it couldn't hurt her, 
she went from carefully sticking one finger in the stream . . .
. . .to completely immersing herself. 
Which concerned Olivia.
So Mimi had to intervene.
Somehow these last few days of summer are so much more precious than the first few.
It's preschool time! Actually, this is a staged picture. It represents the first day of preschool, but it was actually the third. Forgive me!
The preschool does not want kids to have backpacks for some reason, only tote bags. Luckily for us, my brother Rob (actually, Rob's then-fiance Kasey) found the perfect one for Naomi in New Orleans.
Don't anyone tell her it's a grandma bag, okay?
She looked lovely and elegant, even 8-1/2 months pregnant. And that's pretty tricky--I haven't ever accomplished it. (Sorry about the blurriness. I was worried about my camera batteries giving out before I had taken the pictures I needed.)
We embroidered onesies. I was VERY impressed with the ladies' creations. Everyone acted like they'd never done it before and then they whipped out some expert-level sewing skills.
I used the Martha Stewart tissue paper pompoms to decorate the dining room. (Aren't they cute? And so easy and cheap. Perfect!)
These are two of my favorite efforts. I loved the way the carrots and celery looked, sitting in their votive cups with cucumber-dill dip at the bottom. And can you see my cake plates? Well, you can't really, because I'm a crappy photographer (again with the rushing battery), but I made those! From thrift store candlesticks and glass plates, and E6000 glue (smelly, but awesome!) Just glue the plate on top of the candlestick, and you have an instant cakeplate. For less than the cost of a cake mix.
And while the ladies were sewing, chatting, and eating (three of my favorite things), John took our little ladies and met a friend with his little ladies, and they all hit the park. Where Naomi demonstrated the parasol-use of her new pink umbrella.
And John relaxed in the shade.
And Olivia climbed and swang and slid until she could hardly see straight.
Whereupon they hit happy hour at Sonic. (Is there a better invention than half-price slushies? Definitely not.
It was a wonderful day for everyone.
But then you try it yourself, and get this.
It is much more difficult than I would have thought to separate the two halves of Oreos and keep the cream intact on one side. And, blow of blows to my ego, my six-year old was much more skilled than I was. Plus, my Wal-Mart does not carry mini M&Ms for the pupils. And where are you supposed to find chocolate-covered sunflower seeds (for the beaks) anway?
They were eaten quickly at the Labor Day Party, so they must have tasted good, even if they weren't nearly as cute as the ones in "Hello, Cupcake!"
(I took a few more pictures at the scene, but they were not appropriate for the world-wide web. Suffice it to say, for all the wipes that had been used, the amount of poop on the bum was not diminished as far as I could tell.)
You can see in this next picture that Olivia was distraught with her failure and the spreading mass of poop. Bella was very sweetly trying to comfort her. She kept reaching out to Olivia to try to give her "pat-pat" on the face. Needless to say, Olivia did not want to be touched by the poop baby. 
John and Olivia discussed the rules of diaper changing while I gave Bella a bath.
As often as you can. 
In seats that are just the perfect size. 
4. Go fishing with your grandpa (if you are lucky enough to have a Monticello grandpa) and catch a great big beautiful fish. Have grandma help you cook that sucker up and eat it for dinner. 
5. Take a four-generation picture, if you can. 
6. Pick piles of fresh peas from the garden. 
7. Play hard in the city parks. 
8. If you haven't already learned, maybe you could go from crawling. . . 
. . . to walking. (It's the perfect place to give it a try.
So quickly, in fact, that we ended up going back outside to wait in line with the kids who had just arrived on the bus. 
Olivia's two best friends from kindergarten were waiting in line, and I wanted to get a picture of them together. I wish the photo showed how freakishly tall Olivia looked. She was the same height as Emily (on the left) at the end of kindergarten, and she seriously grew three inches this summer. 
My favorite part of the first day of school. Olivia loves it when we run to her as she's getting off the bus. . .
. . . so Mimi decided to get in on the action on the second day.
I love these sisters.
