A little more September Fun

So many of my pictures now are on my iPhone - here are some highlights of our September!

Piper loves to go in and TRY to wake up Jillian.  Jillian takes after Daddy and me and will just pull the covers up and try to go back to bed.  

Jillian and I started our first of many school lunches with our first grader!

Then started our "Mama and Beans" Days.  After lunch with Sissy, we hit up the mall for some carousel time!  And all time favorite for the Hanks girls.

We hit up local forestations on Saturday morning to take water and gatorade to the firefighters with our friends, the Harveys.

And just because it is back-to-school doesn't mean you can't still swim when you live in Texas!

Piper agrees!

Meredith used some birthday money to buy this sweet pillow that separates for she and Jillian

Back to school means homework.  And there is more in first grade, so Meredith is starting a good routine and Jillian is more than happy to play along, practicing writing her name and numbers.

A fun picture of me and the girls at worship while holding hands with Jillian's buddy, Austin.

Just love this sweet sleepy face!

This was our first day of BSF - we are studying Matthew this year and we are both excited about our friends and learning more about the Bible! 

Jillian also started gymnastics this month! Here's a picture of her attempt at an (assisted) handstand!

Meredith decided to take up running with me - here was our first training run! (Don't we look tough???)

This was a picture I posted on Instagram.  Here was the caption to explain why I posted it: "I was second guessing the decision to bring baby carriages on our walk tonight because it was taking SOOOO long.  That was until we ran into a group of super dressed up 6th graders posting for pre-Cotillion pics.  A reminder that their days of playing with babies are too soon going to be replaced by fancy dresses, make up, and dances - especially as I watched all the picture-taking mamas get sentimental at the sight of the girls and their dolls."

Meredith's first attempt at the Rainbow Loom Papa gave her for her birthday.

Oh, Piper.  Yes, I am impressed by your persistence to get this 3.5 foot branch through the dog door that is less than 1 foot wide.  Even so, it can not stay in the house.

A little impromptu cousin night at the Rangers!

Pumas Soccer

Our Saturdays are full this Fall with Meredith's cheerleading and Miss Jillian trying out Soccer.  She has been so excited to start off her soccer career as a Puma!

She looks so big ready for her first practice!

Running like crazy after that ball! 

All that practice paid off for the first game!

Such concentration!

Taking a break with a hug for her biggest fan, Papa!

And some giggle time, too!

Back at it with a sassy pose!

Some serious kicking going on!

She kept running by giving us a thumbs-up! Had us laughing so hard! Love this girl!  She had a blast and can't wait for the rest of the season - and maybe, just maybe her first goal!

Zoo School

One of Meredith's favorite times the year before kindergarten was her time at zoo school, so we were very excited to let Jillian get to have all the fun with the animals just like her sister.

Jillian loved getting to wear her cheetah dress and zebra shoes to the first day of zoo school!

As we walked into week two, I decided that Jillian spending the morning at the zoo was not enough.  I went ahead and got us a pass so she and I could spend every Monday afternoon at the zoo together, too.  I think we are going to love these Mondays together!

2, 4, 6, 8!

Meredith's elementary school has a rich tradition of football starting all the way in kindergarten.  And that includes the tiniest, cutest cheerleaders you could imagine.  There wasn't a kindergarten team for the girls last year, but there was a group of girls jumping to join the First Grade Squad including Meredith!  She is having a blast with all her friends!

One of the fun parts of cheer is wearing your spirit uniform on Fridays before the game to school - she couldn't be more excited the first Friday she got to wear hers!

Then it was game day!

Before the game, we ran into Katie - this girl is 2 grades above Meredith and goes to a different school but they have been friends since Meredith was born!  We loved this photo pop!

A little pre-game stretch

look at that smile!

"Hike that ball and move it down the line!"

Man - those freckles!

And the kick!

 And the dimple!  This girl has my heart!

And her team leading their first cheers!

Post game with their coach!  Go Highlanders!

Beach Party!

Another yearly favorite in my parent's neighborhood is the Beach Party!  This year was even better because our good friends who have twins Meredith's age moved in two doors down from my parents! So that meant extra friends for us and for the girls! 

And yay!  Another opportunity to ride in the back of Papa's truck is made even better by throwing in some friends!

Fun burying each other in the sand

And then fun dancing with Papa!

The Doc is In!

Jillian is a fan of the new show Doc McStuffins - especially because of Halie the Hippo, of course!  Daddy is off today and we heard that Doc was coming for a special visit to our museum, so we decided it was a perfect outing for just the three of us (since big sis is at school)!

Jillian was super excited to pack up her Halie the Hippo to take to doctor up!

It was HOT.  And there was not much shade.  And there was a way long wait, but we finally got our turn to go in through the exhibit and this girl was thrilled!

Who cares that is over 100 degrees and people are passing out near us - Jillian was all about adding a doctor's coat to her wardrobe!

Finally! We got to go in the mobile doctor's office so Jillian could give Halie a check-up

 Then, after another wait so Doc could cool off inside, we finally got our chance to meet Doc McStuffins!  And the day was worth every minute with how excited this girl was!  It really was a fun, fun day!

A rare shot of just these three Hanks' - a special lunch with our baby girl after our fun outing!