Sarah is 3!

Sarah turns 3 today!  It's been a big year of growing physically, socially, and intellectually.  She'll have her 3 year old well visit in a week or so, but the last time she was measured she was 33.5 pounds and 37.5", so I'm guessing that's about right.  Her hair continues to be curly and light blonde.  I think the front has finally gotten long enough that it doesn't get in her eyes quite as much.  She enjoys wearing it down as well as in ballerina buns. :)

We have full conversations now, and pretty much every waking hour is a running dialogue with her.  I think most people understand all that she says, and I know we definitely do.  She enjoys teasing people and making people laugh.

Her favorite TV shows this year have been Llama Llama, Sarah and Duck, and any Barbie shows on Netflix.  She still loves books and has started noticing the letter S everywhere she goes.  She knows how to spell her first and last name and is very interested in rhyming words.

This summer she went to preschool one morning a week for 3 hours, and this school year she'll be going 2 mornings a week for 4 hours each time.  She really liked preschool, and I think it was good for her and will be this school year as well.  This summer she took a four week ballet class and absolutely loved it!

 She has developed a good crew of friends, and we had a friend party last weekend.  It was very fun!

Here are some of her most recent quotes:

"Mommy, if you become a boy I’ll marry you and you can be my husband."

“Mommy, I’m glad you’re in my world.”

She was mad at me and said, “You’re a philistine!”

We were at the zoo and couldn’t see the otters, “Maybe they’re in jail.”

Me: It’s a rainy day. Rainy days make me want to take a nap. 

Sarah: Yeah, rainy days make me want to poop.

Dear Sarah,
I love you very much.  God has made you very smart, and I hope you use your desire to learn new things to do something great for Him.  You are very sensitive, and I love your ability to identify those in need and desire to meet their needs.  You teach me new things all the time, and getting to spend my days with you is an honor.  You are a fun-loving girl who knows how to have fun, and I hope you always keep that part of you.  Let's keep being buddies.  You love reading your Bible and learning more about God, and every day I pray that one day you will become a Christian.  If nothing else happens but that, I will be a happy mommy.  I love you so much, and I'm thankful for you!

Sarah's 2nd Birthday Party

Sarah's 2nd birthday was such a fun day!  This year she definitely grasped some of the concept that it was her birthday.  She woke up jumping up and down in bed.  Throughout the day she said things like, "I'm 2," "I'm doing happy birthday," "Happy birthday, Sarah," and, "I open presents."  The day before we had gone to Silver Dollar City with my parents, and Sarah got a birthday name tag and some special treats compliments of the park.  She was very proud of herself!

One her birthday morning we started the day off with a wagon ride with her babies, and she wore her birthday tutu from last year.  She got a good afternoon nap and was ready to party when she woke up.  My parents, Memaw and Pepaw, Jim and Taylor, Serina and Mark, and Ray and Terri were able to make it.  The theme was Minnie Mouse.  I was pretty happy with our homemade cake.

It rained late morning and early afternoon but stopped in time for the party.  We started out with snacks - grapes, chips and dip, meatballs, and cheese and crackers - Sarah's favorite foods.  We opened presents, and then watered her annual slideshow of pictures from the year.  Sarah loved her cake.  She blew out the candles and enjoyed joining in on singing Happy Birthday to herself.  She got some great presents and was really interested in opening them and trying them out right away which was different from last year.  Her favorite stuff revolved around dolls: a baby doll, baby stroller, baby grocery cart, Minnie Mouse doll.  She also got a purse that she is very proud of.  It's silver and glittery.  She got some cute new clothes for the fall.

The party was from 3:00-5:00, and it went by so quickly for me.  When it ended Ray and Terri stayed the night so we ate dinner together.  They were able to go to church with us the next day and stayed one more night before going on to visit Robert's sister and her family.

New outfit, baby doll, and stroller

Baby has made her first visit to church

Sporting a new outfit

Baby has even gone to the grocery store with us and may be the secret to getting Sarah to sit in the cart!

Sarah's two year old well-visit went great!  She's healthy and continuing to grow.  We estimate she'll be 5'6" - 5'10" when she's finished growing which seems pretty believable considering Robert's and my heights.  The doctor told us that Sarah is her favorite patient.  I'm sure she's never said that before. :)  Sarah just loves her!  Dr. Toth is pregnant, and Sarah kept saying that she wants to hold her baby.  Sarah got to stand on the scale and get her height while standing up for the first time.  This was the last time for them to take her head measurement, and at her three year old well-visit they will start taking her blood pressure which is kind of funny for me to think about.  After her good appointment we celebrated with a trip to the park.

I love celebrating Sarah, and I am blessed to be her mommy!

Sarah's First Birthday Party

Sarah turned one on Friday, August 5, and we enjoyed celebrating all weekend!  On Friday morning we got her from her crib while singing Happy Birthday to her, and she was so pumped!  We had decided to have her big party the next day so that out of town family could get to our house more easily, but on Sarah's actual birthday we went to Bolivar to have dinner with my parents, Memaw and Pepaw, Jim and Taylor, and Ray.  Sarah got to open a couple of presents, and she enjoyed the wrapping paper and tissue paper.  This was also the opening day of my mom's Little Free Library, and that was so cool!  The town newspaper even came and did a big article about it.  We ended the day by lighting a floating lantern in Sarah's honor.  Those things are so fun to watch!

On Saturday we had Sarah's big party!  I think we had about 18 people that included Sarah's grandparents, aunts and uncles, and some great grandparents.  It was so perfect!  The color scheme was pink and gold.  I got invitations on Etsy, and they said She Leaves a Little Sparkle Wherever She Goes.  I loved the color scheme, but you know how glitter is.  We were able to clean up the cold glitter from some of the decorations, but we ended up throwing them out afterward instead of attempting to keep them.  Let me show you some of the decorations.

Robert cut out a 1 on foam board, and I made tissue paper poms and hot glued them on.  I've had these windows since I used them as wedding decorations with our engagement pictures in them.  Sarah's party was the perfect motivation for printing some photos with her in them.

The glitter sign.  Cute but messy.  Mom had Memaw make Sarah an "S" pillow out of one of my old childhood outfits.  Too cute!  We also put out several of Sarah's toys and mementos from her first year like her bunny that we used to announce her gender, her blanket and hat from the hospital, pink flowers in gold vases, and twine with pink and gold ribbons tied to it hanging from the doorway.  Note the map of the states Sarah visited her first here.  We've added Iowa and Nebraska since then.

My favorite decoration was Sarah's head shot banner.  We'd taken monthly pictures of Sarah, so we printed out just the heads and made little birthday hats for them and glued them two some twine.  It's so interesting to have all the comparison shots together, and she also had some pretty funny faces.  I'd recommend this craft to anybody!

The party was at 2:00, and we served watermelon, chips with dip, pigs in a blanket, pink cupcakes, and iced tea.  I made the cupcakes from a mix, and they turned out well.

Sarah's outfit was off the charts adorable!  Mom made it with Aunt Pam when they visited each other in June.  I asked for gold, pink, and a tutu, and they took it from there.

Complete with a cupcake with one candle on the booty!

The party was very casual because it was family, and one year olds don't really do structured activities. ;)  But we did eat snacks, watch a slideshow, open presents, and eat  cupcakes.  We had made a slideshow of pictures from Sarah's first year, and we finally recorded the song that Robert wrote after Sarah was born and played it along with two other songs for the slideshow.  Sarah enjoyed helping to open the presents, and it's been a lot of fun having new big girl toys to play with at home.  She definitely knew what to do with the cupcake, and I'd say she ate about half of it.  It was her first dessert and her first real sugary treat.  It was a hit!

24

My 24th birthday was Monday, and I can honestly say it was one of the best yet.  Last week Robert brought me Panera one day at work since he was to be working all day on my actual bday and wouldn't be able to eat lunch with me then.  Panera is still one of my all time favorite restaurants.  On my actual birthday week we started celebrating by Robert making pumpkin pie lasagna for our Sunday School class to celebrate.  I'm so glad Robert is good at and enjoys cooking and baking.

Mittens was obviously pumped to celebrate

Monday morning we ate breakfast together at the house which doesn't always happen.  It's nice to be able to chat a bit before leaving for work.  Blueberry coffee cake and scrambled eggs definitely tops oatmeal on the go!  When I got to work I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my decked out cubicle!  Mary Beth decorated it with streamers and balloons, and it looked great!  And MB included purple because she knows it's one of my fave colors.

It ended up raining all day which would ordinarily be a bummer, but the rain meant work got cancelled for Robert which was the best thing about the whole day!  It meant I didn't have to go home and be by myself all evening.  Robert and I ended up going out to eat at Crazy Fire Mongolian Grill.  It's pretty much like HuHot, and it was very tasty.

The Hubs even shaved for my bday!

Right before we had left for lunch I got flowers delivery from Jim & Taylor and my parents.  So pretty!  I got back to work from lunch and MB had red velvet cupcakes ready for everyone.  Julie gave me a new dessert plate that she had hand-painted at a pottery store.  It totally caught me off guard and was so sweet.  She picked pink because she knows it's my other fave color.  It really is a good feeling to know people listen to you and really know you.  The whole office had signed a card for me, too.

Later in the afternoon Mom's 4th graders called to sing happy birthday!  And then one of our vendors found out it was my birthday and called just to wish me a good bday.  How sweet!

I got home and our Sunday School teacher and 4 daughters had decorated our apartment, and it was beyond awesome - balloons, streamers, a sign, posters, banners, and window paint.  Robert prepared a delicious mean of grilled steak, mashed potatoes, veggies, and rolls.  I also spent some of the evening talking to lots of family on the phone. :)

I did something very unlike me and practiced self-control by not opening my presents until my actual birthday.  I'm glad I waited!  The presents were so thoughtful.

My first infinity scarf, courtesy of my parents

Awesome Things About My Man

He likes cold weather like I do

He has cool hair

He's mischievous which drives me nuts sometimes but is also really good for me.

He's a master shell finder.  But seriously, he's really good about being on the look out for and finding cool stuff.

He makes great faces

He likes me

He was a very cute boy 

He makes me happy.  Very very happy.

He was destined to be a Cardinals fan.  Look at the STL hat, y'all!

He has a heart for serving God and sharing His love with others (headed to South Africa)

Kids love him

He's always up for an adventure

He appreciates good food

He loves Mittens

Happy 24th birthday, Robert!  Thanks for being you!