Sarah

I feel like all my posts have been about Grant and his growth, but Sarah deserves a post all to herself. She is an absolute doll and I love her so much. I can't imagine my life without her (sounds so cliche, I know, but it's true). One of her favorite bedtime things we do is to play "I love Sarah because..." She thinks it's so cool that I can come up with all these things I love about her and I think it's cool because I get to tell her all the things I love about her. SO, here it is....I love Sarah because:

• she has such a sweet demeanor


• she loves her little friends and talks about them all the time


• she says her name is "Saya" or "Bitties" (Steve's nickname for her)


• she loves her Daddy and will follow him everywhere he goes


• she is beginning to speak in full sentences


• she reminds me of her rules constantly (ie, "Saya no touch a CDs...only mama touch 'em.")


• she sometimes will add a "SO much" to a phrase ("I yuv you SO much!" or "I hep you SO much")


• she always reminds me when she's been a good girl...and she thinks that every time she is a good girl she gets a treat. Sometimes I give in!


• she wants to be independent...I hear her say "no, I do it" at least 15 times a day


• she loves to chew gum and she knows that she shouldn't swallow, although she does swallow about 80% of the time. "Saya no swallow, jus chew it."


• she love to play hide and seek. Once she finds a good hiding spot, she returns there for the next 5-10 times.


• she loves to tuck anybody into bed at any time of day. She'll give a kiss, close the door, and say "I yuv you, nigh night."


• she loves her church coat. Last week she wore it the whole time. The church wasn't cold, she just wanted to wear it.


• she is very sensitive to what people need. For example, one day last week when I was feeling a bit low and tried to boost my mood by doing my hair and putting on makeup, Sarah touched my face and said, "SO pretty mama." And that did it...my mood was 100% better.


• she loves to help me cook. She will sit on the counter next to the stove, open the spice cupboard, and season anything I'm preparing. This is usually ok because most of my spices have lids that she can't open, but last week she put pepper in a big pot of hot chocolate! Thanks Sarah!


• she loves her baby brother Grant....loves to kiss him, hold him, pick him up (yikes!), sing to him, etc.


• she loves to play with one of my dad's old stethoscopes. She'll put it in her ears and say "I listen heart." Then she'll move the drum part all over my back and chest and say, "Sounds really good."

Here are just a few pictures of my sweet Sarah. I just can't get enough of that girl!

Oh, how they grow!

Just a few pictures of Grant's incredible growth over the past ten weeks. He was born at 6 lb. 8 oz. and at his doctor's appointment last week he was 13 lb. 4 oz!

Snow Day

Last weekend we had the first snow of the season and Steve took Sarah out to build her first snowman....only the snow wouldn't stick! SO, Sarah just burried her legs in the snow instead. A pretty good substitute, right? Well, Sarah thought so. Then yesterday Steve's school was cancelled because of an ice storm that covered everything in almost 1/2 inch of ice. It's really beautiful, but really dangerous. Luckily we didn't have to drive anywhere and our power didn't go out. We only had a few branches break from the weight of the snow and ice. But other than that we had a pretty great day off!

Ten Weeks Old!

Grant is ten weeks old tonight! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. He is getting really good at smiling and is even beginning to coo and gurgle back at me. It's so fun to watch Grant go through these developmental milestones. We sure love him and are so happy he's here. This is a little clip of Grant's mad smiling and cooing skills.

Kite Runner

I did something today that made me feel like a normal person again. I must say that there certainly is an adjustment period after having a second baby. For almost ten weeks I've felt just a little behind in everything, feeling like I'm never on time, never quite prepared, never quite presentable...but today I did something that gives me hope that I can be a normal person. I finished a book! And I'm not talking about one of Sarah's board books, I'm talking about a real novel written for grown-ups. For months I've heard people talking about The Kite Runner and I even bought it last June. I started reading it in July and then became busy with other things. I began reading it again about ten days ago. And today I finished it! I really enjoyed the book and would suggest it to anyone. There are some very intense parts, so be warned...but overall I was impressed with the theme of introspection and being true to oneself.