Birthday Picture Update

Thought I would add some pictures from the day, now that Sara has finally gone off to sleep. She must have known today was a special day as she refused most napping today.

The zoo was fun, though hot at about 90 degrees... we did see elephants, lions, lemurs, monkeys, and gorillas, among other animals... and the most wild of them all... elementary school kids on class trips!

Fortunately the Zoo helped us document this day in style...



Sara had fun pointing at the animals (when she wasn't eating Cheerios that is... major appetite today)



And she even took a picture from her own stroller-level view of her Grandma H.'s favorite animals... Flamingos!



Even after a couple of hours in the heat and in the stroller she was able to muster up a smile for Grandpa D. when we got back to the car.



Later today we opened some presents, and had another treat... Mom and Grandma picked up a small key lime pie at the store. Sara wasn't sure at first, but as you can see, she got more and more into it.



And even had fun with this new found treat...



then we it got a little old playing in the whipping cream... we started flinging it around...



Needless to say... Happy happy birthday little girl.

Happy 1st Birthday Sara!!!!

Yep... today is the big day, Sara turns 1!

It may be an old cliche, but it is hard to believe that a year ago we were just getting to meet our new baby girl.

She has grown so much in the last year, it is incredible.

Now



Then



Just like last year, it is a hot day here and no one is going to work. We are going to take Sara to the Zoo for the first time after she gets a nap (which she has been fighting vigorously I might add) and generally just hang out and have some fun. We also have to wait for the A/C guy (yes, another bit of deja vu from last year), who thankfully is just coming to do maintenance this morning.

I also thought I would share some pics of Sara and her first cake (okay cupcake) too.






It should be noted that after this last pic, she promptly spit out the cake and hasn't eaten any since...

Anyway, we are pretty lucky to have such a great, happy, and healthy little girl... even if she is growing up too fast.

Memorial Day weekend party and picture action

Well... it is done, Sara has had her first big birthday party yesterday... and despite weather forecasts predicting rain, thunder, and lightning... we got none of the above during the party. So, we were able to play outside (Sara's absolute favorite!) and have some bbq goodness. We started out the day vamping with Mommy for the camera...



One of the highlights of the party for the kids was the sidewalk chalk they used on the patio... the older kids (up to age 6) had some good fun, then Sara and her birthday-buddy Jacob (born the same day in the same hospital even) got down and dirty... and yes, our daughter's lips miraculously match the blue chalk in her hand.



There was lots of other excitement at the party too... including Danette being tackled and piled on by most of the kids at the party... rather funny. And after all the fun and food in the yard, we retired from some cake (we'll save those pictures for her actual birthday on Thursday).

This time last year we were in full on expectation mode. We caught our last pre-baby movie, had our A/C go out on a very hot weekend, and had a little party and enjoyed the Memorial Day Parade, all while waiting for the little-miss-to-be.

Speaking of the parade, this year we took Sara for her first out of utero parade... it was also the first time that Grandma and Grandpa D. accompanied us to this parade.



The parade was a ton of fun for the little miss because she got to spend even more time outside... and watch lots of people.... of course, have Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa around helps too.



This parade is great because it ends just around the corner, so we don't even have to be early, we can get a great seat and walk home afterwards... This is the third year in a row we have gone, and it has been full of sunshine during the parade each time so far.



As you can see, Sara had a lot of fun...



waiting and watching the parade...



Even these guys in skirts (err... kilts!)



It has basically been a good weekend... a lot of time preparing for the party yesterday, but also lots of time playing with Sara for all of us. She is enjoying having her grandparents here... somehow I think she likes the extra people to play with :) They'll be here most of the week, which will be fun... and on her birthday we are going to teach her the right way to play hooky from school by going to the zoo with the her parents and grandparents.

Woo hoo for springtime

Yup, the sun is so bright, I gotta wear shades!

We are fast approaching Sara's 1st Birthday on May 31st. Hard to believe that a year ago this week we woke up every day wondering if this was the day?

In the several weeks since our last post, we have been pretty busy... okay, pretty normal. I have been trying to wrap up a bunch of papers, Danette has been running all over the place for her work, and Sara has been crawling, teething, climbing stairs and wanting to walk as much as possible.

Fortunately the weather has been good enough to get a bunch of walks in, usually at least once a day (sometimes even when it is raining! - the latter seems to soothe even the crankiest of teething babies in our house). She has grown so much we have even had to get some new hats! Last Friday she weighed in at 24 lbs 11 oz.



Sara has been busy always pulling up, climbing stairs (more of a favorite now), asking to have her favorite book(s) read. And sometimes combining activities...(See below).



She broke a new tooth through about a week ago... so now she has just the two front ones on the bottom. But she is also working on a top front one now... a source of great crankiness... to the point that we use the word "tantrum" more often now.... can't wait to see what a year brings on that front.

Anyway, her eating habits are all over the place... the last few weeks (and the last one especially) her eating has really dropped off... due most likely to the teething, though she was a bit sick last week too. It has rebounded a little, but her interests have changed dramatically... she basically wants almost nothing soft (except a little pasta now and then)... so no yogurt, fruit, oatmeal... she refuses a lot more foods now, but will often try certain new ones... especially meats seem to appeal to her.

Her sleeping was goofy for a while, waking up at 4 am for days straight, but fortunately the last few nights have been better. She loves to be outside still, she even started playing with some garden rocks this evening after a walk.

We are getting ready for her birthday around here (even finished some old painting jobs), Grandma and Grandpa D. will get here this weekend. Sunday will be a party... Monday we will probably go to her first parade. We are planning to take her actual birthday off and go to the Cleveland Zoo for the first time, which should be good family fun!

what accent?

I usually don't get sucked into these things, but for some reason accents fascinate me at times... so I took the following 'quiz'

I guess if you learn to talk with a deep southern accent, then move to western Colorado.. and follow that up with Minnesota... you get the lowest common denominator... Nice.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West   Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The South
The Northeast
What American accent do you have?