I've recently become horrible at posting all the things I want to put on my blog & especially at Sarah Grace's monthly "birthdays." On the 11th my little baby turned 16 months, I can hardly believe she is almost a year and a half. I think this is the time that most moms are starting to consider another one...not me, I'm still trying to figure out this one! Sarah Grace is honestly amazing, I can't believe how much she changes everyday and how quickly she picks up on things. Her vocabulary is really starting to grow and so are the tantrums...lucky me! I love lying in bed with her and watching her poke out her full rosy lips while she dreams, I love to trace the outline of her face and feel that perfect baby skin, I love to examine her arms and legs at night and look at all of her new bruises/scrapes. It seems like she is changing into a little girl so quickly, but she is still very much a baby & I see the baby in her every time she wants to cuddle or pulls her arms up to be held and snuggled with. Raising her is the greatest thing, I truly love being at home with her, but I can also say that it is by far the most challenging thing I have ever done! Thank you Grace for giving me some adventure in my life!
At 16 months she is:
*One word...crazy...just busy, busy, busy
*So loving...kissing, cuddling, hugging
*The proud owner of 7 teeth, two still in the process of des-
cending and one molar that just showed up one day!
*Has now added cow and duck sounds to her list of animal
noises.
*says grandma & grandpa along with I love you, Scout, and
several other new words to her growing list.
*Loves to run from me...it's a game that is her favorite.
*Is obsessed with toothbrushes, it's to the point where I
don't even let her go into bathrooms anymore because
she cries till you give her one. I can't tell you how many
nights she has fallen asleep with a toothbrush in her hand.
*Still loving her babies, she is such a good little mother.
*Climbing everything, chairs, trying to climb over the couch,
I've even caught her on top of the kitchen table, she even
pushes chairs around to help her climb! yikes...
*She loves to smell flowers when she sees them.
*Likes to be outside, especially in the garden, I've had
to watch her around my tomatoes...I know she is just
dying to yank them off!
*She likes to empty out all of her toy boxes and then put
everything back in.
*Brushes her hair & her teeth.
*Tries to eat raw potatoes and peppers if I'm not watching
*Reorganizes the dvd's on a daily basis.
*Loves to watch/listen to her disney princess sing along
*A dancing queen and loves to sing if others are.
*A show off
*She likes to stand in the yard and wave bye to cars as they
pass her.
*Steals my jewelry and make up
*Puts her shoes on and off
*Still drinking formula...I can't believe she still likes the stuff..
*Just a joy to be around!
Gracie thought that the nail polish was lip gloss...pretty cute!
Sarah Grace is OBSESSED with jewelry and I had to wrestle with her to get my new necklace back!
Sunday was my 25th birthday! I was treated with breakfast in bed, a super yummy lunch/dinner and enough cake/ice cream to fill in the cracks. Thank you to everyone who sent out birthday wishes, I loved it and enjoyed being spoiled for the day!
Our blueberries are starting to come in nicely...
Doesn't he look happy with his new toy?
I think I have mentioned in other posts that Sarah Grace is a climber. This evening I was finally able to get some proof. Eric & I fed the missionaries tonight, which by the way was excellent, (Kudos to Eric,) and we were just finishing up the cleaning. I usually put the gate up on the stairs during the day so she won't stray up them, but she usually manages to rip it down at some point. Anyway, we were just letting her wander in and out of the kitchen while we cleaned. It had been a few minutes and I noticed that she had quieted down, I walked into the living room to find her up on the table looking at one of Eric's mission picture books! I was horrified, I mean yes its funny, but if she fell it would really hurt her! The padding in our flooring is beyond terrible! (Eric did supervise her, while I grabbed a camera) I believe those chairs will be finding a new home in the attic, I really don't know what else to do...she's pretty fast and quiet!
*This picture really didn't have anything to do with my story, but this is a daily scene at our house. Actually this probably happens at least 4-5 times a day. I would move the books somewhere else, but she really does sit down in her big chair and look through them.
* I usually try to look half way decent before leaving my house, but in my defense I didn't go anywhere yesterday and I've had a horrible cold all week!
*She discovered an extra collar in the yard and decided it was her jewelry!
This past weekend my mom & I went down to Columbia for Time Out for Women! Stephanie met us there and we had so much fun! We had a pretty good turnout from our ward and we ran into so many people that I haven't seen in years! The music was inspiring, the talks were even better. It's nice to get away sometimes and have your "well filled up again" as they kept putting it. I think LDS women are brilliant, especially the ones that we heard from. These women were educated, raised/raising beautiful families, and most of them had careers on the side. Wow! The speakers really were encouraging the women to not try and do it all and to focus on the basics and your family. I think I soaked up a good bit in between the giggling with my mom & sister. But it is hard sitting still for that many hours, the breaks were definitely appreciated. We spent friday night at my sisters apartment and had the activities all day on saturday, mixed in with lunch at Five Guys. So Good! Eric had Sarah Grace for a day and a half with the help of my brothers/Dad! He did an excellent job. I slept horribly friday night and apparently Eric & Sarah Grace did too. I made it pretty easy for Eric though, I left notes all around the house, laid out all of her clothes, bath stuff, meals, meds, I tried to make it as easy for him as possible. During saturdays activities I did get this text message from him & I feel like I need to share it, "She pulled all the baby wipes and books out and dvd's, and then put her babies in the dishwasher." I got a pretty good chuckle from that, it's always nice for Eric to see how hard I work everyday taking care of our little one! We got back saturday evening and had a crowd of people/dogs running outside to greet us. Eric was holding Sarah Grace and she was squirming to get down. Once he put her down she took off running and ran right by me and went straight for Stephanie! How lovely! Then Scout came tearing out the door and ran to my mom. haha...no one ran to me...maybe that should tell me something! Anyway, Thank you Rachel for giving us this opportunity to gather as friends and learn new things and be enlightened!
Horrific little creatures aren't they?
Gracie also didn't care for the statues either...can't say I blame her!
Last tuesday Sarah Grace & I went down to Columbia to the zoo! We met up with my sister and enjoyed three hours of walking around in the heat. Surprisingly enough it was melting outside although I did manage to sweat! No shock there I guess, Sarah Grace just rode around in her stroller enjoying all of the animals. She did manage to get out at the aquarium and the bird house. She was terrified of the penguins, but did ok once I let her walk over on her own. I guess I never really considered penguins as scary animals... who knows?! We stopped and had a healthy snack of french fries and relaxed in the ac for a bit before visiting the farm and the botanical garden. I love the riverbank zoo, its so neat & a fun place for families. 
Today I had the opportunity to take some photos of a friends baby! Beautiful baby Stella is about a month old and completely adorable. I know most of yall are thinking that I have no business attempting to take pictures of other peoples kids & you're right! haha, I don't, but I figure I will never learn unless I get some practice. So thank you Christina & Stella for letting me practice on yall!
