we have a walker

Yes, our sweet girl is finally walking! She was taking a couple of steps around 14 months, but seemed to simply prefer to crawl! But, around 15 months she finally decided that walking was something she was going to try out. She seems to love her new-found ability to move upright and shuffles around the house all day long. She doesn't sit still for long. It's so cute to watch. She still likes to walk with her arms up at shoulder level to catch herself if she falls.

Sadie is 16 1/2 months now and loves to bring you things and say "here you go"....seriously....this happens consantly. She brings Colton his sippy cups all day long, delivering them with her sweet little "here you go"....he usually doesn't want his cup and gets frustrated that she's shoving it at him. We're working on him saying "no thank you" or taking it with a smile.

Just a "few" more things Sadie does....(or things we want to remember about her at this age!)

• she loves to throw away trash and pick up things around the house
• she loves to pull items out of the diaper bag one at a time
• she loves standing on her tiptoes to reach into drawers to see what she can pull out - not always a good thing!
• she loves to raid the kitchen pantry and walk around with a granola bar in each hand hoping I'll open one for her
• she loves her baby dolls and will scoop them up and hug them close or push them in her baby stroller - they are very special to her
• she loves to talk...she's easy to understand and really seems to be increasing her vocabulary each day - she loves to say dada, here you go, please, water, doggie, bug, baby, mama, thank you (she says this every single time we give her something- I love it), eye, nose, mouth, hi, there (and lots more that I just can't remember)
• she's very social - she has to say hi to EVERYONE we pass at a store or on a walk.
• she loves to grab a phone and (pretend) talk to people
• she's got lots of funny facial expressions
• she loves to put her arms behind her, lean forward, and walk quickly as if on a mission (I think she sees her brother "fly" around like a super hero and maybe she's trying to mimic him???)
• she loves doing whatever her brother is doing
• she loves to go outside and walk up and down our sidewalk
• she loves our daily morning walks (she's in the stroller) with her breakfast of waffles, fruit, and dried cereal
• she loves drinking milk
• she loves her paci and lovey
• she loves nap time, bath time, and eating time
• she loves to get two of something (wipes, bowls) and go share the item with her brother
• she loves her mommy and will give me lots of cuddles
• she gets a little spooked by random noises
• she still does a great job in the car and is still rear-facing
• she loves to color with her brother
• she loves to ask where dada is
• she is so good at responding to questions - she's almost always accurate with a yes or no headshake when I ask her something - it amazes me!
• she loves to run away naked when its time to change clothes
• she loves to play duck, duck, goose...she just walks around our family circle and touches everyone's head saying "duck, duck, duck"
• while doing my bible study earlier today she sat next to me and "read" books for a while
• she enjoyed her time with mommy last week - since Colton started school we'll have a few hours each Tuesday and Thursday together for special mommy/Sadie time
• She enjoys getting dropped off in the nursery for church and bible study
• She LOVES other real babies...any chance she gets she is touching them, especially their faces! I try to stop her before she puts her little hands all over them, but she is crafty and gets all up in a baby's face as quickly as she can.
• She is getting very fiesty. She has started swinging her hand at you if she gets mad....not always trying to hit you, almost trying to be subtle about it. Other times, she just goes for it and you feel her hand reach out and scratch you...she does this a lot when she's not ready to be buckled into her seat.
• If Colton frustrates her she usually tries to bite him or pull his hair (I'm afraid she has a bit of me in her!...I was quite the toot as a little one)
• She's getting a little pickier with her food preferences and we're really working with her on NOT throwing food on the floor....going to time out in her crib horrifies her, so I think its working
• she gets her feelings hurt very easily and will stick her bottom lip out and pout and cry when I scold or redirect her
• she got in trouble last week for playing in the toilet...gross
• she has a watchdog of a brother who often takes things from her he feels like she doesn't need
• she loves when daddy tickles her and makes her giggle

At 15 months Sadie weighed an even 24 pounds - 75% and was 31 inches tall - 75%....that's our girl! She got 4 shots at her 15 mth appointment and handled it like a champ.

She takes 1 or 2 naps a day, depending on our schedule. She is usually in bed, passed out by 7:30-45.

Sadie, we love you so much sweet girl. You are such a joyful part of our lives. You are a real "go with the flow" kind of baby and I love having you as my little side-kick!

family vacation

We headed to San Antonio two weekends ago to re-live the family vacation we enjoyed so much last year. Once again, the weekend at Wild Oak Ranch did not disappoint! We love this place! It's like a dream come true for kids. So many different things to experience. What a joy it was to spend time together as a family at such a fun place!

We met my parents there and settled into our three bedroom condo and quickly changed clothes to enjoy the cool water. It was 110 degrees our first day there- ugh! A little too hot to be outside with little ones, but the water definitely helped.

This was Colton's first spin on the lazy river, as you can tell from further pictures he eventually warms up and absolutely LOVES the river! He's a bit unsure in this picture.

Sadie on the other hand never really warmed up, but tolerated her rides on the tubes with Nana and mommy.

Enjoying a cool drink while floating.

Colton was fascinated watching daddy zip down the slides.

Sweet boy - he has gained so much confidence in the water this summer.

Whatever Colton does Sadie insists on doing the same thing!

Daddy and his baby girl

Sadie and her Pops

I realized I didn't take any pictures of our condo, but it had lots of room...Nana and Pops put themselves right across from Colton and Sadie's room. Which meant David and I got to sleep in since Colton woke Nana up instead of coming to find us. 5:40 came really early one morning. Thanks for blessing us with sleep Nana! Colton loved looking for lizards and rabbits on his morning walks with Nana.

Colton became a pro at shooting the water gun

And this is where Sadie discovered her favorite spot...the splash pad. I love her face in all the pictures. She squealed, giggled, and loved running through the spraying water fountains. Adorable! (yes, she's walking!....i need to catch up on posts!)

Colton enjoyed it too! He has gotten so tickled lately at watching Sadie be silly...he thinks she's so funny and will just laugh and laugh with her.

My absolute favorite thing was to float in the lazy river on a tube (preferrably without a sweet baby girl who I had to keep a tight grip on, - but she prefers her mommy, so she spent a lot of time floating with me!)

Colton spent a lot of time with his baseball cap and puddle jumper on floating next to us in our tubes. He loved it!

I guess we were all pretty confident she wouldn't step in! Check out that precious bathing suit.

sweet face

Colton loved going to the game room with daddy and playing hoops!

Smores night, another one of my favorites. One night was smores, another was movie night. Sadie went to bed, but Colton got to head down with Pops and daddy to see a movie - Rango was playing...not exactly age appropriate for an almost 3 year old, but he enjoyed the 30 mins he got to sit in the dark outdoors and eat popcorn. We just hoped he wouldn't have nightmares about the scary looking lizards and animals in the movie. :)

Sadie and Colton loved the smores.

Colton's water uniform. Pops woke up early both mornings to snag us the best cabana on the river. We loved the view and easy entrance to the water. I don't have any good pictures, but believe me, it was a peaceful little spot!

I'm all about sun protection with my fair skinned kids, especially Colton.

Our last day of floating.

We didn't want to leave!

The kids also enjoyed the sandy beach

Here's a picture from last year. My how they have grown!