Sadie's 12th Month

When we returned from Vegas, it dawned on both of us that the little baby in our house only had a month of truly still being our baby.  She was on the verge of walking, her vocabulary was starting to increase, and she was already moving beyond Mom and Dad to spend time with her sister.  Luckily, the beautiful Vegas weather came home with us, and we had almost a solid month of gorgeous opportunities to enjoy our little one outdoors.

We had been waiting for Sadie to get over six months old, for the weather to get warmer, and for our Vegas trip to finally put Sadie into swimming lessons.  Now that it was time to have both girls in swimming, we prepared to make Friday nights quite the weekly event.  I cannot say enough about Silver Bear swimming, and we were excited to have Sadie finally get into the pool!  Much like her sister's first time in swimming lessons, Sadie definitely had a few tears, but she enjoyed all the toys and songs.  Our Friday nights now consist of an hour at Silver Bear followed by dinner at Qdoba.  It's our weekly date, and it is very important in our house.

As I've continued to say, the girls really have fallen in love with each other, and they find and create new things to entertain themselves every day.  The latest realization has been that the loft has some really incredible things to play with.  I started to collect random clothes, hats, and accessories to create a dress-up drawer, and the girls have finally understood that they can put on whatever they want and pretend.  I don't know where children learn to pretend and imagine like they do, but it really is so neat to watch a child's imagination grow.

The beautiful weather had definitely come to stay in March (which is not typical in Reno), so we spent a lot of time playing outside.  With the girls being little redheads, we had trained them from an early age that the outdoors = hats.  Literally, no hats, and no one goes outside.  Due to this, the pictures in my phone at this point are all of the girls in hats.  My friend has joked that this is the girls' signature look, but it really is something that they've simply embraced.  Hats and all, the girls really do enjoy being outside.  I think that their favorite new thing that came this month was washing Daddy's truck!  They get to stand in the back while he washes, and both of them love to be part of the process.

With Stella and Sadie being so very much Stella and Sadie all the time, I thought that it would be nice to take Stella out on her first solo date.  She had never been out to lunch by herself, so I decided that we should have an afternoon of being the ladies who lunch. She had never had a sandwich (other than one involving peanut butter), so I decided to take her to Port of Subs to have her first turkey sandwich.  She ate a lot of tomatoes, mustard, and lettuce as her "sandwich," and she definitely enjoyed being the center of attention again.

With Sadie's birthday right around the corner, we started to plan for her party.  I think a few of Sadie's aunties did as well because we started to get birthday presents in the mail.  In particular, the girls received individual packages from their Auntie Dana that were both huge hits!  Dana knew that Stella love tractors, so she sent Stella her first tractors and a lovely note to make her feel special on her sister's birthday.  For Sadie, Dana sent one of her daughter's favorites- a pink and purple house that both girls could play in.  It wasn't even the birthday yet, but we were definitely celebrating with the new toys! 

The day before her birthday, I was talking to my mom about how Sadie seemed so close to walking.  She would take a few steps, but they were not fast enough to keep up with Stella, so Sadie would quickly abandon the idea.  Like her parents and sister, Sadie was not patient and did not want to get left out by taking things slowly.  I don't know if she heard us talking or just felt confident, but that night, she started walking around the house!  She was brave and determined, and she was walking very quickly for someone taking more than just a few steps for the first time.  It is finally official- we now have two walkers in our house!

I'm one... I'm a whole new person!  That truly is the best way to explain Sadie now that she is one.  It's almost like the day she turned one, she completely changed and grew up.  She woke up the day of her birthday and her personality shined more than ever.  I kept waiting for Sadie to catch up to Stella and transition to being a one-year-old, but she literally did it overnight.  










How did we even get here?  I remember a year ago being so thankful that our family was completed by our sweet little boo, and now she is already one.  This last year has been harder than I think any of us anticipated, but it has definitely challenged us to grow as a family and learn to work together.  Sadie has been the final piece of our puzzle, and she really only grows on me more and more each day.  What a difference a year makes, and what a pleasure it has been watching our little Sadie Lady grow in so many ways over this last year.

March 23, 2014

Sadie's 11th Month

After being back from Hawaii, we were right back into our regular routines.  Steve still had quite a bit of his break left (gotta love those LONG college holiday breaks), but I had to head to work right after we got back.  I had these two little firecrackers blowing my mind with their new knowledge and skills following our trip, so I was pretty upset at the idea of missing them during the day.  They really were starting to become two of a kind.

As I had mentioned in the previous post, Sadie had returned from Hawaii as a master of crawling.  She was quickly getting tired of being left behind her sister, so she started a new mode of transportation- speed crawling.  Stella learned to walk and stopped crawling at such a young age, so I don't know if this is something that most babies do, but Sadie was on a mission to keep up with Stella any way she could.  She was crawling so quickly, she almost could keep up with her running big sister!  I don't know if this will make her put off walking for a bit, but clearly, she doesn't feel the need to look for a new mode of transportation to get her where she wants to go.

Between the good times in Hawaii and Sadie being able to keep up, we really started to have double trouble on our hands!  We were waiting for these two to get to this point, but they are now really enjoying their time playing together.  Mom and Dad supply the snacks and toys, but they are off exploring together and making each other laugh.

In the midst of going back to school and keeping up with the girls, Steve's body decided to throw him a curve ball.  After not eating one of his favorite meals, Steve was pretty sure that something was wrong, and after a bit of self-diagnosing, he decided that he should probably head down to the emergency room.  To hear him make this statement, I knew something was very wrong.  He definitely was right and left just in time because Steve's appendix was removed just a few hours later!  The girls had to be extra careful with Daddy for a little while, and Grandpa Robby had to add a little help for our recovering patient.  I never thought we would have to worry about either of our appendices, but Steve handled it like a pro!

God love Reno, but you really have to love a city that offers beautiful weather in the seventies and eighties in February!  It was great for me because it meant that my weekends with the girls could be spent outside.  Stella loved to go and be outdoors again, and Sadie just loved being in the grass.  Granted, this is probably because she spent a lot of time tasting the grass and leaves all around her, but I'm glad that she loves being outside like the rest of us.  Stella also made sure that Sadie had her first taste of rocks, and let's just say, she's addicted!  Half the battle now is keeping the DG in our landscaping out of Sadie's mouth now.  But, we shared a lovely Valentine's Day out in the sun.

Our speed crawler continued to perfect her skills, and she also had mastered climbing up the stairs.  She was becoming more and more mobile, and we really were waiting for her to take her first steps.  Steve and I had planned a anniversary/birthday trip back to Las Vegas to visit all our friends right at this time.  We were convinced that we would get video of Sadie walking around the house, but thankfully, she decided that she was still happy with her speed crawling.  We received many videos from Grandpa and Nonna, so it was clear that the girls enjoyed their vacation as much as we did.







February has ended, and we are now a month away from our baby's 1st birthday!  It really is incredible how much she has changed and continues to change every day.  The best part is watching Sadie and Stella become closer and really start to care about each other.  They want to feed each other, hug each other, and be together all the time.  This is why we had two kids, and we are just around the corner from celebrating the birth of our final piece of our family- our beautiful, smiley, Miss Sadie Lady.

February 23, 2014

Sadie's 10th Month

Sadie's tenth month was a month of some pretty incredible firsts! We had Christmas, New Year's, and a trip to Hawaii all coming within days of each other. Although Sadie couldn't register what all the excitement was about, her big sister definitely knew big things were coming!

The entire Christmas season is pretty big with my family here in Reno, so we always gear up for a month of activities and traditions.  One of our favorite things is our Christmas Eve dinner with my Grammy.  Every year, she takes my family out to dinner at Harrah's Steakhouse.  It's the best service and best meal, and they always manage to give us our own private room.  With two little children, I am always grateful that they can give us this accommodation.  Half of the battle is keeping the kids entertained and occupied for the entire meal, and this year was no exception.  Let's just say that Stella and Auntie Manthie took many trips down the escalator over the course of dinner.  After dinner, we headed back to my parents to exchange gifts with Grammy, and we were all headed home only a little past bedtime. 


  

Christmas day itself was a pretty exciting scene in our house because we actually had someone who understood what Christmas was this year.  After learning our lesson at Halloween, Steve and I decided that we should probably spend a few weeks prepping Stella for the holiday so she knew what was going to happen.  We talked about Santa, explained what the tree was for, and even let her help us pick out a few presents.  She helped get gifts for Daddy, Sadie, and Auntie Mantha, but the main thing that she actually picked out was a purple chair for herself.  It barely made it here in time, but there would be a purple chair under the chair.  We explained to her that on Christmas, she would look over the balcony, and there would be gifts from Santa under the tree.

After weeks of looking at gifts, showing them to Sadie, shaking them, and waiting as patiently as a two-year-old can- it was finally Christmas morning!  The first thing Stella said, "Purple chair!"  All of the presents were a bit overwhelming, but she definitely stuck to a few early favorites.  For the rest of the morning, she rotated between all her new goodies.  As this was Sadie's first Christmas, she was a bit too young to really understand what was going on.  But, since Stella kept bringing her new things to play with, Sadie definitely enjoyed herself Christmas morning.

As eventful as the morning was, we still had the Christmas day celebration to attend at my parents' house.  After A LOT of playing and naps, we packed up and headed over to join the rest of my family.  The gifts, the food, and the fun continued late into the evening, and our little ladies definitely enjoyed spending time with some of their favorite people.

We only had a few days to breathe because we had to get ready for our biggest Christmas gift- a trip to Hawaii!  After a year of planning and preparing, we were taking the girls on their first trip outside of Reno/Northern California, and on their first plane ride.  As excited as we were, I was a ball of nerves because I wasn't exactly sure how our girls would handle the trip. We actually started planning and booked this trip a year ago, so we had a lot of time to prepare.  As much as we could prepare, Steve and I were both aware that anything could happen with the girls on this trip.  Regardless of all my misgivings, I was thrilled to finally get to go to Hawaii!

To start, we had to get through two flights.  We had a short flight to San Jose, then we had the longer leg into Oahu.  The best advice we were given we were given from one of my friends was to create a "bag of wonders."  Literally, my friend advised me to go to the Dollar Store and buy ten dollars worth of random.  As the flight progresses, you pull out all the new goodies that your child has never seen before.  To say the least, this was PERFECT!  Stella had more than enough to keep her busy, and honestly didn't even sleep because she was enjoying all her surprises from the bag.  Sadie was a bit too young to really appreciate the bag, but she did take a nap and had two pretty perfect flights.

Once we arrived on the island, the fun truly began!  We had so much to see and do, and we all wanted to fit in some time in there to simply relax, too.  However, first on the list- the ocean!  Neither of our girls had seen the ocean before, so we made sure to head there first so they could see and feel their first ocean.  Sadie screamed; Stella walked right out, but they had now been to an ocean.

With it just being days after the holiday, everywhere we looked- it was Christmas!  It really is strange being in a tropical setting and seeing a Christmas tree!  I always like the idea of celebrating a traditionally cold weather holiday somewhere warm, so I definitely embraced the Mele Kalikimaka :).  Even though it was all decorated for Christmas, Hawaii still had all the traditional fare that any tourist would think of.  I think that everyone found their favorite things, including the girls.

For Stella, she probably had a few favorite to be honest, but her main one that she continues to talk about was hula!  We happened to walk by a hula lesson while we were walking around the Hilton resort, and the next thing we knew, Stella had walked right on over to the group and started dancing!  She would stop and watch (or dance) every time that she found a group of people practicing the hula, and she will still ask to have her bedtime songs accompanied by hula dancing.

For Sadie, I think that the trip provided so many new experiences that she was just enjoying each day!  She had her first time swimming- ever, which ended up going pretty well.  She got to meet many new people and see things she'd never seen before.  But, to be honest, her favorite thing was probably the food!  You would have thought that she was a native because all she wanted was mahi mahi and rice.  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner- the kid wanted fish and rice.  She has always been a good eater, but I've never seen her so happy and excited with every bite!

We all loved the warm weather, beautiful sites, and yes, the food!  We tried to get in as much as possible, but I know that there is still more even on Oahu that we should go back and see.  With the military resort being so convenient, affordable, and nice, I have a feeling that this may become a regular trip.  We all really enjoyed the break from reality and the escape into paradise, and it even did wonders for some of our hair :).

I've heard many parents ascribe to the theory that new experiences make their children grow, and after this trip to Hawaii, I would say that I agree!  Sadie and Stella came home from their trip and were completely different little people!  They both had grown and changed so much and in so many ways that it is hard to name them all.  For Stella, she quickly became a parrot in Hawaii.  You could not say anything around this girl because she would repeat it exactly!  Not only was she speaking in full sentences, but she would repeat your songs, and anything that struck her fancy.  For Sadie, she began to leap ahead physically.  She had definitely grown, but now she was becoming even more mobile.

As I had mentioned in a previous post, Sadie had been crawling, but only in circles. After her time in Hawaii, she came home and immediately began to crawl around.  She started small by crawling on the carpet towards Gwen and Stella, but by the end of this month, she was moving throughout the house!  She has now realized that there is so much to see and do, and she has become quite the explorer.  In addition to her crawling prowess, she is already looking ahead to walking!  She has already been able to pull herself up and stand by herself for some time, so now she a walking with the aid of anything that she can pull herself up on.  To say the least, she's keeping us all on our toes!

Stella also had a big milestone come as a result of the trip- her big girl bed!  With the hotel room having one crib for Sadie and a bed booked for Stella, we were trying to figure out how to prep Stella for her first nights in a bed.  We showed her the idea and tried practicing with her during naps, but she never really actually slept in a bed before we left.  What we decided to do was make this the test to see if she was ready to come home to a bed.  We explained to her that Hawaii would be a practice to see if she was ready for a big girl bed.  If she was ready and the practice went well, she would come home to her very own bed!  I let her pick out the whole set, and of course, she wanted a purple bed.  To say the least, the first few nights were very long, but she did end up sleeping by herself and staying in the bed.  So, when we got home, we were greeted by everything to put together the purple bed!  It's crazy to think that she's already in a bed and no longer in a crib, but it's just another sign that our big girl is going up.

Sadie also had one more change after Hawaii- she added a word to her vocabulary!  Sadie's talking for months has only consisted of "Dada" and "Momma," but this month, she added a new word to her repertoire.  Right after we returned from Hawaii, Sadie's love of both the dogs in her life only continued to grow.  She could now easily get to both of them, so she was constantly trying to locate and get to Gwen and Trigger.  You could see her scanning the room, looking for a dog, and she would squeal when she would find one.  One day, the squeal changed to an actual word- "DOG!"  Now, whenever she sees a dog, Sadie will gleefully let us know that there is a dog in the room.




After a very BUSY month, we were left with the feeling that our baby was continuing to inch her way towards no longer being our baby.  One big trip, and she had changed so much, and we were just trying to guess what she would do next.  Sadie is now only two months away from being a one-year-old, and it's incredible how fast time continues to fly.  Here is our sweet Sadie Lady looking, frankly, awfully sweet:

January 23, 2014