Sara Beth's 4th Birthday Party

We celebrated Sara Beth turning four by having a pool party for all her friends and family. 

Pizza time!

 What are these two giggling about?!

 Happy Birthday to you!

Time to open presents!

 Sydney loves babies... maybe Sara Beth will share her new doll with her!

Sweet sisters!

 She loved everyone singing to her!

 Sydney loved the cupcake!

 Mamie, Granddaddy, and their four children

 Cupcake #2, still not sure who gave her seconds!

 So glad Aunt Tina could join the party...all the way from Cincinnati!

Hope you enjoyed your special day, Sara Beth!

Daytona Beach!

A few weeks ago we spent a long weekend in Daytona Beach with Granddad and Nana.  We all had such a fun time!

 Sydney has no fear of the ocean.  If we didn't stop her, she would have kept running for as far as she could!

 Loving the waves!!

 "I wanna go back down there!"

They crack each other up!

 Looking at the boats in the harbor after dinner

Back down to the beach we go!

 Sassy girl!

 This is the sun she drew

I should post all 10 pictures I took trying to get one good one...this was the best we could do!

 her shell she found

 Sydney loves giving hugs

Sara Beth and Nana picking up shells on the beach, early the next morning

 Jay and Lesley joined us the last 2 days

 splashing in the water

 Napping on the beach...now that's a good nap! 

 Eating her Dora ice cream we got from the ice cream truck that drove by

 It melted away completely in about 30 seconds!

 Reading to her little sister

 Watching the storm come in

Thanks for the fun weekend, Nana and Granddad!  We can't wait to do it again!

Sara Beth -- 4 years

She...
Can count to 100
Knows all sounds by looking at the letter
Is starting to blend sounds together to read 3-4 letter words
Can add and subtract simple math problems with manipulatives

~She is loving Repunzel along with all the other Disney princesses
~She still loves books read to her
~She absolutely loves swimming.  We are looking forward to starting lessons in a few weeks to see what else she can learn this year.  She has picked up right where she left off last year.
~She is playing soccer and loves it.  With practices and/or games 4 nights a week, it gets taxing for mom and dad, but she is loving it.  She is a fast runner and a good kicker,  but is like her mom and is not the least bit aggressive.  She runs right next to the ball, but has yet to kick the ball in a game.
~She loves playing teacher and putting her "kids" down for a nap.  She makes sure they each have a blanket and she sits next to them all and rubs their back, while scolding them for not going to sleep.
~She is a great big sister and loves teaching Sydney new things.

Favorite color: purple and pink and all the colors of the rainbow
Favorite tv show: Bubble Guppies
Favorite movie: Tangled
Favorite thing to do when it's hot outside: go in the pool
Favorite place to eat: Moe's
Favorite food: grilled BBQ shrimp
Favorite thing for breakfast: oatmeal
Best friend: Kylie (a friend from school)

It is amazing how much she learns, and how quickly she does it.  She'll start pre-K next month and I can't wait to find out how much she will learn next year.  She's going to love it!

We love you, Sara Beth!

Sydney Lyn -- 15 months

So mommy can remember, and to share with you...

Can point to her...
Eyes
Nose
Ears
Teeth
Tummy/belly button
Toes
Head/Hair
Back

Words she is saying:
Mama
Dada
Up
Duck
Quack (ack)
Bye-byeNight-night
Dog
Pepper ("Peppah", Grandma's dog)

Words she is signing:
More
Please
Thank you
All done

Can follow simple directions...
Sydney, put your paci in your bed (walks from the living room to her room and puts it in between the rails of here bed)
Put your clothes in the hamper (again, she walks into Sara Beth's room and puts her clothes in)
Bring me your cup
Sit down and let's put on your shoes (she sits down on the floor and tries to put her shoes on)

When leaving anywhere, she waves, says bye-bye, and blows kisses

After falling down, she gets up and shows me where she hurt herself (usually her knees).  She sees Sara Beth showing me her boo-boos, and now Sydney does the same!




When it's time to ask the blessing, she puts her hands together to pray...precious!

She loves looking at books.  Many times throughout the day she will get a book off the shelf and sit down by herself on the floor and flip through it.  This keeps her attention for quite a while.  She plays really well by herself.  She loves babies and strolling them around then house.  She loves going for walks in the evenings in her car we push.  But her favorite thing to do is sleep.  She loves sleeping and loves her bed, so much so that she dives in most of the time.  Very rarely does she cry when she is put in her bed.  She sleeps 12-13 hours every night and still takes 2 naps a day totaling anywhere from 3-5 hours total.  When you look at it this way, she's not awake very much each day!


She is such a joy and truly completes our family.  It is so much fun to watch her grow, develop, and learn new things each day.  It is so neat to see how much alike, yet so different she is from her sister. 

We love you, Sydney Lyn!