1 Year Old Professional Pictures

First picture of the day--are we done yet? No Sarah, not for awhile...

Showing off my new tooth!

Sitting pretty



Loved the expression but did not buy the picture :-)

This is the one I decided to buy...looking back there are so many other nice ones too!

Sarah's sweet face

The photographer must be doing something REALLY funny!

Sad to be taking even more pictures...


A cute pic but her dress is covering up the number "1"

Sarah the tomboy--march on!

Sarah's angel face--I had to get this one


Sarah the girly girl--I bought this one too, just because it is so funny and girly




My favorite--the "real" Sarah :-)

We took a trip over to The Avenue this morning for Sarah's belated one-year old pictures. I will preface this post by saying that it is impossible to just buy one pose, no matter how good/bad the pictures came out and no matter how much money you have in your bank account :-) Sarah was quite cranky for the pictures--I'll blame it on the teething. I can't really blame her, though--she's only 1, and I wouldn't have wanted to sit myself for that many pictures! To top it off I made her help me decide which pictures to purchase---not on her agenda for the day. For the rest of the day, it's whatever Sarah wants to do--haha. She did end up with a few adorable shots and so many priceless expressions, so the trip was worth it, and I will try to not take her again until Christmas (or maybe fall....hmmmm....) Once again, I ended up buying enough pictures to get the "free" CD, so I apologize for how many pictures (not so good, good, better, and best, just for the humor and to see the "real" Sarah)I am posting here--enjoy!

Family Luau

Lots of aunts, uncles, cousins, and babies!

Sarah and Nana

Sarah making a funny face with her pretty headband daddy made her:-)

Playing on the porch with bubbles

Sarah and her cousin Cecelia--they are only one month apart. Sarah wishes she lived in Atlanta so they could be best buds! :-)

On Tuesday we had a family "luau" gathering for two reasons: a) our cousins Matthews and Kristen and their girls were in town so we wanted to see them and all of the other cousins and babies, and b) we really wish we were still vacationing in Hawaii rather than planning for back-to-school. Mary Evelyn, her boyfriend Shawn, Rebecca, and I spent the whole day setting up for the party outside with pools, bubbles, picnic tables, chairs, etc., and then IT RAINED BIG TIME, so we had to bring the whole shindig inside--we had fun anyway :-) Maybe I will start my school year off with a unit on Hawaii instead of The Letters are Lost--hehehe---field trip anyone?

On a side note, my baby Sarah is growing up into big-girl Sarah---she is FINALLY getting teeth (yes, plural). First one top side tooth started to come in, then the other (a funny look with no middle teeth!). Now a top middle one and a bottom middle one appear to have started working their way through as well---whoa girl, slow down! That's FOUR teeth in two weeks!!!! Granted, I'm not sure how long it will take them to really come in all the way. As best as I can tell, Sarah is not thrilled about her new teeth--I think they are causing quite a disruption to her otherwise comfortable gums. I don't even think the first one is all the way in yet. I also had the urge to by Sarah a big girl potty chair, even though she is only 13 months. I think she has a LONG way to go before being potty trained of course, but she has, believe it or not, gone #2 in the potty FOUR times this week! Three times in the grown-up potty and once on her new potty. Since she is dramatic about going to the bathroom, it's easy to know when it's time to sit on the potty :-) Jeremy thinks the whole thing is a hoot, I'm sure, especially when I'm like, "Hey Jeremy, come look what Sarah did!" Ok, enough potty talk for this blog for awhile...

Be sure to check out our 2 other new posts--lots of posting today!

Splash!

We have been trying to cram in as much fun as possible during the last couple of weeks of summer vacation, because who knows when we will find time for mommy-daughter fun after school starts! Last Friday, we met Mrs. Heather, Rachael, Mrs. Tana, and Charlie at Lenora Park pool. Sarah had much more fun than I even imagined she would, especially on the water play structure with slides and water spraying everywhere! We also spent a couple of days with Mary Evelyn at the pool in the neighborhood where she has been baby-sitting this summer. Now THAT is a niiiiiiice neighborhood (and apparently hardly anyone uses the pool, so it was like our own private party!)! It has been fun to watch Sarah in the water throughout the summer--she went from a very timid girl in May to a still-somewhat timid girl who can now fall and go underwater and not even cry (but not be thrilled either) :-)

Don't forget to check out our 2 other new posts as well...

Girls Day In!

Girls' band :-)

Playing in the pool

Natalie bouncing in her seat, lounging by the pool

Melanie trying to get Sarah's shopping cart back on the patio--strong girl!

Yummy!

Sarah's first experience painting with shaving cream

Melanie painting with shaving cream

Sarah finger painting for the first a few days ago

Playing in the driveway a few days ago with her "boyfriend" Thomas from next door--he's way too old for her! :-)

Today was such a fun day! Our friends Melanie (2 1/2) and Natalie (4 months) came over to play with Sarah today. All three girls were on their very best behavior, and I think Sarah was even better with them around than she is when I am the only one here to entertain her--I guess I am too boring for her...;-) The girls had fun playing in the playroom with ALL of Sarah's toys, taking a walk with the mile-long double stroller, playing in the wading pool (although Sarah wanted nothing to do with the inside of the pool), eating popsicles, cleaning out my refrigerator for lunch (not really....but it is a lot emptier now!), finger painting with shaving cream, and finally, resting! We stayed very busy but it was a lot of fun! To top the day off, Sarah is rewarding me with a super-long nap! Wahoo!

Tomorrow, Sarah is going to play with Melanie and Natalie at their house, so I hope their afternoon goes as well as our morning here did!

Sing a Song of Sarah...

Sarah can sing two songs now: Row, Row, Row Your Boat and Old MacDonald Had a Farm. She also surprised me in that she knows what to do when I say the words "forward roll." I knew she could tuck her head when I help her bend down but I didn't know she actually knew what the phrase meant--what a gymnast! Enjoy the video clips :-)

Cow's Milk

Sarah tried cow's milk for the first time yesterday. She didn't spit it out but she didn't seem to love it either. We are going to mix it in with her formula until she is used to it. We are also trying to drop her daytime bottles to get ready for daycare in August so it will be fun to do both at once! This video is really cute, especially the part where she is imitating animal sounds--the best kitty sound she has ever made!

More Hawaii Pictures

Sarah LOVED the mini bananas (apple bananas) at the Kona plantation, and she ate 2-3 per day


Sarah and Nana both love the pool!


The whole group (27 people)--I think this pic turned out great considering how many of us there were!


Sarah with Grandpa and Durscherl (my dad's parents). My grandpa is about to turn 92! She was tired of waiting at the restaurant but we needed a picture...

We made it home from Hawaii on Monday morning, and slowly but surely, we are adjusting back to our time zone. The trip home was rough--we went from Kona to Honolulu Sunday morning and then from Honolulu to Atlanta Sunday afternoon (but it was Monday morning when we arrived here). Sarah was very wired, active, and cranky for the first half of the plane ride home to Atlanta. Jeremy and I were about to have a nervous breakdown dealing with her, I think. After much consideration, little sleep, and no energy, we did resort to giving Sarah just a tiny bit of Benadryl halfway through the trip (I think it was something like 1/4 of a dose for someone her size or something small like that!)--whether or not that had any effect, she did fall asleep shortly afterwards and slept the rest of the way home (total 3.5 hours). I even got to watch a movie on the plane (although I was so tired most of it was all a blur)! Overall, I think Sarah did a fabulous job on the vacation and had a super time at the beach and pool. I enjoyed myself as well, and our family was very helpful in giving Jeremy and me much needed time off during the trip. Jeremy says he is not taking children younger than 10 on a trip like that again--we'll see :-) I do not regret taking Sarah on this one since it was a big family reunion trip, but if Jeremy and I ever go on a trip without the rest of the extended family, Sarah can definitely stay home! :-)

I put some of this group of pictures on a slideshow because it was much easier than posting them all one by one (and much less space). I did have to post my favorites by themselves, though :-)

Hawaii update

Volcanoes National Park


Sarah and Nana in the pool


Sunset from the top of our street


Horseback riding overlooking Waipio Valley


4th of July cookout in the rain


Akaka Falls


Punalu'u Black Sand Beach


Our pool


Exploring the inside of a lava tube


Luau

Just thought I'd give a quick update to save me time uploading pics once I get home :-) We are having a fabulous time here in Kona--since the last post we have relaxed at the pool, been on the gorgeous beach (dealt with our poor cousin Grant dislocating his shoulder while boogie boarding), visited a black sand beach, seen Mount Kilauea at Volcanoes National Park, walked through a lava tube, been snorkeling, attended a luau, seen a beautiful waterfall, taken a trail ride overlooking a valley, had some tasty meals, been shopping, and spent lots and lots of time with our family--can we stay here longer please?

Sarah LOVES it here---a pool out the back door, tons and tons of junk food and free mini bananas, and many people to give her constant attention--what more could she ask for?

The trip has been exhausting of course, especially with Sarah, but she has been an angel and a real trooper, and we could not ask for anything more! :-)