Blogs

So, one night I was reading our blog from the beginning. And I laughed hysterically. Kelley and I were so goofy and did some random things in the before-kids-life. (Really, there was such a thing but I would never go back. I can't imagine life without our girls!)

Anyway, the point is that Kelley started the blog. He was the solo author of any and all content and always wanted me to write but I rarely did. (Now look at me, writing and changing designs all by myself - what an accomplishment! Ha!) This was one of the first posts: What is a blog? and I found it fun that, as usual, Kelley was the "pioneer" in trying something that most of our friends/family hadn't done. It all started to update those far away from us of our exciting wedding plans.

Now to the point of this post: it seems like the majority of people have a blog of sorts, whether it's a private journal or public blog to brag about their kids, keep a scrapbook of sorts, post creative activities, provide yummy recipes, etc. I'm super impressed by so many of these women that post on their blogs what they do every day. I admit sometimes it makes me feel SO inadequate - I don't do amazing projects with my kids every day, re-decorate my house every week, sew beautiful things, cook gourmet food, do a bajillion things that everyone else seems to be good at. I'm not at all complaining or asking people to feel sorry for me. I love love love that I get so many great ideas from others because let's face it, I'm not at all creative. I love love love keeping up with friends' lives and get to watch their kids grow. I love blogs. 

A couple friends have mentioned using time more wisely, and that includes eliminating reading blogs that have no meaning and/or uplift them. That got me thinking about the purpose of our family blog. Essentially it's to provide pictures of our family (read: the girls) for family/friends that are far away, and has become a scrapbook. I don't post about soul searching deep thoughts or intellectual subjects. I keep a daily, personal journal for that kind of thing. Admittedly since I have started thinking about this I compose witty, meaningful posts every day.... in my head. I don't get time to post them, and then I really wonder if anyone else would care about them. So I thought I'd do this random-attempt-at-sharing-my-thoughts post just for fun. I'm done. Thanks.

I just found this amusing because sometimes I just think that is what I do: pointless, incessant barking.

Seoul is THREE years old!!

Our sweet firstborn came [somewhat unwillingly] into this world after two separate inductions and just a little bit of trauma. The first thing she taught us was patience as we waited anxiously for her arrival and she made us wait... and wait...

... but oh, how the wait was worth it. We fell in love with her immediately and our loves grows by leaps and bounds every day.

She has stretched us in ways I couldn't comprehend before becoming a Mom. She teaches us daily as we watch her grow and learn and laugh and cry.

1 year old - she still loves to have one in each hand, no matter what it is. Don't worry she does know how to share willingly, even her coveted fruit snacks.

She has shown us how exciting and fun the little things can be as she discovers everything.

2 years old - her precocious smile still melts our hearts and we still do anything to have her flash it directly at us.

3 years old - her favorite things are Tangled [the movie], books, the letter 's' (yes, she has a favorite letter), the color red, books, vanilla & chocolate swirl frozen yogurt with sprinkles and a random candy, waffles with strawberries & whipped cream, books, her blanket, and soft pants. As a typical 3-year old, she definitely knows what she wants. She is becoming even more independent

In honor of her favorite letter, the words I use to describe her are:  

Smart

Shy

Special

Stubborn

Spunky

One day she will be wearing make-up, going on dates, and wearing high heels...

One day she will go off to college...[as you can see it's yet to be determined where...]

One day she will be married [in the temple]...

One day she will be kissing her own babies...

 

As I sit here reflecting on the past three years I become emotional that time slips through our fingers so quickly whether we are ready or not. I only pray that we can teach her what she needs to know, and set the example that will stay with her forever so she will be happy, successful, and close to the Spirit for the rest of her life.

Happy Birthday to our sweet Seoul!!

Petite Sassy Sydney

Don't be deceived by her kissable cheeks! Our sweet Sydney is just a teeny weeny little thing. We had her 12 month appointment and her stats indicate she's healthy! The doctor is happy and said she's doing just great!

Length: 28 1/4" (25th percentile)
Weight: 18 lbs 15 oz (20th percentile)
Head: 17 1/2" (30th percentile)

Poor baby got three shots and she let us know she hated them... we got an earful of her highest pitched scream!

I'm pretty sure she's not even fitting into size 3 shoes... can't really tell because she curls her toes when I put her shoes on.

Lucky girl had two birthdays!

On the birthday:

Opening the first present... (with Seoul's help of course!)

Seoul picked out a toy to give to Sydney for her birthday. First choice was a Snow White doll but there are just too many pieces that could break off. So she settled for a nest and stack set of pans that rattle.

That flower was pretty interesting...

Sydney's arms weren't quite long enough to reach the bottom of the bag...

"Oh, look at this!"

Sydney was pretty fascinated by the crown on the piggy bank.

Lucky girl with all her birthday goodies!

Our happy family! The girls are growin' and we're doing well!

Yum! There's no question Sydney loves some cupcake!

Beautiful birthday girl taking a break from the goodies.

Love that dimple on our beautiful girl!

Kelley enjoyed his cupcake also... and we this just shows the girls get their fun expressions from him!

Yum!

Double yum!

Huh... pretty squishy...

Sydney is getting the hang of using a cup.

At the party:

Chatting it up with our good friends, the Springer family, and Evan.

Landin discovered our driving toy and loved it.

Grandmas love their Sydney!

Happy ladies!

Little Miss Social is happy when there are so many people around.

Going for the present before anyone can stop her...

Froggy from Aunt Mindee. She is fascinated with the eyes.

I really need to learn to do things ahead of time. I went pretty basic with a cake shaped like a '1' but it tasted good! I think my new love is strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting!

Birthday girl... not paying attention to the cake...

Trying it out...

So good!

Love this family!

Thank you to all who came and celebrated with Sydney! It was a small gathering, but we did miss Trevin, Ella, David, and Ashley.

[attendees: Dale, Ruth, Sherril, Mindee, Evan, Dana, Amanda, Randy, Brittany, Jr, Landin]

Funny note: I had people write down memories or notes to Sydney and multiple comments were about her loud crying the first 6 months of her life. Awww... it's OK Sydney... we still love you!

Happy Birthday to our sweet girl! We're glad she's healthy and happy. She cruises around furniture, and still crawls around like a pro. She is social, adventurous, and independent. For fun she messes up everything I clean up :) She follows, and leads, Seoul around. It's a joy to have her around with her silly faces, silly laugh, and silly sounds.

Sydney is ONE YEAR OLD!!!

Where do I begin? Sydney has been with us forever. I vaguely remember her as a newborn but just vaguely. I truly have difficulty remembering days without her smiles, laughter, and mischief.

One year ago today we welcomed our sweet, sassy Sydney Louise into our world, and it's been absolutely amazing!

The day of Sydney's birth. What a beautiful girl! This time I was able to hold my baby immediately after she was born and it was a tender bonding moment. She was welcomed into a family who couldn't have been more excited, especially big sister Seoul.

 

At one month old Sydney started growing into her personality and showing us those adorable smiles. Life got into a routine with two kids in our household. She was a social little girl from day one and loved to see everything around her.

At two months old Sydney showed her chill attitude as she was schlepped around to various activities - story time, play group, errands, etc. Always alert she enjoyed the outings. She really started getting into playing and vocalizing.

At three months old Sydney started trying things whether she wanted to or not (such as the swing below) at Seoul's insistence that she play also. Don't be confused, she definitely let us know vocally when she truly didn't agree. She smiled and giggled lots, especially while observing her sister.

At four months old Sydney started sitting and rolling so that really helped with independent play. She really started engaging with others when we were out and about. Her first experience with swinging was a hit and since then she loves motion and action. She really filled out in her little body, and especially her face.

At five months old Sydney started being very expressive. She vocalized more and laughed even more. Her little teeth started coming in, and popped in at a somewhat rapid pace. She loved food from day one, and has always been a great eater. Her independent play and curiosity really started to develop.

At six months old Sydney is moving past the "stranger danger" phase and lets others hold her. She is into motion rhymes & songs. Everything we gave her to eat she loved immediately. Her excitement to be involved and active grew by leaps and bounds.

At seven months old she started truly playing with Seoul. It's clear they adore each other. Rolling gave her more freedom to get off her belly but she never did roll around the room or anything. She just became mobile by scooting. Her sense of humor is developed as she found various things really funny. Clapping and waving became a common occurrence.

At eight months Sydney started verbalizing with 'mama' and 'dada'. She discovered how much fun the water can be in the bathtub and the fountains. She started standing pretty solidly. Her learned she could investigate everything she was curious about as she scooted around

At nine months Sydney demonstrated she is going to be the messy, into everything child. Food ends up everywhere because she loves to share her table food with everything. She started the phase of getting out one toy then another, then another.... so she makes lots of messes while she plays. She started crawling! Of course everything is in the mouth because she's teething. By this point she had 4 teeth. She learned she can torment Seoul.

At ten months Sydney was everywhere. She crawled super fast and started pulling herself up on things, and even tried to free stand from a sitting position. Her sense of humor made us all laugh. Her personality started drawing in strangers as we were out and about, which added to her sociability. She discovered banging things together and loved making noise.

At eleven months Sydney started making super silly faces... all the time. Her classic face was puckered lips and raised eyebrows (totally from Kelley). Food is still a favorite, including trying all new foods. She draws people in with her happiness and personality. She is constantly waving and saying 'hi'.

At twelve months Sydney is just amazing! She smiles and giggles and shares and loves. Lately she does what I call a "horsey face" because she squints her eyes, scrunches her nose, and pulls up her top lip to show her top teeth. She crawls and cruises around furniture. Recently she started walking while holding our hands. She has 8 teeth, and has suddenly become a picky eater. Her curiosity is endless and she gets into everything. (I envision her as being the child that will throw my keys in the garbage and empty rolls of toilet paper into the toilet). She has no problem entertaining herself and investing things away from my side. She has started "reading" books a little bit. Perhaps oddly, she has no favorite toys or books or anything per se... it's all about a little of everything, or whatever Seoul is playing with at the moment. She is definitely her own littler person and is vocal about everything.

Happy 1st Birthday sweet Sydney!!