Special Valentines

I could not be more thankful for my special Valentines this year.

We played it low key this Valentines. Sally was sick, so we opted for Pei Wei take-out and wine at the house. It was a perfect, quiet evening...its the little things!

Wild Woman!

Sally has kept me on my toes the past couple of weeks. Here is a run down of her latest adventures...
~ She is getting very brave with walking. She takes about three steps to get something she really wants. Its cute to watch her decide if its close enough to risk a few steps or if she is better off playing it safe and crawling.
~ She dances all the time. Her favorite place to dance is in her high chair. She also likes to boogie in her car seat.
~ She has a new smile in her high chair. She scrunches her face up and shows all of seven of her teeth! Pretty cute.
~ Yesterday she got in the bath tub by herself! Thankfully there was no water in it. I turned my back to get her towel ready for her bath and I heard a thud. I turned around to see Sally sitting in the tub with a giant smile on her face. Yes, all the bathroom doors are closed now!
~ She has used her nap time to take her pants and diaper off --- TWICE! She wears a lot of onesies now!

Whew! All of this makes me tired just typing it! This girl is one ball of energy and adventure! I love it!

Walking with Daddy and taunting the dogs.
Look at my new face!
See my teethies?!?!
In the middle of one of my dance moves...thankfully I have my Daddy's rhythm.

Only 2 More Months to Go?

Little Miss was 10 months old on Tuesday, February 2, 2010.

A few details at 10 months:
- She drinks all bottles now...such a big girl! She must eat on the run most of the time.
- Sleeping MUCH better at night- She goes to bed between 6:30-7:00 and wakes up between 7:00-7:30...on a good night! ;)
- Napping is still a challenge, but we usually get 30 minutes in the morning and an hour or so in the afternoon.
- Loves taking baths in the regular bathtub. She loves her ducks!
- She is very mobile now! She pulls up on everything and has a pretty speedy crawl. She wants to take a step but just isn't quite brave enough yet. I think it will be any day.
- Still loves to eat! She loves anything she can feed herself.
- She can take her pants and diaper off-- OH NO!! She chose to do this new activity instead of taking a nap the other day. She wears onesies to take naps now!
- She loves Cheerios-- and especially loves feeding them to Copper. I think Copper licks them and Sally eats them...nice.
- She finally says "mama!" Sometimes she even says it at the right time!

She is a true joy. Each day she teaches me something new. I love that each day is a fresh start and full of possibility. She reminds me every day that God's blessings are truly new each morning.
10 Months with Lambie.
On the move...

They don't look related at all, do they?!?!

MORE Snow!!

We had another big snowstorm last week. Ted was off work Thursday afternoon and all day Friday. We had a great time being snowed in! We made a big fire and played inside all day! However, by Saturday we had major cabin fever. We found the perfect cure at On the Border!
Some pictures of our house in the pretty, pretty snow...




This is how Sally spent some of her snow day...her old car seat is a favorite place to climb now!

It Worked!

Yesterday after about 30 minutes, I heard Sally wake up from her nap...this is a normal length of nap for her. At first she was fussing, but that quickly changed. I could hear, "mamamamama" coming from her room. It totally worked! I went running in there to be greeted with the biggest smile and another, "mama." She has been making the mama sound for about a week, but this was the first time she used it in the correct way...I think. We'll see if she tries it again. It sure did get a good response from me the first time!

Sally's Baptism

Sally was baptized at Asbury on Sunday. It was such a special day. ALL of our immediate family was able to come. Her godparents, Andress and Patrick, drove a total of 8 hours and only spent 24 hours in Tulsa with us. They are amazing! I am so appreciative of all of our family and their willingness to pack everyone in the car and make the trek north. We were surrounded by our family and closest friends to dedicate Sally to God. What an amazing Lord we serve. In Andress' words, " It's just a giant, cup-overflowing, God's gracious hand in our lives..." That is exactly how I feel about Sunday and the overwhelming spirit of love and blessings that I felt. Thank you to our incredible friends and family and for their love and support of our sweet Sally.

Pastor Tom Harrison, Ted, me, the lady of the hour, godparents: Andress & PatrickAll of the family! Wow!!

Sally and her good buddy, Uncle Bill...they are a good pair! All dressed up! (I'm still trying to get a full shot of her in the dress)
Sally and her boyfriends, Michael and Andrew. Thanks so much for coming, guys!
PopPop, Uncle Eric, Nana, and Aunt Megan
The three redheads on the Downing side: Allie, Sally and Parker.
The to-die-for, melt-in-your-mouth, I-don't-want-to-ever-stop-eating, cupcakes. Erika makes them from scratch...I have her information...you need them for your next event! :)

9 (Almost 10) Months Old

9 months blew right past us! Sally was 9 months old on January 2, 2010. Here are a few pictures to document her ninth month...10 months old is just around the corner!
Most of our photo shoot with Lambie was spent standing and rocking in her chair.
She loves her rocking bunny! She can rock by herself and can usually get off of it successfully!
ALWAYS on the move. Maybe this is why I never got to post around her official 9 month birthday?!
This is what I found one day when she was supposed to be napping. I heard laughing coming from her room and I walked in to see her smiling at me and giggling and discovered that her pants were on the floor! How in the world did she get them off and out of the crib? Maybe her doll had something to do with it?