Sadie Lady

So, baby Sadie is 2 1/2 and definitely not a baby anymore. I am biased but I must say, I truly feel she is a remarkable child. I wish I'd been better about recording her every antic because she is HILARIOUS and SO sweet. I honestly feel like I haven't recorded more of her stories because they involve her just being kinder and sweeter and more precious than I ever expect a 1 or 2 year old to be and sweet doesn't translate as well in writing as funny. This girl has no shortage of funny but she is really the sweetest, most genuine, maternal, caring child I know. She certainly can have bad moments but the vast majority of the time I find myself completely enamored with her compliant, thoughtful demeanor. I LOVE Sadie so much!!!!!!

Sadie LOOOOOOVES Doc McStuffins, a cartoon about a little girl who is a doctor for broken toys. Here she's letting madi be doc while she gets a check up :-)

Petting zoo with playgroup

Dressed up as a beaver at our weekly dinner with our dear friends (POD)

Kissing her cousin Macy

Sadie is fighting naps but clearly not ready to give them up!

Dress up is a favorite activity these days

On the carousel at the mall. She's just like Ella-very physically cautious, not a daredevil in the least.

My buddy :-)

One of those "I'm 2 so I have to be unreasonable sometimes" moments. She's crying because I wouldn't let her have cheese balls for breakfast.

Sadie gets along great with most kids and adjusts well to new groups of people after a few minutes. If I drop her off at church or bible study she sometimes cries when I leave but the teachers say she always calms down in a minute or two and is happy and well behaved the whole time. What a blessing!

Sadie's learned to love art from Ella

This girl is a serious carnivore. Ella still won't eat a hamburger!

Sadie's Birthday Party in Pics

Matching dresses will only be "cool" for a little longer...gotta milk it!

The proud grandmas

Cousins!

Beautiful Eislyn

my Nephew Silas

Josh and Gabriel

Trying her cake!  She ate about half a piece rather daintily then pushed it away :-)

Hanna is so good with babies!

Melissa 7 months pregnant and Erin with Luke at 8 weeks old!

Aunt Barbara and Marissa

Sadie Lady-One year update!!!

Baby Sadie is quickly approaching toddler-hood!  It's gone so fast but been so sweet.  This past year has been wonderful and chock full or purely joyful moments giggling with this little girl.  It was not until she was 10 months old that I had my first glimpses of her being anything but content and smiling.  Even with the shrieking that is now part of most meals (this girl loves her food) Sadie is still a pretty mellow, content baby. 

In the last month she went from needing to fidget with a toy or book to sit and listen to me read to really loving being read to.  I LOVE this turn of events as everyone else in our family loves books.  It's been fun to see her start to point at pictures and flip pages when you ask her to.  Almost every time I sit in the big comfy chair in her room to nurse she climbs out of my lap to reach into a basket of books.  She also occasionally will use her rarely seen sign-language skills to ask for "more" books.

Speaking of sign-language, we started at 6 months with her and she seemed to catch up quickly initially signing and saying "mo" at 7 months.  However, she hardly does it at all now!  Don't know why.  She has adapted an arm flapping that is close to the "all done" sign to mean "more" and "all done" when she's in her high chair.  She's said "mo" and "all done" a few times here and there but for the most part doesn't.  Oh well, it'll come :-)  She can say "dada" and "mama" and "ella" but doesn't use them often or necessarily to designate a certain person.  She understands a lot though. If you ask her to kiss "mama" or "dada" she will go to the right person :-) Though she's not saying a lot of words reliably, she has been known to say crazy things like "french fry," "necklace," "are we there?" and "under the table." I know.  Weird.  She's a moody "talker" at this point and will sometimes babble endlessly which we find hilariously fun to listen to and other times won't make a peep.

As far as sleeping, she naps about 2 hrs after she wakes up in the morning (she's gone through a stretch recently of getting up between 6 and 6:30am-it's wretched.  In our house, that's still night).  She naps 1-2hrs and then is up til about 1 or 2pm and then naps another 1-2 hrs.  As a general rule she'll nap 3 hrs a day so if it's 1 hr in the morning, she'll usually do 2 in the afternoon or vice versa.  For night time, we try to put her down around 7 but it usually ends up being between 7 and 8 (or 8:30 on Family Dinner nights).  She usually sleeps 11-12 hrs.  She is (thankfully) like Ella in that we pretty much never hear from her in the middle of the night.  It's months between night wakings and they usually happen if she's sick or didn't sleep well during the day.  So thankful for another good sleeper! 

Playing with her buddies D and J

I am still nursing three times a day at this point.  We dropped the 4th feeding (4pm) around 11 months because she just wasn't that interested in it and only ate for about 5 minutes.  We're trying to drop the midday feeding now (before her afternoon nap) partially because we're trying to introduce cow's milk so she really doesn't need to nurse again after lunch. At this point she'll only drink the cow's milk warm, in a bottle, from Chris.  If I try to give it to her she tries to rip my shirt off to nurse.  And though she's an expert with the sippy cup (which took Ella MUCH longer) she'll only drink water out of it.  This seems weird but everyone I've mentioned it to says their baby does the same thing. At this point I'm planning to stick with nursing twice a day for a while longer-until Sadie self-weans and is no longer interested, or until I'm just really done (which I'm starting to think might be soonish-I REALLY want to go away with my husband overnight!  It's been well over a year and I miss getting away sans kids). But, it was a huge goal and accomplishment for me to nurse Sadie for a year after being forced to stop nursing early with Ella because of having surgery. So, I'm glad to have hit this milestone!

Food wise, we're pretty much done with baby food.  It's tempting to still give it to her because she'll happily eat it, it's faster, and she gets a lot more vegetables than if I give her table food.  Sadie eats a lot quantity wise (more than Ella at every meal, hands down) but as we transition to only table food, it's hard to get a handle on what she'll eat!  She'll LOVE something (blueberries, grapes, cheerios, peas, carrots, eggs, cheese) and eat lots and lots of it and then get sick of it (I assume) and refuse to eat it again the next week.  So, I'm trying to not indulge her when she gets obsessed with something and maybe that way she'll continue to like it long term.  She will always eat meat though.  Pretty much any kind of poultry, red meat, fish will get sucked off her tray with everything else left untouched!  Not sure where this comes from since neither Chris or I are big meat eaters/lovers and Ella barely touches it unless it has the word "nugget" attached and comes with a  dipping sauce. Nonetheless, baby carnivore is  not to hard to please and I hope she continues to have a healthy appetite!

          Just this week (12.5 months) she's really starting to pull up on things and cruise tentatively.  She's loved walking holding onto our hands for months but is getting braver about trying to hold on to furniture (or Ella, or the dog) to try to walk.  I keep hearing stories from friends with little boys about how they flail off of couches or just let go of things and fall on the faces.  Sadie is not like this. She is definitively cautious.  She will sit down and crawl if she thinks she might fall.  She will NOT walk unless she has two hands on pretty solid things.  As a physically cautious person, I'm ok with this tentative approach.  She'll learn even if she is a late walker like Ella. I'm cool with that :-)

Overall, Sadie is a curious, joyful girl.  She's come out of her separation anxiety quite a bit and though she prefers me and Chris, she's started to go to people she doesn't know pretty well!  She even had a successful service in Bridgekids at church a few weeks ago after months of getting called out of the service.  She's a little fickle though.  Chris' mom babysat the other night and she refused to take a bottle and go to sleep.  Bummer.  She'll get there :-)  She's definitely my more attached, less independent little girl and I'm ok with that even if there are moments it feels a little stiffling. 

Speaking of personality differences, Sadie is my introvert.  She was largely terrified at her birthday party (as were most other introverts there-someone counted 68 people in my not-so-big house!).  She doesn't cry with large crowds but does adopt a deer in headlights posture and would rather sit in a corner with an interesting toy (these days, anything that makes music) than schmooze with all the people in the room.  As an extrovert who married an introvert, I recognize these characteristics and love seeing her preferences emerge. 

Sadie LOVES her big sister and 90% of the time they get a long great.  Occasionally Ella gets in trouble for snatching toys for Sadie or stealing her food or dragging her from room to room but so far so good.  Ella has just started to complain sometimes that Sadie gets something she didn't get or that something isn't fair and I expect much more of this rivalry to come.  That said, I'm thankful for a pretty rivalry-less first year.  Ella is a huge help with Sadie and usually is happy to entertain her, rescue her from dangers (like the bathroom or small toys), and get her snacks (because then she can usually score a snack for herself!)  Ella loves having matching clothes with Sadie and talks about how much fun it will be when they can share a room with bunk beds or Sadie can come for "sleepovers" in Ella's trundle bed.  It's wonderful to see their relationship develop and I'm so glad they'll get to learn lots of life lessons about sharing, life not being fair, people being different etc. from having a sister.  I must say, Ella is already begging for another baby so I'd say year one with a sister has been a great success, by the grace of God!

One!

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Sadie-11 months!

This baby is exploding with speech, mobility, and utter cuteness.  She was a late crawler and early talker just like Ella.  She scooted on her stomach some until just a week or two ago.  Her actual "crawling" (more like sitting and pulling forward with her hands) started just before she turned 11 months.  She likes standing and walking holding onto adult hands but is cautious (like her mama!) and isn't pulling up or cruising yet.  No concerns about that, she can take her time :-)



She is a moody talker meaning, she has times during the day where she talks non stop and then moments of silence.  Her go to phrases lately have been "ohh wow!!" or "whatz zat?"  She also sometimes says "uh oh" and "all done."  She also has random things she's only said on one occassion.  Like "french fry" and "are we there?" (I'm not kidding)





Sadie is a dancer.  It's just part of her.  We think it's my Rockette-grandmother's legacy living on (where she got her blue eyes also!)  The girl cannot hear music and not shake her bootie.  It's hilarious.  And her moves are developing over time.  She not shakes her shoulders, moves side to side, bounces up and down, shakes her hips, claps, bobs her head-quite a repertoire for a tiny person.  The girl just has the need to move when ANY kind of music comes on, anywhere.  It's SO cute!

Sadie Baby at 9 months

Sadie-lady is blossoming!  So much is happening with her...

*She had her 9 month appointment exactly on her 9 month-iversary (birthday?) and her stats were good!  She was 17lbs 12oz (32nd percentile) and she was 60th percentile for height.  I was shocked with all her cute-chubby rolls that she's not even at average for weight!  She's staying on her curve though and the doctor is pleased :-)

*In motor skills, she's a champion when it comes to fine motor skills-her pincer grasp is awesome and she's been feeding herself cheerios for a couple months now.
*As far as gross motor, she's a bit of a late bloomer like her sister which is fine by me.  In the last 2 weeks she's figured out how to scoot in circles and backwards on her stomach but is still not crawling. I'm sure it'll come :-)
*Like Ella also, she loves to stand and much prefers it to being on her tummy. As we learned with Ella, this means nothing about walking early! (Ella didn't walk til 16 months!)

*Sadie is very social and loves interacting with people.  She's definitely had some separation anxiety over the last month or two and has only stayed in the nursery at church once for an entire service in the last 2-3 months.  Certainly not as independent as Ella was but she seems to be coming out of this phase and goes to other people more often this week than last. She sure loves mama though :-)

*Schedule wise, Sadie generally wakes around 7, naps around 9:30-11ish and again from 2-4ish.  She heads to bed like Ella, between 7 and 8pm.  We had a WRETCHED period a few weeks ago where she got her first teeth at the same time she was having a growth spurt and for a few weeks she was waking up 2-3 times a night.  Because she was legitimately hurting or hungry for the first week or two I got up and nursed her each time but then it just became a pattern.  Every night I'd think I'd stop feeding her or send Chris in but just couldn't bear listening to a baby who is usually SO happy cry her eyes out.  So I'd give in and feed her.  After some encouragement from playgroup moms I decided to stop feeding her during the night (she'd been going all night without food for MONTHS!) and bite the bullet. Waking 2-3 times a night was not doing anything good for her or for me so it was time to stop. As I knew deep down would happen, it just took 3 nights of her crying and me comforting but not feeding her and she has been sleeping all night since.  Sleep training sucks but is totally worth it.

*Those blue eyes haven't faded a bit so we'll see if she keeps them or not!  People comment on them all the time.  Both of our grandmothers have light hair and blue eyes so maybe she takes after them!

*Sadie loves her food.  She's still nursing 4 times a day (7, 12, 4, 7) and eats 3 meals and sometimes some snacks.  She likes pretty much anything we give her and I've been much quicker in introducing table food than I was with Ella.  At each meal Sadie usually eats a bowl full of fruits, veggies, or yogurt (with cereal mixed in usually) and some table food-she's tried bananas, chicken, beef, breads of all kinds, peaches, pears, and I'm sad to say, shes tried hot dogs and french fries too :-)

*Sadie seems to be more interested in communicating than becoming mobile.  Last week, clear as day she started saying "all done" after eating while signing it.  She will not do it on command or consistenly but she's said it many times now.  It surprised me every time!  She seems so little to be talking!  We also had her saying "Are we there?" last week when we were driving.  Craziness!  She hasn't said "mama" yet and doesn't quite seem to associate "dada" with Chris but she definitely says "Ella" pretty often :-)

*Along with this desire to communicate, I'm sad to report, she has just started shrieking when she wants something (usually food).  I'm SO not a fan of the shrieking phase.  Maybe it'll be short-lived, here's hoping.

*Though there have been moments of irritability (so I now know she's capable of being imperfect) Sadie is still a very happy, sweet baby.  It's been fun to see her really start to interact knowingly with the world and people.  For instance...

*if she wants a toy that's out of her reach, she'll slap the ground or table or bed next to the object to get it to bounce her way-so smart!
*she recognizes the words "clap" and "dance" and will usually do them on command
*she LOVES to "dance" whenever music comes on!  I must take a video.  It's so cute how she starts to bounce her little body around and wave her hands!

*Our sleep routine has become nursing or snuggling in the chair in her room and then I carry her over to the light switch, she reaches out and pushed down the dimmer to turn off the light and immediately lays her head on my shoulder (have I mentioned I prayed for a snuggly child for years???-this MELTS my heart every single time!), I sing to her and sway in the dark for a while and then lay her in her bed, tuck her in, press her gloworm, hand her her favorite stuffed animal (Penuin-y) and she smiles, hugs the penguin and I walk out.  For the most part, she goes right to sleep after this.  We are SO blessed.

I'm sure there are other things I'm forgetting but suffice it to say, we're all hopelessly in love with this little one and excited to see all she's blossoming into as she grows.  If only she'd slow down a little so i can savor her babyhood a little longer!

Sadie's Dedication

On Mother's Day we were able to participate in Baby dedication at our church.  We were able to publicly dedicate ourselves to raising Sadie in the love and knowledge of God. It was great to have lots of friends and family there-it meant a lot to us to feel support as we start this parenting journey for a second time (this time having a better idea of what we're getting into!)  And Lord knows, we can use His help and the prayers and support of his people.

Our cheering section! 3 rows strong!

Post dedication.  Sadie is getting so big! She's 9 months old here.

Attempting to get a good pic is rough but I almost enjoy the crazy-reality pictures more than the perfectly posed ones.

Sadie has been nicknamed "the hair monster" because she is constantly pulling hair, especially Ella's