Memorial Day: A Day to Remember

I thought I would take time to wish everyone a good Memorial Day. I hope you all took a few minuets out of your day to think about and honor all of those who have given their life for our country. We would not be living in such a great place (yes, it is still great even though we are being gouged on the price of gas) without the dedication of our past and present military personnel.

Memorial Day BBQ

We had originally planned to go to Houston this weekend and visit the Nesrsta family, but with us not feeling well we decided to stay home. One of my friends from work, April just moved across the street from Shana and invited us over for a BBQ today. It was the first time we left the house all weekend so it was nice. They have a big trampoline in the backyard and I wanted to see how Sydney would react. I put her in the middle and gently bounced her, she laughed and smiled. Here are some pictures

She was exhausted after all of that jumping

We got a little of it on video too...

Obstacle Course

This weekend was Memorial Day and I got to spend four days at home playing with Sydney. Considering both of us were not feeling 100% we were pretty lazy. One of the few fun things we did was practice going through an obstacle course I made up for Sydney.

She had to first remove the blanket from her head, crawl through the tunnel, crawl to the chair and stand up, crawl to a pillow and climb over it, and then crawl to the love seat and stand up. It was fun and surprisingly it didn't take long for her to get it quick. Of course she needed some inspiration so the video below will show me being very silly and coaxing her on with musical toys.

All and all it was fun and a great way to spend some quality time. It also lets you see how well she is getting around now. Way to go Sydney...

Happy Birthday!

I thought I would wish myself and Nathan's sister Rebecca a very Happy Birthday!!!
We are lucky to share this wonderful day. I hope it is wonderful for both of us. :)

All of the great things everyone sent me. Thanks again I had to get a close up picture of the cute necklace Shana got for me.

Sydney loves it too (or should i say she loves to chew on it)

Pictures of the Week

Here are a few cute pictures from the week. She is doing more and more everyday. I am amazed how quickly she is getting around now. She is next to me one min. and the next she is in the living room playing with something she shouldn't. (you know they always find the things you don't want them to.) More pictures to come next week.

Standing in her crib
Sitting pretty with the flowers Daddy bought for Mommy
Gorgeous in yellow
Playing in the bathroom
Budding photogropher: she took it of herself while playing with the camera

We Will Miss You

Since I am always stealing ideas from Shana, I thought we would make our own montage to the Shockley Family. I can't believe we have been her for over three years together. I know you aren't leaving for a few weeks but I need to prepare myself. :)

Louisiana will not be the same without you guys. Here is a little tribute to our time together...

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I wanted to take the time and acknowledge the mothers and soon to be mothers in our life. I could go on forever telling each of you how special you are to us but nobody wants to be reading this all day long, so I will get to the point.

All of you have touched our lives in different ways and we will never forget that. Please take time today and enjoy your family. If you can't be with your loved ones today remember all of the great times you have had together and know that they are thinking of you wherever they are. We miss all of you and can't wait to see you again soon.

OK enough Cheesy stuff --Happy Mother's Day!!!

My First Mother's Day!

With this being my first official Mother's Day I think I got a little spoiled. Not only did my loving husband send me some gorgeous tulips, but Nathan's family and my mom also sent me some flowers. The only two things that would make this day more special are if Nathan were here to celebrate with us and if Sydney finally says ma ma. I am not holding my breath for either of them. Thank You to everyone.

Military Spouse Appreciation Day

Since 1984, the Armed Forces have set aside a special day to acknowledge the significant contributions of our spouses. This year, Friday, May 9, 2008, has been designated Military Spouse Appreciation Day. The life of a military family is one of unique challenges. Spouses continue to meet these challenges with grace and strength. Take time to thank your spouse for a job well-done. (Courtesy of Military.com)

I thought I would take the time to let all of you current and former military spouses know how much we care about you. Deployments are rough (we definitely know that one first hand) but it is nice to know that we are appreciated. Thank You!

Pictures of the Week

I thought I would steal yet another idea from Shana and add a few adorable pictures of the week. She does picture of the day but we all know I am not that good to update the blog everyday.

She fell asleep while eating her afternoon snack
Trying to espcape to the backyard
Peaking out the window

She is Officially Crawling!!!!

She finally did it! YEY!!! I am so proud of her right now. Earlier this evening she just started crawling like she had been doing it all along. She crawled over to my purse on the floor and dumped it out. It was cute because she knows I keep some of her little baby puffs in there. I guess she was wanting a snack and couldn't wait.

This video shows her getting around pretty well. Next step is walking-we all better watch out because Sydney is on the move. :)

We all know she is so much cuter then this ugly baby!!!

Sydney's Birthday Theme???

I thought we would get every one's opinion as to which theme we should do for Sydney's upcoming birthday. For those of you in Washington we are planning to have a party there and of course everyone is invited. To see pictures of each theme click on the arrow at the side of the choices. Thanks for your input.

Poll Answers

Binky Withdrawls

I know I have posted a lot of things today but since it doesn't get done all that often I think it is OK. I just wanted to let you know that Sydney is jonesing for a binky. She has officially been binky free for a little over a week now. She doesn't mind so much until it is bedtime and then she fusses a little but usually within 10 min. she is fast asleep. Now we just have to make sure that she doesn't replace it with her thumb. Boy it is going to suck having a dental hygienist as a mom because she isn't going to get to do anything fun. :) Bye Bye Binky!!

Sydney Giberish

In this video Sydney is speaking her own language that only she understands. It is too cute. To date she has officially said da da and ba ba. We are very close to doggy but still have a little work to do. After all this time alone with mommy she still hasn't said ma ma but I know she loves me even if she doesn't say it. Enjoy... but please ignore the cluttered floor.

Sydney Laughing

This video clip is Sydney giggling while I am tickling her. I will apologize that her head is turned away from the camera for part of it. I had to set up the tripod in order to get the video so it isn't perfect, but it is very cute. Enjoy...

Cute Spring Sydney Pics

I thought I would post the latest adorable Sydney pictures. I will send them out on shutterfly to for those of you who request that. I know I am her mom but she is so beautiful...

Fun Day at Paint & Party

Whenever us girls all get together we always try to do something fun even though we have limited options. Yesterday we all went to a little pottery place called Paint & Party. We picked out a few items and then got to paint them however we chose fit. Sydney even got in on the action. We will not get our projects back for a week while they finish and fire them, so we are anxiously waiting to see our final creations. Aiden and Sydney were exhausted by the end of the day and covered in paint (good thing it was washable).

Getting ready to paint

Mommy holding Sydney tight so she doesn't eat the paint
Sydney leaving her mark on a trivet
All done and messy
Aiden and Sydney holding hands after the eventful day Sydney racked out on the way back to the car

Silly Puppy

I couldn't resist sharing this picture with everyone. Linus apparently was trying to snuggle with my down comforter and got his head, neck, and one leg caught in between two buttons. I did feel sorry for him but had to take a picture. Silly Puppy.

First Big Scare

Yesterday the girls and I met for lunch at a cute little soup and sandwich place in Leesville. Sydney was sitting in the high chair chowing down on a cracker when I looked over and she wasn't making any noise and was turning very red. Apparently she had tried to eat half of the cracker at once and was choking on it. I patted her back and got the piece out with my finger and everything was fine.

The thing that surprised me was how quick the whole thing happened, and to my surprise my heart didn't jump. I always considered myself a panicky person but anyone watching would have thought it was an every day occurrence with how I responded and how quickly we got the piece out. It is good to know that in situations like these I don't freak out, but I hope I don't get any more practice.

Disney Dress Up Fun

We just wanted to share a few pictures of Sydney in her adorable Disney outfit. Her Gramie and Aunt Becca bought her the shirt and Tony, Kir, Mav, and Lainey bought her the mouse ears with her name on the back. She has all of these cute souvenirs it is like she has actually gone herself. Thanks again everyone.