Baby Girl

Our baby niece was born yesterday. She is very beautiful and a smile in our souls. New Mommy did great through the labor. She never once seemed worried or unconfident.  I had the privilege of coaching her through, along side others, to keep her motivated.  It will be a moment in my life that I will always cherish; a moment that is just as special as Syrah’s delivery.

Layla Grace

9/10/09

4:14 PM

6 lbs 5.8 oz
19 in

9 month toddler

Mami put it perfectly when she said, “Sabrina, it isn’t everyday that you are going to have a 9 month old toddler.”

Even though Syrah is still considered a ‘baby,’ she acts like a little toddler girl. She wants to do everything by herself, she won’t eat baby food like other 9 month olds we know, she is almost running, she helps us by handing us stuff, she is going up and down stairs, talking in her own language, helping us undress her, and being full comfortable playing with bigger kids.

Now that Syrah is walking, she is into everything and being such a good helper. We love our 9 month old toddler.

Children's Museum

On the 4th, I took Syrah to the Tacoma Children’s Museum to meet up with some of the mothers from Church. It is a small place, but it works great for kids to come and play and learn. Syrah had as much fun as a 9 month old girl could. She played with everything she could get her hands on.

She walked around mostly, watching the other kids, but if an older kid was playing with something, she would go over there and play. She really enjoyed playing with some buttons that when pushed (or smacked in her case), they would light up and make animal noises. She looked really cute standing next to the bigger kids. I could tell that she totally felt like she belonged there with them and not with the other babies her age that were sitting on the floor.

She made this little boy cry.  Not even 10 months and getting beat up by a girl!

Rock A Bye Baby

We purchased a rocking chair from our neighbors and figured that Syrah would enjoy it. Little did we know that she knew exactly what it was and immediately proceeded to climb up it, stand, and start bouncing/rocking back and forth. It only took us a day or two to teach her how to turn around and get down without our help.

5 Years!

Tony and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary on August 7, 2009. We didn't actually 'celebrate' it till the following weekend. We had a great 2 days.

Friday, Tony and I dropped Syrah off at Jo-Anne's and Amanda's for the day and night. She got to have her first baby sleepover without her parents around. She had so much fun. She got to play with Noah, play in the bath tub, and cuddle with Nana and Auntie. Noah even gave her a kiss.

Tony and I drove up to Anacortes for the night. We stayed at a beautiful place called the Majestic Inn and Spa. There we visited the antique stores, had a really good dinner at the Inn (that was prepared by a Chef that cooked for Hugh Hefner), and had an hour massage each at the spa. We also walked the harbor to look at all the boats. Then we hiked up a trail that gave us a beautiful view of the San Juan Islands. It was a steep hike, but well worth it. Being at the top of this ‘mountain’ was relaxing and very peaceful.

After the hike, we walked over to the local park where the city was having an outdoor festival. A band called Handful of Lov'in was playing and the kids were dancing on the grass. It was fun to see almost the whole town there, sitting in lawn chairs with blankets over the laps.

On Saturday, we went to Deception pass. I love that area and wanted to take Tony. So, we walked the length of both bridges (looking down to see the boats go underneath) to get to a trail head that went down to the shore

We spent some time walking along the beach. Even thought it was fun and relaxing, we both agreed that without Syrah there with us, it wasn’t quite right.

The last thing we did on Saturday was go see Harry Potter. We both really enjoyed the movie. By the time we finished our 5th year anniversary celebration, it was late in the evening, Syrah was asleep and we were ready to go home.

The last 5 years were great to us. We had challenges that we had to overcome together and our family grew by one little girl; but most of all, our relationship moved out of the newly stage into the next phase in our lives. What this new phase will be like, we don’t know; but together, we will press forward.

  

Baby Food Reject

I can't remember the exact date, but some time late August, Syrah decided that she didn't want ANYTHING to do with baby food anymore. S he didn't want her favorite sweet potatoes or beans. She didn't want pears, apples and prunes or peaches.

What she did want, spaghetti, chicken nuggets, pancakes, Mac n' cheese and anything else that Mommy and Daddy were eating.  Her rule of thumb 'as long as it is solid and I can pick it up with my two fingers, I eat it.'

I really wasn't fully prepared for this transition, as I am never prepared for her to grow up, but with Tony's creative cooking mind, we have been pretty good about eating dinner that isn't just cereal or chili.