Sydney turns ONE!

Well, it happened.  Our baby girl turned one year old on April 18th!  It blows my mind how fast this year went by.  It seriously feels like we just brought her home from the hospital and were adjusting to our new life as a family of four.  This year has been a whirlwind.  We quickly learned that our Sydney Kate would not be the champ sleeper that her brother was, so that took some time to adjust to.  I call her my "firecracker" because she can have quite the strong personality.  We noticed this with many "loud" sleepless nights and she can get loud when big brother "gets in her way".  The girls is learning how to stand up for herself!  However, she can be the sweetest little thing and cuddle with you all day long!!  I know God has big plans for her and we can't wait to see it all come into fruition!

My prayer for Sydney is that she can find a husband that is just like her daddy.  Sydney loves her daddy more than words can describe, you can see it in her eyes when he walks through the door everyday.  James has a big job in front of him…showing this girl how a Godly man does life, treats the people in his life and most importantly, walks with God.  James sets such wonderful examples of these qualities and for that, I am so thankful.

Sydney, you made me a "girl mom" and I am humbled that God chose me as your mother.  You were prayed for for so long.  After two miscarriages and a year and a half of waiting for a baby, YOU are it. You are the one God wanted us to have and that is special!  Mommy, Daddy and Parker love you so much, more than you know!  We can't wait to see what this next year has in store for you!  We love you!

So…to celebrate this momentous occasion, this girl had THREE parties!  I went all out with the pink and we had SO much fun!  We are so blessed with great friends and family that wanted to celebrate along with us!  

And now for picture overload…

Party #1  

Sydney's "baby" friends came to a picnic party for her

Me with the guest of honor!

Blair had so much fun pushing Sydney.

Everyone enjoying the warm sun and good food.

Cupcake time!

 Presents!

Party #2

The Austin family party at our house!

We had all of James's family to our house for dinner and cupcakes the weekend before her birthday.

The decor!

My mom made that chalkboard poster with all her first year stats and favorites on it.  A keepsake for sure!

Eating dinner early because when you're the birthday girl, you can eat whenever you want!

Not so sure about everyone singing to her.

She loved it!

Opening presents

Katherine and Adelynn and Parker the photo bomb in the back!  ;)

Party #3

On her actual birthday at Neesie and Grandad's house in Dallas

Sydney sitting in my rocking chair I had as a little girl.

Her lively audience!  ;)

Opening presents

The table

The hat never lasted long!

Our big one year old!

Sydney with her great-grandparents!

Saying goodnight to Dede…the party was over for this sweet one, it was a big day!

At one year old you…

*  still have just two teeth

*  pull up on everything and try to let go and balance

*  still eat anything and everything I put in front of you, not picky at all

*  drink whole milk from a sippy cup…I have officially weaned you!  I made it a year nursing you!!

*  squeal SO loud when you don't like what Parker is doing to you or for you

*  want more and more independence 

*  are still the best snuggler

*  take a two to three hour nap in the afternoons (praise the Lord)

*  sleep all night most nights

*  smile all the time

*  follow Parker around everywhere

*  want to look out the window to see what's outside

*  notice things and point at them now

*  love seeing and hearing birds chirp  (you couldn't hear them before ear tube surgery on April 8th)

*  do not do long car trips well

*  are so much FUN!!  We love to laugh with you!

Many more happy birthdays baby girl!!

Warming up!!

Spring is in the air and it's definitely warming up which means…we are spending more and more time outdoors!  Hooray!!  Here are some things we have been up to:

Baseball!!  This is Parker's first time to play any kind of organized sport. To say he loves it is an understatement!!

So very proud of his new bat bag, name tag and everything inside the bag!

He is a natural.

I know I'm his mom, but I love to see his God given talent at work.  Being athletic is a gift and sports just come so easily to him.  Playing gives him such joy, it's truly what he loves to do!

Little sis loves going to practices and being his cheerleader!

Warm weather also means more trips to the ranch!

We loaded up and headed out for a weekend with some of our favorite friends, the Wings!

We ALL piled in the mule for a fun ride.

The ride lulled Sydney to sleep.

Walt and Morgan playing in the sand pile at the new house out there.

Wyatt and Parker

Her very first trip to the Red River Steakhouse!  Yum!!

Buddies.

Do you notice a theme here?  Parker is OBSESSED with his Baylor football jersey and wears it everywhere.  I wash it so much I'm afraid it's just going to fall apart.

Warm weather means yard work is beginning!!  Sydney wanted in on the action.

You can always find this girl at a window.  A girl after my own heart…always wants to be outdoors enjoying a pretty day.

Do you see what I see?  Little baby leaves!!!

A tip of the hat from P at practice the other night.

And this is just too cute not to post.  If I'm doing the dishes, Sydney is right beside me sitting on the dishwasher lid.  ;)  Such a "helper"!

10 months

So Sydney turned 11 months old on March 18th and I realized that I never did her 10 month post.  Sigh.  One day I will be more on top of this blog…one day.  ;)

Sydney Kate, you change every day and I can't handle it!  You are growing up before our eyes and are literally taking off.  We get a kick out of your laugh, it kind of sounds like a hyena or something, it's hysterical and cute at the same time!  You have gotten so fast at crawling and are into everything!  I love how curious you are and how you love to "help" me by grabbing everything from my hands and doing it yourself!

At 10 months Sydney…
*  basically sleeping all night
*  takes a 21/2 to 3 hour nap in the afternoon
*  loves to eat finger foods by herself
*  favorites include string cheese, cheerios, strawberries, yogurt, waffles and squeeze pouches filled with any vegetable imaginable!
*  still nurses about 4 times a day
*  loves books
*  has two teeth
*  is obsessed with her paci still
*  has enough hair to put clip bows in!!

Our happy girl!!

Spring Break 2014

Spring break has come and gone believe it or not!  That means we are one step closer to summer…can I get an amen??  A couple of weeks ago, the kids and I flew down to Dallas to play for a couple of days over Spring break and had a blast hanging out with my fam!  The weather did not disappoint and we had so much fun!

Waiting for our plan in Amarillo.

He loves the window seat.

Sydney did this the whole flight!!

While we were there, we did what girls do best, we shopped!

And tried on bunny ears!  She was thrilled.

We had a gorgeous day at the Arboretum for pictures!

Have I told you how much I LOVE having a girl??  

There is a new kid's section there with giant bugs to crawl on, science stations to play with and all kinds of other fun things.  Parker loved it!

Two tired kids on the way out.

We also hit up the Dallas Zoo with every other resident of Dallas.  It literally was a ZOO!

Parker loved looking at the map and telling us where to go.

My monkey

Sis did great just riding along in the stroller.

Petting zoo

Looking for the otter.

You KNOW my trip to Dallas wouldn't be complete without a trip to North Park Mall!

A selfie with my sista!