There's A First Time For...

Sarah's had several firsts this week!

1) She's started sleeping through the night...finally! I decided to just turn off the baby monitor so that I could get a good night's sleep. Either it worked or I just don't hear he cry in the middle of the night. And I'm fine with that.

2) She's gotten her first tooth! Bottom, left, of course...and barely poking through. As with Caleb, she really showed few signs that this was coming. Yes, she had been gnawing on things, namely her finger, but as far as fussiness goes, we haven't seen much more than usual. We are so blessed!

3) She took a dip in the pool this past weekend. And she hated it. I think it's because the water was too cold, but I'm not sure. Let's hope so!

4) She is able to crawl on her hands and knees! She still prefers the belly crawl, but we're seeing more of the actual official hands and knees crawl.

Rainbow Cookies

I've been known to grow a wild hair or two...and attempt things I've seen on the internet.

Today is one such example.

While they turned out pretty and the colors are so vibrant, I will probably not be trying to make these again. The process was tedious and loooooooong.

I made the sugar cookie dough last night, divided it into 6 Ziploc bags, refrigerated it overnight, and added the coloring this morning. The coloring process was lengthy since the dough was less than malleable and kept sticking to the inside of the bags. Perhaps I should've added the coloring last night before refrigerating it. Hmmmm.....

Then I rolled each color into a "snake" and flattened it out onto the baking sheet, making a large rainbow rectangle. I cut the rectangle into strips before baking. I did my best to squish the colors together tightly so that after cutting and baking the rainbow sticks, they would stay together. No such luck. Some of the finished rainbow cookies came apart, creating 6 small brightly colored cookies. Oh, well. The rainbow cookies excited Caleb and gave me a creative outlet for the day.

I used THIS sugar cookie recipe from allrecipes.com, and loosely followed THESE instructions to create our masterpiece.

On to new things tomorrow!

Happy Birthday, Jadie!

J is for the way you always joke around. This is one of my favorite things about you. Not so much when you pull a fast one on me, but more so when you tell me the stories of how you've duped a friend by telling a big whopper. I've had many laughs because of your antics!

A is for your abilities. Although you are sometimes a doubter when it comes to your abilities, I have watched you challenge yourself and succeed at several things you thought you just couldn't do. You CAN do anything you put your mind to, especially if it's something God has called you to do. He will equip you for every good work.

D is for deafening. Ha! I think of your "World's Most Annoying Noise." I think you should perform that one for a few more people. They are all missing out.

I is for improvement. Besides the numerous home improvements that you've tackled over the years, I have seen you improve upon yourself. You continue to become a stronger and stronger man of God each day.

E is for the ways you exercise generosity. You share your time, your expertise, your encouragement, your money, your friendship, and your faith. Most importantly, you offer yourself. Thank you for that.

Know that you are loved...on your 31st birthday and on every day to come.

Sarah's 9 months old!

Here are the stats:

Weight: 16 lbs. 3 oz. and 10th percentile

Height: 26 1/4 in. and 10th percentile

Head Circumference: 17 in. and 30th percentile

Praise the Lord for:

No vaccinations today

A healthy, beautiful baby girl

No teeth yet, so we're still nursing!

Praying about:

My desire to have just one more baby...

Jadie's desire to quit before we're outnumbered.

Continued health and growth for Caleb and Sarah.

Guest Bathroom Finished!

Out with the old...

And in with...

the new lighting...

the new faucet...

the newly painted cabinets and new knobs...

new paint, new tile, newly steadied toilet, and a host of other "new" things!

Here are the after pictures.

Let's tell Jadie how great a job he did!

Am I Paranoid?

This morning, while the kids and I were standing in line at the Home Depot service desk, a nicely dressed, middle-aged, Hispanic woman began doting on Sarah. I was holding Sarah and Caleb was standing beside me. This woman was sweet, but she threw me for a loop. After a few minutes of commenting about how cute Sarah is, she asked if she could hold Sarah. Immediately, my defenses went up. I don't know you, I thought. I can't outrun you in my flip flops. There is no way in this life that I would let a stranger hold my baby in the middle of a store. It would be too easy for you to kidnap my precious little girl! Does this make me paranoid? I mean abnormally paranoid? Or is this an example of healthy protective instincts?

Are You Ready For This?

No, no I'm not.

As I said the other day, Sarah is scooting around...and she's getting better at it fast!

Over the last few years, I have slowly come full circle so that we now have a house that is 100% NOT baby-proof.  It looks like I'll be re-baby-proofing the house soon.  Most likely I will do this the lazy way and only baby-proof things as she finds them.  Not to worry, the plugs are still covered since having Caleb.  So I guess I stretched the truth a bit.  Our house is 90% not baby-proofed.  

I believe it is best to teach my children the word "no." So, if Sarah gets into something that is not dangerous and only creates an annoying mess (such as the photos above), I will probably just tell her "No," move her to a new spot, and clean up the mess.  Of course, I give the disclaimer that if I get tired of cleaning up the same mess again and again, I'll eventually end up moving the items she keeps getting into.  

So, we embark on a new stage in our lives.  I feel like I've been here before...

Scooting Sarah

Sarah's been working hard! If she's motivated enough, she'll sort of army crawl across the room to get to what she wants. Otherwise, she's content to sit in one place and play with her toys.

In other news, I'm still hoping she'll drop her last night feeding so I can sleep through the night. Prayers welcome!

Tiny Toes Taste Good