I've Had a Holly Jolly Christmas...

It's the best time of the year! Santa came to town and clearly read my list with perfect attention to detail because I got everything that I asked for! :) The fun and presents continued when Grandma stopped by Christmas morning. I could barely believe my eyes when I opened a Barney doll that sings the classic, "I love you, You love me..." tune. I can't seem to contain my dance wiggles every time I press his belly!

We spent the rest of the day at Mimi and Papa's. Just when I thought that there couldn't possibly be any more boxes to open, I got treated to a mound of awesome toys. I love every single one of my gifts! My baby dolls also received the royal treatment. I will now be able to take care of them perfectly with my new doll stroller, cradle, highchair, swing, and crib. The S Family was sooooo generous and spoiled me rotten this Christmas.

Gift-giving continued today at Grandma's house.... how lucky am I to have two days of Christmas?! I love, love, loooove my new tee ball and bat. I'll be ready for little league in no time. GUP & GAP always give the perfect keepsake gifts. My library has some very special treasures from the two of them. Thank you, F family, for being so incredibly generous and thoughtful.

To view all of our Christmas photos, click here!

Wrapped & Ready!

Cheeri-ooooooos!

Eating "O's" out of the box is so much fun..... until I accidentally turn the box upside down and all the yumminess falls to the floor right in front of my eyes.

Scene 1: Shock and sadness that the entire cereal box emptied to the floor.

Scene 2: Less sadness as mommy and daddy encourage me to clean-up. FYI: Putting things away just happens to be one of my favorite things to do!

After a few seconds, I became bored with cleaning up and let Sadie handle the rest. :)

Middle Age Spread

Sadie is getting older and we expected a slight weight gain, however it seems to be happening much more rapidly than previously thought. Mommy and daddy might have figured out why the process has accelerated so quickly...

In the Christmas Spirit...

Miss Independent

I like to do things on my own. As soon as I hear, "Want to go ni-night?", I walk over to the stairs and head up to my bedroom all by myself...

Happy Birthday Dada!!!

Daddy turned 32 yesterday!!! I had the perfect daddy/daughter day while mommy was quarantined in bed with the yucky stomach flu. We went to a birthday lunch hosted by Grandma and then to Bass Pro Shops. I never knew that looking at fishing lures could be so fascinating! Some of the things that make my dada so special: endless snuggles, sweet kisses, clever games, belly laughs, sharing butter pecan ice cream, Barney whenever I want, and super fast diaper changes. Happy Birthday daddy... you are the best!

A for Effort

Mum-mum and Da-Da have very brave souls. They attempted a holiday card photo shoot all by themselves. Each one had a clear role in the process... mommy was the photographer, daddy was the entertainer. His responsibilities included making me smile, keeping me in one spot for more than a millisecond, and trying to cover up a ketchup stain on my tights. Here are some of their faves... :)

I wonder if this is how Tyra Banks feels after her photo shoots too...

Chef Sydney

My routine in the morning is as follows: Wake up, have diaper changed, slowly eat oatmeal, gulp down yogurt, sip on milk, get down from high chair, crawl straight to the kitchen drawer to get out my apron, insist that the apron be put on immediately, play all morning in my apron, cry when my apron is taken off for naptime, wake up from nap and forget about apron until the very next morning.

Ghirardelli Brownie Mix

The brownies mentioned above are the BEST brownies on the planet. Well, to be honest, I haven't had many other kinds because mommy insists on making this kind over and over again.

Mmmmm.... this stuff is goo-ooo-oood!

More, I want MORE!

What do you mean we've scraped the bowl and there isn't one drop left?!!

Peek-a-BOO

One of my favorite games is to hide and play peek-a-boo. I'm not a very good judge of how big I am, so sometimes I hide behind something that doesn't exactly cover me (like a kitchen chair)! I still think it's funny every single time. :)

Burning the Midnight Oil

I was so excited for Thanksgiving with the F family this year, that I didn't sleep one minute the night before! Mommy and daddy tried everything to help me sleep in the hotel room... they put my crib in the bathroom, they moved it to the corner of the room, they turned on a nightlight, they put my crib right next to their bed, and they even put me IN their bed. Daddy's last ditch effort of taking me to Meijer at 4 am (to pick up Motrin) got some very critical looks. Apparently, Meijer was offering their "Black Friday" sales early. The shoppers assumed that he got me up to cruise around the store for good deals! Needless to say, I was completely out of sorts for Thanksgiving and we had to call it a day early. It was a short, but very sweet visit. I am looking forward to much more quality time (and more belly laughs) at Christmas!!!

Barn-Barn

You all know how much I love some Barney (barn-barn). We stopped over at GUP & GAP's house the evening before Thanksgiving. They were ready for my visit and had downloaded Barney videos for me. How super nice! Just more proof of my obsession with the big, purple dinosaur...* My daddy and Uncle Bryan used this high chair when they were little!

Well Rounded

I try to stay up on current events by browsing the TIME magazine.I like to follow my world updates with some lighter material... like the Barney alphabet book!

Daddy "Do"

This is what happens when the man of the house washes my hair...

MIA

Sorry I've been missing in blog action this week. :( Mommy has had conferences late into the evening and it's report card time at school, so she hasn't had a lot of opportunities to help me blog at night. Things are slowing down, so I'm back on the scene!

Pig Tails

I'm sporting my first set of pig tails!

Sydney Steps it Up

I learned the fastest way to get to a cheese puff is by WALKING! Oh, what a difference a day makes. Yesterday, I was a speed crawler. Today, I'm a walker. I toddled all the way across the room. I take great pride in my accomplishment as you can see in the end of this video. :)

Fort Sydney

Sunday was declared an official "Jammie Day". Mommy, Daddy, and I stayed in our jammies ALL day! Several forts were built throughout the day using couch pillows and blankets. Daddy built me this awesome fort in the kitchen. He always comes up with the best ideas...

Wanna go for a ride?!

I went to the "W" Thanksgiving this weekend. It's always fun to be around all of my second-cousins. I know that I'm not supposed to have a favorite, but I do (shhh... don't tell). Jayden is only one month older than me and we really "get" each other. I finally found someone that loves the car toy as much as I do. The best part was that I got to sit and cruise while he did all of the hard work!

Trucks & Tools

With my new cousin, I'm going to have to venture into unknown territory... trucks, tools, bulldozers, cars, trains, and building blocks. I met him tonight for the first time.... isn't he sooooo cute??! Mommy and daddy are trying really hard to teach me to say "baby", but all that usually comes out is "dada".

It's a BOY!

My Uncle Doug and Aunt Cecilly welcomed their first son, William Douglas, this afternoon! I am soooo excited to have a new cousin. I can't wait to have someone to boss around, uh I mean, play with at our family events. It's just too bad that Uncle Doug already put strict guidelines that neither Natalie, Libby, or I can dress Will up or play princess with him... shucks.

Big Belly Laughs

Daddy rigged a fun toy to play with last night! He tied a tennis ball to a string and then hung it from the ceiling. I thought it was HILARIOUS!!! Sadie, on the other hand, was less amused and more confused...

Lovebug

My Halloween was filled with more treats than tricks! Check out our Halloween album here. Mimi, this one's for you....

* The jack o' lantern pictured above is the work of the very talented, 2nd place carving contest winner... Uncle Cory!

Lunch Bags

The new kitchen knobs make it A LOT easier to do things like this...

Handy Andy

My daddy is a jack of all trades. He is always working on projects around the house. Recently, he added a tile backsplash to the kitchen. This past weekend, he added knobs and put crown moulding on all of the cabinets. Mommy insists how much more fun it is to cook dinner with the new-looking cabinets. Nice job, dada!

Our cabinets before daddy's magic:

Our cabinets after:

30 (the new 20)

Happy Birthday Aunt Katie! Mommy and I don't know what we'd do without you. You are such a wonderful friend and you spoil me so much. We hope that this is your best year yet! :) We love you.

Crisis Avoided

The one tried and true method of calming me down during a meltdown is to put me in my hot rod. If I'm really mad, there's no better way to cheer me up than a little cruise around the house. Much to Sadie's dislike, I've learned how to honk the horn. To put it mildly, it scares her to death and she scrambles away every time!

This "distraction" cruise happened just after my bath when I didn't feel like having to put a diaper back on! Honk! Honk! Moooove it Sadie!