Cousins

*this post was drafted 2 weeks ago*

what fun to get to hang out with cousins - we had a great time this past weekend spending time with family! it is so fun to watch these little cousins get to know each other and we hope for many more moments like these...and more cousins too :)

Sierra can finally play more now, but still can't quite keep up with Alex! he has been so sweet with her since the first time he met her as a newborn - but i'm sure he will like her even more when she can run around with him! and little Anya isn't too far behind either!

check out these 2 funny videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbZPo5P4nXM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SHphylfEcM

Anya (6 mos.), Alex (2.5 yrs.), Sierra (10.5 mos)

so sweet with his arms around his girls :)

Sierra is working on cutting a top tooth, as you can tell by her constant finger in mouth! ...and Alex appears to be nibbling on her shoulder...or is that a kiss??!

and just for fun, here is a picture from last Christmas (2009) - hard to believe how quickly they change!

Bella, Sierra (almost 3 months) and Alex (almost 2 yrs)

***and we are SOOOOOO excited to welcome the first cousin on my side of the family in January...a GIRL cousin, that is!!!!!!!!!!***

faces

on this Friday I give you some of Sierra's recent cute faces...she is full of expression and oh so spunky :)

a walker in training

Sierra has LOVED to walk around, holding onto our fingers, for a couple of months now. It was her preferred method of mobility until she mastered the crawl and can get around on her own. But now with the discovery of a push toy that our kind friend lent us, she is up on two feet again...and without the help of Mommy and Daddy! This girl is growing up fast and is on the move..."walking"!

she is holding the cover for The Jesus I Never Knew as she walks around - yes,

so spiritual already :)

here's a video to see her in action, but please mute your volume to avoid hearing my extremely loud and annoying baby talk voice...please...trust me, it's in your best interest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUjph11DRew

a little trip we took a couple weeks ago, right before we moved...

riding that armadillo

getting a closer look at those BIG eyes

it was hotter than hot out there!

playing with the water - splash, splash

practicing her cruising...Daddy is dangling a "carrot" (aka Eeyore and Princess wipee box) to motivate her to keep walking. it worked!

an action shot

look at those yummy little legs :)

moving! Southbound

ok, so i have 2 posts drafted but not finished...hopefully i'll get those up soon or they'll be old news!

we are moving tomorrow...just a little farther south...and that has occupied most of our time the last couple of weeks. it sure takes a bit more coordination with a baby at home!

we are super excited, but i just want to be settled in and unpacked...the process seems so drawn out. we haven't been fully here but not quite fully there yet either...we have been living in the inbetween. (sounds like a spiritual parallel...)

so tomorrow is the big day :)

i hope Sierra likes her new home...it is a little sad to move out of the only home we've known together (North of the Equator) as husband/wife and as a family of 3. this is where we lived right after we got back from our honeymoon, this is where we came back to after living overseas, and this is where we brought home our baby girl from the hospital. there are a LOT of memories that have taken place here and we will miss it. we are so thankful for God's faithfulness in our lives - through the many transitions, unknown and changes. He has challenged us, stretched us, grown us, refined us and loved us perfectly through it all. He is so good.

we pray that no matter where we live that we will always be a family who seeks the Lord first, who submits to and follows His will, who loves and serves others and who proclaims His name to the world.

...on to the next chapter!

(ps- we will probably be without internet for a few days...)

I-Day 2010

Independence Day, 4th of July...this update is a bit late.

i am also sad that i didn't get any pictures of the 3 cousins together...or of the whole family together (which doesn't happen as often anymore)...or of Sierra with the great-grandmas :( i need to get better at capturing those moments. i know we'll want to look back on those in the future.
here's what i did get...

sometimes she is only happy when "walking", but it requires someone to be bent over holding her hands the whole time! i think she is really close to doing it on her own, but she's too afraid to try! thanks to aunt cat for giving mommy a break :)

at Grandmother's 86th bday party with the whole extended clan - what a BIG family!! Sierra loved watching the big kids play in the pool...and cousin Alex kept her entertained too :)

this was at Anya's dedication (how did i not get a picture of that sweet baby girl!??!), Sierra is playing with her aunts and trying to warm up to grana (sadly she wasn't in the mood to be friendly)

sweet cousin Alex giving Sierra a hug :)

...and another one! she was up on all fours crawling before the "hug" that squished her to the ground! right after the picture he said "I ride her" and he sat on top of her! it was pretty funny but i'm not sure Sierra was too thrilled...she needs an older cousin to toughen her up :)

G.G. has all sorts of fun toys at her house and Sierra got to enjoy a few...well, as you can see Day 1 didn't go so well with the turtle pool filled with balls. she loves her 1 ball at home, but i guess this was just too many?!

but by the next day she wasn't just happy in the balls, she was trying to eat them! she even laid down, crawled and practiced throwing with Capt's and ShuShu!

she also practiced walking with the help of this truck...instead of our hands...and she did it!! it took awhile for her to trust it enough to move forward and not just stand there, but she figured it out for a short stroll

this is how she ended up...sitting on it to play with all the buttons and fun sounds

overall it was a great weekend, we all had lots of fun with the fam!!!

Sierra loves...at 9.5 months

Disclaimer: this post is 1 month LATE, now that Sierra is 10 1/2 months...and it is LONG. but since it was almost finished, i wanted to get it up. pretty much everything still applies except that thankfull the metallic obsession has died down!
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at 9 1/2 months, Sierra loves...

* her mommy and daddy (obviously! hehe); she is still in the clingy/separation anxiety stage, so we are her favorite people right now, which is awesome and annoying at the same time! we LOVE that she shows us that she loves us, but we also want her to let other people hold her and play with her (especially our families) without crying

* stuffed animals; this one is fun. before 7 or 8 months, she really could have cared less about them but now they are her little buddies! her first favorites were her pink puppy, little bear and monkey so those are the ones i keep in her crib for her to sleep with. a lot of times she falls asleep with her arm around one :) a new favorite is the big bear (Peace Bear!) who is bigger than she is - when she spots him she crawls over really fast and falls on top of him, then sits him up and plays with his eyes, nose and ears while laughing and talking to him. it's super cute.

* metal; yes, the child loves all things metal and shiny - not just to look at or touch, but to lick/suck! it's so gross. she likes to suck on the metal snaps of bibs, onesies, purses, diaper bag, car seat, paci clips, etc. also our coffee table has brass hinges and she is always licking them! i do my best to stop her when i notice it or just keep those things out of her vision/reach but she never fails to find something. gross. i hate that taste. i can't imagine what she likes about it. has anyone else ever had or heard of this???

* balls; i know this is common for babies. Sierra loves to chase balls around. she only has one at home - it's pink and bouncy and she loves to throw/bounce it and then go chase it down. a couple of weeks ago i notice that she actually understands when i say "where is your ball?" - she looks around for it. then when i say "go get your ball", she goes to get it! i'm amazed at her understanding!

* the stairs; another common baby love. this fascination started as soon as she could crawl. she figured out right away that she could crawl up them and it seems to be a favorite activity. when i am behind her and let her climb, she just giggles the whole way up! i still can't figure out how to teach her to scoot down backwards - i think she's still too little maybe. when i put the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs, all she wants to do is climb the gate and stand there - it's like another toy to her!

* mirrors; since she was itty bitty, she has loved looking at mirrors/herself. now she has taken this to a whole new level - she stands herself up at the mirror door of her closet (floor to ceiling mirror) and licks ("kisses") herself!!! it is so cute and kind of gross at the same time, but hillarious! she opens her mouth and licks the mirror for a few seconds, stops to look at herself and laugh, and then licks some more! when i ask her for a kiss, that is how she kisses me (open mouth and licks my lips) so i think she is trying to kiss herself!

* books! finally! i have been trying to read to her ever since she was born and she didn't really seem to pay attention or be interested (beyond just trying to put it in her mouth to chew on) until about 8 months or so. now she loves them! her attention span is still pretty short, but she can get through a lot of the short books and then wants me to read the same one again! she definitely loves the ones with texture/flaps/sounds(anything she can touch) the best but she even has some favorite that don't have any of those things. a few of her favorites are Snuggle Puppy, On the Farm, How Do I Love You, Mirror Me!, Discovery Farm

* cats (any animal she can see) - real ones. our neighbor has a cat that sits in the window and every time we walk out our front door, Sierra gets excited (turns/wiggles her ankles and bounces in my arms) and looks over towards where the cat usually is. when we walk over towards it, she does her animal voice - puckers her mouth, tigthens her lips together and makes high but soft sounds. it's the same for "meow", "chirp", any animal sound i make when we see a cat, bird, etc.

* clapping; as soon as she hears someone clap or say "yea!" she stops whatever she is doing to clap. and while she claps she always has a big smile or her mouth open wide making a "hehehe" breathing sound - you can tell she is really excited! if she's crawling, she'll stop to sit and clap...if she's standing and holding on to the table or crib, she'll let go to clap and usually falls but the clapping is more important than the standing up apparently!

i'm sure there are more, but those are the big ones that come to mind. since the beginning we have sensed the spunkiness and spiritedness of her personality and that is coming out more and more. she is definitely a drama queen! she is passionate about her desires and likes/dislikes and will certainly let you know about it - good or bad! this makes things so so so fun when she is happy and excited and pretty frustrating when she doesn't like something. we are praying for wisdom in how to help guide this strong will. we pray that it will lead her to be a passionate follower of Christ, a