Mole

this cracks me up every time and is one of those cute memories i don't want to forget...

one of Sierra's books is a library of animals. there is no story, but each page has a different animal on it and there are a lot of them. she is quickly learning to recognize some of them and often will try to repeat the name that i say.

well, my very favorite is the mole. yes, a mole...kind of random.

when she gets to that page, before i ever say anything, she points to it and then does her sign language for "more" saying "mo, mo" at the same time. it's hilarious! she thinks that the "mole" is the same thing as the word to ask for "more". and she is very proud of herself for knowing the name of that animal :)

Fall

we don't usually get to see much of the Fall season around here, which is sad, but we have had and handfull of beautiful sunny, chilly afternoons to enjoy. these pictures are from Thanksgiving weekend, enjoying one of those gorgeous days outside ... it was so fun to have cousin Alex to keep busy with! (little Anya was sleeping away inside)

strike a pose. my sister is the one who gives Sierra all her cute trendy clothes (i.e. theis peacoat), Auntie Meli keeps her in style :)

see?!

this is the photo shoot i made them sit still for...i got some really cute shots :)

"fixing" the truck, just like Daddy/Tio was doing to Big Blue

they even got to play inside! what a fun afternoon!

oh, cravings

chips and salsa at 10am...and it may or may not have happened more than once recently

...hmm, now i 'm thinking some chocolate sounds lovely!

Corduroy

I saw this book at a garage sale recently and instantly remembered loving it when I was little. It was in perfect condition, except for the handwritten note on the first page from Aunt Laura. So far it has been the best $0.25 investment I've made.

Sierra loved it from the first minute! and you might notice why...her VERY best friend has been her little bear ("Goo", as Sierra calls him - and which she now calls every bear she sees...I have no idea where it came from), who happens to look exactly like Corduroy - minus the corduroy overalls!!



on this page Corduroy falls off the bed and bumps his head - his hands are on his head. Sierra loves this page and hits her own head and says "uhoh" when she sees this part of the story.

we have read it sooooooooooo many times! she wouldn't even let go of it when I had to change her diaper.

in the last month we have definitely entered into that obsessing stage where she likes something and wants to do/read it over and over and over...and even asks about it when she doesn't see it.

but it makes me happy that she loves Corduroy just like I did :)

Sierra Speak

sierra is communicating more and more every day!


it is a really fun stage because she is learning really quickly and it happens right in front of our eyes! she LOVES to copy sounds she hears and try to repeat words that we say.


mommy likes to play the "can you say ____?" game all day long and she's getting really good at it. she at least tries to repeat most of the words i ask her too and gets pretty close. sometimes she doesn't say anything, but you can tell that her mind is thinking, trying to figure it out


this month she has added to her Sierra Speak vocabulary:

bubble - bubbles (this was one of her very first words)
bubble - diaper (still not sure why it's the same word for both, but she's consistent)
nah - nose
eye - eye
ma - mouth
oh - open or out
nuh nuh - no no (i knew this was coming sooner or later)
tuh tuh - hot hot (usually referring to the oven)
baa - sheep
wah wah or awah - water and milk (she sounds like she's saying it in spanish "agua"!)
bye bye or byyyyye - bye bye (she always says it very emphatically, waving frantically at the same time as if she is shooing people out the door. also if she wants to go outside, she goes to the door and says "bye bye")
alala - abuela (my mom)
papa - poppa (my dad - if you ask her to say "abuela", she always says "papa" right afterwards. she knows they go together!)
gee gee - G.G. (kyle's mom)
nah nah - anya (her little cousin)
***we are practicing all of our family names and some are harder than others, but she'll get there :) ***


even when she doesn't say the word, she has mastered the point and grunt ("ahahah" or "uhuhuh") and we just guess until we figure out what she wants. it really does help make things a lot easier!


and she understands soooo much! but that also works to her disadvantage, because it's obvious when she understands that we're telling her NOT to do something, and she does it anyway...she can't fool us!

she also loves to sing along to songs or books with songs. she recognizes a lot of songs she hears and knows the hand movements that go with them.

sorry for the long post, but she is just too cute and fun right now...i don't want to forget anything!

Numero 2 !!!!!

we officially have Sierra in training...to be a Big Sister!!! yes, yes, it's true...we are pregnant and excitedly expecting baby frazier numero dos around June 5!!!!!!!!!

both sides of our families are in the season of the "baby boom" and it is going to be so fun to have siblings and cousins all so close in age!!

right now (and for awhile), Sierra has been in love with babies - real ones, pictures of real ones, drawings, dolls, etc, etc. - she definitely has a mothering sweetness and we pray that she loves her little brother/sister even more!!! she will be a great big sis!

let the countdown begin...and any predictions of whether this one is a boy or a girl!

"fall" in Texas

oh how i wish we had a real season of Fall in Texas!!! but i love and cherish the handful of beautiful fallish days that we get. on one of them last week, Sierra and i went to the park to enjoy. it was actually super windy, but still enjoyable :)

can you tell she was having a blast?!! look at that smile :)

she had her eye on this little boy (about a year older). she squealed and laughed every time he got close. she really does love the older boys! yikes!!

no fear on the slide!

she kept standing up and trying to walk back up it...that resulted in a red nose from a face plant

and of course, her favorite part of the whole park...playing in the rocks!