Sarah Beth's Birthday Part II

 Happy Birthday Sarah Beth!  Today we'll be celebrating by splashing around at the spray grounds or eating ice cream or riding around in a brand new pink tricycle.  Yay!

Last weekend when we were up in the mountains we went back to the Cradle of Forestry where we took SB's 1st Birthday Pictures.  What a difference a year makes!  Last year she could barely stand on her own.  We could just plop her down in one spot and she'd pretty much stay there.  This year, I could hardly keep up with her.  She loved running through the cabins like they were her personal playhouses.  The other challenge is that she really likes to hold Mommy's hand, and it's hard to take pictures of her when I'm holding onto my subject.  She's far too smart to fall for the old "Look at Mommy!" routine so catching her smiling at the camera is a rarity.  I think I got one or two though.  Here are a few of my favorites.  Isn't she a beauty?

 

  

 

Happy Birthday to Our Sweet Sarah Beth

Sarah Beth is 2.   

My baby is not a baby anymore.  She has grown into a sweet little girl brimming with energy, curiosity and spunk.  She runs, she climbs, she figures things out.  She builds towers with canned goods from the pantry.  She pushes Elmo around in the laundry basket.  She waves bye-bye to the water when it goes down the drain in the bathtub.  She is an expert at puzzles.  She loves to give hugs, especially to Daddy.  She sings along to “You are My Sunshine.”  She dances to the radio.  She cracks herself up with silly tricks like putting a blanket over her head.  She loves to play catch.  She is obsessed with eating hummus (or “humpus” as she calls it.)  She likes holding hands.  She adores water – splashing in the spray grounds or jumping into a pool.  She still sucks her thumb when she’s tired. She loves to snuggle close before bedtime and listen to Mommy sing her lullabies.  She is our heart.  Our greatest accomplishment.  We are in awe of how beautiful and smart she is.  We work hard every day to be worthy of her.  We love her more than we knew possible. 

Happy Birthday, Sweet Sarah Beth.  Your Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you!

We went to a massive sunflower field in SC today to take some pictures.  A few things to note when taking pictures in a big field of flowers:  lots of flowers = lots of bees.  It was a little scary to let my sweet smelling girl roam through the field with all those little buggers, but they were too busy with the flowers to notice us.  The other thing to remember is that there isn't a lot of shade in a field.  It was about 1000 degrees and as we were walking to the flowers we saw a girl literally passed out and being carried out over someone's shoulder, so we made it a really quick trip.  Even with the odds stacked against us, we managed to get a few cute shots.

I was probably saying "watch out for the bees." 

Princess with her sunflower "crown" 

 Beautiful.

Guess Who is Almost 2?

4th of July.

We had a fabulous 4th of July in Hendersonville this weekend with Grandma.  Sarah Beth, we've learned, is infatuated with her Grandpa.  From the moment we arrived, she started bringing all her toys to him, one by one and then by the armful.  She smiles at him coyly and waits for him to do something silly, like put a bucket on his head or make Elmo dance.  And then she falls into hysterics, laughing at Grandpa's comedic genius.  If Grandpa strays away from his chair, Sarah Beth grows quite concerned and begins the search.  Usually he can be found in the kitchen or maybe starting up the grill on the deck.  Sarah Beth waits, little teacup in hand, until he comes back in to enjoy his imaginary refreshment.  Grandma thought this was all cute and endearing for a while, but I think there may be a little jealousy creeping in.  Of course, Grandma still receives the same fanfare when she enters the room and is immediately taken by a little hand to "play play play."  But it is obvious to all the Grandpa is the apple of Sarah Beth's eye right now.  I suspect the feeling is mutual too.

Yesterday after breakfast we went downtown to see the Hendersonville 4th of July Parade.  Small town Americana at its best, the main attractions were the Tractors, some antique, some just big and impressive.  There were also a few Fire Trucks, some Motorcycles, Police Cars, a few groups of Veterans (God bless them) and even a float or two.  There wasn't really much music, but it sure was loud.  Sarah Beth was not a big fan, but she stuck it out and was rewarded with a romp through the toy store afterwards.  Frankly, the toy store was way more frightening than the parade in my opinion - jam packed full of little people and their parents, but SB didn't seem to notice.  We all managed to escape unharmed and returned home to rest up for fireworks.

We weren't sure how the fireworks would go over with SB, but we figured we'd give it a shot.  We headed up to the clubhouse for the Cummings Cove spectacular around 8:30, which is her normal bedtime.  She hung in there for an hour while it got dark, but as soon as the first few boom boom booms hit the sky, she had crawled in my lap with her head buried, sucking her thumb.  Apparently fireworks are not her thing. Maybe next year.  From what we could see as we headed back to the house, the Fireworks were amazing.

Here she is at the parade.  She how thrilled she looks?

 This is her "Mommy put down the camera" look.

 Checking out the parade with Daddy.

 

 A much happier SB playing in the cul-de-sac.

 A neighbor's Grandkids did some awesome chalk drawing and SB added her touch.

Giving Grandpa all her stuff.

Happy 4th of July Everyone!