My name is Trouble!

     I haven't had much time to blog (or sew, shop, cook, breathe, etc.) lately. Miss Sara Beth is very mobile now and into everything. She requires my full attention--every bit of it! What tiny bit of energy left in me, I've been using to finish the piles of work for my two online graduate classes. When I'm overwhelmed, which is about every other day, Adam likes to remind me that taking these classes is allowing me to stay home with SB. I know! I know! But, can't a girl whine about it anyway? Here are some pictures from our precious little troublemaker. We love her, by the way! 

In laundry basket jail

Trying to play with the kitty's toys. Notice how dirty her backside is!

Climbing on the dog's bed

On a side note. . . Adam did a fabulous job decorating our house for Christmas this year! We have the prettiest house on the block! Merry Christmas!

Her First Christmas Stocking

     Tonight I finally finished Sara Beth's Christmas stocking. I redid the top part three times, but I'm happy with how it came out. I drew, cut out, and appliqued the manger scene and her initials and I made the body of the stocking out of pre-quilted material. Now it's ready to be filled with all kinds of goodies for Christmas! I'm getting excited! Merry Christmas, everybody!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!

     We recently drove out to Frierson, LA to Santa's Woods Tree Farm to find the perfect Christmas tree. For the past 3 years we've gone to a different place, but we thought we'd try out a new spot this year. It was a gorgeous day for tree hunting! We took a hay ride to the back of the property and then set out by foot to find our tree. We looked at the Carolina Sapphires and the Virginia Pines before deciding on a Leland Cypress tree. We had narrowed it down to two trees and were walking back and forth between them when SB finally said, "Bah!". We figured that must be her way of choosing the tree, so that's the one we bought. She's got a good eye! Adam cut it down for us and then the workers came to pick it up and get it tied to the car for us. We enjoyed some hot apple cider while they worked away. It was a great way to spend a Saturday and kick off the Christmas season!

Want to Smile? Watch This Video!

Sweet, Sweet 7 Months

     Sara Beth is 7 months old today. Happy Birthday to my sweet little one! She is doing wonderfully and being as perfect as ever, of course. She's grown up a lot this month for sure! Here's a little about what she's been up to during her seventh month of life. More detailed blog posts are soon to come.

• She's VERY mobile now. Whether it is rolling around the room or army crawling as fast as she can go, she is sure to go after whatever is off limits. There can be tons of toys all around her, but she will grab the dog's rope or my shoes and put them in her mouth. Yuck! She loves to lift up the edge of the rug to see what's hiding underneath (mostly just dirt and dust). 
• Her first tooth started to come in last week. It's still working it's way out, but you can see it and feel it already.
• She loves sitting in her highchair! We love it too!
• She tasted her first solid foods this month too. I'm nursing, so her main nutrition still comes from breast milk. The other food is just for tasting purposes, which makes it less stressful for all of us. First came sweet potatoes, then zucchini, and now apples. She's still learning to swallow, but she does better every day. I really enjoyed making her food and I'm looking forward to the next time I get to do it! I'm thinking avocado, banana, and sweet peas will be next. Oh the possibilities!
• She is drinking water from a sippy cup now. It's a great way to occupy her at the dinner table, although she's started throwing everything on the floor lately. Let's just say, Adam and I get a good workout at dinnertime.
• Shopping with Sara Beth is much easier since she can sit in the front of the shopping cart. Brookshire's carts are the worst because the food is level with her. She tried her hardest to pick up an avocado a few weeks ago.
• Her first Thanksgiving was a good one. We spent the day at my mom and dad's house with lots of extended family that I hadn't seen in 15 years or so.
• The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we took her out to Frierson, LA to cut down this year's Christmas tree. We were trying to decide between two trees and she yelled "Bah!" (which we interpreted as "Hey, this is the tree for us!"), so that's the one we bought. She made a good decision. Our tree looks beautiful this year!
• Her language development is coming along nicely (I can't help it. I'm a teacher.). She can now say. "Bah", "blah", "da, da", "da, dee", "mah, mah", and "yah". She also loves to scream and growl for fun! It's fun at home, but out in public, it's a little embarrassing sometimes.
• Her baby dedication at church was this month. It was a sweet, sweet time! She was surrounded by her grandparents and on her best behavior.
• Our diaper service ended this week, so Sara Beth is trying out her new "BumGenius" diapers. It's going well so far. I just washed my first load of diapers today. No big deal! I will definitely miss my diaper fairy, Alan, though. Putting out dirty diapers and getting clean ones in return certainly was nice!

Here are some pictures of November with Sara Beth. Enjoy!

First bite of sweet potatoes

Getting ready for her dedication

Rolling everywhere!

Hunting for the perfect Christmas tree

Loving her new diapers



Swinging at the park

Ready for Christmas (on her 7 month birthday)