Celebrating 6 years!

August 19th marks the day of our wedding 6 years ago, and I am so thankful to have spent the past 6 years married to such an amazing man!  Ryan is a great teacher, a loving and fun dad, my closest friend, and so talented in so many ways.  I am so lucky to have been given him to spend my life with!  We didn't really get to do much to celebrate our anniversary.  I worked Sunday all day (I NEVER have to work Sundays, so it was a bummer that I ended up working this one) and then we had church in the evening.  Ryan started feeling kind of sick too, so he didn't exactly enjoy being left to take care of the girls all day by himself.  We did end up ordering a pizza and watching the first half of Jane Eyre after we put the girls to bed.  It's an exciting life we lead, folks.  I am looking forward to our date night on Thursday! 

Knoxville

We had an awesome trip to Knoxville this summer to see my parents and sister.  We were only sad Amelia and her husband Josh couldn't make it too.  We really enjoyed hanging out with my family.  We mostly did a lot of lounging around the house and outside in their amazing new garden/patio.  My mom and dad cooked us amazing meals every night.  We saw lots of movies at the theatre.  We went to the farmers' market, played games, and visited the splash pads around town.  The girls' favorite activity by far was swimming in the little plastic pool with a built-in slide that my parents got them.  I got to see a few close friends, but I wish we had been there a little longer so I could have seen more people.  I can't wait to go back again!  My 10 year high school reunion was this year, and I wish we could have coordinated our trip so we were there for that, but, sadly, Ryan had to be back at school at the beginning of August.  I really love Knoxville, and would even like to live there again someday.  We'll see.  Here are some pics of the trip. 

Sally: Sweet, Sassy, Silly, and Spirited (an 18 month post)

Just so happens that the four words I thought of that most adequately describe Sally right now all begin with "S"!  This post is a little late (She is currently 19 months).  She has such a big personality these days.  I think the best way to describe her is by telling you a few things I have found her doing lately:

-She is a TALKER.  She can communicate almost anything, and is putting together sentences.  She says, "I need help" if she needs help,  "I play in the water" if she wants to swim,  "See Dada" if she is missing her dad, "Go outside!" "I want _____" "Watch a show," "Eat crackers," "Put it on," "Take it off," "Jump on the bed," "Go peepee in the potty," "Gimme that," "Go away mommy," And a million other things.  I think she picks it all up from Sophie, whose talking is finally taking off.

typical Sally face

-She loves to dance.  Anytime she hears music (especially if it is rap music), she starts bouncing up and down and waving from side to side.  Her current favorite song is the gummy bear song.  If you have kids, wait until they aren't around to listen, or they will be hooked!

Walking to the park with my mom.

-She is very caring and empathetic.  Today, Sophie got hurt, and Sally came over and started patting her, saying, "I'm sorry, Sophie."  Then she would look up at me in distress and say, "Sophie crying!" Finally, she leaned in to give Sophie a hug.  She does this all the time.  Melts my heart.

She is giving Sophie a hug, and Sophie is resisting.

-She is brave!  She has no fear of new things or people.  When we took the girls to the pool at the Y, Sally was the first one to go down the toddler slide, and even though her head went underwater, she was right back at it as soon as she got up.  Sophie on the other hand, took 45 minutes of convincing before she would even go up the stairs.

She just had to climb on the big kids' equipment with all the older kids.

She loves to slide or "tobogan" in Spanish.

-She loves to read.  She comes up to me about a million times a day with a book in hand and says, "It's a sit with me" (a phrase she learned from Sophie), when she wants to be read to.  I almost always do sit and read with her because I can't resist her sweet little earnest request!

 -She is so happy and always smiling.   The moment she wakes up in the morning or from a nap, she is in a good mood and ready to start playing!  She loves to smile for the camera or at new people.

-She is a big girl!  She is 33 1/2 inches tall (87th percentile) and 29 1/2 pounds (94th percentile).  A good reason for this is that she is a great eater!  She will eat almost anything you put in front of her.  She LOVES peas and broccoli.  Funny girl :)

Sally sharing a snack with her Aunt Betsy

-Her favorite activity is probably swimming.  Almost daily she asks to play in the water, and it is hard to get her out.  She goes up to the glass door and looks outside, then up at me, and asks with big earnest eyes and a half-frown "I play in the water?"

"Mommy, I play in the water!"

She can't get enough!

-She is a little bit of a trouble maker!  She doesn't mind completely ignoring what I say, and will even do things I tell her not to with a smile, just to get a reaction.  

This is her right before she tried to kiss the camera.

She is such a fun little girl.  I am so glad we have two kids, because they show us how different kids can be even when they grow up in the same household.  I just love her to death!