may 25, 2008

tonight as i was taking some pictures off my mom's camera (there was an incident with mine involving me getting distracted, the yard, and a little bit of rain...) i was noticing pictures that had been on there for a very long time. two in particular caught my eye. i remembered the exact day and time these were taken. in the background you can see the tv and a large storm cell moving across butler county. the picture was taken around 5pm on may 25th. this tornado caused so much destruction and people are still trying to put their lives back together. the first time i went to see parkersburg i couldn't believe that a force of nature could do so much damage. little did i know in a few short weeks mother nature would turn the sassiness on once again. as i stopped to really remember that day it puts life in perspective for me. a few weeks ago the flaherty's lost a close family friend, once again a sign to me that we really need to appreciate and take the time to tell those around us how much they mean. it takes but a second for life to flip around. i'm so grateful to have this beautiful baby girl who really keeps us on our toes, who changes daily. (Her new thing is pointing and saying "GA" to everything. Our sweet baby has taught us to stop and examine life around us, the wind through the trees, nails pounded into a garage, a dog barking. all of these are part of life and deserve to be celebrated.

take time to today to tell those around you how much they mean.

okay i know this picture is sideways but she has a really strong grip and wouldn't let me take her chicken finger out of her mouth. little miss sass

she sort of looks like she's a member of the rodeo. she does love being on my shoulders though...

she climbs and climbs now, although mommy helped her on the chair, but she's all over the place otherwise.

fall

it seems longer than just two weeks ago that i posted anything about our dear sweetie sade. this might sound redundant but she really does change so much even in a week. today i discovered that when josh puts her on the ground with her bottle she can hold it herself, something she's been doing for almost a month, i however just found out today. sade also is a pro now at standing up, something she really just started to do yesterday. she loves to crawl out in to kitchen, even when the lights are off. we are discovering our litlte baby girl has no fear, or at least we haven't seen it yet. next door at grandma and grandpa wilsons they have a toy bear that sammy (sadie's cousin who is 2) used to cry and cry at when it was turned on, sadie on the other hand tried to kiss it tonight. she's happy 99% of the time (unless of course there's a meal around the corner, then watch out!). on thursday when i took her to day care, she started squirming to get out of my arms to get inside the room, then when i opened the door she laughed and laughed. no matter where she is, she loves being there. she is playing shy lately. anytime she sees someone new, whether its someone she's seen two minutes before or never, she puts her head into my chest and plays coy. that stinker :) ten minutes later, she's won everyone over and they love her.

when sade was over at grandma and grandpa flaherty's today, grandma run upstairs to get something only to discover that sade had climbed to the third step, yes the third. she's a daredevil already. she's becoming more and more verbal, mostly just momma right now, but also babbles quite a bit, especially when she's calming herself down to sleep.

sadie is very excited for halloween, we are still trying to figure out the perfect costume for her.
she still loves the dog more than any of us, and is getting really quick on her knees chasing him, it won't be long before he will have to find better hiding spots than the top of the couch.

Happy Birthday Mommy

Another year older, another year wiser huh? As I was reflecting on where I was last year on my birthday, it's hard to believe so much has changed. A year ago today I was put on bed rest, now I am running around like a banshee with a very active almost 10 month old. Miss Saders made has made this year so wonderful, and this birthday so special. Josh and Kate put together a surprise for me in Dubuque this past weekend where so many awesome people were there to chelp celebrate. Sade and I are starting a few road trips, we visited Iowa City to see how the college kids were holding up, we ran into so many people, and visited with Uncle Kevin. She was also there to surprise me on my birthday dinner in Dubuque. We also visited the John Deere Waterloo 90th anniversary. It was fun to put Sade on some tractors

.

Sade and the chair Jon would've sat in had he come :)

Em and Sade

Kevin and Sade

She's not quite sure what to make of him...

Hanging out at Kevin's house

Grandpa and Sade at the John Deere party

Future career move perhaps?

NOTHING runs like a Deere

Sade and Kate's boyfriend Brad at birthday dinner

I believe the toy adds something to this picture!

Two days in a row!

So sweet :)