The joys of a 1 year old!

I must say I remember loving this stage with Avi, but watching Sally Sharp's little personality develop and seeing her hit milestones has really been such a joy! It is truly amazing how she seems to have gone from a baby to an almost toddler overnight. I say almost toddler because she's not walking yet! Here is a list of a few things she is doing that make me laugh and smile:

1. Scooting--instead of crawling, the girl has always scooted across the floor; She can crawl, but rarely does it because she can get where she's going much faster by scooting (see video below!).

2. Clapping--she started clapping last Saturday morning

(July 23) in her high chair while eating breakfast!

3. Thank You--or actually "Tant Tu" is more like how it sounds;

she started repeating the sounds about a week ago. It is not always used in the right context, but it is absolutely adorable to hear her say it!

4. Hello--if you say hello, she puts her hand up to her ear! Wonder

where she's seen that?! She will also put the phone up to her ear

if she happens to be playing with it.

5. All Done--she has been giving me the sign for all done for about 2 months now, but just this weekend she started twisting her hands for the correct motion of the sign! You can see what it should look like here if you are interested.

6. More--she started trying to do the sign for more yesterday at my parent's house. You can see what the sign for more should look like here.

7. Standing on her Own--she's also beginning to stand on her own and likes to clap for herself when she accomplishes it! It won't be long before she is taking steps and walking!

I've never been an overly sentimental gal or one to spend time reveling over, "Oh, this is the last time she will do (fill in the blank)!" But, I have to admit that thinking about Sally Sharp potentially being our last baby in the house has given me a new perspective! It pulls at my heartstrings to think we will not watch another BABY Anthony grow through the many wonderful stages of life. As we all know, nothing is for certain, and we trust God will lead us to the right decision for our family, but it certainly makes watching Sally Sharp even more of fun!

I just get a little emotional looking at pictures of her! She makes me smile; it's something about those big eyes that just draw you in and make you not look away!

And, who can resist that grin with those 2 sweet teeth sticking up?!

Who me? I'm just chillaxin in my new chair I got for my birthday!

The sweetest smile.

She was much more interested in this cupcake than she was in her smash cake...

can you tell...

how much she like it?!

And don't let her fool you, she wasn't smiling in this picture! She

HATED the hat, and so did Avi when I put it on her at her 1st birthday party! It's so stinking cute, though, how could I resist putting it on her--if only for a few seconds?!

Avi is very into making funny faces for the camera these days.

It totally cracks me up! She's such a funny girl.

And, of course Avi got to enjoy a cupcake for Sally Sharp's birthday too!

Here is the video of her scooting. She can move!

Happy 1st Birthday Sally Sharp!!

Happy, happy birthday Sally Sharp! We are so blessed to have you in our lives, and we love you so much!! Can't believe you are already a year old!

For once, the cake was actually just the write size!!

She liked the taste of the icing :)

but, it didn't last long. She was tired and possibly not feeling very well, so the smash cake was short lived!

And, she LOVES her chair that Shug and Granddaddy gave her.

In and out...in and out. Who me?!?

Celebrating Austin

Today marks what would have been Austin's 6th birthday. It is very hard to believe it has been 6 years since he was born...6 years since we were thrown into a situation that we never expected. But, God knew what he was doing on that day. He blessed us with a precious, sweet and wonderful little man that changed our lives forever. The time we had with Austin was priceless, and we are still learning and understanding why God gave Austin to us. I'm so thankful we were able to share him with so many through our journey, and I pray that you take time as you read this to thank God for the blessings in your life.

These were the balloons on Austin's high chair the day we celebrated his first birthday.

Our sweet little man and his smash cake :).

I remember how worn out he was after the party! He absolutely sacked out in his bed with his "paci on a stick" as Drew called it (the nurses in NICU rigged this paci for him while he was there, and needless to say he got very attached to it.). So many memories and emotions come flooding back when I look at pictures of him. I miss him, and I can't wait to see him again.

Tonight Avi and I went to Austin's grave. This was the first time I had taken her. Honestly I don't visit there often because I know that is not where he is...we usually do visit on his birthday, though. Avi, of course, didn't quite understand where we were or exactly what to think. When I told her we were visiting Austin's stone, she said, "But Austin's in heaven!!" It warms my heart to know that she knows she had a big brother. We said a prayer and walked around and looked at flowers. Avi wanted to pick some flowers, LOL. I politely explained those flowers were not for picking! When we got home, she decided she wanted to make Austin a "gift." She recently got some safety scissors that she's been dying to have and some stick glue. She cuts papers and then glues them into little squares to make them look like a present. Anyway, she made one for Austin tonight, and then she told me she wanted to write him a letter, and she proceeded to act like she was "writing" on his gift. As she was "writing," she also recalled the letter out loud. It went a little something like this:

Dear Austin,

I love you SOOoooOO much. I'll come to visit you in heaven soon. Thank you for sending Jesus for us. Do you watch TV in the mornings? That's okay. If you don't, you can just stay with God.

Love, Austin

(she hasn't quite figured out she is supposed to insert her name here)

Then she said, "Hey mommy, when we get to heaven, can we give Austin a big hug?" My answer--"Absolutely!"

Our Baby Girl!

Our baby girl is turning ONE on Thursday! How did the last year go by so quickly? Oh, how I can name the ways that made the year seem like a blur...but I won't even go there! We can't wait to celebrate Sally Sharp's birthday party tomorrow afternoon! Below is the fun invitation I printed using Shutterfly for the fun family party.

Stationery Card

View the entire collection of cards.