Weekend with the family....

Glitter girls? Long story gotta ask Nana Sheryl and Aunt Jen! lol

It was really nice to have the family come up to visit us during Martin Luther King Jr weekend. Nana Sheryl and Aunt Jen were able to come visit from FL and Aunt Sherri, Uncle Chip, and Griffin were able to come visit from carolina. It was really nice having the house full and being able to hang out with everyone. Sarai has grown so much since she they have seen her last so it was fun catching up. Amazingly she took to everyone right away as if she has seen them everyday for the last year. It definitely help having them here to fill the weekend, it was kind of tough because i kept thinking about keith and how he would have loved to be there with everyone. But i was very happy to have everyone come up and support Sarai and I during this difficult time. Unfortunately the weekend ended on a bad note. Sarai picked up a stomach virus somehwere from daycare i am guessing and passed it on to griffin so they were both pretty sick. Then she was also diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection and i have bronchitis so it has been a difficult week to say the least! We soooooooooo apologize to Sherri and Griffin because they are in the same boat as we are with the stomach virus and the flu. We hope you get better and sorry you got sick. I feel bad the last two visits from the family some one has gotten sick! I hope they enjoyed being here because we enjoyed having you here. Hopefully we will return the favor and go to carolina or fl to visit soon.

Weekend with the family 2

Great times with Nana Sheryl.

Shared secret between cousins? I love this photo Griffin's eyes are amazing! And he looks so intent like Sarai is sharing some serious information.

Love this photo! Looks like they are having loads of fun. I can't remember what Griffin was singing but it looks like it was quite a song!

Weekend with the family 3

It is amazing how much damage two kids can do when given a few minutes and the sunday newspaper. Sarai and Griffin completely destroyed the living room. However, it was very cute seeing them play together and have fun. It looks worse than it actually is. It took us just a few minutes to clean it up.

Rocking out to sarai's musical mirror.

Sarai took to Chip amazingly well. Usually she is very leary of men and she doesnt interact with them too often. Only guys she really interacts with are her daddy(of course) and her godfather but she has spent lots and lots of time with him. I think she felt comfortable around him because she saw Griffin did so she followed suit. I was happy to see her get in some male bonding. But it makes me sad because u can tell she misses having her daddy around to do the same thing. But we were pretty happy that Griffin was happy to share his dad with her. We cant wait to have Keith back so she can share special moments with him too.

Lunch on the river with the family...

Sweet moments! It amazes me how sweet and affectionate he is with her.

Gotta love those smiles.

We got to go to river street and have lunch right on River street. We also go to stop to the candy shop and get some treats. We had a really great time but it was freezing!!!

Weekend with the family 4....

Story time with nana sheryl. She took out a moment to read sarai a story about her daddy and griffin a story about his uncle.

Gotta love cousins!!! They got along pretty much right from the start.

We were so happy to see how well they played together. Sarai thought griffin was hilarious. Griffin was so careful around her and he wanted to share his toys with her and just show her how to do things. It couldnt have gone any better.

I thought this was the absolute definition of cute. Griffin wanted to hold sarai's hand during our trip to the mall. He slowed down his pace to make sure he could hold her hand and she held it out and let him hold it for quite a while. It was really cute seeing them bonding with each other. I borrowed these pics from aunt sherri's website since she had some really cute photos!

Sarai's new dance moves

Sarai recently started to dance in the last two weeks. Now she has shown a few dance moves in the past but they were limited to just bouncing up and down while she sat on the floor whenever music came on. However, two weeks ago she started dancing whenever i came in the room to get her ready for school. She was either dancing to the music in her head or just excitement because i was coming to get her out of the crib. Now she has this hula-hoop dance move she does which is absolutely adorable. I was able to catch it on film because she was distracted by other family members. Once again i dont know what is going on with my camera, i filmed it right side up and when i go to publish it ...it comes out sideways. Not sure what to do about this dilemma. However, i think its time to invest into a new camera, this camera has seen a deployment and it has gotten alot of miles under its belt. It never was the same after it was exposed to iraqi dust. Well anyway enjoy!!!

Random Pics of Sarai

Sarai recieved a little toy kitchen for her birthday back in Dallas, Tx. I have finally gotten the chance to open, she loves playing with it alot, she had her cousins Kira,maniyah, and bryanna come over to play with her.

Kira and Sarai have had an immediate bond since she first held her when she was 3 weeks old. Kira spends alot of time helping her get around the house in hopes of her walking ONE day.

For Christmas Sarai's godparents sent her this ball pit. She absolutely loves it. she climbs into it everyday to play.

I bought a portable high chair for sarai to use while we are here. I take it back and forth to my moms. I am not sure how long it is gonna last, as u can see she is a very tall girl. But for now it serves its purpose.

Teeth shot! They are very rare to catch but i was happy to get this one this morning.

Kira's 9th Birthday

I was happy to be in town for my niece Kira's 9th birthday celebration. It seems even with the many moves we have had, I have been able to be there to celebrate each and every birthday. This time we took the kids to a hibatchi restaraunt, we did this for kira back when we were in monterey and they came to visit us after sarai was born. It was spectacular there they pulled out all the stops, this time the guy didnt do as many tricks but we still had fun celebrating her birthday together.

First Day at Montessori School...

Sarai started school for the first time here in GA. She of course cried when i left her, but that was to be expected. They have her in the big kids room, so most of her classmates are already walking and running and i hope it rubs off on her really soon. They are also trying cots, i was a little skeptical at first, but on monday they got her to lay down for a few minutes which was amazing. And today (after i sent her favorite blanket) they said she went down like a sack of potatoes. There was an issue with eating at daycare, but today she actually ate her food. Its an adjustment for her because table food is fairly knew, and shes tasting alot of things for the first time. But overall shes doing well, i got to see her on the playground for the first time which was great. I had forgotten that i had left my camera in her baby bag,however, her teachers took it as a sign that i wanted pics of her first day. So I was very happy i forgot it.

Using her new walking toy..

My mom got sarai a push toy for Christmas and i was soooooooo thankful for it. For a few seconds my back gets a break. And i think it has given her alittle more confidence. She is now holding on to pretty much my index finger and thats it. Obviously she can walk by herself but she still has to get over her fears. I also have another vid down in the Christmas section, which is a better view and she walks for a longer period of time, but its posted sideways. I filmed it right side up but it came out sideways and i couldnt rotate it. So i posted this one to get better idea.

Random pics of Sarai

Sarai with her sleeping buddy. I almost lost him forever at church on Sunday. Currently Mr.Bunny is at our church where he will remain until next service, its her absolute favorite comfort toy and i only have one of him. So of course i was in a state of panic when i lost him. I lost her first favorite toy Mr.Bumblebee back when she was around 5 mths old, so I am determined to keep this one around. I just realized that all of her favorite toys are male? Don't ask me why but they are lol.

One of Sarai's favorite things to do was to sit in the sink and laugh at herself in the mirror. I thought that i was cute that she could still fit into the sink. For some reason I feel like i am going to be looking at this picture years from now wondering when did my baby grow up so fast?

Christmas in Georgia 2008

Sarai finally got an elmo toy!!

It was really nice being home for Christmas. It has been just Sarai and I for a while so it was nice to be around family. My mom of course went all out with decorations so it was definitely a festive environment. Sarai was very excited on Christmas day, she sort of kind of helped me open presents but she of course was more fascinated with ripping the wrapping paper than playing with the actual toys. It of course was a really tough day with Keith being gone, but being home with the family was a much needed distraction.

Christmas in Georgia 2008 (PT 2)

If u look closely u can see her teeth. This of course was accidental, i can never get a picture of her teeth when i am actually trying.

Sarai waits until she is 13 mths to want a pacifier! Elmo came with a pacifier and she refuses to put it in his mouth she would rather save it for herself.

Sarai's Mema bought her a much needed push toy.It allows me to relax my back. Usually i am hunched over walking her around everywhere. She hasnt quite gotten the hang of turning toy so she just rams it into walls and toys, so of course i have to constantly turn her around. But she absolutely loves the toy. I apologize for it being sideways i recorded it the right way and it turned out sideways. I couldnt rotate it, so its at a weird angle. But u can still see her walking which is great. Enjoy!