Showing posts with label Sarah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sarah. Show all posts

Thursday, March 29, 2012

All About Sarah

With Sarah's third birthday approaching, I finally decided to 'bite the bullet' and take her in for her first haircut.  Does anyone remember that bald baby?  Now she has enough hair to cut!  It's amazing. 

Before...I took her to my stylist (who's awesome, BTW). 

During.  VERY SERIOUS FACE.

After.  I was too chicken to do anything dramatic, like a bob cut or something - so Jennifer just trimmed the ends and shaped it.  She looks so pretty - and the curls remained!  YAY!

Then, the other day, it happened. 

Sarah. Turned. THREE!

A little biscotti and hot chocolate to celebrate. 

And of course, the park. 

Oh, there's a picture of Jeremiah!

Dinner - what a great photo!  HA

Another one - she cracks me up. 

Birthday girl!

Obviously, a lot changes in three years.  She's gone from a helpless baby to a very independent, yet very dependent little girl.  She's so fierce and strong willed - but yet such a cuddly mama's girl and daddy's girl at the same time.  Some days, I don't know what to do with her - she can go from delirously happy to screaming in frustration and back to being happy again in a matter of minutes.   But she's just so sweet and loving and FUNNY, I can't help but know she's a little star in our lives.  As frustrating as she can be, I do thank God every day that she's part of our family.  

Friday, November 11, 2011

Halloween...two weeks later!

We're not big halloween people around here - the kids costumes are usually thrown together from what we have after the kids decide what they want to be.  We don't do family costumes or anything, I do love seeing people who coordinate their outfits, but it's just not us :) 

Jeremiah, the army guy and Sarah the diva-princess

We went to a fun party - these are all the cute kiddos.

Jeremiah and Sarah's first time trick or treating!  Wow!



Saturday, October 29, 2011

First Soccer Game

Jeremiah had his first soccer game last Satursday and, well, it didn't go that great.  Because it's a 'fun league' there are no scores kept - but J certainly is smart enough to figure out that his team didn't score any goals while the other team scored goal after goal.  He was definitely discouraged, but I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing for him to feel that.  (He's used to winning around here.) 

Go J go!

After a disappointing game, we went downtown for pizza and stumbled across a fun festival. 
We got to meet Curious George!

And the kids got their faces painted.

Oooooh!  Scary!

My two skeletons.


It turned out to be a really fun day.  Since Sarah's not napping anymore, we stayed out until 2pm or so.  As much as I miss her napping - it is fun to just stay out and do things! 

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Jeremiah's first field trip!

This past week, Jeremiah had his first school field trip.  It was fun.  Hot...but fun!

We picked vegetables...

Went through a corn maze...


Took a crazy train ride through the fields...


Um...played in a corn box?  It was like a sand box.  With corn.

Corn Angels!!

Hot day + busy kids = SNOWCONE!

Feeding a sweet horse.

And a BIG pumpkin!

Sarah got one, too.


We had a fun day - the kids were great.  We were so dusty and sweaty that when we got home the kids took a bath, then a nap.  It was fantastic!  

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Out Of Africa Wildlife Park!

We took a trip this past weekend to Camp Verde, to visit the Out of Africa Wildlife park.  It was so much fun!

Sarah and I, waiting for the "Safari Tour" to start.

The zebras came right up to the bus!

This guy was so cool (can't remember what he was called!)

J showing off his carrot, ready to feed the giraffe!

Missed the photo op of J feeding him - but this guy stuck his head right into our bus!

We saw the 'tiger splash' show - we were right in the front row, so the fence was a little in the way.  But...it was awesome - these people in there with the tiger might be certifiable!


Jeremiah got to feed the tiger!

And of course, whatever big brother does, Sarah must do, also. 
They both showed NO fear!

Even with this big lioness staring at them - probably no more than 10 feet away - they were like 'whatever'!

We had so much fun!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Puggles and Cubbies



We're about a month into Awana - and things are going so well!  Jeremiah knows the routine but his Cubbies class has grown quite a bit - I think there are 25 kids in his class.  Thankfully, there are at least 5 teachers.  He has a lot of friends in class from last year and also from Mops.  He's determined to get a teddy bear this year (that means he has to memorize every verse from his book!) and he's extremely motivated with that, so we're working hard on his verse every week. 

Sarah is warming up to Puggles.  This last class she didn't cry when she was dropped off (Shawn took her to class - maybe that's why) but she even told a teacher "I'm not crying today!"  She also didn't use her blankie, which she normally clings to for dear life.  I'm already noticing a difference in her vocabulary - she is trying to speak more clearly, since I think the teachers can't understand her like Shawn or I do.  So she's trying harder to pronounce her words correctly, which I love!  She also has several friends from Mops in her class, too.  

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

We are a nap-free home!

(except for Wednesdays). 

The week before Dza Dza came to visit, it was a STRUGGLE getting Sarah to nap.  It seemed like I spent 30 minutes getting her 'ready' and then I'd have to go in there every 10-15 minutes for over an hour before she'd finally settle down enough and sleep.  It was making me stressed out and cranky, so I just let the naps go.  We've been doing okay.  Sometimes the days feel really looooooonnnnnggg....but not all the time. 

The one exception is Wednesdays, when Jeremiah has Cubbies and Sarah has Puggles.  The kids are up later (830/9pm) than their normal 7pm bedtime, so they have to take a nap!

I just love this photo of Sarah.  She is so funny - we've been calling her "diva" - which turned into Jeremiah calling me a diva.  (I told him divas like to look pretty all the time, and he said: "Well, Mommy, you always look pretty."  Awwwwwwww!) 


Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The Latest...



Seriously, how cute are they!?!?  Man, I love these kids and I'm loving how much fun they are as they grow.  I haven't really updated on them in awhile, so here goes!

Jeremiah:  4 years and 3 months-ish.  So.  The attitude has kicked in full force with him.  See that face he's making?  Yeah, well, imagine seeing that face 10000 or so times a day, along with crossed arms, stomping feet, and the words "NO!" being yelled at you.  That's kinda sort of what I'm dealing with right now.  Don't get me wrong, he can still be the sweetest, most amazing little boy...but if he doesn't like what you tell him to do, he isn't shy about letting you know! 

He's doing fantastic at preschool.  Every day he comes home with a good report from the teacher - he's the first to help clean up, the first to listen, and is very obedient.  They really seem to like him.  He's becoming less shy, too - the other day he stood in front of his class and talked about fire safety.  It was so surprising (I avoid speaking in front of groups like the plague!)

He also started Cubbies again and was so happy to be back.  We're also back at Mops, so he's loving seeing all his friends again. 

He can spell his first and last name out loud, but he can't write it.  He knows all his letters (upper and lower case) and we're working on days of the week/months of the year.  He loves his calendar - when he gets home from school with a sticker (almost every day) he puts it on that date on the calendar.  

He's obsessed with hopping on one foot.  That's his preferred mode of moving right now.  It's funny but also SO. SLOW!

He's still small - I think 40.5" and 34lbs.  He's grown 1/2" since his birthday, which is pretty impressive! Still skinny, though. 

Sarah: 2 1/2 years!  (WHAT??)  She's also something else.  She's talking SO MUCH.  A lot of it is toddler-speak still, but she's getting clearer and clearer by the day.  She uses 3-5 word sentences and as her vocabulary grows, her tantrums are lessening.  That doesn't mean she won't have them, they're just less often!  She still likes getting what she wants right now, of course.  She's also very 'into' babies, dolls, etc.  She likes to put her dolls 'to fweep' (sleep) and cover them with a blanket, give them kisses, and then leave them for a moment.  She also carries her animals or dolls like babies.  It's really sweet and adorable!

She is in Puggles, which is the 2 year old version of Cubbies.  She really likes it so far, and I hope she continues to enjoy it.  I know they talk about Jesus, that's about all I can get out of her. 

She loves dancing, singing, and music, so I'm searching for a fun class to take with her while J's at school.  I found some classes in Chandler, which is a drive but I think will be worth it.  I also forget that she's not three yet, I don't know why...she just seems so much older than Jeremiah did at 2 1/2.    She's starting to fight her naps, which I'm not thrilled about, but with the cooler weather coming, it opens up a lot of fun possibilities!

Sarah continues to grow like a weed.  She's grown 2" since her birthday - now is 38.5" tall and 37lbs. 

I get asked a lot if the kids are twins, because they're so similar in size and now that Sarah's talking more they could be, I suppose.  It's funny - she still looks so baby-faced to me and Jeremiah looks so big, but I guess that's just a Mom's perspective :)

So that's about it in the Roland house!  


Friday, July 29, 2011

Interview with a Pre-Preschooler


Jeremiah starts preschool on Monday!  I cannot believe it.  He's very excited and I'm excited too.  And a little sad.  We'll see who cries first on Monday.  Stay tuned...


And of course, I have to include a video of Miss Sarah. 

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Road Trip - Celtic Festival in Flagstaff and Sedona

It's Phoenix. It's summer. Of course it's hot! We wanted to take a day trip up to Flagstaff to enjoy some cooler temperatures - and Shawn found out about a Celtic Festival from a friend, so we decided to go and check it out!

The drive up is kind of long for the kids - just over 2 hours with one rest stop in the middle.


Naturally, the first place we went to was the kids area. They had a dragon's lair...


A laybrinth!


Face painting (I couldn't believe Sarah did this!)


A scary spider!


They also had a little old fashioned house. Jeremiah and Sarah played over here for a long time!


Sarah busied herself making butter!


Jeremiah really wanted a sword, but those were $20. We settled on the $5 rubber band gun made in China.


The kids (and us) were pretty much done, so we decided to leave. We were there about 5 hours, which for us, is a long time! On the way home, Shawn asked - "Should we stop in Sedona for dinner?" And I said "Of course!"

So off we went! 89A is such a beautiful (and long!) drive...


Perfect when you have two kids sleeping in the back!


The kids were hungry and ate great so they had ice cream sundaes!


We were at Tlaquepaque for dinner, and they have loads of statues and fountains - Jeremiah and Sarah thought it was great! We took a lot of photos.


Cutie Sarah...


Awww! These children are so sweet.


Handsome Dudes!


Jeremiah and I!


They had a bubbler just the kid's size. It was hilarious watching them drying to drink.




Before we left, Sarah kissed this frog. (He didn't turn into a prince.)


It was a really, really fun trip. The kids did great, we had fun as a family, and everyone came home ready for bed. Shawn and I used to do a lot of day trips like this when it was just the two of us - and it felt like we can start doing that again. Yay for kids growing up!