February Updates!

It seems like February was over in the blink of an eye.  We had so much snow, that we had 5 days off of school, a few 2 hour delays, and another huge storm expected tonight!  Due to a slow down in our social calendar, we were able to actually spend weekends at home during February.  It was great to slow down, spend some time relaxing and mostly packing and preparing to move to our new house.  Jared and I are under contract and expected to close on March 14 on hopefully our "forever" home =)  After this past year and moving twice, we never want to move again!

Below is a picture of the house we have under contract.  It is located in a great neighborhood in one of the best school districts.  We are excited to move in and make it our own!

Meanwhile, Sara has continued to grow and change.  She is developing a funny and independent personality. She is extremely inquisitive and is just now starting to pull herself up and let go.  So far, she is just standing there bouncing and clapping her hands.  We are sure that she will be walking soon though...  She is also starting to eat more real food, enjoying pizza and mac and cheese.  It often takes a few time of offering it to her, but she eventually catches on that it is delicious.

Below are a few of cute updated pics and videos.  

It is "awesome" when she does this with food in her mouth...

Speed walker....

On a rare nice day, we took her to the park to try out the swing for the first time.  We are not sure she was really enjoying it...

Great-Grandma Idee turned 90, so we celebrated with a party in her honor.  Here is Sara holding onto her cousin Will for support.  In a few years, he'll be the one pushing her around =)

Jared and Sara are really into "selfies" these days...one of their favorite activities!  Here you can see her five teeth that she currently has...

Of course, I had to throw a bath tub shot.  It is definitely not her favorite activity right now, so she is standing on the edge and trying to get out.  I am hoping this is a phase...

A rare nap time shot...

Sara's favorite toy.  She unfortunately inherited Jared and I's rhythm...

10th months old!

A Trip to the Camden Aquarium...

Last weekend, we all had a little "cabin fever" with all of the snow that we were having, so we decided to head to the Camden Aquarium to get out of the house for a little bit.  We were excited that our friends Rob and Kristen, and their daughter Haven decided to join us.  We had a lot of fun walking around and looking at all of the different types of animals.  The best was a tunnel that walked through the shark tank (they literally swim over your head!).  Sara's favorite part was of course the area where we let her crawl around and bang on the different noise machines.

Aunt Megan's Shower!

This past weekend Sara attended her first baby shower for her Aunt Megan, who is having a baby girl due on April 2.  She had a great time eating cake and "helping" Auntie Meg open her presents (this mostly consisted of her pulling at the paper and crawling all over the boxes!).  Sara also had fun with her cousin Allison, who she chased around the entire party!  We can't wait for Baby Ava to make her appearance soon!!

Surgery for Sara...

Due to the back to back ear infections, Jared and I decided to have tubes put in Sara's ears.  We had heard the surgery is not that complicated and has great benefits, including improved hearing, less discomfort, and less antibiotics (all making the procedure worth it).  So far, everything said has proven to be true.  The procedure was done in one morning.  We checked in at 645 am (so early!) and were home by 10 am.  The hardest part was being in the operating room with her when they administered the anesthesia.  I am not sure I'll do that ever again... Sara was such a trooper though.  She was cooperative the entire time, and by the time we left, was smiling at the doctor.  She has been sleeping much better at night, and so far hasn't been sick (although it has only been 3 days!).  Lets hope for the best!!

Sara is 9 months old!!

Wow...I can't believe my baby is turning into her own person right in front of me!  Sara is still a very smiley baby.  She is always ready to give smiles to strangers and hugs to her mom and dad.  She is crawling all over the place (this started around 8 months), pulling herself up on every piece of furniture she can, and dancing to music.  She has many toys that "talk" and play music.  These are her favorite toys, and she gets a smile and little bounce every time the music comes on.  Her favorite word (even though I am constantly pushing for "mama") is "dada".  She says it all of the time, and is starting to even get it right occasionally when referring to Jared.  Recently, her two bottom teeth have pushed through.

While she loves daycare and all of her teachers and babies there, she has had a hard time staying healthy with all of the other babies and germs floating around.  She has a constant running nose ("daycare nose") and congestion.  This causes ear infections, which have pretty much been back to back since September.  We are planning to get tubes in January.   However, even while she doesn't feel good, she is smiling and behaving in such a sweet manner (during the day!).

Snow Day!

This is the first time it has snowed where Sara hasn't been sick (or too sick) and we felt comfortable taking her outside.  That said, it was a very cold day, so we didn't stay out for too long.  We bundled her up (much to her discomfort) and took her outside to introduce her to snow.  I don't really think she appreciated it!  Here's the picture to prove that we tried =)

Christmas and New Years Eve 2013!

I had almost 2 weeks off for the Christmas/Winter break, but it went by so fast that I can't believe it's over already! 

• The break started off with a much needed date night with our college friends from Conshy, Ali and Diana, and my friend Colleen who flew in from Indianapolis.  We went to a fancy dinner and then out to the bars in Conshy, just like the days before the baby!  We had a blast and of course paid for it the next day when the baby woke up early....

(Diana eluded all pictures this evening!)

• Jared and I took Sara downtown on Christmas Eve and spent the afternoon taking in all of the Philly Christmas sights.  Our major event was watching the light show at the Comcast Building.  It was such a good show that it even kept Sara's attention.  She enjoyed smiling at all of the people and clapping along with the rest of the crowd.

• On Christmas day, Santa came to visit and left Sara a singing/rocking lady bug.  She has enjoyed playing, dancing and singing with it ever since. Then, for a change, my parents and Grandmother came to visit us in Conshy.  We went to church and had dinner at our house.

• The following day, we went back to my parents house to get together with the rest of the family.  Sara enjoyed "chasing" Allison around the house (although Allison was much too fast) and stealing Olivia's pacifier (not for herself, just because she didn't think Olivia needed it).  We all had a great time at home, and it was fun to see the kids start to interact.

• My break ended with an awesome New Years Eve!  We participated in an "Around the World" progressive dinner with our friends from Philly.  We started in "Spain" and had appetizers at Diana's.  Then, we went to "Italy" at our condo for dinner, and ended up in "France" at Ali's for dessert.  It was our first time with a non-related baby-sitter, and we had such a good time out with our friends.  A wonderful way to end 2013 and begin 2014....

See why my break went sooo fast!?!