Summer Days

Sarah has had a very busy summer. She continues to enjoy our new house and all of the benefits of living in the country and having outdoor space to play in. She still loves to swim in the pool and one day we hooked up the sprinkler and let her run through it (she probably won’t be too happy with me for posting this picture when she gets bigger). We also let her finger paint for the first time the other day. She wasn’t really thrilled with it. Once she got some paint on her and realized it was kind of sticky she decided she had had enough (but we got our first masterpiece to hang on the fridge).

We took Sarah to the Boone County fair and the Winnebago county fair several times. Papaw and Mamaw bought her a cowgirl hat, which she loves to wear (she’s turning into an accessory junkie). She insisted on walking instead of riding in the stroller every time we went. I would have thought her little legs would give out after a while but it seems she’s powered like the Energizer bunny as she can walk for hours without getting tired. She loved all the fair food and even tried sweet corn (although she couldn’t figure out why Papaw wouldn’t share his-she usually gets everything she wants from Papaw).

After the fairs we went to the New Milford corn boil to watch cousin Nico ride in the parade. We all voted for him in the Little Mr. New Milford contest and he won! Sarah really liked “tail gaiting” and seeing all the people go by throwing candy. That afternoon though she started running a fever and vomiting and we found out the next day that she had another ear infection. We’re never happy when Sarah’s sick but it was nice to slow down for a few days and rest a little. At one point she kicked both of us out of Daddy’s chair and was hanging out with her new singing Care Bear from Grandma C. She thinks she’s hot stuff because she can climb onto the furniture at Papaw and Mamaw’s house without help now. It baffles her though that she can’t yet manage the same feat at home (thank goodness for tall furniture!).

Sarah really enjoys going on walks with us and “helping” to walk Abby (sadly, Carly got hit by a car a few weeks ago so we are back to being a one dog family). Sarah is really starting to like exploring nature and we collected some acorns on our walks, which we decided to let her plant. She wasn’t too sure about the dirt at first but once she got into it we had trouble convincing her that the pot was full. Although she was fine with the dirt on her hands, when she stepped on the tray and got dirt in her shoes she started to cry and wouldn’t quit until we cleaned her feet! She added the dirt, dropped in the acorns, piled more dirt on top, helped water them, and then insisted on carrying the pot into the house by herself. She also tried to eat some dirt on the way to the house, which she found out was not the best decision she’s made. Even though we miss her being a baby, we really love this stage of exploration. It is so amazing to watch her get excited about things we take for granted and to see her figure out how to do things on her own.

Next month we are all going to Hawaii for the first time for her godmother’s wedding. I’m sure we’ll have some great stories to tell when we return.