New Conveyance

Sadie got Daddy this backpack for his birthday. I think she likes it even more than he does. We used it today and had a great time. We were going to walk to the playground, but there were a lot of dark clouds and we decided to just walk the loop around our block.



Sadie has already learned to say "bah-pah" and tries to climb in on her own so we've had to hide it in the guest room. The backpack will surely be getting a lot of use this spring and summer and for a while into the future. It can carry up to 40 pounds and Sadie weighs about 23.

This morning

A sideways glance...

Pointing at a birdie..

Say "cheese", Sadie!

Tidbits

Here are a couple funny things about Sadie:

• She says "muk" instead of "mina" for milk. I think most of you would be able to understand what she means, too.
  
• The other day, I was singing along to the radio when I was strapping her into her car seat. "I Want You to Want Me" by the immortal Cheap Trick was playing. When I got to the title line, Sadie pushed my face away with her hands and angrily said "No! Mine!"
  
• If you are walking along with Sadie outside and she sees or hears a bird, she will immediately become rooted to the spot at which she is standing, point to the sky and say "birdie" over and over. If you whistle like a bird, she will do the same thing. This makes it a bit difficult to walk anywhere with her.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Dear Daddy,
Happy birthday! I hope you have a great day. Since it is your birthday, I can tell you in front of everyone how much I love you. You are so fun! I like to play with my toys with you because you do funny things and you showed me how to build very high towers. You make a lot of sound effects when you read to me. You are the best at giving me baths! I love to see you at the end of the day when you come to pick me up from daycare. You are my very best Daddy!
Love and sloppy kisses always,
Sadie

25% Irish, 100% Cute!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from our little leprechaun.

(green sweatsuit a gift from Nana and Grampy, little chair a gift from Grandma and Grandpa)

Helpful

After a fun visit to the Montshire with Isaac and his dad Andy, we were ready to head home. Sadie was determined to push her friend across the parking lot to his car. She was able to push the stroller for quite a while, despite it being loaded with 6 month old Isaac, Isaac's diaper bag and assorted other baby gear.



While at the museum, another mother asked if Sadie and Isaac were both my children. They are 9 months and a few days apart in age, so perhaps it is technically possible, but yikes. They are just friends, thank goodness, and Isaac has his own very nice mommy.

Sit at Table, Drink Milk

I like this picture from Monday's library outing because it's a good view of Sadie's recent hair, plus you can see her cute feet dangling in her new LLBean knock-off Merrell shoes. Doesn't she look like a genuine toddler sitting in a chair like that?

Wishing for Spring

The slightly milder weather today meant we could go for a quick swing before Mother Goose Time at the library.

Maybe Spring really is coming.

Cold Morning...

Yesterday morning, we went to watch the US Junior Olympics Team ski jumping event at Storrs Hill in Lebanon. It was a good time, but chilly.


Sadie liked being held in Daddy's arms and she was interested to hear that Daddy had been a ski jumper in high school.

Sadie fell asleep on the way home.
It turns out that watching teenagers ski jump is very, very tiring.

New Baby Cousin and New Baby Friend

Welcome, welcome, welcome to Sadie's new cousin William (the son of Daddy's cousin Kate and her husband Will) and to Sadie's new friend Marin Pearl (the daughter of Mommy and Daddy's friends Holly and Adam)! They were both born today. Sadie can't wait to meet the little bay-bees.

Favorite pastime these days

Building a tower with these stacking boxes...


"I did it all by myself!"


And then she looks at us and waits for the applause.

Latest Photo Album

We know it's been a long time, but here is the latest Ofoto album of Sadie. Enjoy!

Out in the Snow

We have snow again, finally, and it wasn't too cold this morning, so Sadie got to explore a little bit before we got in the car.

I like holding it.


Actually, let me wipe it off my hands.


Maybe it's a little too cold.


Now it's fun again!

Museum Visit

Since I have vacation this week, today Sadie was able to visit the Montshire Museum with a bunch of her friends and their moms. She had a great time exploring everything even though the museum was packed with kids. Her favorite activity today seemed to be the magnet board in the preschool play-area.



After lots of playing, the little ones relaxed in the lunchroom and had snacks.


Left to right: Sadie, Nicholas, Clayton, Lukas (and his mom), Lilly

This fun day followed a fun long weekend with a visit from Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Jenny! So much excitement...we need a day to get back to our regular routine!

Sadie Today

Click on the image for a bigger view. Checks for subscriptions should be sent to Ann.

I Like This One

Here's another one from the same playgroup:

Playgroup

Playgroups are an interesting phenomenon. A bunch of Mommies (and occasionally some Daddies and nannies too), a bunch of babies and toddlers, a pile of toys and a large room. And then just watch everyone interact (or not interact) with each other. This could be a goldmine for some sociology student.

Daddy took this picture of Sadie when he visited playgroup last week.


We have two regular playgroups that we try to attend. Mondays, we aim for Mother Goose Time at the Lebanon Public Library. Fridays, we head to the Howe Library in Hanover for an informal playgroup. Very different crowds at these two groups, but perhaps to be expected as Lebanon and Hanover are pretty different. We like them both and have made some nice friends, as well as just expanding our circle of aquaintances. It's nice to know people and run into them while doing errands, etc. Very "small town". I like it.

Today, Lyn and Gilly joined us at the Hanover group. It was great to see them. Gilly was the littlest baby there and she just sat and watched the older kids. So cute. I hope they had fun!

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Birthday

Why is today special?

It's Valentine's Day and I love you all so much!

Happy Birthday Auntie Kara! Happy Birthday Cousin Sam!

Hiding Place

Sadie likes to wiggle her way behind the chair. Sometimes, she takes books with her and reads them.

2nd Superbowl for Sadie

Sadie and Daddy watch the pre-game show for Superbowl XL.



Last year was much more exciting because the Patriots were playing, but Sadie was fast asleep. Look at the archive for February 2005 to see how little she was. This year, she's enjoying it! This picture also gives a good glimpse of Sadie's increased hair. It is even starting to curl up a little in the back.

Grandpa, Cool Aunt Jenny and Kate P!

We have a winner! Actually, we have a tie. Grandpa and Cool Aunt Jenny entered a joint submission and were 100% correct. Mommy's internet friend Kate P. was also 100% correct. All three will receive a fabulous prize. Here are the answers, for those who are curious:

baahl BALL
zhooz SHOES
daahg DOG
buur BIRD
sheez CHEESE
teaz TEETH
boooh BOOK
cook COOKIE

Grandma will receive an honorary prize for funniest guess. She translated "buur" as "I would like to go to New York and see Grandma, Grandpa and Jenny and stay for at least a week and a half." I think that was wishful thinking, Grandma. We had quite a few entries that scored 7/8. Very good work, all of you!

PS Thanks for the cute outfit in the picture, Grandma...I am trying it on in anticipation of spring!

Contest Update

We have received several contest entries so far. Some people have sent their guess via email so that they don't give hints to others. So far, the best score has been 7 correct out of 8.

Sadie Translation Contest

We haven't done a contest since Halloween, so it's time for a new one. The following is a list of words, as pronounced by Sadie. The person who can most accurately translate the list will win a fabulous prize! Contest will end on Wednesday.

(Hint, all words below are nouns)

baahl
zhooz
daahg
buur
sheez
teaz
boooh
cook

Sadie Wins!

Sadie won the baby image of the day award from Blogging Baby!

I like this white stuff!

It's fun to go out in the snow!

Look on my head

I'm finally getting some hair!

Daddy gave me this beautiful hairstyle in the tub tonight.

Oral hygiene and so much more

Sadie really loves brushing her teeth or perhaps she loves the sweet and fruity Orajel Toddler Training Toothpaste that is slathered on the toothbrush. We generally do the first brushing to make sure the teeth actually get clean, and then Sadie finishes up. She currently has 4 teeth on top, 3 teeth on the bottom and 1 bottom molar.



Weekend activities:
We went to the Montshire Museum on Saturday with friends Aili and Ava and their mom Laurie, but since it was raining and Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, it was the most crowded I have ever seen it and we didn't stay too long.
We had friends over to watch the Patriots on Saturday night. They didn't win and Daddy was very upset.
On Sunday, we drove down to Cambridge, MA to visit with Grandma and Grandpa. Mommy, Grandma and Sadie took a very cold walk around Harvard Square. Sadie enjoyed her dinner at Legal Seafoods (she shared Daddy's clam chowder and had her own dish of macaroni and cheese) and she slept over in Grandma and Grandpa's hotel room and loved it. It was nice for Mommy and Daddy too.
Today, we got to visit Auntie Kara and see her new condo. It is very nice. Nana was visiting Kara, so we got to see Nana as well. On the way back, we stopped at the Mall of New Hampshire and Sadie and Daddy took a merry-go-round ride. It was Sadie's first one and she sort of liked it and sort of looked nervous.



So, Delurking Week is now officially over, but we loved having so many comments last week. Thanks!

New word

Sadie has another new word. It is baahl (ie, ball). We heard it for the first time last night and she woke up today and the first thing she did once I got her out of the crib was pick up her little stuffed soccer ball and announce, "Baahl!"

Beth's Request

Beth asked to see Sadie doing her "Sleep, Sadie" trick.

This is a variation, because usually, she'll lay down when you tell her "sleep", but here she just put her head down on the couch. It's cute anyway.

Thanks for delurking, folks. Keep it up! It's been so fun to read all the comments this week.

Jacob's Request

Jacob asked if Sadie was old enough to type her own blog entry. Not yet. But here's Sadie practicing her computer skills on Daddy's laptop.

Matthew's Request

Sadie's friend in England, Matthew, requested pictures of Sadie eating pasta and fruit. Here, Sadie enjoys a plateful of Annie's Organic D.W. Whole Wheat Pasta and Alfredo Sauce (Matthew, D.W. is a little girl anteater from a children's cartoon program in the US). Sadie enjoys this easy to prepare meal and the pasta shapes are easy to pick up. These pictures were taken tonight.



See Matthew, it's yummy!

I found out today that it is Delurking Week in blog land. This means, I can encourage you who visit this site and never leave comments (ie, lurkers), to please leave a comment and make yourself known. We love visitors to the site, whether we know you in person or not. All are welcome!

Kate's Request

Kate requested a new photo each hour. Unfortunately, we can't do that, but here is a picture from this afternoon.

Aunt Jenny's Request

Here's a picture of Sadie dancing while we all sang "Happy Birthday" to her friend Esme at a party last weekend. As a bonus, Aunt Jenny, she is wearing the shirt you gave her.

And here is Sadie enjoying the cake.


We're still taking requests and questions, so keep them coming!

Questions? Requests?

Do you have a question for Sadie or her Mommy or her Daddy?
Would you like to see a picture of something in particular?
Just use the comments to ask. We love getting comments!

Sadie is doing so many new things lately. It's amazing to watch her change so quickly. Her language skills in particular are growing. She understands what we say to her and responds. One favorite activity is looking at a book illustrated with photos of real items and pointing to things as we name them. She especially likes to point to the baby, the dog and the cookie.

Some new words that Sadie says:
Uh Oh
Daw (meaning dog)
Cook (meaning cookie)

Another new trick is "sleep"...if we say, "Sleep, Sadie", she immediately lays her head down on the nearest surface and says
aaaah. Too cute.

The Plan with The Tiger

Sadie and Nicholas make a plan.


They go over the details.


A decision is made.


Sadie puts the tiger on the bookself.


Now, to complete the plan: Sadie and Nicholas squeeze behind the shelf and Sadie gets the tiger.


Sadie had an excellent time at playgroup today, which was followed by nap that is now heading into it's third hour.

Getting Bigger

Here are Sadie's current stats:

Height: 30.5" (77.5cm)
Weight: 22lbs. (10kg)

For the record, that is a 50% increase in height and almost a 200% increase in weight since birth! On the other hand, she has about the same amount of hair.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from the Queen of the Fisher Price Little People!

Last Post of 2005

It's New Year's Eve. When she wakes up tomorrow, Sadie will have been alive in three different years, despite being only 12 months old.

Sadie is raising her glass, or rather, her sippy cup of milk, and wishing her friends and family a wonderful 2006!

Gender

Scene: Lebanon Village Market, a small grocery store generally frequented by "locals".

Elderly Man (coming up to Sadie and clapping his hands): You're a good little man! What a nice smile. Aren't you a big strong man?

Sadie: (Laughs, claps her hands, waves at the man)

Mommy: She's a girl, but she is big and strong.

Elderly Man (switches to a baby-talk voice): Aren't you just the prettiest little girl? What a sweetheart. She's a doll.

Chrismukah

Happy Holidays, everyone! Or if you prefer, Good Chrismukah! (Chrismukah is a term Daddy learned from the ever-so-smart-and-clever TV show "The OC").

We had a really nice Christmas with Grampy, Nana and Aunties Kara and Lolly, as well as lots of Daddy's family, and have been enjoying Hanukah as well. We're looking forward to spending the 5th and 6th nights of Hanukah with Grandpa, Grandma and Aunt Jenny.

Sadie and her cousins on Christmas Day:


Sadie and Mommy light the menorah on the first night of Hanukah:


We're working on getting a new set of pictures up on Ofoto, once we erase all the red-eyes.

Enjoy some new pictures

Sadie doing many cute things!

Snow Day

For the second Friday in a row, Sadie and I are snowed in. Sadie thinks a good way to pass the time is with her books. Today, she is reading Toes, Ears and Nose! by Marion Dane Bauer and illustrated by one of our favorite illustrators, Karen Katz.