A little more...

I'm on a roll this week...maybe I'll catch up before Sadie Beth goes to college. This picture was taken at one of Sadie Beth's favorite times of the day.......Daddytime! She gets so excited waiting for David to come home from work. As soon as she hears the door open downstairs she runs and waits for him at the gate....I think by this time of the day she is done with me and ready for a change of pace. Perhaps every now and then I'm ready for a break as well by the time 5-5:30 rolls around.

It's harder to get pictures of Sadie Beth these days because she's never still for long. On the changing table though, she can't go far.

Such a silly girl - especially with her Daddy!
I think awhile back I mentioned that Sadie Beth insisted on wearing this sweater all the time. On this particular Saturday morning, I slept in and woke to find her playing with David while wearing this fashionable getup - her sleeper, bluejean skirt, and sweater. Maybe she's going to be a fashion designer. OOPS!

This was when Sadie Beth was finally starting to take some steps on her own - as you can see, she's pretty excited.

Mom, you'll have to tell me what you think, but this picture really looks like some pictures I've seen of me when I was little. I think it might be her hair.

This little girl LOVES cups...especially if the cup belongs to Mama or Dada. The excitement practically triples if the found cup has some sort of liquid in it.

Even more then cups she loves coke cans. If she finds one of my Diet Moutain Dew cans, she will pick it up, pretend to take a drink (even if it isn't open), and then give a satisfied, "AHHHH!" What can I say? Just like mama....

A very busy toddler!

Just like any other home with a toddler, we stay very busy....our days are filled with learning, exploring, laughing, and getting into anything and everything. :) I wouldn't change that for the world though! We got Sadie Beth this book shelf and a matching table this past summer at a consignment sale. Since taking this picture, it has all be moved into her room, but one day she figured out how to climb in and out of the bookshelf....an accomplishment she felt quite proud of.

And again, minus the clothing.

These are Sadie Beth's "fancy-pants." When I ask her where her "fancy-pants" are, she pats her knees and squeals.
Any day that includes taking out all the diapers out of the diaper holder is a winner in Sadie Beth's book. She actually puts them back too....with some help of course.
David was vacuuming so Sadie Beth decided to get out her vacuum cleaner to "help." Note the sweater that she insisted on wearing all the time for about 3 weeks. Over anything, all day long.

We are still doing this a lot.

Sadie Beth takes her potty/reading time very seriously. Must run in the Balzer genes...

So, one day I turned my back for all of .5 seconds while Sadie Beth was in the tub - I was even still in the room, just standing in the doorway chatting with David. After a few moments, I turned back around and this is what I saw! Oops. Sadie Beth had reached out of the tub and grabbed the toilet brush - this had the potential to be really really gross. My saving grace? The toilet brush was BRAND NEW, halleluiah. We had just picked it up from Target a few days before and I had not yet cleaned the bathrooms.

New Shoes!!!!

What one simple thing makes my little girl just about the happiest toddler on the block? Who would have thought...shoes?!?! I had the hardest time making my mind up about what shoes to get for Sadie Beth, so she didn't have any that fit her until November. Seeing as she wasn't walking yet, this was not a problem - except for perhaps one or two days at the playground near the end of fall where she would have enjoyed practicing taking some steps. Oh well, she might not hold it against me for life. :)

Anyways, finally I ordered a pair online and as you can see when they arrived, the only way to describe her reaction was bliss - pure happiness over her cute little new shoes!

Modeling and posing with her new shoes for the camera.

Still, a very content little girl who is quite proud of her new shoes. (Note Elmo's excitement in the background; he, like Sadie Beth, is very happy out new shoes). We try to teach Sadie Beth about having a thankful heart (yes, even at this young age), often prompting her to say (sign) "thankyou" when someone does something kind for her or gives something to her. I was so pleasantly surprised when she signed "thank you!" several times after getting her new shoes without me prompting! It's always nice to see something you spend so much time on bear some fruit!

After the initial excitement, it was time to play with her "Big Bus" - a super fun toy given to her by her Grandpa and Grandma Balzer! She loves it! :)

A day at our Alma Mater...

This post can serve as a nice reminder that warmer days are coming! David and I decided to take advantage of one of the last BEAUTIFUL days of the fall for a ride to Hanover with Sadie Beth. We enjoyed lunch at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants and then took a drive around the campus that was home to us for four amazing years. Just walking around brought back so many memories for us. It is amazing how we both were at Hanover for the same 4 years, but hardly knew each other during that time. Only when we were 1,500 miles apart did God choose to make our paths cross in a truly significant way. Just goes to show how God's plans for our lives are so much better than any we could make on our own. Well, that tangent aside, we had a lovely afternoon with Sadie Beth. The weather was perfect and we tried to get some family pictures...here are a few of my favorites.
I love how Sadie Beth adores David. To her, he is the smartest, strongest, biggest, most fun person in the world! (And to me too!) Take note, too, of how Grover accompanied us on this fun excursion.

In case you forgot, Sadie Beth is "SO BIG!"

What a goof-ball.

These next few are my favorites...David got some good shots. He wouldn't let me take many of him, so that is why there aren't more of him!