Fort

This last Wednesday was a perfect day.  It was rainy, cold, and overcast and we loved it!  We thought it was the perfect day for a fort!  Jacob and Sarah loved crawling in and out.  We played Hungry Hungry Hippo and watched a little Magic School Bus.  It was great and we loved lounging and relaxing in our fort.  

 

Grateful for every day I get to spend with these three!

Sarah's 1st Birthday

This little sweetheart is one years old!  I can't imagine our family without her and am so grateful every day for her sweet spirit.  

Some of Sarah's favorite things are:

Favorite books are Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell, Peek-A-Who by Nina Laden, and The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

Favorite activities are crawling, going on walks, and playing with blocks

Favorite food is puffs

Favorite game is peek-a-boo

Favorite song is Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam

I decided to have a strawberry birthday theme!  We started the day with some German pancakes with strawberries which was oh so yummy!

We had the party festivities at my parent's house which worked out really nice.  We put on our swimsuits and headed for the Splash Park with Aunt Megan.  This was an unfortunate part of my planning because after trying three, yes three, splash parks we concluded that they all must close after Labor Day because they were all closed.  It was a bit of a bummer but we found an awesome park that we had all to ourselves and we all had a great time.  

Sarah went down every slide and was completely fearless.  She is our happy girl.  

In the evening was Sarah's birthday festivities!  Grandpa and Grandma Berning, Gramps and Grammy, Aunt Melina and Aunt Megan were all able to be there.  Sarah loved being able to play in the grass and with everyone that was there.  There was lounging and relaxation all around!

 We had a yummy dinner of hamburgers, corn on the cob, and strawberry spinach salad with strawberry limeade. 

Then we opened presents and we were so grateful for all of the thoughtful cards and gifts.  Everything was a hit!

For the finale we had Sarah's strawberries and cream birthday cake.  It was so much fun to watch Sarah "explore" her cake and she loved feeling it.  I don't think hardly any of it was eaten but she had a great time playing in it!

The rest of us had strawberries and cream cupcakes!

It was such a great day and I loved being able to celebrate this precious little girl.  She makes our family so happy.  Sarah is truly beautiful from the inside-out.  She just radiates happiness and joy and I will forever be grateful to be her mother.  

We love you sweet girl. 

12 Months

This beautiful little girl is a year old!  I can't imagine life without her and feel so blessed and grateful every day to have her in our family.  She is such a light to everyone around her.  

Sarah is 30.2 inches tall (83%), 23 pounds 15 ounces (89%), and has a head circumference of 45.5 cm (64%).  

She is a mover and a groover!  This girl never stops moving!  She loves to be on the go.  She crawls everywhere and loves to hold onto furniture and walk around.  She loves following Jacob everywhere he goes!

Sarah is fearless.  She has full confidence in Mark and he throws her all over and she loves it.  She is always up to try anything and everything is an adventure.  

She loves to carry toys with her which means she carries them in her mouth (dog-style!) or if she can slide them under her hand when she walks that is another favorite.

She is also very vocal.  She loves to laugh and squeal.  She has all sorts of noises and grunts for different situations and it is {usually} fun to hear all that she has to say!

Sarah has the most amazing smile.  I love her toothy grin.  She truly has such a gift to brighten anyone's day.  She is such a happy little girl and loves to make everyone around her just as happy.

I love you sweetheart.

Birdsong Trail

So we stumbled upon this trail the other week.  We were actually looking for a different trail head but this trail ended up being so fun and perfect.  It took you up high but was really kid friendly and let you see a great view of Ogden.  A lot of the trail was actually in some pretty forested areas and so that was neat plus it is always great to walk in the shade when it's hot!

Mark's 33rd Birthday

This man is my favorite.  I love him so much and I was happy to have a day where we could celebrate everything about him!

We started the day by going back to the Aerospace Museum - because we just loved it that much when we visited for Jacob's birthday.  We had another great time looking at all of the exhibits and, of course, all of the planes outside as well!

We took it easy in the afternoon but then headed up to Maddox for dinner!  Mark had never been and so we thought this was a perfect time to try it out!  It did not disappoint (does Maddox ever disappoint?!) and we enjoyed spending some great family time together.  

Our day ended back home with some old-fashioned chocolate cake that was oh so chocolaty and good!

I love Mark so much.  I am grateful every day to have him as my companion and best friend for forever.  He lifts me up when I am feeling down and makes me happy.  He is a wonderful dad and supports our little family so well.  I am forever grateful for who he is.  

I love you hun. 

Dress Ups

So Grandma Berning has so many fun dress ups and Jacob and Sarah are loving every minute with them!  Jacob loves trying on the hats and necklaces especially.  It is so fun to see the combinations he comes up with!  Sarah isn't quite as into it as Jacob yet - but you would never know that based off the adorable picture of her in some fairy wings!  Here are some photos from some of our dress up sessions!

 

Grandma Dixie's Birthday

A couple of weeks ago we decided to come down to Draper and visit my parents for a couple of days.  It was perfect timing because my Grandma Dixie was also coming down and we were celebrating her birthday!  Jacob loves celebrating anything so he was ecstatic!

I was so happy that we were there to celebrate this wonderful lady.  She has always been such a positive example to me of kindness, perseverance, and pure Christlike love.  I love her and was very grateful to spend some time with her.  

Love you Grandma.