More pictures from August

Here are some more cute pictures taken in the last month by Emma (who has an amazing new camera!), Grandma Alice and Grandma Jan. Enjoy!


Sage did a lot of sleeping in the wrap while I danced at Cumberland Dance Week:
This baby is well loved:


Here she's doing the sign for more:
Posing with Dada's hat for Emma at the woodland Arts Fair:


Simultaneously sweet and silly:

A random person told me yesterday that Sage was the most beautiful baby they'd ever seen. I'm inclined to agree.

Catching Up

July was very busy around here, and then we didn't have internet access for 3 or so weeks, so I'm afraid I haven't even had a chance to update the blog in a very long time. I do apologize. A lot has happened, though, and Sage has done so many things, and learned so many things since the beginning of July, when I last posted. Here are some Sage updates:

She's learning new words at the rate of 1 or 2 per day. Some recently learned words are nap, moon, giraffe, knot, hot, ice and night-night. She has also learned to jump, walk on tip-toes, and do somersaults, as well as sort items by color. She really lives for a good game of Ring Around the Rosy or Jump Jim Joe and can sing the E I E I O part or Old McDonald for me while I sang the rest of the song. Her grasp of the concept of pretend has improved dramatically, and she has just begun to feed her baby doll (with a little paper tag). She has begun to enjoy giving kisses to everyone she loves, including her dolls and stuffed animals. We have also entered the phase of "do it myself"--though she can't really say that, and we had to buy her some shoes she could put on herself, because shoes were getting to be a real struggle. She absolutely must put them on herself, but she couldn't put on her old shoes without help, and she definitely didn't want help. Along with the "do it myself" phase, comes the phase of temper tantrums, and we certainly have some of those as well, especially when it's nap time, or night-night time. BUT, she's also getting better at sharing, and genuinely seems to enjoy playing with other little ones her age. She's such a sweet little person, and I feel very lucky to be part of her life.

A lot has happened event-wise since I last posted too. We went to Allentown, PA (Dada's home town) to celebrate the wedding of "uncle" Justin and his lovely wife, Heidi, and also to celebrate the baptism of their son Del.

Then Sage and I went to Cumberland Dance Camp with my parents, Emma and Rachael, and had a perfectly lovely time dancing, and hanging out with our new friends, Beth and Brad and their 20 m/o daughter, Bridgette. Sage and Bridgette were so very cute together, as they ran down hallways hand-in-hand, and played Ring Around the Rosy together. Sage had a particular affinity for eating Bridgette's snack, but fortunately, Bridgette didn't seem to mind too much. I did get to do some dancing with Sage in a Mei Tai or a Wrap (comfy, soft, simple baby carriers), and she would always fall asleep almost immediately.

We also took another little trip up to the Cincinnati Zoo with Grandma, Emma, Rachael, Aunt Nancy Ann, Camille and Adelie, and it was great to see Sage and Adelie warm up to each other again.

Most recently, Grandma and Grandpa Jodock and uncle Erik came to visit again, and we spent some quality time giggling and romping around with them this past weekend (never enough time, of course)

Here are a few pictures from the Allentown trip:



And here are some from the Zoo trip:




Hopefully the two grandmas will e-mail me some of the pictures they have taken recently and we can add some pictures from Cumberland Dance Camp and from the weekend with the Jodocks before long.

And just for fun, here are a couple of pictures of Sage with carrots:

Grandma and Grandpa Jodock Come to Town

Sage had a perfectly lovely visit from Grandma Jan and Grandpa Darrell this weekend. Even though it had been quite a while since she'd seen them, she warmed up to them quickly and was everyone's darling little sprite all weekend long. On the 4th we walked in the 10k race. My friend Ruth and I had Sage and James on our backs, and Dada and Grandma Jan came along to join in the fun. Then we had a little birthday dinner for mama with Sage's little friends, James and Aiden, and their parents (our friends) Ruth, John, Alexis and Brandon. On Saturday we went to the Renaissance Faire where my morris team was dancing, and then out to dinner with Grandma and Grandpa. Sage made friends with the waitress and entertained the other patrons with her antics and her friendly smiles. She is definitely coming out of her shell recently! On Sunday, Dada's aunt Karen and Uncle Cliff came for dinner and a visit, and again Sage took her job as entertainer very seriously. She had us all roaring with laughter as she bounced on balls, and ran around crazily asking for tickles: "Gi gi gi gi gi gi!"-- translation="tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle!"

Mama unfortunately didn't take a picture all weekend, but here are some highlights beautifully photographed by Grandma Jan.

This series Shows Sage demonstrating for Grandma all the ways it is possible to wear a cloth diaper:

























Here are Sage and her dada enjoying a silly moment:
And some fun with Grandpa Darrell!
Silly times with Mama:
At the renaissance faire in our matching poofy sleeves:
Looking mighty cute at the faire (and having a little snack of cheddar bunnies):
Riding on a liittle tractor with Grandpa!
Pure sweetness just before bed:
Silly Sage wanted to wear grandma's shoes. She walked all the way down the hall in them!
Another sweet little smile caught by Grandma:
Blowing bubbles: She actually blew one herself!
Enjoying some particularly stunning jewelry:
Reading a Babybug magazine with Mama (this one once belonged to Emma!):
And playing with Grandma's watch (Oh so silly!):

Sadly, since Grandma Jan took all the pictures, we didn't get any of Sage and Grandma together. But they certainly had some wonderful times worth remembering! We'll just have to keep those pictures in our heads.

Little Sweetheart in the Heart of Texas

We have just come back from a lovely family vacation in Texas with Grandma Alice, Granddaddy Al, Emma and Rachael. Sage thought the airports and airplanes were fascinating, and even learned to say the word airplane on the way there. We spent some fantastic time with Ruth's Family in Austin, and enjoyed discovering San Antonio and the beach at Padre Island. in Austin, Ruth and Phil treated us royally, and Sage had a ball playing with Robert and Roy. She giggled and laughed all day, and had her first experiences splashing in the pool! We also went out on the lake in a pontoon boat (Sage's first time in a boat!) and had fun swimming in the lake.

Here are some pictures from Austin.

Swinging on the big kid swings:

playing in the pool:
Swimming in the lake with grandma:
Driving the boat (well... not really):


In San Antonio, we went to the most amazing zoo I can remember, as well as the Alamo, the River Walk downtown, and Sea World. Sage thought the Alamo wasn't all that exciting, but the rest she thoroughly enjoyed, especially the zoo! Ruth's family joined us for Seaworld and the zoo, which made our time there even more exciting. Here are a few pics from San Antonio.

Dada and Sage at the Zoo:
Emma had hurt her knee, so she and Sage rode together in a borrowed wheelchair around the zoo:
Fascinated by the fish with Roy and robert:
Having a fine time with her favorite person:
At Sea World:
I think she is looking down at the bucket she has just dropped in the crocodile pond! Needless to say, it stayed there.
Riding on Dada's Shoulders:
What fun!
Sage's first little amusement park ride with Mama and Rachael:
Family picture outside the big mexican market:


The last stop was Padre Island, Corpus Christi and the Beach: We camped right on the beach at Padre Island, and played at the beach all day the first day. Only Sage managed to escape without a sunburn, but we all had a blast anyway. The next day we thought it wise to stay out of the sun, so we went to the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi. Here are several pictures from that portion of the trip.

Playing in the sand:







In the camper--more fun times with Emma:
Sage learned to say "alligator" right here. She was very interested in them, but they were also rather disturbingly interested in her!
More driving!At the playground having an extra fun time with Granddaddy and Daddy:

And again with her favorite person:

Wow, that was a lot of pictures!! There were just so many good ones!