Seasons of Love

Monday, November 15, 2010

It's Fall Y'all!

A few pictures of Sarah Grace playing on the playground at her preschool!

September 2010

Sarah Grace is really enjoying preschool-it is proving to be a worthwhile experience for us all :) She loves her teachers (and we can tell because she talks about them all the time and she gives them "love" when she leaves school each day.) We can tell that the teachers love her, too. She brings home cute little artwork projects and they even have a daily "report card" that lets us know what she did each day! SO cute! SG plays well with her classmates and doesn't seem to mind sharing (so far)...there are 4 boys and 4 girls in her class and she knows each of their names!

Meeting a new friend, Brody, at the park.

Narley's 4th birthday party!

Our church, St. James United Methodist, was in the newspaper for our UMW Circle's mission project called Back Pack Pals. We pack bookbags each week to send home to needy children each weekend. They are filled with easy-to-eat foods (like poptarts, jello, pudding, cereal, etc.) I am so proud to be a part of this wonderful community mission.

Moments with Daddy...

Happy 18 months Sarah Grace ~ September 30, 2010! We can't believe a whole year and a half has already gone bye. She continues to amaze and awe us...her sweet smile, comfy cuddles, funny laugh, smart sounding words/phrases, strong personality, creative expressions, daredevil moves...

SG is practicing saying the blessing and her prayers each day (she says "AMEN!" when we are done)...she uses so many words and is even saying little sentences (already so verbal...uh oh!)...she likes to clean up her toys and her "mess" (yay!)...she's one tough cookie (she's had a few tumbles lately but if she falls she brushes herself off and keeps on moving)...she's very outgoing and fearless most of the time, but there are times when she's a Mommy or Daddy's girl and tends to be a little shy...she's so inquisitive-she asks "what's that/this" and we can tell her little brain is just learning everything about her little world...

Thank you God for our sweetest little Sarah Grace!

...And then we always have a moment like this every now and then...who doesn't?

The firetruck came to Sarah Grace's school to visit. They brought all the kids little plastic fire hats...SG likes to wear her hat all over the house!

October 9, 2010 - Wrightsville Beach, NC...a walk on the beach turned into a little swim! We went to explore the beach with Daisy in October along with Uncle Shelton, Hillary, and Chris. Then we all went to enjoy a yummy lunch at Flaming Amy's :)

Jump ahead a few years...she had so much fun trying out all the cars at Toys R Us!

Enjoying the good life...playing in the sandbox one morning and then eating a little afternoon snack while watching Mickey Mouse on TV (It's our guilty pleasure!) !

Vacation...October 15-24, 2010

(Waynesboro, Roanoke, Blacksburg, Delaware, Maryland...everywhere in between)

Virginia Tech Football Game ~ October 16, 2010 (we had great seats to watch the HOKIES beat Wake... it was such a beautiful day and a great game!)

10/16/2010 Sarah Grace stayed with Opa and Oma while Mommy and Daddy went to the VT football game :) They went on a wagon ride and walked around the gold course.

Pumpkin Patch - Waynesboro, VA ~ Sunday, October 17, 2010

October 18, 2010 - Playing at the Waynesboro Park...

and with toys at Oma and Opa's new house...

and helping Opa sucks up leaves in the yard.

10-18-2010 WWII planes

After a great time in Virginia, we drove to Fenwick Island, Delaware/Ocean City, Maryland to visit Mom-mom and Pop-pop for a few days...here are some pictures from our visit.

Sarah Grace helped Jack write down his thoughts for his best man speech for Ethan's wedding.

Ocean City Beach, MD ~ October 21, 2010

Ocean City Boardwalk Arcade/Playplace where SG got to play lots of games and even won some cool prizes! She was in awe of the whole scene.

We left Delaware for Annapolis, MD on Friday morning...

Friday, October 22, 2010 ~ Karen and Ethan's Rehearsal/Rehearsal Dinner

Saturday, October 23, 2010 ~ Karen and Ethan's Wedding/Reception

We all had a great time dancing...SG literally danced herself to sleep (in Mommy's arms) but woke right back up because she wasn't finished dancing...she wanted to stay awake to blow bubbles at Ethan and Karen as they departed for their honeymoon!

Sunday, October 24 we strolled around Annapolis before getting back in the car and heading back to NC.

Sunday, October 24, 2010 ~ Shelton Family Reunion

We stopped in Robersonville, NC to make an appearance at the reunion. We ate some yummy BBQ with all the fixins...SG got to meet and play with some cousins...and pet horses!

SG's Fall Party at preschool (10-26-2010)...she loved the cupcakes!

Halloween Craft with Aunt Carrie

10-28-2010 Chick-Fil-A School Spirit Night - SG the doctor with her friend Chloe the hunny bee

Saturday, October 30, 2010 ~ Trunk or Treat at our church

sucking on her first sucker while we drove from church to a resident interview dinner

Halloween Eve - October 30, 2010

Sunday, October 31, 2010 ~ HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Group shot of some church friends at an annual Halloween party!

Monday, September 20, 2010

The end of summer...and preschool!

As the summer draws to a close (boo hoo)...we'd like to share some more pictures and experiences from our life! SG turned 17 months on August 30, 2010...here's a picture from her 17 month birthday :)

FYI - She now refers to herself as a "big girl" when asked if she's a baby or a big girl! :) We had a playdate the other day with a true baby...he is about 7 weeks old. SG politely referred to him as "baby" (as she gently touched his toes and then kissed him on the head)...she then pointed at me and said "Mommy, baby, please" - I wonder what she is thinking?!?!

LOVE HER!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarah Grace's first experience feeding ducks - August 31, 2010 - 17 months old! And...she loved it! We almost lost our sweet little girl to an enticing family of ducks...I think they wanted to adopt her and I know she would have gladly jumped right into the water behind them! We really enjoy being outside with Sarah Grace; nature is a beautiful and FREE classroom :)

Coiner Family Vacation with the Wiest Family ~ Hilton Head Island ~ September 3-6, 2010

We spent a wonderful Labor Day weekend with some of our favorite friends...the Wiest Family! Chris, Georgeanna, Jenna, Caleb, and Baby #3 (in Georgeanna's belly!) We met them in Bluffton, SC (right outside of Hilton Head) on Friday and spend our first night in a hotel with SG--she did VERY well! We had adjoining suite rooms...that was lots of fun...thankful for extra spaces to put babies in cribs.

Then next morning, Saturday, Chris and Jack headed out early to play golf. The mommies and kids went out for breakfast then took early naps before we checked out of the hotel and made our way to the Disney resort on HHI. We met the men golfers for lunch then headed to the resort to check into our condo (which was wonderful!) - then it was off to the pool with a waterslide and baby pool! SG went down the slide with Mommy and we both loved it! Then we went out to eat at a local Arby's (haha!). After dinner the guys went to the store to get ice cream and lunch fixings for the next day...the mommies went home and got the kids ready for bed...then adult time! :)

Sunday morning the Daddies went golfing again so we took the kids on a walk around the resort marina, explore the resort and saw some Disney characters, took pictures, and went to the resort park. We ate lunch at the condo then when the daddies got home we all took naps! After naps, we went to see "Shadow" the resort's golden retriever...SG crawled into her house! Then we ride the shuttle to the resort's private beach access...complete with a pool where we played volleyball and splashed in the sprinkler pad! The Daddies took the kids swimming, the Mommies build dribble castles with the kids, and we all had a blast! We went back to the condo to get ready for dinner out - we dined at a local sushi/asian restaurant...the kids and adults did great...yummy food, too! We all went back to the condo for our last night together...lots of memories!

Monday, Labor Day, was our day to depart...the Wiests stayed for the rest of the week. Our trip back to NC was uneventful...SG and Jack took naps since Jack had to work that night.

We had a great time exploring a new place...we definitely recommend Hilton Head to you all...it's beautiful! Thanks to our wonderful friends, the Wiests, for sharing in lots of fun and memories! Love y'all!

Sarah Grace's VERY FIRST DAY of preschool was Tuesday, September 7, 2010. She began her day with lots of sweet sounds coming from her room while she was waking up...and lots of smiles when I went in to greet her in her crib. Jack had worked the night before--so he was tired but stayed up for SG's 1st day of school (thank you Dr. Daddy Jack!!)!!! Daddy made popovers for breakfast complete with Nutella, jellies, and butter...YUM! After breakfast, we took a few pictures on our front porch so we'll remember this day even when we are old and gray and have no more memory...we can look back at the pictures of our first daughter's first day of preschool! Mommy and Daddy drove our sweet little 17 month old "BABY" to her very first day of school...EVER! She was a bit hesitant but warmed right up to her preschool environment! We are so proud of her!