18 Beautiful Months....

Huh....WOW. Ms. Anniston Sailer Pendley is 18 months old! Just sitting here typing this overwhelms me with disbelief....my, how time flies! And, still....the title of this post sort of makes me giggle....for one thing, when we brought Sailer home from the hospital, we had four weeks of bliss with her....until colic hit us like a ton of bricks. From week 4 until week 14ish, we spent most of our time trying to console Sailer...rather than bond with her, it seems. I remember thinking...."Man....this is rough!" But, as time passed, a calmness fell over her, and we truly fell madly in love with our princess. Now....sitting here....having celebrated her first Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas last year, her first birthday, and her first "real summer," she has reached such a pivotal moment in her tiny life. That is why I am choosing to blog about it.....18 months brings with it some challenges....but, it is sooooo much fun!

Sailer is the baby girl I thought I may never have.....as many of you know, I married the oldest of 3 boys, and I had secretly prepared myself to have all boys....so, having been blessed with a son AND a daughter seems STILL like such a tremendous blessing to me. I have the perfect family of four....the perfect balance for me! :) Thank you Lord!

So...naturally, I am enjoying all of the girly aspects of having a daughter.....the ruffles, bows, glitter, tutus, dazzle, giggles, toe-painting, curl...and everything in between! I can't get enough of my baby girl! I love how she dances to the tune of my hair dryer and vacuum cleaner (I think she is the ONLY toddler that loves the sound of hair dryers and vacuum cleaners!). I love how she shakes her booty from side to side when she wears her new swede tassel boots. I love how she lines up her dolls on the couch so that they can watch T.V. with her. I love how she takes Mia's (her American Girl doll) hand, and walks her into the living room to dance alongside her. I love how she tries to put barretts in Mia's hair. I love how she'll hold up her pointer finger as if to say..."Mommy, count to 3 for me so that I can jump and dance for you...." I find myself laughing at her blanket (pronounced "lanket") obsession....she sleeps with FOUR blankets, her Mr. Bunny, a book, and milk cup. After naps and bedtime, she'll hand me each blanket...one at a time, so that I can throw them over my shoulder so that she'll have a soft spot to lay her head on as I'm carrying her down the hallway...(as opposed to mommy's boney shoulder...haha!). I love listening to her splashing in the bathtub...and, I find myself laughing hysterically at how irritated Noah gets when she splashes him in his eyes! Poor thing! I love seeing her play with Noah's motorcycle when she doesn't know that anyone is watching her say "Vroom...Vroom!" I love how she wants to help me collect trash in the house, and then she sees a snack in the trash that she wants, so she helps herself...yuk! I love how we can look through a Christmas magazine together & she cocks her head to the side and says...."Awwww!" I cringe when she disobeys me & she avoids making eye contact with me b/c she knows she's on the hot seat. I love how she'll carry around her cell phone in her pocket....and say "Hello???" ever so clearly. This girl just lights up my world! She is a great combo of "I have a brother, so I must be tough" and sassy sweetness.

On another note, our girl has proved to be a little stubborn and picky when it comes to eating and snacking....her favorite food hands down is PASTA. Her fave meal that I cook is whole wheat baked spaghetti. She also loves whole wheat rigatoni, mac-n-cheese, and garlic parmesan noodles. See? Told ya she loved pasta! I doubt she'll ever be able to go on a low-carb diet...lol! Other than pasta, she loves fruit, especially strawberries, oranges, and bananas. In addition, she like strawberry-banana yogurt and soy milk. For the most part, she'll eat these foods anytime I offer them to her...but, on her "picky days," Chick-fil-A is pretty safe...or hotdogs. Sometimes, she'll ask for Froot Loops, which I think is hilarious...it sounds like..."oooof-ooops!"

As you can imagine, now that Noah is in school full-time, Sailer and I are having loads of "girl time." When we're not meeting for playdates, we have a typical routine at home, which consists of listening to music, dancing, reading (her favorite books are any Baby Einstein book, Pinkalicious, her Princess Jess book, and her Counting Book), and working on puzzles. Sailer LOVES LOVES LOVES "doodling" on her DoodlePro, and recently, she's begun using crayons and mess-free markers to draw. She amazes me with her understanding of language, shapes, and colors. She is a sponge! Of course, from time to time, we venture out to do some shopping together....after all, isn't that what girls do best??? :)

Well....as you might guess, I could talk about my girl all day....so, I guess I'll stop for now. :) Yesterday, Jason and I took Sailer to the Vinings area to take these pictures of her at 18 months. In the pictures, she is wearing a very special ruby red cape that my mother-n-law got her last year for Christmas. This was her first time wearing it, and boy did she look precious! Hope you all enjoyed the pictures!!!!!!!