Ant bites...OUCH!

Well, I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. We were visiting Craig's parents on Saturday and Sydney was playing with her cousins in the yard while we were sitting on the porch. She was having a ball! When she came up on the porch, I noticed her scratch the back of her neck so I looked at it and noticed there was an ant. I brushed that ant off and started inspecting her and sure enough they were ALL OVER her shirt. So as quick as I could I stripped her down and made sure we got all the ants off of her. Most of the bites are on her hands and just a couple on her shoulder and foot. The craziest part of all is that she never cried or alerted us that there were ants biting her. I'm just glad I saw them when I did! Poor thing! Luckily they don't seem to bother her. We've been keeping her on benedryl to control any itchiness but other than that she pretty much just ignores them. I hope they go away quickly!

Dallas Cowboys Parade

Last Friday, Sydney's school had a parade to cheer for the Dallas Cowboys. Every kid was supposed to dress up in their Cowboys gear. We were told probably 3 weeks in advance so I had time to find the perfect outfit for her. Check out our little cheerleader!

Craig and I got to the school a little early...the parade was supposed to start at 3pm and our local ABC news station was coming to film the festivities. I've been to one of these "parades" before. It's pretty funny actually. The kids come out class by class and literally walk in a 20X20 foot square. Then they all sat down and said a couple of cheers for the Cowboys and that was it. I mean, you can't expect much more from a class of one-year olds. Sydney looked so confused when she first came out. Almost like she was thinking "what are ALL these people doing here?"

Here she is walking out with the assistant director looking pretty confused.

Here is when we finally got her attention...now she's confused as to why mommy and daddy are here too... Sitting with her class and teachers...I swear she never sits this still at home.

State Fair of Texas

We took Sydney to the State Fair of Texas this year. There's still not a whole lot that she can do but she still had fun. We went on the carousel, to the car show, the petting zoo and walked through the Midway where they have all the games.

Sydney and Mommy in front of the Ferris Wheel

On the carousel She waved the whole time...like a princess on a float in a parade...it was hilarious

In front of flowers in the shape of the Texas flag

Better picture of the Texas Flag In front of Big Tex
Me feeding an ostrich...I hate ostriches...they scare me to death so this was a big deal. I was trying not act scared in front of Sydney but look at that thing...looks like it might attack me. Sydney checking out the piggies...apparently the baby piggies were pretty hungry while we were there.

18 months old

Really? Can she really be 18 months old already?? I swear she just turned one...and now we've somehow catapulted half way to her second birthday. Okay, enough with the denial. Sydney is so amazing. Craig and I say that everyday. She really does amaze and surprise us...with what she says, what she does, & what she understands. We went to her 18 month checkup on Friday. Everything went great. She weighed 24 lbs 10oz (48%) and was 32" tall (52%). She got 3 shots and took them pretty well. Our pediatrician said that Sydney was hitting all of her milestones and was doing very well on her verbal skills. She asked us if Sydney could say 8 words other than mama and dada...we said that she could probably say between 40-50 words right now. She seriously picks up at least one or two new ones each day. We call her our little parrot because she'll repeat everything we say right now. (gotta be careful!) She's started handing out kisses to everyone and everything. She'll kiss me, she'll kiss daddy, she'll kiss her baby doll, her food, her toys, the blinds at the doctor's office...like I said, EVERYTHING. It's so cute and so sweet. I can't believe how much she looks like a little girl now. She's so not a baby anymore. We are having so much fun with her and love watching her grow up everyday (even though I know I complain about it sometimes!)

Playing by her swingset...she has learned how to go up the stairs and down the slide all by herself now

PJ's and sunglasses...what more can you need before bed?

Chillin' with her sippy cup in hand...

This is what we call the "fake cheese" smile

What a precious face...

She's discovered that she can walk around on her knees now...it's pretty funny to watch

AW....

Plano Balloon Festival

Yes, I know...I'm soooo late posting about this!! We went to the balloon festival again this year and it was quite different with Sydney than last year. She was an absolute wild child running around the whole time. We met up with our friends the Mizell's, Leach's, Olson's, and Kampen's. We had such a great time watching the hot air balloon take off, the sky divers fly in and the big balloons blow up for the glow at night. This time Sydney was pretty beat before the glow so we didn't get to stay for that. Here are some pics from our evening there.

All the balloons taking off

Craig and I

Mommy and Sydney

Madi looking up high to see the balloons

Jack Olson

All the girls and babies

Brooke holding Sydney, me holding Madi