Someone turned THREE!!!

I'm late posting, mostly because I think I'm in denial. Could Sarah really be three?? She's still saying "almost three" so I'll hold on to that a bit longer, but yes, it's true....she's three. Just days prior it was our 2nd anniversary of seeing her picture for the first time...and then I'm hit with her turning 3! Yikes. Sorry to dwell, really I am. But three??
She thinks different. She expresses herself differently. She needs different stuff. It really does go by so fast. Time, that is.
She had a great birthday though. She's now fully equiped to be a biker, an artist, a dancer, a mommy, a banker...the only thing between her and a new career is, well, time! And Mommy is glad to say that she (Sarah) is very grateful. She is always wanting to call someone and thank them for what they gave her! She isn't as good about doing at the appropriate time, but what can you do??
At her official 3 yr old checkup she was 36.5 inches tall and 28.2 lbs. .2 lbs is a big deal...the girl has taken forever to reach 28 lbs!! Her measurements put her in the 50th percentile for height and weight. I jokingly say "she is the girl by which all others are measured". She's dead on average on the charts but in our minds she's well above any statistical norm!
She's finally taken to her big girl bike which makes mommy very sad. At first I couldn't wait for her to experience that bike. So many of my favorite memories as a child are on my bike. But then yesterday when I saw her go further than she'd ever gone I realized how big that bike made her look. It was all I could do not to say "enough, let's get back on the tricycle. Or go in and let me rock you to sleep."...but then the pure joy and excitment on her face made me just smile (and tear up). Setting her free one baby step at a time.
And so I just keep telling myself...she's only 3. Only 3.

Been there, done that...

Well, we're back. I think we've been back a week. Someone slipped me a sinus infection at the airport so I've been down for the count lately. Feeling much better though. But who cares about me...everyone wants to see those infamous "beach pictures" that everyone near a coast tries to get every single summer. This summer was no different. Well, except that we boarded a plane and headed to the Atlantic ocean.
Sarah was more than a little excited to be getting on a "big pwane" to go put her "toes in the Lantic ocean".
She's flown once before, back in March '05. She doesn't remember that. But this trip, oh my!! yes, she remembers.
Like a very fine southern lady, she invited everyone she talked to along on the trip. Thank you everyone for declining, Auntie Nie Nie would not have been able to accommodate all of you. :)
Sarah's excitement as we got in our seats was priceless. I thought she was going to pop! Then as we started our climb into the clouds she shouted "we're on a big hill!!!!".
The girl isn't afraid of heights as you can see here.

Here we are climbing the hill. :)

You just had to see the cutie all buckled up and ready to go!


We arrive in Maryland on Tuesday (complete with a suspicious bag incident at the airport...you should have seen the people concerned about a pink backpack on the sidewalk! We left quickly so as to not get caught in the airport shutdown traffic. We live in a strange world nowadays).
On Wednesday 2 adults and 3 toddlers (that's a 2,3, and 4 yr old...not for the faint of heart!) hit the road for Ocean City. Some toddlers would sleep on a long ride, not mine. No, this girl didn't nap for 4 days because she wasn't in a bed. And this is the same girl I'm taking on a 14 hour+ plane ride to China...ahhhh!!!).
As exciting as the proposed "toes in the Atlantic Ocean" was...nothing, and I mean nothing my friends, compared to THE HOTEL ROOM!!!! Screaming ensued from the time the elevator doors opened to the land of endless doors. And when the magic door opened...they seemed to have found Utopia!!! There it was laid out before them...2 BEDS!! A thing with buttons and knobs!!! (that's the a/c to those too old to appreciate real entertainment) And OH....MY....GOSH....THERE IT WAS!!!! The coolest thing they'd ever seen! There were buttons, a squiggly cord, this thing that seemed like a space age cell phone......THE TELEPHONE!!!!!!!! (Which was promptly unplugged to ensure we weren't asked to leave). They had no idea that the phone was actually ancient. Who knew a hotel room could be so fun.
Here are the Utopians....

Ok, so now it's time for the "beach pictures". We begged, we pleaded, we prayed, we used rewards (I think we still owe them several ice creams)....we now have about 100 great pictures like this:

Yep, they're cute alright. And they are a band of brothers...they stuck to their plan of sinking our little photo session. :) Let me see if I can find one where I caught Sarah off guard.....

Yeah, don't be looking for that beautiful "beach picture" on our Christmas card this year!! Ho hum....

But we had lots of fun with Ava, Claire, Denise and Greg (oddly, Greg shows up in no pictures...our husbands are like phantoms...they do exist though, really they do).
Each girl has their very own "Duckie" or "Duck Duck". No trip in the van was started without our 6 most valuable people.


So that was the end of August for us.