Sarah’s 12th

 

With ballet practices getting more critical as we draw nearer to the recital, we decided to postpone Sarah’s birthday celebration from Thursday to Friday. In order to make her actual birthday a little special, I drove into town that morning and let her pick out a dozen donuts from Titus Bakery. We also stopped at the grocery store and bought lots of good breakfast food, then came home and had a big, late breakfast. Here is a picture of one of Titus Baker’s famous Pershing donuts with Trent’s strawberries neatly lined up beside it. Trent is still in the “line things up” phase of toddlerhood. :-)

So, on Thursday night and Friday, we whipped up her birthday meal:  Mock Lobster, mac ‘n cheese, green beans, Honey Wheat Sandwich Rolls, homemade applesauce, Baked Potato Wedges and chocolate pie and homemade ice cream. In addition to Grandma and Grandpa, we had another special guest: Uncle Kent, who is visiting and staying with Mom and Dad for a month.

Great shot of Uncle Kent, who is clearly enjoying Trent’s antics.

We also had some light entertainment: Rachel played a few of the songs she’s been working on “Trois Nocturnes” by Chopin and “Sonata No. 9 in E Major” by Beethoven, then some of the girls wanted to show Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Kent their recital costumes, so once they changed into them, we turned on their music and they performed their dances for us. Unfortunately, I only got a picture of Brooke in her costume. Refer to this post for the others. :-D

Once we got done with the Nutcracker performers, Trent wanted to do “his dance.” When asked what dance that was, he replied “Cars.” Which translates to “Life is a Highway,” which is the theme song for the movie. As soon as the music started, he started running at top speed around and around the dining room table with a very serious expression, telling us he was “Aqueen (“Lightening McQueen”) going around the racetrack.” I didn’t even think to take a picture, because I knew he would just be a blur, but now I’m thinking that would’ve been pretty funny!

Notable gifts included a beautiful dress, a slinky, a box of Gobstoppers, two Nancy Drew mysteries, “In Grandma’s Attic”, and “Millie’s Fiery Trial” which is the last book in the Millie series. The girls have been requesting it for awhile, but the books have been out of print. I was glad Erica found this online for a good deal; oftentimes, they’re outrageously priced. Grandma and Grandpa got her a little trunk, covered with flowers and filled with goodies like a sparkly picture frame, a sketchpad, notebook, pencils and a pencil sharpener.

Afterwards, we watched “Sound of Music,” which we also gave her for her birthday. We had the VHS, but wanted the DVD, since our VHS player doesn’t work. It’s been a while since we’ve watched it, so I don’t think the younger ones remembered it very well. During the thunderstorm scene, Grant climbed onto Mick’s lap and Trent climbed onto mine. :-D He also covered his ears whenever the Captain was talking and asked Rachel “Is he a bad guy?” Ha!

I just realized I put so many pictures in Sarah’s 10th birthday post, that it’s going to be hard not to duplicate what I put there. I’ll do my best. 

Happy 12th Birthday, Sarah!

Favorite Photos: Ballet Beauty

Out of dozens of pictures I took of the girls dancing during ballet class this year, who would’ve thought this would be my favorite picture?

I took this back in March. I can’t believe I even got it. I had the long lens on so I could stay as far back as possible and still get some close-ups of the dancing. Sarah and Isabella were right in front of me and for just a moment, Isabella whispered into Sarah’s ear. I snapped as fast as I could and only got this one shot.

"Stories for the Children’s Hour” by Kenneth Taylor

Lots of great fun, pictures and video from New Year’s Eve, but until I get that ready, here’s Sarah, enjoying a little downtime this snowy afternoon.

D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire

 

Sarah and Brooke have been using every spare minute in the past couple of days to read this classic. Right now, they’re on the most coveted spot in the house: the register between the speaker and the wall. Big comfy pillows + warm register beneath + sunlight overhead = reading heaven!

“Happy Hollisters and the Merry-Go-Round Mystery”

The Happy Hollisters is a wonderful series of books by Jerry West about a mystery-solving family.  The books were published in the 1950s and a dear friend gave us his entire collection, which he had collected when he was a boy.  We have since been able to add to the collection as we have found a few more at used bookstores.  These books have been enjoyed by all of our readers, and have also been shared with the kids’ cousins.  Sarah has been enjoying them for the past few months and I predict Brooke won’t be far behind her.

Sarah’s long-overdue birthday post

So, here we are on the eve … no - make that the early morning hours of Grant’s 4th birthday*, and I suppose I should update the blog with Sarah’s 10th birthday post.  It has been just about a month since her birthday, so this post has been percolating long enough (more like sitting on the back burner long enough, but you get the idea).

Sarah’s Birth Story

First, her birth story.  There are certain details about each child’s birth which remain clear to all moms, even years later.  For Sarah, I remember having a doctor appointment the day before she was born.  Her due date was May 2, but my OB mentioned the possibility of induction, because she thought it would be more helpful for planning childcare for Rachel, Courtney & Erica.  Well, of course childcare decisions are much easier when there’s is a scheduled date, but I wasn’t interested in induction just for the sake of convenience. My OB decided to try a natural induction method that sometimes brings on labor (moms know what I’m talking about here) and after that, I headed home.  About an hour later, I begin feeling what I suspected might be the beginning of labor.  This shifted me into high-nesting mode and before I knew it, I was flying through our local Aldi’s, grabbing groceries left and right, unloading the cart, loading the cart, loading the car, unloading the car, etc., etc. I somehow made it through the evening routine and by 9:00 that evening, noticed more regular contractions. Despite all the symptoms (and having gone through this process three times already), I found myself still wondering after several hours if it was true labor. I talked to my cousin, who was doubtful since my water hadn’t broke yet (incidentally, out of 8 births, my water broke on its own only once), but things continued and I became more convinced.  We decided around 11 pm to head to the hospital. 
After arriving around midnight, the nurses checked me in, checked me, and paged my doctor.  I think by this time, it was about 3:00 am.  My doctor, Dr. Norman (who had earned the nickname “Stormin’ Norman” by the nurses) had arrived and … well, let’s just say she’s probably not a night owl.  :-D  After checking me, then breaking my water, she left to try to catch a few more winks (I assume) before her presence in the delivery room was mandatory.  By around 4:25, she was called back in and we were ready to go.
From this point on, what I distinctly remember thinking is “Why is this taking so long?” The first three deliveries had gotten progressively quicker, and I think I was expecting the same trend with #4 – at least I’m sure I was hoping that would be the case.  After 20 minutes of pushing, Sarah finally made her grand entrance – face up – much to the surprise of my OB.  “So that’s what took so long!” she said.  Beautiful Sarah Rebecca was born at 4:48 am on April 24, 2002.  She weighed 6 lbs. 15 oz. – the exact same weight as her big sister, Erica.

Sarah’s 10th Birthday

Our birthday celebrations typically feature a nice meal, completely chosen by the birthday child (even down to the beverage).  Grandma and Grandpa Griffin are the much-anticipated guests and they are seated on either side of the birthday child at the dinner table. After a nice meal, we move on to the cake, then the gifts.  Sometimes, we watch a video of the birthday child’s birth day, and if the weather is cooperative, we almost always take a leisurely walk.  For tenth birthdays, in addition to our usual cherished birthday traditions, we have the “friend birthday” party.  Sarah’s birthday guests included 4 cousins and 1 friend.  We also had 2 daughters of some friends who had gone out of town for a couple of nights.  The boys were highly outnumbered! 
The day before the party, Rachel, Courtney & Erica put their creative heads together and came up with a really fun treasure hunt that had the girls putting together handmade puzzles to find out where the next clue was located. The girls also spent time running around outside and playing games, since it was a beautiful, sunny day.
After most of the guests had left, the kids spent the rest of their time wrapping up production of a new story they wrote and filmed which was called “The Secret of the Violin.” They did a very good job on it!  Plus, it was a great way for them to occupy their time, especially on Friday (the day before the party) since it rained quite a bit and they were even able to work the the rain into part of the storyline.
This has been an exciting year for Sarah as she has been enjoying her first year of ballet lessons, and doing very well.  She has also blossomed into an independent reader, most recently enjoying a book in the Elsie Dinsmore series.  We love her very much and look forward to what God has in store for her!

Visiting some friends' dairy farm in the summer of 2005 (Sarah was 3)

This is a classic Sarah toddler pose:  left thumb in mouth, right hand rubbing ear.  :-)

I've always loved this picture of Sarah (even though she looks sad) - her eyes look so beautiful!  She was warming up in the van after an unsuccessful first attempt at sledding.  :-)

I love these 3 pictures! We had them taken at Celebrity Kids when Sarah was 21 months old.  In the middle picture, she is demonstrating her "funny face." 

Sarah holding baby sister Brooke in January 2004.

Smelling a tulip at Grandma and Grandpa's house in the Spring of 2005.

In the backyard at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

This was from Summer 2008, during the Olympic Games.  Sarah was inspired and came up with this gymnast's outfit, complete with gold medal, flowers and American flag. 

Sarah and cousin Ellie

This was taken when Sarah was 5.  She was the flower girl in a dear friend's wedding.

Sarah dressed as Charlie Bates in our 2009 production of Oliver Twist.

Standing in front of cousin Sophia at ballet. 

Virginia Beach

Spring 2011

I'm honestly not sure where this was taken.  Hopefully far, far away from our house.

Sarah and cousin Cameron in 2011.

* Full disclosure here:  let the record show that I actually didn't publish this post (needed to add the pictures) until the wee hours of the day after Grant's birthday.  Which makes it ... May 24th .. which is ... exactly one month after Sarah's April 24th birthday!  Um, yeah, I planned it that way.  ;-)

Dress-Up Fun

Just had to try uploading a picture. This was taken a few weeks ago when Brooke, Claire & Sarah were having some creative fun. :-)