Our family blog

Hello! We enjoyed the month of June and were fortunate to have Papa and Janny visiting for 3 weeks. They stayed in Del Mar and enjoyed beautiful ocean views and fresh air along with many bike rides, trips to the Farmer's Market and some fun and precious moments with the grand kids. Janny and Carol surprised Papa with an early birthday celebration for him with the California cousins (Paula, Leslie and Paul, Trish, Carol and Ed). Papa is 80 and lookin' great. In other news, Amara was home from preschool two days a week this summer. This enabled us to do a few extra fun outings and see some friends and family during the week. She loves seeing her Papa and Janny. Now let's talk about Sage. In June he went from a crawler early in the month to a full fledged walker. There is no going back. He loves his new skill and the freedom it brings. Both kids enjoy playing in the backyard with our water tables. Summer is in full swing!       ...

Sage is very very close to being 14 months old. And very close to walking. I wanted to report on his exciting 13th month because a lot happened. 1. We took a family trip to Kauai 2. Sage began to stand for a few seconds on his own. 3. Sage took a few steps from standing to get us as we cheered him on. 4. He feels very proud of #3 and #4 as evidenced in his expression. 5. Sage is communicating more than ever. He points at what he wants or where he wants to go. He uses sounds and basic words (done, Mama, Dada, air (for airplane)). He also uses some signs. The sign language milk sign he uses for when he wants milk and sometimes when he wants to be picked up or just "wants" something. He waves bye. He uses the all done sign and more often tells us "Done, done" when he wants to change or move to different activity. Kauai was a lot of fun for all. Brian, Carol, Sage, Amara, Grandma Patty, Grandpa Hamid, and Uncle Cyrus all flew Alaskan Air direct to Kauai on April ...

On April 4th we had a birthday party for Sage at our home. We invited friends and grandparents, had a music teacher from Nightingale Music lead music activities, and we enjoyed good food and cake! It was a warm, sunny day in our backyard and we all enjoyed relaxing in the beautiful garden with flowers in bloom. Sage LOVES being outdoors. It is his happy place. So the setting was perfect. He was not shy and seemed to enjoy the company and the cake for sure! He used the single cake candle (non-wick end) as a tool to get the icing in his mouth. We took a video of this adorable idea. He also liked the bright balloons and crawling around in the grass. Sage's 7th tooth (on the bottom front) came in around the time of his party. He is still without molars but quite an adventurous eater. He likes crawling, pulling up to stand, and "cruising" down the sofa or bed. He also LOVES trying to get involved with any activity Amara is doing. He sees her come home and immediately smiles,...

Hello again. Life is so full these days that I am barely keeping up with blog reports. It is late January and Sage's 9th month is almost complete. In a few days he will be 10 (double digits!!!) months. Wow. He continues to grow and stay very busy. Sage now has 6 teeth, enjoys pureed food, and crawls very competently. He loves his newfound mobility and enjoys exploring the house. His favorite spots include: Amara's room (where he opens and closes her doll house garage door, plays with the knobs on her play stove and daydreams about knocking over Vampirina's castle), the backyard and porch (he LOVES the outdoors), and anywhere where he can watch kids play around him. He recently started signing. He waved "bye" at Mom the other day through the window and he points at objects outside that he likes. Our year is off to a good and busy start. Amara is loving her preschool and is quite bonded with her teacher, Ms. Theresa and the other kids in her class. They sing songs,...

There is so much to report from the month of December-- Sage's 8th month and Amara's 4th birthday month. Sage went from a rolling over baby to a crawling baby who can pull himself up to his knees. He is thrilled with these new developments as he can get around faster. And he does! He loves crawling to Amara's chairs and pulling on them as well as crawling into her room to discover her toys. She has been a good sport about it and is very kind and affectionate toward her baby brother. Let's talk about Amara's 4th birthday. December 19th fell on a Tuesday and we plan to have a birthday party in the new year (after holiday busy-ness settles down). On the 19th we had cake with Grandpa Patty and Grandpa Hamid and Daddy. Amara decorated it herself. And she opened a few gifts. A few days later we took her to Corvette diner for dinner. That place is all about fun for kids. The wait staff dresses up in crazy attire and wears wigs; they will make you a hairdo out of straws. T...