a zoo day

after a long, hot summer.... we celebrated our first crisp fallish morning by packing a picnic and heading to the zoo!  it was a perfect day...and all the animals agreed.  everyone was out and about and showing off.  we were so consumed with all the animals had to say that i didn't really get any great pictures...  i snapped a funny assortment...but, they will have to do!

 {my pictures don't reflect it... but i promise you were having fun. ha.}

 {i just love your little hands on your sippy cup.  i may make you drink out of one forever! :)}

 {and we all know how i feel about those gold sandals on your sweet piggy toes}

 {and how your hair turns every color in the sunlight. i could sit and stare at you all day.|

 {a little everyday detail that i don't want to forget.  this bag has been with us all the way. sweater hanging out...diaper changing pad, lunch box, sunglasses, blanket under the stroller...sweet days!}

 {poor rat}

 {you were so alive in the petting zoo.  i think you need a red barn full of animals. pa? grandma?}

 {maybe my favorites. hard to beat a piglet}

 {i think this guy was worth the price of admission. he made us laugh!}

 {we love riding the carousel.  i thought it was funny that of all the beautiful, exotic animals...you chose the ostrich. shout out to richard!}

 {you don't need to speak when you have those eyes. melt my heart, sweet girl}

{we are often negligent when it comes to manicures. or perhaps, we just prefer french tips}

 

thanks for playing with me at the zoo! it was a sweet, sweet day :)

i love you, sarah caroline

mom :)

the best day

hi caroline :)

you're sitting in your highchair eating scrambled eggs. daddy is watching football.  i have a bazillion thoughts rushing through my head and heart...that's pretty much always the case.  i just never feel like the thoughts are developed enough to actually spit them out or put them in writing.  your blog is bare for that very reason.  i never make the time to actually think through what i want to say, and how to best put your precious life in words.  so in fear of not doing the memory justice, i just don't do it at all.  that's a shame.  i want you to have something to look back on.  something to hold on to.  something to prove that you really are the cutest little girl in all the world!

so, i have given myself permission to ramble. and one picture and a date is better than a bare blog.  so, i lower my standards so that maybe i can meet a goal.  something.  just post something. somewhat often.

aunt laura told me about a speaker she heard recently.  the speaker, who's name i don't recall, tries to start and end her day watching taylor swift's "the best day."  it's funny...and she admitted...you'd think to start each day with something a bit more profound.  and if it's not words from The Bible, perhaps it could be someone a little more "spiritual"... but, i do agree from a mom's point of view... that it's hard to get more inspirational than that video. i'll never forget the first time i heard the song.  my first thought was days i spent/spend with my mom.  i was pregnant with you when i first heard it.  i wondered about the days i'd spend with you.  now, when i hear it i'm just a mess of emotions thinking about my mom and you... and i'm somewhere sandwiched in all those memories, too.  taylor {i sort of think we are bff and on a first name basis} talks about the little days and the little memories...not really the big days, holidays...just the ordinary moments and the way her mom makes them "the best days".... so, how do i make our everydays "the best days"....how do i cherish every waking moment.  how do i make our moments teachable, memorable, "best" days.... ??? well, i'm not sure.  but, it is my goal.  i hope that when you look back on our days that somewhere between the vacations and birthdays and Christmases, i hope that there are a slew of "best days."

and it should be noted that when i was pregnant with you, we went to a taylor swift concert. so, i guess she's in you through and through.  now, she's no amy grant.  but, i'm kind of glad we got to experience that concert together.... you, me, dad and every girl under the age of 15 in oklahoma. i was so nauseous. so so nauseous.  i ate crackers.  your dad waited in a very long In The Raw line to bring me a salad with ginger dressing.  i ate salad and crackers and we {taylor and i} sang the night away.

so, because i now have permission to post incomplete thoughts, i will stop here.  because you are now covered in milk and running circles around your dad in the living room.  i am needed. :)

{i leave you with some pictures of one of my favorite days last week. we went to your first storytime at the library. you loved it.  i loved it. and you were absolutely adorable taking it all in.  

i hope we make this a weekly outing}

 

 

 {then we went shopping at kathleen's kids for some new fall shoes...and home for a bike ride.  we took bertie for the first time! i was quite surprised that she tolerated it...and i think she might have even enjoyed it.  you two have never spent so long (awake) together. i LOVED our ride. there will surely be many rides in the days to come!}

 {tickle tickle tickle}

 {i can't forget to mention that stripes went along as well.  he spent some time on bertie's back, then sat quietly on the seat opposite you.  bertie straddled across you both.}

 {some front yard time with stripsey-baby}

you fill my heart, sarah caroline! is it possible that i love you more today then i did yesterday?? because i think i might ;)

i love you,

mom

same same

same same.  it's one of your favorite books.  you love to read. some days we read lots of books.  some days we read the same book over and over and over and over.  same same has been the pick of many of those repeat days.  it has few words and big, bold pictures. each page is categorized...things that fly, long things, things that make music, etc.... you love to point to the different pictures.  i'm glad this is a favorite book.... because it's one of my favorites, too.  we have several of the series, but most of the time you choose same same.  it's funny to me.

yesterday was cold and rainy...i stepped outside to move some pots around and you ran so fast behind me with same same and which way. so we did a little rainy day porch reading.  we are so thankful for the chilly air and rain. fall fun is so close ;)

 {deciding....which way?}

 {or same same?}

 {same same, of course!}

 {oh, i love you}

 {bertie loves to be close to you. ha}

i hope you always love to read. and i hope your love grows beyond children's books.  somehow my love for books got lodged somewhere in the second grade classroom.  oh, well.  atleast we'll be on the same page for a few more years.  and then you can read to me :)

i love you, sarah caroline.  and i love spend rainy days with you!

mom :)