More Birthday Pictures...

Sydney's Birthday Party

Sydney's first birthday party was given by her Kiki in Texas. We were in Texas for Aunt Jodie's wedding so Kiki decided we should have a birthday party too. There were balloons, cupcakes, presents and cousins. We had a great time. Sydney loves her cousins and they are so sweet to her. They showed her how to blow out candles and open her presents.

Birthday Countdown

It is now August and this time last year Robbie was hot and tired. Little did she know how much more tired she would get during the next year! It is so hard to beleive that Sydney will be turning one year old in 2 weeks! The year has really flown by. We look at the hospital pictures and cannot remember Sydney being so little. We also remember the crazy feelings and thoughts we had about taking her home. Sydney survived and seems to be doing pretty well!

Next week is Aunt Jodie's wedding in Texas. Sydney will be one of the flower girls. Aunt Jodie's request for Sydney is that she be able to eat wedding cake since it is exactly one week before her birthday. Mommy and daddy are not sure about that yet, but somehow we have a feeling that even if we do not give cake to her, some other family member will. :)

Look at my Daddy!

David got to play with big boy toys at the lake. Allen brought his boat and some skis for everyone. David was very excited about this chance to water ski. Sydney and mommy walked out on the dock as daddy was skiing and waved. Luckily daddy did not fall when he waved back.

Fun at the lake

Last weekend we traveled to Big Ston Lake, SD to visit David's mom and Dennis. David's brother's and their families met us there and we had a great time. Sydney really liked being outdoors, though she did not get in the water or the boat. Instead, she played inside with Aunt Nancy, cousin Kylie and Grandma Jean. In fact, Aunt Nancy thought it would be funny to let her play in the sink!

Snack Time

Sydney and I are enjoying summer and spending time outdoors. We ate a snack on the front porch the other day, apples one of Sydney's favorites.

My new trick

Sydney is now 11 months old. She is VERY active and gets into most everything. She is also walking, most of the time. She will walk across the room and then sit down and decide to crawl. She is also a climber. She pushes toys to objects and then steps on the toy to reach whatever it is she is looking for.

She recently explored our computer desk and found a jungle gym made just for little girls.

We've Moved!

I know that many of you have been anxiously awaiting a new post on this blog and I want to apologize for the delay in postings.

As many of you know, we have recently moved to Iowa. This all started back in March, hence the last post date. I am now a full time stay at home mom so hopefully I will have more time to write.

Sydney has grown a lot! I will be posting some pics soon.

My First Boo Boo

Sydney fell and hit her head on the play gym yesterday. She did not cry according to the babysitter. Her war wounds look more like carpet burns than a fall. She is still the same happy baby though!

Aunt Jodie's visit

Aunt Jodie came to visit Sydney last weekend. She was so excited about seeing the little princess. Sydney was in love with all of the attention she got. She was also pretty spoiled...

Ceral Time

It's the last day of January and we decided to try cereal for the first time. Mommy mixed the cereal up like soup and got Sydney ready with a bib and her own spoon. The spoon did not last as Sydney gagged herself with it then through it on the floor. Sydney was very interested in eating, but the flavor was different. She ate several spoonfuls and then was ready to be done.

Look what Santa brought Sydney

Sydney was a very good girl this year...all 4 months. Since we were in MN and SD at Christmas, Santa left his present for her in NC. She is very active at 4 1/2 months and absolutely loves her activity bouncer.

Sydney's First Christmas

Sydney's first Christmas was exciting. We were in South Dakota at Grandma Jean and Dennis' new house on the lake. We spent Christmas Eve with Uncle Steve, Patty, Nikki, Tyler, Uncle Allen, Aunt Nancy, Lucas, Nathan and Kylie. There was plenty of entertainment for a 4 month old.

I've found my feet!

Sydney has found her feet. She is now reaching for them and trying to get them to her mouth. She also LOVES being naked. As soon as you reach for the tabs of her diaper she starts squirming and cooing as she knows she is about to be naked. It is like we have a totally different child!

Uncle Allen and Aunt Nancy

Allen was probably the most excited person to meet Sydney. The day we saw them he immediatley washed his hands and came over to get Sydney. He would take her to the window and show her the lake. They would play in the floor with the toys. He even babysat one evening so we could go to Target; I think they just watched basketball together.

It was very nice to have Nancy around to give mommy a break during the day. She would take Sydney and entertain her so that I could do something else. Many thanks to Aunt Nancy for keeping some baby stuff for us to use when we were in MN. Somehow she even managed to send some toys back to NC with us. Hmmmmmmm....

Cousin Nikki

Nikki is Sydney's oldest cousin, however she has a 2 year old brother at home so she is not a stranger to crying and diapers. She had a lot of fun playing with Sydney and showing her the Christmas tree. Nikki's boyfriend also thought Sydney was pretty cute as he was always tickling her and playing with her toes.

Cousin Kylie

We were most anxious to see what Kylie thought of Sydney. "Baby Cindy", as she was called by Kylie, was a lot of fun. Kylie was busy showing her how big girls eat their dinner, make Play Doh shapes, and use the potty. Perhaps the best thing Kylie did was "rolling practice". Sydney was so close to rolling over while we were in MN that everyone was in the floor trying to encourage the big event. Kylie rolled around the floor trying to get Sydney to do the same. I guess Sydney was paying attention as she rolled front to back soon after our return to NC and rolled from back to front yesterday (Jan 11).

Cousin Nathan

Cousin Nathan was sooo excited to meet Sydney. He is a very sweet boy and loved playing with Sydney. He said "Uncle David, Sydney is an angel." We could not agree more! Of course our opinions change when she is fussy and will not sleep.

Cousin Lucas

We had a wonderful time in MN over Christmas. Sydney got to meet more cousins and they had a lot of fun. Cousin Lucas was very excited to meet Sydney. He has had a lot of experience with his younger siblings, so he was a pro at holding and entertaining Sydney.

On Santa's Lap

Sydney had her first experience with Santa at the church Christmas party. She was very restless the entire evening during dinner and singing and finally fell asleep just as Santa was making his grand entrance. However, like most naps these days, she only slept for a few minutes. She went to Santa without crying, but not smiling either. She was very intrigued by the pink stocking and the bright colors all around.

4 days 'till Minnesota

We only have a few more days until we leave to spend Christmas with David's family in Minnesota and South Dakota. Sydney will probably sleep through most of the events. We have tried to get her used to unwrapping gifts, but it just does not work. Everything goes in her mouth!

Cabela's fan already

Micahael (soon to be Uncle Michael) came out every night when he was home from school. He really likes little kids and it very good with them. There was a stack of Cabela's catalogs by the chair for the guys to mark things they want for Christmas. Sydney thought she wanted something out of the catalog too...

More Texas pictures

As we finally get into a routine back in North Carolina, I have finished uploading all of the pictures we took in Texas. Several of them are of close family friends holding Sydney. Ann and Jim have known my family for a very long time. Jim works for us on the farm and was the tracotr driver of choice for my sister when she was little. Of course he cheated by carrying gum for her and now he carries gum for the newphews. He stopped by the house one morning to see Sydney.


Sharon and Karson come over Thanksgiving night to see Sydney. Of course Sydney said hello to Sharon by spitting up on her clothes. At least Sharon is somewhat used to it as she is a Kindergarten teacher.








Glenda was the first person to hold me in the hospital, other tahn my parents. She is very proud of that and reminds my grandmother often. She was so excited to see Sydney and thought she was beautiful. Of course, we do too.

Only 18 days until Minnesota!

We will be going to see David's family in Minnesota and South Dakota for Christmas. Grandma Jean and Dennis visited us in North Carolina in September, but they will be amazed at how much Sydney has grown. She will get to meet her Minnesota and South Dakota cousins Lucas, Nathan, Kylie and Nikki. We are very excited about this trip and Sydney's first Christmas.

Joel's Magic Duck

Our friend Joel came over on Saturday to go to the hockey game with David. He brought Sydney a present...a cute little rubber ducky. However, the duck lights up with all these different colors. Sydney thought the duck was pretty cool. Thanks Joel for the neat gift, now you will be responsible for battery replacement so she does not cry. :)

Happy Turkey Day!

Sydney's first Thanksgiving was spent in Texas with a lot of family. She was a very good baby and played with her cousins- Tyler, Michaela, Ryan, Casey, Davis and Kinsley. She was dressed in a very cute outfit that had a turkey on the back.

The Agee boys

Sydney went to visit the Agee's on Saturday while Daddy and Carl went to the hockey game. She had not seen the Agee's since she was a few weeks old. Brandon and Lance were so excited to see her. Lance was so sweet with her. He would sit int he floor and put her pacifier back in when she spit it out. Here is a picture of Brandon and Lance tickling Sydney after I changed her diaper.

Gettin cozy

Sydney is such a snuggle bug at times. She loves to sleep on people and will just get so cozy. This picture is from a while back but it is so sweet.

John Deere Pink

Sydney is just so much fun to play dress up with, until she gets tired of it. We dressed her in a cute little outfit that my department gave us. Of course it is John Deere, but pink. She and daddy had to pose with their John Deere outfits on.

p.s. she really likes chewing on her hands...

Drake...a man of few words

Drake and Sydney are 1 year and 1 week apart. He is such a sweet boy and very loving to Sydney. At times a bit too loving (he loved pointing to her eyes and accidentally got a bit too close once) but just so sweet. He loves to pat you when you hold him; he got down in the floor one day while I was changing Sydney. Aunt Jodie was trying to keep him away but couldn't. He got down beside Sydney and put his head down on her cheek and patted her. Then he tried to touch her eyes.

Sweetest cousin

Jaxon is an experienced baby handler. With 2 little brothers he is very good with babies. The first time he saw Sydney he walked up to her and reached out to touch her. He said "she's pretty soft. And pretty cute too."
When he would come out to Kiki's to visit you could hear him yelling "we've got to wash our hands before we can touch the baby!" Then he would proudly walk up to whoever was holding Sydney and offer his hands for the sniff test- Kiki has blue raspberry smelling soap so she can tell when they wash their hands.

Like father, like son

Sloan was quite the character. He loves babies and was always wanting to hold Sydney-his father was the same way and still is. He got upset when she would cry and told his mommy to make her stop. In first grade his daddy who wrote a letter to Santa Claus asking for a baby brother. Sloan has also inherited the tremendous talent for modeling and showing off his muscles as seen here. He prefers boots and Ninja Turtle undies.

Clothes optional


The boys seemed to strip down as much as they could when they came to Kiki's. They were too cute playing with Sydney in her crib.

Those boy cousins...

Sydney is a very lucky little girl. She is the only little girl in the nursery at church, the only little girl in our neighborhood, and the old granddaughter on the Rowland side. While in Texas she had quality time with her cousins. Here are Sloan and Drake coming to spend the night in their pj's and boots...a real Texas tradition.

Sydney's Pawpaw

Sydney met so many people in Texas, all of whom loved her. She watched her cousins play and make loud noises, was fought over by her 2nd cousins and was pestered by her Pawpaw. Every morning we would get up and go into the kitchen to visit. She was the center of attention and was a very happy baby. Her Pawpaw has officially made her squeamish when you go to tickle her.