Sadie Joan

Ok so a bit of a disclaimer.....I started looking through baby pictures of Sadie with the intent of posting a few pictures of her from over the last 6 years and I may or may not have gotten carried away. How is it that our tiny little baby girl who was over 2 weeks late is now 6?! She was such a little peanut at just over 6 lbs. and now she has grown to be the tallest in her class! (At her 6-year checkup, her doctor told us that she was 98% for height and had grown almost 3 inches in the last year--which I can definitely attest to when I think of how many pairs of pants/dresses she has gone through!)

So without further ado, here are some pictures of Sades from over the years....

(her little head was so tiny in Matt's hand)

(and we called these her frog legs!)

4 generations-

-and Sadie's name was my grandma's mother's nickname that her husband called her 

(her given name was Sarah)

Loved her one-leg bent crawl..she almost never crawled on both knees..always had one leg out to the side

This is probably one of my favorite pictures...this was when we were moving out of our apartment in Columbus and Sadie was so sweet to pick a flower for me (just happened to be out of our neighbors beautiful garden:)

So excited for her big brother's 1st day of preschool

And what a blessing that Sadie's two closest friends are the daughters of my friends!!

Elle Sullivan and Sadie

Elli Lundquist and Sadie

Such a joyful girl she is!!

Showing off her freshly pierced ears on her 5th birthday

Sadie and Elle again

Elli and Sadie

We have a lot to celebrate from the past 6 years!! 

And what would a celebration for Sadie be without lots of colors!!

The traditional streamers on the bedroom door...

(the day before her birthday, Sadie said, "Mommy, don't forget the streamers"...and Wyatt looked at her   and whispered, "Sadie! You aren't supposed to say that!"-----classic example of my kids' personalities and perceptiveness!)

The morning of her birthday, she wanted pancakes made with the pancake forms Grammy had given the kids for Easter.

Since Sadie had a party last year, she wasn't going to be having one this year. So as we started to discuss what she wanted for her birthday dinner, she not only told me what she wanted me to make but also what the attire for the evening should be. Her food request? The Pioneer Woman's Pesto Cream Sauce, salad and fresh bread with sparkling juice in the fancy glasses (wine glasses). But even more important to her was that she was going to dress like a princess, I had to wear a long dress like a queen and the boys had to wear suits and ties. Right when she got home from school, she ran upstairs and put on her dress, some lipstick and the heels I wore to the 80s party we had recently attended. The boys, on the other hand, were in no hurry to get their formal wear on---they opted for swim goggles and hockey gear!

I love this picture...no explanation necessary!

The table setup

We attempted a candlelight dinner, but with it staying light until almost 8pm, we attempted to darken the house by closing all the shades/drapes. While I was busy making dinner, this is what the kids were up to.

We ate a great dinner, enjoyed by everyone, and then it was on to gifts.

Had to lose the gloves--they were impeding the gift opening

Gotta love this face! No kid loves getting pieces of paper, but when we told her they were tickets for her and I to go see the Broadway production of Mary Poppins, she was quite thrilled. We are actually going this Sunday, so I'm sure you'll hear more about it soon!

Some new running clothes for the spring (which apparently will never happen around here! Gotta love snow on April 23rd!)

My favorite gifts--more charms for her charm bracelet (selected personally by each male in our family).

They loved telling her which ones they had picked out for her....and although Wyatt has his own tie, he wanted to wear one of Matt's that night (hence the larger size of it)

And one final gift (this girl loves surprises just as much as her mom)...

a new bike!! I had sent Matt and Wyatt to pick it out a few days before and the plan was to get her a bike with multiply gears, but Matt just thought this was more 'Sadie'. And he's right, it definitely is! We put a little basket on the front and she loves it! It'll make the family runs a bit of a challenge with a single speed, but she rides around the neighborhood more often, so I'm hoping it works out okay.

Such a good big brother, helping her get her dress unstuck..

..and carrying it downstairs so she has more room!

I usually take the time with each kids' birthday post to reflect on their personalities and what their life is like at 'this' age. And since I've had over a month to think about it for Sadie (still can't believe this has taken that long!!), I have come up with many noteworthy things.

Sadie is probably my most easy-going kid, although I didn't realize it until my sister and brother-in-law pointed it out this summer. She is often being dragged along to a hockey/baseball game or practice or to the store with me and she rarely complains. She usually brings along several notepads, markers, pencils, babies, etc to  make the trips more fun, yet rarely complains about having to go. We now refer to the backseat of our car as "Sadie's office" because she has absolutely taken over the space. She has snacks, writing utensils, baby gear and more things than I care to think about back there. Wyatt will occasionally sit back there and it quick to comment about how much 'stuff' she leaves in the car. But to her, it makes the trips comfortable! 

Sadie is always talking or singing and loves to make up songs to sing for us, usually about how much she loves her family. She'll usually make them up as she goes, I think in an attempt to hold the spotlight just a touch longer. And she can often be found doing 1 of 3 things--(1)dancing or (2)playing school (3)playing mommy. She is one of the most maternal girls I know and still asks for a baby sister. In fact, she was "Star of the Week" at school recently and as you can see, under the question that asks, 'If I could have one wish, I'd wish for.......' she answered 'baby sister'. Almost breaks my heart but I just don't think I would have been a good mom to another little one. She undoubtedly will be, though!! This girl has so much love to give and constantly wants to love on others. She has transitioned from only asking for a sister to also asking for a dog. Lately she has even lowered her expectations and been asking for a pet, any pet! Over the last month, we have had discussions about why we aren't getting a dog right now and she has broken down crying on several occasions. She just can't fathom why I would say they are 'too much work'. And I don't think it's because she's 6 and doesn't realize how much work they are---I think it's because she'll never see it as 'work' but simply caring for it! 

She definitely is motherly and Blake seems to have gotten used to it and even likes it! I don't know what I'll do next year when she's in school all day because they have formed such a neat bond and she is like his security blanket--as long as Sadie is around, he's fine. Every morning, Sadie sleeps in the latest and when she finally wakes up and comes down the stairs, Blake runs up to her and says, "Sissy!!" and gives her a big hug. She loves it and so does he!

Sadie continues to be a very girlie girl, always wanting to wear heels around the house and putting on pretend makeup in the morning. She has been doing her own hair lately and has gotten pretty good at braiding (even her own hair). She loves working with her hands and can't get enough of any type of craft. She even said the other day when we were in Michaels, "This is the best store. I could stay here all day."

Sadie's primary love language is definitely physical touch and I can't wait until she is old enough and we can volunteer in the infant nursery in church and she can hold/rock/cuddle those babies all morning long! 

Sadie is doing great in school and has turned into quite the little reader. She is still tired by the end of most days, even though she's only in half-day kindergarten. So I am very thankful to have the extra time with her each day!

A few other things I wanted to note from her "Star of the Week" poster for school...
Her favorite place? Disney World
When I grow up, I want to be....a dancer, mommy and teacher
My favorite thing to do is....take a nap (after her Daddy's own heart)
If I could have one wish, I would wish for....a baby sister

Let it be known that when she brought home the poster, she wanted ZERO help from me. No help spelling or reading or drawing or anything. She went up to her room and came down awhile later with it fully completed. As always, there were interesting choices of colors but she did a great job--gotta love that independence!

Sadie's self-portrait of what she'll look like at 100yrs old (for the 100th day of school)

And apparently doing the 'taco salad shell' with your tongue may be genetic....but in our household, on the girls can do it! 

And one last thing....Sadie writes notes almost daily and I found this on my iPad one night when I opened the case. She has been playing on it and I thought she was playing a game, but apparently she was writing me a note instead. Just what this mama needed after feeling defeated that day!

Sadie, you are an amazing blessing to our family and we are so blessed to be your parents. We pray that God would continue to grow your faith in Him and give us wisdom as we raise you to love Him! So excited for the next 12 years we have with you at home!!