Long overdue post!

The Stricklands have been MIA from the blog world - sorry! Danielle's mom was here all of this past week and she and her husband, Patrick, just left this morning. It wasn't too tough waving goodbye since we'll be in Virginia in 5 1/2 short weeks - yay! Mom and Patrick enjoyed lots of time with Sydney and many, many walks around our 'hood! The little hat she's wearing is one of two new summer hats Grandma brought with her. Babies are so adorable in hats!
Sydney is loving all her strollers. This is her newest - the umbrella stroller. It's great to throw in the car for quick trips. We use the jogger mostly for walks, but this one is great if we're just strolling around the block.Soon after they arrived in Arkansas, we celebrated Randall's very first Father's Day! We cooked a yummy steak dinner at the daddy's request, and Sydney gave him an adorable new picture of her for his desk at work as well as a new golf shirt. Here they are posing the next day when he wore his shirt to work.
Of course all parents love to spoil their grandkids, and Danielle's dad sent along a couple of early Christmas gifts for Sydney since Mom and Patrick were driving and could transport a few things out to Arkansas. This beautiful painting of Sydney's name - made with animals and flowers - now hangs above her crib. What's funny is we have been trying to find something we like with her name to hang in that spot. Thanks, Grandpa, for handling that for us! It was too cute to pack away and save for Christmas morning :)
During this week, Sydney also hit a few milestones. She started eating "real" food (sweet potatoes were the first one - she loves them!) and tonight we are having peas. I've decided to make her baby food, and so far, I am really enjoying it...almost as much as she loves eating it. The second milestone is demonstrated in the video below. Our little girl is getting so big and we love her more and more each day if that is even possible!

Flying High!

Sydney and I flew to DC last week for four days! It was the perfect opportunity to get together with friends and to see a couple of new babies and one newly engaged couple! Here are a couple of shots from the second leg of the trip to DC ... we lucked out with our own row so I was able to bring her car seat on board. Sydney was PERFECT on all the flights --- not one tear! She was a hit with all the passengers :)
Here are a couple of shots of Sydney meeting her new friends: Laura's son Isaiah (two months younger) and Tracey's daughter Alexa (two months older). It will be fun to watch all these babies grow up!

Oh Happy Day

People ask if Sydney is always happy. Of course the answer is no, but we are very lucky that the honest answer is "usually." Here are a couple of shots of her recently: Quite proud of herself after rolling from belly to back, and then back again (smiles due to our cheering, probably), and then playing peekaboo all by herself after waking up one morning. You can see she easily comes out of her swaddle blanket when she wants to ... but she still needs it to fall asleep.

Splish Splash - Pool Time!

We spent a few hours Saturday and Monday at the pool with Sydney! It was a hit. Here are a few pictures and two videos from the weekend :)




All that playing just pooped her right out! The stroller was perfect for napping at the pool, and I think all the sounds of splashing and playing were just the right mix for background noise. We can't wait to go back!

Fayetteville evening

Yesterday was beautiful in Fayetteville! Mommy and Sydney took a LONG walk around the neighborhood in the morning while Daddy golfed with his good friends (he won). We ran into several Junior League and work friends during our stroll and Sydney just loved being outside. She rode in the stroller facing out (as opposed to riding in the infant carrier facing the other direction) for the first time. She looked like such a grown up kid!

In the evening, we all went out to dinner at a new casual Italian place that was delicious, then strolled down Dickson Street near campus, and ended up at Orange Mango, a new frozen yogurt place. It was fun watching everyone out and about in Fayetteville, enjoying the spring weather.

Sydney wore this adorable halter dress, a gift from Randall's boss. Here she is before we left, and then we captured a couple of photos at dinner. Our waiter LOVED her!
She is now rolling front to back and back to front, and she's putting everything in her mouth - teething already, maybe? She has the sweetest laugh. Our pool opens next weekend, and I cannot wait to get those first bathing suit pictures/video clips!!!

Rice, Rice Baby

Sydney loves to eat. We've known this from the first time we fed her, and now she has added rice cereal to the list of things that make her happy. The first video is from last Sunday, the first day we introduced rice cereal, and the second video is from today. She has quickly caught on to eating off of a spoon, and she sometimes gets a little anxious when we have to take the spoon out of her mouth to get more out of her bowl! It is a fun time we share with her, and it doesn't hurt that she is sleeping through the night again. The last couple of weeks before starting on the cereal, she was waking up around 3 a.m. to eat. No more of that - yahoo!!!

Happy Morning

Randall went into the nursery to get Sydney out of bed Tuesday morning, and this is what he discovered. You can't get much more relaxed than this!!!

Mother's Day weekend

Today, I woke up to all these pretty things waiting for me in the kitchen! The photo is a little dark, so I apologize.
Inside the wrapped box was this beautiful bracelet with Sydney's and my birthstones. I LOVE IT!We went out to lunch today and are enjoying spending the day together. Yesterday, we went to a garden party hosted by my co-workers, Amanda & Russell. Their peony garden is beautiful!

We're Rollin' Now!

Cinco de Mayo - baby style

Instead of celebrating Cinco de Mayo with a margarita or two, Sydney had her four-month check-up that sadly included more shots. We found out her updated stats today: 13 lbs. 8 oz. (50th percentile) 24 inches long (40th percentile) and a 16.5" circumference head (75th percentile).

I took off the rest of the day with her because I didn't love the idea of taking her back to daycare post-shots. Here's how we both spent the afternoon:
I just woke up and she is still sleeping. I hope she wakes up soon so we can fit in a walk...we are having such beautiful weather this week!

Also in honor of her four-month-aversary (and perhaps in response to my last entry) Sydney decided to roll over Sunday from tummy to back!!! We cheered like the Hogs had just won a national championship. I hope to get it on video soon to share.

The doctor gave us the OK to start trying rice cereal, so we may give that a go over the weekend. The high chair is ready and waiting. This is another event we'll have to catch on video.

I hear Sleeping Beauty stirring so I'll have to go....time for a bottle and a walk outside!

"Me time" for Mommy

Several people have commented on my seemingly easy time being away from Sydney. Whether I scoot away for a Junior League meeting or go to a happy hour with friends, I'm doing my best to maintain my individual life post-baby. People often ask how I manage dropping her off at daycare and then going to work. Truth be told, I'm enjoying the balance. I don't worry about her, but I do miss her as any parent does...but I stand by my choice of "doing it all," as some people say. It hardly deserves praise; it's just a personal choice of how to best be a happy, working mom.

Today, I returned home after a 4-day trip to Minneapolis for a work conference. I learned a lot, made new friends and got some great shopping done. I carried Sydney's photo with me and of course missed her, but I enjoyed the trip. I'm not sure if you're supposed to feel guilty over enjoying time away from your child, but I'm able to calm my concern because I was thrilled to see her when I got home. Who wouldn't love seeing this sweetie?! (Yes, that is a tired mommy in this picture! Next time I travel, I'll be sure to fit in more sleep time.)
It's hard to believe she turned four months old yesterday. My new obsession is getting her to roll over. She gets about half-way over and gives up. I'm hopeful that will be my next post!!
Side note: We think her hair is turning into more strawberry-blonde than light brown. She has very little hair still, so we barely have evidence to back this up :)

Sleepover

Sydney had her first overnight away from home, so Randall and I could attend a work event in Little Rock. She had a great time with Kenny & Amanda!! They even made up songs just for Sydney and serenaded her with the guitar :) I appreciate the last picture of all the stuff we had to take to their house just for one night. We had our friends over for dinner last night as a "thank you" for babysitting. I'm glad it went well, and I'm sure this will be one of many sleepovers at the Barnes' house!

Rubber Duckie (or Dinosaur)

We figure you can only embarrass your kids until a certain age, so why not have fun with it? Randall says her tub isn't big enough for this many toys. I think he's crazy :)

We first heard our baby laugh March 5, 2010, and have failed to catch it on video until now. It seemed every time we ran for the camera, she stopped finding anything funny! Here she is this afternoon, cracking up at here daddy!

Sunshiny Day on Campus

Sydney's Uncle Evan & Aunt Sylvia got into town yesterday after the LONG drive from Virginia! We spent today walking around campus and I think they are smitten with our little gal. Today was absolutely beautiful and we are worn out from the day. Tomorrow I'm going to give them a few ideas of things they can do, and on Tuesday they are going to keep Sydney for the day. It will give my brother a great taste of parenthood. He did give her a bottle today which was a big step :)

We also found my name on Senior Walk from earning my master's last year. The University of Arkansas is unique in that every graduate's name is on the sidewalk around campus. They are just starting on 2009 grads, and mine was already there. Very exciting for me! I plan to do a rubbing of my name and get it framed.