We were able to go to Houston for Thanksgiving this year to see my parents.  It was a good trip, although Aimee came down with a cold once we got there.  However, Sara did get to participate in her first Christmas tree decoration which she loved. So when we got home from Houston that was to be one of our first priorities. In that, we decided to get a live tree. This was my first one ever, and to be honest, I really like it so far!  Sara enjoyed putting up her decorations, and the first thing that she wants before eating breafast every morning at dark o’clock is to go turn on the lights on the tree.  I think having her put on all of her ornaments was a great decision because now she doesn’t go and mess with them or take them off.  She just wants to see them and put on the new ones that she makes at school.

Oh, and here are some pics from a recent trip to the park

So, this could be a long post, but I’ll try to keep it as short as possible. Let’s do Sara first. We last left off after Sara’s 6th month on God’s green earth. Hmmm…can I remember what has happened so long ago? Sara has a total of four teeth now, and is ever changing. She’s got a head of curly blonde hair. You wouldn’t know it, but that’s the same as her mother and I both had until we were 5-6. Sara’s is actually a little darker than ours was, though. She’s a super crawler now too. We had a couple of months where she would only low crawl around on her belly, but one day around 9 months she rocked back on her knees and realized that she could get around faster that way.

I absolutely love taking photos of Sara…as you’ll see she has really changed a lot. We started taking her to the Dallas Arboretum which was a great opportunity to get outside and have some new photo settings to use. Here come the photos, etc.

Sara Months 7 – 10

In June, Sara (and Jason) got to go to their first family reunion in southern Illinois.  This was the 91st Swallow Family Reunion for Aimee’s side of the family.  It was a good trip.  We started in St. Louis, drove to Whitehall, IL, and then back to St. Louis via Hannibal.  I’ve got to say that the only downside of the whole trip was leaving Dallas where we had a 6 hour delay due to rain.  Sara is just like any little baby, though, in that she loves to explore. I finally had to start baby proofing the cabinets and other things. However, since I’ve done that she found out that she could go in an out of the doggy door on her own. We let her do so for the most part because she doesn’t like to leave the door step. Also, she took a couple of steps on her own a week before her first birthday, but nothing since then. Because of that we’ve decided to put her in the toddler/walker nursery room when we’re at church in hopes that she’ll pick up that skill from the other kids.  I think that once she realizes that walking is faster than crawling she’ll choose that instead.

Sara Months 11 – 12

Finally, what else do I say…Aimee and Jason are fine – all is well in the hood.  I am really trying to learn more about my photography hobby.  I really enjoy it; I just have to keep it on the cheap.  You can check out my stuff on Flickr here Jason’s Flickr

Sara’s 5th & 6th Months

See all of our photo albums here:

Heiserfamily Photo Albums

In January, Sara finally started sitting up on her own.  This is a huge milestone.  She still enjoys her activity saucer, though. We also found a ticklish spot – this is probably more of a milestone for me because according to Aimee I only wanted Sara for my amusement.  Maybe that’s so because who can resist her irresistible reaction?

At the end of January we took Sara to College Station for the first time where she got to see her first Aggie Basketball game, and she even got to meet former President Bush (#41).

February was a big month too. Sara got to use a spoon for the first time. Rice cereal went pretty well, but peas aren’t her favorite.

She’s growing so fast, and she’s such an amazing gift to us. I’ll update our family albums soon with a more comprehensive lgroup of photos. Our current albums can be found here: Heiserfamily Photo Albums

But until then I present, for you enjoyment, Gangsta and Naked Sara.