These are a few of my favorite things- 16 months

This is serious work, I am not just relaxing in the rocker! Also, it is important to have a purse nearby in case I need some baby wipes or a pacifier.

Hi, Sydney here. This is me talking on Aunt Teeny's IPhone while she and Mommy got pedicures. I really need a lot of phone time these days, and any real phone will do. My mom thinks I mostly say "hi" and "bye", but I know the truth. I also am really multi-tasking while on the phone, like walking around, digging in a purse or bag, or (as pictured) holding my Burt's lip stick. All girls need to practice this early!

I LOVE bath time with my Mommy!

This is my slide in the back yard, and I also like to swing and get pushed in my pink car. I really like to go to the back door and sign "more" because that covers all the bases and usually one of my folks with take me to play for a while.

Whew, after a hot afternoon I like to eat a Popsicle and watch my mom make some dinner.

One word- bananas. YUM!

Of course, swimming and playing at the water park are very high on my list this summer.

Anyone who has been around knows I have several pairs of sunglasses and they are very important for every car ride. Here I am modeling my new Dora glasses and channeling Posh Spice with the big shades and a hint of a smile.

My babies are very important, and I can tell I will be a really good big sister (NO MY MOM IS NOT PREGNANT) someday (STRESS THE SOMEDAY). I like to feed them bottles, burp them and wrap them up in blankets. My mom keeps commenting on how amazing it is that little girls have such a drive to practice nurturing skills, but I don't know what that means. I also like my Daddy's big chair when he isn't around to hog it.

And, of course, my AUNT ERIN!!! She is very funny and nice and she even lets me talk to her on the REAL phone while she is at work.

Play Day

The whole crew for a brief still second!

Lovin' on John Austin

Sweet Aiden Carothers and his Mommy

Sweet Caroline Boyd

Sweet Greer Napier reading to her Mommy

Sweet John Austin Levin

Sweet Carlee Boyd

A glimpse of the madness in the playroom

A moment at lunch- yum!
And yes, I mean DAY. It was so fun though! Last Thursday we had a party at the house because Corbin and JA and Julie and Aiden were in town for the week, so Keri and her girls loaded up and came down. Aunt Erin and Julia also made it for lunch, so we were pretty even adults to babies most of the time. Again, I have to say how blessed I am to have such wonderful friends who I am praying will model all kinds of wonderful traits for my daughter, like grace under pressure (Julia), tenderness (Merrit), creativity (Keri), a giving spirit (Corbin), a sense of humor (Erin), and thoughtfulness (Julie C.)- just to name a few!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!!

Happy Birthday Daddy! Thank you for being so wonderful and for everything you do to keep this family happy, healthy and loved.

Party!

Karoline Carozza 9 mo., Aiden Carothers 10 mo., Sydney Walker 16 mo., Maddox and Addison Pierce 6 mo.

We had a party tonight at Erin's because Julie Carothers is in town and it gave the girls a good reason to get together- with 5 babies and 8 adults! It was a little wild but very fun. Oh Sydney, as I laid you down tonight I prayed for you to have wonderful, smart, beautiful, strong friends like Mommy's.

Sydney-rella

We had a fantastic weekend at my parents place on the Little Red River. We ate and ate, finally got the boat out on the lake, and relaxed. Sydney may be a little OCD (where did she get that?!?) because we call her "Sydney-rella" a lot. For example, after she eats she will wipe her hands and tray down if I give her a paper towel. Anyway, I was swiffering and Sydney flipped out because she wanted to do it. Seriously, she proceeded to clean all the floors in the kitchen, and several attempts at the carpets over the weekend.

Sydney and Mommy on the back deck.

Sydney and Daddy on the dock. She wanted to jump in the water!

Finally, the lake is down enough to get to the boat! She loved every minute of it!

No fears of the water, in fact, she floated on her own in her life jacket!

Trying to get her to "model" her dress but she wasn't interested.

Gigi and Sydney!

Playing dolls with Gigi on Thursday.

Reading with Nan (Brent's mom) on Wednesday.

Fourth of July

We celebrated the fourth of July at the beach, which was wonderful from start to finish. We woke up and played with all of our toys and babies and had some snuggle time, then played at the beach and pool until dinner.

Sydney (15 months), Bowden (4 1/2 years), Pierce (6 months)

"Oh Mom, you are so funny!"

Why didn't we think of this sooner?!? Bowden loved pushing what he called "The Sydney Express" and Syd loved everything about it, except when Mom made him stop to take a picture (She is signing "more" in this picture)

Pierce's turn

I knew there would be fireworks on the beach, but it was so pretty we woke Sydney up to see them. We actually got to go up on the roof of our condos, so we could see the Fort Walton display close and the Destin display in the distance, plus all the fireworks being shot from the beach. And I am not talking about bottle rockets. Some of those people spent some serious cash on fireworks!

Can you see one of the bigger fireworks above Brent's head? Then it was off to bed for Sydney and packing time for us. We pulled out of Destin around 5:45 am on Saturday morning, and made it home by 5:00 pm with several stops along the way.

Sydney, we are home sweet pea!!!! I love you so much, and I feel like you grew up a lot on this trip (Ms. Merrit said you would). I am so proud to be your mommy and I am looking forward to many more memories of watching you on the beach in the years to come.