two months already!

Yesterday was two months that we have been blessed to have Sydney in our lives-I do not know when the feeling of "new" wears off when you have a newborn in the house, but we still feel very new to this parenting stuff!  We are beginning to see that Sydney is no longer a newborn, but a baby!
Seeing this growth in not only her appearance, but mostly in her personality and her spirit has given us the chance to get to know her.  She is definitely going to be strong willed and a determined human being-determined to do what, I don't necessarily think about yet .  At this time in her life she is determined to sit up all by herself, stand up and roll over! 
She is blowing bubbles ridiculously, and is self soothing by chewing on her hands.  She is also keeping her hands open more throughout the day and scrunching her toes more often.  Grabbing has begun a bit, mostly by accident right now, but you can see she will soon pick this up too! Oh, and she is still jabbing those jaws!
Everyone that has ever had a child has said that time goes by so fast, and until you experience this for yourself it's hard to understand-yes, time does go by fast when you are raising a child, but if you pay close attention you won't miss a thing!   
We are in love with Sydney and are falling in love with being her parents!  Most people said we would be great parents, but honestly it is a conscious effort that must be put forth every single day if you truly want to be a great parent!  Being a parent is easy, but being a present parent is challenging, exhausting, and so very humbling.
God Speed, Sarah
I forgot the camera at the in-laws, so when I get it back i'll post pictures of Sydney to show how much she has grown over the past couple months-stay tuned!

most mornings

This morning Sydney was a little fussy and I could not figure out why-her diaper was clean, she was fed and she woke up in a good mood.  It was then that I realize we have a routine in the mornings, wake up and play in bed, change diaper, play some more, try to get breakfast(if she'll let me) and then we either go for a walk or just hang out in the front yard under this beautiful Monterrey Oak tree that is our neighbors, but generously shades part of our yard.  That was it-we hadn't been for our daily walk or been outside.  I immediately put the sling on, which if I notice correctly, Sydney has begun to recognize the sling, and we headed outside to stand under the Oak tree.  It was a little too late and had already begun to heat up too much for our walk! 

As we stood under the Oak tree I enjoyed a cup of coffee as Sydney drifted off to sleep for her first nap of the day while our cat, Smokey, talks to us and rolls around in the grass-he is the most talkative cat ever!

This Sunday Jeff will celebrate Father's Day for the first time as a father!  Everyone enjoy their weekend and let your father know how special of a man he is-Personally, I believe Sydney has one of the greatest father's on earth, even if she doesn't realize it yet-she will soon enough! 

Have a blessed weekend and Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful father's we know!  Love, The Hersrud's

What we've been up to!

  Over the past few weeks we have been busy with the birthday parties, graduation parties, house sitting and her first baseball game to watch The Missions play at Wolff Stadium!-things Jeff and I use to enjoy ourselves and we now have the pleasure of sharing with Sydney!  She truly makes our lives come alive as we want her to experience all the things we enjoy and love!  Thank you Sydney!
  She is truly a social butterfly and is very vocal, she thoroughly enjoys people (as long as she isn't tired or hungry-like most people!)  This morning while playing in bed, which is what we do every morning as we are both waking up, she discovered her feet-she hasn't figured out how to grab them yet, but I know it won't be long!  As we lie in bed we talk about her dreams and my dreams for her, we laugh or she makes me laugh, I know she is laughing just not aloud yet!  I love these times, some days it'll last longer than others, but I soak up every second!  These truly are the most precious moments shared between us at this time as I know it will soon change-just as everything does.

  Here are a few pictures and a video of Sydney talking to mommy and video of play time with daddy, hopefully you'll be able to hear- otherwise it's just Sydney being a busy body!  She also has the greatest SMILE!

Mommy and Sydney playing!  The only time she enjoys this swing is if you are playing with her while she is in it! 

Sydney and Daddy playing on the bed-I hope you can hear her sweet little voice!  At the end of the movie she discovered the camera-awesome!  She has very keen senses!  

 Grandma Mann, it was her birthday, and Sydney at the baseball game!

Daddy and Sydney before the game-this is how Sydney loves to be carried by daddy!

 Sydney with Papa Hersrud at the graduation party!