Hangin' by the pool with friends!

Mari has a great little group of friends in the neighborhood. The other day we all met at the pool and we were able to get a quick shot of the group. Most of our pictures include at least one Mom reaching in to sit up a falling child or keep one child from pulling another's hair, etc... They have a lot of fun together!

Preston, Mariana, Lawson, Allison, Sawyer

Daddy's Girl!

Daddy Sprout had a very nice Father's Day with his little girl! She woke him up with a "Hi Da Da!" and boy is that enough to make a guy smile.

Mariana loves her Daddy! She squeals with delight every evening when he comes home and reaches up so he will give her a big daddy hug!

We are so blessed to have such a great husband and daddy in our lives!

Laundry Basket Rides!

Mari has discovered a fun new activity. If there is a laundry basket anywhere in the house, she will find it. And no doubt she will rapidly proceed to empty its entire contents, load it up with her toy(s) of the day, crawl in and squeal.... just waiting for some kind soul to push her around the house. Oh, to be 10 months old! What fun!

Learning to Crawl

On May 25, 2009 (Memorial Day) Mariana began to crawl for the very first time. Unlike many babies who commando crawl (with their bellies on the ground), our Mari was a roller. She found a way to rock and roll just about anywhere. Then one day she discovered all fours....she would get up.... ever so slightly reach forward...and collapse just like Bambi! It was really funny to watch. But finally after weeks of trying, Baby Sprout began to crawl. Here is my lame attempt to get a few pictures during those first movements. She moved quick, so it was tough to capture.

Adventures of the Toybox

It's truly amazing the hilarious moments you can catch in action when you have a camera at hand. Here is just one of many we've experienced in the joy of life with Mari...

"Hey Mom, do you know where my teddy bear is. I know it's here somewhere!"

"It's gotta be in here somewhere... Now let me just see... Hmmmm"


"Nope, not in here!"

Rosebank Farms Petting Zoo

While at the beach, we also spent an afternoon at Rosebank Farms. Mari loved to look at and pet all the animals....horses, goats,pigs, donkeys, bunnies, roosters, ducks, cows, and a parrot.

She also took a special liking to "Walter," Gran's decorative goose. She really thought he was real and would watch intentively just to make sure he didn't move. She was so sad that we had to leave him behind when we drove home. The entire trip home she was saying "Goose Goose?"

Listening to Blues by the Sea!

While in Kiawah, we were able to go to a fabulous Blues Festival called "Blues by the Sea". Mariana loved watching the people and listening to the music!

Beach Pictures!

Mariana's second favorite activity while at the beach was swimming in the pool. She loved to kick her feet in the water...and especially loved splashing Mom and Dad!

Mari absolutely loved the the ocean and the sand. This was by far, her favorite part of each day. She loved crawling in the sand, splashing in the ocean and of course, eating (just a few) handfuls of sand!

Beach Fun!

Hi there! We have been having a great spring and summer with Mariana! In early May, we were able to take a family vacation at the beach on Kiawah Island. What a wonderful time we had! We were so grateful to friends of my parents who let us use their wagon as we carted all our "goods" to and from the ocean. With this, Mariana truly had the best ride in town... What a happy girl!