Milestones

We hit a big milestone today.



First haircut!

Sabine was apprehensive, but we went to a great place in Boulder that is specifically for kids, with fancy car-shaped seats, movies, and lollipops at every station. And the staff was fantastic, Sabine tends to be very fearful of new situations, both the doctor and dentist have been stressful for her. But they left us alone to walk around for 15 minutes, warming up, watching other happy kids get their hair cut, and then once Sabine decided she wanted to stay for a haircut, they began chatting her up, giving her lots of time to answer and get excited. I realize it was probably more expensive than taking her to a place like Great Clips, but for the service alone I would have paid double.

They even sprayed some sparkles in her hair and put a fancy ponytail in on top of her head.


(The hair stylist did not cut bangs, the front of Sabine's hair is pulled back in a clip, that line of short hair is just new growth coming in.)



As you can see from the back, it's really not that different. She just cleaned up all the scraggly ends--and they were definitely getting scraggly. But Sabine had fun telling everyone we saw today all about the haircut and the sparkles.

In other milestone news, Sabine has switched to big girl toothpaste, which means it has fluoride in it, which means that Sabine is better at spitting it out. Gross, but very fun to practice.

The other big milestone is...I think we are done with naps! It's been on and off for a while, she's gone through phases where they don't seem to be as important, but then goes back to napping for two hours regularly. More recently, though, the longer she naps the longer it is until she can fall asleep. She was up until after 11:00 PM (was in bed for three hours, talking and singing to herself!) on Saturday night. On Sunday she was up and ready to party by 7:00 AM, and didn't seem at all tired after the festivities, so we just let her stay up instead of trying to force a nap. She went to bed at 7:00 PM, and mommy and daddy got a lovely evening to recover. Yesterday, Monday, same thing, and again today no nap. The big difference now is that she's not cranky in the evenings. Before, when she'd miss a nap, our afternoons and evenings were miserable, she was clearly over-tired. Now she gets tired, but is much more in control, can sit and have dinner, and play by herself. She also doesn't fall asleep in the car, even in the late afternoon, which I feel is another indicator. If she takes a few more naps, great, but I am pretty sure this is the end. And in some ways, it's really nice to have our schedule clear up, no more having to dash home after lunch every day.

Our big girl is getting bigger daily.

Three Years Old

Sabine turned three on Friday,



but we just haven't had a chance to post until now, it's been such a whirlwind of a weekend, with lots of parties, presents, and friends and family.

We did an unofficial photo shoot with Nana Lin, Aunt Dani, and Ethan last weekend to take advantage of the fall colors and get some good shots of the kiddos. They weren't always excited about posing for the camera, but we still got a few cute pictures! And you can really see how much both of them have grown.





On Friday Grandmom and Grandpa came down to celebrate Sabine's birthday, and they brought a big present.



A dollhouse! Which Sabine has been asking for, recently.



Conveniently, we actually had one on hand, this was the dollhouse my grandfather made for me when I was a little girl, and now I am thrilled that my daughter seems to be loving it too!





She also opened some presents from Uncle Eric and Aunt Diana, including her very own BART train.



On Saturday we had a little painting party with a few of Sabine's young friends. The kids painted, as well as got their faces painted:









And then we had some lunch and, of course, cake.

Mommy attempted a homemade cake--if you squint in kind of sort of resembles a palette.


(maybe?)



It was made with love, anyway, and as long as it was chocolate on chocolate (I got a very specific request) Sabine seemed to be happy, which is all that mattered.

On Sunday, Sabine helped me make a cake for daddy, and it turned out much better. Clearly I need to enlist her icing skills more often!





Nana Lin, Aunt Dani, and cousin Ethan showed up to continue the celebration on Sunday morning,



Bringing presents!



Including some toys of Nemo, which was the first movie Sabine ever saw in the theater. (Just a few weeks ago with daddy.)



They got a lot of love, and were included on her new Calico Critters table, including some fun new animals and furniture from Aunt Dani.

A couple of close friends also came over to help us enjoy the new toys and football cake.



Even daddy got to celebrate his happy birthday, too!



All in all, it was a wonderful, busy weekend with lots of fun and love. This was the first birthday where I think Sabine really anticipated it. She helped get ready, and was enthusiastic about all of her gifts. She is acting more and more mature, able to play with friends and share, help cousin Ethan walk, skip naps when it's all just too exciting to miss even a single second (and not completely melt down), and just be a lovely young girl. I think we are all exhausted but happy.

Last Post for the Two-Year-Old

This is likely the last update before Sabine turns three. This year FLEW by. I am coming to appreciate the saying, "The days are long but the years are short."

Sabine has seemed so much more grown-up recently. She's in the big girl dance class now, complete with official leotard. Mommy and daddy don't get to participate anymore. We get to sit in the plastic chairs outside the class now, and hear how it went afterwards.



 She helped me add mulch to our little flower beds the other day. She loved the idea of a blanket for the bulbs.




She took her "patting mulch down" duties very seriously, and insisted on wearing my gloves the whole time.

But Sabine is still very much herself with her own intense preferences and opinions. She still loves to paint, we broke out the finger paints again recently and it was quite novel that YOU DON'T USE A BRUSH! (She LOVES to tell everyone that.)



(And it was much more successful this time than our last disastrous attempt! Click HERE if your memory needs a jog.)

And Sabine is still silly and quirky, and loves spending with friends, especially the ones who are willing to be silly and quirky right back!



It's really been a magical year. We are so excited to see what the next one brings.



But no looking back, because it just seems to get better and better!

Fall Snapshot

Just a quick photo update of our recent goings-on!

We've been spending time with friends at the zoo


(note the new Broncos jersey, it is a Sunday tradition now)

and at the pumpkin patch

 

Sabine's been breaking out her fall wardrobe, including new PURPLE boots.



She helped make a cake



for a belated birthday celebration for Grandmom



And met Daddy downtown for lunch for one last time before he changes jobs. For anyone who doesn't know, Dustin recently accepted a new job with an energy company, so he will be moving away from the private law firm life (and the crazy hours that go with it) into an in-house position. We are looking forward to all the weekends together to come! We are so proud of you, Daddy!