crazy cute

i'll post later when i have a chance, but here is a photo i had promised. she really is crawling all over the place and we are starting a swim class in a couple

of weeks. more on this and more later.

two many milestones

We had a pretty eventful weekend as a family and it wasn't just the putt putt and coffee date on Friday, the work day on Saturday, sharing the evening with friends and the firepit on Saturday night or even a great morning at church and time together on Sunday afternoon. Nope. Those were fun, an opportunity for us to share life together and with friends, but the significant milestones took place in a far more spontaneous fashion. So, for weeks now, georgia has been attempting to outgrow us. "Us" meaning her parents. The ones who resist every milestone because it means she is getting older. Yes, we are a bit crazy, but unlike a lot of our friends who just tried to get through the first few months, to endure the period of sleepless nights and newborness (and all that it entails), Pat and I have loved it. Truly. At one point I even said, "if sleeping through the night means she has to grow up, then just keep letting us wake up". Recently, I have resisted the longing for her to not change and am trying to embrace the new stages, the ones where she doesn't need my lap and arms to help her sit up. The amazing thing is that I love this new stage too. On a side note, among all of the unsolicited "wisdom" and well meaning "advice" we received while I was pregnant, one that has consistently rung true is "every stage they get to will become your new favorite." I doubted this very seriously, because I just loved the newborn, fit in my arm and snuggle all day phase and couldn't imagine anything more wonderful. Until she smiled, then giggled, then laughed so hard at herself she could hardly breathe, and finally where we are today, celebrating her two latest milestones. On Saturday afternoon, she was again on the floor at the office where we were hanging out with friends (i was hanging out, Pat was slaving away on some intense landscaping with the other husbands) when I left the room for a minute. I mean less than a minute, like 30 seconds. Upon my return a friend mentioned that "oh, I didn't know georgia started crawling". WHAT?? I didn't either. For a week, she's been rocking back and forth, falling, laughing and doing the whole routine over again. Anyway, apparently, she crawled. Three steps to be exact. I was disappointed I missed it, but considered it God's punishment for all the references I had been making to knocking her over when I saw her trying to crawl in an attempt to slow all steps to mobility. (I never really knocked her over and now wish maybe I would have just once so that her first time crawling would have been when I was in the room to witness it.) Anyway, when I picked her up to congratulate her and more importantly make me feel like I was somehow a part of the event I had just missed, I noticed something small in her mouth. I reached into retrieve it like any good mother would only to realize it was a tooth! WHAT?? Now she has teeth? Great, pretty soon she will be running around with a steak in her hand. For the past two months, I've sworn she was teething. All of the obvious signs from the "experts" were there. Some drool (but not the buckets everyone made it sound like she'd have), and of course everything went into her mouth. However, we were missing the fever, diaper rash and fussiness. I'm not complaining though, just trying to defend how I could have missed the arrival of her first tooth. :) So, there you have it. The peach is now mobile and in possession of one tooth. While she is busy practicing her latest crawl technique, I'm busy teaching Abraham how to gently herd babies. Wish me luck.

cuzzins

georgia enjoying spending time with her cousin, mia, during a recent visit.

My Merry Maid

Who knew laundry could be this much fun?? Georgia, sporting one of her favorite dresses courtesy of my best friend, Suzy, (we both had similar outfits as kids, even had pics taken in it for preschool) helping me do her laundry. How appropriate that Georgia, too, would have the famous striped dress. The shoes are also some of her favorites, between the toe sandals. She's already learned that the cutest shoes are almost never the most comfortable ones.

Revolving Doors

We have been so fortunate this month to have a constant flow of visitors. The most recent guests at the P&K B&B was the Sutherland clan....Mike, Lyana Zachary, Aiden & Mia arrived from San Antonio for the week just missing the Huff family heading back to Frisco by a couple of hours. We thoroughly enjoyed having all of them here, Abraham and Georgia were entertained continuously and we had a great excuse to visit some of our favorite spots. We made all the usual stops, Bear Country, Reptile Gardens, Mount Rushmore, Alpine Slides, Alpine Inn, Custer State Park and of course our favorite bagel shop, Black Hills Bagels. We have a 3 day break in the company and have friends that will passing through for two nights next week.

Here we are with the Huff's grabbing lunch at one of our favorite places, the Alpine Inn.

Us & the Kiddos at Bear Country. The twins are very similar to the bear cubs, rolling around and bouncing off one another. Mia is right there in it with them, too. So much fun!! The Peach taking in the Gator Wrestling Show at Reptile Gardens. She at least appeared entertained.

This giant tortoise is like 122 years old!

More On Georgia's Special Day

We had the privilege of dedicating Georgia this weekend. Many have asked what that means. Without going into a lengthy discussion or explanation, the short version is we have publicly sought the support, encouragement, accountability and prayers of those present and loved ones far away in raising Georgia to know, love, serve and wholeheartedly pursue after our amazing Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We have the tremendous blessing of having our own families seeking the same pursuits. We have amazing parents who love, guide and pray for us continually. We have siblings who model Christ's love to us and to their children. We are forever grateful for the families that God chose to place us in and know that His provisions have been abundant. It is the love of our families and the love of Christ we have always seen in them that led us to where we are today, dedicating our own beloved daughter to the One who generously gave her to us. We are always mindful that He has entrusted His precious child, Georgia, to us to love, nurture and most importantly guide to Him. We will one day be held accountable for what we do and do not do as her parents and our greatest hope and prayer is that our Father who gave her to us is pleased with us as we seek His will daily. We were so fortunate to have dear friends of ours, Kyle & Diana Huff and their sweet girls, Claire & Anna, drive all the way from Texas to be here for this special occasion. Kyle was the best man in our wedding and their friendship has certainly been one of the many perks of marrying Pat. It was great to have them here to be a part of yet another blessed milestone. The beautiful gown was made with love by her Grandma Sutherland and will be a treasured reminder of this day. One lady at the church even remarked, "whoever made that for her surely loves her". I don't think it could have been said any better.

Georgia's Special Day