Uncle David's birthday (August 15, 2010)

On Sunday, we celebrated Uncle David's birthday (which is actually August 14).  We met at Outback for dinner and then back to Papa and Nana's for cake and visiting.  Sage LOVES her Uncle David and calls him "Da-Da" (pronounced with a long "a").  Sage was very excited to help Uncle Da-Da open his gifts and she LOVED the ice cream cake. 

It was such a fun evening and as alway, Sage loved being with her family.

Leaving dinner with Uncle David...

Helping Uncle David open his gifts!

Sage & Lila go to the aquarium! (July 30, 2010)

On Friday, July 30 we met Megan and Lila at the FL Aquarium for a day of fun!  It took a little while for Sage and Lila to warm up to each other but once they did, they had so much fun!!!  At lunch, they pretended to share fruit with each other....it was SO sweet and cute.

This was Sage's first time at a splash park and she went wild!  She ran all around (I broke a shoe trying to keep up with her) and she thoroughly enjoyed herself!  It was a fun day with good friends!! 

Sage & Lila looking for the gator...

OHHHH...there he is!

Sage running at the water park...

Meeting a new friend...

Sage turns 17 months old! (July 24, 2010)

On Saturday, July 24, Sage turned 17 months old!  On her "birthday", we took her to Citrus Park mall for her 1st ride on the merry-go-round.  Every time we go to the mall, she stares longingly at the merry-go-round, points and says "Oohhhhhhh".  Sage was so excited when Landon placed her on a pink seahorse and she loved when the music and ride started.  We had to go a 2nd time, this time with the entire family in a carriage! 

Sage continues to amaze us with all of the things she understands, does and words she can say.  She has so much energy...sometimes I feel like I am unable to keep her busy and active.  We go to music class at Gymboree, story time at the library, visit different play areas, meet friends for lunch and head to the park for playing.  We also play at home, a lot!  Sage continues to love her books and "reading"! 

Sage can say so many words and some new ones are "boats", "shoes", "hats", "hot", "bath",  "NOOOO", "nana", "papa" and for some reason "caca"!  She still says "baby",  "hi", "bye", "whee", "ohhhh", "bobo", "meeeoww", "mama" and  "dada".  I might be forgetting some.  She also can imitate almost any word we say and loves to do this.  This is bad as we (Landon!) really need to watch what we say.   Sage loves to blow kisses, too!

Sage is no longer a baby...she is a full-fledged toddler.  Of course, she's still OUR baby!  She is becoming a very independent little girl and wants to walk everywhere.  She knows when we are leaving the house and marches straight to the door leading to the garage.  She tries to open it but we're not there,  yet (thank goodness!).   All day, she follows me around the house and I try to let her help me with things.  We are working on trying to put away our toys and one day it took 30 mins to put about 5 toys in a basket.  So, I am learning to have a lot of patience with her as I am so used to doing things so quickly.  Sage understands most of our directions and things we say to her. 

We are having so much fun with Sage and love this age!  I hear that's how it goes with every age. 

Sage at 17 months...

"Oh no...the paparazzi is always after me!"

Sage & "Dada" on the merry-go-round!

Playing near her favorite turtle!

Sage fell in love with this little piggy at Dillards (we had to distract her to extricate him from her hands!)

Picnic in Dunedin! (July 17, 2010)

On Saturday, July 17 we went on a picnic with Nana (fka Grandmama), Aunt Theresa and Theresa's mom, Kathleen.  We met at a beautiful waterfront park in Dunedin.  A good time was had by all...especially Sage who played on the playground, went swinging and walked through the marina pointing out all the "boats" to us. 

Boats is one of her favorite words since we taught it to her in the keys.  She loves seeing boats and pointing them out!

Sage eating her picnic dinner...

Checking out the boats...

Ohhh...I want to get closer!

Sage meets her great-great aunts! (July 18, 2010)

On Sunday, July 18, we went over to Bis Abuela's so Sage could meet her 2 great-great aunts...Great-Great Aunt Georgia and Great-Great Aunt Judy (JuJu).  Georgia lives in Safety Harbor and Judy was visiting from Tallahassee. 

Upon our arrival, there was a welcoming committee of Bis Abuela, Great Aunt Irene and the 2 "great-greats" were waiting for us on the front porch.  Sage slowly walked up the driveway, peeked around the car and stopped dead in her tracks.  She'd never had a welcoming committee so this was a first for her. 

It took just a few minutes to warm up to everyone then Sage was running around having fun!  She was held, hugged and kissed by all her "Cooper" family and she loved every minute of it.  Great Uncle Michael stopped by for a visit and made Sage smile, too! 

Sage with her Bis Abuela, Great-Great Aunt Georgia & Great-Great Aunt Judy...

Sage & Bis Abuela...

Sage playing with Bis Abuela's dominoes...

Happy 4th of July! (July 4, 2010)

We spent the long 4th of July weekend on Siesta Key and Sage loved the beach!!  Sage has been to the beach but not as a walking/talking little person.  We arrived on Friday afternoon and took Sage out to the beach and water.  She was so excited so we knew the weekend was going to be a success.  On Saturday, we spent most of the morning and early afternoon on the beach and Sage played in the sand, fought the waves with Daddy and loved picking up seashells, beach rocks and watching all the sea birds.  It was a rainy weekend and the rain came that evening so we went out to dinner and still enjoyed the day.  

On Sunday, the 4th, we woke up to another rainy day so decided to head to Ellenton for some shopping.  We returned in the afternoon and decided to pack a picnic dinner and headed out to the beach around 6:30.  The rain had gone away so it was a wonderfully cool evening on the beach.  We swam, played in the sand, ate our dinner and just had a great time!  A large fireworks display started around 8:45 and Sage was a big girl and stayed up past 10 pm watching the fireworks on the beach.  We had the perfect 4th of July holiday with our little sweetie!

Sage on the beach on Saturday, July 3...

WHEEEE!!!  Sage loved the waves crashing into her...

Celebrating the 4th in style and on the beach! 

Our little sparkler!

Sage tried to make friends with this little girl but the girl was not interested in Sage...

Sage & Daddy eating their dinner..

Sage & Momma showing off their matching suits and patriotic glasses!

Family self-portrait...

Wrinkled toes from spending so much time in the ocean...

Sunset on the 4th!

Sage & Daddy watching the fireworks late into the evening...