the story of Sydney Grace

the story of

Sydney Grace

Once upon a time in the great state of Vermont, there lived a young, married couple. Kevin and Jill had been married for 8 years, but still had not been blessed with any children. In May of 2004, they were thrilled to learn that they were expecting their first baby.

Your mom and dad prepared for your arrival by reading books about babies and how to raise them. They even went to some classes together to get ready for your birth. They bought a crib, stroller, car seat, lots of baby clothes, diapers and much more so they would be able to care for and entertain you. Many, many friends also celebrated your arrival by giving Kevin and Jill baby gifts. Everyone was very excited that a little baby was on its way and that there would be a new member of the Foley family.

Your due date was January 5^th, but that day came and went without any signs that you were ready to leave your mom’s womb and enter the world. Your Grandma Redman flew into Vermont from Illinois on Friday, January 7^th and everyone was a little disappointed that you had not yet been born. 

On Saturday morning (January 8^th), your mom woke up and was leaking some fluid. Seeing this as a sign that your birth was likely to happen soon, Kevin and Jill packed some things and headed to the hospital. Your Grandma Redman stayed home and was in charge of taking care of Newton, the family dog.

The whole day passed and you were still not ready to leave the comfort of your mother’s womb. Your mom and dad were getting very tired and just wanted to meet you. Finally the next day, Sunday, January 9^th, the doctor decided that it was time for you to come out and surgery would have to be done.

At 3:06 pm, we heard your cry for the first time. Your dad got to see you before your mom did, but by 4pm your mom was finally able to hold you in her arms for the first time. Both your mom and dad were so happy and relieved that you were healthy and finally there with them. You were a big baby – weighing 8 pounds and 6 ounces.

Kevin and Jill had a special name picked out for you before you were even born. They knew from the very start that you would be called Sydney which means “righteous”. And your mom loved the name Grace which means “patient, full of grace”. 

There were so many changes as you grew the first year…every new stage was a “first” for all of you. Some of the highlights included:

Ø  2 months ~ smiled and laughed

Ø  3 ½ months ~ rolled over

Ø  4 months ~ ate rice cereal

Ø  5 months ~ sat up alone and got your first tooth

Ø  6 months ~ held a cup and crawled

Ø  8 months ~ stood alone

Ø  9 months ~ played peek-a-boo, walked

Ø  10 months ~ say “hi” – your first word and waved bye

Ø  11 months ~ clapped your hands, ran

It was a busy year!

When you were 1

You sucked your thumb and put everything you could into your mouth, liked to build with blocks, liked to sit in things (wagons, baskets, sleds, the stroller), you danced and loved to have books read to you (Chicka, Chicka, ABC was your favorite). You loved Elmo, your siggy and 

our dog, Newton.

When you were 2

You had lots of curls, you still sucked your thumb, put everything into your mouth, sat in baskets and loved to read books. You were now a big sister and would climb up Kayleigh’s crib and throw stuffed animals in for her to play with. You rode in a kayak, rode a horse, rode in the wagon and loved to swim. You also started playing the violin.

When you were 3

You loved dinosaurs – anything and everything – all things dinosaurs. You had several toy dinosaurs that you played with all the time and you gave them the greatest names – Cincy, Loudy, Touchy, Tinto. When you were three, you learned how to read and would read all the time.

When you were 4

Your favorite food was spaghetti and meatballs. Your creative side was beginning to show through ~ you loved to draw in magazines. You would mostly draw arms and legs on things that you would see in the magazine pictures.  You also really liked the Wonder Pets.

When you were 5

You loved rainbows, bugs and ants. Your tendency for science continued to get stronger and stronger every day.

When you were 6

You loved Narnia and always wanted to play. You also started writing books including “The Story of Narnia”, “The Story of Twigs” and “The Story of Snappers.” When you weren’t reading books or writing books, you were drawing and you really began to develop your own style of drawing.

When you were 7

You moved on from the Narnia stories to the Mistmantle Chronicles and became equally obsessed. One day we emailed some of your drawings of the Mistmantle characters to the author and she wrote back saying how much she enjoyed seeing them. This was the year you really began to love Legos, knights, dragons and swords.