Leaf Collector

On a daily basis, Sara Beth will now go to the front or back door and ask to go outside.  In fact, most days, she will ask several times a day.  And every time she goes out, she collects leaves.  We will walk her along the sidewalk, and at every opportunity, she will crouch down and add additional leaves to her hoard.  After a certain point, her hands become full, but that doesn't stop her.  She continues to crouch down, but as she plucks one leaf off the ground, two or three fall out of her grasping hand.  Heather has tried offering a basket for Sara Beth to stash her leaves in, but our little girl refuses to use anything other than hands. 

Getting her in the house without without bringing half a tree worth of leaves takes a little child psychology.  We offer her a sippy cup of milk.  After running around in the Texas summer, Sara Beth has worked up a thirst, and she cannot hold the leaves AND her sippy cup as we carry her inside; the leaves stay outside.

Sara Beth spent her first full evening with a neighbor on Saturday.  Heather and I went to a wedding at around 5:30 and didn't come home until 11:00.  Sara Beth behaved herself the entire time.  It helped that the neighbor owns dogs, so they went over and played with the little puppies for most of the evening.  When we got home that evening, we heard Sara Beth talking in her sleep, saying "woof woof woof", so I think she had a good time.