Ten with a Grin

Hard to believe Sophie officially turned 10 months old this week.  She has gotten so big and has learned so many new things.  She has been crawling for almost two months now, pulling herself up for a little less than a month now, and is starting to walk holding onto us, or her little shopping cart.  She is recognizing people a lot more especially in pictures hanging in our hallway..several times a day Bob and I do a run through of Aunt Lisa, Uncle Michael, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Eric, Aunt Becky, Austin, Aaron, Grammy, Poppy, Mommy, Daddy and Sophie.  We also spell out her name on the refrigerator with the magnets Grammy and Poppy bought her.  

She has recently started waving bye bye while saying ba ba...close enough she knows what she is trying to say and she knows when to do it.  In the last two weeks she has started to eat more table food such as mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, frozen peas, and blueberries without the skins.  I have also started pureeing bananas, mangoes, blueberries, mixed veggies, cauliflower, carrots and broccoli and she loves them.  Next week I'm going to try a few more new things that are about the same consistency as mashed potatoes to see how we do.

At 10 months Sophie is a very happy girl she loves being read to, plays with her stuffed monkeys "At and Bubba," her puppy "Puddles" and her dolly "Sophie."  She also loves to have the ball rolled to her and she either kicks it back or rolls it back to us.  Her love for outside is amazing she enjoys her walks in her stroller, swinging and likes sitting in the grass with Daddy.  A hand full of times she's been in her little pool.   She really loves bath time.  As soon as she hears the water running, she heads for the tub and looks at us like aren't you going to put me in there.

It is amazing how time flies only two months until her first birthday..What an amazing ride so far.  We are enjoying every moment with her.  Children are definitely a blessing from God.

Swingin at the Park

Since the weather has been so much like Fall weather here cooler at night in the evening and morning and a little less hot during the day Sophie and I have been able to be outside for a good portion of the afternoon after her nap.  So yesterday we took a walk to the park in a nearby neighborhood and spent a good thirty minutes swinging.  She just sits back relaxes and enjoys all the sites at the park and points and jibber jabbers to the birds, trees, people walking their dogs and other kids playing

Just Grandma and Me

Wednesday my parents stopped over for the afternoon to visit.  Sophie showed Grandma and Grandpa all the new things she is into these days and kept them busy while we chit chatted and I caught up on some laundry.  If one thing is for sure Sophie loves to be read to so anytime they visit her and Grandma get in some good reading of her books.  Not to mention she thinks she pretty big stuff getting to sit up on the couch or rocking chair with Grandma.

Wedding Bliss

Last weekend Bob and I left Sophie with his parents for the day/evening and made the trek to Tiffin for my friend Megan's wedding.  We had a great time talking to Witt alumni that I hadn't seen since I had graduated.  It was good to catch up on what everyone is doing these days and see Megan and Greg so happy together as a married couple.

Love for Music

Sophie sure does have a love for music.  Wonder where she gets that from.  Well good possibility it is both sides of the family.  Her mommy was a percussionist, her grandma played the flute,  Her daddy loves to sit and listen to his music, both of her grandfather's enjoy their music as well, and realistically if we want to go back further, her three great grandfathers enjoyed listening to their records and radios as well.


You can find this girl playing her little toy piano, banging on her toys with other toys, and clapping her hands and shake her little bottom to whatever mommy is singing, or daddy has on the stereo in the living room, and as you can see sometimes she likes to pick what daddy is going to play for her.  Her favorites seem to be U2, Beatles, or Pink Floyd, Jason Mraz, and the Black Keys.  Girl's got good taste ;)

Grandpa's Birthday

This year for my dad's birthday we just had my parents over for an afternoon of visiting and playing with their granddaughter, went out to City Barbecue for some yummy food and did a little walking/shopping at the mall came home and had some raspberry angel food cake and opened gifts.  As always Sophie enjoyed playing with grandpa and reading with grandma. 

"Pick me up Grandpa"

"Grandpa is my buddy, I love playing with him.  Wait where's Grandma"

"There she is...k daddy take my picture with them"

S'more Please

A few weeks ago I found these ginormous marshmellows at the grocery store and the old camp counselor came out in me thinking it would be awesome some weekend to make S'mores before the summer was over.  Well yesterday afternoon Daddy and Sophie came home with the graham crackers and chocolate encouraging me to follow through with the idea.  So what did I do with two favorite people I spent Sunday evening enjoying some amazing S'mores Daddy made in the toaster oven. 

 Keep in mind Sophie and Mommy helped construct them.  Actually Sophie was sitting on the island right in the middle of it...so we gave her a marshmellow.. and then she ended up with two...

and then wait a minute what is this box..and what is this..chocolate..keep in mind she did not eat it..just played with it..but had a great time doing so..nothing a little soap and water won't remove :) 

They were a success and delicious..maybe next summer Sophie you can have one to eat.

 

Mommy Goes Solo This Week

At about 6 am Tuesday morning Daddy left for the airport and was heading for Chicago for the whole week.  Sophie tended to know something strange was going on seeing how Daddy was leaving first and here stood Mommy and Sophie.  As much as I hate to see him go..I put on a brave face for him and for her.  Shortly after he left we need to hit the road so I could get her to the sitter before going to work.  Mission accomplished.  Minus a few tears shed by Sophie when I left..and then a few tears shed by Mommy feeling guilty leaving her (note Daddy normally does drop off).  Once I got to work I pounded out my time there and went to pick up Sophie.. there she was big smiles to see me and had obviously forgotten what had happened earlier in the day.  We came home she ate a great lunch, we played while it rained outside, read her some books, she had her bottle and a nap while I did laundry and worked on the computer getting a few things done.  Later we did dinner, played in the bath tub which is always a hit, read her some more books, gave her another bottle and then we called it a night and she went to bed.  About 2 am we got a massive thunderstorm which awakened me...I'm thinking for sure she is going to wake up..wrong she slept right through it..thank goodness.

Wednesday morning was rough after being up a few hours with the booming and banging of the thunderstorm. I decided that day would be a glasses day. I managed to get a shower quickly before Sophie awakened to start another day.  Funny thing is it's like she knows it is time to get up..so I am completely dressed with wet hair. I think to myself okay i just have to dry my hair and get her ready..no big deal.  Well I had a little monkey pulling herself up on my pant legs to see from a closer view that mommy is blow drying her hair.  I get her ready and off to the sitter we go.  After work I go get her, get home and go through our normal afternoon routine...in addition grandma and grandpa stop over for a few hours to entertain themselves and Sophie.  This gave me a little reprieve and Sophie had a great time...oddly enough she clung to Grandpa like he was her new best friend..they played quite a bit together and swung on the front porch swing.  Then when they came in Grandma spent sometime with her reading books, they stayed for dinner and headed for home.  I gave Sophie a bath, put her in her pjs, bottle time and off to bed she went.  Okay 11pm another big thunderstorm with heavy rain..seriously you've got to be kidding me..it's barely rained in a month.  Thank goodness she slept through it for a second night.  I had trouble sleeping again..what's new when he's gone I never sleep good.

Thursday...oh one more day and daddy comes home.  Now she's looking for him when I go into pick her up from her crib.. This time I'm fully dressed, hair dried, bottle in hand.   I get her ready, take the trash and recycling out while she sits in her car seat in the car, off to the sitter, and then off to work making it on time for the third day in a row.  When i pick her up she has a super big grin for me like I"m so excited to see you mommy.  We head off to Meijer to pick up some groceries, and we stop by the fish tank area.  Sophie is just mezmarized by them and is giggling and smiling and have mini conversations with the fish as they swim in their tank..I couldn't help but laugh out loud, wished I had the video camera.   We were probably there for about 15 minutes then I decided we'd better finish shopping which she enjoyed waving at people say "goo".  The afternoon went great.  Dinner well she didn't eat much so I'll chalk it up to her missing daddy and not worry about it.  We ran to the church to drop off a baptismal banner that I made and then back home for an evening stroll at the park and a swing in the back yard.  Time for bed...both of us :)

Friday morning I wake up to my own excitement knowing that Bob will be home tonight.  I'm thrilled it's been a long week, but Sophie has been so good I really can't complain it is just a lot of work keeping up with all the housework, going to work, and carrying for her all by myself.  I can honestly say I appreciate my husband a lot and all the things he does to carry his share of the load.  We make a good team and I really missed him this week and so did Sophie.  He should be boarding the plane in about an hour to make his way home to us..Welcome home Daddy.  We Love You.

New Little Friends

My friend Melanie whom has been my friend since well practically forever and her husband Lee had a little girl just a little over a month ago, they live out in Indiana so we don't get to see them very often.  They did happen to be home on a weekend that we were able to get together and visit with them and meet Malarie Allison. It is truly awesome to share the joy of motherhood with your best friends. Give it a year or so and hopefully our two girls will be best of friends just like we were and still are.

Coo Coo for Gerber Puffs..

Over the past few weeks we've been giving Sophie Gerber puffs.  At first she just inspected them and had a really hard time getting them into her mouth.










Just this past week she has mastered getting them into her mouth one at a time and she woofs them down.  When she eats one, she bellows out for another since we only give her one at a time.  She is too the point where she can easily down about fifteen or more in a sitting.

So as far as finger foods go when she gets a few more teeth I do not think she will have too many issues learning how to feed herself. 

Crocodile Tears

Today was Sophie's 9 month visit she checked out with a clean bill of health weighing in at 18 pounds 13 ounces and is now 27 3/4 inches tall.  Little did I know what kind of fit she would throw during the weigh in, never seen her kick and scream and cry such big crocodile tears quite like this before.  The nurse had a hard time getting her to stay on the scale and asked me to step back hoping that would help, which it didn't.  Normally it's the shots that get her wound up..but this time that was only about three big crocodile tears.

Doctor feels she's right on track, maybe a bit ahead of the game with her feeding herself and pulling up and even probably walking soon.  He also gave the okay to give her some table food.  He suggested applesauce (Michael and Lisa I know you have some go ahead and send it our way :), smashed bananas, mashed potatoes, baby yogart and anything else I can smashed up in the vegetable/fruit department minus citrus fruits, no peanut or egg products yet either.  Oh and we can start brushing her two little teeth with a tooth brush and water...can you imagine how wet we will end up...that's if we'll even be able to get it in her mouth to begin with...that outta be a load of fun and hopefully we'll get a video clip we can post.

Eight and Still Great

So another month has almost come and gone and Sophie will be 9 months next week.  It really is hard to believe she's been a blessing in our lives for that long..it just seems like yesterday we were at the hospital   holding our daughter that was so little and so brand new.  

Now she's crawling full speed ahead, babbling mama and dada and baba non-stop, waving bye bye, eating gerber puffs on her own, 

and will eat most baby food minus squash and green beans. She also is climbing on and over us to pull herself up on furniture..so far she's able to pull herself up on her knees..not quite to standing position yet and has two teeth that are fully cut.  We love the way she looks at us when we pick her up out of her crib in the morning or after nap time, so much that we fight over who is going to go get her.  

Sophie is just such an easy going kid who loves to be read to, rides in her stroller, swing on her swing set, play in her pool, and loves music no matter what kind it is and where she is whether it's in the living room with daddy listening, in the car, or at church.  

Her new found love is bath time.  One of us gets in the big tub in our master bath with her while the other stands outside to hand her in and get her out.  She gets so excited to the point when the water is running she crawls towards the bathroom and then wants up to see it running like aren't you going to put me in.  Once she's in she'll play with her toys until you force her to get out.  Sometimes this becomes a thirty minute event.  

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice...

Our little girl is full of sugar and spice..but is also full of smiles and wiggles.  Just recently this ornery little girl has learned to crawl around the house getting into anything she can get her little piggies on.  She has also learned that sitting still is only necessary when eating her bottle, sleeping, and sitting in her car seat, stroller or grocery cart.  She's on the move and there is no turning back.  This is definitely the busy stage everyone had been preparing us for.  It's fun and we would not trade it for the world. In addition to full blown crawling, she is learning pretty quickly how to pull herself up on one of us by holding onto our clothing when we are on the floor with her, so I'm sure she's not too far off from grabbing the furniture to pull up on.

She has also been blessed with two teeth in the last month and is chewing on everything including my toes..that's right the other day she got a hold of my little toe with her mouth and sharp teeth while I was sitting on the floor with her talking to my mom on the phone.

Last but not least she has started saying Ba Ba, Ma, Ma and Da Da..in that order.  Needless to say I was stoked when she belted out Ma Ma  for the first time last week when she was crawling after me..almost busted out in tears and just yesterday morning when Bob picked her up out of her crib she smiled and in a loud tone said Da Da..you could see in his eyes that just melted his heart.





With each little milestone comes happiness and tiredness but there is nothing like watching your child learn and grow right before your very eyes.

Red White and Baby Blues

So Sophie's 1st 4th of July was spent in Daddy's hometown.  We arrived Saturday morning to be greeted by Grammy, Poppy, Uncle Eric, Aunt Becky, Austin and Aaron.  Shortly after we got there we headed to the back yard where the sandbox, swingset, and swimming pools were ready to be played in and on.
 After spending a good portion of the day on a blanket in the backyard chewing on her toys and watching her cousins play with the neighbors grandkids she and Aaron took a good long nap.

Later that evening we headed out to Atwood Lake for a nice dinner and pontoon boat ride. 

Our Co-Captains Eric and Bob took turns driving the boat.  Bob gave Aaron a turn at the wheel..he had a blast. Once the boat hit the dock we headed back to the house and shortly after the kids were in bed the adults were in bed too.

Sunday morning too was spent in the backyard, then off to the park.  This is no ordinary park it has a Train, a Carousel, and a Ferris Wheel along with many other kids rides. 

 Sophie, Bob and I rode the Carousel and she just loved the music and the other kids and horses.

Then Grammy and Aaron took a turn.  

Funny thing is at the time I didn't notice it but both kids rode the same horse at different times.

Then Becky, Aaron, Austin, Bob, Sophie, and I all rode the train.  It was a hit for the younger two, by the end of the ride Aaron was saying toot toot.  

Later on that afternoon Sophie took another dip in the pool, while Austin, Poppy, Daddy, and Ethan played in the bigger pool. Afterwards Poppy grilled up some burgers and dogs that we enjoyed, birthday cake and homemade ice cream followed for Grammy's birthday.  

While the clean up of the kitchen and the back yard were going on I spent about 45 minutes reading Sophie and Aaron books and I have now inherited the name Aunt Sesame what can I say my name is hard for a 2.5 year old to say..he's not too far off.  After baths and pjs Daddy did his Fireworks display in the back yard which was awesome.  Fun was had by all.