Sophie is a Big Girl Now!

So this video pretty much sums up Sophie's first birthday. Pretty anti-climatic! Bless her heart, she was having a rough day! I think that more teeth may be coming in. She's cut two already right together and I think she is cutting two more.

A tradition that my mom did every year with me and my sister was to put streamers on our door while we were asleep. My sister and I both decided to carry that on in our own homes. So I decorated Sophie's door, but she didn't seem to be very impressed. I guess next year I'll have to step it up a notch :). I can't believe that she's a year old! This year as flown by!!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!

Here we are all dressed up in our Christmas attire for church on Sunday (today). I had every intention of getting a family picture, but we were running late for church and then Sophie was not a willing participant after we got home. Sundays are always hard for Sophie! Our church has 2 services which helps because usually I can work around Sophie's nap schedule, but today there was just no way around her missing her nap. Fun times, ha!

Joyful Heart

The thing that I probably feel the most blessed with is how joyful Sophie is! She's such a happy baby and loves to laugh! Where ever we go she brings joy! You can't really hear it well, but she is giving the deepest laugh here. She was putting a bottle of tylenol in my mouth and the would pull it out. She apparently thought it was pretty funny. Joe and I couldn't help but laugh with her which drowns out her laugh :(. And, yes, I am in shorts and a tank top a week before Christmas. Sad I know!

Sophie has her first two teeth! YAY! Finally, ha! She might have 3...I can't tell because she won't let me get my finger in there long enough to confirm that :). I'm going to miss that gummy smile!

Lovey Dovey

The older that Sophie gets the more loving she becomes! She loves on her baby dolls, her animals, and even her beloved cell phone! She hold them up to her shoulder, lay her head on them, and pat them while saying "baby". It's precious. Well, I have also noticed her going up to people and bulldozing them with her head. It resembles something of what a bull would do when in a fight. I thought that she was trying to hug people, but yesterday I realized what she was doing. I think I've mentioned in a previous post where she'll be on the ground and I'll put my head on her belly and kind of push - not hard, of course. Then I'll kiss her all over. She LOVES when I do this! She laugh and laugh. It hit me then that is what she is doing. Anywho...that's what she is doing in the video. If you listen closely you can hear her Making the sound that I make while I do it to her, ha! Let me tell you, she imitates EVERYTHING we do!! The other day I had some soup and I was blowing on it so she started blowing her on food. There is one point that she starts blowing on a cap to her sippy, ha! At the beginning I was trying to get her to Roar like a lion. She has a book about animals and I was doing the noise that each animal made. Well, she loved to roar like a lion. I was trying to catch it, but wasn't able to. At one point it looks as if she is giving the bear CPR, but she's only kissing him. The end she gets upset and when she gets upset she rocks her whole body. We're working on that :). At least she isn't throwing herself back like she was!

More Pics

I realized that I didn't put all the pictures up of Thanksgiving weekend that I wanted to so here are the rest. And please know that I DO put socks and shoes on Sophie :)...she just loves to take them off. Keeping socks/shoes on is a constant battle with this child!

This picture sums up so much of Sophie - wanting so bad to touch the candle holder, but not because she knows she's not suppose to! However, she's going to get as close as she can with out getting in trouble! Boy, am I in for it, ha!

Ok, this is a HORRIFIC picture of me - I have no make up on and my hair is, well, who knows what my hair is doing, ha!, but I had to put it on here because it's one of a few family pictures :). We hardly have any family pics which is sad!

Right as I was about to take a picture she put her foot in her mashed potatoes!

She's always so happy!

Sweet Baby!

Sophie loves to splash, splash, splash!!!

The floor had pools of water on it, ha!

I just love this picture because it shows off her chubby lil' legs, ha!

Sophie loves animals!! She reminds me of the cartoon character on Looney Tunes. You know the one that loves on all the animals and they run from her! That's Sophie! Bless her heart, no animal wants to come with in 10 ft of her once she's gotten a hold of them one time! FYI - she has a dress on even though it looks like a shirt! It just kept riding up!

Thanksgiving '09

**For some reason it's not letting me move my pics so it's just going to have to stay here (and out of order)**

Decorating for Christmas!

All ready for the UF vs FSU game!

My Uncle snuck Sophie some chocolate for during breakfast! AND she has discovered her nose lately, ha!

Playing with Cade who is my cousin Tanner's boy. He was SO good with Sophie!

Sophie is ALWAYS playing with her tongue some how! Glad I finally got it on camera!

Sophie terriorized this poor dog!! She LOVES animals and goes crazy anytime she sees one!! He was pretty patient with her until the end and we had to keep her away from him! Bless his heart!

This Thanksgiving was perfect!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the holidays and was so excited to share it with Sophie this year that I couldn't even sleep Wednesday night, ha!! We got up Thursday morning and headed to Homosassa Springs to my Aunt Renee's (FYI - my middle name comes from her) house. On the way to my Aunt's we stopped and visited with my dad for a bit. He had a funeral to do the next day so he was in town. We arrived at my aunt's just in time to eat, ha! I meant to get there early to help cook, but traffic wasn't very good so the trip there took a lot longer than expected. There was a house full of family waiting some what patiently for us to arrive so that we could eat :)! It was such a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by family!

Basically, all we did this weekend was talk, fish - I don't fish, I just hang out with the others, watch football, and eat until we were stuffed! It was so much fun!

I did something that I said I would never do...I went shopping on Black Friday! It wasn't just shopping it was going to Toys R Us at 12am and standing outside in the freezing cold for two hrs! What us mothers do for our babies, ha! It was actually a lot of fun! I hate to admit it, but I had to REALLY refrain from being "one of those shoppers"! You know the kind that push people out of the way with my buggy, tackle another for the toy they have, and make little kids cry because their lil' legs can't carry them out of my way fast enough! I did end up getting some great toys for Sophie at half price! I am having a HARD time not giving them to her, ha! I've always been the type to tell what I get people just because I get so excited I can't keep it in, ha! I don't know what I'm going to do when Sophie is older! She's going to have to convince ME to wait!

Brag much :)

So this post is going to be that of a proud momma and all about the cute stuff Sophie has done lately! No one will probably be very interested except for me and my family so feel free skip ahead :)! Each day Sophie discovers something new! She is the most amazing little thing to watch! Since there is so many worth mentioning that she has done I'm going to bullet point them, ha!

-She has started cuddling with her babydolls/stuffed animals! She'll even pat their backs like I do her!
-When Sophie is laying on the ground I will start blowing on her tummy and kissing her all over so now she is laying her dolls/stuffed animals on the ground and doing the same thing I do to her
-She is saying "Kitty" when she sees a cat and will cuddle her baby while saying "Baby", I think that she has said "Dog" but it's not as pronounced as the others. And she is FINALLY saying "MaMa" along with "Nan Nan" which is what she calls my momma and what she said BEFORE "MaMa" (One thing is FOR SURE - she is her Nan's girl!!)
-she claps her hands to the music - and stays on rhythm - which is something that I can't even do, ha!
-She is climbing the stairs - which is a bit problematic! The other day I ran upstairs for literally two seconds and when I came back down she was already on the fourth step. Let's just say the gate is going up this weekend!
-The other day I was blow drying my hair with my round brush and put the brush down. I looked back over at Sophie and she was brushing her hair
-Yesterday she tried putting my shoe on Joe, but he had his shoes on so she untied them and tried to get them off to put mine on him!
-THEN she tried putting her own shoe on her foot!
-She LOVES to entertain us! I think she is going to be funny like Joe's Aunt Teresa and Grandma! Which I am so happy about!! I've always wished I was naturally funny like them so I hope she does take after them!
-She has been SO loving lately! Yesterday she actually gave me a hug! It was the most special moment! She did it a lot that morning! And she would grab my face and smile at me. LOVED LOVED LOVED it!
-She still doesn't have any teeth, ha! However she is eating table food - she's quite the 'gummer'!
-I was holding a container of Sweet Potatoe Puffs and Sophie would stop by occasionally during her play to grab a few puffs. Well, she picked up the lid that was laying next to me and put the lid back on...maybe it's nothing, but I was very impressed!

Places to go and Things to see

Sophie has been on the move, folks!! She LOVES to stand up so she'll go from one object to another and pull herself up - ALL DAY LONG. I would say that she'll be walking with in the next month, but I know as soon as I say it she'll make a liar out of me! Sophie does things on her time and not a minute sooner - or later for that matter! I am beginning to see how her birth is going to be the story of her life! I was in labor for 16 hrs (14 hrs of hard labor). From 8:30pm-11:30am I was stuck at 3cm. At 1pm I was fully dilated. She was ready. After the nurses kept me from pushing for TWENTY minutes so the doctor could get there, the dr walked in and 15 mins later she was out. I was ready to have her here!! The last part is to show where she gets her stubbornness from, ha! My mom said that she looked down and saw that look on my face - which she knew well from my teenage years - and KNEW I was getting that baby out NOW! I can be stubborn about doing something when I'm ready. (My stubbornness is REALLY something I have to constantly work on!) For example, in high school a bunch of us went cliff jumping - ok, there aren't any cliffs in FL...it was some kind of REALLY deep sink whole. Safe I know! It took them about 15 mins to convince me to jump and only then would I do it if my bf would do it too. Well, he started counting and was at "2" and I jumped! I was ok, but almost threw him over. I was ready to go THEN and if I waited I knew I wouldn't do it. All of that to say, "What goes around, comes around!"

There is nothing really too exciting going on in our lives! Everything is pretty quiet and we welcome it after the EVENTFUL past two and half years! I think that I have had every "life stressor" during that time and I'm pretty sure God knew that I needed to have things settled for a bit. My personality craves change and something to do so it's been a learning experience to just be still! However, Joe graduates in May and we might be having some changes again! I'll keep you updated! And no I'm not pregnant :)!

Dancing Queen

I FINALLY got it on video...Sophie dancing!! This child is always getting into the groove of the music! Last night while we were out to dinner Sophie would start dancing every time a new song would come on!! After missing the action the first couple of times I was on stand by to catch it! It took me a couple times to get her really going to town so that is why the video is broken up!

A little rushed

Well, there isn't very much going on, but I feel the need to update. Actually there is a lot going on in our life, but it is the boring, mundane stuff that I'm sure no one really cares about. I have my Mary Kay debut party next Tuesday, the 13 at 6:30. I'm very excited about it, but also a little overwhelmed! I get in late Saturday night from Kentucky and leave early Wednesday morning for California. So I have to organize a party, unpack, do laundry, pack, go through my inventory for MK, clean my house, set up for my party, and spend some time with my husband - all of this with in 3 days. Yikes. Although now that it is written down it doesn't seem like such a load. I got this covered :). I know this is a lot of traveling and I'm sure some mothers are gasping at me for keeping my child so "out of schedule". I have actually worried about the same thing. I have watched Sophie closely to see if she acts unsettled or to be bothered by our frequent trips. She seems to be great and goes with the flow.



So it's actually Thursday and I am in California! YAY! Oh, but what a HORRIFIC trip out here it was. Maybe one day I'll tell it, but right now it just makes me too exhausted to even try to explain it! I have decided that this will be Sophie's last trip! It's getting too rough for both of us! She is at that age where she wants to play not be couped up with Mommy on a seat! Ha, one story from our trip...I could tell Sophie was just restless because she wanted space to play. So I put her on the seat and scooted forward. Well, apparently I didn't give her enough room because she kept pushing me until I moved out of her way. What a little princess she is!

It is wonderful to be here with my sister! Besides Joe she is the closest person to me. With us being so close it makes me sad that we are so far apart! Especially now that we have babies! Oh my word, Sophie ADORES Emma just like I adored my sister! She seriously follows Emma EVERY WHERE!! Bless Emma's heart, Sophie literally had her corned one time! When Emma does something Sophie's eyes just light up! It is precious!

Emma had a her first major boo boo! While we were at the park she tripped on the play set and busted her chin open. She was such a trooper though - she just kept on going. Sissy actually had to chase her down to try and stop the bleeding. I must say that my sister was a trooper as well. She remained very calm and didn't seem the least bit freaked out that her daughter's chin was literally dripping blood. I, on the other hand, don't do so well with blood! It makes me very queasy! It makes me nervous that when my own children have accidents that I won't be able to handle it. Give me throw up, poop shooting across the room all over me, and I'm fine, but if I see blood I'm done! Hopefully it'll be different with my own.

Fun, Fun, and more Fun!!

We had one of the best weekends we've had in a very long time!!! It was a much needed break! Here's a break down of the trip...

-Friday night we went to Jacksonville for a birthday party of a child hood friend's son. It was so great to spend time with him and his family!! It's wild that we all have kids now. James and Jaimie have 4 and let me tell you I have a whole new respect for the two of them! Their kids were well behaved, well dressed, and beyond adorable! (Do you notice that I always have to have three points? It must be my Church of God upbringing, ha!)

-Saturday the three of us hung out at the pool and relaxed all day! It was wonderful to have Joe all to ourselves! We also went to our fav restaurant NY Pizza! It was fabulous as always!

-Sunday was more relaxing and being together. Then we headed out that night to pick up Erica and Chris!

-Monday Joe and Chris went golfing while Erica and I sat around talking (and eating, ha!). That night we went to Bubba Gumps - which was out of this world!

-Tuesday was more golfing for the boys and more hanging out for Erica and I. We were going to head to St Augustine for some shopping, but since I miscalculated the distance we didn't go. I was afraid that we wouldn't make it back in time to leave because Joe had class. We did have time since the boys didn't get back until close to 4:30. Joe ended up skipping class which was a fun choice! As we were heading home we stopped at NY Pizza to share the 'wonderfulness' with Chris and Erica! They seemed to enjoy it very much!

That was our weekend summed up! We had such a great time with those two!! It felt like the four of us have been friends our entire life! We are so thankful that they came down to see us!! Hopefully there will be many more trips together!

Here are some pictures from the trip!

This was the most AMAZING chocolate pie EVER!!!

What Erica and I did most of the time, haha!

Hooray!

Joe found out today that he got a job as a personal banker for Florida Bank!! YAY!!! I'm so proud of him as it was a job that was highly sought after! The job is in downtown Tampa so it's a little bit farther of a drive, but totally worth it! This is such an answer to prayer! Plus, I think it's the perfect job for him! I was going to throw him a little party tonight, but it just didn't work out :(. My mom was also planning a celebration party for him while we were in Kentucky - which is a post I will do soon :) - but we hadn't found out that he had gotten it yet.

We leave tomorrow for Daytona with some friends, Chris and Erica! I am so excited about this trip and have been looking forward to it!! Erica and I know each other from Lee and have kept in touch since college. We actually weren't that close in college, but I always wanted to be her friend because I thought she was cool :). And she is!

And yet another video :). Sophie had just been dancing. She LOVES to dance. I turned on some Loretta Lynn songs to listen to while I did some things around the house and I look over and Sophie is dancing away to, "You're not woman enough to take my man". She really went to town when "Don't come home a Drinkin' with Lovin' on your mind" came on:). My commentary is OUT OF CONTROL in these videos, haha!! Yesterday Sophie was SO loving! She's always been a loving, cuddly child, but yesterday was different. Several times she would lay her head down on me. One time I was checking my email and she was next to me. All of a sudden I feel the sweetest little hands pulling on my shoulder and then Sophie is laying her head on my shoulder. And another time when she was sitting next to me she actually hugged me and put her head on my shoulder. At the end of the video you see that she is reaching out for me. She ended up laying her head on my lap. Needless to say yesterday was one of the best days :)!

I've gotten Sophie new GAP pjs that are both two piece and the nights that Sophie has worn them she has pulled her pants off. I can't even begin to imagine how she managed to do this as I, myself, have a had time getting her pants off of her - which has become increasingly difficult with her being so wiggly lately. Last night we had our first big boo boo. I don't know who it hurt worse...me or Sophie. I have a basket with lotions, diaper creme, etc on Sophie's changing table. Well, she has start sitting up and reaching for the basket. I have to hold her or she will just tumble on over. Last night when I was putting her pjs on I let go of her to put her arm in and she fell on over and the corner of the basket hit the sensitive corner of her eye. She screamed! I felt HORRIBLE! She was crying, I was crying...it was a mess! I know that boo boos are inevitable, but I still hate it! Especially when I was there to catch it. She just moves so quickly. This morning she had EVERYTHING knocked off her changing table by the time we had her dressed, ha!

You can't really see, but Sophie has enough hair now to have bed head, ha! If Lindsey Lombard Mills sees this she's probably going to fall off her chair laughing :). Her sons have SO much hair! They are both ridiculously adorable!!!

Learning how to use her legs

Ok, I realize that I'm going on video overload here, but I really want my family to see how much Sophie is growing and changing! I love this video because she looks just like a colt learning to use it's legs, ha!! P.S. It looks like she doesn't know how to roll over very well, but she does. I'm not really sure what she was doing! And check out those legs!! Ahh...I just love them :)!

On girl on the move

Sophie has been really getting "mobile" lately! She's crawling - backwards, but still crawling. I tried to catch her doing it, but she wouldn't while the camera was on. The beginning is my favorite!!

Rolling in my pink escalade!!

That's right, folks, this is what I hope to be driving soon!! I have recently become an independent beauty consultant for Mary Kay to help bring in some income since I'm staying home with Sophie. If you do not have a consultant of your own I would be happy to be of service to you! As your beauty consultant you can contact me whenever you need new beauty products or skin care. I am offering 10% off your first order of up to $25, $25-$50 will be 15% discount, and anything over $50 will be 20%. Additionally I can help you host a Mary Kay party with girlfriends.

We also have some fabulous specials running right now for people who would like to host a party. If you book a party by September 30 – you only have to book; your party does not have to be in the month of September – you will be put in a sweepstakes to win $5000 CASH plus $1000 in Mary Kay products. You also get what we like to call S.H.O.T. which will give you $100 in free products on top the special mentioned above. S.H.O.T is the following…

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H olding original date ($25)
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I look forward to “partying” with you and being of service!

P.S. Ask me about Mary Kay’s beauty on a budget – products for $10 or less

'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

I've mentioned in a previous post that Joe and I have been and are facing some challenging times. Not only with relationships, but other areas as well. One thing that I really struggle with is trusting God. Being the planner that I am I want to know the hows, whens, whats, etc. Well, I think that God is definitely teaching me to trust Him with our future. I know that He has a plan for Joe and I. I know He is able to work it out. The big struggle for me is having to faith to know that He WILL do these things. If that makes sense. One day I was really having a hard time and I heard this on the radio. I've heard it a million times and it's one of my favorite hymns - in fact I sing it to Sophie, but this time one particular verse stood out to me. I've highlighted which one it is.

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, and to take him at his word; just to rest upon his promise, and to know, "Thus saith the Lord." Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him! How I've proved him o'er and o'er! Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! O for grace to trust him more!

O how sweet to trust in Jesus, just to trust his cleansing blood; and in simple faith to plunge me neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus, just from sin and self to cease; just from Jesus simply taking life and rest, and joy and peace.

I'm so glad I learned to trust thee, precious Jesus, Savior, friend; and I know that thou art with me, wilt be with me to the end.

This is such a powerful for verse! The writer was praying for grace to trust God more. I realized then that we're not alone in this. God understands the difficulty in trusting Him and He will give us the grace to do it.

Mommy Attire

I'm sure this post is going to cause some people to freak out a bit. I'm just going to be honest though because if we are all honest with ourselves then more than likely you know what I'm talking about. A big fear of mine is to slip into the "mommy attire". Ya know what I'm talking about...where you start wearing tshirts, ratty pants, and clothes from departments that I won't mention in case any one reading this shops there :). Being a mom I can see how most women don't choose to look like a "mom", but somehow through years of sacrificing for the family their own needs/desires are pushed to the back burner. This is where my fear comes in. What if one day I wake up and I AM shopping at those department stores? It's already starting...my closet is A LOT less dressy than it use to be. It has to be though. What I use to wear wouldn't be functional as a mom and who wants to run errands/getting a baby in and out of the car with 4in heels on - I have done that the last two Sundays and it IS NOT fun! I learned all too well on Sophie's dedication when she was two weeks old that some things I wore before were just going to have to go. I had a gorgeous, Banana Republic, fuchsia SILK dress on for her dedication. Well, after leaking through it - sorry if there are any guys are reading this - and Sophie drooling and spitting up I realized that maybe a silk dress isn't functional for me any more. So to the back of the closet it went - after being dry cleaned. I'm sure all of us young girls think that it can never happen to us, but I'm sure that those moms thought the same thing. My attire now consists of jeans, tshirts, and comfy dresses. Of course I try to accessories with jewelry - if I can afford it, ha -but how long will that last? Will I eventually start slipping. I know this is a extremely trivial matter, but I really am concerned. I wondered if I'm going to wake up one morning in and realize I'm totally in the "mommy attire". This is why I make an effort every day to put make up on and get dressed. Even if all I am doing is cleaning. I really hope this doesn't make me sound shallow! It's honestly something that I'm struggling with right now. I think it's because I went through my closet last night for goodwill and realized that I was banking my decisions for rather I kept the clothes or not on 1) how comfy was it 2)was it functional and the BIG 3) did it even fit anymore?!?!?! which leads me to my next point...

WEIGHT, ugh! I was planning on writing about this after I picked up my old size 2 jeans and just about had an emotional break down, and was surprised that my sister had just written about it sometime during the night. My sister and I are so much a like that it's creepy sometimes. You hear about the siblings that have a freakish connection...well, that's us. We once bought the EXACT same eye glasses while she was in London and I was in Cleveland. Anywho...back to our issue of weight. I was very sick of hearing, "once you have a baby your body is never the same." Well, I am now part of the herd. Although I try to refrain from saying that to women who don't have kids or are pregnant. Let them enjoy their innocence I say :) - they'll more than likely have to deal with it sooner or later! At my 6 week check up I was feeling pretty good when the scale said that I was only 3-4 lbs heavier than my SPW - "starting pregnancy weight". Then it all came crashing down or more correctly shooting up like rockets! I'm not even sure what happened. I like to blame it on the pure exhaustion that drove me to eat...and eat....and eat. Basically I ate myself all the way to 10 lbs heavier than my SPW. So now I am on weight watchers trying get it off. But I wonder will it even bring me back to "my normal"? I hear, no. It's like everything seems that it's back it place after having Sophie, but it's not. Ok, this is slightly embarrassing, but too funny not to post :). I was getting ready today and I had Sophie sitting next to me playing with her own make up - not that she wears it she just plays with it while I put mine on. Well, next thing I know I have a sweet little hand grabbing that little roll that has now found it's way over my pants. Thanks, sweetie, for pointing that out. I had to refrain from mentioning to her how I carried her for 9 whole months, had leg cramps, back aches, and now had a little reminder to go with it, ha! So now I am doing yoga at home - because who can afford the Y these days :) - and staying dedicated to weight watchers. And can I just say that I am SO noticing a difference in my joints. I mean I'm only 25...what in the world?! Am I seriously already feeling the effects of aging? No joke I was sitting on the floor working on something and when I got up I could barely stand up. Good grief is all I have to say! I know the mom's that have had multiple children are probably laughing their heads off at me right now, but that's ok...let me live with the comfort that it won't get worse...I'll deal with the reality when it's time :).

Weight Lifter

At Last

I have posted several times about Sophie's sleeping. To be honest, it has been probably the most frustrating thing that I have faced with Sophie. I am a very by the book person. I follow the rules. Therefore, I thought that I could do the same thing with my children. Even though I "knew" that not every child is the same and if I had a nickel for every time I heard, "You can read all the books, but your child will never follow what they say" I would be one rich woman. So why is it that it is just now sinking in?! It just hit me that Sophie's sleeping is part of her. She will always struggle with it more than likely. A friend of mine has a daughter that is the same way. She never slept when she was a baby and still has problems. A couple of days ago they were watching Sophie and Madison told her mom that Sophie reminded her a lot of herself because she had such a hard time settling down. I think that Madison hit the nail on the head....Sophie has a hard time settling down! Bless her heart she just doesn't want to miss ANYTHING so she fights sleep as if it were the most horrible thing on earth. I have tried transitioning Sophie from play to sleep by singing to her while slow dancing. It helped but not very much. For the few that read this I would love any suggestions!

My baby is growing up!

I was just looking through my album from the summer on FB. I went to the first picture of Sophie which was taken at the beginning of June. I was SHOCKED at how teeny she looked. I guess being with her everyday I don't see the drastic changes in Sophie. Even though I know that they are taking place I just don't see it as obviously as others may. She has lost that little baby look. She now is favoring like looks of a toddler more than anything. She has developmentally taken off the past couple of weeks. I have to admit that it is bittersweet. I love that she is healthy, but have a twinge of sadness that it is all passing so quickly. I have never been one of those mothers that wishes things to pass. Even when I was getting absolutely no sleep I wasn't not living for the next stage because I knew that I would never get those moments back and that Sophie even though she is still totally dependent on me is learning independence - if that makes sense. It hit me today that every day Sophie is gaining independence and one day she'll have enough to make it on her own. Learning independence doesn't start in middle school, high school, etc...it's a little bit everyday from the day they're born. There is so much that Sophie can do now that I had to do for her when she was younger. Sorry...didn't mean to get in to that...it was just my revelation for the day. Anyways...here are the pictures to compare her growth...

Sophie LOVES to bang things. She is constantly grabbing and feeling everything. Eventually she will start banging on it. Well, my mother decided to let her play the piano. Sophie LOVED it!Sophie really likes music as well -when I was pregnant with her she would go crazy moving all around whenever she heard music!...so she gets to do two things she loves at once, ha! She also loves to have her feet propped up...yes, she finally has at least one thing from me :). The pictures below are priceless!

Preparing for finger races, haha!!

Sissy, in the video below you will see that you have to start training your fingers very early! It starts by telling them what you expect of them!

Sorry for the poor quality and the angle! Sophie will stop doing whatever it was she was doing EVERYTIME she sees the camera so I have to hide it!

Vaca 2009

We just got back home from our vacation in Daytona Beach. It was great hanging out with Blake and Sarah! And getting a tan wasn't all that bad either :). Our day pretty much consisted of...eating Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast, going to the pool/beach while Sophie took her nap in the stroller, went up for lunch, then back out to the pool/beach, then back up for dinner. We did find the most AMAZING restaurant there!! It's not much to look at, in fact, when we pulled up I thought, "There is not way I'm eating here!" However, I sucked it up and I'm so glad that I did! It's called NY pizza. The make their sauce and dough fresh every morning. It's WAY better than Olive Garden or even Carrabas! Plus it's cheaper. The lady that owns it is the sweetest elderly lady that pretty much does everything from cooking to serving. It's authentic Italian food that is to die for! If you're ever in Daytona you have to check it out...and don't be scared by the outside appearance! It's on the right corner of International Speedway and A1A. Trust me you won't be disappointed! Below is a link to Sarah's photo album on facebook for all my family that doesn't have access to FB.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=2065679&id=66502271&ref=mf

Cutest hiney every!!

This morning I was sitting with Sophie while she played on her activity mat. As she was playing she rolled over and noticed the pole in front of her. She drug herself to the pole using only her arms. It was the cutest thing! Then she started to try and crawl. I knew that I didn't have time to get it with the video camera so I used my phone - that's why it's so blurry! My favorite part is her little hiney dancin' around while she was trying to get her legs working to crawl :)!

Crying it out = Ripping my heart out

Last week at Sophie's check up the doctor said that Sophie needs to be sleeping through the night. (She was still waking up every 2 hrs) So for the past week we have been letting her cry it out. It has been AWFUL!!!! I hate every second of it! Her doctor sounded so confident that in "3-7 days" she would be sleeping great. Well, I knew that my stubborn daughter would probably take the full 7. However, last night was night 8 and I'm not seeing any signs of her sleeping through the night. I was doing ok with the crying, but now it is really starting to get to me. The whole week I have kept telling myself that this is the best thing for Sophie - like the doctor said - but as I was leaving her room just now I looked back -big mistake!!- and her little precious face was so upset. We are making progress though - that is what I have to keep reminding myself of...three months ago when I was letting her cry it out she wouldn't stop crying until I got her rather that was 5 minutes or 45 minutes. I guess she did just need a little extra security for those months - I read (in Babywise) that babies who suffer from acid reflux have a hard time establishing sleep patterns because they are constantly waking up because they are uncomfortable. The book went on to say that you should comfort them and then put them back to bed. This is probably where the problem started. Sophie became use to me comforting her back to sleep. Every time she woke up (which was usually every 2-3 hrs on a good night or 7-9 times on a bad night/every 20 minutes into her nap) I was there. I just keep replaying what the doctor said, "her immune system needs her to be sleeping through the night" Eeesh...it's not easy being a parent and from what I hear it's only going to get more difficult.

Summer Fun

It has been a great couple of weeks here in the Sunshine State. Although it hasn't been much of that lately, ha! I have to admit that I love the summer afternoon down pours! Especially now that I can stay home and watch it from my comfy, cozy home and not have to be out in it!

My mom was with us for a week and what a blessing it was! She always is such a big help when she comes. Sophie is such a nanny's girl!! It's always "move over, momma, Nanny is in town" when my momma is here. She'll have nothing to do with me. One night she was crying so I went to get her, but oh no, that wasn't good enough...she wanted her nanny and as soon as my mom took her she was fine. I'm glad that she has this security with my mom! That's the way it is suppose to be. We miss you, Nanny!!

After my mom left on Monday Sophie and I headed to Daytona Beach to spend some time with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin for a few days. I always enjoy spending time with them!! Here is a picture of Sophie is in her lil' two piece (it's from my phone so it's pretty poor quality...i forgot my camera)! I love it...

I always miss my family after they're gone!! For days I'll have that homesick feeling. It's no fun seeing them go! Hopefully someday soon I'll be able to live near them!!

Sophie went for her 6 month check up yesterday! I can't even believe how fast this past half a year has gone!! Anywho...she is in the 90% for her weight and the 40% for her height, ha! She's just perfect I think! The doctor said she is "thriving"! Her personality has come out in full force these past couple of weeks! She is so sweet, fun, joyful, and strong-willed. Wonder where she gets that from :)! She can get mad real quick! She'll throw her little arms down and make this grunting scream if she didn't like something. I couldn't help but laugh at first, but now it's becomming more frequent and not so funny. I talked to her ped and she said to distract her when she does this, but not to give in to her. I couldn't imagine a more perfect child! I'm so blessed!

We are going on vacation next week to Daytona Beach with some dear friends of ours! We can't wait! Poor Joe needs a break!! Then we are heading to Kentucky for my birthday at the beginning of August and the middle of August I'm going to Lee to help my cousin move into the dorms! Fun times ahead!

S.S. Quesenberry

We have a new addition to the family...we like to call it SS Quesenberry. We finally found a new car. Since we paid off my car we decided the best thing to do is trade in Joe's truck for me a SUV that we can pay cash for (as Dave Ramsey suggest) and he take the car since he has so much driving to do. We knew we would really like a Tahoe or Suburban. I researched and searched for months and never had any luck. Well, that streak has come to an end because we found what we were looking for. The pictures below are horrible because of the Florida humidity where you walk outside and immediately start sweating, the make up melts off your face, and your hair looks as if you stuck your finger in a light socket! All of that to stay my camera lense fogged up and as soon as I would wipe it sure enough it would happen again. I LOVE my new car. It drives great! We really would have preferred white because 1) I'm a dork and would like to have matching cars and the car is white and 2) it's easier to keep clean. Oh well, my second favorite car color is black. Once we were driving the Surburban we felt a little silly having such a big car for a family of only three.

$41 formula...

is TOTALLY worth every penny!! As I mentioned in the post below - and many previous posts :0) - Sophie has had a time with her tummy and acid reflux!! We took her to a pediatric GI specialists and she recommended a special formula called Progestimil. It is a formula that you have to special order from your local pharmacy. When I went to order it the pharmacist warned me that it was pretty expensive...$51 for a pound to be exact. Sophie goes through 2-3 of these a week. I've had a hard time with having to stop nursing Sophie. One of the reasons was all the money we were saving by me nursing. Well, this formula just added to the guilt. Anywho...we ordered the formula with mixed feelings of wanting it to work so that Sophie would feel better and not wanting it too because we will be spending more for it than we spend on our own groceries for the week. However, I do think God is watching out for us because it's only $41 instead of the $51...hey, every bit helps!! Thankfully, it seems to be working! Sophie has been feeling much better and spitting up A LOT less! And drum roll please....she has been sleeping great! YAAAAYYYY!!! Today she has taken both of her full two hour naps. Actually she is going on 2.5 hrs for her second one. I can't tell you the last time she took her entire nap with out waking up. AND...she fell asleep on her own both times! I can't tell you how happy this makes me. I know it probably seems like no big deal, but I have worked and worked with Sophie on her sleeping! I hear that babies that suffer from severe acid reflux have a harder time getting on a sleep schedule, but I have been consistent in working with her. I know it's just one day, but it really has given me hope! It's been a good day!

Lots to cover

Geez…there is so much to update on that I don’t even know where to begin. It has been an eventful couple of weeks for us! Sophie has had a really rough time with what I think is her tummy. When I saw rough I mean ROUGH! She was screaming, not eating or sleeping, etc. I counted that from Sunday night through Thursday night of last week I got a total of ten hours of sleep. Ten hours TOTAL! Thankfully Joe saw that I was on the verge of becoming insane and took on a shift at night! We are currently taking stool samples to see if they can find anything. Oh what motherhood requires :)! After going over every possibility I think I may have it figured out; her cereal. Now as to why it is causing such problems. That is where I’m hoping her doctor will help me! She seems to be doing better since I have stopped giving her cereal. Hopefully when we start solids she’ll adjust well to it!
The rest of this blog is going to be pretty transparent. I guess I just need to get some things of my chest and this is a very therapeutic way to do so. I have always heard that when it rains it pours. Well, that has been the case with Joe and me lately. It was been one thing after another and it feels as if we are just hanging on by a thread. I know that it is in these times that God seems to be teaching us. I definitely see where that is the case here. We have faced some difficult and discouraging things which in the end have been a challenge to us both. It has been certain Christian’s actions that have, to put honestly, shocked the heck out of us! We have been exposed to such legalistic, hardened, and disillusioned attitudes. It has been one of the most frustrating times in my life. Mainly because I HATE, HATE, HATE dishonesty. Any form of it! I don’t care how high you raise your hands, that you’re there every time the church doors are open, or how many hours you pray…it is what you do behind closed doors that matter! (Even though I do think the last two are important) It is how you treat your family, wife, kids, etc when people aren’t looking. THAT is what God looks at…NOT the act you put on for the public. Yet these people judge/condemn others and make such drastic statements about other’s spiritual lives. My momma always said that they people that condemn the most usually have the most to hide. I guess Momma is always right :). It does sadden me to see people living this way because I don’t know if they are truly experiencing God’s grace. I know when I was living without giving EVERYTHING to God, where it was more about the “show”, that I was miserable because God couldn’t heal and restore things that I didn’t open up to Him. For those of you that were close to me in college you know that I faced a similar situation then as well. So when I was faced with the same attitudes again I started thinking that maybe God was trying to teach ME something. And he was :0). I realized just how judgmental I could be as well, how I wasn’t extending grace to people enough, and how I answer to God and God alone…I can’t be worried what others may say. As a people pleaser the last one is my biggest obstacle to overcome, but God is helping me. There were times that I wouldn’t stand up for what was right/truth because I was too afraid of what people might think. So God is putting me in situations where I have to stand for truth even when people make me out to be the bad guy. I do believe that there is also grace in standing for truth. I haven’t always been good at this. It seems as if lately I went from never speaking my mind to never being able NOT to speak my mind. This isn’t good either. God is teaching me to keep my mouth shut because He can say things better than I can and to let my actions speak truth by loving and respecting people. However, there are times that you stand up as well. As you can see God is still working :0). Ultimately, I can’t judge. Only God can do that. Now does that mean to turn a blind eye, no!
There is a family that I know God has placed in mine and Joe’s life! I really want to name them because I think they deserve the recognition, but won’t because I don’t want to embarrass them. They have shown us TRUE Christianity! They have shown such grace, unconditional love, and support to those around them. I truly believe that God placed them in my life to show me how to give His love to people! One time when it had become almost unbearable for Joe and I was when Sophie was NOT sleeping AT ALL, my tire had blown – and being the genius that I am I drove on it which shredded it – and while Joe was changing my tire the car fell in his arm. I called them to come watch Sophie while I took him to the ER. Side story…there was nothing wrong with Joe’s arm except it took at chunk of skin out. Tell me that’s not a miracle!! Back to the story…Joe and I were COMPLETELY overwhelmed! We were thinking of all that we had to do, etc. Well, we went and picked up Sophie after getting out of the ER and came back to our house. As we pulled up in the drive way we noticed that our tire was fixed. The man – this man runs his own business and is VERY, VERY busy - had come and checked out the tire that we needed, gone to the store and bought us a new tire, then came back and changed it. I can’t even begin to tell you the relief that flooded over Joe and I when we saw this! I’ll be honest I started crying and even though Joe won’t admit it I think there were tears in his eyes too :0)! Their kindness made us feel like we could make it. Then we walk in the house and noticed that they has straightened up. All of this to say that I think this is what God calls us to do. This is what I think Christianity is!

Home Sweet Home

We're home!! YAY! We had such a fabulous time out in California!! However, I am happy to be home! We have traveled so much that I am looking forward to being settled. It is only going to get more and more difficult to travel so I am glad that we have had the opportunity to do it.

Gosh, there is so much that we did in CA so I'm not even going to try to get into it all :0)! Sophie and Emma did great together! I was very impressed at how gentle Emma was with Sophie. They're going to be best friends. Here is the link to the pictures of the trip

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/photo.php?pid=31944994&id=66503049

Little Feet

Well, we've discovered the one thing that Sophie did get from me...my small feet (everything else is a clone of her father!!!). That's probably the one thing that I would have not wished on her! We're already having a hard time finding shoes for her. When she was born, however, her feet were HUGE!! We laughed because we had no idea where those big ol' things came from. I've joked that I don't think Sophie's feet has grown since she was born because they look so small now. Well, I decided to do a little experiment...I put her feet up to her prints from the hospital. I was correct her feet haven't grown! Which should tell you just how big they looked compared to her itty, bitty body! Check out the pictures below...

Kissing Machine

While we were eating dinner last night Sophie was playing with her doll. Let me re-phrase that...she eating her babydoll like it was icecream. It was the funniest thing. Of course when we broke out the camera she stopped. She still does it a little bit, but nothing like she was. She was going to town before!

Sarah is in town again

I love having Sarah in town for tons of reasons! One of them being she always gets such great pictures of Sophie. Here are some from her trip this time.

Playing with her best friend, Butterfly

Her hair is growin' real good!

I LOVE this sweet picture!!

Her 2nd trip to the pool (We forgot to take pictures of the first time, this is why Sarah needs to live near us)

Hehe, I love how she is busting out of this bathing suit!...It is 3-6 months, she's only 4 :0)

The only thing she got from me...her feet :0).