One year pictures

(Okay last birthday post.)

A one year old is definitely harder to photograph. Not that I took these. Emily always exceeds my expectations and she did a great job! In spite of Sophia moving around constantly. About the time I would get her to smile at me, she would start crawling my direction. :)




(This pouty face might be one of my favorites.)

A Tale of Two Birthdays

I thought I would rewind a bit and share some pictures from Sophi's first birthday. :) We got to have two parties and I'm pretty sure she loved it. When we were at my parents over Thanksgiving, we had a family party. Sophi was a little unsure what to think of the cupcake, but she still managed to enjoy being the center of attention.


The following weekend, we had a party for some family and friends at our house. Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Nick were able to come stay for the weekend. Aunt Lindsey made her famous cupcakes. Sophi managed (for once) to sleep exactly when she needed to get a good nap and wake up in time for the party. :)

After practicing in Ohio, Sophi demolished her cupcake. Or maybe she just takes after mama and prefers chocolate.

Venting

Disclaimer: This post does not have pictures. I have a gazillion pictures that I would like to put in a post, but a) it is too overwhelming to tackle at this moment b) that is an exaggeration, it is more like a thousand c) that is an exaggeration too, because my memory card was not put back in my camera and I did not take pictures of things I would have liked to take pictures of - like ICE, Nashville, my first sushi experience, etc, d) this is the longest sentence ever. End disclaimer.

Somehow, December has not only hit full force, but is already half way over. We've had quite a few uneventful snowfalls and if the hype is to be believed quite the ice storm will be hitting before the week is out. I choose not to believe it because I need our electricity to stay intact. And I really need to go grocery shopping tomorrow without being mobbed by everyone who needs to buy milk before the snow hits - whether or not they have milk at home already or in fact actually drink milk.

We have already survived two birthday parties, one actual birthday (first ever!), two family visits, one cookie exchange, one particularly nasty stomach bug, two new teeth that are going to be making a appearance any day, a overnight stay in Nashville complete with Sophi's first sleepover at Meemaw and Pappaw's house, and two sinus infections (one for each parent). And although my house is showing some serious neglect, we have enjoyed every minute of it. (with the huge exception of sickness, because who enjoys that?) And Christmas is not even here yet!

Work has been crazy lately. And I mostly just needed a break from entering records online. I have had so many older cases that needed pulled - which almost always get drawn out into a week long ordeal. And then dealing with that causes me to fall behind in other things. I am trying not to resent that it is consuming my evening and likely a chunk of my day "off" tomorrow. Right. My day off in which I also get to wash a sink kitchen full of dirty dishes, take Sophi to get her one year shots, and avoid getting mobbed in a grocery store all while dodging ice falling from the sky in my mom-mobile. (I am that hero!)

Haha! I really do love my life. Now, back to the crazy cave!

Happy girl

These are not recent, but I came across them again recently and they are some of my favorite snapshots. :)

1 Year

Dear Sophia,

One year ago today I held you in my arms for the first time. The past twelve hours faded away. I couldn't believe that you were finally here and you were mine. I fell in love with your big blue eyes, your soft skin, and your sweet baby smell. I was so excited the first time I realized that you got your Daddy's dimples.

The past year has gone by so quickly. It seems like every week you are changing and learning new things. I love the look on your face when you are concentrating and seeing something new. I can see the wheels in your mind turning. I love the way you make me see the world in a fresh way.

You are such a good baby. You have been since the start. You love attention and smiling at people. Your first word was "dada" and it is so sweet to see the two of you together. You always have a big smile for him when he walks in the door.

Your laughter brings me pure joy. You make every day better. Even when you are driving me looney, you can still bring a smile to my face in an instant. You've started giving hugs and kisses and it melts my heart.

I can't imagine our life without you in it. I thank God for filling our lives with joy. I am excited to see what your next year will bring.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Can I just be honest for a minute?

I've been hearing the same message a lot over the past few weeks. In it's simplest form it is this - God just wants me to love Him. Everything else is overflow. If I do not love, I am nothing. (1Cor. 13:2)

And it's bringing me to see some things that I don't like about myself. About my life. About the fact that I don't love God. In my head, I do. I am in awe of him. I am so grateful for his mercy and grace that I do not deserve. Being a parent has taught me so much about the love God has for us. And I realize that I don't have that same love for him in return.

I want to just delight in his presence. To forget about doing more. To forget about fixing myself. To forget about making sure I follow all the steps to being a "good Christian". To search him out because I just want to be in the same room with him. To know him and his character more deeply. To see what his heart beats for and quit stressing out over all the things that I know it doesn't. To see this thing as THE thing.

So I never lose sight of your love,
But keep in step with you, never missing a beat.

Psalm 26:3

(And check out this post, from my friend Lyndsay. )

Cousins

Well, that pretty much sums it up. I have lots to do in the next few hours before we leave for my parents, but am sooo looking forward to seeing the family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

When it feels like too much

I was linked to this blog by a friend of mine. I started following and came upon this post. Just go read it. It is not long, but says a lot. Go now! :)

BFF's

Sewing

For the first time since it was given to me, I pulled this out last week.

This is the sewing machine that I learned how to sew on. It is probably as old as I am too. But I am so thankful that my mom passed it on to me when she found a new one (probably at a yard sale if I know my mother.)


I had to google how to thread the needle and load the bobbin. But I finally found (free) instructions here. Sewusa.com was extremely helpful after I found soo many sites only offering to let me buy a manual.

I'm easing into using it again by only sewing straight lines.

My friend Amber has an embroidery business and she is so creative!

I sewed the ribbon on these burp cloths to get them ready to be personalized. Aren't they cute?

As a trade off, I am getting one of her tutu sets for Sophi's birthday.

Stinkin adorable!

And using the sewing machine again has inspired me to try more things. Maybe like this dress.

Ten little toes

Sophi has this thing for shoes. On the one hand she loves them. On the other ... foot, she hates wearing them. I put shoes on her only for her to pull them off in five minutes. (Or less - depending on the shoe.)

These for example, would be less. Which is a shame because I paid only $1 for them at a yard sale and think they are so cute. I'd wear them if they were in my size.



She does, however, think they are a great toy.



And yes, she was carrying this around in her mouth like a dog for a good 15 minutes. The shoes have the teeth marks to prove it. (Which doesn't sound like much - but is a crazy long time for a toy to hold her interest.)


I guess it is my own fault. Josh is the one that is always wearing at least socks. (She like to rip those off her feet as well.) But I love being barefoot, so she must have got it from me. She'll probably love flip flops one of these days.

Today

I ...
... am watching the Harry Potter movies in order to get ready for the big release of the next film. Tonight is #3.

I ...
... bought skinny jeans at JcPenney's using $10 off $10 or greater purchase. They were $12 even after all that, but I am very excited to wear them with my boots. It is going to be hard to save them for Christmas.

I ...
... almost forgot that Sophi has an appointment tomorrow.

I ...
... am looking forward to finding out if I get any more jewelry sales. More free items would be fun!

I ...
... think a visit to the chiropractor may be in my future.

I ...
... have put off washing the dishes for far too many days. I think we are down to one clean cup, zero clean dinner plates, and plastic utensils. But it probably won't happen until morning.

Had a very full and enjoyable weekend. I will be posting some pics soon, but in the meantime have a listen to this song.



We sang it at church this morning. The entire worship time was so meaningful and humbling. Such a wonderful reminder of the grace and love of Christ.

Psalm 113

¹Praise the LORD!

Praise, O servants of the LORD.
Praise the name of the LORD.
²Blessed be the name of the LORD
From this time forth and forever.
³From the rising of the sun to its setting
The name of the LORD is to be praised.
⁴The LORD is high above all nations;
His glory is above the heavens.
⁵Who is like the LORD our God,
Who is enthroned on high,
⁶Who humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in heaven and in the earth?
⁷He raises the poor from the dust
And lifts the needy from the ash heap,
⁸To make them sit with princes,
With the princes of His people.
⁹He makes the barren woman abide in the house
As a joyful mother of children.
Praise the LORD!

Caught

I heart penguins (well this one anyway)

For Sophi's first Halloween, we went to a event at the zoo. :) Basically, we just walked around and took photos. I would totally go again next year though. It was cute - and nothing scary allowed.

Our sweet little penguin enjoyed taking it all in.


Here's our little happy feet family.


We were really glad that's Josh's family got to come along. Sophi had fun playing peek-a-boo with Pappaw's hat.

And actually, Pappaw is the one she was smiling for in most of the pics. :)

You won't be sorry

Today awesomeness costs only $10.00. I am so excited to own this cd. Merry Christmas to me!

Is there such thing as too much chocolate?

Friday at Josh's work everyone brought in food to celebrate a birthday on the team. And, as is usually the case, Josh informed me that he needed food on Thursday at about 9:00. ... PM. So, we were trying to put something together without running out to the store.

I convinced Josh to help me with some no-bake chocolate cookies. I pretty much always have the ingredients on hand. Somehow, maybe the chocolate didn't boil long enough?, they did not set up right and ended up a pretty sticky mess. That didn't stop us from sampling them with a spoon though.

So, try number 2 - brownies from a box. I put them in the oven around 11:00 and made Josh stay up to get them out. He ended up bringing home about half of the pan.

So, we now have a double batch of cookies and half a pan of brownies in our house. And he also brought home some donuts from work that were left over that morning.

Oh, and these that we had just finished off the day before.

Yeah, we did not do any trick-or-treating. We have too many treats already. So long, diet. My waistline will miss you.

(I do have some great pics for later from Sophi's first Halloween though!)

I can cry if I want to

I've seen a bit too much of this expression tonight. Only without the hat.

Poor Sophi has been cranky the last few days, enough so that when she just would not be distracted tonight (even with food), I decided to take her to urgent care. Based on the way she acted last time she had one, I was so sure that she had an ear infection. I didn't even want to wait until tomorrow to take her to the pediatrician. Just hook us up with some antibiotics and we'll be on our way.

Of course, once we were in the waiting room, she decided to act like nothing was/ever had been wrong. An hour and half later (and there was only one person in front of us!), we finally made it home in time for her to go to bed. And mommy was starving. Her ears are fine. But Josh and I both think that something is bothering her. Teeth maybe? A sore throat? I don't know, but I felt like crazy, overprotective mom at the urgent care office. "I promise, she was acting like something was wrong."

Now she is sleepy peacefully and with any luck will stay that way until morning. And she weighs 17.4 in case you were wondering.