A good snapshot stops a moment from running away. ~Eudora Welty

Sophia's all blurry because now that she's mobile
she's decided she simply can't sit in the shakey seat anymore!

Sophia's this close to crawling. She's on her hands and knees all the time,
she rocks backs and forth, and has rug burns from scooting. It's just a matter
of time before she's completely mobile.

Just another Saturday morning under the piano!

I absolutely love this picture. We read to Sophia all the time and
each day she is more and more interested in the stories. I just
love watching Matthew read to her. SO CUTE!

Not much to report around here, so I though I'd share some of our more recent pictures!

And our 6 month photo shoot with our photographer, Amanda, should be up today. So I may be posting again! We are super anxious to see these pics!

Tents, Trinity, and Teeth!

The Boys with their catch

Our first family camping trip

The boys and their fish

Sophia and I next to our new giant tent (Sleeps 8!)

A happy moment for our teething girlie

Summer wouldn't feel complete if we didn't take our annual trip up to Trinity Lake. So we braved it with our baby girl in tow! From the beginning, it was a challenge. Even packing was different. Now we all know that when you go anywhere, the goal in packing is to take as little as necessary. Well this proved to be challenge number one. If you know me, you know I am a list maker. So the best way for me to tackle the "wants" or "needs" of packing for Sophia began with a list. We figured out, after lots of discussion, what things could be double used, like her car seat carrier became her high chair, her napping spot and play place. Her pack and play tripled as a bed, playpen and changing table. We just had to be creative!

So, after packing our gear, camping gear, and Sophia's gear, we were pretty much ready to go. Or so we thought. The morning started out bright and early, as it always does, and we hit the road. We made a stop for breakfast and were on the road. Everything seemed to be going off without a hitch. And for some reason, this totally surprised me. I was expecting a terrible car ride, and a fussy baby. And then, just outside of Redding it hit. With a tremendous force. Sophia began crying like I had never heard her cry. She could not be soothed. Sitting with her didn't help, her pacifier didn't help. A new diaper didn't help. A bottle didn't help. And then it struck us...could she be teething? We pulled over and I began playing dentist. I started probing around her mouth for signs that her first tooth was on its way. And sure enough, I found bright red, puffy gums. perfect.

So we dosed her with some baby tylenol, pulled out all of her teething rings, and hit the road again. Matthew kept amazing patience as we climbed Hwy. 299 through the twists and turns with our screaming little girl, and I did all I could to console her until she fell asleep.

So began our camping adventure. Upon arriving at camp, we took full advantage of every second that Sophia was napping, because as soon as she was awake, all bets were off. Was she going to be happy and content enough that we could continue, or is she going to start screaming and we'd have to sleep under the stars?

After three hours we had managed to set up camp. Our two tents and move our suitcases into them. 3 hours!

The rest of the week was as normal and traditional as it could be with the newest family member in tow! Matthew, Grandpa Don and Uncle Josh went out fishing in the morning, we swam in the afternoon, and cleaned up before dinner in the evenings. As needy as Miss Sophia was during the camping trip, I'm glad that we decided to go. Grandma Mary and Grandpa Don gave us plenty of breaks so we could still enjoy our time, and though it is a lot more work to camp with a baby, we are looking forward to the next trip. Just hoping Sophia's teeth make better appearance times in the future!

Happy Half-of-a-year!!! 6 Months

Photo Shoot from 6 Month Birthday!

Dad called while we were taking pictures! Sophia was very interested in his voice!

Dear Sophia,

Happy 6 month birthday, little love bug! You are six months old today and Dad and I are already trying to choke back the tears as we think about how fast you're growing up. It's been so wonderful watching you grow and learn new things every single day, but the time goes by too quickly. The snuggles and smiles are here one moment and gone the next, leaving your daddy and I wondering how these days can fly by so fast.

This has been such a big month for you. You have become quite the mover! You so badly want to crawl around the living room to get to your toys! Last week, I put you on one end of your blanket, and dumped your toys at the other end. It wasn't long before you had scooted yourself all the way across. I was so proud, and ran for the video camera. But, inevitably, as soon as the camera was on, you were content to lay with your well-earned toys and chew. The squirming was through. But as it was, I settled for smothering your little face in kisses.

This month, you still haven't grown any teeth! While you are growing in all other areas, those teeth just don't seem to be making their appearance anytime soon!

You have become very aware of the things taking place around you, especially when it comes to food. Anytime that someone is eating, you let us know that you would like to be eating too. This makes things a bit complicated when your daddy and I go to restaurants, but we've learned to keep a stash of extra baby food and a bottle handy at all times.

Your favorite food is still sweet potatoes! And whenever you get a taste of that yummy orange treat, you never fail to grab the spoon and ask for more. Or lately, you've learned how to blow bubbles with your lips so the yummy goodness ends up sprayed all over Daddy and I. You're not quite ready to feed yourself yet, but you try your best, bringing the spoon up to your face in an attempt to find your mouth. You are growing up so quickly, but it's nice to be reminded that you still need your mama and daddy to help you with a few things!

This month you began repeatedly saying "Dada" for the first time. We could hardly believe our ears that morning as we heard you babbling away in your crib, and then you kept it up as we cuddled in bed. It still melts our hearts every time you say it. And I know secretly, Dad loves that your first word has been his name! We're working very hard on getting the next word..."Mama", but you haven't quite mastered that one! At first we were not quite sure if you really knew what you were saying, but I'm convinced, as you only say it when Dad is home, or if he is in the room. And Saturday, you looked right at him and said with conviction, "Dada" while being held by Grandma Sue.

These last six months have been a wild ride and we've had a few scrapes and bumps along the way. I'm not perfect mom, but I look back on these six months and I see how we have grown together. From our very first meeting in that hospital bed to this evening as I watched you sleep in your crib, I can see how this journey has changed us both. You have become so sweet and so strong. You have a distinct personality with strong likes and dislikes. You know your mama and daddy, and your whole face lights up when we play with you. You are growing into a wonderful little girl and I cannot wait to see what the next six months will bring.

Through all of your changes, you have made me a better mama. Six months ago, I had no idea what I was doing and the concept of changing a diaper on your delicate, breakable little body was terrifying. You have shown me that I can be a good mama. You have taught me what it means to sacrifice myself for someone else. And you continue to make me into the person I want to be, the person I want you to look up to and admire as you grow and become a little girl.

Sophia, I am so proud of you. When I look at you, I see the very best of your daddy and myself. You are so bright, so open, and so loving; it leaves me absolutely speechless to try to put words to the hopes and dreams I have for you. I love you more than I can say.

All of my love,
Mama

Life Lately

Things around here have been pretty routine lately. But we are not bored. Not in the least!

We've been having a great time playing with our little munchkin, and watching her grow more and more every day!

Here are some snap shots of a week with Sophia!

Sophia rolling around on the floor. She wants to crawl so bad, and she'll try...for like 5-10 minutes. Then it's all tears! She's definitely scooting all over the place!

Bath time fun! She's becoming so wiggly that bath time has become quite the challenge!

Drying off after the bath! We love the ducky towel!


Sophia in one of her swim suits! We've really enjoyed swimming at Grandma Sue and Grandpa Whit's house during this summer heat!


Sophia in her second swim suit! What girl doesn't need more than one suit, right?!
(Thanks Michelle for spoiling our little girl with a Baby Gap swim suit! )



Sophia in her Hippo Floaty! This thing is a crazy contraption...BUT she loves it! And it even has a handy sun shade! Perfect!

Napping on the way home from a day at the pool! Swimming and the sun take a lot out of us!

Our own little Kewpie Doll with the tuft of hair sticking up!

Happy girl waking up after nap time!

She loves her Jungle Bouncer SO much that she jumped herself to sleep! :) Cracked us up!



First time Sophia wore sandals, so she's checking them out. After the fights with socks this winter, I wondered how long these would last....grand total of 10 minutes before her toes were out and they were flapping from her ankles!

Hi Mom and Dad! :) I got myself un-swaddled last night!

Sophia's First Fouth of July!

Our Patriotic Girl in her red, white and blue!

In the past 6 months we've realized that holidays are so important to family. And we want to spend them with all of the family. But with a baby in tow, that makes things much more difficult. Gone are the days when it was easy to jump from family to family and make the rounds. Now we have a mental checklist that we live by; Baby, Check. Diaper bag, Check. Bottles, Check. Pacifier, Check. Swing or Shakey Chair, Check. Rattle or favorite toy of the moment, Check. Baby Food on ice, Check. (And really, this is just the beginning of it all!) So going from home to home just didn't sound appealing.

Instead, we opted for 6 weeks of yard work in the summer heat. (Thank you Whit and Sue for all of your help! And thank you Dad for letting us raid your garage and shed for needed tools....we promise we'll get them back to you...someday!) We opted for cleaning the house in a rush, never knowing if the free time during naps would last 20 minutes or 2 hours. We opted for grocery shopping with a baby who wouldn't nap for a week. Which inevitably turned into 5 or 6 trips, as something was always forgotten! We opted for every evening working in the yard, from the time Sophia was in bed until we lost sunlight. BUT, we wouldn't have changed a thing! It was so nice to have all of our family together for this one day (but we were missing a couple crucial people! It just wasn't the same without you Auntie Lish! And Scott, Matthew has been practicing ping pong for a few weeks now, so be ready for some fun. The table is up and waiting!) . I see a lot of hosting and entertaining in our future!

As much work as it was to prepare for the big day, it was TOTALLY worth it. We forgot how much we liked to have people over. And now that we've got the yard to a point where it's not as embarrassing to have people over, we're likely to do it again. Soon!

So here are some pictures of the big day. Sophia was a trooper. Though she didn't nap. Nope, not even once, as there was just too much to miss, she was the perfect, happy little girl that we see everyday.

Grandpa Whit BBQing the burgers!

Auntie Carly having one of Grandma Sue's famous Rice Krispy Treats in honor of Alisha!

Grandpa Don, Great Papa Morgan, and Grandma Sue enjoying the shade!

Our backyard, notice how everyone is huddled under the shade! It sure felt like summer!

Great Grandma Dorothy and Great Granny Shirley playing some games.

Sophia getting some num-nums, 2hours past her bedtime! But what is a family get together without a late bedtime!

Sophia in outfit number 2...or 3 for the day. Just about everyone had a hand in some part of her festive wear!

solid foods

The role of parenthood is full of many "firsts" and I must say, most of them are amazing, but every once in a while, I come across a first that sets me back a bit. At Sophia's 4 month doctors appointment we got the green light for solid foods. He suggested that I start her on rice cereal for the month, move on to vegetables at 5 months and then fruits at 6 months. Well, I was sharing this information with some people a while back, and felt as if I had just told them I'd be giving my little girl bubblegum and soda starting next week. Seriously, these people thought that I was out of my mind. I never knew that there was a controversy over foods specifically made for babies. If it wasn't a good idea to feed them to her, then our pediatrician surely wouldn't have given us the go-ahead, and I'm pretty sure that Gerber would be out of business, right?

So, as our pictures lately have proven, we started the rice cereal, and everything has been going great. Not only does Sophia eat almost 2 tablespoons each night, somtimes she gets a special afternoon feeding too! She holds her mouth open anticipating a spoon full of goodness coming towards her. And she'd do ANYTHING to feed herself. :)

Fast forward to this month. Month 5. We are now entering the highly-controversial land of solid foods. Where apprarently, everyone and their mother has an opinion on what and when I should feed my baby.

As much as I don't like conflict, or confrontation, I have to say, the thing that I have learned the most is that not everyone is going to agree on the decisions that Matthew and I make for Sophia. But you can be sure that we are educated in our decisions. We talk (sometimes to the death) about each and every situation we encounter before we decide how to handle it. What it always comes down to, and always will, is the safety of our little girl. We love her more than words could ever describe, and we'd never purposefully make a choice that could be dangerous for her now or in the future.