Eight Months.... & Some Change

Dear Sophia,

On September 12th you turned eight months old. Every time we look at you, we can't help beaming with pride at all you have accomplished this last month and how much you've changed from the little baby who slept peacefully in our arms to the little girl who explores our home nonstop. Literally.

This month you mastered your balance. Two days after you began crawling you were pulling yourself up on everything. Now that you know you can stand on your own two feet, our house has become your exploration zone. You crawl at the speed of light, and pull yourself up on anything and everything within reach! Your enthusiasm for this newest hobby is infectious, especially as your daddy and I watch you discover your world in bits and pieces.

Besides your never-ending movement, you have become quite interactive with us! It's amazing to watch that little mind of yours work and imitate what we do. You wave at us when we wave to you. You clap with us when we clap with you! And it melts our hearts. Each and everyday it seems that you are becoming more and more of a little kid, and losing your baby side. Which really, and truly breaks our heart.

This month also brought about a few challenges for you; You had your first sick-day at daycare. When I got the phone call at school about a fever of 103', I wanted nothing more than to be there with you. But having the kind of job I have, I did not have the luxury of taking the rest of the day off. Luckily Daddy was on lunch and he was able to scoop you up, take you home and take care of you. And you shared! Daddy got sick too. However, Daddy's flu lasted over a week! (Hence the late 8 month blog post!)

Another challenge this month has been 2 more teeth. Two weeks ago they were making their way through your gums, right next to the tiny pearly whites you already have. Gums swollen and puffy, we could see the two little white beads. Of course, this comes with no small amount of discomfort on your behalf. It's been so hard to watch you cry your way through those days and nights of pain when all your daddy and I want to do is to make it better. And sleep through the night again!

Watching you go through this teething experience and get some of your very first bumps and bruises as you began to crawl and stand up has taught us what it means to be good parents. We've learned that we can't protect you from everything. We can do our best to keep you from nibbling on electrical cords and sticking your fingers into light sockets. We can protect you from falling down stairs and discovering the bottle of toilet cleaner under the sink. But we can't protect you from everything.

To be good parents, we have to let go, knowing that you will get hurt. When you learn to walk, you will stumble and fall down. When you begin to run, you will trip and bump your head. When you learn to ride a bike, you will fall and scrape your knees.

Through it all, we will be here waiting for you with open arms. We will pick you up when you stumble, kiss your boo-boos when you fall, and always be prepared for those skinned knees with a stockpile of band aids.

We love you tons baby girl,
Mama and Daddy

A little preview of our Life in the Fast Lane:
(Excuse some of the blurry pictures, but I think it accurately portrays a day in our life!)

Sophia sitting in Grandpa Don's highchair!

Making footprint stepping stones for Grandparent's Day

Sophia's Footprints

Climbing around!

This was as still as I could manage for her "8 Month" picture!

Our big girl!

Hammin' it up for the camera!

Playing with the walker!

Trying new foods again!

...and she's out...

Oh How The Mighty Have Fallen

Hi everyone. Katie is typically the one who updates our blog with pictures of Sophia and things that we've been up to as a family. However, I know that she would be hesitant to update the blog with her newest hobby: fantasy football!!!! That's right, after six years I finally managed to get Katie to participate in a fantasy football league. As most of you know, I love football season and I love fantasy football just as much if not more. So when it came time to start thinking about some good team names, I do what I always do and ask Katie to brainstorm with me. We were doing just that on our way up to Eureka for her cousin's wedding when Katie stumbled across the above team name on the internet. For those of you who don't know, the name is a reference to the TV show "Sex and the City." Like all great fantasy team names, this one plays on the football terminology beautifully. Katie, being a fan of that show when it was on, loved this team name. She tried to convince me to use it for one of my many teams, but I had to decline. I told her that, although this team name has everything a great fantasy football team name should have, it was more suited for a fantasy team managed by a girl. I don't think I'd ever hear the end of it if I used that name in a league with my buddies. Knowing that she would only try a fantasy league if it was super casual, I suggested that she manage a team in my work league. I have to tell you people, my jaw hit the floor when, without any hesitation, my wife, the woman who loathes football season, agreed that her new found team name could not be wasted and that she would give it a go. I never thought I'd see the day. Needless to say, I was very excited.

So, Katie signed up, and yesterday we had our league draft. Despite what people would probably suspect, Katie picked her team with very little help from me. I guess all those years of listening to me ramble on about draft strategies, point settings, and position importance finally paid off. Katie drafted like a seasoned veteran. And to tell you the honest truth, I'm not looking forward to facing her in Week 4. She has a scary team. For those of you who play fantasy or just know a little bit about football might be interested to see her team. Here you go:

Starters:
QB - Phillip Rivers (Chargers)
RB - Michael Turner (Falcons)
RB - Ryan Mathews (Chargers)
RB/WR - Knowshon Moreno (Broncos)
WR - Miles Austin (Cowboys)
WR - Anquan Boldin (Ravens)
TE - Jason Witten (Cowboys)
DEF - Green Bay Packers
K - Nate Kaeding (Chargers)

Bench:
QB - Ben Rothlisberger (Steelers)
RB - Tim Hightower (Cardinals)
RB - Cadillac Williams (Buccaneers)
WR - Hines Ward (Steelers)
WR - Jeremy Maclin (Eagles)
TE - Visanthe Shiancoe (Vikings)
DEF - Minnesota Vikings

The reason for this blog was twofold. One, we are trying to use the logo above for her team logo in the league. You can only reference pictures from the internet and not from your computer. Therefore, we needed the picture to be online somewhere. Second, I just wanted everyone else to be just as shocked as me that Katie has decided to give it a try. I know you all will join me in wishing her luck with her rookie season. I'll be sure to post some updates throughout the season and let you all know how she's doing! Until then, enjoy opening weekend.

GO BRONCOS!!!!

 


 

...And just like that......it's gone.

Summer vacation that is.

For those of us living here, it is definitely still summer...100 degree days, you are welcome to leave anytime!

I can't believe how fast this summer went by. It seems like just yesterday I was in my classroom counting down the days until I had my unlimited Sophia time. And now we're back to the grind.

But it was a good summer. The best summer.

I am so fortunate to have a job that allows for so much time at home with our little munchkin. And we think she is just perfect. It was so amazing to get up each day and wonder what new thing Sophia would be exploring, or what new milestone she might hit. And it honestly felt like everyday something new was happening.

She went on her first camping trip, her first swim, got her first teeth, began crawling, just days later began pulling herself up, and is trying so hard to stand on her own (for longer than 10 seconds that is!)

We went on countless errands, shopped, visited friends out of town, accompanied us to restaurants for breakfasts, lunches and dinners, but perhaps the most anticipated event of the summer was her first wedding! We had been waiting for my cousin Erin and her fiance (well, now husband) Matt's wedding from the minute they got engaged! The "Save the Date" came in the mail, and we got even more excited, and then the invite came and it all started to feel like it was almost here. And before we knew it, the big day was here.

I don't know if it has anything to do with friends getting married, or experiencing the most amazing day of my life on my wedding day, or just being a girl, but I LOVE weddings. I talked to Sophia for days about the wedding and what would happen. We talked about how Daddy and I pray every night that someday she finds herself an amazing man that she will fall in love with, and how special the day was going to be for Matt and and Erin. I told her all about the plans it takes and the fun that it would be, hoping that in that little tiny mind of hers, she was as excited about this big day as we were. And it was beautiful. Special thanks to Carly and Josh for the great pictures!

And an extra special thanks for including us in your big day, Matt and Erin, we love you guys and we are so happy for you!


Now we're all looking forward to the next big event! Another big congrats to my cousin Dan and his new fiance Melinda! We love you guys, and we can't wait for your big day now!

Daddy doing what he does best! He was so good with Sophia so that I could enjoy the wedding. I am so lucky to have a caring hubby!

Welcome to the family Matt! Cousins!

Meet the Gray's!

Beautiful centerpieces!

"There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million."

Yep, She's standing now!

Very much unlike her Daddy, she LOVES peas!

Matthew and I often sit back and watch Sophia as she explores the surroundings of our home. To us, these things she is seeing are just things. But to Sophia each and every new find catches her attention for long bouts of time. I found this quote this morning; "There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million." and it just seemed too perfect.

We can watch her crawl into the kitchen and pull open the bottom drawer. Pull it open. How does she know to put her hand on the handle and pull it open???! We are constantly amazed at just how much she learns from observation. She truly is a little sponge, soaking up everything that is around her.

We watched her this month begin to crawl, progressed to pulling herself up (just 2 days later!) and now she is standing on her own. Seriously. How does this happen so fast? There is something about seeing this tiny little girl standing on her own two feet that really makes it feel like it's all happening too, too fast.

Last night Sophia had a rough time getting to bed, and at 9:30, when she's normally been asleep for two hours, she needed a bottle. I held her while she drank, which is something I have not been able to do for a long time. I sat there with my little girl in my arms and cried. I seriously can't explain how much love I have for her, and I can't help but think it's all happening too quickly. We've got to find a way to slow time down. and quick.

She's amazing, this little girl. She's learning so much, she's growing so quickly, and we are having so much fun with her. Everyday she finds a new "wonder of her world" and we learn to take a timeout of life. We learn to sit down and explore each new find with her. There is no way to describe the excitement she has on her face when she discovers something new, or tries to stand in a new place, or discovers that she is capable of something new. And taking time to really, really appreciate each moment with her is perfect.

So the baby-proofing has commenced.

Spending some time trying to feed Daddy her rice puffs!

One of Sophia's Seven Million Wonders of our world.

Updates....coming soon!

It's my goal this weekend to update you all! It's been too long, I know!

So.......Stay Tuned!