9 Months

Dear Sophia,

Today, you are nine months old and I can't believe my eyes. Just a short while ago, you were a tiny little baby snuggled up in my arms, content to stare up into my eyes for hours on end. Today, the world is full of excitement for you, a place ready to be explored and conquered, one drawer or cupboard at a time!

No corner of the house is safe now that you have discovered your ability to walk! That's right, the day before you turned 9 months you began walking! We are still amazed at your desire to get from place to place, however wobbly it may be, you get there!

Your love of exploring has been made easier since you discovered that you aren't limited to the floor. Several days ago just as Daddy and I were leaving for our small group, you stood up in the living room. Something you have been doing since you learned to crawl. But watching you, and the look on your face, we just knew you were going to take your first step. And you did. Right towards Bandit! We were so excited at your accomplishment!

These days, trouble is never far from those hands as you wobble and explore our home. Countless times each day, you hear me utter the word "That is not for Sophia" as you attempt to demolish the floor lamp, pull electrical cords from the outlets, or swan dive from your high chair. And you have a lot to say about things too. Just two weeks ago, you began the oh-so-fun routine of dropping your toys and bottles while in your highchair, just to watch us pick them up for you. And then you said it, "Uh-Oh!" And so that has continued, about 100 times a day! And as tiring as it gets to bend down and pick up every item that is dropped, hearing you use those words, "Uh-oh" in the right context, just blows our minds!

We know that we are going to be busy from here on out, and have pretty much given up all hope of sitting for the next 18 years. And while that sounds terribly exhausting, we really can't wait to see what things you find of interest while exploring your world.

We love you tons,
Mommy & Daddy

Look at me! I'm 9 Months Old! My shirt says so!

And just like everything these days...the shirt goes in the mouth!

Sophia and Mommy before bedtime!

Changing time of year...

Sophia in a barrel of pumpkins!

Sunflower Labyrinth

It's finally Fall! Though some days it is still feeling like summer around these parts! All the clues are here to tell us it really is Fall; The leaves are beginning to change color, the pumpkin candles are burning, we can finally leave the doors open during the day to let in the nice fresh air(without melting), and when we wake up in the morning, the air is so crisp and cold I just want to cuddle under the blankets a little longer. But the biggest clue that Fall is here: Trips to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm.

Sophia, and I, have been lucky enough to experience this Fall Wonderland two times already in the past couple weeks! The first time, a few weeks ago, was opening weekend! Grandma Mary had Bishop's Bucks and we couldn't let them go to waste! So Grandma Mary, Aunt Carly, Sophia and I headed out bright and early on opening day. Upon arriving, we trudged the stroller through the field parking lot, and were immediately greeted at the gates by barrels full of pumpkins of all colors, bright orange, almost pink, green and even white.

Sophia picking her sunflower

Sophia, Mommy and Auntie Carly

We first found the sunflower labyrinth. A brightly colored maze full of yellow, orange and red sunflowers, and buzzing with bees. After roaming around the flowers, we each got to cut one and bring it home with us. They made a perfect autumn bouquet for Aunt Carly's kitchen! Next we wandered over to the gift shops. The gift shops make me want to decorate my home with all of the cute decorations and wall hangings, for EVERY season. Such cute things...but the price tags bring me back to reality. So we wandered around, savoring in the fact that Sophia is in a stroller this year, sure that next year we will be having entirely different conversations while in there...probably something along the lines of "Keep your hands down. These brightly colored beautiful things do not belong to Sophia!"

Stepping out of the gift shop we could smell all the tell-tale smells of Fall; Cinnamon, carmel, pumpkin and apple sweetness. So we wandered over to Mrs. B's Bakery, where we watched the women in the bakery rolling the giant balls of caramel corn, pulling the pumpkin loafs out of the oven, placing cookies on trays for the windows, and we just had to have a taste! So we got a couple of the pumpkin-apple muffins, thanks to Grandma Mary's Bishop Bucks. Sophia had her first taste of pumpkin muffin and loved it!

From there, we wandered over to the train and took a ride. Sophia did such a good job sitting on my lap through the whole ride. We rode the train around the farm, and the only time I sensed a little nervousness from Sophia was when we entered the tunnel. She gripped both of my hands tight and sat still. Then we were in the clear. She watched as we passed the walnut orchard, the ponies, the pumpkin fields, and scarecrow contests, very inquisitive to each of the approaching scenes.

And then we were done. But I know the obvious question is looming. "Why go to Bishop's if you're not getting a pumpkin? And you missed the baby animals." But we didn't. Matthew was participating in the Craftsman for Christ Golf Tournament that morning and wasn't able to join us. So, we promised no pumpkins, and no petting the animals without him. That was to wait for another time!Measuring how tall Sophia is!

Mae-Mae & Sophia

So, we waited! And Sophia and I got our second trip to Bishop's this weekend! After having such an easy time going in the morning, we decided we'd do the same this weekend. So we packed up bright and early, and waited for Grandma Sue, Grandpa Whit and Auntie Alisha (aka-our photographer for the day!). This morning, the parking lot had their signs up so we would remember where we parked, and we were guided to Goose Bump Lane! So we loaded up the stroller, and again trudged through the field to the entrance. We took almost the same course, going first to the sunflower labyrinth. But with two full weeks between the first trip and this, the sunflowers had lost their brilliance. They were still there, and still beautiful, but beginning to wilt, and not swarming with as many bees! So we hunted and hunted for our flowers, looking for just the right color combination to make the beautiful fall bouquet! There's just something about fresh flowers on the table that make me feel happy!

Grandpa Whit, Sophia and Daddy looking for the perfect sunflower!

Exploring the petals!

We then strolled over to train ride, and took some pictures with a big pumpkin while Matthew got our tickets for the train. Sophia was so interested in the grass that it was hard to get her attention, but she finally discovered the giant pumpkin! We parked the stroller and boarded the train. This time, Sophia sat with Grandma Sue and Grandpa Whit. And just as before, she was very content watching each new scene as it approached.

On the train ride

Playing with the giant pumpkin

From the train we wondered over to the farm animal petting area. Mama pig had her piglets about two weeks ago so we watched the babies lounging in a big pile on top of eachother! They were so cute. And we saw the baby goats jumping into the feeding troughs chowing down on the straw. But the animal that caught Sophia's attention the most were the two geese. I know, geese?! Not the cutest, but watching her sit up in the stroller and stare at these geese was so cute. And then it was apparent at why she liked these strange animals. She began her talking, her mouth tried so hard, and she muttered "dck" That's right, her love for the rubber ducky transfered to these strange, long necked birds. And how she made that association, I will never know...I'm constantly amazed at how her brain works!

And then it was pumpkin time! So we headed over to the hay ride! I was a little nervous about how Sophia would do on the back of the flatbed, hay covered tractor. So we grabbed the whole diaper bag in case of a meltdown. She sat very content in my lap, bouncing her legs up and down in the hay. She was totally calm the whole way out to the field; bouncing past all of the orchards, past the fields of pumpkins not quite ready for pickin' and then it happened; She concked out. That's right, just as we came rolling to a stop, her head flopped over and she was out. So...the pumpkin hunting was left up to Matthew as I held Sophia trudging through the field. (But I'll be honest, I soaked up every second of it, becuase, as we all know, the times that she will sit still in our arms are long, long gone!) Auntie Alisha, Grandma Sue and Grandpa Whit all hunted through the thousands of pumpkins to find the right "Sophia Pumpkin." Which sounds like an easy task, but after a little bit of rain earlier in the week, many of the pumpkins had softened from sitting on the wet ground, and were deceiving until you rolled them over! But the hunt was successful, Auntie found a big one acorss the patch and carried the big thing back to us! So, Sophia got a big pumpkin for our house and a tiny, baby sized pumpkin for Grandma Sue and Grandpa Whit's house. Even Auntie found a pumpkin to bring home.

So, I'm sure you'll be seeing pictures of Sophia and the pumpkin carving in the coming weeks! Stay tuned!

First Quarter Update

Ok folks here's your update through the first quarter of the season. You might recall that I finally managed to convince Katie to try out fantasy football this year. We'll I wanted to keep true to my word and give you an update of how she's doing and how our league is going.

Katie's team, Sacks in the City, has had an up and down start through the first four games of the season. She began the year with a solid win, but then followed it up in Week 2 with a tough loss to Josh (Katie maintains it was for his birthday). However, in Week 3 Sacks in the City had a big win over one of the only unbeaten teams left in the league. The team she beat is managed by my sister Alisha's boyfriend, Scott. This is his first year to play fantasy football too and he was flying a little too high after his first two victories. I was happy to see Katie bring him back down to earth for a bit. It's a long season buddy, trust me.

And then came Week 4. You might recall in my celebratory announcement of the glorious moment when Katie agreed to participate in a league that I was not looking forward to facing her in Week 4. Upon arriving at Week 4 I discovered that no truer words would ever leave my mouth. I'm a little embarrassed to say, but yours truly stumbled out of the gate to an 0-3 start. That's right........even a fantasy sports genius such as myself gets things wrong once in a while. Mine just happened to be three weeks in a row. Typical stuff really: my number two running back, Ryan Grant of the Packers, goes down with an ankle injury in the first half of the first game. He's done for the year. Week 3 I managed to leave 137 points sitting on my bench. My starters got me 101 points. Case in point, through Week 4 I am second to last overall in total points scored and second overall in total points scored against me. Not a good combination.

However, the Sacks in the City were dealing with some major injuries as well coming into Week 4. Three of the five running backs that Katie drafted dealt with some kind of injury. Two of those guys actually missed a game. And these three that were dealing with injuries were Katie's top three running backs. Pretty daunting when you have to complete a starting lineup when you have your top guys on the shelf. So our two teams limped into the ring to duke it out and see who could survive without losing anymore stars to injury. I unfortunately lost another quarterback but still managed to squeak out a win by 8 points. I felt a little bad about defeating my wife after she finally agreed to give this thing a shot, but there are no friends in fantasy football. Especially when there's money on the line.

So after four weeks, the Sacks in the City are sitting at a respectable 2-2 and in 5th place; currently one game out of the playoffs. And Romosexual Tendencies (cue my mother, and Katie, and Carly, and any other woman in my life rolling their eyes) are currently at 1-3 sitting in 7th place. Just to clarify on my team name, I've been holding on to this name for a couple years now but didn't want to use it until I had Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys on my team. Well, back on draft day Romo was sitting there when I wanted to take a quarterback and I couldn't pass up on the opportunity. I'll let you figure out the obvious play on words yourself.

For those of you who are curious; Josh's team (he changes his team name from week to week depending on who he is playing) is currently at 2-2 sitting in 6th place and Scotty's team, Tough Actin' Tinactin's, are currently 3-1 and sitting in 2nd place overall. There's still a lot of football left to be played and a lot can change even in the next four weeks. Stay tuned for the next update halfway through the season.