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.

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!

7 Months

Dear Sophia,

Today you turn 7 months old. It has been an amazing journey watching you grow. Every day you are learning something new; whether it is repeating words or sounds, or how to climb out of your swing, or feed yourself your rice cereal puffs. Keeping up with you is keeping us on our toes.

Again, you have had a very big month. This month you had many, many firsts. You figured out the sound for DADA, and repeat it constantly, as it is your most favorite word. But mostly, we hear it when Daddy gets home from work. Which I'm certain is the highlight of his day. Someday, I'm sure you will understand just how excited he was to hear DADA as your first word.

You also took your very first camping trip. A trip which was not only one for the books, as a whole new experience for your Dada and I. But it was also memorable for the entire campground, as you were teething. As tough as the week turned out, you really were a trooper and once those pearly whites popped out, you were back to your good ol' happy self!

Perhaps the most memorable milestone you hit this month was crawling. You have been scooting around for quite some time, so we had a feeling it would be any day. But it's just the cutest thing to see your tiny little body crawling around the house. Today was an interesting day, as I pretty much let you explore our home, following just behind you, but always in reach. I'll say that most of our household decorations are temporarily in the garage after our house tour! But I'm sure you'll find something appealing tomorrow that I'll be adding to the garage collection. (Thank goodness Dad built those shelves for us just in time!)

You have definately come to have a favorite toy...and perhaps one that might be unexpected. Forget the soft, cuddly teddy bears and toy dolls. It's all about the rubber duckies. You have 3 of them, and sometimes, I'm not sure that is enough. In the bath tub, you search all around until you have one, or two, of these ducks in your hands and mouth. You repeat the "d" sound while playing with them, and on occasion will say "Duck," which takes your dad and I by surprise.

Each and every day we fall more and more in love with you, which hardly seems possible. But we do. And we are constantly amazed at how much you are understanding and learning. You are becoming quite the independent litte girl, and it's so fun to watch your personality shine through in all you do.

Happy 7 Months Sweet Pea,

Love, Mama & Daddy