California Episode 2 ~ Clearlake

Our vacation was basically split in half ~ the first half in Clearlake with Chris, Jess, and the kids.  The second half was in San Francisco with Leslie, Brian and the boys...but that's a whole separate post (yes, there is a California Episode 3)!

We arrived Tuesday afternoon and had a couple of hours to relax and unwind from our travels before we headed off to Jess' softball game.  Can you tell from the pictures of my sweet girl that it was all she could do to keep her eyes open?!  It was a fun evening and Jess' team won so all was well in softball land :)

Wednesday we went to Blue Lake for the day.  It was absolutely gorgeous, but the water was FREEZING!  I didn't even get in over my ankles, but the others had a great time :)  I do not do cold water and Rickey doesn't either, so we sat on the beach most of the day.  I, mother bear that I am, originally did not want to take Sophie on a boat at all!  You know, we could capsize or something?!  Yes, I'm certifiably insane :)  But hey, it could happen.  However, since the lake was small and the speed limit is 5mph, I decided not to be a party pooper and go have a little fun.  Kevin drove and Jess borrowed a life jacket for Sophie from the owners and off we went!  I am so glad we did ~ it was a ton of fun and Sophie had the time of her life!!!  She was all smiles the entire time (well almost) :)  There is a photo in the slideshow that will prove what a star she was ~ my little model playing to the camera!!  It was a great day with the family and we have memories (and pictures) to last us a lifetime!

After the day at the lake, which was also Chris' birthday, we went to watch his baseball game.  Due to a massive, and perhaps well deserved, meltdown, Kevin, Sophie, Brooke (our resident babysitter!) and I headed back home to put Sophie to bed for the evening.  We missed the grand slam that won Chris' team the game :( but I am glad we got Sophie home to relax from her long day.  By the way, she slept like a CHAMP!

Thursday morning Jess' mom took family pictures out by the lake.  Since it was Brooke's birthday, Kevin and I took her and Michael to see Eclipse.  It was the last day it was showing in that particular theater and it was nice to be able to spend some time with our niece and nephew.  Sophie got to bond with her Aunt Jess ~ of course, the minute we hit the driveway I ran to my sweet baby!  Aunt Jess and Sophie were outside (the ultimate cry resolution for my child).  There was a massive birthday party planned for that evening so we did some prep work and then the people started to arrive ~ and wow, at the people!  What a crowd!  Sophie had decided to randomly switch back to Texas time that evening and so she and I stayed out in the travel trailer for most of the evening.  She fell asleep and then eventually so did I :)  I heard the party was a blast though!

Friday morning, also Vicki's birthday (now do you see why there was a massive birthday party?!), was our day to head to San Francisco, so we had an early start to pack and get ready to head out.  We left around 9:45ish and headed toward my sister's.  And that would begin California Episode 3!

Geez, I am exhausted just typing all of this...no wonder we were beyond tired by the time we got back to Texas :)

California Episode 1 ~ Leaving on a Jetplane

Well, we did it!  We embarked on our first vacation as a family of three!!!  I really wanted Sophie to meet her California family while she was still young ~ to meet her aunts and uncles, to play with her cousins (well, her version of play which is pretty much coo, blow bubbles, and stare ~ but play nonetheless), and simply to meet even more people who think she is truly one special little bumble bee :)  Yes, I do realize that she will remember absolutely nothing about this vacation, but for us they are memories to be cherished forever.

Once I hit that confirmation button on Continental's website a couple months ago, I knew there was simply no turning back.  Either we were really brave parents or really stupid ones to travel with a three month old.  Turns out, Sophie did fantastic on the flights.  Yes, we had a few minutes of crying both flights but only for a total of about ten minutes each way.  For a three and a half our flight, I consider that a success. Plus, the flight home was delayed on the tarmac in San Francisco for thirty minutes and then rerouted due to weather a number of times.  So what was three and a half hours, turned into four and a half hours ~ heck, I was ready to meltdown so I couldn't really blame her when she had a mini-meltdown at 6:15pm.  We were supposed to be on the ground already!  We got several comments about how well behaved she was, so I guess we can chalk our first attempt at air travel a true success story.  Go Sophie :)

Also, thank you Holly for giving such wonderful "how to get through security and travel with an infant" advice!  We actually made it through security without any major hiccups  :)

Here are a couple of pictures from our sweet girl's first plane experience!

               Best $6 We Spent the Whole Trip!

   Wow Mommy!  They have cartoons way up here!

                                           Naptime during landing!  What a morning!!!

My Rolly Polly

Sophie has become a pro at rolling over the last couple of days!  Since the first successful attempt on July 12th, her rolls have been very sporadic, way too sporadic for catching them on video :(  But, she eludes me no longer!  I love this kid and am so very proud of my sweet baby!

Side Note:  While I am so very proud of my rolly polly, at night she rolls from her back to her tummy ~ a milestone yes!  But is it absolutely necessary to wake up every time???  I am absolutely asking her pediatrician if I can put her to sleep on her tummy when we go in for her next check-up.  This constant waking up, being put back to sleep on her back, and then waking up again a short time later because we've rolled over again is NO FUN for Mommy!  Advice or tips welcomed :)

Oh How Quickly Things Can Change!

In the span of a little over a year and a half, our girls lunches have gone from a laughter filled gathering of six great friends to a crazy hour and a half consisting and not limited to the following: an occasional bout of tears, tables littered with baby food jars, a break in one's own meal to bottle feed (thanks Soph!), several rounds of pass the baby(ies), shrills of joy from an adorable little boy, car seats and high chairs, and of course still loads of laughter and unforgettable memories! Lunch may be a little more crazy entertaining these days, but it is a blessed life to have friends like these and I wouldn't change or miss one second of the madness fun :)

         

Anniversary Fun!

Kevin and I had a wonderful anniversary date last night! It was a fun evening being able to reconnect just the two of us ~ not that we didn't miss our little peanut, but she was in perfect hands :) Besides, she happens to love her Aunt Jaime and Uncle James almost as much as she loves us! We are so grateful to them for watching her for us ~ it definitely allowed me to relax knowing she was being completely spoiled for the few hours we were gone ;)

Kevin is so sweet and bought me the most amazing anniversary gift. The flowers were beautiful too, but the necklace he picked out means the world to me.

The three diamonds represent our new family. Such a thoughtful and sentimental gift. I will truly treasure this forever! And yes, like the commercial says, "He went to Jared's!" LOL :)

             

A few pictures before we left home. Yes, I actually got dressed up! Is it bad or good when your husband says "Wow, you look pretty?"  I think it was a compliment, but then he's so used to shorts and tanktops covered in spit-up, it doesn't take much to impress :)

                                  

For dinner we went to Brennan's downtown! For any future Brennan goers, GET THE BANANAS FOSTER ~ oh my, I was in HEAVEN!!!

A cute plate of pecan pralines compliments of Brennan's :) And yes, I ate these AND the bananas foster!

Thank you Honey for a perfect evening!  And thank you James and Jaime for allowing us to have a perfect evening worry free!!

To Have and To Hold...

Five years ago, I walked down the aisle to the man of my dreams. It has been a crazy five years and I would be lying if I said it has been all peaches and cream :) Despite that, the one thing I can say for sure is that Kevin and I have walked this past five years together. We have stood by each other through the good times and bad, through the laughter and the tears, through the joy and the pain. He is a wonderful husband and an even better father. He makes me laugh and holds me when I cry. He works hard for our family and strives every day to do his best. But most importantly, he loves me and loves our daughter more.

Kevin truly is the love of my life and given the chance to walk down the aisle again, I'd choose him every time ~ and that is how I know I'm living my fairy tale!

Happy Anniversary Honey! I love you :)

Picture Update :)

Do I take too many pictures??? Probably so. Ok, yes! But she is so precious I just can't help myself ~ what if I were to miss that one single moment of absolute cuteness? I would never forgive myself and neither would she! Well, maybe that's stretching it just a little bit, but you get my point :)

So for the sake of just making everyone smile :), here are some random shots from the past month!

Bumbo Time :)

Seriously Mom???

Elvis Grin!

Silly Face

My Little Ducky

Going to her first birthday party!

Play Time = Happy Sophie :)

Reading ~ So Smart (Yes, I'm biased!)

And that's all for now because this new picture formatting is driving me INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So much for trying to get it to look cute ~ I settled for just getting it done!

3 Months!

I am such a proud Mommy ~ Sophie is absolutely perfect in every way (at least in my eyes anyway)!  She has brought a new level of joy and happiness into my life...one that I never even knew existed until she came along.  This has been the most amazing three months of my entire life and I can't wait to see what the next month holds for our precious girl!

At three months, Sophie, you are:

• In love with Sesame Street
• Adore your Aunt Jaime and Uncle James (I'm sure it helps that she rescues you the moment you start to fuss!)
• Seem to be a little timid around the dogs for some reason ~ they love you so, so much I can't imagine why it would be overwhelming :)
• Eat about 5 oz every fourish hours.
• Have outgrown a lot of the spit-up and gas issues.  Now we just seem to have a random bad day as opposed to what used to be a random good day!
• Sleep in your big girl crib :)
• Go to sleep sometime between 8:30 and 9:00 and wake up around 5:00 to eat.  Go back down around 5:45 or 6:00 and sleep until around 8:30.  For this, I thank you very, very much!!!
• Take a morning nap and an afternoon nap (most days if I'm lucky).  They may be short but they are naps nonetheless.
• Recognize voices and faces.
• Do very well with the playmat and tummy time.
• CAN ROLL OVER FROM TUMMY TO BACK ~ this is a new development as of Monday (7/12) :)
• Have great head control.  
• Love to stand.
• Talk and coo all the time.
• Are infatuated with your hands and often have them in your mouth.
• Seem to be getting more interested in toys and are reaching for them more often.
• Smile and laugh often :)  This is one of my very favorites!
• Learned to make a razzy sound with your spit bubbles and voice.  This makes you laugh which in turn makes me laugh :)  
• Weigh approximately 10.5 lbs.  (Best estimate using the weigh myself, then hold you and weigh myself again method.)
• Still wear Size 1 diapers and 3 month clothes.  I'm not sure for how much longer the 3 month onesies are going to fit just given the whole length issue but the bottoms we can use for a while longer for sure!
• I'm sure there are a million other things I could write but the most important is this...you are amazingly perfect, absolutely gorgeous, the joy of my life, and will always be my baby girl!

I love you more than anything!  

Always and forever,

Mommy

You've Got a Friend in Me!

I honestly could not love these two little munchkins more than I already do :) They are absolutely the cutest, most amazing, happiest (most of the time) kiddos ever ~ oh and wait, did I mention how stinking CUTE they are?! LOVE THEM!!!!!!!

P.S. Thank you Debbie for taking such adorable pictures of our precious babies and a special, special thank you for watching Sophie for me this afternoon! You are truly a blessing to my life and I love you very, very much!

Happy 4th of July!

It is so fun getting to celebrate the holidays this year! Everything is so different now that we have our sweet Sophie to join in the fun :) And I have to admit, I don't mind HAVING to buy all the adorable "baby's 1st" holiday outfits either ~ and yes, I absolutely HAVE to! What if years down the road, Sophie asked me what she wore for her first 4th of July and I just said "Oh, nothing special. Just a regular everyday onesie." Come on now, can't you imagine her heartbreak???

Kevin and I were joking about what I was going to put her in for her first Halloween, her first Thanksgiving, her first Christmas...you see how this is going to get expensive?! She is just WAY too cute not to get a new outfit for every holiday :) Lucky for me, her Daddy is wrapped already so he doesn't even mind!

The original plan was to hang out with James and Jaime for the day, cookout, play board games, just relax and enjoy each other's company. Then Kevin, Sophie and I were going to meet up with Debbie, Daniel and Julian for Freedom Over Texas. However, as the time to leave drew near, I had Kevin check the weather ~ it is Texas after all! Originally I was worried about the possibility of rain, but all day it had been miserably hot so I wanted to make sure we weren't going to be subjecting Sophie to some awful 4th of July experience. And boy am I glad I had him check...90 degrees at 9pm! Are you kidding me?

Well, given that new information, we debated for a long time but ultimately decided it was just too hot for our little peanut. So instead James and Jaime stayed for a while longer which turned into more board games, ice cream, and fireworks of our own! It was a lot of fun and I was glad that we were at home so that we could retreat with Sophie back into the house if necessary. She actually did really well and I was glad that she got to be a part of the festivities :) She liked the pretty colors and being outside of course, but pretty much hated the black cat fireworks ~ isn't that the really loud ones??? Well, whatever it was they were scary for her :( Can you tell I know nothing about fireworks? LOL!

Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! Happy Birthday America!!!

I'm a Big Girl Now!

I guess you can see from the pictures below why the title is what it is. I knew it was time for Sophie to "graduate" to what I refer to as her "big girl bed" ~ but what I didn't know was how many emotions I would feel :( Oh, I expected to be sad. And I definitely expected to be worried. What I didn't expect was to also feel happy and proud at the same time.

Yes, my baby is growing up and there isn't a single thing I can do about it. So I am choosing to love every second of her life, to rejoice in her accomplishments, to know she is going to grow up to be one beautiful little girl, hopefully a sweet and loving teenager, and certainly one amazing woman. But in order to get to those things, I will have to watch her grow up. To do everything for the very first time. To reach milestones. To suffer pain and hurt. To know true love for the first time. To learn how to live in this crazy world. And through all of that, to know that her Mommy and Daddy love her more than life and that she will always and forever be our baby girl.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Enjoying her mobile!

I have no idea why she turned herself this way...

but she sure looks comfy :)

So Sophie, Mommy is proud of you for graduating to your big girl bed. Yes, the empty bassinet that is still sitting in our room because I can't bear to take it down just yet, breaks my heart a little bit. But even more than that, I love you and I know that there will always be days and moments like this ~ moments when I have to let go and let you grow. Just always know sweet girl, no matter what, my arms will always be open to you, my lap never too small, and my heart always overflowing with a love that is simply beyond words.

I love you Sophie Grace.

Always and forever,

Mommy

Playdate Pics!

Sophie and Julian had their first official playdate yesterday! They are such cutie pies and we certainly had a lot of laughs :) Not to mention a super duper 911 diaper courtesy of my sweet Sophie Grace...in short, her diaper overfloweth and when I say overfloweth, I mean OVERFLOWETH!

And yes, I am discussing poop. But believe me, if you had experienced my daughter's painful pooping episodes prior to our wonderful pediatrician introducing us to Culturelle for infants, you would be doing the poopy cheer and dance too! Who knew I would get so excited about poop? Oh, the things they don't tell you before you leave the hospital :)

Anyway, I digress. Despite the rainy weather, we had a great time together and after you've spent time reading my ramblings, here is all you really cared about in the first place. Actually, I'm sort of wondering how many of you skipped all the blah-blah above and just scrolled to the pictures first?! :)

Julian Cade

Precious Photos by Aunt Debbie ~ I LOVE THEM!

The Munchkins

Um yes, she was watching Twilight :)

A special thank you to Aunt Debbie and Julian for a wonderful day! We love you all very much :)

Alex Go Away!

Tuesday evening I mowed the yard and emptied Georgie's pool out since I knew the rain was coming. Little did I know how much rain!

This is his pool this afternoon as of 4:30pm...and most of that was from today!!!

Update: As of 5:30pm, the top layer has been inflated so we can keep tracking ~ 9 inches and rising!

The Girls!

This makes my heart happy :) Even if Annie is handicapped she is still my perfectly happy, sweet, and loving baby girl and the pups don't treat her any differently! Here is a short video of "the girls" playing together. I love them so much and couldn't ask for better puppies ~ slightly less medically involved perhaps, but better puppies never! George and Annie were sad to see Max and Lily go home, but they will be together again in no time :)

(Side Note: I don't think we will ever graduate to referring to the dogs as dogs ~ they are forever just "the pups"!)