9-Month Sneak Peek!

Thank you Sabrina for yet another fantastic session!  They get better every time :)

Even when she is sick...

...she's a ham!

It should be noted this was after an intense round of Tylenol and Ibuprofen to bring a 104.2 fever down.  Love this kid!!!

Peek-a-boo!

Ok, I'll come out.  Hold your horses, Mom!

The culprit on her way out!

And she's off to the next activity, which in 

this case just happened to be playing in the dogs' water bowl :)

And now, for your viewing pleasure...

The cutest cowgirl on Earth!

January 24, 2011

Who also happens to be wildly obsessed with remote controls!

Oh and for the record, despite how many "fake" (meaning we've taken out the batteries) remotes we give her, the only ones she loves are the ones that actually do things!  Go figure :)

More pics to come later!  I know I've kept her adoring public waiting long enough! 

Thirty Eight...

Today marks a very special day for two reasons!  Today Sophie has officially been out of Mommy's tummy for as long as she was in it :) AND her very first tooth has finally broken through!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Granted it's not visible and you can only feel the sharp point, but it TOTALLY COUNTS!  I can't tell you how many months of teething and sleepless nights we have had.  I am so, so proud! 

   38 Weeks In                                             38 Weeks Out

No Way Nine!

Ok, this is a little overdue, but even still NINE MONTHS!  Absolutely not!!!  I just can't figure out where the time keeps disappearing to.  Please someone tell me how to make time SLOW DOWN!!!

I have loved every single minute with our sweet girl - the wonderful, amazing, perfect moments and yes, even the crazy, hectic, screaming ones.  Now granted at the time, the crying, hectic ones don't seem so wonderful, but in hindsight you realize how very special each second you spend with your child truly is.

But even in those squealing, kid in a candy store moments when I could not be prouder of a new accomplishment, there is always a piece of my heart that breaks at how big she is getting.  It's a good thing kids always need their mommas ~ cause I certainly don't intend to ever let her go!!!

So at nine months (or a little over since I'm almost two weeks late posting this), our sweet Sophia is:

• Weighs 17.2 lbs and is 28.5 inches long, which puts her in the 20th and 80th percentile respectfully.
• In Size 3 diapers!  FINALLY!!!
• Still really needs a 3-month waist in pants, though we have to buy 6-9 months (or 6-12 depending on the store) for the length.  Why do they not make adjustable waist pants in itty-bitty infant sizes???
• Is a Size 2 shoe. 
• Has graduated to the Toddler 1 class at school.  She is the youngest and smallest (always), but she was too mobile for the Infant 2 class.  Is that a good problem to have?  
• Is now a Bear at church.  She was a Bunny but again, we are moving on up!
• Has learned to wave Hi in addition to waving Bye.  
• Increased her syllable sounds (la, ha, na, lots of things like that) and can now say JaJa (as of yesterday).
• Learned to walk behind some of her push toys and can really move in her walker.
• Loves brushing her gums!  Yes, we are still toothless :(
• Throws pretty much anything.  Sometimes out of excitement and sometimes out of ummm...other not so princess like behavior.  Tantrums in our future?  I'd put some money on that one if you want a safe bet!
• Dances the "Phia" as it has been officially declared at school.  This kid can be the life of the party if she wants to be :)
• Adores being sung to.
• No longer has any "baby" items :(  The swing was disassembled tonight and that we, ok I was only hanging on to because I just couldn't stand to lose the last "baby" item.
• Has a new area in the living room that is containing most of the toy store.  
• Screams!  I don't know if we learned this at daycare or if kids just figure this out.  But if she is mad, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO IGNORE IT!  IT IS SOOOOOOOOOOO LOUD!!!!
• Can stand unsupported for a few seconds at a time.  Mainly until she realizes she's doing it.
• Loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Handy Manny (the two shows that are on in the morning while Mommy and Daddy are getting ready for work).
• Is to a point of disliking bottles or maybe disliking formula?  She wants food people!  Real food!  And, the pediatrician said go for it.  So off we go into a whole new adventure.  Yes, she's had a few things here and there, but now we really get to introduce her to things.
• Uses sippy cups FINALLY!  She prefers the straw kind but is learning to master a normal sippy cup.  She'd actually prefer to drink from a "big people" cup but that gets messy :)
• Will eat the mess out of some Mum-Mums and Gerber "cheetos".  And yogurt, applesauce, fruit.  Oh, who am I kidding.  My kid is turning into a piglet!!!
• Terrorizes the puppies - out of love I promise...now, how do I convince the dogs of that?
• Loves to walk around while you hold her hands.
• Would spend all day outside playing in the grass, eating leaves, digging in the dirt.
• Believes doorstops were created solely for her enjoyment.
• Is as stubborn as a mule!  You can swat her hand a million times and she will go back for more!!!  (i.e. dog bowls, water bowls, dog food storage containers, remote, standing up in the bathtub, and the list could go on and on)  I truly have no idea who she gets this quality from!!!
• And finally, as always, is the absolute best thing that has ever happened to us, the love of our lives and whose smile can always make your worst day the best day of your life!

We love you Sophia Grace ~ more than you will ever, ever know!

Happy New Year!

Whaaaattttt?  I am actually going to post something that happened in 2011???  You bet I am!  I may be a couple weeks late, but hey, better late than never :)

New Year's Eve morning, Sophie and I went to a New Year's Jamboree playdate at the park with our Stroller Strides buddies.  Sophie was in a great mood and the weather was warm and sunny!  Only in Texas can you put your child in a sleeveless shirt for a New Year's Eve playdate :)

Later that day, we went to Aunt Jaja and Uncle James' to ring in the New Year with a lot of laughs, memories and of course some board games!  

 Bath time with Aunt Jaja!

 Happy New Year from the Taliaferro Family!

(The more mobile she gets, the harder these family photo opportunities become...)

 These two share a very special bond!  

Mutual adoration and love captured forever in photos ~ doesn't get much more special than that. 

 Ok, why is it that she cooperated more for Aunt Jaja

 and Uncle James than Mommy and Daddy???  NO FAIR!!!

From our family to yours, we wish each of you a wonderfully blessed 2011!  

Date Day!

The Tuesday after Christmas with our sweet Sophie feeling ten times better than she had been, we decided to keep our previously planned date day and enjoy some kid-free time with our best friends.

Side Note:  I cannot tell you how very blessed we are to have such a wonderful babysitter.  You know you have a wonderful babysitter when you don't worry when you walk out the door.  Now that isn't saying I am not subconsciously counting the minutes until I get back to her, but having such an amazing sitter truly does make our lives so much better!

The four of us went to lunch at Lupe Tortilla.  Mexican ~ are you shocked???  If it was up to Jaime and I, we would eat Mexican EVERY time we go out.  However, just for the sake of being the amazing wives we are :), we do OCCASIONALLY go elsewhere. But most of the time, we just switch up which Mexican restaurant we are going to! Variety is the spice of life, right?!

After lunch we went to see The Little Fockers, had a few laughs, a little popcorn (ok, that was just me!), and then headed back for games!  Normally we do girls against boys, but this time we did card games so it was every man/woman for themselves. Can you say friendly competition?!  We love our games ~ we don't like to lose per se, but we do like to play :)  I wouldn't say we are sore losers, we just keep playing until we win!

I don't have any date day pictures but I do have...get ready for it...MORE CHRISTMAS!  This was Sophie's last official Christmas gift.  And she loves it!  Like I said in an earlier Christmas post, these little musical learning tables are a gold-mine!!! Not a day has gone by since then that she hasn't played with her table ~ and if it keeps our child's attention that long, you know it must be fun!

Oh, and I think I left off one other "Christmas Present" Aunt Jaime shared with Sophie ~ Caramel Turtle Ice Cream Pie from Coldstone!  Now we know why Sophie loves her so much :)  Just kidding Aunt Jaja!  (For the record, I did give the a-ok for her to share!)

Thank you Aunt Jaja, Uncle James, Max and Lily for a wonderful day !  We love you guys so very much!!!

P.S.  You may now sigh from relief!  That is officially the last Christmas post!!!  Did you ever think it would end???