Canyon Lake is Calling :)

Ok, well it was calling...oh about two months ago :)  For our birthdays, meaning mine and Kevin's, we decided to have some fun and head to Canyon Lake.  And of course, what fun would it be without James and Jaime?!  Oh, and the pups of course :)

Side Note:  For those of you who do not know this, Kevin's birthday is the day before mine, hence why I said for "our" birthdays.  Additional side note and random trivia tidbit you will never use ~ our driver's license numbers are exactly the same except for the last two digits and those are only separated by two (25 vs. 27).  I will always wonder if we were in the DPS office at the same time...

Anyway, back to the story at hand...

For our birthdays we decided we wanted to take a mini-vacation.  Somewhere to relax, have some fun, just chill.  Of course, at the time of planning I didn't know I was going to come down with mono a little more than two weeks before our trip.  Oh well, I focused a little less on the fun part and a little more on the resting part...and I have to say...that may be the way to go anyway!

We headed out Thursday night so we could have two full days of fun before heading back to the "real world" on Sunday.  Friday was a pretty relaxing day...at least as far as I can remember.  This is EXACTLY why you shouldn't wait two months to blog!  I do remember a tasty Mexican lunch ~ this despite the fact that the place did not seem to have air conditioning :(  Oh, and a pretty tasty snowcone :)  Lots of tv, some reading, a trip to the outlet mall, grilled chicken and steaks for dinner, and then an early night ~ at least for me that is!  Perhaps this day of relaxation laziness on my part explains why there are not many pictures following this paragraph...

So shoot me, it happens :)  But I promise I did better the rest of the weekend!

Sophie enjoying her breakfast...

Sophie enjoying her Uncle James' breakfast :)

I tell you this kid can EAT!

Aunt Jaime relaxing...what's sad is that even pregnant with twins she had more energy than I did! 

Word to the wise ~ mono is the pits!

She has a fascination with holding things in her hands.  This pile of rocks could have provided hours of entertainment.  At least it's cheap entertainment, right?!

A kitty that was hanging around.  I felt sorry for it so I brought it a bowl of milk.  The boys convinced me it was probably not that sad, as they were pretty sure I wasn't the only person who "felt sorry for it" ~ aka fed it.  Apparently she wasn't as skinny as I thought upon first glance :)

Saturday was lake day ~ oh, and Kevin's birthday!  Sophie has been TO a lake before, but she was too young to remember it.  And besides, the water at Blue Lake in California last summer was FREEZING and she was only three months old...that ought to say enough to let you know why this was technically her first trip IN a lake.  And let the record reflect (inside joke for Lynna!), she had a blast!  There is nothing quite like watching your child experience things and to watch the sheer joy of life on their faces...no stress, no worries, just a childlike faith and happiness.  If only we adults could take a few notes from our babies from time to time, what a different world we would live in!

Absolutely no fear!  Just walked right on in...

...And stayed a while :)

 I cannot tell you how blessed I feel to have these two in my life!  I love my family!!!

 Aunt JaJa chillin on the "beach"

Uncle James and Aunt JaJa

 Hanging with her Dada!  

 Mommy and Soph

The girls ~ All FIVE of us :)

  Two of my favorite people in the whole world!

Love this pic!  Can't wait for more vacations just like these.  

Just next time, there will be two more adorable princesses in the pic!

And I can't leave out one very important milestone...Sophie's first trip to The Gristmill in Gruene!  James and Jaime, awesome as they are, treated us to a wonderful birthday dinner.  If we teach this kid one thing, it will be all our favorite places to eat ;)

Grinning at the Gristmill!

 Before the lemon...

...and after the lemon :)

Gathering leaves...told you had a fascination with having things in her hands!

 Running = Stay awake, stay awake, got...to...stay...AWAKE!

 Ugh...I'm tired...so I'll just sit here and be cute ;)

Oh wait...you want a pic?  Nope, can't be still for that!

You know, cause we ask so much of her!

 Still running!

Awwwww maannnn...caught by the Da-Da!

 Photo Time!

Sunday was my day to pick what we spent the day doing.  I really had no preference and didn't want to get home late, so we decided a quick lunch and some game playing at the onsite entertainment center would be just the ticket!  A little lunch, some friendly competition, lots of laughter and good memories...the perfect end to a wonderful weekend.

Ready to play!!!

And annoyed that I am trying to take her picture :)

Daddy and Mommy showing her the ropes.

And let the "friendly" competition begin :)

Of course I would find her and her Daddy at the race car games!  Where else?!

 Um...I think "friendly" competition?!  LOL!

Here's hoping to a hundred more birthdays just like this one ~ of course by then we would be like the oldest people in the entire world :) LOL!

Splish Splash Sprinklers!

I'd venture to say she had a great time :)

Muffins with Mommy

The Friday before Mother's Day was "Muffins with Mommy" day at Soph's old school.  I love doing special little things like this with my sweet girl, but in all honesty, each and every smile, laugh, new word...ok, pretty much ANYTHING...is a treasured moment with my precious Peanut.  I can never thank the Lord enough for blessing us with such an amazing angel, not just on Mother's Day, but every day of our lives.

Mommy loves you more than you will ever know sweet Sophia!

A Belated Birthday Bash with Buddies!

Yes, I know...nearly four months after the fact, one would think I had completed all the birthday posts.  Me included ~ and yet, there is one last post to share.  I tell you, I like birthday weeks ~ this girl is after an entire birthday month!

Unfortunately, Amber, Walter and the kiddos came down with a virus right before So-So's party...and while we missed them terribly, I am quite appreciative that they chose not to share such a gift :)  Besides, it gave us a perfect reason to celebrate a couple weeks later with a mini playdate with some of the cutest kids in the whole world.

Sweet Little Lexi!

 Brother and Sister

I love these pictures ~ making friends and playing nice!  

Side Note: It looks like they have exactly the same color hair in these pics :)

 So-So LOVES cards!  

Almost more than presents...ALMOST

 Presents and playtime!

I think I've said this before, but we are so blessed to have such amazing friends and even more honored to be sharing this parenting journey with so many people we love.  Life truly wouldn't be the same without each of you!  We love you all :)

It's Your Party ~ 3 of 3 That Is!

Yes, this post is ALMOST three months late ~ but please, don't despair!  It will be ok ~ I will get you caught up on all that has happened in our crazy, beautiful life very soon :)

April 16, 2011 is one of those days that is forever locked in that special vault of memories only mommies have.  You know that vault?  The one where you relive its contents at every milestone ~ kindergarten, driving, first date, graduation, college, wedding, and the list goes on and on.  It is that vault of memories that can make you both laugh and cry, for you will truly never know where the years went.  You will only know that each of those special moments and all those in between went by way too fast.  And while you are happy and so proud of the person that your child has become, they will always be your little baby...always...absolutely always.

I can't tell you how proud I am of our sweet baby girl.  She is without a doubt the joy of our home, and I cannot stress enough how quickly this big day came.  ONE YEAR!  ONE STINKING YEAR!!!  I absolutely could not believe it.  And now, even as I write this, three more months have already gone by...I don't know who is stealing time, but whoever you are, can you please slow down just a weeeeeeeee bit?!  Cause I sure would appreciate it!

For those of you who know me, one might say I am a bit obsessive...but I would like to say that most of the time ~ ok, some of the time, it's a good obsessive?!  Or at least, saying it's a good obsessive makes me feel a little better about myself ;)  So this quote, unquote "obsessiveness" led me to find a theme on Etsy that I just loved.  But why pay, when I can do it myself?!  Um, for future reference to obsessive self, just buy the stuff! It is way easier you silly woman!!!  Not to mention, I just had to invest in a Cricut in order to make this theme come to life :)

Somehow, a zebra banner grew to a zebra banner plus cake toppers, matching table runners, HUGE zebra balloons, a welcome sign, and the most ADORABLE outfit ~ not to mention the matching shoes!  But wait I am not done ~ let's see what else ~ umbrella table and chair rentals, a bouncy house, a swing set (also affectionately known as The Fort), tissue poms, a hundred plus balloons, four dozen cupcakes, hamburgers and hotdogs,  and an entire party execution team.  Yes, I know you are thinking it ~ OBSESSIVE!

And wait, let me go ahead and beat you to it.  Yes, I do know she will not remember a thing!  But, hey, that is why I have an absolutely amazing photographer :)  Our memories captured forever in film so that I can torture her later with strolls down memory lane!  Plus, years from now when she says in her annoying teenage whiny voice, "But Mom, you never do anything for me!", I can whip out the scrapbook album and this post and say, "Now, how is that for a first birthday party!"  Yeah, I plan ahead, but I bet you I win that argument ~ or at least get a momentary pause and an eye roll :)  Of course, my sweet Sophia will never be an annoying, whiny teenage girl...right???

Cause really, how can the sweet, precious baby in these photos, ever be anything but my little cuddle bug?



I cannot thank our wonderful family and friends for making this day so special.  Having each of you there to celebrate our baby girl's birthday meant more to us than you will ever know.  And to each of you, and you know who you are, who worked to make this day everything I hoped it would be, I am forever grateful.  Thank you for putting up with my crazy ideas.  Thank you for the memories, the laughter, and love.

But most of all, thank you for loving our sweet baby almost as much we do.  Our family would not be complete without each of you ~ for family isn't only blood ~ but bonds knit together through life and love.

I'mmmmmmm Baaaaaaaaccccccckkkkkkkkkkk!

I know ~ shocked aren't you!  I would venture to say it has been forever a while since I blogged and yes, I have gotten the suttle "reminders" that Sophia's adoring public is in need of some new material :)

But just in my own defense - you break your main camera, get mono, put your house on the market, sale your house, try to pack, find a new daycare, get over mono, move, enroll sweet So-So in a new school, contract Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease, try to unpack, paint, and work a full-time job in tax during busy season and let me know how much blogging you get done!  Don't worry...I'm just kidding ~ sort of :)

So now that I have the time (NOT) to blog, I think I might just provide Sophia's many followers with a little new reading material.  However, in order to do that we will have to take a trip down memory lane ~ and by memory lane, I mean like April :)

That being said, stay tuned...blog posts are coming!  TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Provided I don't get wrapped up in above mentioned painting and/or unpacking!)

Love to you all :)