enjoying the sunshine!

This was a picture from a couple of weeks ago. Sophie has a tuft? of hair that grows vertically toward the sky..so I put a bow on it!!! Poor girl, she's going to have a real challenge with the hair when she's older. We were playing in Grandma and Grandpa's front yard.

Where's Waldo???? Try where's Red???

One thing belongs in this picture, one thing does not!! See if you can locate what's "wrong" with this picture! Jason and I stopped by his grandad and grandma's house (the dairy house is what the family calls it...it is the main house on the farm). Sophie and I were waiting outside. I hopped out of the truck to tend to Sophie in the back seat...I heard an odd sound.....I looked around and saw nothing, so I kept doing my thing...then I heard it again... "Sophie, what is that sound? Is your tummy bothering you???" ........OH MY!!!!!! Hi Red!!! (her actual name) Guess you wanted to take a road trip???

We keep hearing stories about how "Red" likes to ride along on the farm. She will often jump up on Grandad's knee or shoulder when he is driving the tractor feeding the steers. She comes running when she sees Jas, but acts shy if you look at her. Can you just imagine that image...sort of like a hillbilly pirate!

A post for Miller Manor!

I was perusing my blog buddies today. I visited Miller Manor Moments, a new friend/relative of mine! They have a beautiful little girl....who happened to be wearing the same outfit. I had to post the "identical cousins" post in honor!



Check out the boogie butt. Totally dancing to Reggae!! Pondering the world beyond her window.

Loves standing...does it more with every moment that passes!

Cheese cake smile!

a quick update...

Thanks for all the positive mojo sent my way!! MK I DID do the rice thing at like 12:30am after I read your post. I got up this morning and put the batteries back in with the card and click click~

IT WORKED!!!

The viewing screen looks blotchy, but it doesnt' effect the pictures at all.

YIPPEEEE~!!!!!

fussiness=clutziness=saddness : (

The irony of these pictures will be illustrated in the narrative below. Our little girl not looking like a baby so much anymore! Our Easter dress from our Aunt Tish!

Hey! These cups are fun toys!! Check me out! I'm all "dolled" up for the Easter Bunny!

Our Auntie Carol!

Hello all!!!

Well, this may be the last post with pictures for a while! These were rescued off of our memory card. Sadly, our camera came to a tragic end today. We are hoping that it may have a last minute rally...... but so far, no good.

You see, the kid won't take a bottle..... Still. So~ we have been "sippy cup" training. She refuses to drink the sippy cup with the flow regulator in it. Therefore, mummy took the flow thingy's out of the cups. I was being so organized today! Before we left for exercise class, I grabbed her favorite sippy ( the one she may drink 1/2 ounce out of)..filled it with water, capped it and tossed it in the diaper bag without much care. We went on about our day. When I finally had reason to reach in the diaper bag to get the cup, it was empty. There was a pool of water floating in the "waterproof" diaper bag. It was a regular moat in there! Ironically, no diapers were wet (which would have been my saving grace). Only the camera case and extra change of clothes. I frantically unzipped it (while in front of the JCPenney's sales lady) and Woooshhhh!!!! Water came pooring out of all crevaces! "Ahhhh...now that's a shame." said the JCP lady. I was cursing profanity in my head and I nearly cried! Here's why:

Since Jason and I got married and became pregnant, we really haven't celebrated any special events. We have missed my birthday due to Sophie's birth, our first anniversary due to Sophie's surgery, Thanksgiving and Christmas were both rough due to Jason's battle with Mononucleosis. Valentine's day we had a rushed dinner with Sophie in tow.

One day at Sam's club we were eyeing up the cameras. We found the one we loved, but didn't have the money to buy it. I had some money stashed away, so I suggested sheepishly that I pay for half and we could make it our anniversary gift to eachother. He had enough money to pay for half...so we bought it. Mostly, we wanted to capture Sophie's day to day and use the camera as a means of keeping in contact with all of you!!

So...Sophie's stubbornness about the bottle caused mama to pack a leaky sippy cup and clutzy me didn't check the lid, therefore.....saddness. Goodbye old friend!!! hahaha

Easter wishes for Abby Jenny plus more!

Sophie received a very nice card from Abby Jenny (Heidi's mama). The card was textured and the S girl LOVED it!! Check our her video! Thanks to Aunt Diane too, for the lovely card and picture. I can't believe how much our girl has grown!


Believe it or not, Sophie decided to crawl, pull up, stand, and "cruise"(I think that's what they call it when they walk holding on to objects..if not, tell me!) all on the same weekend. Easter has been eventful for our girl. Her crawling is very limited, but she will try to walk for anyone who is watching. Her balance is NOT there yet, so Daddy had the brilliant idea to "memory foam" the living room. You can see that on above video. We had the talk about how the world will not be "memory foamed" and she will have to learn that falling isn't bouncy and soft! I think she actually enjoys falling on that stuff! Oh the fear she can set in our minds! I keep wanting to say..."KID, that's one expensive headja got there...Ya think you can be a little more careful with it????"
Here are some more pics for you enjoyment!

Just like her mama..uses her glasses as a head decoration...and check out the eyes!! They are gray blue, with speckles of brown. Anybody have a name for that????

Be forewarned, Jason is a REDNECK HILLBILLY!!! hahahaha Seriously, he is now known as the guy who can't figure out mom is taking a video and cusses at her because he thinks she has missed the moment of true "picture perfection". I should have the bar of soap on stand by for the potty mouth!! hahaha I think this video is so precious, even with the profanity, that I had to share it!

Cousin Cuteness!

Can you just imagine the trouble these two will be getting into when they are in their mid/early 20's. Those big-eyed girls!

Finally, for your viewing pleasure..

Crawling done in by "Grease"...She just can't help shaking her booty!

Happy "In and out" Birthday!

Well,, it's official! Sophie is 9 months old today. She's been "out" in the world as long as she was "in". Seems funny to celebrate that way, but we started loving her way before she came into the world. Just check out how she's doing these days.

Sophie in the Jumperoo Daddy bought her. She still is "petite". 16 lbs 9oz.

She is SOOOOO close to crawling. She moves backwards, sideways, falls on her tummy, and rolls like a champ. Hasn't quite figured out forward motion yet. She does, however, enjoy the Yoga pose "downward dog".She likes to read.....well, uh, sorta.Mmmm, mmmm good! She is teething on EVERYTHING!!

She loves sitting up. Ironically, she gets there from lying on her tummy, pushing up, does a split, then pops over. Never the easy road with our girl.Sitting in a high chair at "BackBay" restaurant. They love her there. The owner's wife remembered mama from years back when I waited tables there, so she has to hold Sophie and carry her around while we are there!

Baby Boot Camp!!! No, Sam is not chained to the wall! Although, what an invention that would be!!! These are Sophie's (and mommy's) "Buggies and Babes" Babies. (Not sure who the tunnel goer is)More play time..This is how they scan Sophie's head with the computer. I totally freaked out when I saw this pic due to her ear location. Although that ear is SLIGHTLY lower than the other, it is NOT THAT LOW!!! The "sock" is pulling it way down!This is John F., our Orthodist. He was trained only minutes away from where my mom and dad grew up! He's a Springdale, PA guy. Super nice and good to our girl! As you can see, she is not always easy on him.

Yet another teething picture. Note the time on the clock. She is not a sleeper, our girl.This is the weather that greeted us today. Yes, snow in April. This is why some of you live in the south.We are using a sippy cup...Not in the conventional way.
Our pretty girl this morning on her 9 month birthday.

mamawearies!

I am "mama weary" as I like to call it. Whoa, this kiddo is kicking my booty!! She has been absolutely delightful lately. Cute as a bug in a rug! However, she hasn't slept more than 3 hours in a row since she turned 6 months. We started solids and it just did "something" to her. So....mama is going on 3 months of interrupted sleep. I have reached the point where I don't even go to sleep until after midnight because I sense the inevitable wake up sobbing and can't relax enough to fall asleep! She wakes up about 5 times a night and nurses at least 3 times. I swear, I wake up more drained than when I went to bed!! LITERALLY! haha

She is also still REFUSING any fluid except mama's milk.....from the original source. No bottles, no sippies, no water, no juice, no formula....NADA!!! We invested in our 10th style of sippy cup today! Cross your fingers!!! Jennifer-I'm trying a straw one!!! I hope it works! The therapist offered to help the other day with the bottle thing. (I think they think I haven't given it the ole' college try) haha! After the hour of Sophie's hissy fit...she said, "No...don't think this kid is going to ever take this bottle....sorry".

Anyways, all this awake time has taken it's toll on my physical being. Here's the list:

• BIG black circles under the eyes
• contact lenses have gone on strike and no longer favor being in my eyes. If I wear them, I look like I have pink eye! Yikes!
• puberty like "breakouts" all over my face. I mean, seriously???? It wasn't this bad when I was in high school!
• the gray hair attack...and ask me when the last time was I even got to get my hair trimmed?? I've been living with a botched hair cut for like 4 months
• lack of coordination....pick a toy up..drop it....pick it up again..drop it again...etc...
• slow reaction/processing skills...Jason asked me to type in his password on his blackberry when he was driving..after 4 attempts...He fired me!!! (we actually got in a yelling match when I couldn't figure out how to type in an address on TomTom....and I've used it before)
• and finally......mindless rambling!! aka...this blog post!!!

On a good note! I have decided to make every attempt to focus on me in the realm of physical health. I am walking with the Buggies and Babes girls 3 times a week. We do some fast paced walking and lunge/plank/squat exercises OUCH!!! : )...I also am hitting the gym for a yoga class once a week. It's beginning yoga, so I'm learning to stretch and strengthen those muscles that were so beat up with Sophie's birth. Finally, I've found this GREAT website called http://caloriecounter.about.com It is a "tracking" site that allows you to log everything you eat so you can put in less than you burn off in a day. I hope it will help me drop a few extra pounds. We would like to extend our little family...but I refuse to get that going until I am at least back to my pre-Sophie weight.

Sophie is going to start crawling any second. She scoots (backwards) all over the place and can end up in the most unusal parts of our living room if I leave her for just a second. I'll post some pictures soon! Very funny bird she is. She is making alot of funny faces. Strangers often tell us how alert, attentive and animated she is. She's a real social butterfly and can smile on cue when she hears someone say....."ahh....she's so CUTE!"

This mama is signing off for tonight! I'll be awakened in a few minutes anyways!!!! Hope to post again soon!

signed lovingly,

mamaweary