Holiday Joy

Because life around here was pretty hectic that week before Christmas, I was not a particularly good Blogger...shame, shame! Since I posted most of the exciting holiday stuff, here are just some leftovers that I thought were too cute not to share. It was wonderful to be near family and have everyone here this holiday season. I love the anticipation and excitement of the weeks before Christmas and am so let down after it's over. I can't wait until Sophia gets just a little older and can share in the excitement too!

Zoe was kind enough to entertain Sophia despite the frigid temperatures that day! They had quite a time jumping and running all down the sidewalk.

Sophia was being mommy's little elf and decided to gift wrap herself for Christmas. I had no idea how long wrapping paper scraps could occupy a toddler! Hooray!

Just too cute, seriously.

Hello, Mommy!!!!!

Ummm, they're not related are they? Couldn't tell.

Mom and I were doing some holiday baking and listening to Christmas tunes on this day. Sophia was really getting into the groove!

Aunt Pam and Uncle Stacy got Sophia a sit-n-spin for Christmas. I thought that maybe it would take her a little bit to figure it out, but no that was not the case!

Christmas Pants

Dad and me Christmas '05

Brother and I toast to great pants!
Notice the similarity in fabrics...mine are missing some of the blue and his are a bit darker, but we got pretty close!

The seamstress herself! Yay for Cathy!


Another Cathy Hirner Christmas Creation...
Adorable or what??! I of course dressed Sophia in her monkey outfit ASAP! She is our little monkey and quite happy about it!


Last year I only made verbal mention of the great 'Christmas Pants' but this year you get to see them for yourself: two-fold! Boy did Dad ever love those pants. When I tell people about them, their first reaction is always the same: He wore the same pants every year, you mean the exact pair? And my answer is always yes, yes the same exact pair. Dad's weight never fluctuated much, so that was never an issue, but it wouldn't have been Christmas without these pants!

So my Christmas miracle this year was to resurrect the pants for all to see again. Since I mentioned last year that the pants were no where to be found, I had to contact the best seamstress I knew: my sister in law, Cathy! She, in true Christmas spirit, helped me choose fabric and a pattern to recreate the pants for my very own. We found a fabric that was quite close to Dad's in fact and I was just giddy about the results. She did an awesome job and I was happy to let Dad's memory live on through some very festive slacks, indeed!

One Very Merry Day

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We had a non-stop Christmas Extravaganza! We began our day opening presents at home, which Sophia is still not that into, and then headed to my mom's for Christmas brunch. We then loaded up, very quickly, and picked up Charlie's Grandma at the nursing home. We then headed to his brother's for more festive fun and crazy times. There was wrapping paper and toys absolutely everywhere along with children and screams! We stayed there all afternoon and then headed to my aunt's to feast one last time. Because my cousins were in town from Seattle we really felt we had to hit everyone as much as possible! By the end of the day we were exchausted, but thank goodness for footie pajamas, pack-n-plays, black coffee and beer! (oh and Jolt cake too, one my fave desserts from cousin Jonathan! :)

Santa Take Two

Here's Molly and her friend Georgia toting Sophia around. They took turns holding her and carrying her. Sophia loved the attention!

The Girls with Papa Leo

Well, this was not a good year to meet Santa. We tried again at Santa Breakfast number 2 and still no luck. As soon as Santa walked in the room she stopped dead in her tracks, turned and ran straight toward me; bless her little heart. She looked darn cute too, but I was not about to waste more time taking yet another screaming Santa picture. She did have a wonderful time eating biscuits and gravy and chasing her cousins around the hall, so at least the day was not lost! ;)

Her big cousin Molly was most interested in lifting her up and carrying her from place to place. In usual Sophia fashion, she tried to wiggle and squirm her way free but Molly doesn't mess around! She kept a good grip on her and adopted Sophia as her new pet.

Doctor Update

Sophia had her 15 month appointment yesterday. As I've come to find out, I guess the 15 monther isn't standard for all doctors, but mine likes to do it, so we did! Actually, I think it's just an excuse to do more shots!!! From the looks of it, however, Sophia only has one more vaccination to go before she's done until age 5...woo hoo!! Speaking of shots, it has always been hard to watch her get them, but this time was possibly the worst for me. I think it's because she's now getting to the age where she is comprehending so much more that it is truly heartbreaking to see her so happy and loving towards the nurse and then, whammo...pain, tears, and maybe even a little bit of hatred ;)! But, on the other hand, she calmed down immediately when the nurse offered her the bucket of toys! So, I guess with bad comes good!

As far as her 15 month stats, it goes like this:
Height 33": 95 %
Weight 26lbs: 92%
Head: 85%

She continues to be in the top ranges of the chart and is now wearing 24 month and some 2T clothing....yikes. Everyone tells me that she'll begin tapering off and evening out her growing, which has happened a bit, but not quite as much as "they" say. She has at least 20 words now and is still adding them. This morning as soon as I came in her room to get her she pointed at her quilt and said 'giraffe' and yesterday she pointed to a picture of a lion and said 'raaar', gotta love it! I know I keep saying this, but I am truly amazed at how much she's changed and grown in the past few months alone. We can't wait to continue this journey of life with our darling daughter as she brings so much joy every day!

Office Assistant

With this happy attitude, she'll have those reports finished in no time!

Hug break!

Hello, Daddy's office, how may I direct your call?

The PowerPoint was too complex so she broke it down old school style

Running is the halls is not allowed!!!

My darling husband recently received a promotion and we couldn't be more proud! He truly deserves it as he works hard every day to provide for his family and we love him for it! I think he'll be doing work that he will really enjoy and there is a possibility for some travel to sunny California (one of the perks of being a stay at home mom is to travel too!). But, one of the more immediate perks is that he finally has a real office...hooray! For any of you out there who are surviving in cubicle world, you may understand just how thrilling the idea of an office can be for him! He took Sophia and me on a tour of it this weekend and it looks like he'll have the perfect helper on Take Your Daughter to Work Day! ;)

The Rejects

So, it's time for the annual holiday photo...yay! Here are some of the better rejects that just didn't make the cut this year!

Her head is getting ready to spin around about now!

(click on the pic to get the full effect of this look of disgust!)

She and Walter try and escape the Mommy picture madness!

Her second attempt involved fleeing via the stairs, it was also unsuccessful!

Who needs those stinky boys in the picture anyway?!

Playing by the light of the tree

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Before...

(she did have some snow on her, so we took precautions through the night!)

Sophia carefully choosing her next ornament of choice

Dancing to some Christmas tunes

After!!!!

the ol' girl in all her glory!

a view of our festive house from the sidewalk

So finally...we have a tree! Yay for Christmas! There was some minor drama in actually purchasing a tree, getting it home and up, but all that is behind us and our house is now piney- fresh! This may or may not come as a shock to you, but when it comes to Christmas trees, I love a tree with absolutely NO theme. I know, so out of character, but truly I love a tree that is loud, colorful and eclectic. We have a ton of lights, both colored and white, a big gold star, tons of balls and various other ornaments we've collected through our few years together.

This is also the first year that we've put up outside lights (even though they've been sitting in our basement for 3 years, but that is neither here nor there at this point) and I think Charlie did a good job. We learned a little about lights and have a new game plan for next year, but so far so good, and soooo festive! :)

Breakfast with Santa

Is this a classic first time Santa photo or what?!

Is Santa even in this picture? Oh, wait...there he is!

Grandma Sue isn't scary like Santa!

All smiles with the toys

Sophia happily chatting with the finches in the lobby

Grandma B's nursing home sponsored a Santa Breakfast this weekend. Sophia, who is usually cheerful and friendly (sometimes overly) to strangers was having no part in this Santa Claus stuff. Her cousins did happily oblige though, so at least some of the pictures turned out cute! The picture of her with the Jolly Old Elf really just breaks my heart. I've heard of some parents who think it's cute and whatever, but truly it did kind just make me sad. We do have another Santa Breakfast scheduled in a couple weeks at the Knights Hall, so we'll see if we fare any better then!

I must say again how in awe I am of my child at this stage in the game. I forget that they truly are such sponges! I mentioned in the Family Outings post that Sophia saw and was fascinated by some eagles in Minnesota. When she saw the finches she was again thrilled as she giggled, pointed and bounced at their very sight. She continued to point at them and say "eagle, eagle". Although I tried to explain species and class to her, I think it was a little over her head. But hey, at least she's making connections! ;)

Happy Little Reader

Papa Leo and those wacky dogs!

Aunt Cathy reads as Sophia points out pictures

Aunt Pam is happy to oblige too!

Sophia is a definitely one happy little reader from morning until night. The first thing she does after waking up in the morning, literally, is to grab the closest book and force it upon you. I'm not sure if this is a blessing or a curse! ;) Actually, it is wonderful to see her so excited by reading and learning new words. She is consistently adding new words to her vocabulary and I just giggle every time I hear a new one come out of her mouth! She also responds accurately when asked about the sounds of a dog, a cow, a duck, and sometimes cat (she used to be really good about that one, but maybe she hasn't been around Grandma Sue's cat enough recently!)

In the video Sophia is reading Go Dog, Go to herself. It's been hard to capture her "reading" on video but it is maybe the cutest thing ever! This video isn't quite a perfect sampling, but it's still pretty darn cute. My favorite part is when she scratches the page...that's the part I always use my finger to imitate the climbing of the dogs on the ladder--she does it twice, both times on the same page. Notice how she reads and points just like a pro!

The Heart Attack Method

Although the video is a little dark, you should be able to get this gist of her now preferred way of moving down a flight of stairs. She has yet to injure herself, but I swear it makes a mother a little (okay maybe a lot) nervous!!!

Stripey Little Elf

Well, seriously this outfit could not be passed up. I mean really. It is a full body sweater, with a hood...LOVE IT! I only hope that one day Sophia has similar clothing taste to me (although I'm sure my brother is cringing at the thought) because otherwise she is going to look back at some of these pictures and be mortified. She really did just look like a happy little elf toddling around the house, just too cute.

In this video you'll see Sophia happily playing with her puzzle and then singing and dancing along as the music starts.

Family Outings

Our first stop was Oxbow Park, a nature park that is home to many of Minnesota's native animals. We saw mountain lion, a lynx, bison, elk, deer, eagles, and various other snakes and birds. It is November in Minnesota so everyone was bundled up!

Sophia was content for a little while in the stroller but soon took to gazing by foot!

Little Red Nose!

Sophia and Aunt Ellyn looking at the bald eagles. Sophia even said eagle a few times. She also told AE that there were big birds in the cages by saying 'big bird' and pointing a few times. Wow, I didn't know she knew all that!

Brenden getting a lift from his mom, Louise!

We were all fascinated by the cougar who was getting fed as we arrived. It was pretty neat to watch it eat such big hunks of meat, but also a little gross.

After Oxbow and a lunch of yummy leftovers we headed to the bowling alley. We divided into three teams according to birthdays. My team won by a landslide, naturally!! ;)

No, Sophia the crane move is only for Karate, not bowling.

So many colors to choose from!

Ellyn and Owen relaxing

Louise asked for a print out of the scores so she could tally the totals herself! To her disappointment though, her team still lost!