Irish Weekend

This past Labor Day weekend felt like it was a bit more laborious than it was meant to be! We did a lot of house/yard work and I thought this was a weekend to relax?! Ha! But we did manage to get in a little fun by heading to the KC Irish Festival. With Daddy out of town for rugby, Sophia and I met Stacy and family, who had just finished work at the First Aid Booth, for a beer and some fun!

Kansas City is known as the 'City of Fountains' and we sure do have a lot! Here is Shelby in front of one that was dyed for the festivities!

(She seriously looks so grown up I can't stand it...and she's even in middle school now...ARG!)

Her outfit matches her hair perfectly!

This scarecrow is too cute to frighten away anything!

Sophia could not have cared less about all the fun things to see, hear, and eat. She was seriously mesmerized by this tree for at least 15-20 minutes. We waited here while Stacy was browsing the kilt department. Sadly, he did not emerge wearing one, but did learn his size so he'll be able to search on-line for one he can call his own.
Here Sophia is seen sticking her hand in and pulling out piles of leaves, and the occasional bit of trash, only to put them back in again. The trash, did make it to the trashcan, however. See, even babies can do their part to help the environment! ;)

Overall, it was a fun and relaxing afternoon spent with family. The weather was a little too warm for us and it would have been nicer just a bit cooler, but all-in-all it was a great time had by all.

At Home Fun

We have been so, so busy lately that I feel like we are never at home! Although this isn't a particularly new thing for us, I notice it much more when I start to get edgier and grumpier for no reason, and that is not a good thing! ;) Sophia is really a trooper and can adjust to most situations, but she was extremely happy to play at home for most of the day; she played and explored all day long! I included some of her favorite activities....

No matter where I put that stinking remote, she always finds it! If I hide it too well, then we can't find it! Although, we are thankful that the only part of TV she's really into is the equipment! (She loves to try and shove her hand in the VCR too...ugh)

She was not happy with the design plan of the dining room and took it upon herself to fix it.

She's almost camouflaged amongst all those toys!

Are these two peas in a pod or what!!! Both smiley, happy and super cute!!!

Here she is viewing all the family photos. She adores looking at pictures and will literally drag you to them so that you can point out the people. She also knocks the frames over when she's done, but we're working on that!

Good dog, Walter, good dog.

I love it when she plays with this toy because she will crawl through the little tube things and then sit on the edge of the window ledge and play with the other stuff. It is too cute and pretty ingenious!

Peek-a-boo!

A Few Favorites

As Sophia gets older, more and more of her personality comes out each day. Here are a few of her favorite things....

• Toilet Paper: Her latest game is so much fun! She loves to unroll as much of the TP that she can before someone stops her! As an added bonus, she'll even splash in the toilet if she has time!
• Sausage: Pork, turkey, or chicken--she's not partial!
• Walter: When he's not licking her every second, they are too cute together! He's very tolerant of her and she ADORES him. She climbs over him, uses him to stand up and will sit by the back door "communicating" with him if he's outside.
• Mom and Dad: Your heart really does melt when someone is that happy to see you.
• Pianos: Bama has a real piano that she loves to play. She stands up, with one hand on the bench and uses the other to play sweet melodies! She also has a toy piano at our house that keeps her attention as well. And seriously, sometimes she makes some pretty good tunes, maybe she has an ear for music after all.
• Larenzo: He is a stuffed monkey that Bama bought for her and she can't get enough of him. She hugs him and loves him and carries him with her all day long.

There could be a few more, but these really are what's on the top of the list right now. Each day she continues to surprise me and make me smile. I sure do love that baby!

Yikes.

A few days ago, I was in a store near my house and I recognized a woman who is the mother of one my former students. In fact, her daughter was in my first class ever as a teacher. Anyhow, we immediately recognized each other and hugged one another over the cash register and chatted away. I, of course, asked about her daughter and how she was and this was her response: "She's wonderful! In fact she's turning 17 this Saturday!" My response is as follows: "SAY WHAT?!"

It really made me reflect on my life since that year and I have to say it's pretty darn good. Since then I dated quite a few duds, and boy-howdy do I have some stories to prove it! But in the end there was of course my Charlie, what I would do without him I cannot imagine, and I became a mother to the most beautiful baby girl. I'd say I've come a long way!

Sophia turned 11 months old yesterday and we're closing in on that one year mark. I am both sad and excited to see my baby girl grow up. The scariest part is that someday I'll be saying to someone else; yes and she's turning 17 next week! Aaaaaah!

We celebrated her month day with a swim in Isaac's pool! Sophia splashed and splashed.


Oh my God this is so much fun and I can't stand it!!

Isaac cruisin' through the yard.


Cozy couple in a cozy coupe!

Who uses the gas pedal now-a-days anyway, putting your feet on the dash and a thumb in your mouth is the way to roll.

Sugar and Spice

Here are some long-awaited pics of Jill's baby girls! They are just too sweet to snuggle up with each other all the time. I know that they're pretty used to that position but to see it on the outside is absolutely precious! They are growing and doing well!

Baptism

Like everything Greek, the ceremony had to be done in triplicate. These first pictures depict the exorcism portion of the ceremony. Our personal favorite part was the "symbolic" spit that Stacy and Pam had to do in the face of the devil---think wedding scene in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Is this guy really serious about all this?

Who cares what that guy in black is doing, what are you up to, Mom?

Now it's time for the water sports, get ready for Naked Baby!!!

She was okay with the first dunk, slightly irritated by number two, and by three she had had it! She gave Father the dirtiest look you have ever seen. But, admitably, that was the beginning and end of her complaining.

She was ready to eat and take a nap, but we had to get one shot with the Godparents and the priest!
Happy in the arms of Grandma Sue!


Enjoying the feast in her honor!

No Longer a Heathen

Poor Sophia, she thought she'd already had her bath that morning...little did she know!

"No longer a heathen" was Charlie's favorite line all day, and I must admit it was a good one! Sophia has been baptised and has even received her first communion, so she's on the road to a good life! It was quite a day and she did extremely well, even the priest commented on how well behaved she was, and he sees a lot of screaming kids!



I think I'm still exhausted from the week's activities, so I'll post more pictures soon (hopefully tomorrow), but it all went well and we were very proud of our beautiful daughter.