2 Down, A Lifetime to Go...

Whew...so the first two nights with Sophia in her big-girl bed went smashingly! We had given ourselves a deadline of Friday night to put her in the bed, which was a good idea for me, because as you know, I was dragging my feet! Thursday night I had planned to put her in her crib, but Daddy went on a search for Sophia's babies and she and I decided to snuggle in her big bed while we waited. I asked Sophia if she wanted to sleep there or her big girl bed and she said, "I want to sleep right here." Well, that settled it I guess!



The night went fairly well. I stayed with her for a few minutes and then left. Well, it wasn't long before the crying and moaning began. She started calling from her room "I want Mommy in bed!" Well, what self respecting mother could refuse that! ;) I went back in and immediately she pointed to her bed and said, through her tears, "Mommy, lay down!" We snuggled for quite a bit, but really she was just more interested in starting conversations with me and twirling my hair than sleeping, so I told her I was going to go and she should sleep. I got up, gave her kisses and left...and she went to sleep! Success! She did wake up about 10:30 and I went in again and snuggled for a few minutes, then left. She then slept until 6:00, and much to our chagrin, more sleeping was out of the question!



Last night, I tucked her in her big bed and stayed for under 5 minutes. She went right to sleep and didn't wake up until 6. This time, though, she talked to herself for a few minutes and then went back to sleep until about 6:45...woo hoo! For nap time, I took off her shoes, she climbed in bed, rolled over and went to sleep....uh, seriously?! I'll take it!



Maybe our prep work paid off and she'll transition just as easily to this as she has everything else...let's hope so. I'm knocking on wood that the rest of nights this weekend (and to come) go just as smoothly. She's such a good girl and looks so sweet, not to mention tiny, in that big bed!

Blueberry Bonanaza

I couldn't really let all those blueberries go to waste! Last year I wasn't motivated enough to actually bake anything, I just ended up eating them plain and I don't even think I managed to freeze any. This year I made a vow to bake, bake, bake! We tried 3 new recipes that I think were all successful. We hope you adventurous bakers our there give some a try!

The first recipe I made was for blueberry oatmeal cookies. They were absolutely delish! Of course, I did add both white chocolate and bittersweet chocolate chips, because let's be real, I don't make cookies unless they have chocolate! The batter was a bit thick and sticky so it was hard to mix all those chips in, I probably will stick to one kind of chip next time. We took them to our 4th of July picnic and they were very well received, but of course, Sophia, Charlie and I had already received them quite well! ;) This was probably my favorite recipe of the lot, but I do have a thing for cookies!

Charlie treated us to some delicious blueberry pancakes one morning! His pancakes look so much better than mine! Sophia gobbled this one right up!

Our next stop: Blueberry Crumb Cake. This made a tasty breakfast cake that wasn't too sweet and had a fabulous crumb topping! The topping was seriously over the top and I loved every bit of it!

Finally, we used up the rest of the berries on some Blueberry Coconut Muffins. I omitted the nuts, because we still aren't really feeding Sophia nuts, and added cherries instead. I also added a touch more coconut and some honey and they turned out very moist and very tasty, indeed! I would have liked to try them with nuts, though, I think they'd be fabulous!

choc-full of berry goodness!

Sophia enjoyed these fresh out of the oven and was quite happy about it! By the way, that's her new "cheese" face...it has varying degrees of goofiness, but it may appear in a lot of pictures to come!





I think raspberry season is next, so if I'm not too pregnant and tired by then, I'd like to try my hand at picking and baking those too! Enjoy these tasty recipes and be sure to share others that you may come across! Oh and I sure did find out that I really don't want to be a food photographer...this stuff is hard!!

Another Head Injury?!?

I'd like to say it ain't so...but I just can't do it. I will say, however, that this time it was Charlie, not Sophia, in the ER. I think that between the three of us, we're going to have a heck of year, though! I spared you the really gory pictures but there is a little bit of blood, so if you're squeamish, don't look. Charlie made it out of the ER in just a few short hours newly equipped with a fresh tetanus shot and 9 shiny stitches.

Here's the story...the rugby team had a fundraiser to park cars at the Riverfront 4th Festival so they had to put up a fence. Now that the festival is over, they had to take down the fence. Charlie went down to the field with Jason today to help him out, too bad it cost him a head injury! ;) Anyway, Charlie was trying to pull a metal fence post out of the ground and decided brute force was his best weapon against that stubborn pole. As he was vehemently shaking it back and forth and pulling it out of the ground, it snapped in two and he whacked himself in the forehead with it. Luckily, he was wearing a ball cap, because I honestly think his face would have been split in two if he hadn't been. He said the bill smashed up against his head and he tore a hole through the front of the cap. As soon as he felt the blood running, he knew it was bad. Thankfully Jason got him to the ER and stayed long enough to chat and snap some pics (because let's be real, I wasn't passing up this photo-op!) before he headed out. Thanks to Anne and my mom I was able to be with Charlie during his stitches and then take him out for a bar-b-que dinner. His hair will sort of cover the scar and I'm just happy it wasn't worse. I hated seeing him lying there all bloody! It's hard when it's your child, but it's not any better when it's your husband. I held his hand, even though he didn't really "need" it, but I know I would have wanted it, so I did it anyway! He was a brave little soldier and only looks a little bit scary! I just feel for him, nobody likes the hospital, especially when you leave with stitches. I think he's more worried about dealing with the tetanus aftermath than anything else, although he will no doubt get plenty of questions at work tomorrow because they couldn't bandage it. Oh dear. Sorry I had to put the pics up, Babe, but I can't discriminate against any one's hospital visits...I love you, love you, love you, honey! Be safe!

He looked a little out of it when I arrived, understandable I'd say!

Dr. Jason going in for the inspection!

the stitch up

A little bit Frankenstein, but so much cuter!

America's Birthday!

Festive Fourth Outfit!

ready for water sports

all the kids loved this floaty raft and the older girls took good care of Sophia

(Charlie is floating in the water somewhere near there, don't worry!)

practicing kicks!

the slip-n-slide provided plenty of entertainment as well

We spent our 4th hanging out with our friend Neil at Lake Lottowana, Wendy joined us and all of us had a nice relaxing day. They had a band and a pig roast, although the pig was having some serious trouble cooking! In fact, we didn't even get to eat any because by the time it was done we had to head home for bath time and bed time! Oh well...the company was worth it and Sophia had a fabulous time with Neil's daughter, Mary, and Daddy splashing the day away. I must say that Charlie does get the Daddy Award because he took Sophia into the lake and played so that I didn't even have to think about putting on my suit! I had bought Sophia a life jacket last summer when it went on super-clearance at Target (only $3) and although it was a tiny bit too big yet, she didn't fuss about having it on and wasn't phased one bit by the lake. I thought she might have some anxiety since she couldn't see the bottom, it was so big, etc. but no...she walked right to the edge of the pier and said, "I jump in?" That's our girl.

We ended our night sans fireworks, because quite frankly, I don't see the need to change my not-even-two-year-old's schedule to watch something that she could very well be afraid of...maybe that makes me a scrooge but I don't care! ;) Charlie and I were so exhausted we ordered pizza, showered and climbed in bed early. We heard fireworks going outside the window as we drifted to sleep, not too shabby an evening by our standards...God, that makes us old huh?!

Construction Zone

Sophia was quite the helper!

She rushed to daddy's side each time saying "I help, Daddy!"

taking a break, they need a break!

Ooooh, new sheets feel so good!

I'm a big girl now!



Okay, so Phase 1 (Cleaning and Sorting) is now complete and we are on to Phase 2...Reorganization! We took the first step by moving Sophia's new bed into her room tonight. Charlie put on the headboard, which incidentally, was my headboard as a little girl...so cute! We then put the safety rail on, which let me just add that it doesn't look like it adds any safety at all, but whatever!...then the sheets. The sheets we bought were not originally what I thought we'd go with, but I think they're adorable and, I didn't find this out until after we'd bought them, the name of the pattern is the Torrey Beach...fate or what?! She can use them for many years to come and the colors are perfect! The actual moving of the bed was enough for tonight. We left the bed in there as mere decoration for now and put her in the crib to sleep. I know the time has come to move her, but quite frankly...I'm terrified. I just know she's not going to sleep and my child that once went down without a fight is now going to be a maniac inside her own room with the freedom to bounce and roam to her heart's desire! Yikes! I am really not looking forward to this transition...really...at all...did I mention I'm terrified?!

Triple Threat

Aubrey, Sophia, and Lauren

Both girls had an infatuation with Sophia's hair. They kept mauling her but she didn't seem to really mind, I think she's used to Walter constantly mauling her for some reason!

Sophia and Lauren share the phone, although they both have different ideas of its ideal usage!

Everyone loves Cookie Monster!

Sophia and Aubrey drumming away!

Sophia enjoying the Bumbo inside the tent

Another successful play date was had with the Cubs! Now that they're getting a bit older it's been so fun to have play dates. Jill and I are hoping that we can venture out to the park or something else fun next time! Sophia had a great time with all their toys, especially the tent...oh and the Bumbo! She loves that silly chair! She carries it around and still manages to fit in it, although I must say, I'm not sure how! She carried it in the tent and read quite contentedly for a bit. Lauren and Aubrey are getting so big! I can't believe they're just about a month away from their first birthday! I'm so excited for the future when the three girls are all mobile and active enough to enjoy various festivals, parties, and activities together! Yay for girlfriends!

Berry Picking Adventures

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It's berry season again! This year we picked a much nicer day for berry picking. We had a full crowd and were lucky enough that Grandma Sue was on vacation and joined us with Julie. All her farm experience growing up really put her at an advantage for getting those blueberries! She had quite a bucketful at the end and even had Sophia and Julie for helpers a lot of the morning! I was impressed with my almost 2.5 lbs of blueberries, but I must admit, mom gave me her stash too, so I didn't do it all on my own! Sophia LOVED this experience and had a delightful time. She probably ate a half pound of blueberries going from bush to bush and that is no lie! At one point I turned around and she was shoving a handful of about 8 berries into her mouth at once! I can't really say how many of those blueberries, were actually ripe, but hey, whatever. After her well deserved nap this afternoon, the first words out of her mouth were, "I want a muffin!" (We had bought some blueberry muffins from the patch.) She then went on to tell me proudly that "I picked blueberry...YUM!" She hasn't stopped talking about it all morning and was just as excited to look through the pictures with me and talk about it all over again! I'll have to whip up some tasty creations with all these berries! Can't wait!

If you're interested...see how much we've changed in a year!