Just in Case...

Just in case we weren't sure just how deep my sickness was, I found Sophia this morning staring into the camera lens (that she had somehow retrieved from the middle of the dining room table!) with her giant, happy grin yelling..."CHEEEEESE!, CHEEEEESE!"

If only I could have gotten a picture of it...

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! ;)