Christmas

We were all thoroughly spoiled with gifts, time with family, and treats from friends and neighbors.

Te-Has

We (just Curtis & me) took a little trip down south. It was warm (see the palm trees!) and we got to sleep uninterupted by a certain two-year old(yay for small things!) While there we purchased this beauty:

Just kidding about the car, but doesn't Curtis look good next to it!

Birthday #2

Well, we knew it was going to happen, but it still seemed to come all too soon. Sophia celebrated her second birthday. We made sure she got to enjoy it. Activities included going swimming at the YMCA where we went down the big slide at least 5 or 6 times and picking Curtis up early from work so we could go see Tangled. Sophia loved it all and we actually stayed the entire movie at the theater! Quite an accomplishment for this little girl. It was a great day to spend together, celebrating as a family.

Thanks for the balloons Grandma & Grandpa!

Ripping into presents--she was really great at that this year!

Cheesin' it up with her princesses!

Veteran's Day

We took the opportunity to go to a nearby parade to celebrate Veteran's Day in honor of the veteran we call Dad and Husband. It was pretty sweet with all the bells and whistles, including two F-16's flying over the parade route.

C-squared

Codi & Chris got married! Yay!
The happy couple:

Dad=entertainer of the day

What a real family picture of ours would look like:

Cute cousins:

My two favorites:

Halloween

Sophia was a purple fairy for Halloween. She loved walking up to homes for trick-or-treating, but didn't want them to put it into her bucket so much as put it into her hand. She said trick-or-treat a few times, but LOVED to excitedly shout HAPPY HALLOWEEN!





P.S. Can you tell who was too busy having fun to hold still for photos?

Pumpkin Patch

I anticipated Sophia LOVING our local pumpkin patch, and she did, but for a completely different reason than I imagined. There were kittens everywhere and she was in love! She chased them anywhere, including into the corn maze!

The Farm

We took a visit to a local children's farm. The weather was perfect and we had some great company! (Catching up for you, Sarah!)

The Man

Did I ever tell you I live with not just a man, but THE man? Well, I do. Not only does he work diligently at not just one, but two jobs, but he still finds the time to come home, play with our daughter, and have fun with me. Oh, and recently while out of town for one of said jobs, he was promoted. Congratulations, we love you!

Sophia loves telling me things she likes such as trees, Daddy, cookies, etc. The other day it was something a little different.

"I like go poopoo."

Member of the Flock

Also while at the zoo, we visited some sheep. As soon as she could escape her stroller, Sophia fearlessly ran right into the middle of a group of them. A few minutes later, the sheep were all wandering away and we realized they were all heading to Sophia's stroller to eat her crackers off her tray.
In the words of a great office manager, it was a win-win-win situation. Sophia won because she didn't have to eat the outside of her crackers, just the middle part she likes more anyway. The sheep won because they got to eat her crackers. I won because I didn't have to clean them up. I'll take that any day!

Sophia and I took a trip to the zoo with some family. The highlight of the trip was seeing the new polar bear exhibit. While we were there, the HUGE bear was swimming a loop that went right in front of Sophia. Each time it would swim by, Sophia would growl at it. Great entertainment for me!

Lunch Date

One of my favorite things to do is meet Curtis for lunch during the week. We hit up the Ruby Tuesday near his work that has an awesome salad bar. Sophia scarfs the food down and eats up all the attention from her dad. I love getting to spend time with my two favorite people!

Runner

I've been going for a walk/jog each week-day morning with a good friend and her son. He and the girl have it pretty easy kicking-back in their strollers, reading books and eating snacks. The other morning I decided to let the girl out to run for a while to burn off some energy as she was getting pretty antsy. She giggled with delight the whole time she was running along the path, chasing her friend.

New Wheels

The city-wide garage sales were last weekend and we got some pretty great steals of a deal. The girl got this sweet gently-used ride for just a few bucks. Who says you have to sit while you drive?

Skill-Set

Now that the husband is home, he is making sure that the girl learns a lot of the important things in life. A few nights ago, it was teaching the girl some soccer skills. He is such a good dad!

Choo-Choo

Trains bringing the dinner? Check
Cousins to enjoy it with? Check
Good, cheap food? Check
Side-show of a server, in a low, booming voice exclaiming "You gonna each your food all up?" Check
Trains chugging around constantly? check

We had such a great night at Fritz's at Crown Center. Sophia stayed entertained by the trains which made me think every bite taste a little better. :)

Dora

The girl's aunt got her these sweet pajamas. She was so amazed that Dora was on her shirt that she just stared down at her tummy, spinning in circles, and checking it out. One of the best sites I've ever seen!

Pals

These girls sure are fun!

Road Trip

We were able to spend two whole days with just each other while we drove the husband home from Arizona. It was wonderful! Thank you family for taking care of our girl so we could relax and enjoy the road trip!

Solo

Today Sophia stayed in nursery at church the whole time. by herself. without crying. I couldn't be more proud! She is growing up so much lately!

And just because this picture is fun.

Some Summertime Shenanigans

Face decorations courtesy of some fun flavored and colored twizzlers. If you look closely, you can tell the order in which she ate them. It was great "stay-in-your seat so you don't fall to your death" entertainment. Can you tell who the one slightly bothered by heights is in our family?


Feeding her baby, instead of having UFC-style fights with it. A marked improvement in girl-baby doll relations.(By the way, the girl always won, wonder why?)


Getting eaten by a chair pool-side. You can see in face how much she enjoyed it. Or not.


Modeling her new pajamas, but not so much their message.