More Fall Fun

We went to a farm (Razz and Tazz) that has some fun fall things for kids to do. In Sophia's case, her mission was to try to eat as much hay without Mom/Dad noticing. Boy did she love all that hay. As she gets older, I'm sure it will be even more fun, but we still enjoyed it this year too. The weather was perfect!

Eric and I took turns taking Sophia on this cow ride-train. We were cracking up how much enjoyment we got out of it! It dawned on me that things like THIS are exactly why kids grow up thinking their parents are dorks....because we are! :) But what can we say?! Holding Sophia while sitting in a cow car being pulled by a tractor was fun! :)

Walking buddy

Sophia had a walking buddy today, her friend Zach. They enjoyed talking back and forth from their strollers and looked very cute all bundled up (it was 39 degrees out this morning!). I sure enjoyed my time with Zach's Mommy (Katie M) also. :)

Sophia looks more zoned than she was. Her little eyebrows look furrowed in worry, but she was maybe just sad Zach had to go into his own stroller rather than hanging out in hers. :)

What a joy and blessing these two are. Praising Jesus for them both.

Carving a pumpkin

We got a pumpkin from the farmer's market yesterday. Eric carved it with Sophia's help. We had a lovely time enjoying the beautiful fall afternoon together.

Look out world - she's got eyes as beautiful as the ocean is deep...

Sophia wants to taste everything she touches these days....the pumpkin was of course no exception! :)

The finished product! Eric (& Soph) did a fantastic job! The inspiration to this year's design came from none other than our sweet pea herself. Can't you see the resemblance with the little buck teeth and comb-over hair style? :) Very adorable combo.

Halloween preview...

so anyone who knows me should already be aware of the following about me:

-didn't celebrate Halloween growing up

-dislike the holiday in general

-extreme dislike for anything scary

that all being said, there is nothing cuter than an excuse to dress my girl up like a flower!

Fun times with Daddy

I love seeing these two together!!

BEAUTIFUL weather!

It has been so nice out the past couple of weeks. Fall is here and there is coolness in the air, but the sun still feels warm on your skin. Perfect weather really. Sophia enjoys being outside too!

Marzell & Sophia

Marzell and Sophia have developed a sweet relationship. He tolerates her being near him and on occasion, even initiates attention by going over to sniff her and check out what she is doing. If she is crying, he often follows me into her room, like he is trying to figure out why she is upset (or maybe it's how to make the loud noise stop, I'm not sure which). Felix on the other hand doesn't seem to know she exists, nor does he care. Likewise, Sophia doesn't show much interest in him either.

Anyway, it is really cute to see her light up when Marzell is within arm's reach. She smiles really big and especially likes it when he rubs his tail in her face. It will be interesting to see what happens between them when she becomes mobile and can actually go after him....in these pics, she was playing on the couch and he came up to her (which made her day) and laid down next to her. Eventually she got a little too rowdy for him so he left, but it is sweet that he is proving much more tolerant than I expected him (or any cat) to be.

8 Months!

Something is stealing my baby away from me right under my own eyes.....TIME! She is growing faster by the day and she is already 2/3 of the way to her 1st birthday ~CRAZY~

Oh what a joy each day is though! I feel like her personality is really coming out! The other day at the grocery store, I was letting her hold a box of cereal and she started chewing on the box. I gently took it out of her mouth and let her know that cardboard wasn't for eating. Since she refused to hold it without trying to make it into a snack, I put the box into the cart and said/signed, "all done". She LOST it on aisle 5 - I'm sure people 3 aisles over could hear her unhappy tears. TEARS! I actually had to smile because such a reaction could only be generated out of her brain working and processing...knowing what she wants when she wants it! Of course she didn't get the cereal box back, but after 30 seconds she decided her rattle was an ok substitute so the drama ended soon after it started. :) Oh I know that is only a taste for what is to come, but boy, the human brain is quite a marvelous thing!

*Sophia has rolling over (from tummy to back) DOWN. She has rolled from back to tummy but doesn't do it very often. Because she rolls easier from tummy to back than the other way around, she has still never gotten stuck in bed without being able to flip herself back over

*About a month ago, she started waking up in the night again. I don't know if it was brought on by a growth spurt, teething, or just to enjoy some warm milk & cuddle with Mom in the middle of the night...lately it has been just getting up once (a different time every night). Early on in parenthood, I remember that getting her to sleep through the night was such a HIGH priority. And while I do appreciate my sleep as much as everyone else, in the last month I have really been enjoying my middle-of-the-night nursing/cuddle sessions. She's only up for about 10-15 min. and in the quiet, dark room, she is soooo sweet. I've realized STTN is not the end-all goal and have cherished the sleepy girl calling out for me to come snuggle her even if it is 3 am.

*She now has 4 teeth - 2 bottom incisors, 1 top incisor, and 1 incisor lateral (right). The other top middle incisor is right under the gum

*LOVES movement...dancing with her in your arms, being thrown gently into the air, being whirled around in a circle...she will laugh and smile with glee!

*Still napping 3 times a day. that last nap is a quick 45 min cat nap usually naps around 8, 12, and 3:30

*Sophia loves her cousins and being in the church nursery....really just being around other kids! She always takes such good naps after church and after we visit Molly at school bc she is worn out from all the fun playtime

*She made her first sign - "milk"! Sooo fun to see her communicating

*She lost all her beautiful dark hair over the summer, but now it is starting to grow back in. It's still brown but much lighter than what she was born with

*She still loves to read and will sit very contently in your lap to look at books together. She likes to turn the pages and loves books with "touch-and-feel" features

*She has gotten good at transferring objects from one hand to another and examines the toys, shakes them, turns them around in her hand. She likes Eric's phone, the head lamp, my water bottles, her cloth rattle, pens, and the wireless keyboard/mouse especially. who needs "toys" when so many household items are so interesting to play with! Child-proofing still need to be done and probably soon!

*She is really trying to figure out how everything works and wants to touch EVERYthing I am touching or working on. If I am making Eric's a sandwich, she will grab the piece of bread and yank it out of my hand. If I am turning on the light in a room, she wants to try the light switch too. If I grab a pen to write a note, she will go for the pen and if that is out of reach, the paper. :)

*Sophia still loves bath time! She splashes herself in the face and it doesn't faze her at all. She kicks, splashes, and plays with her ducky and the Michigan cup I use for washing her hair

This is such an INTERACTIVE age and we are having so much fun with our love bug!

We love having a sweet little girl!