It's beginning to look a lot like...

...my most favorite time of the year!

Here are a couple of pics taken in front of a big, beautiful tree at JFK, on our return trip from a fabulous Thankgiving celebration. 

Gaining lbs

When we went for Sophia's one year checkup, I was certain she'd be over 17lbs (because the scale at home said she was...). But she rang in at a sturdy 16lbs 10oz. That day I learned that when the nurse writes -3% for growth percentile, she means your baby is no longer on the charts because they don't track below the 3rd percentile. Fast forward six weeks to when we got our second round of flu shots. Sophia had felt heavier to me over the week leading up to the follow-up shots, and her daycare also commented that she seemed more solid. Plus, I'd put her in a few pairs of 12 month pants (instead of the 6 month "capris" she'd been sporting) and they actually stayed up! So I asked for a weight check....and she was up over 18lbs! I think the few oz over the 18lb mark were because she was still wearing a little bit of clothing so I'm not counting those...but I was impressed with how much she'd gained in 6 weeks. Hopefully Turkey Day did her some good and a forward facing car seat is in her future over the next year!

Happy Thanksgiving! Here's to hoping the rest of us stayed trim while enjoying heaps of delicious goodness!

A Nostalgic Night

A few nights ago we walked to the park. It was dark, since the sun sets early these days. We took our flashlights and enjoyed our little jaunt. We played at the park and eventually we made our way to the swings. At first it was just Aiden and me, swinging side by side...on the big kid swings. And then Ryan and Soph joined us, and as I watched my little girl in the baby swing and my big boy beside me, I couldn't help but get emotional thinking about how we used that swing set for the first time almost exactly three years ago, with a little boy who's bigger than I like to admit these days. On the way home from our walk he wanted to "ride" (okay, be carried) in the ergo, facing me, arms and legs wrapped around me. And this momma's emotions ran high and mixed all together, so much happiness, so much love and so much sadness that these moments will one day be over. 

It happened....

My baby turned one. I will not include the word 'finally' in that sentence because it was not a long-awaited event. I am nearly certain that child has not been on this earth for more than 5 months...but the calendar seems to think otherwise.

Little miss celebrated in rainbow-style with a whopping two parties for her first birthday - one for our her friends and one for family. I like small parties and getting to spend time with people. Plus, I got to try various recipes and decorations and fun things like that.

Sophia's friend party was at 11am and the weather was beautiful....in the 80s. But that's too hot for partying little boys to avoid the pool and we ended up with a pants-less bunch running around our backyard. I told Ryan we should line them up, take a pic, and tell Sophia about the awesome first birthday we had for her. Ryan didn't think it was such a funny idea so I don't have a picture to show you.

Little miss failed at her cake smash. I think the girl doesn't like cake. I've given her cake multiple times in the last few weeks (plain cupcakes, her birthday cake without a crowd around to watch her eat - cause you know, sometimes girls are funny with their eating habits), but she doesn't seem interested in any cake options. For her family party she got cookies and ice cream and seemed pleased by that. Seems like a smart girl to me.....ice cream is generally better than cake anyway.

She also made a show with some real steps at her family party. She's taken 3-4 steps before (on her birthday eve, and then other times since), but they were wobbly, I-can-move-my-feet kind of steps. At her party, she was deliberately working her way towards some object (likely mommy). Second child syndrome means I don't have any video with the lovely motherly shrieks to prove she's done these things but take my word for it.

Aiden was as sweet as could be and went shopping with Daddy and picked out a gift for sis and helped me wrap it. Was it something he actually really wanted and plays with more? Sure. But you gotta start learning the giving spirit somehow....He was also excited to help her eat her cake and unwrap all her gifts. Big brothers are the best!

Birthday morning cupcake - don't be fooled, she didn't really eat it since it's that cake stuff.

Pictures on her actual birthday.

Had to get one that captured my most favorite dimple in the world.

This is how we got ready for the first birthday party. Soph ended up getting
sick on Monday so I think she may have not been been feeling well for her
party. Thank goodness for baby carriers and two free hands!

"My hand is dirty...and so is my leg because I tried to crawl through my cake."

"Thank goodness big brother will save me from having to eat this thing."
(I'm pretty sure these are all the things Sophia was thinking....)

For some reason, everyone just wanted to attack mommy after eating cake. I was obviously excited by that option...and it ended up happening so my jeans were covered in cake. Funny side story - at the time this was the only pair of jeans I owned. The next day when we went to church we got ready in regular rushed fashion and we ran out the door....and as we were driving I looked down to realize I was sporting my cake covered jeans. I went shopping for another pair of jeans that afternoon. 

Balloon hair!

Love our sweet Sophia and the joy she's brought to our lives!

Ahh, the sweet smell...

...of dirt. That's right. I said dirt. 

We went to the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago with friends. It was a dry, dusty sort of morning and we were all covered in a layer dirt by the time we left. We ventured home and were putting the kiddos down for nap. Sophia snuggled up on my chest before nap and I took a deep breath of her little self, expecting the sweet smell of baby and getting a big whiff of dirt instead. And all I could think of was how much that smell reminded me of days spent on a softball field. And I loved it. Just loved it. And in that moment I wished for Sophia to smell like dirt so many more days of her life. Not the typical mom wish for her daughter...but a true, happy wish from the depths of my heart. 

Here's a few pictures from our dirt covered day. 

Memorable moments

I started a first birthday post...but while I'm finishing it up I thought I would share a few other recent gems.

Sophia started saying Aiden's name this month and it has become pretty clear this last week. It's so stinking sweet when she says it....in her adorable little voice, with two distinct syllabus, "A-den." She'll walk around the house calling him or looking for him, just repeating "A-den, A-den." Melts my heart. 

Aiden brought me lots of laughs today...he started the day pointing at my forehead and saying "what are those...stripes?" Oh, you mean my wrinkles. Thanks for the early morning compliment sweet son. But now he has me thinking, stripes are basically always in fashion so maybe I should stick to calling them my stripes...

He made me chuckle again this afternoon when he said, "Mom, I love you one." It took me a minute to figure out why he said that....but then we proceeded to "love" each other all the way up to ten, back and forth. ("I love you two." "I love you three." And so on....) It's funny to think about how his 3.5 year old brain only comprehends one "2" - and that he think we are telling him 'I love you two'. Love seeing the wheels of his little brain turn!

Happy....

364 days, 51 weeks and 6 days, day before you start a new year, however you like to label it. In a few hours we will celebrate the big ONE....but that's hours away....

A size too small

Sophia and I are on our first girl's trip visiting my college roomie in South Carolina. It is a tad bit chillier here than the balmy 90 degrees TX is experiencing and when I went to pack long sleeves for Soph, I might have discovered that everything was in the 6 months size range (3-6 month pants count as being in the 6 month range, right?) So I might have packed the slightly small clothes  and I might have dressed Sophia in them....who doesn't love capris and three-quater length sleeves on what was previously a dress. 

It's also entirely possible that I told someone on the plane yesterday that Sophia was 51 weeks old...long live September!

One Year Later

The day of my Sophia shower, I was one day shy of being 36 weeks pregnant (3 weeks and 4 days shy of meeting our little girl!). My sweet friend Mandy volunteered to take maternity pictures before the shower, and those pictures are such an incredible gift that I'm so grateful to have. I've entered sappy mommy mode and will remain there for the next few weeks as my baby turns a year old so prepare yourself. 

Ba-bye

Heard that word for the first time out of Sophia's mouth as we were walking away from a group of friends this evening. My heart melted! Slow down September, slow down!

That moment when....

...you go to change the laundry over and you realize you just washed a disposable diaper. In case you were wondering - yes, they can hold a lot of liquid; no, they are not a match for the washing machine. 

Beach, Almost Not A Baby, and Then Some

We've had a change of pace (cue the laughter) and things have been busy around here. We spent a week at the Biloxi beach with the Ruth fam, came home to some time with the Schweizer grandparents, and had friends in town this last week. Oh - and Ryan turned double 3's in there and Sophia turned 11 months old.

So the quick rundown on all of that - vacation was wonderful. We got off to a rough start - jellyfish stings, followed by an allergic reaction to oysters, followed by more jellyfishes stings. (Mallory and I were trading off days/issues - she took all the stings, I went for the allergic reaction.) By Tuesday we decided to stop playing that game and settled in to a more enjoyable time. We walked the pier, went to the lighthouse, visited Jefferson Davis' last home, went on a shrimping tour where the dolphins swam right next to the boat (awesome!). Read a few books, spent time at the pool/beach (really just playing in the sand because it ended up being jellyfish season....hence the stings), dusted off my old tennis skills with Ryan (you can chuckle again). Enjoyed lots of time with lots of family - loved on the kiddos, had a "big kids" night out, and hung out with the parental units. Oh - and enjoyed lots of amazing food. Mmm, mmm!

Grandma and Grandpa Schweizer closed on their Texas property while we were out of town (yay for them moving to TX in the coming years) so they were waiting for us when we got back. We had birthday dinner/pumpkin bar cake for Ryan and celebrated Sophia's early birthday as well (which was way harder for me to do than it was when we did it with Aiden, on almost the exact same timeline).

Ryan's birthday was also Sophia's last "monthly birthday", as she turned 11 months. Big girl is tipping the scales around 17lbs. Mimi and Aunt Brooke thought they should help teach Sophia is walk on vacation, but I might have had slight opposition to that plan. The poor girl is going to have to figure it all out on her own. Hah. We would hold Aiden by the fingers and walk him around, when he was Sophia's age. Little Miss might have taken a handful of strolls like that, which generally end with me taking her from Ryan and putting her back on the ground. Do I want her to walk? I guess....Am I completely okay with it taking longer than the 13.5 month mark that it took Aiden? Absolutely.

Here's to hoping for the longest September on record (to keep Soph little just a tad longer)!

Stopped to meet Buc-ee the Beaver on our
drive to the beach. 

Auntie M rode down to the beach with us. She
sat in the back with the kiddos....and was
an amazing, incredible aunt/sister...so helpful!
 She let Aiden do the "decorating" in this picture.

Tallest high chair ever at Shaggy's!

View of the pier from the lighthouse.

Sis pic, atop the lighthouse.

This is what Soph did during the lighthouse tour.
The main reason I posted this is because we
sometimes refer to Sophia as Trumpster....since
her hair she was born with never fell out and it's
so thin, she looks like she has a toupee these days...

Outside of Hard Rock Biloxi - he excitedly pointed
out every display item once we got inside.

Selfie stick pic!

Ryan's parents bought a chainsaw to help cut trees
on their new property....and they also got Aiden
one. He really loves it and "cuts" everything. 

At daycare they were studying ants so they had
ants on a log as a snack and this is the face Aiden
made for them. It pretty much perfectly captures
his devotion to food. 

Slow down September, slow down!

She finally has two more little bitty teeth on top
trying to join those bottom two. 

10 months and heading to the beach!

I didn't want the 9 month post (or the 8 month post...or the....) to feel lonely and neglected so I decided to make sure it had a friend who was equally tardy and am posting this a little later in the month. If it counts for anything, I've written pieces of the post in my head over the last 3 weeks.

We are excited around here about our beach trip. Aiden's been asking for weeks if we are leaving for the beach every morning when we left the house and I finally got to tell him yes! Happy camper. He's still working on his concept of time. Last weekend I told him one week to the beach. On Tuesday I tried to tell him four days until we left, but he kept insisting that it was one week....I think because one is less than four, and saying four days meant I was surely adding on time. So, we've spent the entire week saying 'one week till the beach.'

Aiden continues to expand his vocabulary from the last post (or not at all) and this week in the car while I was trying to teach Soph some words he chimed in, "Sophia, say poopy". Sigh. At least "poopy" will not be her first word. Her first official word was "uh-oh", at somewhere around the 9 month mark. (In second child-style, I can't remember if it was right after or before.) Just a few days after turning 10 months, she started saying "mama" and "dada" (but for the record, she said "mama" first).

She's a bundle of hilarious energy these days. She adores peek-a-boo and plays it so well. She also likes to play "chase" - where she crawls away from you as quickly as possibly and then charges back towards you at baby crawling speed, dives her head into your lap, and laughs the entire time while doing it. It's wonderfully awesome.

She's eating all table food these days....started that at the very end of 8 months. The abundance of time in my schedule was grateful for a little lady who could eat at the same time with the rest of the family so I was no longer trying to get two spoons simultaneously to two different mouths (hers and mine), which oftentimes ended with momma eating a cold meal long after everyone else had left the table. She loves food, just as much as her brother, which is nice.

I tried to take Sophia's 10 month pictures and this is how they went...

 

Aiden had a slightly better outcome...

Do I think she's going to give me attitude in life? What would even cause you to pose that question....:) Happy teenage days ahead!

Are those your favorite words?

Aiden's expansive vocabulary seems to have hit a developmental hitch. The end of our conversation this morning went like this. 

Me: Are those your favorite words?

Aiden: Yeah.  And spit. Poopy, pee pee and spit. 

And so the potty "humor" is in full effective at our house....with no end in sight, ever, based on gauging what all adult males in my life find to be comical. 

Dance Moves

My kids love to dance. I love to watch them dance....partly because they are so happy about it, partly because it cracks me up. One of these I was peaking around the corner at A....the other we were at Chuck E Cheese for a birthday party and Aiden had no concerns about what anyone else was doing. Soph has loved music for awhile, but she's only recently busted out her "moves," which look a bit similar to a bird taking flight. Enjoy.

Yeah, She's Still Nine Months Old...

We actually took Sophia's nine month photos in a timely manner - just a few days into the month. Then I waited to her check-up on the 10th so I could document her official "stats". And here we are two (plus) weeks after that, mere days away from the end of the month and the next photo session....Eh, details.

Aiden was our amateur photographer for this photo session. Sophia was incredibly uncooperative so she did not make for an easy subject, wanting to sit still for zero seconds at a time. Aiden did manage to capture a few decent pictures, including one of little miss grinning from ear to ear at me as I set her back in place for the 12th time in the last two minutes. He also got plenty of not-so-frame-worthy pictures of the floor and blurred Sophia and Ryan's pocket.

Soph weighted in at 15lbs 3oz (3rd percentile) and measured 28 inches (55 percentile). She might be pushing 18lbs at a year, which is only a pound less than Aiden at a one year. She's doing her best to keep up with big brother....

Like I said....there were some misses in the mix....

...but there were some gems in there too. :)

Ryan was snapping photos too, and this is the best
one he got - she was on the go this month!