Alright, Alright...

I know the crowds have been begging for the return of schwei-town so I'm here to appease them. :) That or I've really been trying to get back to this for months now but haven't been successful. Time, priorities, multiple reasons and excuses. But alas, we are back and that's all that matters.

Where do I start? In the past six months we've had Christmas, spent months home shopping, celebrated Aiden's 4th birthday, and finally found a home and made the move to McKinney. We made our first ER visit....with Sophia for a dislocated elbow that I'm pretty sure her brother caused. Sophia learned how to verbally communicate a few things so all "conversations" with her don't end in meltdown tantrums on the floor (for real, this is how life with that girl goes). Aiden is learning how to catch a baseball and learned how to ride his balance bike perfectly (now we have to figure out how to incorporate the pedal part of the bike...). We discovered the joy of a bubble machine (see picture below...) and Sophia found her favorite place in all the world - on a swing. Life has been full and fun.

I started a birthday posts nearly two months ago for Aiden. Rest assured that I will be finishing it. I'm telling myself that it's okay if the documentation comes a few months late...I have the pictures to prove we did celebrate in a timely manner. For true authors like myself, sometimes the words just take a little longer....(cue the laughter). For reals, though, I'll catch you up on the last few months through some picture posts, while also trying to hook you in to the present. I apologize in advance if the past/present toggle causes any sort of motion sickness for your brain.

For now, the joy of bubbles! (This was Sophia's Valentine's gift.....they have one at church and I noticed that she always looked so happy playing with it. I had no idea how much joy this machine would bring...)

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!