Happy Birthday Sofia!

I cannot believe that my baby girl is already one! It seems like the last year has gone by soooo fast. I remember so clearly being pregnant with her, and the days leading up to when she was born, but the fist few months of her life went by in a blur. It took us a while to really get into the groove of things. She has brought us so much joy, I cannot even imagine what we did or looked at or talked about before she came along!

We had quite a birthday extravaganza last weekend. On Friday Sofia had some friends from her play group over for a small par-tay/play date. It was so sweet of them all to make the trek on a Friday afternoon. Our little home could barely hold everyone, but it was lots of fun. I am crying inside because I really didn't get that many pictures. There were about 6 babies/toddlers there and 10 adults. Sofia wasn't really sure what to do with that many people in her house, but she took it in stride and learned to love her company.

Saturday was equally as exciting because Grandma and Cousin Ellie, Aunt Jordan, and Uncle Spencer came into town. They came for Thanksgiving/Sofia's birthday and we were sooooooo happy to have them here. We had been talking about it for months and Sofia was pumped. It really made her birthday so special to have such important people here to celebrate with her. When Sofia and Ellie saw eachother at GiGi and Great Harry's, they became fast friends. Ellie is a fabulous cousin and was so sweet to Sofia.

Sunday was Sofia's actually birthday and the family party. Aunt Jan let us have it at her house (we learned our lesson on Friday and opted for a larger location on Sunday), Aunt Jan and Uncle Randy, Cousin Elijah and Cousin Kyndal, Gigi and Great Harry, Grandma, Aunt Jordan and Uncle Spencer and Ellie and Mom and Dad all helped Sofia celebrate one fabulous year. My mom bought some flowers and balloons to liven up the place and I made the same bumblebee cupcake that I made for her play group (since she was a bumblebee for Halloween). Jimmy made a video showing pictures from Sofia's first year (it was so sweet and he worked hard on it!) that we watched after dinner. Sofia LOVED her first taste of cupcake...she dove right in and didn't look back. She also got some great presents (an Elmo music c.d where Elmo says Sofia in every song!, some great shoes and an outfit to match her cousin Ellie, and her very first tea set.) It was a great birthday and we are so thankful to our family and friends for helping us to celebrate.

Here are some pictures....somehow in all of the hustle and bustle, my camera didn't really make it out of the case much.

The bumblebee cupcakes. They were a hit!


Some friends at the party. It was so sweet of all of the ladies to brave Friday traffic to celebrate with us.
Opening presents. Sofia's little friend Kameron was so sweet. He handed her all of her gifts and made sure she was excited about each one. He even helped her try on her new Dora sunglasses.


Watching a little Elmo's World together.
Playing with her new Fridge Farm from Issac.


All ready to go and get Grandma from the airport.


Sofia and Ellie playing at GiGi and Great Harry's house.


Enjoying some pizza and salad at the party on Sunday.


Sofia LOVED her birthday cupcake. She really went to town.


She also had lots of fun playing with the balloons that Grandma got for her party.



This is a rough shot, but it is the only picture we got together on her birthday.



Since we missed Ellie's birthday in September, she also got some presents to open at the party. Here she is swaddling her Elmo doll.


Sofia is rocking her new b-day pj's and playing with her new tea set.

It was a great weekend! More to come on Thanksgiving week.

Cruisin'

Sofia has been really interested in her wagon and her little bike lately. Here are some shots of her cruisin around the house.

She and Jimmy took a trip to the lake in Rowlett yesterday and he took some cute pics of her walking on the bridge.

Here she is with our new Swiffer...ready to help us clean.

Just some fun pics of our curious baby girl!

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz...

First of all, a million thanks to my fantastically talented BFF Emily for re-doing my blog for me. I love the new design! She is so talented and creative and I always love it when she gives me something that she has made or designed (i.e. she has given me some ADORABLE personalized stationery). If anyone is looking to spice up their blog, Emily is your lady! She also designed her own blog, which you can check out here.

Now, onto Halloween! Sofia borrowed a costume from my friend Kelli's daughter Elizabeth, and it was a hit! She was the best looking bumblebee in town. She loved to look at herself in the mirror in her costume....she knew it was pretty impressive.

Jimmy and I took her to a family fair in the afternoon. There were booths for the kids and lots of information for parents, some bounce houses, trick or treating, and a costume contest. We even found a consignment shop in one of the rooms selling gently used toys and books and games for kids. We were able to score some birthday gifts for her for quite a bargain!

I also met up with some friends from work to take her Trick or Treating. We had so much fun (even though we went a little too early and were hard pressed to find anyone ready for Trick or Treaters...still awesome). Sofia had fun hitting the town with Avery the ladybug and Cameron as their bodyguard.

After Trick or Treating we went out to eat with GiGi and Great Harry and Aunt Jan and Uncle Randy. I was supposed to cook dinner for them, but the day did not go as planned, and I basically failed at that so we went out to eat instead. She LOVED all of the attention from her great grandparents and great aunt and uncle and she had a blast walking around the restaurant, showing off her costume. All in all, a successful first Halloween!

Pumpkins, Parks, and Pajamas

This post has a ton of pictures, so just make sure you are ready for that!

We are stoked that it finally feels like fall here.

Sofia has been on the move lately. She started walking a few weeks ago (at almost exactly 10 months), and she is VERY proud of herself. She is not really what I would call a professional, but she can sometimes make it across the room without falling. We have been taking advantage of the cooler weather and enjoying the park nearby. We spend most of our time on the swing, kind of checking everything out. We also went to the pumpkin patch this weekend (which was more of a hit with mom and dad, but Sofia was cool with it) and we had to go on a shopping spree. The combination of cooler weather and Sofia's size required us to stock up on a few essentials. She is so tall that we had to buy 18 month clothes for her. All of the 12 month outfits are pretty unattractive length wise on her...and probably uncomfortable.

Jimmy had a night off so we went all out and made a trip to Ikea. Because of the cool weather, Sofia NEEDED to wear her baby Uggs...

Loving the swing!

More fun at the park....

These are some of Sofia's new P.J's. I love babies in pajamas....

We went to a pumpkin festival in Flower Mound on Sunday. It was glorious! The weather was a little rough...kind of muddy and drizzling, but other than that it was great. We had a little picnic, took tons of pictures, played in the bounce house, rode the train and found three perfect pumpkins.
























We had a great time and can't wait to go back next year!

Sneak Peek

Sofia had her first official photo shoot while we were in California. A good friend of mine from childhood has become an AMAZING photographer. She took our beautiful engagement and wedding pictures (which I absolutely love) and she offered to take some pics of Sofia and her cousin Ellie. I am so glad to have these adorable pictures of the girls together. If anyone is in the California area and looking for a great photographer, Joy is your lady!

Here is a sneak peek:

http://wildflowersphotos.com/blog/ellie-sofia-their-parents/

Beach Babe

We continue to take advantage of our time in California with trips to the beach, pool parties, fireworks, walks on the pier, ice cream, swinging, uncles, sand castles, sunglasses, tennis, picnics, crawling...

Summer is too short!

SoCal

We have been in sunny California for about 3 weeks now and we are really loving our time here with family and friends. I am so excited for Sofia to get this much attention from her grandma and grandpa and all of her uncles (and fabulous aunt!) She is also getting to do lots of fun things with her adorable cousin Ellie. They have been swimming in their mini blow-up pool, they went to see farm animals and pick fruits and veggies at a local farm and and Ellie introduced Sofia to the California shoreline.

"Swimming" in the backyard.




At the beach.

Enjoying a MumMum.


We also had the chance to spend some time with our good friends Heather and Pancho and their daughter Kendra. Heather and I met while teaching in Chile and we both met our husbands there. Their daughter Kendra is a cutie ...she is smart and full of energy. She is like a miniature version of both of her parents.
Kendra busting a move.
Sofia loved eating all of Kendra's toys.

Mommies and babies.