Happy Birthday Sophie

I honestly can not believe today has come. No matter how hard I try to push against time, it always wins, and always marches on. Two years ago today, after being up all night in pain, I went to the hospital to hopefully get some antibiotics for my aching lungs. Instead, I got a much greater gift! The doctor asked me if I was ready to meet my baby, I wasn't quite sure. And, in less than an hour, I met baby Sophie Lynn. She came out kicking and screaming, and really never stopped. Her first year was quite the ordeal for us, she cried for three months, got sick enough to necessitate a helicopter ride, needed more trips to the doctor and more antibiotics than I care to admit, but it was filled with wonderful memories. Watching her develop her sassy little spunky personality, love her brother in ways that I never imagined, and just plain grow has been amazing. I can not count the ways she has changed us. I never knew I could love something or someone so much. I never knew that someone so little could show you how much you love other people. I have learned to love Sullivan in a whole new way- watching him be a brother to this little being. I have learned new ways to love Aaron, things I never knew until this little girl melted his heart.

She has been a true gift, bringing laughter and love to thos she meets. I thank every one of our friends and family who have contributed to her development thus far. She is definitely a character, definitely a challenge, but definitely worth the effort. Our poor photographer and friend Sarah, is never greeted with a smile from Sophie. I am sure she leaves every session wondering if she ever wants to photograph a child again. She has numerous pictures of Sophie, I am not sure she is smiling in more than 5 of them, but they are all wonderful.

Today, at two, she loves life most of the time. She loves babies, puppies, animals, Sullivan (whom she refers to as "BoBo"), bossing people around, and mostly Dora. Although she is a mommy's girl, she has lately decided her daddy is a pretty cool guy. She goes in an out of being potty trained. One week she is, the next week she wants to wear Dora pullups that smell like flowers. She is VERY opinionated. She will tell you like it is. She likes to climb, anything and everything. She loves apple juice but not orange. She loves opening presents. We had to rewrap quite a few gifts this year because of her. She likes to think she is as big as her brother. She talks really well, quite surprising since Sullivan was only saying three or four words at this age. She LOVES to jump, anywhere and everywhere. She loves playing with friends. She can fit into a group of kids playing that are 6 years older than her and act like she belongs. She is a true delight. I can't believe its really been two years.

To my precious Sophie Lynn,

You have changed me more than I can believe. When I was a little girl, all that I wanted to do was to be a mommy. When I had you, you allowed me to fulfill a special void that I had. I wanted a little girl so badly. I hope you keep the spark and zest that you have as long as you live. You are so fun to be around, and while you challenge your mommy and daddy alot, we love you for it. You are such a special little girl. Everyone who meets you loves you. I love you more than words can say. I can't believe what a lovely little girl you are turning into. I hope every year with you is filled with as much laughter as 2008 was. Keep growing and learning and loving, mommy and daddy are soooooo proud of you little one!

Its Snowing Its Texas

Yesterday we used the AC- the high was 80 and muggy. This morning, we looked out the window to find this. Imagine our surprise. Good thing we turned the heater on for the "wintry mix". Sullivan wanted to taste the snow. Sophie said its "yucky out there". We thought surely that was the end of the crazy white stuff that fell from the sky.

But, around 3:15, we were drivigng home from running errands and started to see white stuff falling from the sky again. It was thick too, and it has been thick for the last 3 hours!!! This is a picture from a second ago out our back door. Its coming down pretty heavy, and we are hoping to go build a snowman if it keeps up this pace. Can you believe it? Sullivan keeps asking if its Christmas day, I don't really know how to explain the snow here! It is definitely getting us in the Christmas spirit.

Slaves!

So, on Sunday, we went to eat at Fuddruckers. They have an outdoor playground, so my kids were happy. They played for a long time, then ate, then went to play some more. We were chatting, watching them play, and just enjoying the sunshine when we heard Sullivan playing with some little kids. The kids were shouting things like "Get over here slaves!" "Get more slaves" "Buy some slaves" Beat some slaves", etc. We were kind of concerned and told Sullivan that we needed to leave. Perhaps their parents were ok with this, but I am not about to be shot because my kid picked up some junk on the playground! So, when we were walking to the car, Aaron tells Sullivan its really not nice to play like those boys were and that we don't play with slaves and we certainly don't hit people. Sullivan gets really upset and asks why. Aaron asks if he even knows what a slave is. Sullivan looks at him like he is the stupidest person in the whole world and says "Of course! Its what you ride in the snow! Why wouldn't you want to play with those and buy more?" Ummmmmm.........


Yesterday, Aaron took Sullivan to the eye doctor's office where they were checking out some glasses. Aaron puts on a pair of frames and asks Sullivan what he thinks. Sullivan holds four fingers up and says "How many fingers can you see?" Aaron laughs and says "That's not the kind of glasses they are, they don't work yet." To which Sullivan replies, "Oh I see, they haven't put the brains in them yet."

Sophie LOVES saying no all of the time. Last night, after she was supposedly asleep in the bed, she came in our room and yelled at the top of her lungs, "I say NO to the nap, I say NO to the bed, No nap, No bed, No nap, No bed." We promptly put her back in her bed and showed her who is really the boss ;)

The Birthday Adventure

So, our little Dora fan celebrated her second birthday (which isn't really until the 23rd) with friends and family this weekend. She LOVED every second of it!!! We had the party at my mom's house so that she could celebrate with uncles and aunts, and close friends. She was overwhelmed with all of the Dora stuff! She LOVED the table cloth, naming all of the characters, couldn't wait to dig into the cupcakes, and actually "enjoyed" the cake while we were setting up and didn't know. So, needless to say, she was the only one who braved the cake after her finger "trails" were found all over it. Good thing we got cupcakes too!

One of the four times Miss Tiff had to clean Sophie up from getting into the cake.

She was a meticulous present opener. As soon as she tore off a small piece of paper, she would put it in a pile and fold it. It got a little lengthy, so we kind of prodded her along. She LOVED her fun presents- baby dolls, princess shoes, all things Dora, and, the big kicker- a roller coaster! The funny thing was is that she did the roller coaster OVER and OVER and OVER without smiling. She was super serious, but refused to get off. Afterwards, we all took naps and then went to a Christmas parade. The kiddos had so much fun. Sullivan and Thomas (best friends forever) loved yelling "Me Me Me! " and catching lots of goodies. Overall, it was a wonderful day! I can't believe my baby is almost two, but when I watch her fussing and throwing fits, I realize just how close the terrible twos are.

This is how we roll in our car- her first time to wear headphones.

Sullivanisms- You know you need a dose of reality

A few new Sullivan funnies. He's been dressing up for the last few months. He is either Indiana Jones (that was about of month of dressing in the same clothes every day), Mario, Luigi, or Sonic. He gets really frieked out about what color clothes he needs to wear so everyone knows who he is for the day. Yesterday, he was Luigi. He was trying to phonetically explain to Sophie how to say it. Remember, he's five, so some phonics just don't work.

"Sophie, its Luigi, you know MMMMMMMM Luigi. Try that Sophie mmmmmmmm Luigi"

Last night, when he wasn't being very good and after making us call him Luigi ALLLLLLL day, Aaron says "You know, Luigi would never act like this. He always listens to his mom and dad."
Sullivan replies, "I am pretty sure he doesn't even have a mom and dad, he is a cartoon character, plus, I think you know I am not the real Luigi, but Sullivan pretending to be. And, everyone knows that Sullivan doesn't always listen to his mommy and daddy"


The other day, the two of them were playing really well together in his room. He usually leaves the door shut and doesn't let her in, so I thought it was really sweet. Then, I heard Sophie screaming BLOODY murder. I run into his room, she is laying on the floor (on her Dora couch that he apparently had the piece of mind to bring in there first) and screaming. I asked him what happened and reiterated many times that he better tell the truth (it seems that any time she is crying, they "bonked" heads- his excuse that he thinks won't get him in trouble). He thinks really hard, and then decides to tell the truth.
"I wanted to see if she was a real super hero that could fly." (is your stomach hiting the floor like mine was at this point?) "So, we got on the top bunk, and I grabbed her hand, and we jumped. But, she couldn't fly."
"Sullivan you could have broken a bone or even worse- killed her!"
"I wasn't trying to kill her mom, just see if she could fly, and she can't."

It's December Folks!

Can you believe its here already? Craziness huh? What that means is that in 22 days, Sophie will be TWO years old! I can't believe time has flown so fast. But, I must say, she has turned two in every way. Her communication skills surprise us every day. Seriously, she talks REALLY well. She says new things every day, she yells new things at us all of the time, and we are pretty sure she cusses us out when we can't understand what she is saying. She watches Dora any chance she can get. As a matter of fact, the first thing she says when she wakes up is (in a mean tone "Momma, Dora on the TV now." Yeah..... She likes to play, jump, and love on her brother. She is big into hugs right now. She is super mischeivious. Last week, the kids built a gingerbread house at my mom's house. Sullivan really wanted his daddy to see it before they dug in. So, we were kind of shocked when we woke up the next morning to find this:

Speaking of Sullivan, he is reading really well these days. He loves Dick and Jane books (which I have yet to understand the reasoning behind). We've been renting them from the library since he reads through them so quickly. This last week we rented some Dr. Seuss books to read, and he was laughing through the whole books. The kid definitely has a sense of humor. He also has a big heart, his list for Santa includes quite a few things that are for his sister (we can't figure out if he really wants her to have them or if he just wants her to leave his stuff alone.)

The kids are growing, we are getting ready for Christmas. We are trying to convince Daddy that Santa needs to bring us a trampoline. He is a big safety guy, so its taking some serious convincing. So, neither of my kids have ever been very interested in pajamas. Now that its getting colder and Sophie is sleeping in her own bed (you read that right folks!), we have been trying to get her to wear them. She has plenty, just refuses them. She tells us she feels "stuck" with them on. So, last night, while we were going through our routine of putting all of her babies in their perfect places and covering them all up so she could go to bed, she made me pull all of their clothes off so that they wouldn't be stuck either. Thank God for heaters. Oh yeah, she was doing great pottying until Nanny bought her some Dora pullups, now she only wants to wear them. And, she has to kiss Dora (on the pullup) and then turn it over and kiss Boots before you can put them on. Santa is bringing her some Dora panties (so I have heard).

Thankfulness

Sullivan and I are TOTALLY pumped about cooking our annual Thanksgiving meal tomorrow. I LOVE cooking for Thanksgiving and have since we have been married. We almost left this year, but decided to stay home. Tomorrow we will cook away and have leftovers for weeks. HOORAY.

Here are things we are thankful for over here:

Me:
A husband who loves me so much, who has desire and a crazy ambition to be the boss
A little boy who is as gorgeous inside as he is outside, who is learning to read, and soaking in knowledge by leaps and bounds
A little girl who looks ridONCulously cute in pigtails, allows me to dress her in some crazy outfits and put very large bows in her hair, who is taking in the world around her faster than I can teach her
Parents who love me dearly and support me in any way possible
Family, LOTS of family
My best bud Jamie, who has listened to hours of gab, who sends random cards when I need them, and who I am loving raising families with at the same time
My BFF Tiff, the bestest friend a girl could ask for- we are too alike for our own good
Too many loving friends who are willing to open up their lives and families' lives to share!

Sullivan:
Legos
My daddy building legos with me
When people give me legos so my daddy can build them
That there is a Santa Claus who might give me legos
(and just in case you think he is rotten)- That God is proud of me

Sophie:
Dora
Dora Potty Chair
Dora Pullups
Dora Movies in the car
Dora Movies on my daddy's phone
Dora Movies you can rent
Dora shows that come on the tv
DVRs to record Dora shows on

1.83!!!

I got gas today for ONE dollar and 83 cents. Can you believe that? I feel like we got a HUGE raise. Its insane.

Our amazing Sarah got some excellent pictures of the kids again. There are about 70 GREAT ones of Sullivan with a big smile on his face and about ONE great one of Sophie with a smile on hers. There are quite a few great serious shots of her. Now, I can't share alot of them because you'll be getting them on your Christmas cards, but here are a few of my favorites. Isn't she great? Let me know if you want her info!

In other news, Sullivan has really begun praying alot. Its very sweet. He prays all of the time, at random times. The other day, he found some legos he really liked at Target. I told him he would have to ask Santa Claus for them. He replies, "Mom, how in the world is Santa gonna have enough money for these? Oh wait, just a second." Then, he bows his head and asks God to give Santa some money in his sock so he can buy him some legos. Now, don't go thinking I am raising him wrong, he asks God for other great things too. A few days ago, he asked God to start covering his mouth for him whenever he coughs so that he doesn't have to do that anymore, but he doesn't want to spread his germs. He also asked God if he would start opening the playhouse door for him because he doesn't want to hurt his daddy's feelings by telling him the door handle he made doesn't work.

Ain't he sweet? He has discovered "Dick and Jane" books. I have no idea how we ever learned to read with them, they are by no means phonics based. But, he likes them nonetheless. He cracks up laughing at the ridiculous lack of plots. It seems that the fact the Jane likes to pet her cat is the funniest thing he has ever heard.

MIA

So, I know I have been MIA on the blogger scene. Sorry. We honestly have alot going on right now, more than normal ;) Anyway, I need to get the pictures of my matching dragons from Halloween off my camera. Sullivan couldn't be Indiana Jones because he is that everyday and people wouldn't think he was dressing up. So, he was the same dragon he was last year and had to get Sophie the matching costume in purple. She wasn't too down with wearing a costume, but wore it long enough to get a few pictures in. She did LOVE her pumpkin shirt and didn't want to take it off. Speaking of not taking stuff off, Sullivan has worn the same Indiana Jones shirt for the last two weeks. I finally went and bought a few more at Blockbuster because I am sick of washing it every night. The thing is, they are adult mediums because they don't really make them for kids. So, the shirt swallows him. My mom also got him a real hat, so he is really Indiana Jones now, not pretend. He makes everyone call him Dr. Jones.

So yesterday we took the kids to the fair in town. Sophie was too short for the rides and was bummed. So, she thought that maybe if she just tore down the sign she would get to ride. Sullivan had a BLAST. There was an Indiana Jones funhouse with climbing walls and a bridge to run across and a huge slide. I am pretty sure he did it more than 30 times. He was worn out at the end of the three hours. Sophie, on the other had, had LOTS of fun with Sullivan's real hat that she got to play with when he was on the rides.