Whoopsie Daisy

Being realistic | 20 by 30?

2012-01-05T14:27:00.001-08:00

I have these jeans in a dark wash:

And I miss them desperately. It’s been about ten months since I was able to wear them…and that was with a rubber band to make them more comfortable as I grew bigger in my pregnancy.

I am turning thirty in 76 days and I have twenty pounds to lose still. Okay, technically only thirteen of them are baby weight, but I had gotten to my goal weight the summer Sophia turned one and I really enjoyed being there. I wasn’t there when I got pregnant with Evelyn, but I’d like to be again.

I was reading something unrelated to losing weight a while ago, but it used dieting as a metaphor. It said that the difference between desire and commitment is actually making something happen. Everyone has a list of things they want – spending more quality time with your kids rather than playing on your smart phone, making a daily devotional time more important, or a goal weight, but no matter how much you want something, just wanting it isn’t enough to make it happen. If you intentionally commit to that desire, you will probably actually achieve something.

It also helps to have a realistic view of what you are able to achieve. To me, being realistic is a good medium between avoidance and over-optimism. I don’t want to underachieve, but I don’t want to make a goal that sets me up for failure. I’d love to lose 20 by the time I turn 30, but I’d be thrilled with ten. Realistic is being aware of this – I have a husband, two kids, plenty of laundry, and a new overnight job. And so, I have committed to looking awesome and at least wearing my favorite jeans on my birthday.

You can expect me to look something like this:

Maybe not, it’s a little tight for someone "my age.” :)

In the process, I have discovered that some of the healthy things I avoid are actually great. I avoid vegetables almost all of the time. I try eating them, but it doesn’t come naturally. Last night I made a chicken minestrone and it was amazing. I ate tomatoes without gagging. It also had kale in it, which I really love in soup, carrots, onion, etc. It was really good.

I love my Diet Coke, but I’m not craving it now that I’m drinking a ton of water. Hopefully, I can keep that up.

I’m hoping to create a little countdown that I can use to keep myself accountable and update it with my weight loss until my birthday. We’ll see…being realistic says that that’s may not happen. :)

Merry Christmas to all…

2011-12-25T19:34:00.001-08:00

Evelyn’s first Christmas was so much fun! It was the first year Sophia could really understand what was going on and what Christmas was all about. Unfortunately, when I tried talking to her about Jesus on Christmas Eve she wanted to part of it and only wanted to talk about Santa. Something to work on this year, I think! Thankfully on our way to church, I got her to at least “get” that it was Jesus’ birthday.

Despite that, we did put a plate of cookies out for Santa to eat. One of my favorite childhood memories was choosing which cookies we would leave out for Santa, so we did the same with Sophia.

We put out all the choices, she filled a plate, and we left it out…until she went to bed and then we loaded them back into the containers. :)

It is so much fun to be the mom on Christmas Eve! It was especially fun this year, since Sophia knew that there would be something waiting for her when she woke up, so getting it all ready for her was that much more exciting.

Guess who LOVES Christmas?!

Stockings were fun, and Sophia was lucky enough to open two Christmas morning – one from Grandma D, and one from Mommy and Daddy, and finished off by Grandma B.

She’s a really smiley baby anyway, but anytime I said “Merry Christmas” Evelyn grinned from ear to ear!

I tried EVERYTHING I could do get a good picture of the two girls together. Sophia was in quite the “mood” all day, so it wasn’t easy and we weren’t exactly successful, but these will have to do. Here are the best we could muster:

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas | Celebrations and Traditions

2011-12-22T06:12:00.001-08:00

Sophia’s cousin Lucas is in town for Christmas, which means that both Sophia and Grandma are in heaven!

I made some sugar cookies, along with a few other Chirstmas treats. Once I started frosting the first cookie I realized how long it was going to take to make them look “just right.” I got smart pretty quickly and enlisted the help of the toddlers. They looked adorable, the kids had fun, and I wasn’t quite as busy. A win all around!!

We took the beautiful cookies to the annual extended “Z” family Christmas. Every other year, Lucas and his family spend Christmas at home in Nashville, so it was fun to see Sophia have a buddy to run around with. It seems like it really feels like Christmas when there are children running around..

…even if it does get a little wild sometimes.

Our annual Christmas tradition with Sophia has been to visit Santa at the Mall of America and then go to Build-a Bear to make a toy for a child who doesn’t have as many as she does. Usually they have a Toys for Tots drop off, but this year you could donate to Project Bear Hugs. They collect any bears and toys made and then distribute them to homeless shelters in the area.

Our hope is that the girls grow up realizing that Christmas is about the gift of life that Christ gave us and what we can do to give to others. My hope is that they remember giving more than getting when looking back on their childhood Christmas memories.

Here are our past outings: 2009 & 2010.

Maybe Santa isn’t the reason for the season, but he sure helped us get a cute holiday picture! The elves at this particular Santa’s workshop are smart and have a stool next to Santa so you don’t actually have to sit on his lap. A lot less traumatic this way!

I thought for sure that this would be the year that Sophia freaked out when she couldn’t keep the toy she was making, but she let go just fine.

Evelyn, on the other hand, was devastated when she found out she couldn’t keep this snuggly teddy bear.

The whole process seemed to overwhelm Sophia, but she did end up participating a little bit.

We faked Evelyn helping, but we know she’ll be more into in next year!

Another happy Christmas memory!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-20T12:38:00.001-08:00

I don't have my act together this year, but if you were to receive our card...here's what you'd see in your mailbox. :)

Retro Stripe Frame Christmas Card

Make a statement with personalized Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Macy’s 8th Floor Display

2011-12-15T12:02:00.001-08:00

The Minneapolis downtown Macy’s has a Christmas display every year. I’ve only been there a few times, but people in the area make a big deal out of going every year. Usually, the do a different theme every year. Apparently, this is the third year they’ve had this same display, Santa’s workshop, but this is the first time we’ve seen it, and Sophia’s first trip there. She loved it, the details are amazing, and it was so fun to see her check everything out.

Also, if you’re looking for a good day to go without hanging out in line for over an hour, the Saturday after Thanksgiving is the perfect day to check it out. I think everyone was done with shopping after Black Friday, so there was no one in line, we walked right in, which made it that much more fun!

(Just in case you can’t see that last word, it’s “pony.” And if you’re wondering…she’s not getting one.)

We all do it…

2011-12-08T06:45:00.001-08:00

Every parent does it. Every parent thinks, “Wow. My kids are the BEST kids. How did I get so lucky to get the greatest kids ever?” Maybe not that exact thought, but something to that effect. And that’s the way it should be. That’s how our children know just how loved they are. We are amazed by them, how smart they are, how beautiful, how funny, how clever.

I love those moments. The ones where I go racing for the camera to try to capture a moment that I won’t get back, because they grow and change so fast. It doesn’t bother me that no matter how many times I clear hundreds of pictures from my camera, the next week there are at least 500 photos of my sweet babies. I don’t care that my computer memory is probably half full of pictures, many of which look almost exactly the same. Someday, those pictures will be all I will have to remind me of their sweetness when they were so small.

Tuesday, I went to Target for groceries and had one of those days. My girls were just beyond adorable. Something about their smiles sucked me in! Can you blame me? Look at these cuties!

Happy Birthday–2 months today!

2011-11-29T13:03:00.001-08:00

I never know what day it is anymore. I just happened to get lucky and look at a calendar long enough to realize that today is the day our darling baby Evelyn is 2 months old! It’s hard to believe it’s gone so quickly (how often during a child’s life does a mother have to say those words?!), but here she is, sweet as can be. Smiles, coos, and even a laugh here and there. Couldn’t be happier with our tiny Little Miss.

Giving Thanks

2011-11-26T07:34:00.001-08:00

We are very thankful for our two sweet girls. Here’s a peek at our tiny Thanksgiving celebration, just the four of us.

Thank you Pottery Barn Kids for a cute breakfast idea! Sophia ate turkey for breakfast while watching the parade.

While I set the table…

Sophia went grocery shopping and set up her own Thanksgiving party.

The part of the meal that I was most excited about.

Our tiniest little blessing. So thankful for this sweet baby and her big sister!

Where to start…

2011-11-08T12:27:00.001-08:00

Well, you may not expect this. It’s been over three weeks since I’ve posted, so I really should recap the last three weeks, post cute pictures of my girls, etc., but I’m not going to do that.

Why?

Because something very exciting is happening tomorrow, and it has nothing to do with my babies.

We watched a LOT of musicals growing up and one of my favorites is West Side Story. I used to dance around to all of the songs wishing that I was in a purple dress that flared out when I spun around, like Anita (one of the main characters).

I made Dan sit through the movie once when it was on TV and couldn’t believe it when he fell asleep! Well, he saw a preview this weekend and it turns out it’s the 50th anniversary of the musical so for one night they’re showing a re-mastered version of the film at AMC theaters around the country. I can’t wait!!

If you’re interested…check it out here.

Apples, Pumpkins, Eagles and Monkeys

2011-10-17T19:27:00.001-07:00

We had an eventful weekend and lots of good time outside. I have to keep reminding myself to make the most of any time we can be outdoors, since winters in MN can be soooo long. And, apparently, we’re looking at another extra long and snowy winter, so we’re going to get outside every chance we can!

Saturday, we went to the apple orchard. We visited Aamodts Apple Farm, the same orchard we went to last year. Sophia keeps calling it the “Apple church.” :) It was so much fun to watch her run around and check everything out. Here are a few comparison shots from last year – we must have gone earlier in the season because her outfits are definitely very different!

Sophia had a lot of fun, and clearly, so did Evelyn. :)

This was as close to the animals as Sophia was willing to get. She had the chance to feed them some popcorn but was a little scared. Maybe next year…

Whenever we get cute pictures like this one, I get excited to see the girls having fun together next year or the year after. Right now, it’s fun for Sophia to get a little time with just Mommy and Daddy while Evelyn sleeps, but I think {& hope} she’ll enjoy the time chasing each other around just as much when the time comes.

We also went for a walk around Como Lake (Lake Como?? Not sure which it is…) and saw a lot of animals. There were squirrels and ducks…and then we saw this guy perched in the tree. It’s so rare to just happen to see a bald eagle – it was fun to show it to Sophia.

We thought that was going to be the most exciting thing we saw on our walk until we saw a real monkey for a walk with his owner. They were holding hands and strolling along! The monkey’s name was Mike, but Sophia kept calling him George Monkey, which is what she calls Curious George.

I’m pretty sure we won’t see anything that cool on any of our future walks. Then again, we never expected to run into a monkey either.

5K anyone??

2011-10-13T13:40:00.001-07:00

Evelyn is two weeks old and I’m ready to shed every last bit of baby weight. The problem with having a c-section is that they’re pretty picky about how much activity you can do before six weeks post-op. Annoying…and logical, if I’m being honest. I understand the reasons behind those guidelines and have definitely felt the pains of pushing myself too hard too soon, but I am N-O-T a patient person. You’re not supposed to do anything other than walking and can’t lift more than 15-18 lbs (and yes, that keeps me from holding my sweet 27 lb. toddler).

The hardest thing about feeling stuck and immobile, is not being able to hold Soph, or lift the car seat with Evelyn in it. That makes it harder to get out, which makes it difficult to do the one thing I am allowed – go for a walk pushing the stroller.

I’m not one to have a lot of self control when it comes to eating. Well, that’s not entirely true…when I’m motivated and when I’m exercising the two easily go hand in hand for me, but simply eating right in and of itself…not so much. I love food and love that when you’re working out you can splurge regularly without it making any difference at all. :) That’s not the only reason I like to work out, but it’s a big one. Bring on the chocolate, good ol’ white pasta, the wine, and cookies….

I know that logically when I step on the scale, it’s not going to show a number I really want it to, but there’s always that glimmer of hope right before the number registers. I can’t help but be optimistic. :) Thankfully, at least, it seems that every few days, it shows that I’m a few lbs lighter – in fact today it was showed that another five are gone – Hooray!

I started off about 8 lbs lighter in this pregnancy than the last, and gained about 8 lbs less, so I’ve already got a 16 lb head start from last time. Unfortunately, my rear and thighs must have carried more weight than I realized because my non-maternity pants don’t seem to want to let me pull them up all the way. This leaves me stuck in maternity pants, and frankly, I’ve had it with them! Looking through my regular clothes makes me feel like I’m waiting to wear a whole “new” wardrobe.

Onto the 5K…

I’d like to run this 5K in December:

I’ve never done it and always wanted to. It’s December 3rd, so I know I’d have plenty of time to get into good enough shape to do it well.

So, this is my goal – to get my act together enough to run this in a time I’d be proud of, whether I had a 2-and-a-half month old or not.

Newborn pictures

2011-10-12T08:15:00.001-07:00

Our friend Nealy took some amazing and adorable pictures of Evelyn the day after we came home. She had taken some of Sophia when she was just ten days old (as well as family pictures last year and some two-year shots of Sophia this summer) and we still adore looking at all of them, so I know we’ll cherish them forever. Actually, most of the pictures that are on our blog (like the header and on the sidebar) are by Nealy too. If you ever need any photos taken she’d do an amazing job…check our her photography blog here.

Settling in…

2011-10-11T14:23:00.001-07:00

Dan’s going back to work…I’m somewhat devastated. If only paternity leave were as long as maternity leave. I’m happy to have this time at home with the girls, but it just won’t be as much fun as the past ten days have been.

Dan’s been beyond amazing. So supportive and encouraging, so good at making me rest and take care of myself, and so great at just being a daddy. Evelyn has gotten a lot of snuggle time and Sophia’s been in heaven having daddy around all the time – even calling him her “best buddy.” Adorable. They even had a bonfire one morning around 10am, simply because Sophia wanted one.

One of the best things Dan did was to remind me, the night before he went back to work, that I’ve handled four kids before, so I can definitely handle our two. I’ve been relying on that in my head the past two days and it’s definitely been an encouragement.

Everything is easier with two parents than with one…that’s just obvious, but I think we’re doing okay.

Yesterday was mostly about survival. We didn’t go anywhere – just hung around the house. Dan’s mom let me sleep in and took care of Sophia until Evelyn and I wandered out around 9am. It was really nice, but I’ve found in the past that I am in the best place during the day when I wake up to an alarm and get going at an earlier time, something I did today. My mind was in a better place, having had some time to myself to get ready before the girls were up. Today we even met some friends at the mall and the toddlers some fun running around in the play area for a while. Well, until there was some behavioral issues going on with Sophia, but that’s a whole other post…

Sophia has been taking good care of her babies. They often get burped, and she loves wearing a burp cloth on her shoulder while carrying one of them around the house. These days we rarely leave the house without one of them and they are regularly buckled into Evelyn’s car seat, bouncy seat and swing. Yesterday, they began wearing diapers…size 4 Pampers actually. Apparently, baby dolls need diapers that go up to their necks.

(You can’t see it, but there is a baby wrapped up in that tiny blankie)

(Please excuse the crazy hair…)

Sophia is also so interested in “the baby.” She loves to hold her and has even given her a bottle.

I LOVE seeing these two together! They’re so sweet and so far, getting along great. I’m sure that’s something that will come and go as the years go on, but for now, it’s sugary sweet and I like it that way!

Cheap Family Fun | Farmers Market Thursday

2011-10-06T22:10:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite things to do in the warmer months in MN is go to the downtown Farmers Market on Thursdays in Minneapolis. I love pretty much anything downtown – the hustle and bustle energizes me and it’s fun to people watch. You can make it a really cheap outing too – if you park at the downtown Target and spend $20, you get your first hour of parking for free and the second hour is just $1. Since most Targets now have groceries and that’s where we do pretty much all our grocery shopping, this is a piece of cake.

We did our first big family outing to the farmers market today and it was the perfect activity. The weather was great – warm enough, but for the most part, the buildings provide just the right amount of shade, and everything smells SO good as you walk around. We first stopped at Panera for a bagel and chocolate milk then walked down Nicollet Ave checking out all the booths.

We had free metro passes and used them to take the girls on a train ride – a first they both shared together!

Sophia was really excited about the “twain wide.” She loved sitting in her own seat and looking out the window.

We rode two stops up to the end of the line at Target field and walked around for a while.

Can you find the cutie in this picture? She’s playing peek-a-boo…

This is the big picture draw at Target Field – sitting in the glove. We got a picture of Sophia in the glove last year, but didn’t make it to a game as a family this year – sitting in those seats while pregnant didn’t sound too appealing to me. If you’re interested in getting this picture with your kiddos, I highly recommend showing up when absolutely nothing is going on. Then you won’t have to stand in a long line with kids waiting for you turn and when game day comes, you can save your kids’ patience for the actual game.

There was also a picture of myself and Evelyn (in her car seat) in the glove, but it was not too flattering. Ev thought her hair looked messy, so I told her I’d leave it out of the post. :)

The babe slept the entire outing, which was perfect. Sophia has been a really patient girl and handled this whole transition pretty well, so I was glad she got some quality Mommy & Daddy time this morning. I kept asking her if she was having fun and on the way home she said, “My have a good time!” Love.

Fun and good memories do not have to cost a lot of money. We always like to save a bit, but especially with my being on maternity leave, it’s so fun to find activities that we can do as a family that are cheap. Other than the groceries we bought for our parking (which we’d have purchased anyway) we spent $1 on parking and $6 on our morning snack. Not bad at all, but if you wanted to make it super cheap, you could pack your own snack and people watch as you ate it. I think our next group adventure will be a trip to the apple orchard.

Any suggestions for other cheap family outings?

Welcome Home

2011-10-06T02:25:00.001-07:00

We came home Sunday evening…it’s hard to believe after all of the very loooong waiting of pregnancy, we’ve already had the baby and have been home for a few days. Some of the pictures of Evelyn getting ready to leave the hospital look a lot like those of Sophia doing the same – you can see that here if you’re interested.

She’s not a fan of getting dressed yet, so there was a little drama.

But, once she was cozy, all was right with the world.

I just love her little hat. $4.50 on clearance at Gap…can’t get much better than that. Unfortunately, just as with Sophia, we won’t get a lot of use out of her coming home hat, at least not for now. With S, we bought a cute newborn hat and had her name put on it, and then it was pretty much too small from the start so it was cute, but useless. I guess we aren’t great at buying baby hats, because the one we bought for Evelyn is so big that it could be until winter before it fits properly. Oh well…cute for the picture. :)

She did great in the carseat, but only because we were waiting so long for someone to walk us out of the hospital that she had a chance to eat first. We’ve since discovered that she’s N-O-T a fan of her carseat. At all.

Baby’s first Target trip! We stopped on our way home to grab a few things. She’s already had another since then, with big sister along too.

Sophia was pretty excited to see the baby at home. She was equally excited to play with the buckles in the baby’s carseat.

She did such a good job holding her. In fact, she likes to hold her so much that she sometimes gets mad when someone else is holding her instead. Poor Grandma even got hit this week because she was holding Evelyn when Sophia wanted to. Our sweet toddler has gotten a few time outs this week. :)

And this is how things looked by the end of the night. By the time we got to the top of the stairs, I was crying too. It’s going to be an interesting transition, but we’re getting there a little at a time.

Dan had been A-MA-ZING. I’m terrified for Monday when he goes back to work. Despite how the picture looks, Sophia has been an incredibly happy child all week. She’s having such a ball with daddy – the two of them are best buddies. He’s really been the key to all of us being so happy and adjusting so well this week. We are very blessed!

Today, we are taking a family trip to the downtown farmer’s market and a ride on the light rail, just for fun. Rest assured, there will be pictures!

The 500 names of Evelyn Anne

2011-10-03T05:16:00.001-07:00

Naming Evelyn was no picnic. If you’ve been following us through this pregnancy, you already know this.

We both love older names, and I wanted one with three syllables that sounded nice with Sophia. We went through SO many names, and, for the most part, we lingered on Evelyn and two others for the last couple months of my pregnancy. We both have always loved the name, but what you may not know is that we've had an Evelyn in our family for just over six years.

That was actually my biggest hang-up. The second of my sweet nanny kiddos, Evie has always had a special place in my heart. I was privileged to meet her on the day of her birth and have loved her ever since. She has not only endeared me to the name Evelyn, but having her as a part of our extended family was what made it so difficult to name our baby Evelyn.

We actually named her Evelyn “officially” at least once or twice before the final decision (along with about six other “official” names), but I kept wavering and wasn't sure about it. I liked it better than the other choice and knew I would be happiest with it in the long term. I was afraid that it would be a little weird for me, but in the end, and with a lot of convincing from Dan, we knew it was our sweet baby's name. Talk about crunch time…we named her about 36 hrs. before she arrived!

I love it and it's perfect. Besides, Evie is an Evie, and for now Evelyn is Evelyn. I can see us calling her Evie eventually, but we’ll have to wait and see if it fits her.

It's also best, for now, for her to remain Evelyn for Sophia's sake. She ADORES TC, Evie and Davis and at her age, I think she would be a bit confused if we started calling her baby sister by the name of another child she already loves.

We can't wait for the two Evelyns to meet! Evie has said from the beginning that there was a very special baby in my tummy and I know she was right. She'd been patiently waiting to hear baby's name and we hear she was thrilled when she found out. It will be so fun to have her meet the tiny Evelyn!

Her middle name is Anne after my grandmother, which is also my my middle name. I love that (if you use my formal name), we have the same initials and our names look so close on paper.

Thank goodness we no longer have to think about what to name this sweet child…because THAT was the hard part, right? the rest should be a piece of cake...T

Welcome Evelyn

2011-10-01T05:11:00.001-07:00

She’s finally here…and she finally has a name!! Evelyn Anne was born at 10:41am (the official time) Thursday morning. She was 22 inches long and 8 lbs. 6 oz. The entire experience was so different from Sophia’s birth. We left around 7am to head to the hospital for a scheduled c-section, the back-up plan in case I didn’t go into labor by then.

I wanted to give Sophia a big hug, but felt selfish waking her up to say good-bye – I was so torn. Then, thankfully, there were little noises on the monitor and we got to have a nice few minutes together – the last as a family of three.

And one last belly shot before leaving – 40 weeks and 5 days.

We thought we were scheduled at 9, but when we arrived, they said it was actually 9:40, however, we were being bumped for someone else. It was so strange to just wait around for an appointment to have a baby. My c-section with Sophia was an emergency one and I don’t remember most of it. This time, I literally walked into the OR to be prepped for Evelyn’s birth. I started crying almost immediately when I heard another baby crying in the prep room next door. It made everything suddenly seem so real!

My platelet count ended up being a bit lower than was ideal for an epidural, but they decided it was still safe to get a spinal and be awake – I’m SO thankful for the steroids that made that possible! The surgery itself was a little…odd. I don’t even know how to describe it. Here’s what I know…last time the nurse anesthetist was my favorite person in the room and the same goes for this time. She was right by my head the whole time, looking me in the eye and walking me through everything I was feelings, making sure everything was as it should be, encouraging me so take quick breaths, and reassuring me that it would be done soon. At one point it was pretty unpleasant and I decided this was our last baby, but then they lifted Ev’s little face above the screen to show me and I quickly reversed that decision.

This was the second time in a row that I heard the weight of my baby and couldn’t believe my ears! Sophia was .25 oz. short of 11 lbs., so when I heard this fairly normal weight for Evelyn I was a little in shock – could we really just have had a regular sized baby?!

And, oh my word – is she not just beautiful?

Evelyn and her big sister both have the same mouth. We’ve got two girls who have some definite similarities, but they also look very different to us as well. It’ll be interesting to see how things compare as Evelyn grows.

Last time, I met baby briefly and then passed out – Dan spent a good amount of time waiting in the recovery room with baby.

This time, I was so awake and am happy to have been able to experience everything from her first cry on. She started crying before they even had her all the way out and didn’t stop for a good ten minutes! After she was all cleaned up Dan brought her to me and they sat with me for quite a bit.

I LOVE this next picture. She looks so focused on something. She has the sweetest little face!

Grandma brought Sophia around lunchtime to meet her new sister. It was really fun to see them together. All in all, I think big sister is handling it really well.

A friend of mine had said that as soon as the baby came, Sophia was going to look instantly huge. Well, she was right – suddenly she’s such a big girl, no longer the baby we still think of her as sometimes.

She’s incredibly gentle with Evelyn and loves to hold her. The way she says “Baby Evelyn” melts my heart completely. I always wanted a sister and have high hopes that their relationship will be very special.

Dan is now completely surrounded by girls!

We wouldn’t have it any other way!

Sweet little Evelyn Anne, you couldn’t be more of a blessing. You are the perfect addition to our little family and we can’t wait to watch you grow (just don’t do it too quickly). You have already taught me plenty and I’m so, so thankful for that! You very quickly and easily erased all my fears about being able to love two children with my whole heart. You are a beautiful girl and I can’t wait to watch your personality develop and to discover all there is to you.

We love you!!

Confessions of an Overdue Mama

2011-09-27T21:59:00.001-07:00

I was due on Saturday…if you’re unsure about the math, that was four days ago. By this time with Sophia (she was a week over), I was emotional, frustrated…I could go on and on.

This time, I’m anxious, but I’ve been okay with waiting. For one thing, I’ve been spending a lot of time just staring at this cute face:

Literally…just staring.

C’mon…wouldn’t you?

So, I’m not really that upset about being overdue. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very much looking forward to meeting baby, but as far as I’m concerned, if she’s comfortable and safe, then I think the longer she “cooks” the better. What’s a few days in the long run anyway, right?

I feel pretty big, but yet still kind of small - if you knew me the last time I was pregnant, you understand why. :)

I’ve been breaking a few of my own my parenting rules.
And…I kinda don’t feel bad about it.

Sophia’s been drinking lots of juice, getting dessert after every meal and hearing a lot of “yes.”

The last two mornings, she has started her day with The Little Einsteins. Now, don’t’ get the idea that I think that 20 minutes of TV is going to ruin her – especially when it’s the Einsteins…they’re so cute! I’m more concerned me and about letting myself get used to the crutch it can become.

She’s also been spending a lot of time with her pacifier…so much time. At Target, at the mall, at home, in the car. It’s not going to kill her, but we were doing so well at always leaving it in her room and I guess we’ll just deal with that…some other time. Plus, I’m not about to take one of her comfort items away before baby comes. I have a feeling ~~mommy~~ she may need it.

I’m tired. Like, so, very, tired. I even tried to make Sophia take an extra nap yesterday. At 10:30 in the morning. She made it pretty clear that she wasn’t up for it, but she did sit in her crib with books for 25 minutes while I semi-napped on the bed. It was one of the best “naps” I’ve ever had. Ev-er. (The secret to success? Um…the pacifier.)

I am getting anxious about a scheduled c-section. Last time, I had already been through labor and pushing and was so exhausted and out of it that I didn’t really realize what was going on. I think that’s a blessing! This time I’ll be very aware and awake and probably nervous. Feel free to pray around 9am on Thursday morning, ‘cuz I’ll probably be super nervous, but let’s not talk about it. If you wanna talk, let’s talk about how cute she’s going to be.

I cannot wait to hold this baby. I want to hold her, grab her tiny fingers and toes and give her endless hugs. I got a glimpse of tiny baby fingers at Target today and it took everything had to keep myself from grabbing them. (I didn’t want to scare the mom!)

It’s so strange to know that this is the last day of this pregnancy, but also so wonderful to know it’s finally coming to an end. Unless I’m awake all night tomorrow, bored and waiting (quite possible), our next post will be an announcement!

Russian baking buddies

2011-09-26T03:02:00.001-07:00

These popped up in our kitchen a few weeks ago. My mother-in-law found them when she was out one day and figured I would enjoy something that combined something Russian and something to do with baking.

They’re SUPER cute and I like that it’s a set of six…the set I’ve always had only has four.

I’ve only used them once and I’m sure I’ll get good use out of them during Christmas time. For now, I’m doing my best not to bake anything for a while. I have zero self-control when it comes to baked goods, even less when I’m tired, and since today it’s about 5am and I’ve been awake since before midnight I’m thinking this week is not the best time to bring a batch of cookies into the house. :)

It seems that I’m finally starting to experience those super fun side-effects I was warned about when I started taking steroids for my platelets a couple weeks ago. Thankfully, they are at least doing their job and as of my last two blood tests I’m good-to-go for an epidural. If baby doesn’t arrive before Thursday morning on her own, then we’ll have a c-section and an epidural means no general anesthesia and I get to hear baby’s first cry and meet her right away. I’m so thankful for modern medicine and smart doctors!

Now, if I could only get some sleep…

Moving on

2011-09-22T13:51:00.001-07:00

Doesn’t everything look more adorable in children’s handwriting?

I spent a large chunk of the past seven years as a nanny for such a wonderful family. To try and list what was so great about the whole experience would take so very long, but I’ll try to highlight it.

TC was just 10 months old when I met him and his parents in August of 2004. I’d only had a few interviews with different families, but the interview with the D family was the only interview before which Dan gave me a card, sure the family would love me and that I’d love them. He was right! We were both looking for a quick placement, and though I didn’t have experience nannying younger children, it seemed like a good fit and that’s where it began.

Ev came along the following April and we had a fun summer with Libby at home. The next year and a half were a lot of fun, tons of playdates, park time, children’s museum and the zoo. After a while I started wanting something more, career wise and they were super supportive. A friend of mine took over as their nanny and I worked as a temp, a “free-lance” nanny and did a little exploring, but I missed the kids. I went back after about six months.

TC was then in preschool and Evie and I had a lot of fun times together, she’ll even tell you that we’ve had our fair share of coffee dates. :) Another year and a half passed, we had bought a house and I left (again!) to try my hand at in-home daycare – again they were incredibly supportive and were cheering me on. It was very different from being a nanny and though it had it’s good times, our area wasn’t great for starting a new daycare. We sold our house, had a gorgeous baby girl (I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with her) and when she was 5 months old, I was fortunate enough to go back to work with the kids, now three including Davis, with Sophia in tow.

They took me as their nanny THIRD time AND they were letting me bring my sweet baby girl along three days a week.

It’s hard to believe that was 20 months ago and that now I’m done as their nanny for the last time. My last day with the kids was beyond great. I took a few hours in the morning to get an ultrasound and check on our soon-to-arrive daughter. I went through the McDonald’s drive-thru for Happy Meals for Davis and Sophia’s last lunch date, and then was sent for the wonderful gift of a spa pedicure. At the end of the day there was a great celebration with Woulette’s cupcakes, a singing of “She’s a jolly good nanny,” a gift and lots of hugs.

I was shocked that I wasn’t in tears all day long, especially considering the hormones running through me right now. They popped up here and there, but all in all it was just a very, very happy day appreciating all that I remembered from the past seven years. I’ve never felt so peaceful about moving on from this job, and obviously, I have a bit of practice in doing so! :) The other two times, I left in a pile of tears unsure if I’d made the right decision.

The most comforting part of leaving the three D kids is that I will always know them and the relationship changes to one of family friends. I can’t wait to see how they grow and change and where they end up.

This is such a great time to move onto something new, to look forward to our family growing again and to enjoy the next couple months as we figure out what the future looks like for our family.

Sophia’s Fall Wardrobe | Cheap Jeans and New Shirts

2011-09-16T05:10:00.001-07:00

I got a ton a steals for Sophia from Gap over the summer. I knew what I was expecting to get for her – I was looking for pants. Shirts are easier and faster to sew (I’m assuming anyway – I’ve never tried them), so I kept my eye out for deals. I was able to get her three pairs of adorable jeans at babyGap for a total of $25. Wide leg, dark-wash boot-cut, and light colored boot-cut. She also still fits in her skinny jeans, especially since those look better when they’re not too long.

She’s got some new shirts – check ‘

em out! Each shirt is matched with a different pair of cutie pie jeans. Apparently, I’m blessed with a babe that will cooperate for a photo shoot, I just don’t have the photo skills to go with it. Oh well – you can’t have it all!

I finished these two a while ago, but hadn’t gotten a picture of her.

Long-sleeved, front and back

And, short-sleeved, front and back

I have to say, I enjoy sewing and it’s been fun to learn and I love when something turns out great and I love it on her. BUT…I still like shopping better! :)

This shirt was a good deal, especially now that I understand how much work it would take to do all the detailing on it, but I’m SO glad I bought it and didn’t take the time to make it. It’s one of my new favorites!

(Um…could she get any more beautiful?!!)

And, last, but definitely not least, Sophia’s new shirt from Janie and Jack. Her Uncle Andrew is a GREAT shopper and bought her a generous gift card to ~~Mommy’s~~ Sophia’s favorite store. Dan picked this out and I love how it looks on her. You can’t see it, but there is a tiny puppy on the front, which of course makes it her puppy shirt. We can’t wait until more of our favorites go on sale and we can use the rest of the card!

Getting close, staying busy

2011-09-14T19:14:00.001-07:00

We have been a bit busy the last week or so. Hmm…who am I kidding? We’ve been busy for about 2 years and 1 month straight now.

Dan turned 31, and for the second year in a row, no picture of him. Bummer – he looks great, if I do say so myself. :)

My dad had a birthday a two days later, which we celebrated over Labor Day, along with a visit from cousins.

There has been much sewing. So. Much. Sewing.

We tried, and failed with our first attempt at consecutive nights in a toddler bed.

And then tonight…Heaven! After work, Sophia and I had a nice peaceful evening waiting for Dan to get home from work. We made pumpkin muffins and eggs for dinner, and then a batch of Oreo ice cream for dessert. I put on some music that Dan and I used to listen to in our first apartment and gave Sophia a pacifier to keep her quiet. Yes, I gave my child her drug of choice for my own peace of mind. And no, I do not regret it. Not one, single bit.

This week has seemed to go very quickly. I started taking steroids on Tuesday morning to (hopefully!!) pump up my platelet count. Here’s how it works, if I can get my level above 100, it’s currently around 80) I will be qualified for an epidural. So, just-in-case I have a c-section I could possibly be awake (instead of under general anesthesia) and can hear baby’s first cry. I’m still planning to attempt a VBAC, but this is the back-up plan so I hopefully, I will get to be awake when she arrives. If not, at least I’ll know I did everything I could to make it happen and Dan will have the video camera ready! We’re also hoping to schedule the 30th as a back-up c-section date, but it will depend on the doctors’ schedules.

The steroids have side effects that basically make it seem like your pregnancy symptoms are on steroids of their own. So far, I’ve been pretty lucky and my only side effect has been increased energy! Not bad at all! I could however, experience, increased appetite,

difficulty sleeping, nervousness, heartburn and nausea. So, um, pregnancy, right? The pharmacist also mentioned "emotional reactivity" and told me that if I’d been snippy already, it was about to get worse. I’ve been very lucky in that the base for all of these symptoms during this pregnancy has been really low, so even though they’ve all gotten a bit worse the last two days, I’m thankful that it’s not as bad as it could be.

Imagine – nesting instincts on steroids. I am getting SO much done and rather than finding myself with a snippy attitude, as I was warned, I am finding myself very happy and at peace. I’ll take it!

I have a lot of pictures of Sophia to share…coming soon!

Noodles&Co. imitation!

2011-09-10T16:34:00.001-07:00

My favorite thing to get at Noodles&Co. is Pasta Fresca. It’s SO good and I finally found a recipe that imitates it really well. It’s great, but don’t forget the parmesan on top – it makes a huge difference and really made it taste just like the real thing.

Pasta Fresca

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

2 1/2 c. pre-cooked penne

1/4 c. cubed roma tomato

1 TB diced red onion

Salt and pepper to taste

1 ounce fresh spinach

1/4 c. fresh garlic

2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

1/4 c. sweet white wine

1 c. extra virgin olive oil

For the sauce, combine the last five ingredients.

In a very hot sauté pan, heat extra virgin olive oil, then add pre-cooked penne, roma tomatoes, diced red onions, kosher salt & cracked pepper.

Sear noodles, stirring occasionally until steaming hot

Add fresh spinach and 1/2 c. fresca sauce

Toss to combine, serve with freshly shaved parmesan cheese.

Oh, and you probably haven’t noticed, but right now, I am OBSESSED with how food looks on these little blue plates we have! I love their shape – we only have two of them, but that’s fine. They’re so cute, I love the color and together, they were only $3 at Home Goods. I’m hoping that they will come in handy with portion control when I start working on this baby weight. :)

I have a baby girl, and her name is...

2011-09-08T12:39:00.000-07:00

...haha! If only I new, and if I did, would I dare proclaim it on our blog, without a picture and before informing grandparents? I think not. Sorry for the tease - this process has been a bit frustrating, so it's nice to have a little fun in the midst of it.

I'm not sure why it's so hard this time around, but I do think I'm driving our families(and by families, I mostly mean grandparents) crazy, Dan and myself included. With Sophia's name, we decided the day of our 20 week ultrasound and that was it. I did waver for the first couple weeks after she was born and wonder if we chose the right name, so maybe that's part of what's going on this time. I think it also never occurred to me that we would have more than one girl. Neither Dan or I have a sister, so I assumed we'd have more boys than girls. I think I'm worried that this is the last time I will get to choose a girl name so I want to make sure we both LOVE it.

All that to say, I think I've given up on trying to decide. If that means going to the hospital pretty sure about her name, fine, so be it.

If that means that she won't have the same "first bath at home" picture with her name on her hooded towel, like Sophia does, fine.

If that means that her name is not on the wall in cute letters a week ahead of time, like it was with Sophia, fine.

Really, does she need to do everything like her big sister anyway?? Probably not.

My only concern at this point is that she have a name on her birth certificate when we leave the hospital. If it looks like we can't pull that off, than I guess we'll just camp out at the hospital until we figure it out.

The last of the birthday photos…

2011-09-06T12:20:00.001-07:00

I think I’m one of those mom’s who takes way too many pictures. BUT, as my Aunt Carolyn has told me many times, it’s good to take pictures of EVERYTHING because they grow up way too fast!

Sophia got more than just baby doll gear for her birthday. We noticed earlier in the summer that she is a natural when it comes to soccer, so she got a pink soccer ball. It’s a little big for her (size 3, I think), but it will last her a while and now we have a ball we can keep in the car for the park. Does that make me an official soccer mom?

We had a LOT of fun on her actual birthday. She got to ride the carousel at Como Zoo, for free!, and walk around and see the animals.

We had a family birthday lunch at Smash Burger, and got her a hot dog – big hit!

And, of course, a birthday dinner and birthday cake. We did a shared birthday dinner with her Grandpa Jeff, who shares her birthday.

We also gave her some Color Wonder markers and paper, which I love because she drew a lovely crayon picture on her play kitchen, so I’m happy that these will only work on the Color Wonder drawing pad. One other thing we discovered about markers is that, apparently, they’re more fun to match together (tops and bottoms) than they are to use on the paper, AND they’re great for learning colors!

And now that she’s been completely spoiled, let’s upend her world and really teach her how to share (time, space, toys, mom and dad, etc.) with her new sister…in no less than 18 days!!!

A visit with Grace

2011-09-05T11:52:00.001-07:00

My cousin, Becky, her husband, Derek, and their “baby” Grace came to MN this weekend to have Grace meet our Grandma. We spent Sunday with them, first at the Pizza Ranch and then at my parents. It was so nice to see them and have the girls get some playtime together.

We just call them cousins and Grace’s parents are Aunt Becky and Uncle Derek. When we were growing up as cousins, we spent a lot of time together and would love to get our girls together as much as we can. We’re thinking that at our family reunion next summer, they might spend more time actually playing together, instead of just playing in the same place. :)

We might have overwhelmed Grandma a bit by showing up with seven visitors all at the same time, so we didn’t stay too long, but we got a good shot of the girls with her.

Dan and I also discovered that, as parents, the best way to travel is with an entertaining Uncle in the back seat. Sophia had a fabulous time with Uncle Andrew, who drove out with us, and kept him busy on both two hour car rides. When we dropped him off he was exhausted, had a headache and was, I’m sure, ready for a break. We’re thinking that a mini-van may be in order sooner than later, since once we have two kids, we’ll need room for both of their uncles back there!

Sundresses for Haiti

2011-08-31T12:52:00.001-07:00

Do you sew?

Do you want to?

You may have thought that sundress season was nearly over, but not quite.

Kathy from Art Projects for Kids is hosting a Sundress drive for a group of orphans in Haiti. The sundress pattern I’ve used before is one of the first things I made for Sophia and even though the first one didn’t come out perfectly, it was pretty simply, is wearable despite a few small mistakes and would make any child in need happy to have.

You can find the link for the sundress drive here and the link for the FREE pattern here. If you have any sewing ability I’d encourage you to try this pattern for a good cause. The girls are around size 5, 6 or 7. Keep in mind this doesn’t have to cost you a lot. There are plenty of clearance fabrics at JoAnn stores around the area and I’m sure it won’t matter to these girls what the fabric looks like.

If you don’t sew, the girls also asked for sunglasses and underwear. Kinda funny, huh? Plenty of kids here complain when underwear ends up in their Christmas stockings and these girls would be thrilled to have a few extra.

Anyway, all you have to do is e-mail Kathy once you have something to send and she’ll e-mail you a mailing address. You can find her e-mail address on the left side of her blog.

If you decide to make one, please e-mail me a picture!! I’d love to see how far this project can reach!

Gearing up for baby…

2011-08-29T18:15:00.001-07:00

Well, baby dolls, that is. Sophia and her babies were a little spoiled for her birthday.

They got a new high chair, a bib, plate and spoon set, a new doll bed and two baby bottles.

Are you sensing a theme here?

She may think we’re gearing up her babies, but we’re really getting her all ready for our new baby. It’s just possible that there might be a baby gift from her new baby sister waiting at the hospital when she comes to meet her. Who knows…

She’s becoming a very good mommy. One of her two babies comes with us in the car fairly often, a new thing I’m happy to indulge. She feeds them, rocks them, tucks them in and sleeps with them. Hopefully she’ll find her little sister just as fun!

New Best Pancakes

2011-08-26T07:57:00.001-07:00

We like pancake a lot in our family. Well, Dan and Sophia like pancakes a lot, and I can stand eating them a lot if we find a different recipe every once in a while. Here’s the new favorite:

Cinnamon Pancakes

1 cup, plus 2 TB flour

1 cup whole milk
1 egg
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt
2 TB sugar
1 TB melted butter

Put everthing in one bowl, mix and cook. I have been doubling it because it doesn’t make as many as we’d like. :)

Birthday Fun | The Party

2011-08-24T05:35:00.001-07:00

Sophia’s party last year came together over the course of four (or more!) months. Sophia’s party this year, for the most part, came together in less than a week. Both were equally as fun and I enjoyed the day leading up to this party even more, because I wasn’t running around like crazy.

We had a table full of yummy food – Sophia’s favorites. Hot dogs, trail mix, fruit salad, spinach salad with fruit, and processed cookies.

She thinks she likes hot dogs, and when she eats them, she usually does. But, to be honest, the hot dogs I bought for the party were the first I’ve ever purchased for her to eat! She also loves the cookies that you can get for free at the Target deli. I thought I’d bake some tollhouse choc. chip cookies, but when Chips Ahoy! went on sale, 2 bags for $3, I said “okay!”

Every party needs balloons and a cake. Sophia’s turned out okay, just not like the picture I had in my head. Oh well, it tasted just fine.

Have you met my gorgeous future son-in-law? This is Tyler. We love him. Isn’t he adorable?!

we don’t see my brothers all that often, but Sophia’s been talking about “On-roo”{Andrew} for weeks. She was thrilled to finally see both him and Uncle John at her party.

Every party needs a fun activity. First we did a book exchange – every child brought a book, every child left with a book, so everyone has fun. Sophia passed the books out to each of her friends. I love, love, LOVE that she handed them presents and everyone got to have fun instead of it being all about her.

Go ahead and try to get a picture of six kids, most of which were squirmy two-year-olds. We did our best!

Next up was swimming. It didn’t last too long, the water was really cold, but still a fun way to end the party!

Papa was more than happy to share a few snuggles and help the birthday girl warm up.

Great party, great fun, and great to have it behind us. Back to normal life. I’m glad she got a big week of fun to celebrate her big day before her life is very drastically different in just a few short weeks!

Birthday Traditions | Piggy Bank Savings

2011-08-18T13:50:00.001-07:00

Last year,one of Sophia’s birthday gifts was a piggy bank from my Aunt Carolyn. Ever since it’s arrival, we’ve been dumping our extra change, as well as any monetary gifts she was given, into the cute little pig.

Sophia really likes to put the change in, so the morning of her birthday, we put a few last minute coins in and took it to the bank.

I’m pretty sure we were the most annoying people eer to walk into the bank. I thought it would be more fun to let Sophia watch us empty the pig into the change machine, but shaking coins out of a ceramic bank into a change machine that filters coins is ridiculously loud. It took five loooong and loud minutes.

Parents beware: If you donate all of your quarters to your children, you may be surprised to find out how much money you are giving away. Apparently, without even filling it completely, there was $78 in that little pig!

We’ll be opening a savings account for Sophia with her new found fortune and emptying the pig into it every year on her birthday.

We thought that once she’s five, or so, we’d give her the option to spend a little if she wants, but whatever she decides to put into the bank on that day, we’ll double. Hopefully, that will motivate her to save at least some of it rather than spend all of it (like her Mommy would have!).

It looks like she may already have the idea of hanging onto her own money. Dan asked her, jokingly of course, if she wanted to use her money to send Daddy golfing, to which she replied, “No. My money.”

You WISH you were having dessert with us!

2011-08-17T13:59:00.001-07:00

I made egg rolls for dinner tonight, but there are always a few wraps leftover and they always go to waste. I’ve made Giada’s Nutella ravioli a few times, but we were out of Nutella and after a long productive day, I was determined to have chocolate ravioli for dessert!

If you’re interested in having this for dessert too, here’s how:

Chop up a handful of almonds and throw them into a double boiler with two handfuls of choc. chips and a splash of whipping cream. Stir until the chocolate is melted and let cool.

Once the chocolate mixture is cooled, spoon it onto the egg roll wraps, seal with egg and fry when you’re ready. Usually, it only takes about a minute, maybe longer to fry them up.

These are going to taste great with the ice cream that’s leftover from Sophia’s birthday!

“Pha-Pha” turns TWO!

2011-08-15T07:16:00.001-07:00

Ask her what her name is and she’ll tell you, “Pha-Pha.”

Ask her how old she is and she’ll say, “My two.”

She is our sweet baby girl and today is her birthday. We’re having a sloooow morning and had a great breakfast in bed. More to come!

Stone Arch Bridge

2011-08-12T17:59:00.001-07:00

We spent last Saturday morning walking up and down the Stone Arch Bridge with a stop in the middle for a snack. It was such a nice morning – Sophia got to run – a LOT – and the atmosphere on the bridge is really peaceful. We’d been wanting to do it all summer and finally got a nice morning that wasn’t too hot. It was SO great – I’d definitely recommend it for a quiet and fun family morning!

Party Time

2011-08-08T05:00:00.001-07:00

I’ve mentioned before, that this year I haven’t felt super motivated to plan Sophia’s party. HOWEVER, it’s now less than two weeks away, the invitations will finally arrive today, so I can send them off and preparations are in full swing.

I found some cute clearance paper yesterday at Archiver’s to make a Happy Birthday Banner, I’ve been thinking about cake ideas and doing a bit of planning for what other foods we’ll have at the party.

We now have a theme and that is to make is all about Sophia’s Favorites – the menu will probably include hot dogs (unfortunately), trail mix, blueberries, flavored milk and applesauce (and maybe something more interesting to feed the grown-ups), and the party will be all about books, the playground and swimming. She’s also super into her babies, but she’ll get plenty of baby time in September so I think it’s okay to skip that favorite.

And just in case you forgot how cute she is, I’ll leave you with a picture of her as I found her Saturday afternoon. We were trying to wake her up so she could go to a pool party and she was completely out of it. I couldn’t help but think she looked absolutely perfect, like a little porcelain doll. :) Imagine that – a mother who thinks her baby girl is perfect, gorgeous and completely irresistible!

Pregnancy can be a real pain…

2011-08-05T07:16:00.001-07:00

I can tell I’m “done” being pregnant. Obviously, baby is not done, but my head and body have had it. I spent Sophia’s entire 4 hour nap yesterday (yes, I am VERY blessed!) working in the basement, reorganizing, moving things around (including a headboard and heavy sewing machine), putting a table together. You know, all things probably against medical advice during pregnancy, but whatever. Things need to get done.

Then, I spent the rest of the night dealing with major hip pain and limping around the house. SO annoying.

Last night was not great for sleeping. I am having no problems getting comfortable, other than the hip thing still bugging me, but when I wake up it seems my tiny daughter is having parties in the middle of the night at my expense. She won’t hold still and I can’t sleep. So, at 6 when Dan left for work and I was in tears (how could he leave me for work of all things?!) I decided to get over it (what can I do about it anyway?) and go sew something. And my blessed, little angel Sophia is STILL sleeping – it’s 9 on the dot. That means, I was able to finish a whole shirt and make a cup of coffee AND type this post.

So, corduroy was on sale a couple weeks ago and I stocked up – I didn’t realize you could buy patterned corduroy and I LOVE this shirt. I kind of made it up using bits and pieces from other patterns and adding the details I wanted for myself.

I LOVE the butterfly buttons, even if they are kind of a pain to get through the button holes.
I also changed the bottom of the shirt a bit so I didn’t have to have SO many buttons. I feel like everything I make has at least five buttons and I decided that three was my limit today.

And, I thought I’d try my hand at elasticized sleeves. This one looks great – the other one…well, it seems I will be, once again, using the seam ripper. :)

All in all, I really like it, but I would much rather be sleeping in like Sophia is right now. I could have made this a different time and my eyes are burning behind my glasses. And I just realized that my coffee is decaf, so I guess that won’t do me much good.

Another thing that has been a pain this pregnancy is that I was diagnosed with Gestational Thrombocytopenia, which isn’t a HUGE issue, but has been a bit high-maintenance. It basically means that my blood platelet count isn't where it should be, and now it’s dropped to a point where I won’t be able to have an epidural. That either means a drug-free VBAC or that I’ll be put under for a C-section and won’t get to meet baby right away, a thought I find pretty devastating. The danger with the condition is, were it to be undiagnosed, I could bleed out during delivery but as long as they keep a close eye on the situation, everything will be just fine. I actually just got a call this morning that my care will likely be transferred from the midwives to the OB’s so they can monitor it better. As of now, I just have a lot of weekly blood draws and extra appointments.

Dan reminded me that I probably shouldn’t complain since I haven’t been sick, pretty much at all, I’ve not had to deal with a special diet, like someone with Gestational Diabetes, and don’t have any other major complications, plus as far as everything looks we have a perfectly healthy baby. He’s right, but hormones don’t always see logic.

Please keep baby and I in your prayers. She’s fine and will be. I’m just emotional and annoyed, but could use prayer for a better attitude. :)

One pattern, three ways

2011-08-04T11:13:00.001-07:00

I feel like I only have a few weeks left at the sewing machine – my belly and my back say so. Which, is sad, because now that I’ve found something that keeps my interest and is both fun and practical, I’ll be all distracted by a newborn.

Wow…that made it sound like having a newborn is sad, and it’s NOT – it’s going to be a lot of fun and I’m very excited. I just wish I had discovered this interest a long time ago.

Anyway – I got this pattern a while ago and started working on cutting out the right size layouts, etc. for Sophia’s size. At first, I was pretty annoyed at how long using a real pattern took, but I quickly realized that the best part of a “real” pattern (purchased and edited by a professional) is that the product turns out pretty perfect if you follow the directions. It also gives you a starting point that lets you apply your own creativity and make the shirt/dress, etc. into what you want. And that’s what I did!

First, I made the pattern as intended – long sleeve, with buttons and button-holes at the neck and I like it. However, the idea of buying the patterns was to make good use of them and use them a LOT, and I wasn’t big on the idea of Sophia having 18 different Sailboat shirts. This one seemed really fancy, somehow…I think it’s the buttons. Maybe it will be a holiday shirt.

After the first one, I decided to make a cozy t-shirt, but I didn’t want long sleeves, so I went out on a limb and chopped off half of each sleeve, then lined the bottom with grey. I also closed it with snaps instead of buttons, because I’m pretty sure the buttons would make it too fancy to be called a t-shirt.

This one was a little tricky because I wasn’t attaching any sleeves, but Soph has a great brown sweater for fall that will look great over this. The main fabric was intended for a baby dress, but it didn’t go so well so I ditched it and went with this instead.

Oh, and the best part of these three shirts is that the total cost, including buttons, was $12! Goal accomplished!

There are a few more shirts I’ve finished, a handful of skirts and dresses cut and ready to go, and a two projects that I’ve made up on my own by combining the two purchased patterns I own, but that’s enough for now, don’t you think?

Sophia is turning 2 – it’s a party!!

2011-08-03T00:46:00.001-07:00

Well, let’s hope so anyway.

Let’s just hope the party comes together. I’m not nearly as motivated as last year to make it such a grand event, but I think that’s okay. I LOVE birthdays and think that your big day is supposed to be a big deal, but she doesn’t really know it’s her birthday, so as long as she has a good time and feels special at her party, I will be happy.

We’re also skipping presents…sort of. I was looking around at all the things she has and, at least for the age she is at and will be for the next year, she has plenty of age appropriate toys and probably doesn’t need much more. She is really into her books right now so we decided to do a book exchange with the kiddos attending her party. We’ll have each of the bring a wrapped book and everyone gets to leave with a book. It’s more fun when everyone gets to unwrap something anyway, right? Plus, I love the idea of her party being more about fun and playing with her little buddies than a giant pile of wrapped gifts. That idea might just become a theme for our birthday parties as she grows up.

Last year, I started planning Sophia’s birthday party and theme about ~~three~~ six months in advance(I know, I got a little bit excited). I’m feeling a little behind, but last year was her first birthday, which should be a super big deal, and this year I’m pregnant, so I don’t feel guilty. I’m letting the color theme (a.k.a. balloon colors) be determined based on her invitation (below) and we’re just going to make it all about all of Sophia’s favorite things (blueberries, books, etc).

Confetti Party Pink Birthday Invitation

Shop for special Birthday wishes at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

This is the project I created on Shutterfly for Sophia’s 2nd birthday party. She’s adorable, right?! :) (Obviously, I made sure not to include the details plublicly on the blog, but you get the idea. The finished projects should arrive in my mailbox in the next day or so!)

The picture is just one of many taken fantastic pictures by our friend Nealy in June.

Sophia’s actual birthday is the Monday before her party and we don’t have the day set in stone yet, but I think it will be fun. Como Zoo has an old fashioned merry-go-round and I recently found out that one Monday a month, they do a day of free rides. Sophia’s birthday happens to be the free-ride day in August, so that’s on the schedule for sure. I also got this cute cupcake set on clearance at Barnes and Noble a while back and thought I’d fancy up some muffins for her birthday breakfast.

The best part of the day is that Dan and I will both have the day off and we can make it her special day, whatever we end up doing. It will be fun to have a big special day together as the three of us shortly before we become the four of us.

My very own Fancy Nancy

2011-07-29T04:45:00.001-07:00

Do you know the Fancy Nancy books? I think they’re adorable! They’ve become a franchise since I learned about them a few years back and there is now Fancy Nancy everything. I actually find it kind of annoying. I don’t love when great books get over-marketed, same reason I’m sort of anti-Disney Princesses, simply because they’re everywhere.

Some of the books are about being fancy, and some focus on a more specific topic and make it really fun – they even find a way to make bugs fun, exciting, and even a little fancy for girls.

The book where Nancy gets a new puppy is one of Sophia’s favorite right now.

I never imagined I’d have a girly-girl daughter. It just never occurred to me, even though the thought of it was SO fun! Well, I do. She likes dress-up, pretties, LOVES her purse and to pretend going shopping, and her babies are a big deal right now.

This week, after doing some baking with her apron on, she decided she also needed a tutu and a scarf. I LOVE her style!

What I’m working on…

2011-07-26T12:11:00.001-07:00

For fall, Sophia has two pairs of pants, a sweater and a jersey cardigan. Obviously, not enough to get her through the fall and winter. So, I decided to do my best to create a super cheap, super cute fall wardrobe for her with clearance/sale fabrics, making the most of each and every yard and getting creative with the patterns I have.

So, I’ve finally putting those patterns to use and have made Sophia FOUR shirts in the past week! Needless to say, my back is sore. I normally have pretty good posture, but not when sewing. I bend over too much, and with a big belly hanging down, it’s not easy on my back.

I’ll post a picture of those as soon as they’re completely done (all are done, except for buttons), but for now here’s my newest pile of goods – soon to be a few skirts, a jumper, a shirt and a nightgown.

All for about $20. The best part is that after all of that, there will be leftover fabric that I can play around with. :) Stay tuned!

Something new

2011-07-25T18:37:00.001-07:00

So, we eat a LOT of the same thing, especially in the summer. Grilled chicken. All kinds, but it’s all. grilled. chicken. This happens a lot, where I end up making the same kinds of meals and not branching out much. It’s just SO much easier!

So, Saturday, I decided to make something new. Granted, it was still chicken (I got a TON of it on sale last week – $2.50/20 oz package, so I stocked up!), but it was SO fun to make something out of the ordinary.

After doing a bit of googling, I settled on sesame chicken and egg rolls. The egg rolls were AMAZING and there was extra sauce from the sesame chicken that made a perfect dipping sauce for them. It was also nice to eat a nice chinese meal that wasn’t loaded with sodium and msg.

Sesame Chicken

3 boneless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds total)

For the marinade/batter:

6 TB low-sodium soy sauce

2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

1 tsp. kosher salt

4 TB all-purpose flour

4 TB cornstarch

4 TB water

1 tsp. baking powder

For the sauce:

3 TB toasted sesame oil

1 tsp. ginger, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. chili paste

2 c. low-sodium chicken broth

1/4 c. cornstarch

2 TB sherry or rice vinegar

1/2 c. sugar

2 TB soy sauce

1 qt. oil for frying (I used a mix of canola and grape seed oils)

Salt

3 TB toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

5 cilantro sprigs, for garnish

Wash the chicken under cold running water, pat dry and trim off any excess fat. Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes and put into a large mixing bowl. Add the marinade ingredients to the bowl and stir to combine. Set aside to marinate while you prepare the sauce.

To make the sauce: In a saucepan, add the sesame oil and set over low heat. Add the ginger and garlic and fry gently until fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir well to dissolve the cornstarch. Gently pour into the saucepan with the fried ginger and garlic. Stir as you pour because the cornstarch will thicken up pretty quickly. Keep warm over low heat.

In a heavy-bottomed pot or deep-fryer heat enough oil to come halfway up the sides of the pot, to 375 degrees.

Fry the chicken, in small batches, until golden and crispy, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the chicken using a wire mesh strainer and drain on paper towels. Season with a little salt, to taste. To serve, arrange the fried chicken on a platter and pour drizzle with the sauce. Sprinkle with a generous amount of toasted sesame seeds and garnish with cilantro sprigs.

Pork Egg Rolls

1 pound ground pork

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. garlic powder (we were out, so I used three garlic cloves, minced)

1 qt. oil for frying (I used the same oil for the chicken and the egg rolls)

2 TB all-purpose flour

2 TB water

2 c. shredded cabbage

2 oz. shredded carrots

16 (7 inch square) egg roll wrappers

2 TB sesame seeds

Soy sauce

Salt and Pepper

Season the pork with ginger and garlic powder, then brown until the pink is completely gone. Mix the pork with the cabbage and carrots. Add soy sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Make a paste with the flour and water to use for sealing the egg rolls. Fill each one with 1/3 c. of the cabbage mixture, roll and seal with the flour paste.

Heat oil in a large pot (like a dutch oven) to 375 degrees and cook a few at a time until golden. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

TaDaa! That’s it – enjoy!

If you only make the egg rolls, you should definitely try the sauce from the sesame chicken alongside it. I promise that you won’t regret it!!

Double belly shot

2011-07-24T06:20:00.001-07:00

31 weeks…at least I’m pretty sure. A friend at church has the same due date and actually remembers what week it is, so I’ll have to double check with her later this morning. :)

A friend, who moved recently, asked for a belly shot. Sophia was pretty sure we needed to take a picture of her belly too, so here we are! (And we’re not quite ready to get to church yet…I promise we don’t wear our pajamas!)

If you’d like to see a comparison of my belly at this point last time, I’m almost positive that you wouldn’t be able to. Last time, I pretty much avoided the camera at all costs. I am MUCH smaller (I’m not just talking about the belly) this pregnancy and much happier with how I feel about myself, and how I look. I gott asay, feeling better about it as you grow, literally daily, makes it much more fun to sport a baby bump. Even so, I’m ready to be done and for this little babe to show up. Well, except for her name, which is still up in the air.

Doughnut Muffins

2011-07-21T15:38:00.001-07:00

Yes, you read that right, and they are as good as they sound.

As of last week, the Pioneer Press arrives at our house every Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and on Thursday they include a food section. And that’s where we found this yummy recipe.

Batter

1/4 c. butter

1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/3 c. brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda

1 to 1 1/4 t. nutmeg
3/4 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
2 2/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. milk

Topping

3 TB melted butter

Cinnamon sugar (you’ll need about 1/2 c.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray muffin pan, or line with muffin cups.

In a mixer, cream butter oil, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and beat until combined. Stir in baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt and vanilla. Add flour into butter mixture, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with flour, until well combined.

Spoon evenly into muffin cups – I use an ice cream scoop with a thumbpress to make sure that they all come out the same size. Place them in the oven and check them after 15 minutes. If the tops are browned, but a toothpick will not come out clean, cover with foil and bake until a toothpick comes out cleanly, about 21 minutes total.

Allow to cool for five minutes and then dip in the melted butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar.

They taste great warm or cooled, but I think they taste most like cake-doughnuts when they’re cooled.

One more thing – we use freshly ground nutmeg and it really does make a big difference. You can get a pack of whole nutmegs at Penzey’s Spices and grate them on a micro-plane. Each one lasts a lot longer than you’d think and you’ll love the difference in taste!

Mom of 2 Must-haves

2011-07-20T14:44:00.001-07:00

Now, by “Must Haves” I mean, “Would be really, really, nice to have, but you could probably do without most of them,” but you know what I meant, right?

I’ve “had” two kids before. By that I mean that I’ve nannied two kids at once, as well as spending my days with one of my nanny kiddos and Sophia together. After lots of time with two kids in tow I have a few things on my wish-list.

Most of all, a ~~cute~~ functional diaper bag. Yes, we have a diaper bag (or two…), but they are currently listed on craigslist in hopes of an upgrade. Just like any purse, you get tired of looking at the same thing every.single.day.

1 – JJ Cole Technique Bag – It’s really cute and, at least to me, doesn’t look anything like a diaper bag. And the inside is cute and bright, so it would be easy to find tiny things for tiny people.
2- Skip Hop Studio bag in Pewter Dot - Cute, more like a purse than a diaper bag, and a friend who’s used it said it works well with two kiddos.
3 – JJ Cole System bag in Pink Stitch - Um…it’s pink and black, so naturally, I love it. You can also wear it as a messenger bag, and with two kids, anything that keeps your hands free is key!

Multiple level snack container

I HATE inefficiency, so this is a container made for me. And, let me be clear, it will not be loaded with candy (unless it’s for mommy!). You can fit puffs, toddler snack, and formula if needed in this one. I love that instead of five different containers floating around in my new cute bag, I could have one of these ready to go – no digging necessary.

And, of course a Double Stroller. Yes, we could make do without, but not on longer walks. Eventually, Sophia would tire and want to sit. That, or she would be either slow or wandering too far and I would want to strap her in for a bit.

We already have this Phil and Ted Stroller, and we already have the back seat, so this is the stroller for us. I sold our beloved Snap ‘n’ Go on Craigslist, assuming we’d not need a single, infant seat only stroller ever again. I loved that the Snap ‘n’ Go let me keep the babe in her carseat and not wake her up while in and out of the car. Apparently those strange little attachments will keep our newest baby’s carseat in the stroller and allow Sophia to sit in the back.

Believe me, I’m sure there are more things I could use – I’ll remember what I need as we go with this little one, but as of now, I’m drawing a blank!

Any recommendations??

What’s in a name?

2011-07-14T14:10:00.001-07:00

Um…a LOT actually.

Ten weeks to go and baby still has no official name. Well, not today anyway. She’s “officially” been named at LEAST two or three times. I’ve said, “Yes, I think that’s it,” and then taken it back the next morning. Dan is ready to wring my neck, I’m sure. I blame him, actually. He’s being too accommodating to my choices. I start placing a name he likes on the babe and envisioning her with that name and then he comes back saying that my [current] top choice sounds great. By then, I’ve moved on from whatever that name was and I’m again confused.

At least we have a middle name…well, kind of. There are two – the one we pick will depend on the first name we choose. Whichever sounds best in combination is it. However, it seems a first name is more important – I’m sure she could do without a middle name, but we can’t call her The Baby forever.

As of now, in my head at least, there are two top contenders. One sounds absolutely adorable when Sophia says it, but is that really a good way to choose a child’s name? After all, no matter what we choose, it won’t sound adorable when she’s screaming it years later because Baby Girl Z broke her favorite toy.

Poor nameless baby…

We have good weekends

2011-07-11T12:09:00.001-07:00

That was something Dan said to me last night on our way home from the pool – my new favorite family activity. He’s right – most Sunday nights we both have the same thought, that we all had a great weekend together.

This weekend was no exception. There was a LOT of swimming – I got a free 5-day pass to the YMCA and the one in Shoreview has a fantastic wading pool, fountains and all. Sophia and I went Friday, and we all went both Saturday and Sunday. I’ve been wanting to get her more used to swimming and she’s loving it. It’s fun to watch her confidence grow so much in just a few short days. The wading pool is a pregnant woman’s dream. It’s not so deep that your belly floats to the top (infuriating!), but just enough to have some fun with the babe and stay cool. I. am. in. love.

My girl is MADE to be poolside. She can’t stop talking about “fwimming” and the pool particularly enjoys sunning herself afterwards. Love it!

Sunday, we had our second annual trip to JAX Café in Northeast Mpls with Dan’s parents. It’s a fun way to celebrate the birthdays of Dan’s brother and my father-in-law’s mother, both today. It’s so, so good, and we do have pictures, but it was really sunny and they didn’t turn out so well.

We took a trip to the cemetery to “introduce” Sophia to Dan’s dad. I expected that she’d either be a little confused or completely oblivious, but she totally latched onto the idea that her “Papa” was there, even running back to the correct headstone when we asked her to. She also did a little bit of tree hugging while we were visiting.

We also ended up at Target Fri., Sat. and Sunday (am I the ONLY one who does this??) and had a thrifty triumph by paying only $0.13 for a giant order from Shutterfly! LOVE when that happens.

Oh, and then there was all the sewing. I really can’t believe I fit it all in, considering all of the other activities we packed into the weekend, but it went pretty well.

Thursday night, I started with this for Sophia – turns out it makes a perfect swim cover for her orange bikini!

This was originally intended as a shirt for Sophia, but it’s going to work much better as a 6-12 mo. dress for the babe next spring. I LOVE the V in the back, the petal sleeves and the stitching details along the neckline.

I’ve been planning on making this dress for the baby – you know, since she likes purple so much (!). I really like the vintagy feel of it – I think it’s the width of that makes it looks old-fashioned to me, but my favorite part is the cute purple button I found to close the back.

And then there are the dresses for my little friend, Evie. She’s been begging me to make something for her for MONTHS and I was finally able to come through for her. We settled ona dress – I showed her the blue fabric and she wanted to match it with pink. I originally thought green, but she informed me that “Olive green is my LAST favorite color,” so pink it was. And since there was extra and I had a matching pattern, I went ahead and did a coordinating one for her American Girl (also named Evie).

The dresses for Ev and Sophia were the same pattern and I’m thinking I could do them in my sleep by now. Unfortunately for these girls, my favorite one is the one for the doll, but oh well!

The sewing machine and I are taking a bit of a break. I have plans, but they can wait. After all, tonight the Bachelorette is on (can’t miss that!) and tonight and tomorrow night we have to take advantage of that pool before our time is up. There is fun to be had…sewing can wait!

Sew-a-thon weekend

2011-07-08T07:07:00.001-07:00

My Little Miss has been waking me up quite early the past few days. Yesterday it was 4:30 and I never got back to sleep. So this morning when she told me to “wake up” I told her “NO!” and said she had to go back to sleep. After all, it was 5:30. Bad Mommy – she had a nasty diaper and I didn’t figure that out until 6:30 – Whoops! After some rocking, reading and singing she got to go back to sleep but I did not.

Oh well, it’s amazing what you can get done when you are up very, very early.

This pile of fabric and I are best friends today.

I have a stack of projects in my mind that I’d like to get done this weekend. I finally gave in and paid for a pattern – I can’t wait to use it. Oliver + S, of course, because they are the cutest. It also helped that the pattern can be used for 6-12 mo. all the way up to 3T, so it was well worth it. BUT, it’s my first time using a real pattern and not just a printable one off the internet or one that some sewing genius describes in a blog tutorial.

Since I paid for it, I figured I need to keep it in good shape, but that means a lot of tedious work. You have to trace the pattern onto parchment paper, then pin it to the fabric, then cut it out and THEN you can start sewing. So this is what I’ve been up to so far this morning:

And this is what I have so far. Either staring at all this fabric and small pattern lines is making me dizzy, or I need more sleep than I’m getting. Sophia is still sleeping – I’m super jealous, but maybe I can get a bunch of these things all cut and then all I’ll have to do is sew them. That’s starting to seem like the easy part.

Oh, one more thing. It’s quite possible that I have found the perfect costume combo for my two girls for Halloween. Whaddya think?

Great weekend and Happy 4th

2011-07-04T18:32:00.001-07:00

We had such a wonderful weekend spent as a family!

Saturday, I got to have a nice morning coffee date with a good friend, while Dan and Sophia had lunch at his grandparents.

Sunday, Sophia wore her new dress, which I finally finished. It’s more of a shirt, since it’s a bit short for a dress, but that works for now, it’ll be great under sweaters in the fall and maybe her little sister will get to wear it for a dress in a couple years.

We were also expecting to go to fireworks on Sunday, so in an effort to push back Sophia’s nap, we went to the Mall of America after church for some rides, french fries, ice cream and some clearance shopping. Unfortunately, I wasn’t thinking and wore heels to church. By the end of the trip to the mall, I was walking around with NO shoes on, and had some achy legs later and too tired to stay up late enough for fireworks.

Instead, we spent the evening at the wading pool, which was SO MUCH fun!! Soph wasn’t a big fan at first, but then Dan just plopped her down in the water and she had a great time.

Happy 4th of July!!

We met some friends to watch the parade in Eagan. I grew up going to 4th of July parades, and was hoping Sophia would enjoy it. She did not disappoint! It was so fun to watch her, and she even carried her flag around most of the time!

Next, a family BBQ and while we caught a movie at the cheap theater, Sophia went to a farm with Grandma and Grandpa.

It was a fun weekend, but we’re tired and EVERYONE is going to bed early tonight!

Making Elmo Cute(r)…

2011-06-29T11:18:00.001-07:00

I’m not a giant fan of the little red guy, but Sophia is. It started with a few small birthday gifts and then she was very interested in who the little monster on her diapers was (we use Pampers). At that point, Elmo was just synonymous with diaper – no big deal. I would have been fine skipping out on him altogether, but one weekend when I was away Daddy introduced the digital version of Elmo on YouTube and she’s been hooked ever since.

I saw an ad in Pregnancy and Newborn magazine yesterday for vintage t-shirts that read something like – We’ve all sworn our child would not wear (fill in licensed character here) clothing, but then your child’s love for said character endeared you toward him just a little bit…

That’s how I feel about Elmo. He’s so much cuter now that Sophia is so in love with him. Thankfully, so far, we’re still stuck on YouTube and not so much TV shows. She doesn’t have patience for sitting in front of the TV anyway, so why encourage that addiction early?

Early in the spring we were at Barnes and Noble - she found two stuffed Elmo’s and proceeded to carry one under each arm for the remainder of the trip. Somehow, we ended up leaving the store that day with a $16 Elmo. Ridiculous, right? But, she was SO happy! Not to mention how fun it is that Elmo’s giant mouth can hold a paci – something Sophia finds hilarious. :)

Recently, at Old Navy, I came across a table of really cute vintage styled t-shirts.

And, really, if you’re gonna put your babe in an Elmo shirt – this is the one. It makes me crazy that I find the shirt absolutely adorable. :)

Any characters you’d rather keep out of YOUR house?

Welcome To Our New [web]Home!

2011-06-27T19:02:00.001-07:00

We’ve moved…obviously. There are SO MANY things changing in our lives as we prepare for our second baby girl, and here is one of them.

Why Whoopsie Daisy?
Well, we couldn’t keep blogging under a blog literally dedicated to Sophia. We can’t let our little babe think she plays second fiddle to her big sister.
It took me a while to think of another blog name. I didn’t want it to be very specific, didn’t want it to have anything to do with family size or make-up, so we don’t have to move to another blog home when the next one come (a LONG WHILE from now).

So, I figured something fun and whimsical would be perfect and I just kept plugging in ideas until I found one that wasn’t in use yet. :)

So, I will keep introducing us as we go, but for now – how about a picture and introduction of our first cutie pie?

Miss Sophia – obviously, we’re very biased, but she’s SUCH a cutie pie and full of spunk. She’s definitely stubborn and knows exactly what she wants, and heaven help you if you get in her way. She is very much a girly girl and loves “pretties” and make-up, but can already play soccer with the best of them and loves to play in muddy puddles. She’s hilarious and loves laughing and making others laugh. Keep up with us and you’ll see bits of her personality come out in pictures and posts.

Be patient as I figure out the kinks of the new design and don’

t forget to “follow us” on the left side-bar!