August 31

Does this look like the face of a kid with a temp of 102.6? I am amazed that this little girl can act fairly normal when she's not feeling well. Tonight, after a meal of applesauce, she drew me some pictures. In this shot she's showing me her artwork while saying "cheese!"

August 30

This picture is hilarious! For one, the hair! Sophie's hair always reacts to the static electricity on the slide, but today at Pioneer Park, it went nuts! I also love the look on her face. I try to always catch her smiling, but I think she was shocked at how hard I was laughing at her. Bad mommy, I know!

August 29

Sophie rode her bike to the park after dinner tonight. She loves to do it and it really wears her out (she goes right to bed!). I love the helmet head she gets after riding her bike. She looks as silly as I do when I take off my helmet! Like mother, like daughter!

August 28

Tonight I went over to Karen's house to hang out. We drank some box wine, talked, and I proceeded to mess up their internet connection. Sorry Marc! Anyway, it was really nice to relax with a good friend.

August 27

Jodi joined Sophie and I on our walk to the park tonight. Sophie always enjoys peeking through the slats in the tube, and she played the game with Jodi. Don't you just love her sweet smile through the slat? Sophie also was really brave and walked on the balance beam over and over and over and over again!

August 26

I picked up a crabby Sophie from daycare today. Today was my first full day back doing school activities, so she was at daycare longer than usual. She almost acted mad at me when I picked her up and kept saying "home, home!" My poor munchkin! Anyway, when we got home, we did some playing outside. I encouraged her to play in the dirt with her shovel and pail (she never likes to get dirty!) and she went to town! She scooped up dirt, dropped it in her pail, and then transferred it to my larger weed bucket. I'm so glad she's not afraid to get dirty every now and then!

August 25

Sophie has conquered the sippy cup! She still uses a sippy when she's not her in high chair, but she's become quite proficient. It also is amusing to see all the different milk mustaches that she creates!

August 24

What's wrong with mowing the lawn in a ballerina outfit? Nothing when you're a carefree almost 2 year old! And yes, she wore that outfit for the rest of the evening!

August 23

As much as this dog annoys the crud out of me, she does have her moments. Nikki has been going on a lot of the walks I take and tonight Sophie, Nikki, and I went to the park. Nikki was really good with all of the kids that wanted to pet her, and she made me a bit proud to be her owner. I'm still definitely a cat person though! :)

August 22

Dad, Marcia, and I took Sophie to "Sand in the City." Our local children's museum puts on this event each summer to raise money and to give a great opportunity for kids to play! Sophie loved blowing bubbles and seeing the miniature horses and donkeys. It was a fun morning!

August 21

The things we do for our kids! Sophie insisted that she wear her sunglasses while taking a bath tonight. It cracks me up that she loves to wear those glasses so much. Who would think that an almost 2 year old would allow something like that to touch their face for more than a minute? She's a silly one!

August 20

My beautiful clematis is finally blooming! This is the first year that it has grown so well thanks to the netting my dad put up on the trellis for me. I was so excited to see the lavender blooms come out this week!

August 19

It was a warm one today, and so Sophie and I played outside with water. We decided to take a short rest on the deck and I asked Sophie if she'd like a popsicle. She had rejected them several times in the past, but today she wanted one. I figured she'd take one lick and be done with it, but she ate the whole thing! In fact, she took large bites, licked the stick clean, and asked for a second! I was astounded because she usually doesn't like cold things at all. I guess it was warm enough for a popsicle (for her that is!).

August 18

Aunt Nancy came for a visit, and Sophie loved showing off for her! Sophie always enjoys playing with water and Nancy showed her how to water Grandma's flowers using the watering can. It was cute to watch Sophie learn something new and for her to spend some time with her great aunt!

August 17

Sophie and I went to play at the Harry Fains park this afternoon, and I got some fun shots of her. I played around with editing the pictures, and I like how the brightness and colors come out in this one.

August 16

At church this morning, the youth shared their experiences from Centrifuge. I took photos for a friend. Here you see "Moses" coming through the Red Sea in kid form.

August 14

Tonight I met Trina and Nelson downtown to listen to Trina's dad sing at Cafe Press. It also was a chance to see Cami one more time before she leaves for Saipan on Monday. Cami sang with her dad and it was so neat to see! We enjoyed some good conversation and wine. I'm glad I went!

August 15

We went over to Luke and Rayna Brandon's house tonight for their housewarming party. Sophie enjoyed wandering around and keeping me and her grandma on our toes. I took some pictures for Rayna and got this cute one of Sophie and Jake playing. After this photo was taken, Jake took the stroller that Sophie was playing with away and she threw a little fit! Luckily, I caught them in this cute moment first!

August 13

My goofy child! I'll say something silly, and Sophie will burst into the most contagious giggles! Today was no exception!

August 12

I took Sophie to Charlie's Safari (A small family fun center in Lacey) for the first time today. They have a little toddler section, which was where Sophie spent most of her time. She tried one of the bouncy things once, but the big kids in there really freaked her out. She loved the toddler section, but did have a moment of weakness when a bigger kid knocked her down and she fell off, cutting the inside of her lip with her tooth. Poor baby! Those big kids are having so much fun that they're not watching what they're doing (and their parents are nowhere to be seen... pet peeve of mine!). We'll try more there when she's a bit bigger I think.

August 11

Sophie had her first taste of peanut butter today. We had been holding off giving her any nuts since her grandmother has a peanut allergy. I spread a little bit on a bagel and she seemed to enjoy it! It wasn't anything extraordinary, but she did get a little on her finger and proceeded to lick, lick, lick it off. She reacted fine to the peanut butter, but I hear it's the second try that determines if there's an allergy or not. I guess I will give it a try again when we're in close proximity to the hospital!

August 10

It's raining in August, but I'm not sad! I'm a true Washingtonian because I love the sound of the pitter patter on my roof. I don't have to water my plants and the sound has put Sophie into a sound sleep sooner than she has gone in days. The only downside is the wet dog smell, but my lovely candles are helping with that. It is the perfect night to relax in my jammies!

August 9

Sophie is starting to get to the phase where she likes to play alone. It's great, because tonight I got a little reading in while she played with her books. I'm super excited about it too because I'm reading a really good book! Sophie enjoyed pulling all of her books off her bookshelf, then bringing them into the great room to stack on the coffee table, and finally she would sit down and look through her books. So we were both reading!

August 8

I have been working really hard over the last month to get healthier, lose weight, and to feel better. Today I had my first exciting milestone in the process... I have gone down one pant size! Whoo hoo!! I am NOT going to keep these pants, they are heading straight for the Goodwill pile. My goal is to never get to the weight I was at again. Now, I'm looking forward to the next pant size down!

August 7

This afternoon, Sophie and I went to Priest Point Park. I packed her into the Kelty backpack and we went for a little hike. She wasn't crazy about being in the backpack and wanted to get out and walk on the beach. She liked it until she got her feet a bit muddy (surprise, surprise!). It was a nice temperate day in Olympia!

August 6

I was so worried about my lilies being affected by our hot weather last week, but they have survived! They are now starting to bloom and are as gorgeous as ever. Good thing I was diligent about watering them in the heat!

August 5

Sophie, Papa, and I went for a nice bike ride down the Chehalis Western trail. Unfortunately, about 5 miles away from home, I blew a tire. So, while Papa rode back to get the car, Sophie and I played on the trail. She picked flowers, leaves, and ran back and forth. I was happy that I brought my camera so I could get some pictures of her on this lovely day.

August 4

My trellis is finally finished thanks to some very wonderful fellas! This trellis was put up several years ago, but was never quite finished. Now, I can look at it without frustration! Yay!!

August 3

Sophie and I did some playing outside this afternoon. After Sophie spilled bubble liquid on her shirt and got a little wet from the sprinkler she said "shirt off!" and so we did (well she did!). She loved running around the yard, exploring, but also trying to hide from me. Later on, she dabbled with a little finger painting and came up with some really great paintings. Go Sophie!

August 2

While I'm taking a shower in the morning, Sophie gets in a little TV time. Her favorite is still "Elmo's World," even though some of them she's seen several times! This morning, I caught her all cuddled up with Max on my bed. So cute!

August 1

We visited the Thurston County Fair this morning. We beat the heat and the crowds by going on the early side. Sophie loved seeing all the farm animals, and especially enjoyed the pigs. Grandma and Papa were along for the fun too!