February 28

Sophie and I spent a lot of time outside this afternoon since we had some decent weather. She was happy to blow bubbles and dig in the dirt for nearly an hour and a half! I got a lot of yard work done, clearing flower beds for bark, weeding, and trimming up plants. She took a break from playing in the dirt to check out "Lowly Worm," which she affectionately calls any worm she sees. She finally got up the nerve to touch the worm today, shouting "I touched it!" several times before attempting to step on the poor thing. I reminded her that we need to be nice to our wormy friends since they help so much in the garden! Can you spot "Lowly" in the picture?

February 27

Sophie was so silly and wired tonight. I hoped that the bath would calm her down a bit before bedtime, and it did to an extent. She was making all sorts of faces for the camera. This look is sleepy... sweet if you ask me!

February 26

Sophie's hair is so fine like mine, that I can't do much with it. Rayna handed down some headbands to me and I've tried those out a few times. Sophie seems to keep them in for awhile, but they eventually come off. She is in dire need of her bangs getting trimmed, but I want the rest of it to grow out. It is taking forever!

February 25

Every so often I love to take a picture of my sleeping baby. I so love to watch her, so peaceful and relaxed, since she's so much on the go during the day. I cherish the nights that I can check in on her and to remember the times when I rocked her to sleep, nursed her to sleep, and think of how so much has changed. I can't keep her a baby forever, but she turns into one each night as I gaze into her angelic face while she's sleeping (aside from the snoring of course!).

February 24

Tonight I started up in a Life Group for the first time since I've joined Life Pointe Church. It's a small group of singles and couples, older and younger people, and it was really great! I was impressed with how comfortable everyone was with each other and how welcome they made me feel. We have been discussing the 4 kinds of love in church and tonight we focused on "brotherly love." One of the members mentioned this passage in John 15:13 - "Greater love has no one that this, that one lay down his life for friends." Throughout my struggles over the past year, my friends have laid down their lives so to speak to encourage me, to build me up, to make me feel that I am loveable and special, and none of them had to do that. I am so utterly grateful for the deep long lasting friendships that I have.

February 23

Sophie loves, loves, loves reading books! I pick up about 10 new ones every two weeks at the library, and she's obsessed with her "brary" books. Tonight, she enjoyed reading her books even before I had sat down. We read through several books and she threw a gigantic fit when I wouldn't read all of the books. I'm not a fan of her fits, but it's hard to say no to a love of reading (so the teacher says)!

February 22

Sophie's favorite song right now is Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours." She and I love to sing and dance to it in the evening while I'm getting dinner ready. She attempts to sing the words, which is terribly cute, but really only clearly comes out with the "I'm yours" part! It's such a nice change that she's enjoying regular music, because I was getting awfully tired of all those nursery rhymes!

February 21

I'm so excited that I got Sophie in mid jump (thanks to my rapid fire lens and it being so bright out!). She was having a great time outside, blowing bubbles, dancing, and exploring the yard. Until she stepped in dog poop (darn that dog!!!), she was the happiest kid in town!

February 20

Another wonderful day to play outside! I pulled down Sophie's swing, cleaned it off, and away she went. Then I encouraged her to explore the yard and she started picking up pine cones. There are a ton of them on the ground from a large fir tree (that's not on our property of course!) but she enjoyed loading up her bucket, dumping them out, and loading up again. I think she played with those pine cones for 40 minutes!

February 19

We have been blessed with wonderful weather lately which means that I have to start mowing the lawn again! My backyard had gotten long, so when I got home from work, I took advantage of the weather and got that mower going. I am always so satisfied when it's done... it really makes a huge difference!

February 18

Sophie's favorite thing right now are fruit snacks, fruit snacks, fruit snacks! She will ask for them in a billion different ways, but my response is always the same... "Eat a good dinner, and you can have one for dessert!" Sometimes it works, sometimes she puts up a fight. It all depends on her mood! Tonight, she ate an excellent meal (can't you see it all over her face?) and got her reward!

February 17

We've had some warmer weather with clear skies these days, so my anenomes have started blooming! They usually are the first ones to pop up each spring and I enjoy the rich lavender color on my way out the door in the morning!

February 16

Sophie and I took advantage of the lovely weather this afternoon (and that fact that the days are a bit longer) and explored the back yard. She loves looking for bugs under the rocks, playing in the dirt, and hiding behind the trees. I took her into the garden area and told her that we are going to plant flowers and vegetables this spring. She of course wanted to get started right away, but we have a few months to wait still. At least I know that she's excited to help and isn't afraid of getting a little dirty!

February 15

I asked Sophie to make a silly face tonight for the camera, and here's what I got!

February 14

My little valentine woke up this morning to a heart-filled room and a trail of hearts leading to her gifts. She was thrilled by her surprises, and I enjoyed making this day special for her (and me).

February 13

Tonight Sophie and I went through her "loot" that she got at daycare. She only got a few Valentines this year year, but a ton of candy! I must say, most of it went into the trash (seriously, who gives a 2 year old Fun Dip?) and she wasn't the wiser. She was able to eat some of her beloved M and M's, and play with some stickers, and she was happy.


Another wonderful part of my day was coming home to these beautiful tulips sitting on my front porch! My sweet friend Karen left those for me while I was out running 10 and a half miles. I am so lucky to have such a special friend! Thanks Karen!

February 12

Since Valentine's day is on a Sunday, we had our Friendship party today at school. A tradition of mine is to make fruit smoothies for the kids to enjoy and they loved opening their valentines. It was fun had by all!

February 11

My mom picked up Sophie from daycare tonight since I had a late meeting. She got dinner together for us and even brought some valentine goodies! Sophie loved getting her new teddy bear and is snoozing with it even as I write this!

February 10

I caught Sophie in a good mood for a few moments this evening. She always enjoys playing with her kitchen and food, and she liked feeding me strawberries. She had a tough evening tonight. Nothing made her happy and so mommy wasn't too happy either! Bedtime couldn't come soon enough tonight!

February 9

I love my little Sophie's pig tails! Most days I put her hair in those little pig tails, awaiting the day when I can pull all of her hair up!

February 8

I made a crucial mommy error tonight. I put Sophie's blanket into the washer too late, so it wasn't dry at bedtime. I was hoping she wouldn't notice, but she definitely did. She was bawling, bawling, bawling when I laid her down. So what did I do? I took the blanket out of the dryer, still a little bit damp, and she was happy. I guess I've learned my lesson! Oh, and yes that's her little lovey (or lovely as she calls it) on her head. She requests that I put it there each evening. Ah, kids and their routines!

February 7

It's not too often that I get a picture of Sophie and I together, so when my mom offered to take one, I jumped at the chance! Sophie and I spent a leisurely day together and ended it by picking out her valentines for daycare. She chose Dora (surprise, surprise) and she's super excited about them!

February 6

Matt took Sophie to the daddy/daughter dance this afternoon and reported a great time! The theme was a princess ball, so she was decked out in a sweet little dress with a tiara and wand. There were women dressed up as the princesses from the Disney movies and Matt said that Sophie was most enamored by them. Ah, the princess frenzy begins!! I'm glad that Matt and Sophie got that special time together, but what about a mommy/daughter thing...? :)

February 5

I have no shame that there's no picture today. I was at school for nearly twelve hours straight, enjoyed a lovely dinner with Karen and Becky, and didn't get home until bedtime. I knew I needed to be rested for my 8 mile run tomorrow, so I decided to not worry about a picture, but to head to bed... and I did!

February 4

We celebrated Papa's birthday a little early tonight. We went to Thai Garden for dinner and Sophie was happy to chow down on some noodles, chicken, and veggies. She did fairly well in the restaurant (for her since she's such a busy girl) and we had a nice evening.

February 3

While I made dinner, Sophie made some for me too. She lined up things for me to eat, and designated what was mine and what was Papa's (even though he wasn't here!). She really is enjoying her kitchen and all the fun food she has. Thank you Santa and Grandma Sue!

February 2

Tonight I had a little Sensaria party for the first time in quite a long time! It was a good time, a small intimate party, but a fun one. It was just what I needed to get myself back in the swing of things (if I choose to do so).

February 1

Sophie and I enjoyed playing with her wooden blocks tonight. She is getting so good at stacking them, and was very proud of herself with this accomplishment (can you tell?)! After they came crashing down, the stacking game was over and the demolition began!