I love...

Everything about this girl!  Even this little diva attitude she has...

What's new?!?

Ok, so it's been a good 7 months since my last post...oops! Life has been crazy between working full time, going to school and being a mommy! My baby girl is going to be 2 in less than two months! She is growing up so fast! She thinks that she can talk really well, but she can't. She knows a lot of words, but she hasn't mastered the art of putting them into sentences yet. She talks a lot of nonsense and thinks she is carring on a good conversation. It's good for entertainment purposes!

Scott finally got a day shift after being back with Unisys for over a year! This means lots more time with daddy, and Miss Sophia is loving having him home more!

We didn't get to take the 4-wheelers out this summer, but we sure had good times riding them around the yard! Sophia LOVES riding the 4-wheelers!

She is my best little shopping buddy! If Scott and I take her shopping together, it's a nightmare, but when it's just me and her, she is a happy camper!

Sophia and I got to take a trip up to Vancouver, WA for Shaun and Naomi's wedding and some much needed cousin time. She was in heaven having so many little ones to run around with! We had a blast getting to spend some fun time with the Green family. We always love our trips up there, no matter how short they are!

My cousin Cruz moved down to St. George to go to school. Sophia and I got to go to his going away party a couple months ago. She is finally getting to the age where she can appreciate the fun that lies in Uncle Jack's back yard! She even jumped on a trampoline for the first time!

For Father's Day, we had a fun little BBQ at Micheal and Mandi's house. Sophia loves going over there to play with Gage. She had a blast playing in the puddles and walking down the trail in their backyard with Papa!

We took Sophia to the Dinosaur Park in Ogden. She was clearly in awe of the dinosaurs. She called everything in the park "puppies"! We had so much fun there!

We took lots of trips to the park this summer. We are so lucky to have quite a few parks within walking distance of our house. One of Sophia's most favorite things to do is go for walks. The best times over the summer were my days off when we could go on long walks and go play at the park. She LOVES the swings!

Last thing...at the end of September, I left my job at Willow Creek and accepted a position working for Utah Department of Health in the Bureau of Children with Special Health Care Needs. It has been so hard leaving a job and people that I have worked with and loved for 10 years, but it was a much needed step in the right direction as far as my career goes. I am working as assistant to the medical director and the bureau director. It has been a huge adjustment so far. I am now working 5 days a week, which I don't love, but I have set hours and it is good to know what time I will be home every night. I hate the idea of working in a cubicle, but I'm getting a little more used to it every day!

So that is our life in a nutshell these days! We just keep on truckin'! Hope all is well in the lives of everyone around us!

Fifteen Months

My baby girl turned 15 months last week! Crazy to think that I have been a mommy for that long! She is so grown up right now. She is 15 months going on 15 years! She wants to do everything by herself and if you try and help her, she hits you....yes, she HITS! It's driving me nuts! So we are working on the behavior thing right now. She is still a little too young to understand discipline, but every week is a little bit better.

She practices her words constantly. She wakes up talking and goes to sleep talking. Her favorite words right now are "don't" and "get down". These usually come out when she is yelling at the dog, or yelling at her dad! She is in this phase right now that she really does not like her dad. Everyone says it's normal, but I know it breaks Scott's heart. I wish she would grow out of it already!

I really can't even contain this kid anymore. She is all over the place and SOOOO busy! She has more personality than any one year old I have ever known! She entertains me on a daily basis and I can't imagine my life any other way!

2011

2011 has been a pretty boring, uneventful year in this household! I went back to school in January. It has been an interesting experience so far, thinking of my self as a "non-traditional student"! School is an entirely different experience this time around! Amazing how much more work it is when you actually TRY to do well! Sounds bad, I know, but I really want to just get it done, so I'm not settling for "just enough to get by". I want to do it right this time, and that feels pretty good! On top of school, I also picked up an extra night at work. So I really do not get a whole lot of family time in these days. That has been such a hard adjustment, mostly because Sophia is at such a fun age right now, and everyday there is something new in store for her. It makes me sad to know that I am missing out on so much time with her and my family right now, but I know it's not permanent and I know that it is for the better of all of us....I just have to tell myself that when it is 8 or 9 at night and for the 3rd night in a row, I'm still not home! I am glad that I am in a position right now that I have the opportunity to do better for myself and my family though. So, that's that!

Sophia walks all over the place now and is eating us out of house and home! Pretty sure she eats non-stop all day long! And I swear she is feeling so heavy and thick these days, I was pretty sure she weighs over 20 pounds now...not even! I took her in to see Dr. Joe today and she is only 17.5 pounds! My little peanut....I hope that metabolism sticks with her forever!

Good news is, she loves her fruits and veggies, so at least it's healthy eating!

We have also been reading lots and lots of books everyday!

Happy Holidays!

From our home to yours! May this holiday season bring you many blessings! Love to you all!

One

I know I'm about a week late on this, but it's the thought, right?!?

To my sweet baby girl:

You are one! One year ago, my life changed in a way that I never could have fathomed. Late on Tuesday, December 8th, you made your debut into this crazy world. I was exhausted after nearly 30 hours of labor, but I knew one thing, I already loved you more than life itself. I would do anything for you. I went back to work only 4 weeks after you were born. I knew it was going to be hard to go back to work and leave you home, but I knew the longer I stayed home with you, the harder it would be to go back. I was only working 3 days a week, so that made it a little bit easier. You were so lucky because at the time, your daddy was a stay-at-home daddy and you got to spend your first 7 months at home with dad! He loved every second of it!

It is so fun to see your little life evolving every day, right in front of me. Every day presents a new challenge for you and you are a little go-getter and face everything head on. You are so smart and pick up on everything so quickly. You love to repeat everything that mom says. Your favorite words are "hi", "bye", "dada", "please", "papa", and "Scott". It bothers me a little that you don't love to say "mama", except when you are upset! You love to watch Harry Potter with your dad. Strange for a one year old because they are pretty dark movies, but it's still so cute! Your most favorite thing to do right now is talk on the phone! EVERYTHING you touch becomes your phone. It is seriously the cutest thing and you have been doing it since you were about 8 months old! You are so outgoing and so independent. Dr. Joe said at your check up today that all of your mannerisms are typical of a very intelligent child...but I already knew you were smart! From day one, you have been so curious about everything that goes on around you, and that has never changed.

I love getting ready with you in the morning because I think it is so cute when you try to put your own makeup on and you try to do your own hair! You LOVE putting lotion on, and even moreso, you love eating it! You are such a diva! You were so spoiled on your birthday and you did not care one bit about the toys, you wanted the clothes! Every outfit you opened you put it on your head to try it on!

You have such a strong personality and you are my very best friend! I love spending every spare second that I have getting to know you and watching you learn and grow. Thank you for choosing me to be your mommy. You are truly a blessing in my life and I can't imagine life without you in it. Happy 1st birthday, baby girl!

I love you more than anything!

Mommy

Sophia's First Halloween!

I don't know what is happening, but seriously, where has this year gone?? I can't believe it is November and I REALLY can't believe my baby is going to be a year old in a month! Crazy!

Well, her first Halloween was pretty low key for my liking! Grammie and Papa were in Vegas for the weekend, so they were not around to celebrate. Tina had to work, so she didn't do her annual Halloween bash. It was just kind of blah this year!

So on Saturday, we dressed Sophia up as a baby elephant and took her trick or treating around the block over to Aunt Candy's house. Then we hung out over there for a bit and made yummy caramel apples! After that, we got some McDonald's and went home and went to bed. Sunday, we dressed her up again and went to Grandma Red's house. She made some chili and Auntie Soom and Micheal, Mandi and Gage all came over too. It was a fun, but quiet weekend! Nice to have a 3 day weekend at home with my babe and my baby!