One Year

Dear Sophia,

It is hard to believe a whole year has passed since you came into our lives. I don't even know where to begin to tell you just how wonderful this past year has been. I just hope your Daddy and I can show you how much we love you everyday. You have made our world so much better, Sweet Girl!

You are getting closer and closer to walking every day. You have stood on your own and even taken a step or two, but then you sit right back down. I am not rushing you to walk at all. I know you will do it in your own time, when you are ready. For now, I am enjoying getting to carry you everywhere with us. I know once you start to walk, you won't want to be held as much. You are an expert crawler and cruiser. So, for now, you get where you want to go on your own, and it doesn't bother you that you aren't walking.

I don't know what your height is yet, your one year check up is next week. You went to the doctor yesterday because you are sick, and your weight was 17lbs 14oz. You are usually in the 25 percentile in weight, so I imagine that is where you are at. Developmentally, you are right on track and I just praise God for your good health!

You make lots of noise all the time, and you know a few words. You can say, "dada", "mama", "Aiden", "Jenny", "uh-oh", "baby", and you recently started saying "Grandpa" too. Your brother and sister are quick to give you whatever you need/want, so there really isn't much reason for you to talk just yet. I have to remind them to be more patient, and wait to see if you can say the word for whatever it is you want at the time.

You are really good at giving us kisses when we ask for them. You are such a sweetheart! Sometimes you will come up to me and just lay your head in my lap. It is the sweetest thing! You are such a love bug! You have also started trying to blow kisses at us. You have been waving bye-bye for several months, but sometimes you are so funny about it. A few days ago you crawled over to your car seat, climbed in, and then waved bye-bye at me. Silly girl! You also love to put your hands over your face and then I will say, "where's Sophie?" and you will uncover your face and I'll say, "there she is!". After you uncover your face you will also try to say "there she is!". It is precious!

You love to dance! Every time you hear music playing, whether it is on the TV, the car radio, our phones when they ring, or even if someone is singing, you bob your little head and shake your hips. If you are standing up, you will move your whole body up and down along with the music. It is the cutest thing! You also love when we sing to you. Your favorite songs I sing are: Jesus Loves Me, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Mary had a Little Lamb, and The Itsy Bitsy Spider (you are learning the hand movements to this song). Sometimes you even try to sing along.

You also love books! I usually read to you every night before bed, and sometimes during the day. You like to look at the pictures and I point stuff out to you in the book. I love reading, and I hope you will always have a passion for books.

You are getting really good at "Pat-a-Cake". Grandma started teaching it to you a few months ago, but lately you have gotten really good at doing the hand movements. Sometimes you'll be doing them even when we aren't singing the song. Cutie pie!

You have been drinking milk for several weeks now. Occasionally you still get formula, but not very often. You are still taking a bottle, but you can also drink from a sippy cup. We will probably take your bottle away soon. Right now you usually only get it at nap time and bedtime. You are a great eater! You love all kinds of foods, and so far, you haven't been allergic to anything. Your favorites are: scrambled eggs, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, spaghetti-o's, cheetos, cereal bars, bread, apples, mandarin oranges, strawberries, and bananas.

Jenny loves to take care of you. She helps me out a lot! She loves to carry you around and teach you things. She reads to you a lot, and is so caring with you. Aiden just adores you! He loves to play with you. You like to chase him, and you like when he chases you. He has so many nicknames for you: Soph-a-loaf, Sophie Girl, Sophie Baby, and Soph. They both think you are the best little sister! They are both genuinely happy when you learn new things, and genuinely upset when you are upset. Every time they go to your doctor appointments when you get vaccines, they cry right along with you! I just love watching the bond between the three of you develop and flourish. You have an incredible bond with Jenny and Aiden, and I pray that it always stays that way. I hope that the three of you will grow up to be best friends.

You are just the sweetest little girl, and you are so petite. I just love spending day in and day out with you. I cannot describe what a blessing you are to our family! We all just love you so much, you are every one's little baby.

God has amazing things in store for your little life, Sophia. I pray that you will seek Him, follow Him, and live out all of the big things He has in store for your life, sweet baby. You are a masterpiece, created for your Daddy and me right now, but for the rest of the world later. I love you so much, you will always be my baby girl.

Love always,

Mama and Daddy

Jenny Is 7 Years Old!!

Dear Jenny,
Wow! 7 years old already! Where has the time gone? You just started the 2nd grade, and we could not be more proud of you!

Jenny, you are so smart! You can read very well for your age, and you are a wonderful writer too. You love to write stories! We have so many notebooks at home that you have filled up with stories and drawings. You also love to make "tests" for me. Math tests, spelling tests, grammar tests, etc. You also like for me to make them for you. I have always known you are very smart, but sometimes you really surprise me!

You have learned how to ride your bike without training wheels!! What an accomplishment! Your Daddy and I have been practicing with you for at least a year off and on, and you have finally mastered it. You used to get so frustrated and discouraged with riding your bike, but now you love it!

Some of my most favorite times with you are: meeting you at the bus stop in the afternoons. I just love to hear all about the daily happenings in your class. Sometimes you come home and tell me that someone was mean to you, which just breaks my heart. Offering you helpful advice has been a challenge at times. It is so easy to tell you to just treat that person the same way they treated you. But that isn't teaching you anything. It is also hard not to just go to the school and talk with your teacher. I don't mind doing that, but I want you to handle some things on your own. It is so hard sometimes to guide you, without leading or pushing you. Another favorite time of mine is our "girl moments". Whether it be a girl's night at home, a girl's trip to the mall or movies, or just dancing in your room with the stereo blaring, I just love our time together!
This is your third year in Girl Scouts, and also my third year leading your troop. You are a Brownie this year! Girl Scouts has been so much fun, and it is something that I hope to continue to do with you until you decide you don't want to do it anymore.

You are a wonderful daughter, stepdaughter, big sister, student, and friend. We love having you in our family and we can't imagine our lives without you!
I hope you have an awesome 7th birthday!!
Love Always, Daddy & Katie

Happy 3rd Birthday Aiden!

Aiden turned 3 on November 29. Aiden has always been a good sleeper, and on his birthday he slept in until nearly 11am. Since I don't usually wake up until he does, he and I (and Daddy) all got to sleep in that day. After we all got up and got ready we went out for a late breakfast/lunch.

Afterwards we asked him what he wanted to do next, and he said he wanted a balloon. So his Daddy and I took him to Kroger to pick out a balloon. The balloon Aiden chose was a Wow Wow Wubzy balloon. Aiden played with the balloon the whole way to the cash register where we were going to pay for the balloon. As soon as I had scanned it (we went through self checkout) and completed the purchase I turned around only to find that the balloon now had a hole in the side of it and it was quickly falling towards the ground. At first Aiden didn't really understand why his balloon wasn't floating. Once he realized that there was a hole in the balloon and it wasn't something his Daddy or I could fix, the meltdown started. We went back to where the balloons are to try and get him another, but apparently that balloon was the last Wow Wow Wubzy balloon in the store. Aiden wasn't thrilled at first, but once he realized they also had Batman balloons, he was fine.

Later that evening, we went with my parents to take Aiden out to dinner. We took him to TGIFridays. I didn't bring my camera so I had to use my phone instead. It was pretty dark in there so the lighting wasn't great for picture taking.

Haha!

The servers we singing happy birthday to him in this picture.

Happy birthday, Aiden! We love you!

Aiden's 3rd Birthday Party Pictures

Jenny's 6th Birthday Party

We had Jenny's 6th birthday party on August 29, 2011. Her birthday is actually on the 30th, but we had her party the day before. Her party was at Bethesda Park under one of the pavilions. It worked out really well because there was a grill for us to cook on, plenty of space and picnic tables for us to use, and a playground close by for the kids to play on.

Silvestre and Jaime preparing the grill

The birthday girl!

Her Spongebob cupcake cake.

Opening presents

Jenny in her new sunglasses

Daddy and Jenny while we all sang Happy Birthday to her

Some of Jenny's friends: Belle, Jenny, and Kaelyn

Guests at the party

More guests



Jenny had a great birthday party. Thank you to everyone who came! 

Aiden's Birthday Party

*Sorry this post has taken me so long to put up. I have LOTS of pictures from his party and that makes it hard to sort through and choose which ones are blog-worthy. ;)

First things first, let me just go ahead and warn you that this post contains lots of pictures. Don't worry though, most of them are pictures of the cutest two year old you have ever seen! Grab a snack, and enjoy....

Aiden's official party was scheduled from 3pm-5pm. However, since we had family in town that had come to celebrate with us, his party ended up being an all day celebration. It started out Sunday morning, where we all got up early and went out to eat breakfast at Golden Corral. I have always heard really good things about their breakfast, but had never had it until last Sunday. Let's just say I was not impressed. Cracker Barrel is MUCH better!

Anyhow, after breakfast we all went back to my Mom's house and began to get ready for the official party. The kids played outside in the backyard, I started working on decorating and setting the table, and then my cousin and I went to the store to get the food and drinks. As you can tell I am a last minute kind of person. I even ended up having to go to the store twice because the first time I forgot to get drinks altogether. Ha!

We had pre-ordered a Moonwalk Rental for the party. It was brought around 11:30, and that was when the party really got going. All the kids had a blast, and even a lot of the adults got in and jumped!

Our family from out of town ended up having to leave a little early since they had such a long drive home, but we were so glad they got to come and we can't wait to see them again for our Christmas celebration! We let Aiden open their gifts a little early so that they could see him open them. He loved all of them, and uses (or wants to use) them all everyday.

The party continued with lots of jumping and fun. We had a pinata outside filled with candy and small toys. No one broke it, so we let Aiden pull the strings on it until the candy came out. I'm glad it wasn't broken because I can save it for him in his keepsake box. We went inside to let everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to Aiden and so that everyone could eat cake. The theme for Aiden's party was Cars. His cake was Cars, the decorations were Cars, and the pinata was Cars. Can you tell what his favorite movie is? =)

Aiden had a great day, and he enjoyed all of his gifts. I know he was so glad to be able to spend his birthday with awesome family and friends. Thanks to all of you who came to celebrate Aiden's 2nd birthday!! We had a lot of fun, he got a lot of great gifts, and we hope you all enjoyed yourselves too.