So Blessed

The weather here has been really mild the last few days and we have enjoyed some much needed play time at the park. Josh has been able to join us on several occasions which has been wonderful! Sophi is truly becoming a daddy's girl! She missed him so much while we were gone and just can't seem to get enough of him now that we are back. They are so cute together!

I feel so blessed to have them in my life! Thank you Lord for these two precious gifts!

We spent our days during the past two weeks back home in the south visiting friends and family. It was such a nice change of pace from our normal daily routine. Sophi LOVED getting to spend time with her Grammy, Poppy, Lolly and Pops, Great Grandparents and all her cousins.

We spent our first week away at Grammy and Poppy's house. Christmas was the last time we had seen them and we so enjoyed being with them again! Josh and I even got to spend a night away, leaving Sophi with Grammy, and it was heavenly! Not that we don't love our little Sophi, we just don't get that kind of opportunity very often. Grammy and Sophi had a blast together and although Grammy was worn out, they probably both wished we had stayed away just a little longer!

While we were there Sophi also got to spend some quality time with her cousins, Bella and Julian. Bella has grown into such a good friend for Sophi and Julian is like a sweet big brother. 

It was so cute watching them all play together!

Josh went back to California while Sophi and I stayed behind to visit Lolly and Pops in Atlanta the following week. We were able to see lots of family and get lots of play time in with cousin Evie before heading down to the beach for a few days.

Sophi LOVES Evie. They are becoming quite the cute pair.

 Although it rained a good bit while we were in Florida, the sun would poke it's head out just enough during the day for us to get out and play. Sophi still LOVES the beach. She has so much fun playing in the sand and the water and I can almost guarantee she will be a beach bum like her Lolly for many years to come.

 

 We were sad to leave our family, not quite knowing when we will see them again. We are excited about the possibilities God may have in store for us of being closer to our family in the future. 

On the other hand it has been nice to be home, sleeping in our own beds and back into our daily routine. Sophi missed her daddy and her Shiloh this last week and has been clinging to both of the the past couple of days. 

While we look forward God's plan for us in the future, the life He has made for us where we are right now is good and we are learning to simply enjoy it!

My little girl is growing up - 18 months!

My little Sophi! I can't believe you are already a year and a half old. You have blown us away in how much you have grown over these last 6 months.

You still LOVE to talk and pretty much talk from the moment you wake up to the moment your eyes finally shut as you drift off to sleep. You are speaking in more sentences now, and it is so fun to listen to you express yourself. Some of your favorite phrases are "I love you," "I see birdies," "Lovie with you" and "Hi, Shiloh."You can say anything you want to say and still love to mimic. 

 You have discovered singing and love to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", the "ABC" song, "Elmo's Song," "Jesus Loves Me", and "Old McDonald Had a Farm." You often burst into song out of no where with so much enthusiasm it still surprises me! 

 You are such a sweet little girl (most of the time) and truly have a tender heart. You do not like to hear people cry, you love little babies, you love giving kisses and hugs. You are having a difficult time right now expressing your frustration through hitting as well as saying no. You have so many words, however, you can't quite grasp how to express that emotion. We know you will in time. You are very strong willed and already quite the independent little lady. As trying as it can be on my patience sometimes, I am enjoying watching you grow into your big personality.

 

 You love to wash yourself in the bathtub, put on your own shoes, go down the stairs by yourself, push the stroller, and on and on the list could go!

You love your sweet friend Caroline and ask to play with her constantly, which is fun because that means I get to spend lots of time with her sweet mommy, Ellen. You love to pray and thank God for Caroline, Ellen, Jeff and Baby Harris. You usually don't pray for anyone else but have to make sure to mention all of them by name! So sweet! You love knowing people's names and always remember them after the first time you meet. I think you are going to have a gift for remembering names, a gift for loving people.

You also love animals. Dogs rank at the top of your list and Shiloh is still one of your best friends. He is really learning to love you too (especially because you have discovered feeding him from the table and giving him treats!). You also really enjoy going to the zoo and seeing all the "aminals" as you call them! Your favorite zoo animals are the monkeys and the elephants!

Your favorite things to do right now are go to the playground and go to story time at the Library or Vroman's bookstore. You only take one nap a day now so we have more time in the mornings to go to these fun places.You and daddy have started going on daddy/daughter dates every Saturday morning 

and you love this special time with him. You are really becoming a daddy's girl.

 

You still LOVE to read and could read a majority of the day! Your favorite books right now are anything Dr. Seuss, "You are Special" by Max Lucado and our Read Aloud Bible Story books. 

I can go on and on about all the things you are doing these days. You are the light of my life, you bring me so much joy and continue to teach me so much about myself and our awesome Creator. I am so lucky to get to share my days with you. I can't wait to see all that God has in store for you in your life. I feel honored to be your mommy and pray that God will give me the wisdom to be the best mommy I can be for you right now. You are my precious little girl and I love you!

Sophi's 18 month Stats:

Height: 32 inches - 60th percentile

Weight: 23 pounds 15 ounces - 50th percentile

Mama Hazel

My great-grandmother, Mama Hazel, passed away this past Sunday at the age of 95. She had not been herself for awhile and although it is sad to not have her here with us anymore, I am so thankful that she is now at peace and at home, rejoicing with the angels living in the presence of God.

My Mama Hazel was full of tenacity and passion, she had to be raising 5 girls! She loved her girls, her grandkids and her great grandkids. How awesome that she lived long enough to meet her great-great-grandkids too!! 

I have such found memories of visiting my Mama Hazel. She would always make me fried okra because she knew it was my favorite! I also have a found, funny memory of spending the night with her, sleeping in bed with her and laughing with her about taking out her teeth!! 

Her loving influence shaped my Nana, who helped shape my mom, who helped shape me into the women and mom I am today and will be a part of the shaping of Sophi.

 

I am grateful for the legacy she left during her life and honored to be known as one of her great-grandchildren. 

I love you Mama Hazel and look forward to the day I see you again!

Busyness and a maternity shoot

This week has been super busy! It started last Sunday with our first open house, followed by another on Tuesday, Thursday and again Sunday with showings by appointment in between! Whew!! And let me just say keeping a house picked up and stainless steal appliances fingerprint free for a week with a toddler running around is nearly impossible! But somehow, with God's help, we pulled it off! On top of all that our precious little girl had a GI virus, sinus infection and burst eardrum all in the same week!
Needless to say Josh and I enjoyed our one night a month of tv watching tonight as a reward for making it through!
 In the midst of the craziness I had the opportunity to take some maternity pictures for our good friends Nate and Kristi. This was my first attempt at anything photography and I was quite nervous but surprisingly pleased with the results. Nate and Kristi were so great and patient with me as I learned the ropes. I have A LOT to learn about my camera and the art of photography but it made for a fun Saturday morning. Here are a few of my favorites.

 

We are preparing now for our trip to Nashville over spring break to visit Josh's family! It will be nice to be back in the south for a bit and spend time with family and friends.
Sophi turns 18 months next week and I honestly can not believe it! Check back soon for her 18 month update!!

Weekend in Vegas

For Christmas my parents bought Graham, Ashley, Josh and I all tickets to see Cirque du Soleil's "O" in Las Vegas. Graham and Ashley would already be in Vegas that week for a photography conference and we were just a short drive away! 

So this past Saturday morning Josh and I headed out of town, leaving Sophi in good hands with our sweet friends Kyle and Lahela. Josh and I both relished our time alone in the car, quite peace where we could actually focus on what the other was saying. We arrived at our hotel a little after noon where we were pleasantly surprised to receive a free upgrade on our room upon check in! 

We stayed at the Trump International Hotel just off the strip! It was fantastic, quite, and just close enough to all the action without being right in the middle of it! And our room was fabulous! A one bedroom suite complete with a full kitchen and two bathrooms, one with a two person jacuzzi tub overlooking the city! If only could have stayed a little longer!!

 The show was to start at 10:00pm that evening so after strolling down the strip to check out a few of the resorts we quickly headed back to our room to take a nap. It had been a long time since we had stayed up that late!!

We met up with Graham and Ashley, who had just arrived that afternoon, at the MGM Grand to eat a yummy Japanese dinner at Shibuya! The food was awesome! After dinner we walked over to the Bellagio, where "O" was preformed, and caught one of the water fountain shows on our way in!

 We, of course, all took a hand at the slot machines (unfortunately no one came up lucky) then headed on over to the theater.

Our seats (thank you Dad!!) were on the front row!! It was so amazing to see everything going on in the show from that close a veiwpoint! The performance is done around and in a 25 foot deep, 1.5 million gallon water pool where the "actors" dive, jump, swim, and do almost every type of acrobatics over the water. It was AWESOME! I even got to be a tiny part of the show when during one of the scenes a performer had me come up and handed me a flower! Too cool!

 "O" ended around midnight and Josh and I decided to walk the mile or so back to our hotel. If you are in Vegas, you might as well walk the strip at night right?!  Needless to say we were pretty tired when we finally reached our room!

We slept in the next morning, ate some room service then headed back to Pasadena. We laughed a lot on the way home listening to The Ricky Gerveis Project podcast!

Sophi seemed to have done pretty well with Kyle and Lahela while we were gone and I think we were more excited to see her than she was to see us!

We are so thankful for the occasional weekend away to reconnect, refresh, regroup and recharge! Thank you dad for the amazing tickets and awesome dinner. Thanks Graham and Ashley for being willing to share the experience with us! And thank you Kyle and Lahela for being willing to give up your weekend to watch our little girl so we could have a break! 

Now back to the realities of life....

Love is in the Air

In light of the upcoming "love" holiday our chatter box, Sophi, wanted to send a "love" shout out to her Lolly and Pops and her Grammy and Poppy!

(Please excuse her nakedness in this post bath video)

Happy Valentines Day Weekend Everyone!