Update

Finally Back!!!

March: Celebrated Paul's 30th Birthday and Graduation at the house. I got him an awesome crawfish design cake and we boiled crawfish in the backyard. Great company for the day! Spring Break was a blast. Sophie and I did plenty of outings including: the zoo, Downtown Aquarium, and visiting with friends and family. Sophie had her 15 month checkup and everything looks great, she is right on target. Unfortunately, we received horrible news that my mom had Ovarian Cancer. This was so scary!

April: TAKS season. I spent most of this month stressed to the max over whether or not we would make it. These kids really like to fool us all year and then at the last minute, try their best. Sophie got her 2nd haircut (bangs). She also had a blast collecting easter eggs. Oh what a difference a year makes. Last year, we were carrying her around to collect eggs. This year, we opened the front door and she took off with her basket throwing the eggs right in, like she had been doing this for years. This year for Relay for Life was a lot different, having someone so close to you diagnosed with cancer really pushes you even harder to reach goals. No rain this year, so we were able to have an eventful time. My mom had her surgery to remove anything and everything that had cancer or resembled cancer. The surgery was a huge success!!! Next step...Chemo :(

May: Countdown to Summer. Enrolled Sophie in Gymboree!! Thought we would spend enough time in the pool, so try something new this summer. Celebrated my dad's birthday and my 2nd Mother's day. My mom had her 1st round of chemo. It went a lot better than expected. She felt bad for less than a week, but took another to get energy.

June: Summer is Here!!! I finally decided to buckle down and take my principal's certification test. I spent this month studying during most days. We celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary and Paul's 2nd Father's day. We took a family vacation to San Antonio. We had so much fun, but the heat almost killed us. We plan on going somewhere a lot cooler next year. This month Sophie and I went to: the zoo, swimming, Butterfly exhibit at Science Museum, Colt's baptism, and more swimming. I hope next month brings even more outings. Update on Sophie: She is even more adorable than ever!!! She is running all over the place, talking non stop (mostly in her own language), signing more words, using her manners (thank you and please), and starting to call family by names (Grammie, GP, Grandpa, Nana, and Charlie). She is so funny as well. Sophie had her 18 month checkup and once again all is well. She received her last shots until the age of 4. Wow, can you imagine her as a 4 year old?

Well, I hope to remember to get on at the end of July to post.

February 2010

February 2010
Well, this month went by like a snap of the finger. I can't believe how smooth things are going. So smooth, a lot of times I start thinking about having another baby. :)

Anywho, Sophie is growing up so fast now. She has learned a few signs: eat, more, and thank you. She is able to identify her head, hands, feet, belly, eyes, ears, mouth, and teeth. It cracks me up each time so does this. She is beginning to run a little bit these days and loves playing chase. Each week she says Mama more and more. I don't think I can ever get tired of hearing her say my name. She is back to being a real mama's girl, so Paul gets his feelings hurt when she picks me over him. With the cold, rainy weather, we did not really do any fun things this month with Sophie. Spring Break we will make up for this boring month.

Paul has started Alternative Certification. He has completed 2 full days of observations at my school. He has grown to appreciate my current position so much more. We will be celebrating his 30th birthday and graduation in a few weeks with some friends. I can't wait!

I have had some troubling times this month. Lots of doctor's appointments. I had an ultrasound on my thyroid, stomach, and bladder all this month. Thyroid is functioning normal, but I now have two nodules on it. The other ultrasounds were performed due to a kidney stone. I went to the emergency room on the weekend, because I thought I was delivering another child. Horrible pain. This morning I was able to pass the stone, so now they can analyze it to see the cause. Sophie got her first illness this month as well. She got a virus called hand, foot, and mouth disease, as well as she got her first ear infection. The good news is, we would have never known she had either one, because she never ran a fever or acted any different than her happy self.

I hope March has many more healthy, sunny, and a lot warmer days. I can't wait for this summer. So many fun activities for Sophie and me to do together. Talk to you at the end of March.

January 2010

I am finally sitting down at the computer to update our lives for the past month. Let's see...
This year started out a little better than last. Sophie was asleep and stayed asleep all night (last year still waking up every few hours to feed). We celebrated the new year with some family and friends. Paul and I made some New Year's Resolutions to implement in hopes for an even better 2010. So far so good!!! We are back to having at least 1 date a month, and I am finding some "Stephanie" time. Our date this month consisted of dinner, putt-putt, arcade games, and balladium. So much fun! This month I will be going out with some friends to dinner and a chick flick. I am so EXCITED!!! Paul will start playing golf again since he graduated this month. Yea!!!! He will also begin his Alternative Certification for teaching. I am excited for us to finally have the same schedules. It will be so much easier to plan family time. And I won't feel like a single mom half the time.
Sophie is officially walking! All it took was a few months to get the confidence, but she finally figured out that a pinkie finger was not necessary in order to get somewhere. Now we are chasing her everywhere. She now has 8 teeth and still loves getting them brushed. Baths have become one of her favorite activities. She has learned to blow bubbles, to throw her ball into the cup, and splash water everywhere. Thank goodness the tub is deep. Her playground has not been getting much use due to the weather, but any chance we get, she is sliding and swinging. Our walks in the wagon have also slowed down, but she was able to ride in it yesterday at the park.

Sophie received her first haircut. Although we are still trying to figure out how to manage her hair, it does look a million times better. Before her haircut we took a family trip to the downtown aquarium. Sophie loved watching all the fish!
Well that about raps up January, we look forward to catching up at the end of February. I want to end with thanking God for my beautiful, healthy family!!!!

Xmas Pictures

Here are some pictures from Sophie's 1st Christmas, and our family pictures from this year.

2nd Christmas

Well, Christmas is officially over! We started the celebration over the weekend. Saturday was supposed to be my mom's side by unfortunately I got sick. I sent Sophie with my parents instead. Sunday we went to my parent's house to celebrate with my dad's side. Sophie got a lot of neat toys again and showed off a little of her walking. It was so nice seeing my brother and sister-in-law, I wish they lived closer. :( My parents as usual, spoiled us with presents and delicious food. It was also great spending time with cousins, aunts/uncles, and grandparents. Christmas Eve we spend with Paul's dad and Paula. We had a great time watching Phoenix and Sophie open gifts. I can't wait to see the two of them next year. I was so happy that a dessert I brought was a huge hit. Paul was so proud that I cooked something and everyone loved it! ;) Christmas day we spent with Paul's mom's side. Wella out did herself with cooking. Once again, everyone was showered with great gifts. We all must have been good this year. Sophie relaxed enough eventually and went to almost everyone, not Wella. She kept trying, but Sophie would not go to her for anything. Maybe at New Years? Christmas 09 was a blast. Sophie keeps getting bigger and bigger each day. She is back to falling asleep on her own each night and sleeping through the night again. I thought I was going to go crazy if I had to wake up one more time in the middle of the night with that little girl. The darn cold really messed her up. Anywho, the year is almost over. I can't wait to see what 2010 has to bring us. We plan on getting into shape, enjoying each day as it comes, spending more time with friends, family, and each other. I really hope Paul and I start having date nights again. He should be finishing up his degree, which will help tremendously on having more time for fun. I hope everyone had a great Christmas.

God bless!

New Daycare class

Sophie moved up to the 12-17 month old class the week of her birthday. What a huge change. She now has specific times to eat, snack, sleep, play,.... After a week, we finally realized there was a schedule and a menu for each day. Paul and I no longer have to pack her lunch. This saves so much time each day. It is so much fun to pick her up each day, because she makes something everyday during arts and crafts. Everyone in Sophie's class is around 17 months, so she definitely sticks out, but I think she will progress faster seeing the bigger kids. We miss her baby teacher, Delfina, so much, though.

Snow

2 years in a row! Sophie must bring good luck to Texas, because it has now snowed both years she has been alive. At least this year we were out of the hospital so we could play in it.