The Last Days of Wild Sophie Hair

Yup, still putting up photos from July... one more post after this one and we'll move on to August. :) Excuse the picture quality- these days it's easier to use the cell phone camera than the big fragile and expensive DSLR.

And here is a tribute to the hair that reached for the stars; but alas, it got too long and collapsed in a heap. It was a good run and appreciated by many.

"Sophie So Fun"

Lucas refuses to share a bath with Sophie because this is what it looks like the whole time she's in there! Weeeee! Splash splash splash!
Sophie wearing my absolute favorite dress of hers:

Sophie LOVES balls.

First taste of watermelon:

Siblings

Catching up again... these were taken in early July.

Sophie Sessions: 10 months

* Sophie has been working hard on her fine motor skills... she's now a pro at the pincer grip, is starting to push buttons, and loves scribbling with a crayon or chalk (this is apparently not something usually seen until 12-13 months at the earliest). It's the one milestone Sophie is ahead of the curve on. All her other skills are on target or a little behind- which gives me more time to enjoy her as a baby! :)

* 3 more new teeth! Top middle two and one right next to it all emerged simultaneously. Unlike her first 2 teeth, these new teeth did a serious number on her sleep.

* Bring out the baby-proofing supplies! The same weekend Sophie cut 3 new teeth, she also learned how to pull to stand and climb the stairs. Now that's all she wants to do- practice her new skills day and night like she's training for the Olympics! Needless to say, Laith and I are exhausted from the poor napping and night sleep this caused for about 2 weeks.

* She's very interested in being just like Lucas; mimicking his raspberry motor sounds and playing with his cars and motorcycles- making them drive back and forth.

* Not much in the language department yet- she still prefers just making ahhhh sounds with a rare appearance of ba and wa and ga. We've begun working on sign language with her and she's currently learning water, milk (when she wants a bottle), all done, and more. She understands all these phrases and will flap her arms in the air to indicate "yes!!"

Favorite foods: spinach pesto, bananas, avocado, soy-glazed salmon and anything Mommy's eating.

Favorite pasttimes: plowing into Lucas head-first and climbing on him, laughing at Lucas' voices and antics, finding miniscule bits of things to put in her mouth, coloring/drawing with chalk, playing with balls, climbing the stairs, splashing in water, touch-and-feel books, and playing bouncing games.

For those who requested it, Sophie is wearing size 12 months onesies and pants. Dresses she can fit as small as 6-9 months but we are tucking her dresses into bloomers/shorts now so as not to get her frustrated when she pins herself down with a knee on the fabric while crawling.

Sold!

Laith signs on the purchase of our new house! Hooray!

Pictures coming once the dust settles. :)

Jill Visits!

We had a wonderful visit from Jill a few weeks ago and had so much fun chatting, laughing, playing super-heros with Lucas, and baking a birthday cake (Jill's birthday was 3 days after her visit).

After one of the cake layers broke into a couple pieces when released from a silicone pan, attempts to restore the cake to a pretty product ended up in a downhill slide into cake-craziness.

At least it tasted good! :)

We also headed to Carter's Orchard for some mountaintop peach picking! Yum!

We had a wonderful time! Thanks for making the drive down, Jill! We look forward to seeing you again soon!

Family Photo Session!!!

My mom bought me the most amazing birthday present ever this past year and I waited until now to cash it in! A professional family photo session! I'm so happy to have this year with our brand new family of 4 documented. It's been tumultuous with so many big changes (new house, new job, new baby, new preschool, etc etc) and I was letting photos with Laith and I and the kids slip by because wow, it's nearly impossible to hold a camera and keep the kids happy while keeping Laith and I looking natural. Enter Cramer Photo and a beautiful record of where we are in 2011 is now a happy collection of keepsakes.

Lucas was shy at first.

Can you see how squirmy the kids are here! Totally how it is in real life!

Sophie Sessions: Nine Months

Notable from this month:

*Sophie has learned how to crawl! Now we're in trouble- guess we'll have to baby-proof before our August 5th move to our new home!

* Sophie's first teeth emerged. We love her new smile.

* She's babbling! Sophie's been using vowel sounds (mostly ahhhh) up until a few days ago. Now we're hearing occasional ba, wa, ma, and da sounds and it's adorable.