Birthday Party #2 - Nashville

Sophie's 2nd party was a few weeks ago here at our home. The Strode side of the family came and joined some of Sophie's close friends for a little celebration. We had a great time. Sophie's friend Ava came and helped her try out her new toys. We are so thankful for such wonderful friends and family.

"No more cake?!"

Clearly Sophie thinks she is the queen here...and poor Ava is just giving the car a quick tune-up for her.

Playing around w/ Grandma...

...and Uncle Aaron (just as a disclaimer - we do not watch NASCAR...this must be a commercial...I promise).

Birthday Party #1

Two weeks ago we went to Chattanooga and celebrated Sophie's birthday w/ the Parks family. We went to a park on the Tennessee River and Sophie ate her first "cupcake" - a dairy-free pumpkin muffin. It took her a little while to get into it, but once she did she enjoyed making a huge mess.

Sophie w/ her Gigi.

Downtown Chatty

Erik's mom brought this cake made by a co-worker - it was incredible.

Kyle and Liesl came down from school to celebrate.

Erik and our college friend, Isaac, and their girls.

The fam.

Sophie and her Pops - her favorite gift of the day was a plastic spoon.

It was hard for Erik to watch this - he has a big problem w/ sticky hands ;).

Opening presents

Happy Birthday Sophie

Today our sweet girl turned one year old. It's hard to believe that one year ago I was heavily medicated, seeing double, and hadn't eaten in a really long time. Oh, and we had a newborn baby girl. Sophie has been an amazing blessing from God and we are incredibly thankful for her. Children truly are a gift.

Here is a shot of one-day-old Sophie:

And one-year-old Sophie:

Many more birthday pictures to come...

Reflections

Here are just a few pics of our almost one-year-old watching her daddy grill outside on the balcony.

Weekend w/ Uncle Kyle

Kyle and his girlfriend, Liesl (Erik's brother and his girlfriend), came to visit this past weekend. Sophie loved having extra attention, of course, and Erik and I really enjoyed the opportunity to visit w/ the two of them.

On Saturday we went downtown to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and took some pictures at the Schermmerhorn Symphony Center and the Shelby Street Bridge.

Sophie wasn't too into the Country Music Museum part of our day, aside from two large porcelain dogs that were part of the exhibit. I think her dad strongly stressed to her the importance of not liking country music, so she made it clear that she was not impressed.

Back in Action

Okay, so I apologize that it's been so long...we were in GA for a wedding for Labor Day, we've had my family in town, and our computer stopped working last weekend. So now that I have those excuses out of the way, here are a few pics of Sophie. I'll try to update on other stuff this week.

Free Museum Admission

So it has been awhile since I've posted and today's post is a bit unusual, but hopefully soon I can get back to the norm. We have been pretty busy around here between me working a bit, going to GA for a wedding over Labor Day and our church involvement picking up.

I did want to share something I came across online. On Saturday, September 27th, the Smithsonian (along w/ other sponsors) is presenting a free museum day. You can go to this website:

http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/about.html

to download a pass for 2 people that will get you into a wide array of museums. Here in Nashville that includes The Frist, the Country Music Hall of Fame, The Hermitage, etc. I'm hoping we can go to the Country Music Hall of Fame - I've been but Erik hasn't. We are too fond of country music, but the museum is excellent and has lots of interactive and interesting features on the roots of country and bluegrass music. Normal admission is over $15/person, so this is a great deal! The website includes a list of other states' museum options, so check it out!