Happy Birthday Aunt Laura!

So I didn't quite get this done yesterday, but it was Sophie's Aunt Laura's birthday and she wore her special purple onesie and went outside w/ the purple flowers in honor of the occasion. We love you, Laura, and hope you had a great day!

Play Time (a.k.a. - Sophie the Bully)

Last week Sophie and I got to spend some quality time with our friends Amber and Ava. This was the first time Sophie and Ava were really aware of each other and able to interact. Unfortunately Sophie is not so clear on the concept of "be gentle," and more than a few tears were shed. As you will see, though, everything ended well and the girls are still friends (by force, not choice). Oh, and by the way, Happy Birthday Amber!

"Don't worry, Ava...I'm just going to lightly scratch your face."



"I'll get you for this, Sophie, if it's the last thing I do."

"Wait, wait...I was just kidding...come back here, you."

"Oh Girl, you know I was just playing around. Hey, is this cashmere?

Sophie + Ava = B.F.F.

Happy Birthday Gran!

Sophie has been learning the art of sitting and just in the last couple of days has seemed to be getting it pretty well. In these videos she attempts to demonstrate her new ability for her Gran's birthday. Please ignore my voice and just focus on the wee one.

And here are a couple more pics of Sophie modeling her new dress. It would seem she took her role as a model quite seriously:

Hodge Podge

My mom was here last week visiting and she took SEVERAL pictures of Sophie, so I'm posting some of those. I also wanted to post a couple of my first successful sewing venture. My mom taught me to sew and helped me make a dress for Sophie. Tomorrow I will reveal the first pictures of Sophie in my creation, but for today just enjoy a few new pictures of the kiddo and her crazy parents.

Let's try this again

Okay, sorry about the technical difficulties w/ yesterday's post...let's see if this works...below are the pictures I wrote about yesterday.

"Baby Dedication" and other fun

On Sunday we had Sophie dedicated at church. I use quotation marks because it would really be more appropriately called "parent dedication," as the commitments made are made by Erik and me. We went before the church body and committed to seek to raise Sophie in the manner laid out in Scripture. While we were up there the weight of it all hit me - what a huge responsibility to model Christ to this sweet child every minute of the day. I am so thankful for Grace - that when I fail at this with Sophie, God is always faithful. Erik and I are both so grateful for our own parents and the godly upbringing we had.

Speaking of our parents, it was so wonderful to have them join us Sunday for Sophie's dedication. My grandma (Cat) and Erik's granny came as well, so we had a full house for lunch and Sophie was definitely the star of the show.

With our pastor, Byron Yawn

The whole clan: Roger, Carol, Granny, Erik, Cath, Sophie, Linda, Tom, Grandma

There's something about Pops - Sophie loves to sleep on his shoulder

We had fun playing with Papa for a couple of days

And finally,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE PETE!

From your cool niece Sophie

Mmmm...prunes

Sophie seems to enjoy lots of foods these days, although we have to mask the green ones by combining them w/ something tasty (applesauce, peaches, squash, etc.). I have had to take a break this week from the orange foods because her nose was already turning a bit orange. One thing we've learned that she likes is prunes, and it's a good thing as she apparently has the digestive system of a 90-year-old. Here are some post-prune pictures:

Nature Day

Now that spring has arrived Sophie and I are spending as much time as possible outside. This week we went for a walk at an arboretum and Sophie experienced grass for the first time. I sat her down and took off her socks and she was mesmerized by her toes in the grass. Unfortunately we haven't quite mastered the sitting thing, but I guess she doesn't know what she's missing and just enjoyed some new experiences.

Uncle Ky-Ky

Kyle visited us over the weekend and got some good bonding time w/ Sophie. Unfortunately Erik and I frequently disappeared to the back of the apt. to help Sophie w/ some bowel difficulties. These solid foods are a challenge for her, but I'm sure she'll get the hang of it soon. For some reason Kyle didn't want to join us for the fun. It was great to catch up w/ Kyle and hear about his trip to Latvia, amongst other exciting developments in his life :). Thanks for spending the weekend with us!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Sophie wanted to wish her Pops (Roger) a happy birthday today, so we turned the old camera on and let her talk a bit. Just imagine what "Happy Birthday Pops" would sound like underwater, and that is what she's saying. Also, I didn't realize that I had the camera turned the wrong way, so just tilt your head to the right and you can see her the way she was meant to be seen. Anyway, we hope you have a great day and we can't wait to celebrate w/ you this coming weekend!

Stingy w/ the Smiles

A couple of weeks ago I decided it was time for another photo shoot, but Sophie wasn't into smiling. Mostly she was into grabbing for the camera, but we also got some other interesting faces. Pay attention to old thunder thighs in the third picture...well actually you can't really see the thighs, but you can see the fat from them spilling over into her knees.

A Visit from Auntie Lotch & Uncle Bubby

Last weekend my brother and his wife (Aaron & Laura) came to visit. It was Sophie's first time to meet Laura and she loved her aunt...you will see from the pictures below that Laura was able to elicit some great smiles from Soph. Saturday afternoon we went to the Opryland Hotel and walked around a bit and Aaron and Laura took some fun pics of Sophie. It was so great to have them here and to see Sophie interact with them.