A Few of my Favorite Things

Sophie with her Little People dollhouse

Sophie and her new doll

Sophie driving her new car

our family on Christmas Day

By Christmas morning, Sophie was feeling a lot better. It was really neat to watch her when we told her that Santa had brought her some things for Christmas. (Before Christmas she was worried about seeing Santa when he came to our house because she's scared of him.) Anyways, the main thing that she wanted for Christmas was a baby doll with a passy and a bottle. Santa brought her a baby doll and a Little People dollhouse and she loved both of them. She also got a cool tunnel system that's pretty big but will be fun to set up in our house some this winter. Thanks to Luke B. and his mom for telling us about the tunnel thing. Sophie also got a lot of other cool things for Christmas but one of her other favorites was a new car. It's nothing too fancy but she told us a few months ago that she'd like a car. I'm sure she would have loved one of the motorized ones or whatever but she is having a great time with this one that Nana and Paw-paw brought her. Yesterday Sophie said, "Mama, I'm in my new car. Take my picture." She's been riding around the house in it but I told her it will end up out in the garage soon! =) You can tell from the picture above that Paula is definitely getting closer to the due date-only 4 more weeks!

Christmas Festivities

Matt & Paula-early December before a Christmas party

Camden, Sophie & Kate at the park on a very warm December day

Martha, Sophie & Santa (AKA Uncle Phil)

Paw-paw, Uncle Phil, Nana, Aunt Martha, Sophie, Paula & Matt

I just thought I'd post a few random pictures together. Sophie loves to go to the park and play with her friends. It is really too cute to see Sophie & Kate together because their hair color is very similar and their coloring, plus they were born only 1 day apart.

Sophie had requested that Uncle Phil dress up as Santa Claus but when he made a special appearance at our house on Christmas Eve she was scared. She didn't want to go to him unless he took the beard off. The week before Christmas, Sophie felt terrible because she had a really bad cough. They said that it was a virus and she ran a fever for a couple of days. We were at the doctor the Friday before Christmas. I hated it that Sophie felt so bad because Matt's parents and sister, as well as his aunt and uncle were down here visiting us for Christmas. Well, that weekend, she started sleeping better and her cough wasn't as bad. On Sunday night though (after Matt's family had left), every time Sophie tried to lay down and go to sleep she started crying. We knew that something wasn't right. On Monday morning we could tell that one of her ears looked bad. We went back to the doctor on Christmas Eve morning and they said that the membrane of her ear drum had been perforated. They put her on an antibiotic. That afternoon, we celebrated with Paw-paw's side of the family at Uncle Mike & Aunt Shannon's. Above, is a picture from that night. Sophie was already feeling better once the pressure on her ear was relieved and we started the antibiotic!

Merry Christmas!

Here's Sophie who has gotten so big in front of our tree. It kind of makes me sad to see how grown up she is becoming. At the same time though, I'm really proud of her and I love being able to converse with her more and more. I can't believe (and yet I sort of can) that we are about to have another baby! It's harder to sleep, harder to bend down, etc. When I see the countdown on our blog page, I'm thinking, "Whoa, we are getting really close. Am I ready for this?" Anyway, it will be neat for Sophie to be a big sister. She is so nurturing with her baby dolls so we'll see how she does with a real baby who is demanding our attention.

So far, getting ready for Christmas (and including Sophie in some of the traditions) has been really fun. She was so excited for us to get our Christmas trees put up a couple of weeks ago. She loved being able to put a few of the special non-breakable ornaments on the bottom of the tree that I had saved for her. She also got to help me decorate our little tabletop tree. She has enjoyed getting to see the Christmas light displays around town, helping me to put some of the presents under the tree, doing an advent calendar, making cute Christmas crafts at school, etc. The not so fun part about December is that this is the 2nd time that Sophie's had a really bad cough and a fever where she can't sleep well. The timing wasn't great because Matt's family came in to spend an early Christmas with us yesterday and today. Oh, well. It's just one of those things I guess.

We visited a house in Nashville with a huge light display on Friday night. Sophie loved seeing all the lights and lawn ornaments.

Clark Griswold did the electrical work for this light display as shown in this photo.

Breakfast with Santa

Cheese! Come on, hurry up! I'm squinting and smiling as much as I can. I've even got my hands fisted!

This past Saturday, we went to breakfast with Santa at our church. It was our 1st time to go and so we were excited. So far this year, Sophie's been excited about Santa but then won't have anything to do with him up close. Anyways, we sang Christmas carols as a large group, had a light breakfast, and then the kids had lots of crafts to keep them entertained while we waited to have our picture made with Santa. It was pretty wild because there were about 500 people total! Kids, their parents, and a few grandparents. Sophie sat with her Mama for the picture with Santa & Mrs. Claus but she didn't cry or anything. Our picture just turned out OK. Of our family, Matt's the only one really smiling. We took the above picture of Sophie as we waited. She started out with a normal smile and then she just keep cheesing and squinting more and more! =)
This week, her cough and runny nose have returned so she's not feeling well.

Thanksgiving weekend in VA

Sophie & Aunt "Eia" (Leia) on the slide

Sophie picking apples

Sophie in a soapbox derby car

In case you were wondering, no we didn't actually visit the North Pole over Thanksgiving. We just had a virtual visit. We actually drove up to Richmond, VA to visit Matt's immediate family. It was a very long drive considering that we had to make frequent bathroom stops for the mama-to-be. Sophie was a good traveller though and we had a great time with Matt's family. Both going and coming we split the trip up over 2 days which made it easier. We were very excited though to be able to pick up Matt's brand new company van just before we left town! =) It's kind of deep gray with a tinge of blue and it's a Toyota Sienna with a lot of cool features on it. Since it's a company car, Matt has to do the driving.

Sophie was very excited to get to play with lots of new toys that Mimi, Matt's mom, had gotten for her while garage saling. Sophie now pretty much has the entire Little People town. (I'll have to take a picture of her with all the stuff in our play room because we brought it home.) It was like Christmas came early for Sophie. Mimi had also gotten a play high chair and baby carrier at a garage sale so Sophie loved putting her baby in the high chair and feeding her. Sophie was very excited to see Mimi, Paw-paw Tom and especially Aunt "Eia". On Thanksgiving Day, it was very warm and so Matt & Leia took Sophie to a nearby playground and they had a lot of fun. We had a nice Thanksgiving spent with Matt's immediate family and a few family friends.

On Friday, although some Christmas shopping was done, we headed to the Richmond Children's Museum. It was really crowded but Sophie had a fun time. They had a play kitchen and grocery store, water play area, big playground, apple picking area, and much more. Santa Claus was also there but there was an hour long wait. We saw Santa later at the mall but Sophie was excited about the concept of seeing him but then too scared to get too close. All in all, we had a very nice Thanksgiving.

North Pole visit

We visited the North Pole during our thanksgiving break. Click here.

Sophie's 1st date?

Sophie & Jackson (with Wilson behind)

Sophie at the wheel

Today, Sophie and I were able to go and visit some good friends of ours from Charleston who lived down the street from us. They are here for a few weeks visiting their grandparents while their dad does a rotation at Vanderbilt for medical school. Christina is one of my very best friends from Charleston and she has three boys. Jackson & Wilson are twins and then they have a baby named Andrew who is 5 months. Andrew has grown so much and is so cute but I didn't get any pictures. Christina's parents have a big field behind their house and the twins each have a jeep or truck. Well, since it was unseasonably warm today, we took advantage of it and let the kids play outside for a while.

Sophie had a blast! First, she rode in the truck with Jackson and then, she tried driving independently. It just took her a couple of minutes to learn how to do the pedal but she was not very good about keeping her eyes on where she was going so that she could steer properly. She was so excited that she was looking behind her and grinning or just looking to one side of her or the other. She tended to drive in circles. Luckily, there wasn't much that she could run into since we were in a big field. This experience made me think of a first date because both of the boys had been showing off for Sophie and then, one asked her if she wanted to ride in his truck. When Sophie was driving, they wanted to help push her truck at times. Later, she rode with Jackson again and he got out to push because the truck was losing steam (low on it's battery charge). After he tried pushing it some, he told Sophie that she could get out and push. Christina told him that you don't ask girls to get out and push the car. Christina and I were both laughing! I said that his dad would have to give him some dating 101 tips but of course I was joking.

Fall Happenings

This week, we've done a couple of fun things but I've either forgotten to take my camera or the pictures didn't turn out well. On Wednesday, Sophie and I met my friend Stephanie and her boys at the Discovery Center in Murfreesboro. It is a children's museum with lots of different things for them to play with and explore. They have a water play area, a big playhouse area (Sophie's favorite) with baby dolls, play kitchens, etc., a fire truck that kids can play on, tables with trains, and lots more. Sophie and Will both had a lot of fun! Jackson observed a lot from his stroller but had fun too. If you get a chance to go out there, it's a lot of fun! They also have some walking trails, a playgrounds and some other outdoor activities! We were able to go and see Stephanie's new home and have lunch with them too.

Then, on Friday, Matt & I picked Sophie up from Mother's Day Out and headed to the zoo for a little bit since we had only been once since moving back. The last time we visited there was a lot that we didn't see. There were very few people there since it was getting close to closing time. We had a good visit even though it was just a short time. We particularly enjoyed seeing the tigers. Sophie was disappointed that there were no pandas like the Atlanta zoo had.

This weekend, Paula's Aunt Mary is visiting from Arkansas so we have been able to visit with her some. It has been nice to see her and she was able to come out and see our house.

More Halloween Fun

Sophie & her Nana
After we trunk or treated, we had dinner outside at our church. Sophie kind of snacked beforehand because I knew she wouldn't care for the food (hot dogs & chili) but when she saw that they had ice cream, she had to have some!

Raggedy Ann

Sophie (A.K.A. Raggedy Ann) and her Daddy

Sophie

full-length view of Sophie's costume

On Halloween night, our church had Trunk or Treat and dinner on the grounds. Before going over there, we stopped by Nana's house to show off Sophie's costume. Sophie didn't mind wearing the wig, but unfortunately it just wouldn't stay on! We added some make-up to Sophie's cheeks later. Sophie had a decent time going trunk or treating but I felt bad for her because she's had a cold/allergies this week and she was coughing the whole time. Plus, she held tight to Mommy's hand because she was scared of a lot of the costumes and decorations that she saw as we walked from car to car. Oh well, there's always next year. =)

Atlanta Zoo/Aquarium

Paula & Sophie on carousel at zoo

Sophie in tunnel at aquarium playground

our family at the aquarium

After going to the zoo on Saturday morning, we came back and took naps that afternoon. Then, we took the subway out to the Ikea store to look around. Sophie had been on the subway in DC, but she was a baby and didn't remember it. She was really excited about it this time. Anyway, after going to Ikea, we headed over to Atlantic Station (an area with lots of stores and restaurants) and we had dinner. Then, we headed back to the hotel. Since we took the subway to Ikea, it reall limited what we could take home with us.

On Sunday morning, we visited the aquarium. It was really nice, but it got really crowded around 11:00. They have some huge whales and sharks there and lots of other fish and sea creatures. Sophie went right up to the glass and would say, "hi, fish". She wanted to know what the otters and other animals names were. One of the workers at the aquarium asked Sophie what her name was. Sophie said "Sophie. My Mommy has a baby girl in her tummy but I not know her name." The lady didn't hear what Sophie said so she asked Matt. Matt explained and they got a laugh out of that. =) For lunch, we were able to see Sophie's great-uncle Bobby's house and go to lunch with him. Then, we headed back to Nash Vegas. We were all totally exhausted that night but we had a wonderful trip!

Weekend Getaway

While in Atlanta, we went to the zoo. This family of apes and the panda bear exhibit were the highlights of our visit.

Zoo Atlanta has a giant panda exhibit. This picture shows the 14-month old Baby Panda "Mei Lan", which in Chinese means "Lazy" and the Mama Panda "Lun Lun" which means "Too Lazy to move Bamboo off belly"

baby panda-14 months old and about 65 lbs

Sophie pats the gorilla statue

Sophie hanging out

This past weekend, we decided to take a last minute trip to Atlanta. We figured that it might be our last chance to get away just for a fun trip before our baby comes in January. We had a great trip! We drove down on Friday afternoon and stayed in a nice hotel downtown. It had a really cool glass elevator that Sophie loved where you could see out over the whole hotel atrium as you rode it (it was a very large, fancy hotel) which Matt booked on Priceline. =) Every time Sophie talked about riding the elevator it sounded like she was asking to go on the alligator.

Anyways, on Saturday, we woke up to a cold morning in Atlanta and headed to the zoo. We were excited to beat the crowds to the panda bears there so that we could really watch them. They have a mom, dad, and baby panda. The baby was fun to watch because she had slid down a rocky hill and then she had to figure out how to climb back up. Seeing the panda bears made the whole morning worthwhile for us. We also got to see tons of other animals. Sophie enjoyed seeing the gorillas. They had some babies too. Sophie went up to the statue of a mom and baby gorilla and said, "it's OK" just like she does with her dolls at home. Sophie surprised us by willingly touching many of the animals in the petting zoo. Usually she is very skittish when she's up close to animals, but she didn't mind petting some of the animals this time.

Sophie also enjoyed riding the carousel at the zoo and jumping in a big pumpkin jump castle they had for Halloween. I'll include a picture from the carousel in the next post.

Play Date with Ella

Sophie eating breakfast. She might have gotten this smile from her friend, Camden. =)

Ella & Sophie

Ella & Sophie

This week Matt has been travelling and it has rained so much. I've felt like we were on the ark with Noah because it has rained so little in the last few months until now. Everyone around here had forgotten how to drive in the rain it seemed! Yesterday, Sophie was cracking me up at breakfast because she wanted a banana. Then, she got upset when it fell off because she likes to keep the banana with it's peel. So, then she keeps sticking that part of the banana on to the rest of the banana. Kids are too funny sometimes. Then, we were talking about how much it was raining outside. I said, "I wonder how much rain we've gotten Sophie." Sophie looks out the window and says, "1,2,3,4,5,6". Uh, huh. Right. That answered it for me Sophie. Let's just look out and count the raindrops. =)

Anyways, today, Laura, an old friend of mine from college, came over with her little girl, Ella. Sophie & Ella had a good time working puzzles together, playing ball, playing with stickers, and eating lunch. They looked very cute sitting together at Sophie's table. Let's hope that Ella rubs off on Sophie because she is potty-trained. We've been trying but no success.

Miss Sophie

Sophie and some of her "babies"

Sophie's "babies" taking their naps

This week hasn't been all that eventful for us. Earlier in the week, we kind of took it easy because Paula has had allergies and wasn't feeling that great. One of Sophie's latest things to do is play school. She pretends that she is "Miss Katy" (her teacher at Mother's Day Out). Sophie has a new little table at home and she had Paula sit down to have her hands painted over and over. She gave Paula proper instructions, etc and marked her hands with a marker. It was really cute the first few times and then it got a little boring. At Sophie's Mother's Day Out, they have nap time and they lay down on mats. Well, Sophie not only has a couple of baby dolls that she likes but she also has various stuffed and plastic animals that she carries around. She calls them by the names of the kids in her class. Anyways, one morning Matt found Sophie in her room putting books down for each of her "babies" to lay down on and take their naps. So precious!!

By the way, the pumpkins that you saw on a recent post didn't make it until Halloween. Sadly enough, we found them kind of rotted out a couple of days ago. So, we went and bought a couple more pumpkins today and hopefully, they will make it until Halloween. The moral of this story is, "Don't carve or punch holes in your pumpkins too early." =)

Sophie is probably going to be really worn out after today because she is going to two birthday parties. We are finally having some nice fall-like weather. I hope it stays around for a while!

Baking Cookies

Sophie & Martha placing cookies on cookie sheet

Aunt Martha (Paula's sister) showed Sophie how to make cookies. They were the pre-cut Halloween shaped sugar cookies and they weren't bad. Sophie liked eating some of the cookie dough. Aunt Martha is teaching in Wilson County this year and so she has had a long fall break since they do the year-round schedule. She and Sophie got to spend some time together on Thursday and on Friday, we met Aunt Martha and Uncle Phil (Paula's brother) at the park. Uncle Phil surprised Sophie with a cute little Minnie Mouse doll and a Minnie Mouse mouseketeer hat (sp?). She was excited! She carries a Mickey Mouse doll around and usually calls him "Minnie". He brought them back from Disneyland for her. I'll try to get a decent picture of her with her Disney paraphenalia soon. Tonight she was pulling Minnie Mouse around in her little wagon and calling her "sweetheart". It was too precious!!

The weather has been much nicer this week and it has actually felt fall. The downside to that is we've all been struggling with allergies. Sophie was coughing really bad for a few days due to allergies but now she's feeling better. Today, we got to see Sophie's cousin, Luke, and his parents since they were in town for the weekend from KY.

Decorating Pumpkins

Sophie supervises as Daddy punches holes in the pumpkins

Sophie with her pumpkins-a "diva" and a pirate

One of the surprises that Paw-paw Tom & Mimi brought Sophie were some "Potato Head" style decorating kits for pumpkins-a "diva" and a pirate kit. So, on Sunday afternoon, among other household projects, we decorated pumpkins. Actually, Matt did all of the work while the rest of us girls mostly supervised. It was a very non-messy way to decorate a pumpkin. When it gets a little closer to time, maybe we'll have to show Sophie the way we grew up carving pumpkins. =) Sophie loves her Potato Head stuff so she liked helping her daddy decorate the pumpkins. We were also glad to get several projects completed around our house thanks to Matt's parents. Thank you so much for your help!!

Down at Gentry Farm

Paula, Sophie & Matt by the truck at Gentry Farm

Sophie playing with corn

On Friday afternoon, Paw-paw Tom & Mimi arrived from Virginia for a visit. It was really nice to spend the weekend with them. Saturday morning, we headed to Gentry Farm for our first visit. Sophie enjoyed seeing the farm animals, going on a hayride, playing in the kiddie area (they had a kiddie maze, slides, corn in troughs they could play with, etc), and picking out pumpkins. I just wish it had about 10-15 degrees cooler but it's a beautiful farm. As you can see, it has definitely become obvious that I'm pregnant (I'm about 24 weeks now).

Name that Tune!!!

For the answer, click here.

Did you guess this?

Zoo trip

Sophie running and jumping in one of the kids' play areas.

Matt and Sophie with an elephant

After a couple of months of being in Nashville, we followed up on our promise to take Sophie to the zoo. Nana was able to go along with us. The weather was great and we had a nice time. There was a big crowd there but it wasn't too bad. We bought an annual pass so we didn't feel pressured to try and see everything. Sophie has always loved seeing giraffes and she also got to see some farm animals. She said that her favorite thing though was the Gibbon monkeys that are really loud and were swinging around up in the trees. Sophie also had a blast in the kids play area.