Half-way??!!

I have to take some time out from all of this construction blogging to document the half-way mark of our baby girl growing up. Ever since my girlfriend Bethany told me how she was sad on her daughter Eden's 9th birthday because she was half-way done raising her, I had kind of been dreading this day. Of course, I do want Sophia to grow and flourish at a natural rate. Yet, it is hard to accept how fast it is flying by! I know it is so cliche to say this, but it seems like just yesterday that we were celebrating her first birthday!

(she was a very serious birthday girl!)

I have always loved celebrating Sophia on her special day and here are pics of her from over the years...

2 years old

3 years old

4 years old

5 years old

6 years old (not from her party but a couple weeks later)

7 years old

8 years old

9 years old

What a beautiful girl we have been blessed with! Everyone who knows Sophia knows what a delight she is to be around. I am looking forward to the next 9 years (and perhaps beyond) of having her in our home. And I know that when she does leave, it won't be the end, but just a new chapter in our relationship.

I love you Sophia Elle!

Breaking Free!

Jon and I decided that it would be fun to show up at the kids' school and break them out for a day! It was right before Thanksgiving and we both had off work but they still had school. We sent them to school as usual and about an hour later, I went to get Anthony. I didn't tell him that Jon was going to get Sophia - I just had him called to the office and told him that I was there to take him on a date! A few minutes after we left the school property, Jon showed up to bust Sophia out! He did not tell Sophia that I had already gotten Anthony.

It was a blast! Such a fun time of connecting with them 1-on-1!

I took Anthony to our favorite little breakfast place in town and then we went to see "Megamind" in the theater. He was so funny because he kept saying, "Mom, do you think Sophia is still in school now?" I love this little boy so much and I just had the best time talking to him and spending time alone with him!

Jon took Sophia shopping at "5 Below" just to kill some time while we finished up at the restaurant because he wanted to take her to the same place. I texted him when we were leaving and they showed up a few minutes later. It was fun because we are such regular customers of this place and know all of the waitstaff and they helped us keep the secret. Then Jon took Sophia hiking in a park - it was a beautiful warm winter day and they had so much fun together!


When we all got home, Sophia & Anthony were so excited to tell each other about their day - - and then discovered that the other one did sort of the same thing. It was so cute because they were so excited for each other and were not at all jealous about what the other one did. We heard them talking about it and when Sophia discovered that we had gone to the same restaurant but at different times, she said, "see Anthony, we're connecting the dots!".

What great kids we have! We think this is going to have to become an annual tradition - - next time I will be with Sophia and Jon will be with Anthony.

First Day of School 2010

I love to capture the 1st day of school in pictures! I always have the kids stand at the same spot so I can see how much they grow from year to year.

2006 - Sophia heading to Pre-K:

2007 - Sophia going to all day Kindergarten - this was a rough day (actually couple of weeks!) for Jon!

2008 - Anthony starting his school career - 4K!

and big sister starting 1st grade!

2009 - milestone year - both kids in all-day school - this was a hard day for me! Anthony in kindergarten, Sophia in 2nd grade

2010 - we're all old pros at this by now! This was the first year that I didn't even take them to school on the 1st day! Anthony in 1st grade, Sophia in 3rd grade.

Sophia's Baptism

Sunday, June 27, 2010 was a special day! Sophia decided that she wanted to get baptized. It has been such a joy to witness her child-like faith and watch it grow over the past couple of years. I had the privlige of helping baptize her, along with our pastor, Bruce.

Grammy & Pop Pop were there! (and Uncle Joel, Aunt Shan, Georgia & Gordy but we didn't get a picture with them)

Sophia with her friend Ella

Diving Board!

Anthony just started going off the diving board! So cute!!!

Sophia's an old pro!

SOPHIA!

We celebrated Sophia's 8th Birthday last Sunday! She decided she wanted to have a "Taylor Swift" theme - - my response was, "you know this is just a family birthday party, right?" and then to myself, "how am I going to do this theme since there is no pre-packaged merchandise out there?!" So, we got creative and had some fun with it!

Thanks to our friend Tim, we had a customized birthday poster!

Cousins Georgia & Lily - it's great to have built-in friends in the family! :-)

Next year, little Wil will be at the kids table with them!

what a cutie Wil is - he changes so much every time we see him!

special birthday present from Daddy - he built her this picnic table for her American Girl dolls

I gave Sophia an ipod shuffle loaded with positive songs!

sewing machine & supplies from Grammy!

We now have an 8 year old! What?!!! That just seems so old!

Sophia is such an amazing little girl. I know I might be somewhat biased, but she truly is incredible. I have loved watching her come into her own this year - she has really developed some interests and talents. I don't want to forget about them, so please excuse me if this seems like a brag-fest...

She is a GREAT knitter! Her Grammy has taught her how to knit and it is incredible how good she is at it - she gave me a scarf that she has been working on for almost a year - she was so proud of her work and she should be! She has also begun to take an interest in sewing and that is another thing her Grammy is going to teach her. I told her that she needs to learn since I never did and then she can mend all of my stuff :-)

She has taken an interest in art and is really getting good at it! She just finished a 12-week art class and learned all about artists such as Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, Cezanne and practiced painting in all of those styles. Here is her Cezanne-like work! I will definitely be framing this one.

She is absolutely crazy about music - she can hear a song 1 time and have it mostly memorized (takes after her Aunt Darla in that way!). That is why I've been taking some time to research some positive songs for girls. My favorite one that I found is by India Arie and it's called "Beautiful Flower"

Sophia loves to play school and says she wants to be a teacher when she grows up. She really likes to be in charge! She is a great big sister to Anthony and he is usually very happy to be her student. Sophia is also a fantastic reader - I am so happy that she loves to read so much - I look forward to the day when we can read the same books and discuss them - such a love of mine!

This year was also the first time Sophia and I had a mother-daughter shopping date! So much fun to just be with her one on one and shop and talk. We also went out to eat just the two of us and it was a great time of connecting - Jon and I really want to start doing more with the kids one on one.

I just love having a daughter so much! I am so thankful to God for blessing my life with Sophia - she truly is one of my favorite people to be with! Happy Birthday baby girl!

Crutches & Canes?

Due to Sophia's stint as Yoda, she became obsessed with her cane, from there it went to crutches...she started a craze in the neighborhood and now all of the girls have crutches (and Anthony has to get in on it too)...hey, hours of cheap entertainment!

Even the American girls have to get in on the action!
Oh and her obsession has extended to casts too....

Sophia's Birthday

Okay, so it's over a month ago, but I thought I would attempt to get caught up on my blog! Here are some pictures from Sophia's 7th birthday parties...yes, I said parties! I swore that this year we were just going to do a family event, but then I told Sophia she could invite a couple of friends to go to the movies....well, a couple of friends turned into a couple more...and then of course her brother had to come...and then he had to bring a friend! Anyway, I could NOT have pulled this off without the help of my good friend Tricia! Not only did she let me use her mini van to pick all the girls up, she also was a lifesaver when a couple of them had to go to the bathroom during the movie!!!





We went to see Monsters vs. Aliens (3D) - it was okay...the kids liked it, but it was not one of my favs.









In addition to going to the movie, Sophia had her special friend Lexie over for their first sleepover!



Then the next day, which also happened to be Easter, we had Jon's family over for dinner and a party. The cousins had a great time together! It's so much fun to watch them grow to be friends. Here are some of the favorite pics of that day.













It's so hard to believe that Sophia is already 7! She is a great girl and it's so much fun to watch her grow. This was the first birthday since Sophia's 3rd birthday that we did not have the Martys with us to celebrate - we missed you guys! Sophia was especially sad to not have Eden with her on her special day!

Happy Birthday to my baby girl!