So, yeah.

I did a horrible job of updating this summer.  It was (is, really) amazing how fast it went by.  Trying to keep the house running and taking care of toddler on my own really ate up my time.  The last thing I wanted to do in my free time was sit and write a blog post.  Let's see if I can recap (of course most of it has to do with the bebe).

Sofia:

• She is using "dada" regularly and with purpose.  
• She can also say "shoes" "Bandit" and "mama" but doesn't use them very often or with purpose, yet.
• We are back in our cloth diapers... now to get the hubs back on board.
• She can walk... fast.  As well as go up and down *a* step and as of late, she can walk backwards.
• She can (correctly) point to her nose, ears, head, lips, and belly.  But she prefers to point to those things on my or the hubs' body.
• She loves to watch Elmo and Curious George.
• She knows how to say the sound of the letter A, B, C, D, F, G, H, K, M, R, S, and T.  Thank you Letter Factory, by Leap Frog.
• She loves to point at things so that we can say the name
• Her favorite foods are: broccoli, mushrooms, avocado, pasta, ground turkey, tortillas, raspberries, strawberries, bananas, peaches, pancakes, and milk (soy)
• She is still allergic/sensitive to milk so she doesn't get much cheese or yogurt, but she drinks soy milk like no tomorrow.
• She still loves water, especially ice water.

Me:

• Still trying to lose the last 5 pounds of baby weight.  
• Started running/walking every morning... hopefully I can keep that up once work starts
• I was able to craft a lot this summer (pictures to come in another post for another day), but unfortunately/fortunately it wasn't for personal projects.
• With my birthday money I was able to do a much needed update to my wardrobe.
• I've decided to grow my hair out, I miss being able to *do* stuff with it.

That's about all I got.  Really interesting, I know.

Meet my arch nemisis

Petroleum Jelly.

After cleaning up a particularly explosive diaper.  I went to run a bath for Sofia (and change over the laundry to the dryer).  As I'm in wash room changing over said laundry.  I get this feeling that she's being mischievous and getting into things the shouldn't.  This is, after all, her favorite thing to do right now.  ESPECIALLY in the bathroom.

I quickly shut the dryer door and went to check on her.  When I get around the corner, I see her in her normal spot with her hand in her basket of bath stuff (diaper cream, brush, etc).  As I get closer I realize she has opened the jar of petroleum jelly and submerged her entire hand inside of it (I guess this will be a good sensory object to use with her some day).  I had to pull it out rather forcefully as it gave a "shhhlup-pop" sound. 

I promptly picked her up (no time for pictures, sorry) and took her over to the sink.  Thinking, naively, that I would be able to get it off with water.  At this point I thought, "uh, DUH!  You use this at night to keep the moisture off her bum.  Why would it come of with just water?"  Oh yeah.  So I grab the almost empty bottle of soap EMPTY bottle of soap.  So I did all that was left and used our hand towel to scrub it off her hand. 

I *really* hope that it comes out of that towel.  And the petroleum jelly will now be locked up in a toddler proof place.

Adventures at the sprinkler park

We visited a nearby sprinkler park for the second time the other day.  Sofia had a blast.  She enjoyed it the first time, but this time she seems much more comfortable.  She was wiggling and happy screaming the moment I opened the car door and she heard the kids playing.  Once I got her situated it was all I could do to get her coverup off before she got into the water.  Made me glad that I put sunblock on her at the house.

I brought along some snacks and a PB&J.  I mean, what's better than a good ol' PB&J after being in the water?!

Here are a few pictures...

Cute craft for Sofia

I'm making that Sofia... today.  Find the tutorial, here.

I found a cute frame at hobby lobby for 1/2 off and I had left over spray paint from an earlier project I did for her room.  I had to buy the wire fencing, but I think I'll use it make one for my niece as well.  I love being crafty!

**UPDATE**
I finished this tonight, woohoo!  I also made one for my niece.

Sofia's bow holder.  I spray painted this one "raspberry" and used a cream satin ribbon for hanging.

 This one is for my niece.  Her nursery is light pink, green, and brown.  So I made painted the frame pink and used a brown satin ribbon for hanging.

I think both of them turned out pretty well. 

Now I just need to learn how to sew!!

Happy crafting! :)

Sofia's 1st Birthday Party

 Sofia's party was great!  All the little things came together and there were tons of family and friends in attendance.  Here are a few pictures from the day, mostly of the decorations.  Thanks Sara for taking the time to take pictures!

Bluebonnets and Buttercups

that's what little girls are made of.

I was super excited to finally get Sofia out to take pictures in the gorgeous Texas Bluebonnets.  As I was scouting out the perfect spot I found this little gem, on my way to work on morning.  It's only about 5 miles away from my house...

It wasn't a huge patch, but just enough of a patch for us to get some great pictures.

Then, about 1/4 of a mile down the road I ran into this pink perfection!

I think I am in love.  I've always loved buttercups, but I mean... my daughter, in a field of buttercups.  Couldn't.be.cuter.  Seriously.

Let's see

What have we been up to lately, you ask?

1.  Well, we took our first trip to the park a few weekends ago.  Sofia *really* enjoyed the swings!

 

2.  I bought a new camera, see post below

3.  I've been drooling over some etsy stuff for my camera.  The grey and yellow strap is etsy seller: MelVDesigns, the lens cap holder is seller: CraftStaci and the lens bag is seller: TracyJoy.  I wish I could get them all from the same seller so they would match, but unfortunately they don't all make those items, nor do they have the same fabrics.

 

 4.  I woke up at 6am this morning realizing I need to get to work on the finishing touches/plans for Sofia's birthday.  Invitations need to be ordered.  I've got to figure out where I want to have it and what activities there will be for the kids.  Gotta buy her outfit.  I also wanted to do a test run of the cupcakes and "smash" cake I'll be making for her birthday.

5.  Sofia turned 10 months old on March 25.  The pictures are currently in my camera.  I'll post an update soon.

Day 16-22, 365 days of photography

 Day 16, January 16, 2011
One of MANY things I bought from etsy seller: babyfables. She has some CUTE stuff! Visit her etsy store at, http://www.babyfables.etsy.com/

I bought this iron on transfer for Sofia's 1st birthday. She even customized it in the colors I plan to use for the party!

Day 17, January 17, 2011
Sofia and I enjoyed the sunshine and spent a little time outside.  It was a little chilly, but she liked being pushed around in her car.

Day 18, January 18, 2011
I spent the morning organizing all of my scores.  I used to have them in a binder, but I was collecting too many scores and would soon need more than the two I was currently using.  Now I can have them all in one place *and* more organized.

Day 19, January 19, 2011
nothing to see here... move along, move along!


Day 20, January 20, 2011
Today our heat went out.  It was 68 degrees inside when I got home.  And it quickly feel to 64 once the sun went down.  By the time I woke up on Friday morning for work it was 57!  We had to place a small space heater in Sofia's room and bundle up in ours.  I even lit a fire for the first time since we moved here.  It was really nice!  I wish I had taken a picture of the actual fire, but the aftermath is going to have to do.

Day 21, January 21, 2011
The awesome librarian at our school placed this book in my box today.  She's great!

Day 22, January 22, 2011
Our cloth diaper stash!  We're up to 22, and yes, they're in rainbow order. ROY G BIV, my science teachers would be proud!

Day 10-15, 365 days of photography

Wow, I'm way behind...  I guess I forgot to update 10 and 11 when I updated on facebook


Day 10, January 10, 2011
It's cold one here!

 

Day 11, January 11, 2011

Finally finished this movie.  It was cute, but I was wishing they had finished the last scene with out the "break down" (sorry that's it's flipped, I couldn't figure out how to turn it)

 

Day 12, January 12, 2011

This one seems a little weird, but I think it's pretty cool. it's a trash bag, full of trash... Why? Because today was trash day and we only had ONE bag of trash to put out on the curb. Strangely, that's exciting for me. We just recently began using cloth almost exclusively and I think it's really cut back on our trash output. And the stink output (since the poo is flushed down the toilet rather than left in the trash can).

 

Day 13, January 13, 2011

  She's completely holding her own bottle now! In fact, she nearly rips it out of my hands to get it to her mouth ASAP.  Ugh, she's getting too big too fast!

 

Day 14, January 14, 2011

This is the new way that Sofia has begun welcoming us when we go in to get her. This also signifies the retirement of the mobile. We had to take it down so that she wouldn't pull on it any more.

 

Day 15, January 15, 2011

horrible, horrible picture.

I finally got a chance to sit down and pretty much finish her birthday banner. All that's left for this project is to string it with ribbon.