Happy Birthday to Me!

I don't have any pictures for this post, but I must share. My dad came out to Minnesota to celebrate Sophie's birthday, my birthday and Father's Day. He was here for nine days and we thoroughly enjoyed having him here with us. I know Sophie loved having him here and he loved being able to spend so much time with Sophie. Unfortunately I had to work three times while he was here. One of the x-ray techs at work decided to quit suddenly and I'm the back up, so of course this all happened the week that my dad was in town. I wasn't too happy about it, but what could I do. I worked Monday, Wednesday afternoon and Friday afternoon which made the week even busier than we'd planned. We celebrated Sophie's birthday on the 15th and then we had a party for her with friends on the 16th. Anyway, the week was very busy, but very fun. By the time we got to my birthday, I was worn out.

My dad got up with Sophie the morning of my birthday, so that I could go for a walk by myself. I've been trying to exercise 6 days a week and most days I end up going for a walk/jog. However, with Jon not feeling well, I usually end up taking Sophie with me. I don't mind it really, it's fun to have her with me, but last week I took her with me everyday but one. By Friday, she was getting tired of our walks. About half way through, she'd start to fuss and get fidgety. So, my dad offered to get up with Sophie so that I could go by myself and enjoy some alone time. It was perfect although it was extremely humid.

After I got back from my walk, I changed clothes and we went to breakfast at ToKen BBQ. I know that sounds weird, but don't worry I didn't have BBQ for breakfast. Tony, a guy in our ward owns the restaurant and though I like the BBQ, I love his breakfast food. Jon invited some of our friends to join us, but everyone was busy that morning. About five minutes after we got to Tony's the Andersons showed up. I was so surprised and excited to see them. It was fun to have them come and join us for breakfast. Thanks Andersons!

By the time we got home, I was full and exhausted. The busy week had finally caught up to me and I was so tired. We put Sophie down for her nap, but she didn't seem to interested in sleeping. Jon brought her downstairs and she got to help me open my birthday presents. I got a Willow Tree figurine from Sophie of a mother sitting on a rock holding her baby. I love it! My parents gave me some boots for this winter and three shirts and a pair of capris. My dad did the clothes shopping and he did an excellent job. He sure has good taste in clothes! Jon gave me a movie and the best gift of all, a gift certificate for a day spa at Aveda Salon. I am so excited! All week I'd been complaining of my back hurting and now I get a one hour massage, a pedicure and manicure, a facial, makeup and hair styled plus lunch. I made my reservation for next Friday, July 1st and boy am I excited. I truly can't wait to be pampered. It's just what the doctor or the hubby ordered. Thanks babe for the wonderful gift. I'm sure I'll feel like a new woman afterwards and hopefully I'll have the energy to continue being a strength to you through this trial.

After opening gifts, I laid down and took a nap. Sophie still wasn't interested in taking a nap, but I got up and put her in bed and she cried for a few minutes and then she was out. It didn't take me too long to fall asleep either, I was exhausted. I got to sleep for two hours and when I woke up I felt so refreshed. Thanks for letting me get some sleep. I really wanted to go to the pool, but the weather just wasn't cooperating, so we ended up going to the pool at the YMCA. When we first put Sophie in the water, she got really scared and nervous. It took her a little while to warm up, but once she did she had a great time.

After swimming, we came home and I showered and relaxed while Dad and Jon fixed dinner. At my request we had marinated chicken, corn on the cob (my favorite) and cantaloupe, a real summer dinner. It was so good and not to difficult to fix. Jon surprised me with an Oreo cake from Coldstone. It was perfect and oh so yummy! After dinner, which we ate after Sophie went to bed, we played a couple of games. I wanted to do something other than sit in front of the TV, so we taught my dad some of our games, and I think he enjoyed them. If not, thanks for being willing to play.

I truly had the most wonderful birthday! All I wanted was to relax and enjoy the day, and that is exactly what I got to do. Thanks Jon and Dad for making my birthday such a special day.

It's a party!

I had to work the afternoon of Sophie's actual birthday, so we had a birthday party for her the next day. We invited some of Sophie's friends (Judsons, Jeffreys, Andersons and Stewarts) and we had a BBQ at Highland Park.

I had a hard time coming up with a theme, but we've been doing a lot with butterflies lately, because that is what Sophie's room has for decorations. I also had a hard time trying to decide if I wanted a cake or cupcakes and finally decided that cupcakes would be much easier. I wanted to make some really cute cupcakes, but the week turned out to be very busy since I had to work three of the five days, so we went simple. I found these cute scrapbooking butterflies and they worked perfectly. My dad made the frosting. It was a cream cheese/cool whip frosting and it tasted so yummy. Thanks Dad for all of your help. Jon had his second PET scan that afternoon, so my dad helped me get things ready for the party. Jon was a little radioactive for the party.

My cute little birthday girl. It is so hard to get a good picture of her these days, she just doesn't hold still. I just loved this dress on her!

I bought some balloons for the party and before I even got them home, two of the balloons popped. It was a hot day and the two balloons touched the sun roof which was extremely hot and they popped instantly. Once I figured out what was causing them to pop, I closed the cover over the sun roof so that the rest of them wouldn't pop before I even got them home.

Sophie absolutely loves to swing. Grandpa pushed Sophie in the swing for awhile and then I noticed that he was sitting on the grass, so I went over to take a turn. The swings were in the sun, so grandpa and I took turns pushing Sophie while the other stood in the shade attempting to cool off. It didn't really work, but at least we weren't in the blazing sun.

Here is a picture of my "happy" birthday girl. For some reason she did not want to sit on the blanket with her friends, so she screamed for every picture. From left to right Wren Stewart, Elsie Anderson, Amelia Judson and Sophie. She looks the "happiest" in this picture, if you don't believe me check out the next picture.

It's her party and she can cry if she wants to, and she did.

Sophie got lots of books from her friends. I was so excited to see this book, because we also had that book when I was growing up. We actually two versions, one in English and one in Spanish. I'm excited to read it to Sophie!

Emma Jeffrey was so sweet, she made Sophie a mini blanket and an apron.

Opening more gifts. She loves the gift the Jeffreys gave her, which was a music box of sorts and it has a little giraffe in the center that spins around. Grandpa got sick of the song after the first two times he heard it. Sophie loves to listen to the music and dance. I don't mind the music too much, but if it starts to get on my nerves, I take it upstairs to Sophie's room so she can only play with it when she's in her room. You've got to love noisy toys!

I love these pictures! Elsie was truly enjoying her cupcake.

And she has the mustache to prove it.

We had a fun time, even though Sophie was a little emotional. Thanks to our friends for coming and helping us celebrate Sophie's first birthday, and for the fun gifts. We missed not having other family with us, but we have amazing friends and it was so good to be able to share Sophie's special day with them.

Happy Birthday Sophie!

I can't believe my baby girl is one. This past year has flown by so quickly. I've really been missing my little baby, but truly enjoying my little toddler. She is so much fun and she makes me laugh every day. She has such a fun personality and she truly makes my life so happy. I couldn't imagine my life without my little Sophie. Happy Birthday baby girl!

Some cute pictures that grandpa took of Sophie while she was still in her pjs. I just love the chubby thighs!

Grandpa Reed and Daddy took Sophie to the park while I was at work. Sophie loves the slide and swings. She got to swing with daddy and grandpa.

My cute birthday girl!

I love the cheesy grin! Grandpa Reed gave Sophie her very own camping chair. She loved it! However, I put her in the chair the next day and she tried to get out and fell on her face with the chair landing on top of her. Ever since then, she hasn't liked her chair as much. I'm sure she'll learn to love it again.

Uncle Nick and Aunt Ashley gave Sophie her own watering can, shovel and rake, so now she can help mommy with the gardening.

Two new outifts from mommy and daddy. They were on sale at Gymboree and I just couldn't pass them up. They will be perfect for this fall.

Playing with her little farm that the Camps gave her. The barn is soft and has four animals inside; a cow, a duck, a pig and a rooster. All four animals have a button that you can push and they make a sound. Sophie loves the duck!

Grandpa and Grandma Reed gave Sophie a pail with a shovel and she absolutely loved it. She stood up and swung her bucket around while trying to sing. What a funny girl!

Sophie with her bucket.

Cute birthday girl with all of her fun toys. She got some tub toys and a one piece summer outfit from Uncle Nick and Aunt Ashley along with a pink hat with brown flowers from her cousin Avery. The hat was Avery's when she was younger and she wanted Sophie to have it. Thanks Avery! She also got some alphabet blocks and a board book from Uncle Scott and Aunt Nicole. From Grandma and Grandpa Reed she got the pail and shovel, a butterfly pillow pet, her camping chair and watering can and tools. We got her the two dresses with sweaters, sidewalk chalk, a big bag of Mega Bloks, a beach towel and some splash balls for the pool and of course two pairs of shoes. What a spoiled little girl!

Grandpa Reed knows how to decorate cakes, so I asked him if he would decorate a mini cake for Sophie. I have a mini bundt cake pan, so we decided to make Sophie a doll cake. It was so warm in the house when my dad decorated the cake, that the frosting melted a little, but Sophie didn't seem to care. I thought the cake turned out so cute! Thanks Dad for decorating the cake.

Sophie getting so excited to eat her cake.

She didn't quite know what to do at first. In fact, she just played with the dolls hair. Jon cut a piece off the cake and gave Sophie a taste. Once she realized it was yummy and she could eat it, she dug right in. I think she ate more frosting than cake.

Oh so yummy!

She dug her fingers into the frosting several times and she'd eat a handful of frosting. Yum! She sure had fun!

You know it was good if it's all down the tummy and on the diaper. It was definitely time for a bath after that birthday cake.

Sophie had a fun first birthday. It was a busy day, but I think she really enjoyed it.

Sophie's New Room

Last year when we found out that we were getting a baby, we bought the furniture for the nursery, painted the walls green and bought Sophie's bedding for her crib. Until last month, that was all that we had done in her room. Finally we had the funds and time to decorate Sophie's room, so here it is.

I've wanted to make a board for all of Sophie's flowers and bows, but never took the time to do it. I wasn't quite sure how to make one, so I found some instructions online and I bought the supplies. It wasn't too difficult, but I did end up burning my finger and it wouldn't stop burning. I was quite pleased with how it all turned out. Thanks Amber for the idea and for calling to help me out.

I ordered several purple butterflies and they are really cute. We never used the quilt for Sophie's crib, so we decided to hang it up. It really adds a lot to the room. The picture frame next to the quilt has a picture of Jon kissing Sophie, Jon and I kissing holding Sophie between us and then a picture of me kissing Sophie. We had the pictures taken last summer when we were in Utah, Sophie was only 6 weeks old. I'm glad we were finally able to hang up some of the cute pictures that we've had taken.

You can kind of see the pictures in the picture.

A friend of ours gave Sophie the big S that is hanging in her room, but it was covered in pink paper. I took the paper off and recovered it with some cute scrapbooking paper that is purple and green and has butterflies. My cute Sophie is playing with her toys.

More photos and butterflies. Our friend Wes, took pictures of Sophie in January. I really wanted some of the pictures in Sophie's room and they look amazing.

Here's my Sophie wall. I love it, and so does Sophie. When we get Sophie up in the morning, she points at her pictures and gets really excited. She loves to look at her pictures. She points at the butterflies too, especially the one hanging from her light.

Sophie's swing that she never really liked. We don't have anywhere to store it and it takes up space in her room, so we'll leave it for now.

You Are My Sunshine

The sun has finally decided to shine. Last Friday and Saturday, we had two of the most wonderful days. Jon has been feeling more like himself and the weather was beautiful, so we spent a lot of time outside. Friday we went to the park and Sophie got to swing. She loves the swings! I tried the slide, but she wasn't too keen on that. After the park, we went to the Parker's for dinner. Sophie had so much fun playing at the Parker's she didn't end up going to bed until 9:oo.

Saturday was another fun filled day. I went shopping with my mom for mother's day gifts, and then we spent the afternoon outside. We went for a walk and then played at the park again. When we got home, the guy who plows our street had come to mow, rake, aerate and fertilize the lawn. Our lawn is horrible, most of the time it is a beautiful dandelion patch. I hate it! It isn't soft, it's half weeds and half dead. Anyway, we thought this might help get our lawn in better shape. While he was outside working, Sophie and I went out to enjoy the beautiful day. We went over to the neighbors to pet the dogs. Sophie loves dogs! After playing with the dogs, I pushed Sophie on her beep, beep. I tried to get her to push it, but she wanted to ride it instead. I need to get a stick that I can push it with, so that I don't have to bend over. My back doesn't like it when I push Sophie on her beep, beep. When it was time to bring Sophie in for dinner, a bath and bed, she cried. She just loves being outside and she hates to come in. She went to bed at 7:00 and then Mom, Jon and I enjoyed a nice BBQ outside on our driveway. The neighbors were all out playing and doing yard work, it felt like summer. I was truly in heaven. The best part about it was that there were no bugs. There are way too many bugs here and I hate them all.

I have felt so happy the past couple of days. Jon has been feeling well and the weather has been beautiful. We've had a lot of fun spending time as a family, which has been wonderful. I'm so grateful that Jon has been doing so well. I pray every night, that he won't get too sick. We are truly being blessed and it has been such a blessing to have my mom here with us. I love her company and she has been a great help with Sophie and with cooking and cleaning. I'm going to miss her when she leaves, she's been my moral support through all of this. We are going to enjoy every day that Jon feels well and just enjoy being together as a family. I can't wait until the pool opens, so that we can spend some time at the pool. I just know Sophie is going to love the pool, and I could use a little color.

Here are some cute pictures of Sophie in two of her new summer outfits from grandma Rosa.

My big girl!

Riding her beep, beep.

Going for a walk with grandma.

She walked and walked and walked

My baby girl is walking. She took her first steps on her own, on Sunday, May 1st. We were in Relief Society, and she was getting a little vocal, so I took her out in the hall. Once she quieted down, we walked back in to the Relief Society room. I held out my hand, so that Sophie would walk to my mom and take her hand, but instead she let go of my hand and kept walking. I was so excited and surprised. I wanted to scream with excitement, but we were in the middle of the lesson. I looked at my mom and she smiled with excitement too. Unfortunately, because it happened during Relief Society Jon missed seeing his baby walk for the first time. When we got home, Sophie walked from Jon to me. The first couple of days, she would only walk from one person to another, but now she'll let go of the furniture and walk on her own. She amazes me with how quickly she learns new things. Once she tries something for the first time, it doesn't take long for her to become a pro.

She balances with her hands up in the air. I love it!

My big girl! Walking from Daddy to Grandma.

Happy Mother's Day

My mom has been here for the past three weeks helping us while Jon starts his chemotherapy treatments. I had the privilege of celebrating my very first Mother's Day with my own mom. It was such a special day. Jon got up with Sophie, so that Mom and I could sleep in, although Sophie gave me a great gift and she slept until 7:20. Jon bought Mom and I a corsage to wear at church, and he fixed a delicious dinner. He made pork chops with rice and salad, and we had banana cream pie for dessert. He also kept Sophie with him during Sunday School and Relief Society, so that Mom and I could enjoy the lessons. We had such a wonderful day, and I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be a mother and to celebrate my very first mother's day. Thank you Jon, for giving me such a wonderful day! I love being a mother, and this past year has been the best one yet. I look forward to many more days as a mother. Thanks Sophie for being my baby girl. I love you!

Mom and I with our beautiful flowers. I was worried that Sophie would try and play with the flowers. She didn't, but she managed to hit it every time I held her. After sacrament meeting a small piece of my flower fell off. Oh well, it still looked pretty.

My sister Nicole made a special card for me from Sophie. It was so cute! Thanks Nicole for the fun card.

Even though I was the one who was supposed to give gifts to my mom, she ended up giving me gifts. She bought me pair of black leggings, a shirt, a bracelet and a new purse. Thanks Mom for the wonderful gifts, you spoiled me. Jon bought me a new dress, but I need to buy a white shrug to go with it. I truly was spoiled!

Sophie helping me open my gifts.

Mom opening the gift I gave her. My brother Nick and I went in on a gift and got mom a new skirt and blouse.