Our Big Boy

I don't know who taught him this...

And Sophs doing her chores in her "working clothes,"

an ensemble she came up with on her own.

The Many Sides of Sophia Rose

Ariel

Dora

Plain Silly

In her own words - "Wicked Stepsister"

Also in her own words - "Sweet and Kind"

A Busy Father's Day Weekend

We decided to spend Father's Day weekend at Ocean Shores this year. We left last Friday after Kyle got home from a long day at work and arrived around 7:00. It was so beautiful, but pretty cold and very windy.

Sophia is posing as Ariel on her "rock" in the condo.

Joe and Janice decided to join us and drove out really late. They arrived a little before midnight. The next morning we had breakfast and then headed out for some time on the beach.

Don and Deniece and Kora joined us for our second night. It was nice and relaxing. Sophia was able to do the bumper cars and go-karts for the first time. She loved it. On the way home we stopped in to visit my dad. Grandma Karen got Angel the donkey out for a little ride.

Then we stopped by our house and unloaded the car and pretty much reloaded and headed up to Kyle's parents' in Olympia for a yummy seafood dinner. Kyle's Grandpa Dick was also there.

It was a fun weekend, but it always feels nice to come home. We weren't home for long, though. We got home around 10:00 Sunday night, and got up first thing Monday morning to head up North to Bremerton to my Grandma Rotter's memorial service. Needless to say, by the time we arrived home Monday evening we were all sick of being in the car. The kids were great all the way to and from the beach and to and from Bremerton, but I made a point to stay home all day Tuesday and not go anywhere!

Griffin's 2 Month Birthday

This pic was on June 7th

Happy 2 Months, Baby Boy!!

Cheers!

Sometimes we need to remember to celebrate the little things in life. Things like when both kids take a 2 hour + nap at the same time - TWICE in a week! Or things like being able to enjoy the glass of wine you'd craved for 10 months.

5 Years!

Kyle and I celebrated our 5th anniversary on June 5th. Time really does go by so quickly. We left Sophia and Griffin (for the 1st time) with Grandma Deniece and went to dinner. We didn't want to go too far since my little guy likes to nurse so often, and we were in the mood for Mexican so we ended up at El Serape on Martin Way. We sat in the bar since we had no kiddies. The food was pretty good. We played our song (Fools Rush In by Elvis) on the juke box and I made Kyle dance with me. There was a really nice older couple at the bar that bought us a round of drinks (well 2 for Kyle actually) and he played us some other songs, including Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me by Mel Carter which is one of my favorite oldies that I hadn't heard in forever. He also played a country song for us by Josh Turner - I think it's I'm so Lucky to be Your Man, or something. I really like that one too. The bar tender also treated us with dessert on the house. It was a nice evening spent with my husband. :o)

And one day I'll look like this again... Ha!

Happy 3rd Birthday to Our Pretty Girl

Well, I just got tears in my eyes even just thinking about what to type... So maybe I'll keep it simple. SHE'S THREE! I can't believe it. Her birthday is May 29th, which fell on Friday this year. Just our little family went and celebrated with dinner at Anthony's Hearthfire Grill. We really like it there, and Sophia likes the big windows. After dinner we went out on the rocky beach and let Sophia open a gift. New "glass" slippers!

She's so into princesses right now. We did a Cinderella party on Saturday complete with a castle cake. We kept the party small this year with just family, but that's really not that small at all! It was a beautiful, hot day. We put everyone to work building Sophia's new stuff. It was fun. Thank you to Kim & Deniece for getting the playhouse together, and Nick & Kora for getting the little gazebo thing up. I really do appreciate it, and so does Kyle!

A Real Pony!

So I'm a little behind - sorry! Lauren had her 4th birthday on May 17th. She was lucky enough to be surprised with a pony at her party. All the kids took turns having rides - but Lauren loved it the most. She even rode all by herself without anyone leading! Sophia was just like me - nervous. She enjoyed it - but she's definitely not as daring as her cousin Lauren!

Griffin at 5 Weeks

Griffin is starting to smile and talk to us. It's so exciting. He really doesn't look much like Sophia did. I think he may resemble my side of the family a little more. Here's a picture of me I found.

So True

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers I know. I'm positive you all feel the same as I do about this poem. It is all absolutely true and makes me cry every year when someone e-mails it to me.

Before I was a Mom,

I never tripped over toys

or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind

and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth,

the joy,

the love,

the heartache,

the wonderment

or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,

before I was a Mom.

A Blessed Baby

Griffin was baptized this Sunday at St. Joseph's. Auntie Kora is his Godmother. It was a beautiful day and a nice ceremony. We all celebrated afterwards at our house. Thank you to everyone who attended for making it such a special day for us, and for all the thoughtful gifts and cards. And thank you to Kora for playing this special role in our son's life. We love you!

Happy Birthday, Daddy-O

Happy Birthday to such a great person, Daddy-O!

(Sophia's new term of endearment for him)