Our Little Pumpkin

As the weather cools down and the leaves begin to change, we watch our little Sophia change just as much. She is now 6 months old and she continues to amaze us with her joy and that captivating smile! Well check this month went very well...Dr. Habel is stunned by what a strong girl we have. She can stand tall and very proud and has begun to sit all by herself. She weighs 16 pounds and 4 ounces and getting taller every day, measuring 26 1/4 inches long. I look at this little face and just can't believe that the days can go by so quickly...and then the months...and before I know it we will be watching her walk and then go to school and in just a blink graduating from college. The gift this little girl brings is so amazing, I can't believe how God has blessed our lives.

We welcome Sophia's first Fall season with open arms, enjoying trying lots of new foods including Mommy's homemade sweet potatoes, honey crisp apples and carrots. We aren't so sure if our little Princess will like honey crisp apples as much as we do or did we know how tight her little mouth can clamp shut when there are carrots on the spoon.

But what we do know is that this girl likes sweet potatoes. I'm a little partial to think that it's just because Mommy made them, but I made the apples too and she's not much of a fan. We will keep trying new things to discover our favorite tastes, but for now I guess sweet potatoes will do!

To appropriately bring in the fall season, we put Sophia in the cutest outfit we had and went off in search of a pumpkin patch. Let's make a long story short...70 minutes and a full tank of gas later, we arrived at a "produce stand," a little farther away from home than planned, which just had a few bails of hay and a pile of pumpkins. It wasn't really the adorable pumpkin patch environment I was hoping for, but by this time, we figured we'd be better off to make the best of it.

We got some great pictures and had a wonderful day enjoying Miss Sophia, despite the change in directions and near empty gas tank experience.

Sophia seemed to enjoy herself too, except for these round orange things we kept posing her by...she was not so sure these looked safe!

And along with pumpkin patches, who can forget Trick or Treat! We continued to enjoy the spirit of the holiday by carving pumpkins and trick or treating with some adorable little friends.

A # 1 carved in Sophia's pumpkin, symbolizing her 1st Halloween!

The days were filled with hot apple cider, pumpkin seeds, and lots of fellowship and laughter with our favorite friends...The Miranda's!! They graciously opened their home to a pumpkin carving mess and hosted the most fun Halloween party after canvassing the neighborhood for candy! We dressed Sophia in a pink piggie costume that she seemed to love, then wrapped up the night in PJ's for a dance party with CJ, Meg, Cole, Cooper and neighbor friends Sofia and Marisa!

So, as the days of October pass by, we will try to remember to be present in the moments of today and simply basque in the happiness of this joyful little girl!

Look What I can Do?

So, 5 months have come and gone, and Dan and I are beginning to realize how quickly Sophia is growing.  I hate to say it...but she is officially a big girl.  I know I've said before that she is learning and discovering new things each day, but it is so true!  She is now content to play by herself with all of her new toys.  She loves the Jumperoo...she is just beginning to learn to jump in it. 

Tummy time is getting easier too and she absolutely loves to stand. We are simply amazed by how strong she is getting.  She loves to be up and looking all around us, soaking it all in.  It's like she's analyzing every little piece of her surroundings and she can certainly recognize her Mommy and Daddy! 


And Mommy finally caved in and agreed to try cereal.  The first night, Sophia didn't know what to do with this new textured stuff and kept spitting it out.

The second try went a little better but still...she's not so sure about this.

Third try's a charm right?!  Well, we tried...but I'm not so sure we've got the charm of cereal yet!  I guess we will keep trying and keep amazed at the new discoveries of this little princess!

He's got the whole world in His hands.

This is a very special day in Miss Sophia's life.  We have chosen to have her dedicated at our church, Montgomery Community Church.  To dedicate Sophia, means that as parents, Dan and I dedicate that we will teach Sophia about Jesus.  Because she is too little to have her own faith yet, we dedicate her and promise to raise  her in a Christ-like way, so that one day, when she is old enough, she can choose to accept Jesus into her heart and become a Christian! 

Pastor Tom Lipsey dedicating Sophia.

Our niece Megan has recently done so... and she has newly discovered that asking Jesus to be in her heart means that she's a "Christian," and oh how proud she is of this fact!  I look at Megan and see a beautiful little girl who loves Jesus with ALL of her heart, with such an innocent and undoubting faith.  It reminds me that we all should live our lives with this type of faith.  And it is, absolutely, the way that I want Sophia to grow up... to know and love the Lord every day, with all that she is.  So thank you Megan, for being such a great big cousin and role model for Sophia to look up to one day!

Here are a few pictures from the special occasion!

Prayers for our family!

Sophia's Dedication Day
September 18, 2011

The day was filled with joy as most of Sophia's family traveled to watch us take this big step as a family.  Mamaw and Papaw Best came and brought special sugar cookies for the occasion. 

And Grandpa and Grandma Young were there with perfect cupcakes to finish off the event. 

Uncle Matt, Aunt Shell and the kiddos wouldn't have missed this special day, as well as Uncle Lee and Aunt Bonnie. 

Aunt Gigi and Mindy made the long trip to join us at church.  Uncle Jim, Aunt Morgan and Airiana also made the early trip to help us celebrate. 

My cousin, Ellice joined us for this special day and our friend Marisa took time out of her day to help us enjoy this memorable milestone.

 We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family, church family and friends to help support us as we raise Sophia.  As Pastor Tom said...we will definitely need help!  Thank you so much to all of our friends and family who joined us.  We are so grateful for your presence and support.  I am just so blown away by how wonderful it is to be a parent and to have this most precious gift.  Sophia has most definitely changed our lives and I am so excited to share in so many new adventures with our beautiful baby girl!