Where has the time gone?

Has it really been this long since I've posted something? Seriously? I swear I blinked and Christmas came and went, heck the whole month of December came and is almost gone! It's been busy here at the Bell home. 

First off, Merry Christmas! We all had a wonderful Christmas. We stayed in Summerville and had my parents, my brother and sister-in-law in town. Sophie got a ton of cool toys and lots of clothes so she is one happy little girl. 

Let's see, what else happened this month? Oh yeah, I ran my half marathon 2 weeks ago. It ended up being cold and rainy (not ideal conditions at all) plus I had a cold but Pam and I did awesome, we finished in 2 hours and 9 minutes which is just below a 10 minute mile (which is exactly what we trained for). We ran the entire time so I feel pretty good about the race overall. I only wish the weather would have been better and that I didn't have a cold, I feel like I could have done a little bit better. But you know what? There is always next time and there WILL be a next time :) I'm hooked!

In other news, Sophie is 18 months old. She is 22 lbs 6 oz (23rd percentile) 32 inches long (57th percentile). She's doing great! She's saying more and more words and she's even saying a ton of stuff that we just don't understand but it's so cute to hear her jabber.

I have more pictures to post of Christmas but I haven't downloaded from from my camera yet so stay tuned. I'll try to get those on here before the end of the year!

My Little Fall Fairy

Just wanted to share a quick picture of my adorable little fairy (minus her headband, of course). My mother in law took the picture and I just added a few edits and enhancements. She's too cute and I'm missing her right now as I'm at work and she's at school. TGIF!! 

Race and Happy Halloween!

Wow, what a busy weekend!! Saturday morning I woke up early and participated in the Fight for Air 5k on Folly Beach for the American Lung Association. It's a small race, not a huge turnout, but the weather was perfect for a Saturday morning run. Since my last 5k time was pretty darn good, I felt a little nervous if I could beat my previous time of 25:35. I ran Saturday's race in 25:13, so I beat it by 22 seconds!! And I ended up winning 1st place for my age group!!!! Like I said, it was small race, but I will gladly take the win. My good friend Pam also won 3rd place for our age group. She rocks because she's been sick the last month or so with Mono so this was an awesome comeback for her. After the race they had Shrimp and Grits, along with some free stuff. It was all in all a lot of fun.

Sunday I ran 11 miles and today my legs are like jell-o. Just 2.1 miles to go! Let me just say 11 was tough but there is still the will to keep going and finish.

A chilly start but the weather was perfect.

Sprinting towards this finish!

We are the Champions! Well at least for ages 30-34.

Then yesterday was Sophie's 2nd Halloween. Last year she was only 4 months old, stuck in a stroller and could have cared less. But this year was slightly better. She could have cared less about her costume but was very intrigued as to what people were putting in her candy bag. She only fought me a little with her costume but I was pleasantly surprised that she kept it on, for the most part, and seemed to enjoy trick or treating. She was a cute little fall fairy, with pink crocs (sorry Mom, but the orange shoes you got her didn't fit!)

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! Now I can't believe it's November and the Holiday's are almost here. How did that happen? 

Racing for a Cure

I've participated in the Lowcountry Race for the Cure every year since I've moved to the Charleston area. I love doing this race, (1) because it's for a good cause, and being a woman who will hopefully not have to deal with breast cancer, I'm glad to know there's a foundation out there trying to find a cure and raise awareness. (2) it's on Daniel Island. The homes and scenery are beautiful.

Ricky ran with me this year and we are happy to say that we are both stoked with our running times. I beat my intended goal, which was 25:45. I ran it in 25.35 and Ricky's time was 27:58! This time last year I ran it in like 30 minutes or something and that was right after I had Sophie. So I'm proud of my progress this past year, a 5 minute time difference!

Next race for me is the James Island Connector Run 10k November 6th. It will be my first time running this race. Looking forward to it!

After Kiawah, I've decided to sign up for the Riverfront Race Festival 1/2 Marathon in January. I'm not sure if I'm going to like running the half, but I can always transfer my bib to the 10k race, I just lose out on the money. BUT I'm ambitious so I'm going to go for it. I think.... still up in the air about it. I can't decide so I'll just think about it more.

At the starting line. Ricky and I are there somewhere in the crowd.

Sophie update: 16 months old!

What a talker this girl is! She doesn't make a whole lot of sense right now, but she's working on it. She can say bye bye clear as day. She's trying to say Wylie, but not Zoe so much. Boy she loves her doggies that's for sure! She no longer wants to be rocked to sleep, she points to her crib and goes down without a fuss. Most nights.

She loves to be read to and loves to read to us! Again, makes no sense but the fact that she tries to talk and turns the pages like she's actually reading is pretty darn cool. When she's sitting in her chair and wants down we've taught her to point down. We try to get her to say "down please" but she's working on it. At least she knows to point and let us know that much. Her most favorite thing in the whole world is to PLAY OUTSIDE! She LOVES it and wants to be outside pretty much all the time. Makes sense, she's stuck in daycare all day long. We try to accomodate her demands as much as possible. She even brings us our shoes!

Here is a picture of my sweet little girl, trying to climb up some stairs. She doesn't stay still long enough for me to get a decent picture anymore. 

My Own Thoughts About Running

A few people here and there really can't understand why I like to run, what motivates me to run, how I can run 10 miles, or why I signed up for a half marathon. The one I get the most is how in the heck I can get up at 4:00 am to go to the gym.

First I just want to clarify that I am not the world's best runner nor do I want to be. Honestly I have never really enjoyed running (until now). 

I have run in the occasional race since I've lived in Charleston. But since Sophie was born this was my own personal mission to lose the baby weight and get back into shape....fast! Let me tell you it's worked. It was very hard to get running at first, mainly because I was breastfeeding and my boobs were as big as melons (sorry but they were). When that was all said and done I really buckled down. What really helped was seeing the scale numbers go down!

I like (or don't like) to looks at pictures of me right after I had Sophie. I gained like 45 pounds and my face got so fat!! I feel a sense of accomplishment that I've been able to shed the weight and get fit. I weigh less than I did before I got pregnant. Gaining that weight really put things into perspective. I can't eat whatever I want to anymore and when it's time for baby no. 2  I hope to do things differently and not gain as much weight. Although a lot of what I gained the last few months was water weight. I swelled so bad!!

1 week after Sophie was born, June 2009. I probably weighed about 150 or so

September 2010 - weight 120

Secondly I like seeing my time improve after each race. Whether it's a 5k or 10k I want to beat my time each time I run so that requires more running with speed intervals and running at a faster pace. Treadmill is good for this because I know what my pace time is, but I like running on the road better. Like I said I'm far from the best runner in the world but I like to be competitive with myself. 

Music is the next thing that keeps my going. If I have no music I don't run! I don't know how people can keep the focus without music but this is one of the ONLY ways I personally can stay focused and forget about the mileage. I would get so bored!! Especially on the treadmill! I like a lot of alternative rock, won't find any rap on my iPod, just not my thing.

How in the world do I manage to go to the gym at 4 in the morning? Well let me just say I don't do this every morning, 3 days a week is average and it's really not that hard. Easy for me to say but I'm used to doing it. The hardest part is getting out of bed. I LOVE working out in the morning. 

1- it's not that crowded so I can do anything that I need to do

2 - it truly does give me more energy throughout the day. Although I admit I go to bed early. 

Training for the half marathon was something I set out to do this year turning 30 and all. I'm in the best shape I've been in a while. It's been a difficult challenge doing this and having a toddler, working. Sophie gets sick and it sets me back a little, life happens, I get sick, etc. I hope I like running it because I plan on doing another one in January. 

After my 10 mile run this past weekend I feel more confident than I did a month ago so that's progress. Not sure if a Marathon is in my future but I'm not ruling it out. If I can make it 13.1 who's to say I can't do 26.2. Hmmm.... then again do I even want to do 26.2? 

2 Months to Go and 10 Miles Down

Officially 2 months until my first half marathon. I often wonder what in the world possessed me to enter a 13.1 mile race? Can I really run 13.1 miles (2 hours or so) of straight running? Because I won't walk, I'll make myself run the entire distance otherwise why even bother?

I am proud to say that I got to the 10 mile goal this past weekend! I ran on this trail in Summerville, I think it's about 10 miles long from start to finish. A lot of people bike ride, run and walk. It was the perfect morning too. Wasn't too hot or too cold, slight breeze. I ran to the 5 mile marker and then turned around. I ran the entire distance in 1 hour and 38 minutes. That's about a 9:51 pace time, a little slow for me, but I wasn't trying to break a speed records here, just wanted to cover the distance.

So my confidence is up! This weekend I have the Lowcountry Race for the Cure on Daniel Island. I do this run every year. It's only a 5k but I'd like to run it in under 26 minutes. Then on Sunday I will be going to 11 miles!!

Sophie update: Sophie has mastered saying "bye bye." She likes to stand in her nursery, close the gate, and wave and say "bye bye." She has the cutest little voice! Now we're just trying to get her to say other things. Please and Thank You are on the list. She also likes to "read" us stories, in Sophie language. Hey, the fact that she loves books and wants to read is fine by me.

We've both been under the weather a tad this past week. Both had colds and then her's developed into a little sinus infection. To top it all off, she's cutting all 4 of her canine teeth! Poor girl. She's a trooper!.

Best Weekend, Best Husband Ever

I just want to say that I had the best weekend that I've had in a really long time.

Friday evening Sophie went to spend the night at her Gigi and Poppy's house so Ricky and I could wake up early Saturday morning for the IOP Connector Run (Isle of Palms).

So we ran the race, which was pretty awesome. The weather was perfect, the scenery was pretty, my time was better than my previous 10k! My time was 57:23 and Ricky's 5k time was 31:25. It's a pretty tough race, you go up and over the IOP Connector (connects Isle of Palms to Mt. Pleasant), the 5k runners turn around once they get over. The 10k runners continue on down and then loop around somewhere in Mt. Pleasant to come back. The tough part is you feel this sense of accomplishment getting over the darn thing and then you realize you have go over it again! The last part is tough but once you get over you get a nice clear view of the Atlantic Ocean and it makes you just.....want to hurry up and get it over with :).

So after the race we, upon my request, we stopped by Home Depot to get a few things for some projects that we're going to be doing.

We finish up and head home so that Sophie and Gigi can meet us there. I walk in the house and see my crazy pups outside and then I notice there's an extra dog, a black dog, standing among my heathens. I realize, that's my sister's dog, May. I turn the corner and....

There's my family!! What a surprise!! I had no idea they were coming. So Ricky informs me that we're going to be having a cookout/Oyster Roast in celebration of my turning 30. What a guy that Ricky! It gets better, he got a cake from the same lady who did Sophie's cake. It was awesome (I have a picture but haven't downloaded it yet). He got balloons and then people started showing up to my surprise. My in-laws, Maegan, Doug, and Addison. My co-worker Kim and her family, my very good friend Pam! Phillip, Rachael, and Kinsey..... Total surprise and much excitement. My mom, sister, and brother did a ton of food, there was wine. It was a great way to spend my birthday. The best part of it all, I had no idea anyone was planning anything. Had I known all these people were coming I would have cleaned :) and not gone by Home Depot :)

I have such an awesome husband. Ricky went through a lot of time and effort to make me feel special. I love him so much! Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated!

So here are a few picture of the IOP race. These are from 2009, which I did not participate. In fact this is my first time running this race.

Going up!

View of the marsh from the connector

Coming down - almost to the finish!

Happy Last Day of the Month!

I am 30 today.

And that's really all I have to say about it.

Carolina Children's Charity 8K

Happy first day of Fall!! Sure doesn't feel like Fall here in the Lowcountry. High 80's and still humid as hell. Soon, very soon it'll get cooler... or at least less humid.

So Fall marks the beggining of race season! This morning I ran in the Children's Charity 8K (that would be 5.1 miles). I finished in 44:15 and won 3rd place for my age group (24-29). Pretty stinkin happy about it too, my first time winning, well anything really.

My good friend Pam snapped some pictures, unfortunately she could not participate. Pam is battling Mono!! Feel better soon Pam!! It was a good run and I'm proud of my performance!

Next Saturday is the IOP Connector Run, a 10K (6.2 miles). I've recruited Ricky to run the 5K. He's not so much a runner but is being a good sport.



Ready, set, GO!





3rd place - woo-hoo!



Almost Fall!

I've been really bad at blogging this month! Things have been a little busy with work and home life. Ricky and I have decided that we are going to try to put our house on the market next year. Probably early Spring just when the grass starts to turn green. This gives all winter to tackle our "to do" list to get it ready. It's not a lot, just a bunch of little things I feel will help show it better. For example: changing out the bathroom faucets. Just to give it that little face lift that it needs after living in it 4 1/2 years. It's time to do it because I want to have another baby end of 2011 so it would be great to be in a different house, with room to grow and still have a spare room for my family when they come visit. Fingers crossed that the house sells quick!!! I think I've earned some good fortune to come my way.

In other news, Sophie is doing awesome. She's little Miss Independent (takes after her daddy) and she's got quite the little attitude (takes after mommy). But she's the cutest little girl, in my opinion and she's a ton of fun. She's learning so much right now and it's amazing to see how fast she learns new things each week.

Race season is here once again! I love the fall and running in races. I'm by no means a great runner but it keeps me motivated to work out and run. Each race I like to beat my previous time so it's more of a competition with myself.

This Saturday - 8k Children's Charity
Oct. 2 - 10K IOP Connector Run
Oct 16 - Race for the Cure 5K
Nov 6 - James Island Connector Run 10k
Dec 11 - Kiawah Half Marathon!!!!!!!!!!!

So it's going to be busy the next few months. Hopefully we'll all stay healthy. I think I will get my flu shot this year.

Wanted to share an older picture of Sophie. This was taken back in April when she was 9 months old. She got up close and personal with the camera. I applied a Florabella action - Spring Haze and also applied her Milk and Honey Action. I was going for a sweet, bright, and happy look. Not sure if I achieved it but I think it turned out nice.

15 Month Checkup

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted and I'm really sorry about that. It's been busy busy busy at the Bell household so I have a few updates.

- Sophie LOVES her new school now. She does so well each day, I'm very proud of the way she's adapted. I love her teachers, they are so nice and take very good care of her.

- Words: Sophie can say hi, bye, dog, bird, duck, mama, dadda, yes. She listen's when we tell her no and she can shake her head no when she doesn't want something.

She is very good on her feet, not that she doesn't take a tumble every know or then but the doctor says he very impressed with the way she carries herself (she can squat and stand up very well, catches herself if she stumbles).

At her 15 month check up yesterday she weighed in at 21 pounds (27th percentile) and 30 inches long (32nd percentile), and her head is 18 inches (80th percentile). She she's short, skinny, with a big head. Ha, just kidding. She's a happy and healthy little girl.

I still need to post pictures from our beach trip, haven't had much time to go through and edit them but I'm working on it.




Sophie at Edisto Beach, August 2010

Things Never Go As Planned

With a child? I'm learning this more and more each day.

A week in review:

 - Started new daycare on Monday and it went pretty well for a first day. Sophie did pretty well.
- Tuesday I noticed that Sophie was not taking to daycare as well as Monday.
- Wednesday Sophie was NOT happy to be left as at school. Red flag goes up. She usually takes to things pretty well and not to mention she had not been sleeping well. Woke up around 4 in the morning screaming and felt warm to me. So I get a call that she has a fever of 101.9.Take her to the doctor and she's got blisters on her throat. Not strep but a virus - Hand, Foot, and Mouth virus or a form of it. Doctor says fever can last about 5 days and we just have to let the virus run it's course.
- Thursday I stay home, Sophie still not sleeping well. In fact she was awake and crying about every two hours.
- Friday I go to work and Sophie goes to Gigi's. Still not sleeping well. Find out that daycare has a stomach bug going around. Thank goodness she missed that!!!
- Saturday she slept better than she had all week. You can tell her mouth is bothering her. Noticed a little sore on her tongue (ugh) but there's no blisters or rash on her hands and feet.

Fingers crossed that she's on the upswing because we're supposed to go on vacation tomorrow with the Bell family. Playing it by ear to see how her fever is and how she's feeling. Last thing we want to do is pass it onto Addison. It's rare for adults to get so I'm as concerned about us.

My goal was 10 miles today. Ha, I did 4, barely. So tired from the week and I had zero motivation. Put all the stress of taking care of sick kid and dealing with work and I spent. I need this vacation but I most importantly need my baby girl to get well. This virus sucks but luckily she'll not catch this strain again since she'll build immunity to it.

Hopefully by the time she gets to kindergarten she'll have this kick ass immune system!

Running, New Schools, and Updates

Trying to throw a couple different things into one post here. Sad to admit that I don't have any new pictures, I'm working on that! It's been busy this month. School has started this week for the Tri County area, which means traffic has been/is going to be crap once again. Last night there was a tractor trailer that hit the side of the bridge and then apparently leaked some fluid onto the interstate. So I had to go my alternate route and that just takes a little bit longer BUT I didn't really sit in traffic.

Yesterday Sophie has started a new daycare, The Children's Nook. It's literally 2 minutes away from my office. We had been on the wait list for almost 2 years and finally got a spot. Sophie is in the Frog room :) So far so good, somewhat. She had a decent first day, you could tell she was very much out of here comfort zone and NOT happy about it. Good news is she ate lunch, snacks, and took a nap. This morning seemed to be be worse, for both of us. She buried her head into my shoulder and would NOT let go. I had to set her on the floor, try and bribe her, and then make my escape. She screamed. I do really like her teachers though. I get the warm fuzzy feeling with them that I did not get with some of her teachers at her other school. But I know she misses The Sunshine House and her friends, I miss them too. I knew all their names and watched them grow from baby to toddler. She'll make knew friends, I know this. I keep looking towards the future and hope that she'll come out to be a well adjusted girl, especially when it's time to go off to Kindergarten. But I will admit it's times like these when you feel like a horrible mother and wish that you could spend more time with your child. Unfortunately there's this thing called financial responsibility and I cannot in my right mind put all that stress and burden on Ricky.

But we have a plan! We plan on trying for baby number two around December 2011/January 2012 (before I'm 32) and then by the time baby no. 2 comes, my car will be paid off!! I'm hoping to then be able to stay home (because seriously 2 kids in daycare, I would be working to pay for daycare pretty much). At least when Sophie goes off to Kindergarten I would get a part time job or something that would allow me to take her to school and pick her up, cook a nice dinner for my family, be a real mom, not a working mom.

That's the plan and I will continue to be optimistic about that plan.

So onto something a little more uplifting, for me anyway. I hit 9 miles on Sunday! And boy let me tell you it was tough!! 8 wasn't so bad the week before and maybe I was tired Sunday and I walked twice for a few minutes. But Hal Higdon says that's OK! As long as I cover the distance. My legs felt like jello and were sore yesterday. So I decided to rest today and get the mileage going tomorrow morning. My next goal is 10 miles on Saturday and then I'll run a few miles here and there on vacation next week.

Sophie updates: Her days of crawling are officially over. She's been walking for about a month now and having a blast. We've had a few walking casualties (a busted lip, a bruise on the face) but she gets right back up and continues on. Since her tube surgery last month we've seen a significant change. She seems happier (although she's still trying to cut her upper molars and that's no fun). She can say a few words: Momma, Dadda, dog, duck. She actually pointed to a duck in the bonus room and said duck. She's sleeping better most nights. There's still a night here and there where she'll wake up crying but I think it's that darn molar!

I promise to take and post some pictures soon. Sophie will be getting her first haircut on Friday, it's too long in the back and not very long in the front and on top so yeah, it's a baby mullet.

Check back soon for pictures!

4 Months To Go!

I have 4 months until I run my first 1/2 marathon. Seems like a long time, but it's really not. I'll be here before I know it.

So far I'm up to mile 8. I ran 8 miles on Sunday, 3 on Monday with some weight training, and then 6 today. So I'm 17 for the week so far. According to Hal Higdon's novice training guide, I'm on schedule for the most part.

One thing I noticed when I ran on Sunday is my left leg started to get a cramp right around 7.5 miles. I did not want to stop and walk so I pushed through. Hoping that was just a fluke and legs need to get used to the distance. This Sunday my goal is 9 and will continue to go up. Long runs once a week on the weekend (whichever day I have more time).

So far I'm feeling good!

Ocean Blue

Followed this tutorial on The Pioneer Woman http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/2008/04/blue-branch-step-by-step/ for my ocean photo below. It really helped bring out the blues in the water.

SOOC

Pretty blue ocean

Learning Photoshop

I'll say it again, I heart Photoshop Elements! I've learned a lot since I first installed it. I've installed a ton of actions from The Pioneer Woman and Coffee Shop Photography (who also have really good tutorials). I'm the kind of person who learns best if I just dive right in. I don't want to learn the basics first, I'll figure it out along the way. If I can't figure it out I Google it.

Here are some recent photos I edited. A few with actions and a few all by myself. I think the thing that's going to be the hardest is trying to figure out what the photo needs done to it, and not over editing. Sometimes the smallest change can do wonders for your photo's. At the same time, I still have a lot to learn with my camera, but PSE has a bunch of tools that can do what the camera did not.

Ricky and our nephew Garrett in Florida 2 years ago

Butterscotch Vintage Action from Coffee Shop Photography

SOOC - straight out of camera

Bold Pop from Coffee Shop Photograhpy

SOOC

Did this one all by myself!!

For the hydrangea I decided I liked the colors (I'm a big fan of bright colors) and I wanted them to pop out a little bit more. So I adjusted the hue/saturation, bumped up the green, yellow, magenta, and red. Sharpened it a little, added some contrast, darkend the background (using the burn tool) and blurred the background slightly. Lastly I added a bit of a yellow tint. And ta-da!

Have to admit I'm pretty excited about it.

The Proofs Are In!!

The proofs from our photo session are done!! Go to the following website:

http://www.crescentmoonphotography.com/

click on Clients on the bottom and then click on our session. The password is sunshine.

They turned out so good!! At first I figured I would order a few to put in a collage frame but then we decided to just go ahead and buy the CD with all the images. I was having such a hard time deciding which ones I wanted to buy. They're all so good!!

So if you want to order any let me know and I will order them once I get the CD.

It's Official

I'm registered for the Kiawah Island 1/2 Marathon December 11th. There's no turning back because it specifically states NO REFUNDS!!

So how did day 1 of official training go?

It didn't.

Sophie decided she didn't want to sleep last night and cry for about 2 hours.

So I'll try it again tomorrow.

The good news is I'm about half way to 13.1. The other good news? My good friend Pam registered too so I won't be in this alone.

The bad news? She's in school full time and I'm employed full time. Plus a mom full time.

So time is going to be an issue, I see this now. But we can do it!! I'm determined to do it. For $85 I'm gonna do it!!!

Wish me luck.

Sneak Peak

Here's a sneak peak from the photo session we had with Lee at Crescent Moon Photography last week. We went to Boone Hall Plantation in Mt. Pleasant. BEAUTIFUL!! I'd never been there before and the road leading from the entrance is lined with these beautiful, big, oak trees. There's the main house in the center. Off to the side there is a horse stable. We took some pictures all over and even had one of the horses walk up to us. Sophie wasn't sure what to think. She did very well, all she wanted to do was walk.

Yes, it was like a million degrees out and we were a sweaty mess by the very end, but from what I see so far, they're going to turn out awesome. Except the one below of me. That was taken towards the end and my hair is drenched and plastered to my neck.

My favorite so far. She actually wore her bow for most of the shoot.

See? Sweaty!!

The rest of the pictures should be on their website next week or so. Very excited to see them!! Just hope I don't look this bad in all of them. I think some of the pictures we took at the beginning will be good, before I started sweating like a man.

But my little girl looks so adorable and that's what matters the most. This was mostly a photo shoot of her, for her 1st year portraits. We wanted some taken of the three of us since we don't have many pictures of the three of us. I'm usually the one with the camera.  

Sophie update: Walking all over the place!! Preferred method of transportation is still crawling but I think walking is slowly winning her over. She waves hi and bye, mostly bye, even when you're not going anywhere. Laughing all the time, when she's not screaming. Still screams when it's diaper changing time. HATES getting her diaper rash cream put on but it's necessary. She'll learn to get over it. She's getting so big so fast! 

I'm in love with Photoshop Elements

I just recently purchased Photoshop Elements 7.0 on eBay for a great deal!! I am in love. This is exactly what I was looking for. There are so many cool free things out there to apply to photoshop it's not even funny.

I've stumbled upon Actions for Photoshop. They are pre-made photo edits that you can install into Photoshop and then apply them to your photo when you're editing. Some may call it cheating, I call it being resourceful when you don't have a lot of time on your hands. I will eventually learn how to create my own layers and photo edits in Photoshop, but for now I'm just getting to know my new friend and all it can do for my pictures. I downloaded a bunch from The Pioneer Woman and Coffee Shop Photography.

So here's a few photos that I've recently edited.

Original Image

Autumn Glow Action from Coffee Shop Photography

Colorized Action from Pioneer Woman

Sun Kissed Action from Coffee Shop Photography

Warmer Action from Pionner Woman

I don't remember where I downloaded the following Action from.... I stumbled upon it somewhere on the web. It's called Dreamy Sepia.

Original

Original

That's all I have for now, there will be more soon. I have so many ideas running through this head of mine!

Tubes

Today was surgery day! After our appointment with the ENT Friday, it was determined that after 7 ear infections in 5 months, Sophie was prime candidate for tubes.

This morning we arrived at the Surgery Center of Charleston at 7:45 a.m. Poor kidd-o couldn't have anything to eat or drink after midnight but that didn't seem to bother her at all. As soon as we got there we were taken back to get Sophie's vitals and then prepped for surgery. She did cry when they took her back but 10 minutes later we were called back to the recovery room. She fussed a little but it really wasn't as bad as I was expecting. She looked a little dazed and confused but recovered very will. Within a few minutes she was drinking her sippy cup and eating some dry cereal.

The doctor said he did suction some fluid from her ears but over all they weren't that bad.

What a trooper she is! So proud of my little booger. I'm optimistic that she will not have the problems that we have had over the last 5 months and so happy to be done with antibiotics (for now).

We love you Sophie! You're such a good girl and we're so proud of how you did today!

Eating with a Spoon

I had to share these recent photos of Sophie feeding herself with a spoon. The good news is she is interested and eager to feed herself with the spoon. The bad news, well I guess it's not really bad news, she makes a MESS!! But it's cute so it's OK.

Yum, yogurt!

And that is how Sophie eats yogurt.

This next set of pictures were taken on Saturday. We drove to Georgetown for the Yarborough Family Reunion (that would be Ricky's side of the family). We did some swimming in the pool, met some family members that we'd never met before, ate some food, and then drove home. We had fun and can't wait for next year.

In the pool with Daddy

I had to post this because they look so much alike in this picture

And last butt not least :)